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Category: Sports

  • India vs New Zealand opening T20 match garners 73 million reach

    India vs New Zealand opening T20 match garners 73 million reach

    Mumbai: The opening match between India and New Zealand, in the T20 international series that began on 17 November, garnered a reach of 73 million (2+U+R) becoming the most-watched T20 opening match in the last three years.

    The match is part of New Zealand’s tour of India that is being broadcast on the Star Sports network. As part of the series, India will play three T20 internationals and two Test matches against New Zealand.

    According to data by Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) India, the match garnered 15 per cent higher absolute reach than the previous high set by the opening match of India versus West Indies T20 international held in 2019.

    The India vs New Zealand opening match reach, in percentage, stood at 13.1 per cent which was 11 per cent higher compared to the previous high of the Ind v WI opening match. The match also garnered a 4.9 million average minute audience (AMA) which was 16 per cent higher compared to the Ind v WI opening match.

    In comparison, the opening match of India vs England T20 international this year garnered a reach of 50 million, 3.4 million AMA, and a share of reach at 10.5 per cent.

  • Sony Sports ropes in five sponsors for ‘The Ashes 2021’

    Sony Sports ropes in five sponsors for ‘The Ashes 2021’

    Mumbai: Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) is set to telecast ‘The Ashes 2021’ live from 8 December. The broadcaster has roped in BYJU’s, Policy Bazaar, Siggnature Elaichi, Bosch Appliances, Dafa News as sponsors.

    The series will be aired on Sony Six (English), Sony Ten 3 (Hindi), and Sony Ten 4 (Tamil and Telugu) channels and livestreamed on its on-demand OTT platform, SonyLIV.

    “The Ashes is the platinum standard of Test cricket and has raised the bar of Test cricket over the years. Sony Sports channels will broadcast the series in four languages for the first time, English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, so that cricket enthusiasts all over the country can enjoy the matches in their language of choice,” said Sony Pictures Networks India chief revenue officer of distribution and head sports business Rajesh Kaul. “With a galaxy of superstars on both test teams, the much-anticipated series promises to be a tight-knit contest and has garnered a brilliant response from the advertisers as well.”

    The Hindi commentary panel will feature prominent names like Vivek Razdan, Saba Karim, Atish Thukral, Raman Bhanot, Snehal Pradhan, and Reetinder Singh Sodhi. The Tamil commentary panel will have former cricketers and legends Laxman Sivaramakrishnan and Woorkeri Raman along with Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, T Arasu, S Seshadri, Arun Venugopal, Aarti Sankaran, and Sunil Viswanthan in presence while the Telugu commentary panel will feature Keerthi Viswanadha, Prem Sagar, Vijay Mahavadi, Sudheer Mahavadi, RJ Hemant, Venkatapathy Raju, C Venkatesh, Vijay Mahavadi and Sandeep Kumar.

    The first test match will start on 8 December at 5.30 a.m (IST) at The Gabba, Brisbane. The next test match will be held at Adelaide Oval starting at 9:30 a.m (IST) followed by the third test match on 26 December at the Melbourne Cricket Ground starting at 5 a.m (IST). The fourth test match will be played at Sydney Cricket Ground starting on 5 January 2022 at 5 a.m (IST) followed by the last test match on 14 January at Perth Stadium starting at 8 a.m (IST).

  • ICC Men’s T20 World Cup ’21 garners reach of 167 million on TV

    ICC Men’s T20 World Cup ’21 garners reach of 167 million on TV

    Mumbai: The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 garnered a reach of 167 million on TV. The event staged in the UAE and Oman, broke viewership records in several regions, including India, as per data shared by the cricket governing body.

    There was nearly 10,000 hours of live coverage of the tournament offered across TV and digital platforms in 200 countries. This edition of the tournament saw increased viewership and consumption in India, Pakistan, the UK, Australia, and the strategic market of the USA.

    The India-Pakistan clash saw consumption of 15.9 million minutes in India on the Star TV Network and became the most viewed T20I match in history, exceeding the previous high of the India-West Indies semi-final match from the 2016 edition of the ICC event held in India.

    The overall TV consumption for the full tournament in India was recorded at 112 billion minutes, despite India’s early exit from the tournament. Viewership share amidst younger audiences in India (children below the age of 15) was at a healthy 18.5 per cent.

    Digital consumption for the tournament saw an explosive growth on Disney+ Hotstar in India, adding significantly to the overall television viewership in the market, noted ICC.

    In the UK, viewership for the India v Pakistan match grew by 60 per cent on Sky UK whereas the overall viewership for the market went up by 7 per cent. In Pakistan, the event was being broadcast by three players for the first time namely PTV, ARY and Ten Sports, which led to further growth in viewership by 7.3 per cent compared to the 2016 edition of the event.

    In Australia, the viewership increased by 175 per cent on the Fox Network. In the USA, which the ICC recently named as one of the focus markets for the sport, the tournament was the most viewed cricket tournament ever on ESPN+.

    ICC’s partnership with Facebook was a driver for the significant increase in video views, with a total of 4.3 billion views across all channels for the tournament, compared to 3.6 billion views which were garnered for the 2019 edition of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

    The consumption across ICC’s digital assets also grew, recording a total of 2.55 billion minutes. ICC’s social media channels also saw significant growth in engagement at 618 million across those platforms, which is a 28 per cent jump since the 2019 edition of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

    “We are pleased with these outstanding global viewership numbers, that demonstrate the power of T20I cricket to attract a huge audience across the globe on linear and digital platforms,” said ICC chief executive officer Geoff Allardice. “It reinforces our belief that there is a significant opportunity and appetite to grow the game in our strategic growth markets including the USA.”

  • Sony Sports to telecast Lanka Premier League starting Dec 5

    Sony Sports to telecast Lanka Premier League starting Dec 5

    Mumbai: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) has returned as a broadcast partner for the second edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL). The broadcast network has signed an agreement with the official franchise and broadcast holder of LPL – the IPG Group. 

    The agreement between Sony Pictures Networks India and the IPG Group includes the television and digital transmission of the LPL, which is set to be played between 5 December and 23 December.

    All Lanka Premier League matches will be telecasted live between Sony Six and Sony Ten channels and livestreamed on its on-demand OTT platform, SonyLIV.

    ‘The appetite for cricket in India is huge and our aim is to bring the best of international cricketing action to our fans in India. With the onboarding of the Lanka Premier League, we want to provide our viewers with some high-energy T20 cricket throughout December,” said SPNI chief revenue officer of distribution and head of sports business Rajesh Kaul.

    The LPL will witness a host of cricketing stars such as West Indies legend Chris Gayle, former India fast bowler Irfan Pathan, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, and former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis in action. The competition will also see Sri Lanka T20 stars such as Charith Asalanka and Wanindu Hasaranga showing their mettle. Asalanka scored 231 runs in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, while Hasaranga picked up 16 wickets in the tournament.

    “We are ecstatic to welcome Sony Pictures Network as a broadcast partner to the Lanka Premier League once again,” said Dubai-based production giant IPG founder and chief executive officer Anil Mohan. “We are confident that Sony will achieve an even higher reach in terms of the audience in the upcoming season and we look forward to a long and fruitful association.”

  • Star Sports ropes in nine sponsors for IND vs NZ series

    Star Sports ropes in nine sponsors for IND vs NZ series

    Mumbai: Sports broadcaster Star Sports has roped in nine sponsors for PayTM India vs New Zealand 2021 series that will begin on 17 November. As part of the series, both teams will play three T20s and two test matches.

    The broadcaster has signed BYJU’s, Dream11, Maruti Suzuki, Kamala Pasand, and Dhani as “co-presenting” sponsors, and Aakash (BYJU’s), MakeMyTrip, WhiteHat Jr, and Great Learning as “associate” sponsors.

    The sponsors were revealed after the network kicked off its #Believeinblue campaign. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad line-up for the series. The Indian cricket team will be sending Ajinkya Rahane (captain), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Md Siraj and Prasidh Krishna to play against New Zealand in Jaipur. Virat Kohli will join the squad for the second test match and will lead the team.

  • Ind-Pak match on 24 Oct garners 167 million reach on TV

    Ind-Pak match on 24 Oct garners 167 million reach on TV

    Mumbai: The India-Pakistan match on 24 October garnered a reach of 167 million* on TV and has become the most viewed T20I match, exceeding the previous record – India-West Indies 2016 ICC World T20I semi-finals.

    The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 has delivered a cumulative reach of 238 million* for the broadcaster Star India network (qualifiers + first 12 games of Super 12 stage). The overall consumption reached 47 billion minutes.

    “The India-Pakistan match has created history by clocking a record reach of 167 million viewers, making it the most viewed T20I match till date,” said a spokesperson from Star India. “We have continually strived to grow the audience base for marquee cricket and this record is a testament to our efforts across high-decibel campaigns, enhanced storytelling, dedicated regional programming, and consumer innovations. There’s no doubt that the result of the match and India’s exit from the tournament disappointed fans but the record viewership displays the unique power of cricket to engage audiences at an unprecedented scale.”

    (* Source: BARC. Fig. at 2+U+R, Live match only, on Star network)

  • Eurosport India acquires Hero Futsal Club Championship broadcasting rights

    Eurosport India acquires Hero Futsal Club Championship broadcasting rights

    Mumbai: Eurosport India has bagged the broadcasting rights for the inaugural season of the Hero Futsal Club Championship 2021-22. The tournament will take place in Delhi between 5 and 13 November at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.

    The Hero Futsal Club Championship is a national level Futsal tournament in India. The 2021-22 Tournament to be played in a round-robin format will feature a total of 16 teams, divided into four groups. The highest-placed team from each group will make it to the semi-final to be played in a knockout format amongst the four teams on 12 November. Winners will be decided on 13 November during the grand finale.

    This will be Eurosport India’s third association with AIFF this year, after the FIFA friendly matches of India against Oman and UAE and the SAFF Championship 2021. 

    “It’s great to have Eurosport as our broadcast partners for the inaugural edition of the Hero Futsal Club Championship 2021-22. We have already been part of a fruitful partnership with EuroSport previously, and hope that this collaboration will continue going forward as well,” said AIFF Leagues CEO Sunando Dhar.

    Discovery Inc senior vice president – affiliate sales and product distribution Asia – India sales and distribution and Eurosport India head Vijay Rajput added, “We continued our partnership with AIFF by acquiring broadcast rights for the inaugural edition of the Hero Futsal Club Championship 2021-22. It is one of the fastest growing sports around the world and we are glad to play a pivotal role in this initiative by AIFF to bring Futsal to the Indian fans.”

  • ABP is digital media partner of Professional Golf Tour of India

    ABP is digital media partner of Professional Golf Tour of India

    Mumbai: ABP Network has announced its collaboration with Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) as the digital media partner for its golf tournaments to be held in 2021. With this move, ABP claims to have become the first Hindi news network to cover a golf tour in the country and broadcast it live on its digital platform – ABP Live and other social media platforms.   

    The partnership was launched in October with the coverage of the first leg of the 5 City, Tata Steel PGTI, MP Cup 2021 held in Delhi. Inaugurating the event, MOS for external affairs and culture Meenakshi Lekhi said, “Golf is perceived to be a sport of the elite, but it is played by people from all sections of society. It also provides economic support for many. It is great that ABP is streaming the tournament live and popularising the sport with the masses.” She presented the award and a cash prize of Rs 11, 31,550 to Viraj Madappa – winner of the Delhi leg.

    Live broadcast of the next leg of the tour that was held in Jaipur garnered more than two million views on ABP Live during the four-day coverage. The remaining three legs of the tournament to be held in Chandigarh (13 and 14 November), Kolkata (27 and 28 November) and Jamshedpur (18 and 19 December) will witness over 300 professional golf players, including Olympians and past winners for a chance to lift the Rs 1.5 crore title. 

    Commenting on the partnership with PGTI, ABP Network CEO Avinash Pandey remarked, “While Golf is rising as a sport in India, we at ABP believe that it should be made accessible to the masses of the country. ABP, with its widespread reach and popularity, strives to make this possible.”

    “Over the last few years, we have been aggressively looking towards ramping up our offerings in the sports segment like Kabbadi and Olympics, while not remaining restricted to cricket. This initiative of broadcasting golf is in line with the larger goal. It’s a prestigious moment for the network to associate with PGTI and facilitate a pan-Indian viewership for the tournament,” he added.

    PGTI is the internationally recognised controlling body for professional golf in India which is included in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system. 

  • Sony Sports to broadcast World Boxing Championships ’21 in India

    Sony Sports to broadcast World Boxing Championships ’21 in India

    Mumbai: Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) has reached an agreement with Protocol Sports Marketing to broadcast the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) 2021 World Boxing Championships in India and the Indian sub-continent.

    The 2021 AIBA World Boxing Championships are being held in Belgrade, Serbia from 25 October to 6 November. The matches will be telecasted live across Sony Six channels and livestreamed on SonyLIV.

    This tournament will see India with their largest contingent at the tournament to date, with 13 boxers competing in all 13 weight classes. The 13-member Indian contingent at Belgrade for the tournament will feature top boxers like Asian medal-winners Deepak Kumar (51 kg), Shiva Thapa (63.5 kg), and Sanjeet (92 kg). 

    The remaining ten in the squad are newly crowned national champions, eager to make a mark on the international stage and make the country proud in the boxing arena. These boxers are accompanied by the experienced coaching staff, which includes high-performance director Santiago Nieva and newly appointed head coach Narender Rana with former Commonwealth Games silver-medalist L Devendro Singh.

    The AIBA World Championship brings together the best boxers from around the world to compete in a tournament steeped with history and prestige. The 2021 edition will feature current Olympic medalists and AIBA world champions like Arlen Lopez, Julio La Cruz as well as Lazaro Alvarez.

  • Ed-tech category leads ad volumes during IPL 14: TAM data

    Ed-tech category leads ad volumes during IPL 14: TAM data

    Mumbai: The ad volumes during 51 matches of IPL 14 grew by six per cent compared to IPL 13, according to TAM Media Research data. Ed-tech emerged as the top advertising category for this year’s edition, the data revealed.

    The TAM data looked at ad volumes across 24 Star network channels for IPL 14 and 21 channels for IPL 13. Only data for live matches was counted, pre-mid-post programming ads were excluded.

    The tally of advertisers grew by 10 per cent while brand count decreased by two per cent versus the previous season. Parent companies of the brands Dream11 and PhonePe were among the top five advertisers for both seasons of the tournament. The top five advertisers contributed up to 20 per cent share of ad volumes.

    This year ed-tech was the top category advertiser during the tournament with 10 per cent share of ad volumes. Last year, the mobile handset category was the leader in terms of ad volumes with the same share. Gaming (nine per cent), digital wallets (seven per cent), pan masala (five per cent) and aerated soft drinks (five per cent) were the other top advertising categories.

    The top advertisers for the season include Sporta Technologies (Dream11) (six per cent), Think and Learn (four per cent), FX Mart (PhonePe) (four per cent), EPX Uptech (Upstox) (three per cent), KP Pan Foods (three per cent). The top five brands were Dream11, PhonePe, Upstox, JDmart, and Cred and combined contributed up to 18 per cent of ad volumes.

    There were 30 new advertising categories visible during IPL 14 compared to the previous season. The top five new categories were securities/share broking, fans, hair dyes, pipes/PVC fittings, and hospitals/clinics. This year two-wheelers, wires and cables, banking services and products, washing powders/liquids, and namkeen categories did not advertise during the tournament.