Category: iWorld

ESPNcricinfo introduces four digital video series for World T20

NEW DELHI: ESPNcricinfo is adding on to the cricket fever this World T20 with four exceptional flagship digital video series to bring the game closer to Indian fans. Providing comprehensive coverage of the global sporting event, ESPNcricinfo has introduced ‘Match Day’, ‘On the Road’, ‘Polite Enquiries’, and ‘Two Men Out’. The video series will set rolling on the website from 15 March and continue all through the World T20.
Aired on ESPNcricinfo, Sony ESPN, Sony ESPNHD and the ESPNcricinfo mobile application, ‘Match Day’ will feature some of the most respected voices in cricket such as Ian Chappell and Mahela Jayawardene presenting match analysis with a unique perspective on the action. The presenters scheduled to be regulars in this series are legends and are popular for calling the game as they see it. The programme will be backed by insights into the successes, failures and key moments of the tournament.

Speaking about ESPNcricinfo’s continuing focus to develop and deliver novel content for enhanced fan experiences across digital and television, ESPNcricinfo India and South Asia editor-in-chief Sambit Bal said, “ESPNcricinfo ‘Match Day’ brings to television all the values of the world’s premier digital cricket destination: credible voices, strong opinions, sharp insights, savvy with numbers, and the strengths of a global network. Ian Chappell, Ajit Agarkar and Sanjay Manjrekar are familiar names on ESPNcricinfo, and we are hugely excited about the television debut of Mahela Jayawardene, a World T20-winning player and a legend of the game. If we are to make only one promise, it will be this: our analysts will be calling it as they see it.”

ESPN India and South Asia vice president Ramesh Kumar said, “In our endeavor to serve our cricket fans anytime, anywhere, ESPNcricinfo Match Day program during World T20 brings the best of ESPNcricinfo insights and analysis for every match on ESPNcricinfo digital media platforms globally. In India fans can also experience the program on Sony ESPN. The program is a perfect example of the multi-platform way that we are growing ESPNcricinfo, and highlights the value that is being unlocked for fans by our recent Sony ESPN agreement.”

Following ‘Match Day’ fans can discover the sights and sounds of India with Melinda Farell with ‘ESPNcricinfo On The Road’ as she travels across the country on a cricketing pilgrimage.

A travel and features video series, ‘ESPNcricinfo On The Road’ provides fans a window to the World T20 tournament through multi-media content, social media integration and user generated content. The ESPNcricinfo On The Road microsite (link) will deliver of a mix of daily and weekly content that will be amplified on social media platforms including Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Vine, Instagram and YouTube. Not just that, the series will include a call to action for user- generated content through #ontheroad and #fandugout.

‘Polite enquiries’ is an interactive platform for fans, with cricket writer Jarrod Kimber and an ESPNcricinfo staff answer fan questions on Twitter. Through five episodes of light-hearted conversation, fans can send in any subject or question about cricket they may want answered.
‘Two men out’ will offer a quirky, yet incisive, take on recent events in the game by Kimber and popular British comedian Andy Zaltzman. The five-episode series will add a dash of humor to the TSexperience, thus augmenting fan engagement.

March 16, 2016
ESPNcricinfo introduces four digital video series for World T20

NEW DELHI: ESPNcricinfo is adding on to the cricket fever this World T20 with four exceptional flagship digital video series to bring the game closer to Indian fans. Providing comprehensive coverage of the global sporting event, ESPNcricinfo has introduced ‘Match Day’, ‘On the Road’, ‘Polite Enquiries’, and ‘Two Men Out’. The video series will set rolling on the website from 15 March and continue all through the World T20.
Aired on ESPNcricinfo, Sony ESPN, Sony ESPNHD and the ESPNcricinfo mobile application, ‘Match Day’ will feature some of the most respected voices in cricket such as Ian Chappell and Mahela Jayawardene presenting match analysis with a unique perspective on the action. The presenters scheduled to be regulars in this series are legends and are popular for calling the game as they see it. The programme will be backed by insights into the successes, failures and key moments of the tournament.

Speaking about ESPNcricinfo’s continuing focus to develop and deliver novel content for enhanced fan experiences across digital and television, ESPNcricinfo India and South Asia editor-in-chief Sambit Bal said, “ESPNcricinfo ‘Match Day’ brings to television all the values of the world’s premier digital cricket destination: credible voices, strong opinions, sharp insights, savvy with numbers, and the strengths of a global network. Ian Chappell, Ajit Agarkar and Sanjay Manjrekar are familiar names on ESPNcricinfo, and we are hugely excited about the television debut of Mahela Jayawardene, a World T20-winning player and a legend of the game. If we are to make only one promise, it will be this: our analysts will be calling it as they see it.”

ESPN India and South Asia vice president Ramesh Kumar said, “In our endeavor to serve our cricket fans anytime, anywhere, ESPNcricinfo Match Day program during World T20 brings the best of ESPNcricinfo insights and analysis for every match on ESPNcricinfo digital media platforms globally. In India fans can also experience the program on Sony ESPN. The program is a perfect example of the multi-platform way that we are growing ESPNcricinfo, and highlights the value that is being unlocked for fans by our recent Sony ESPN agreement.”

Following ‘Match Day’ fans can discover the sights and sounds of India with Melinda Farell with ‘ESPNcricinfo On The Road’ as she travels across the country on a cricketing pilgrimage.

A travel and features video series, ‘ESPNcricinfo On The Road’ provides fans a window to the World T20 tournament through multi-media content, social media integration and user generated content. The ESPNcricinfo On The Road microsite (link) will deliver of a mix of daily and weekly content that will be amplified on social media platforms including Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Vine, Instagram and YouTube. Not just that, the series will include a call to action for user- generated content through #ontheroad and #fandugout.

‘Polite enquiries’ is an interactive platform for fans, with cricket writer Jarrod Kimber and an ESPNcricinfo staff answer fan questions on Twitter. Through five episodes of light-hearted conversation, fans can send in any subject or question about cricket they may want answered.
‘Two men out’ will offer a quirky, yet incisive, take on recent events in the game by Kimber and popular British comedian Andy Zaltzman. The five-episode series will add a dash of humor to the TSexperience, thus augmenting fan engagement.

March 16, 2016
Nearbuy associates with KFC to give out discount offers on food

MUMBAI: Nearbuy, an ecommerce venture has partnered with KFC. This strategic association will help customers find the nearest KFC outlet through Neaarbuy’s location based application and consumers can even avail discounts on KFC’s combos containing signature items such as Zinger Burger, Hot n Crispy Chicken, Cheese Crunch Burger, Rice Bowlz and more.

With this new partnership Nearbuy expects to drive half a million customers over a period of one year to its website; customers who will purchase these vouchers and avail them at the various KFC outlets. This mutually benefiting partnership will not only offer an opportunity to the local commerce player to tap onto the growing base of young food lovers but also benefit KFC’s overall online market penetration and drive their sales growth.

KFC India CMO Luis Ruiz Ribot csaid, “We welcome this partnership with Nearbuy. This is part of our strategy to provide greater accessibility to our Finger Lickin’ good food for our ever-increasing online customer-base.”

Commenting on the unique partnership, Nearbuy CEO and co-founder Ankur Warikoo said, “We are thrilled to extend our association with the leading QSR brand of India – KFC. Our collaboration is a testimony to the common values we share as a brand, and wish to offer the best to our customers. We are happy to share that 11000 consumers have already grabbed this exciting deal. We hope that this association benefits both players, and we continue to offer exciting benefits to our respective customers.”

March 14, 2016
Nearbuy associates with KFC to give out discount offers on food

MUMBAI: Nearbuy, an ecommerce venture has partnered with KFC. This strategic association will help customers find the nearest KFC outlet through Neaarbuy’s location based application and consumers can even avail discounts on KFC’s combos containing signature items such as Zinger Burger, Hot n Crispy Chicken, Cheese Crunch Burger, Rice Bowlz and more.

With this new partnership Nearbuy expects to drive half a million customers over a period of one year to its website; customers who will purchase these vouchers and avail them at the various KFC outlets. This mutually benefiting partnership will not only offer an opportunity to the local commerce player to tap onto the growing base of young food lovers but also benefit KFC’s overall online market penetration and drive their sales growth.

KFC India CMO Luis Ruiz Ribot csaid, “We welcome this partnership with Nearbuy. This is part of our strategy to provide greater accessibility to our Finger Lickin’ good food for our ever-increasing online customer-base.”

Commenting on the unique partnership, Nearbuy CEO and co-founder Ankur Warikoo said, “We are thrilled to extend our association with the leading QSR brand of India – KFC. Our collaboration is a testimony to the common values we share as a brand, and wish to offer the best to our customers. We are happy to share that 11000 consumers have already grabbed this exciting deal. We hope that this association benefits both players, and we continue to offer exciting benefits to our respective customers.”

March 14, 2016
Viacom18 Digital Ventures ties-up with technical partners for VOOT

MUMBAI: Viacom18 Digital Ventures has announced the line-up of technical partners for its upcoming digital Video On Demand (VOD) platform VOOT. To build and roll out its Over-the-top (OTT) streaming service, Viacom18 has roped in partners with an extensive international experience.

Kaltura, one of the global majors in OTT and video streaming services, is on-board as the platform provider and will build several customized features for the OTT platform which will be totally unique and relevant for the Indian market.

For the user experience and user interface design, Viacom18 has roped in US based A Different Engine (ADE), a company which has extensive experience and specialization in building UX/UI for large multi-platform video streaming services.

While Web Dunia is on board for web services and website development, the company is also playing the critical role of a system integrator.

The mobile applications are being developed by one of India’s leading developers Robosoft Technologies.

Speaking on the partnerships, Viacom18 Digital Ventures COO Gaurav Gandhi said, “In this business, product and technology play a pivotal role. While we work towards bringing popular and engaging content in this space for our viewers, we were equally focused on working with the best technology and design partners to build a world-class, differentiated product with superlative user experience.”

VOOT, an ad-supported VOD service, will aim to cater to the constant content consumption cravings of the always-on digital generation. The platform will also have a big focus on originals content created only for the service.

March 14, 2016
Viacom18 Digital Ventures ties-up with technical partners for VOOT

MUMBAI: Viacom18 Digital Ventures has announced the line-up of technical partners for its upcoming digital Video On Demand (VOD) platform VOOT. To build and roll out its Over-the-top (OTT) streaming service, Viacom18 has roped in partners with an extensive international experience.

Kaltura, one of the global majors in OTT and video streaming services, is on-board as the platform provider and will build several customized features for the OTT platform which will be totally unique and relevant for the Indian market.

For the user experience and user interface design, Viacom18 has roped in US based A Different Engine (ADE), a company which has extensive experience and specialization in building UX/UI for large multi-platform video streaming services.

While Web Dunia is on board for web services and website development, the company is also playing the critical role of a system integrator.

The mobile applications are being developed by one of India’s leading developers Robosoft Technologies.

Speaking on the partnerships, Viacom18 Digital Ventures COO Gaurav Gandhi said, “In this business, product and technology play a pivotal role. While we work towards bringing popular and engaging content in this space for our viewers, we were equally focused on working with the best technology and design partners to build a world-class, differentiated product with superlative user experience.”

VOOT, an ad-supported VOD service, will aim to cater to the constant content consumption cravings of the always-on digital generation. The platform will also have a big focus on originals content created only for the service.

March 14, 2016
UpGrad partners with LetsVenture to educate Angel investors for India

MUMBAI: Online education platform UpGrad led by Ronnie Screwvala and Mayank Kumar and LetsVenture have designed a four to six weeks Angel Investment Programme of a mixture of interactive content and lectures from the world’s leading Angel Investors as well as high-end offline meet-ups for networking opportunities.

The aim is to give individuals hoping to become investors an unmatched access to the startup ecosystem of the country.

Due to the significant growth of investment opportunities in the Indian Startup ecosystem, LetsVenture expects more than 4,000 new Angel Investors to join their investment network over the next year. The joint online programme between UpGrad and LetsVenture aims to reach over 2,500 individuals over the next two years.

“Our programme is designed to satisfy the increasing demands of individuals to be educated in the area of Angel Investing, driven by the strong growth in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India and great developments in the funding landscape. LetsVenture has had huge impact on the positive development in the country and we are extremely excited to partner up with them to educate the next set of investors”, said UpGrad co founder Ronnie Screwvala.

“Ever since we started LetsVenture, we have seen a significant demand of new Angel Investors to get trained and educated in some of the key areas of Angel Investing. We have done smaller training workshops throughout the years, but we want to make this available to the many more individuals who want to step into this exciting field of investments. We want to make angel investing more accessible to investors living outside of Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. That is why we have partnered with UpGrad to create a first-class programme for the next generation of Angel Investors”, said LetsVenture Co founder and CEO Shanti Mohan.

“There is keen and strongly growing interest in investing in early stage start-ups. UpGrad & LetsVenture are strongly aligned in their vision to further strengthen and nurture India’s most promising ecosystem of startups and investors and build a global hub of thought-leadership in the area”, said UpGrad Co-founder and MD Mayank Kumar.

The programme slated to commence in the second quarter of 2016 in India will also be launched in select international markets to give international investors access to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India and in the respective country.

March 12, 2016
UpGrad partners with LetsVenture to educate Angel investors for India

MUMBAI: Online education platform UpGrad led by Ronnie Screwvala and Mayank Kumar and LetsVenture have designed a four to six weeks Angel Investment Programme of a mixture of interactive content and lectures from the world’s leading Angel Investors as well as high-end offline meet-ups for networking opportunities.

The aim is to give individuals hoping to become investors an unmatched access to the startup ecosystem of the country.

Due to the significant growth of investment opportunities in the Indian Startup ecosystem, LetsVenture expects more than 4,000 new Angel Investors to join their investment network over the next year. The joint online programme between UpGrad and LetsVenture aims to reach over 2,500 individuals over the next two years.

“Our programme is designed to satisfy the increasing demands of individuals to be educated in the area of Angel Investing, driven by the strong growth in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India and great developments in the funding landscape. LetsVenture has had huge impact on the positive development in the country and we are extremely excited to partner up with them to educate the next set of investors”, said UpGrad co founder Ronnie Screwvala.

“Ever since we started LetsVenture, we have seen a significant demand of new Angel Investors to get trained and educated in some of the key areas of Angel Investing. We have done smaller training workshops throughout the years, but we want to make this available to the many more individuals who want to step into this exciting field of investments. We want to make angel investing more accessible to investors living outside of Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. That is why we have partnered with UpGrad to create a first-class programme for the next generation of Angel Investors”, said LetsVenture Co founder and CEO Shanti Mohan.

“There is keen and strongly growing interest in investing in early stage start-ups. UpGrad & LetsVenture are strongly aligned in their vision to further strengthen and nurture India’s most promising ecosystem of startups and investors and build a global hub of thought-leadership in the area”, said UpGrad Co-founder and MD Mayank Kumar.

The programme slated to commence in the second quarter of 2016 in India will also be launched in select international markets to give international investors access to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India and in the respective country.

March 12, 2016
DataWind Leads Tablet Sales in India, with 20.7% Market Share in Q4 2015

NEW DELHI: DataWind Inc has shipped more tablets in India during the fourth quarter of 2015 than any of its competitors, according to a recent IDC report.

DataWind was responsible for 20.7% of the tablets sold in India during the quarter, followed by Samsung at 15.8%, Micromax at 15.5%, Lenovo at 13.8%, and iBall at 10.0%.DataWind tablet sales have far exceeded the growth rate of the overall market in India, which according to IDC was 8.2% in 2015.

According to another recent study, DataWind holds 58% market share in the sub-Rs 5,000 tablet segment (approximately $75) which is the largest growing segment of the overall market, having nearly doubled since 2014.

DataWind is the only tablet provider in India focused on providing affordable tablets and Internet access. All DataWind tablets and smartphones come bundled with one year of unlimited Internet access, and feature the most affordable ongoing plans available on the market due tothe company’s unique, patented technology that reduces up to 97% the amount of data needed for web browsing.

Datawind President and CEO Suneet Singh Tuli said: “This IDC report reveals that more Indians prefer our tablets than any of our competitors. It also demonstrates how our transition to local manufacturing and improvements in our sales channelshas allowed us to meet the phenomenal demand.”

“Despite these strong numbers, there remains a very large portion of the population in India, like in other developing countries, where hundreds of millions of people are unable to access the Internet due to affordability issues and the lack of network infrastructure. We believe our low-cost tablets and unique mobile Internet connectivity is the only solution on the market that overcomes these obstacles and can bring Internet access to millions of people around the world,” he added.

March 12, 2016
DataWind Leads Tablet Sales in India, with 20.7% Market Share in Q4 2015

NEW DELHI: DataWind Inc has shipped more tablets in India during the fourth quarter of 2015 than any of its competitors, according to a recent IDC report.

DataWind was responsible for 20.7% of the tablets sold in India during the quarter, followed by Samsung at 15.8%, Micromax at 15.5%, Lenovo at 13.8%, and iBall at 10.0%.DataWind tablet sales have far exceeded the growth rate of the overall market in India, which according to IDC was 8.2% in 2015.

According to another recent study, DataWind holds 58% market share in the sub-Rs 5,000 tablet segment (approximately $75) which is the largest growing segment of the overall market, having nearly doubled since 2014.

DataWind is the only tablet provider in India focused on providing affordable tablets and Internet access. All DataWind tablets and smartphones come bundled with one year of unlimited Internet access, and feature the most affordable ongoing plans available on the market due tothe company’s unique, patented technology that reduces up to 97% the amount of data needed for web browsing.

Datawind President and CEO Suneet Singh Tuli said: “This IDC report reveals that more Indians prefer our tablets than any of our competitors. It also demonstrates how our transition to local manufacturing and improvements in our sales channelshas allowed us to meet the phenomenal demand.”

“Despite these strong numbers, there remains a very large portion of the population in India, like in other developing countries, where hundreds of millions of people are unable to access the Internet due to affordability issues and the lack of network infrastructure. We believe our low-cost tablets and unique mobile Internet connectivity is the only solution on the market that overcomes these obstacles and can bring Internet access to millions of people around the world,” he added.

March 12, 2016