iWorld
Kabaddi gets a digital raid on Sportvot streaming
National Senior Men’s Championship live from Vadodara 24–27 February 2026.
MUMBAI: Kabaddi’s national showdown just got a streaming tackle and Sportvot is the raider ready to score big. India’s leading sports streaming platform has bagged exclusive live-streaming rights for the National Senior Men’s Kabaddi Championship, organised by the Gujarat State Kabaddi Association and Vadodara Kabaddi Association under the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI).
For the first time, the prestigious tournament will beam nationwide from the Indoor Sports Complex in Vadodara between 24 and 27 February 2026. Thirty-five states plus Indian Railways and Services teams are expected to battle it out, making it one of India’s biggest kabaddi spectacles and a crucial proving ground for talent eyeing the Pro Kabaddi League. Defending champions Haryana return to guard their crown after a dominant run last time.
Every raid, tackle and do-or-die moment will be available live on the Sportvot app, letting fans, players, coaches and stakeholders follow the action from anywhere.
Sportvot founder & CEO Siddhant Agarwal said, “Kabaddi is deeply rooted in India’s sporting culture, and national championships like this are where the future of the sport is shaped. By digitising and live-streaming the National Senior Men’s Kabaddi Championship, we aim to give athletes the visibility they deserve and fans an experience that matches the intensity of the game.”
Gujarat Kabaddi Association organising secretary Tushar Arothe added, “As hosts of this year’s National Senior Men’s Kabaddi Championship, the Gujarat Kabaddi Association is honoured to welcome the best teams from across the country to Vadodara. We are delighted that Sportvot will be live streaming the tournament, giving supporters everywhere an opportunity to experience the passion and skill of our players in real time.”
With seasoned pros, rising stars and high-voltage clashes over four days, the championship promises edge-of-the-mat drama. SportVot’s coverage turns it from a regional rumble into a national spectacle, one tap away for fans who can’t make it to Vadodara. Get ready to cheer from the couch; the mat is set.
iWorld
Meta signs multiyear AI deal with News Corp
Agreement worth up to $50 million annually covers WSJ, New York Post and UK titles.
MUMBAI: Meta just bought itself a front-row seat to the newsroom because when AI needs facts, even Zuckerberg is willing to pay the subscription fee. Meta Platforms has signed a multiyear artificial intelligence content licensing agreement with News Corp that could be worth up to $50 million (£39 million) a year, The Wall Street Journal reported on 25 February 2026. The deal, expected to run for at least three years, grants Meta access to News Corp’s US and UK content including The Wall Street Journal and New York Post for training AI models and powering real-time information retrieval in its products.
Australian mastheads such as the Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun are not included. News Corp CEO Robert Thomson revealed the arrangement during a Morgan Stanley technology conference in San Francisco, describing news organisations as a vital “input company” in the AI ecosystem. “We’re essentially an input company,” he said. “The great threat in the age of AI is going to be to what you might call output companies.”
Thomson emphasised the value of reliable journalism as foundational infrastructure for AI systems, noting regular conversations with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg via Whatsapp and ongoing talks with OpenAI’s Sam Altman. He added that News Corp is in “advanced stage” negotiations for additional deals, promising further announcements soon.
The agreement follows News Corp’s 2024 five-year partnership with OpenAI (reportedly worth more than $250 million) and reflects Meta’s broader push to secure content licences. The company has already confirmed deals with People Inc, USA Today, CNN and Fox News, though financial terms remain undisclosed.
Publishers remain divided, some pursue partnerships for revenue, while others litigate. News Corp subsidiaries have sued Perplexity over copyright infringement, The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft, yet the same NYT struck a separate AI licensing deal with Amazon reportedly worth $20–25 million annually.
Thomson summed up the dual strategy as “woo or sue” seeking commercial agreements where possible, legal action when content is used without permission.
In an AI race where data is oxygen, Meta isn’t just training models, it’s buying the raw material for tomorrow’s answers, one headline at a time.
