Business News

Mumbai: Walt Disney's maiden profit from streaming entertainment in Q2 may be short-lived as the segment is expected to experience a Q3 loss due to International Cricket Council (ICC) digital rights, which are held by Disney+ Hotstar."We are forecasting a loss for entertainment direct to consumer (DTC) in the third quarter, the vast majority of which is due to Disney+ Hotstar's ICC cricket rights," Walt Disney CFO Hugh Johnston told analysts during the earnings call for the March quarter.He added Disney+'s core subscriber growth is not expected to be significant in Q3, but sub-growth is anticipated to return in Q4.Walt Disney's streaming entertainment services, comprising Disney+ and Hulu, recorded a maiden profit of $47 million in Q2. The company's sports streaming service, comprising ESPN+, reported a $65 million operating loss.The aggregate operating loss from the streaming portfolio including entertainment and sports stood at $18 million during the quarter.Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger, who was brought back in November 2022 to shepherd the company out of difficulty, said the company expects a weaker Q3, owing in large part to the seasonality of Indian sports rights."We fully expect streaming to be a growth driver for the company in the future, and we have prioritised the steps necessary to achieve this," he noted.Star India, which is the parent company of Disney+ Hotstar, has paid $3 billion for the ICC media rights until 2027. The value of ICC TV and digital rights is split almost equally.The ICC TV rights for the 2023-27 cycle were sublicensed to Zee Entertainment by Star India. However, the failure of the merger deal with Sony Pictures Networks India forced Zee to back out of the expensive cricket rights deal.Star has initiated arbitration proceedings against Zee with the London Court of International Arbitration for failing to fulfil the ICC TV rights agreement.Zee has contested Star's charges of breach of contract, claiming that the agreement is null and void.

Begusarai (Bihar): Hailing hydrogen as the "fuel of the future", Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday asserted that vehicles in the country would run on green fuels in the coming years. Addressing an election rally in support of BJP leader and Union minister Giriraj Singh in Begusarai, Gadkari said, "India imports fossil fuel every year... soon, our farmers will produce green fuels." "Hydrogen is the fuel of the future and vehicles in the country will run on green fuels in the coming years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working for the overall development of the country as well as for the welfare of the farmers," he said. "Increased demand for ethanol will change the agro-economy of the country... this will make farmers 'urjadata' (providers of energy)... they will no longer remain 'annadata' (providers of food)," he said. Gadkari asserted that ethanol industry is a boon for the farmers and demand for it will increase which will change the agro-economy of the country. "I want motorcycles, e-rickshaws, auto-rickshaws and cars to be 100 per cent ethanol-based in the next few years," Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, said. The coming years will create job opportunities in the agriculture sector, which will benefit farmers of Bihar as well, he said. "PM Modi's dream is to make India a USD 5 trillion economy, and for that, the country needs infrastructure development... without water, power, transport and communication, the country's overall growth is not possible. The NDA government is working for speedy development of the country as well as Bihar. I am confident that our alliance will win all 40 seats in the state," he asserted. "People will find good quality national highways anywhere they go in the country, including Bihar. Our country is changing... It is our PM's dream to make India a self-reliant nation that takes care of its poor and needy citizens," he said. Union minister Giriraj Singh is seeking re-election from Begusarai Lok Sabha seat as the NDA nominee. Singh is pitted against CPI candidate Awadhesh Rai, who is the Mahagathbandhan's nominee. Elections will be held in Begusarai, Darbhanga, Ujiarpur, Samastipur, Begusarai and Munger Lok Sabha seats of Bihar in the fourth phase on May 13.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to lift restrictions on Bank of Baroda's Bob World app with immediate effect, allowing it to onboard customers, the bank said in the exchange filing.The bank said, "We wish to inform that the RBI conveyed to the Bank its decision to lift the restrictions on Bob World with immediate effect, as such the bank is free to onboard customers through Bob World application in accordance with the applicable guidelines and extant laws /regulations.""The Bank will now resume onboarding new customers in the Bob World application. The Bank remains committed to ensure adherence and compliance of regulatory guidelines," the filing said.Earlier in October 2023, the RBI directed the Bank of Baroda to suspend any onboarding of customers onto its 'Bob World' mobile application, based on certain supervisory concerns.Later in response to directives from the RBI, Bank of Baroda affirmed that it had implemented corrective actions to rectify the issues raised by the RBI.