Technology
WBD split throws future of TNT Sports into question
David Zaslav attends the world premiere of “The Flash”, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 12, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Blake Mike Blake | Reuters Earlier this year, Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav ended his company’s long relationship with the National Basketball Association. Now, he may be setting the stage to end his […]

David Zaslav attends the world premiere of “The Flash”, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 12, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Blake
Mike Blake | Reuters
Earlier this year, Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav ended his company’s long relationship with the National Basketball Association. Now, he may be setting the stage to end his relationship with U.S. sports, altogether.
WBD announced Monday it’s splitting itself into two companies — a concept CNBC first reported had picked up steam in April. One company, temporarily called Streaming and Studios, will consist of Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO and HBO Max. The other, currently dubbed Global Networks, will be the rest of the company’s assets: legacy cable networks, TNT Sports, digital products and free-to-air channels in Europe.
Zaslav will be the CEO of Streaming and Studios. Gunnar Wiedenfels, the current Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Financial Officer, will become the CEO of Global Networks.
The divorce raises the question of where live sports right held by TNT will land without Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming portfolio as part of the same company.
During a conference call Monday, Zaslav said it will be up to Wiedenfels and his team to decide where they’d like to license TNT Sports programming to the Streaming and Studios business — or anyone else —in the future.
Currently, all of TNT Sports appear on HBO Max, Warner Bros. Discovery’s flagship streaming service. Zaslav said U.S. sports haven’t been a major driver of HBO Max signups, suggesting that it may make sense for TNT Sports to consciously uncouple with the streaming service down the road.
“Inside the U.S., sports have been less critical,” Zaslav said on a call with investors Monday. “It’s viewed, but it hasn’t been a real driver for us. So it will continue to be on HBO Max, but the Global Networks business will evaluate over time where the best place for that is.”
HBO Max will continue to license sports for existing deals. Still, Wiedenfels will have options on how to monetize TNT’s future streaming and digital sports rights. He could strike a licensing deal with a different media company for the live sports that appear on the Turner networks (TNT, TBS and TruTV), such as the NCAA’s March Madness, the French Open, NASCAR, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League.
“The U.S. sports rights will reside at the Global Networks, and its management team will determine how best to monetize the streaming and digital rights over time,” said Wiedenfels. “Internationally, sports will largely coexist, both on linear and streaming, as they do today.”
Or, he could decide to merge TNT Sports with another entity, such as the forthcoming Comcast spinout, Versant. Mark Lazarus, Versant’s CEO, told CNBC Sport last month he was interested in bidding on sports rights to gain distribution heft with pay-TV operators. Acquiring TNT Sports could be a major step in that direction.
If Wiedenfels opts for consolidation, he will have to weigh the tax effects of selling off assets after the separation takes place. While Warner Bros. Discovery noted the split is tax-free, Wiedenfels emphasized on Monday’s call that transactions could begin as soon as the separation occurs, which is expected by mid-2026.
“On the tax side, I said this earlier, I want to be absolutely clear: Once this deal closes, both companies are going to be free and clear,” Wiedenfels said. “There is no minimum time.”
A spokesperson for Versant did not immediately return request for comment.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of CNBC. Versant will become the parent company of CNBC when the spinout is complete.
Technology
Sports-Themed Grooming Tools : gillette 1
Gillette, the Official Shave of the NFL, is bringing game day excitement to everyday routines with the launch of the GilletteLabs Official NFL Licensed Razors. This new collection pairs Gillette’s most advanced shaving technology with the bold colors and logos of 12 iconic NFL teams, giving fans a personalized way to showcase their loyalty. Each […]

Each razor features GilletteLabs’ signature exfoliating bar and sleek magnetic stand, now reimagined with officially licensed designs from the Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With this launch, Gillette is furthering its long-standing partnership with the NFL. The GilletteLabs Official NFL Licensed Razors are available for online presale at select retailers and will begin rolling into stores nationwide starting later this month.
Image Credit: Gillette
Technology
Bob Costas: A Lot of Sports Journalism Has Been “Diminished”
– Advertisement – Legendary broadcaster Bob Costas knows a thing or two about landmark sports moments—and how they were delivered to audiences. But during a recent conversation on Sunday’s Meet The Press, the veteran sportscaster acknowledged that the way fans consume sports has shifted dramatically with the rise of streaming giants and digital media platforms. […]



Legendary broadcaster Bob Costas knows a thing or two about landmark sports moments—and how they were delivered to audiences. But during a recent conversation on Sunday’s Meet The Press, the veteran sportscaster acknowledged that the way fans consume sports has shifted dramatically with the rise of streaming giants and digital media platforms. Reflecting on how tech companies like Amazon, Apple, and Netflix are reshaping the sports media ecosystem, Costas said, “Sports is coming at people, if they want to access it, from so many different directions.”
He contrasted today’s fragmented media landscape with his own early career experiences at NBC’s “Game of the Week” during the 1980s. “That really was the game of the week,” he said. “Now, if you want to, you can access every game.” That abundance, however, may come at a price. Costas noted that while options have expanded, the emotional gravity of individual events has diminished.
“I think it does diminish it to some extent,” Costas said. “Everything, every sport, every game is accessible. That takes away some of the excitement.”
Costas also voiced concern over the decline in serious sports journalism. Once-heralded programs like Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel and ESPN’s Outside the Lines have either shut down or scaled back.
“A lot of sports coverage that’s not event coverage now is a bunch of people yelling at each other for an hour over a half-dozen different sports stories,” said Costas. “It’s all sound bites and arguments and clickbait stuff. And a lot of the journalism which used to be part of sports has been diminished.”
As network television’s once-dominant role wanes, Costas said it still holds influence but no longer enjoys full primacy. He candidly acknowledged the complex relationship between networks and leagues, noting that broadcasters are both partners and journalists. “It’s the only one I can think of where the buyer has to continually flatter the seller,” he said, adding that he tried to take a “judicious” approach throughout his career.
He also addressed how gambling and social media have influenced fan behavior. “So much of it is transactional now. You’ve got a bet on the game, so you have a different relationship to how that game plays out,” Costas explained. He also observed that digital platforms have created a harsher tone around sports. “There are no misdemeanors, only felonies. You lose a game, the coach should be fired. A guy goes 0-for-4, and he should be traded.”
Despite the changes, Costas remains proud of the era he came up in, calling it a bridge between the classic and modern periods of sports broadcasting. “The games I was involved in, including the Olympics, just landed differently than some things made today,” he said.
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Technology
IIT Madras To Launch INR 200 Cr Early Stage Startup Fund
SUMMARY Called the ‘IITM Alumni Fund’, the new fund will focus on pre-Series A and Series A investments, mainly in startups incubated at the institute The fund will operate as an independent legal entity and follow standard VC fund processes. Most of the funding is expected to come from IIT Madras alumni and HNIs Notably, […]

Called the ‘IITM Alumni Fund’, the new fund will focus on pre-Series A and Series A investments, mainly in startups incubated at the institute
The fund will operate as an independent legal entity and follow standard VC fund processes. Most of the funding is expected to come from IIT Madras alumni and HNIs
Notably, IIT Madras counts the likes of electric vehicle (EV) maker Ather Energy and AI unicorn Uniphore among its alumni ventures
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has said it plans to launch an INR 200 Cr venture capital (VC) fund to back early-stage startups, particularly in the deeptech domain.
Called the ‘IITM Alumni Fund’, the new fund will focus on startups incubated at the institute that are seeking pre-Series A and Series A investments. The announcement was made at Sangam 2025, IIT Madras’ annual alumni event held in Bengaluru last week.
The fund will operate as an independent legal entity and follow standard VC fund processes. Most of the funding is expected to come from IIT Madras alumni and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs).
Notably, IIT Madras counts the likes of electric vehicle (EV) maker Ather Energy and AI unicorn Uniphore among its alumni ventures.
At the time of Ather’s IPO earlier this year, the institution made about INR 1.13 Cr by selling 35,241 shares.
The current initiative is part of the institute’s push to back promising startups and enable the “next wave of unicorns”.
“We aim to raise INR 200 Cr in our first fund through alumni contributions. This is an opportunity for our community to back strong startups and grow together. It also supports our vision of launching 100 deeptech startups every year under the Startup Shatam programme,” said IIT Madras director V Kamakoti.
IIT Madras claims to have already incubated over 500 startups, collectively valued at more than INR 50,000 Cr (about $6 Bn).
Besides the fund, IIT Madras runs an Incubation Cell, which offers funding, advisory, workspaces and connections to incubated startups.
The institute backs startups in specific areas like sports tech via groups like Pravartak Technologies Foundation and the Centre of Excellence in Sports Science and Analytics (CESSA). It infuses up to INR 5 Cr per startup, usually in exchange for a stake in the company.
Technology
Xiaomi Smart Band 10 software update introduces new features
Xiaomi is rolling out a new update for the Smart Band 10 (Image source: Xiaomi) Xiaomi is expanding the feature set of a new wearable that hit the global market just a few days ago. Owners of the Xiaomi Band 10 can look forward to new functions, and the general user experience has been improved […]


We’ve already covered the recent launch of the Xiaomi Smart Band 10, as the wearable was released globally just a few days ago and is available via import for US customers from $55 on Aliexpress. As a fitness band, this gadget has some functional as well as hardware limitations, which is why it can’t be compared to more expensive smartwatches that are equipped with a GPS module, for instance.
Nonetheless, Xiaomi has now released a software update with the version number 2.1.71. This update was arguably necessary, as there were probably still some bugs in the previous firmware. However, the range of features has also been expanded. Xiaomi hasn’t published a detailed list of the bug fixes, but the company mentions stability improvements, which should result in a smoother user experience.
Smart Band 10 users can also take advantage of new vibration alarms. The type of vibration can now be customized, much like ringtones. However, it seems that not all notifications can be configured for the time being. For instance, an upcoming appointment notification will still use the standard tone.
Furthermore, Xiaomi is bringing games to the Smart Band 10. These games use arm or wrist movements as input. This motion detection is usually used to turn on the display when raising the wrist or to count steps. However, these motion games don’t seem to be an entirely new or innovative feature, as they were already supported on the previous Xiaomi Smart Band 9. Lastly, there are no specific details on the rollout schedule, but it’s reasonable to assume that Xiaomi is releasing the update in stages across different regions and markets in order to limit the number of affected users in case of major issues.

I have been active as a journalist for over 10 years, most of it in the field of technology. I worked for Tom’s Hardware and ComputerBase, among others, and have been working for Notebookcheck since 2017. My current focus is particularly on mini PCs and single-board computers such as the Raspberry Pi – so in other words, compact systems with a lot of potential. In addition, I have a soft spot for all kinds of wearables, especially smartwatches. My main profession is as a laboratory engineer, which is why neither scientific contexts nor the interpretation of complex measurements are foreign to me.

My fascination for technology goes back a long way to the Pentium II era. Modding, overclocking and treasuring computer hardware has since become an integral part of my life. As a student, I further developed a keen interest in mobile technologies that can make the stressful college life so much easier. After I fell in love with the creation of digital content while working in a marketing position, I now scour the web to bring you the most exciting topics in the world of tech. Outside the office, I’m particularly passionate about motorsports and mountain biking.
Technology
California Declared Daily Fantasy Sports Are Illegal. Now What?
California Declared Daily Fantasy Sports Are Illegal. Now What? Privacy Manager Link 0

Technology
Ice-Powered Fitness Classes : The Coolest Class
During a heatwave, the idea of getting even sweatier with a full-on workout can be enough to derail a fitness routine but GymNation is helping fitness enthusiasts in Dubai beat the heat with “The Coolest Class,” an ice-powered fitness experience. The Coolest Class in Dubai provides participants with insulated gloves and hedgear, plus chilled towels […]

The Coolest Class in Dubai provides participants with insulated gloves and hedgear, plus chilled towels to regulate body temperature. During the experience, gym-goers push their limits with activities like Blizzard Sprints (treadmill runs with fans for resistance and cooling,) Frosted Reps (weighted squats with ice-packed vests) and the Polar Push (sled pushes with ice blocks.) There’s also Chill Zone Recovery, featuring an inflammation-reducing ice bath.
Training in the cold isn’t a gimmick; it challenges the mind to become focused and resilient, and conditions the cardiovascular system to perform at its peak.
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