Researched and collated by: Vagda Galhotra & Anagha Srinivasan
It’s official: Ambani scores IPL digital rights
The rumours in the press proved true. STAR India has retained the TV rights for the Indian subcontinent for Rs 235.75 billion (23,575 crore)—while Ambani-owned Viacom18 bagged the digital rights for approximately Rs 237.57 billion (23,757 crore). This is the first time that the buying price for digital was higher than broadcast. The total is 196% higher than the previous price tag of Rs 163.47 billion (16,347.50 crore) in 2017. And each of the 10 IPL teams will also share in the bounty—receiving an additional Rs 5 billion (500 crore) each. The Telegraph has more details.
PS: This may seem like a big win for Reliance—especially since Amazon did not even attempt to enter the fray. But Andy Mukherjee in Bloomberg News is not convinced it’s a good deal. Ambani will at best make $1 per user in revenue—which may well bulk up his empire. But it will be a hard slog:
“The bottom line is this: Ambani has decided to spend billions on content, and now he has to earn it all back in five years. Not just from advertisers, but via carriage and commerce. One dollar at a time.”
Also ready to dominate: Air India—whose proposal to buy out Air Asia India in its entirety has been approved by regulatory authorities. The Tatas now own these two airlines plus Vistara. (Indian Express)
Coinbase warns of a “crypto winter”
The leading crypto exchange laid off 18% of its workforce—about 1,000 employees. In his open letter, CEO Brian Armstrong warned: “We appear to be entering a recession after a 10-plus year economic boom. A recession could lead to another crypto winter, and could last for an extended period.” Reminder: the crypto market has been imploding over the past month. Coinbase’s stock is down about 80% this year—and 85% since its initial public offering in April 2021. A company that was once worth nearly $100 billion is now valued at less than $12 billion. (CNN)
Europe leaves Pakistan in the dark
In the midst of a heatwave, some parts of Pakistan are experiencing 12-hour blackouts. This is happening despite the government’s efforts to secure its energy supplies by signing long-term contracts with Qatar and Italy for liquified natural gas (LNG). Now, those same suppliers have defaulted—but continue to sell to European countries. As one industry exec put it: “Europe is sucking LNG” from the world thanks to the economic war with Russia.
It’s so bad that the country paid a record $100 million to purchase a single LNG shipment—to avoid outages during Eid last month. The shortages could have a crippling domino effect:
“The government has redirected existing natural gas supplies to power plants, short-changing fertiliser makers that depend on the fuel as a feedstock. That move could threaten the next harvest, leading to even higher food costs next year. Cellphone towers are using backup generators to sustain service through the blackouts, but they too are running out of fuel.”
Also doing poorly: The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC)—whose debut on the stock market in May marked India’s biggest IPO. The stock price has since plummeted nearly 30%—and the recent market plunge wiped out $17 billion (Rs 1.32 lakh crore) in its market value. The only other newly listed company in Asia to lose more is South Korea’s LG Energy. One reason is the rising interest rates which have dimmed the appetite to buy shares, in general. But LIC’s prospects are especially dim, as one analyst explains:
“You buy a stock because you feel for the next many years there will be growth, the stock would double and triple and quadruple. I do not see that happening. It is a completely matured business, there is nothing in LIC, no reason to buy it or hold it.”
Also this: company’s quarterly results showed a 17.4% drop in net profits and experts say “there is no clarity on how the company is planning to grow, what is going to be its strategy.” (Quartz)
Navika Kumar is in trouble
First, BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma was suspended for making derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad on Times Now anchor Navika Kumar’s show. Now, an FIR has been registered against Kumar in Maharashtra for “maliciously intending to outrage religious feelings.” Times Now had earlier distanced itself from Sharma’s comments. Meanwhile, Alt News Mohammed Zubair has been booked on the exact same grounds for calling three Hindu seers—Yati Narasinghanand Saraswati, Bajrang Muni and Anand Swaroop—hate mongers. (Newslaundry)
The unexpected upside of a stroke
People who are addicted to cigarettes and suffer a stroke often lose their craving for nicotine overnight. A study looked at their brain scans and identified a circuit of regions linked by threadlike nerve fibres—which they believe is the source of addiction. The same regions may be linked to alcoholism as well. Why this is a breakthrough:
“What we’re realising across many different fields is that our therapeutic targets are not brain regions, as we once thought, but connected brain circuits. If you take into account the way the brain is connected, you can improve treatment.”
New York Times has more details.
Speaking of the human brain: A UK study has found that our brain gets really hot—a lot hotter than the rest of the body. The average temperature is 101.3°F (38.5°C) compared to the normal body temperature of 98.6 °F (37°C)—and can go as high as 105.62°F (40.9°C) with no problems. Brain temperatures also vary by time of day, region—and are higher among women and older people. You can see a heat map of the male and female brain below. (Gizmodo)
In other medical news: A new test can reveal whether you are immune to Covid. The process involves mixing a blood sample with material from the coronavirus—and testing for T-cells—and then running a PCR test. TIME has more details.
A big penguin tragedy in New Zealand
An alarming number of little blue penguins (called kororā) have been washing ashore. In the past months, there have been several flocks with over 100 bodies—and the total since May, 2022 may be approaching 1,000. The reason: They are starving to death: “There was just no body fat on them, there was hardly any muscle to show. When they get to that stage of emaciation, they can’t dive.”
As climate change heats up ocean waters, fish that these penguins feed on go into deeper, cooler waters. But these little ones can’t dive that deep—and so cannot feed. Now, mass die-offs among sea birds isn’t unusual—but what is new is the frequency. Over the past 10 years, there have been at least three mass-death years. FYI: Data published last year recorded the highest ocean temperatures ever. (The Guardian)
Lizzo deletes slur from ‘Grrrls’
The singer came under fire for a line in her new track—which included the word ‘spaz’. This is a derogatory term used to describe spastic diplegia—a form of cerebral palsy. She has since apologised and re-released the track with the new line: “Hold my bag, bitch, Hold my bag/ Do you see this shit? Hold me back.” (NME)
Two things to see
One: The most annoying thing about a cocktail is that it requires assembly. Coca Cola has found a way to make it easier for you to get instant gratification: Jack and Coke cans that contain Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. It will launch in 2023—and even include a zero-sugar version. FYI: Pepsi already teamed up with Sam Adams brewer Boston Beer to offer an alcoholic version of Mountain Dew—which frankly is just plain wrong. (Fox Business)
Two: A wacky video of a golden retriever happily wandering among a pack of tigers went viral yesterday. No one is quite sure what’s going on. But we’re guessing the footage is from the Beijing Wildlife Park—where in 2018, a female pooch became a surrogate mum to tiger, lion and hyena pups after their own mothers abandoned them. The same zoo also has a dog, lion and tiger trio who live together.
Good stuff to check out
On the latest episode of the splainer podcast ‘Press Decode’, the splainer team looks at whether Nupur Sharma is indeed a ‘fringe element’—and the ‘right to repair’ movement. Be sure to head over to the IVM website, Spotify or Apple Podcasts to listen to it.
