ITV

Category: Sports

  • CVC Capital Partners, RPSG Group win bids to own two new IPL teams

    CVC Capital Partners, RPSG Group win bids to own two new IPL teams

    Mumbai : Kolkata-based business tycoon Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG Group has won the bid for Lucknow franchise for a whopping Rs 7090 crore while international equity investment firm CVC Capital won the bid for Ahmedabad with a Rs 5600 crore offer, as the much-awaited IPL bidding took place in Dubai on Monday.

    The T20 cricketing extravaganza will now witness ten teams competing for the coveted trophy when the league enters its 15th season next year. The two new teams will be from Lucknow and Ahmedabad.

    The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) earned a whooping Rs 12,690 crore from the two new franchises. “We’re extremely happy that Indian cricket is growing forward. That is what is important for us. We look at Indian cricket and that’s what our job is. The more Indian cricket prosperous, the better it is,” BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said.

    Goenka Group has been in the IPL for two years in 2016 and 2017 when he owned the Rising Pune Supergiants.

    “Yes, RPSG had the highest bid while CVC had the second-highest bid at Rs 5600 crore. The BCCI stand to earn around $ 1. 70 billion from the deal,” reported PTI citing a senior BCCI source.

    The Governing Council of the IPL had issued the ‘Invitation to Tender’ (“ITT”) document available on payment of the non-refundable tender fees on 31 August. But BCCI had later decided to extend the date for purchasing the ITT document till 10 October.

    As many as 22 companies had picked up tender documents worth Rs 10 lakh when the BCCI opened the process this year. But with base price for new teams pegged at Rs 2000 crore, only five to six serious bidders entered the fray.

  • Sony Sports channels to broadcast ‘WWE Crown Jewel’ on 21 October

    Sony Sports channels to broadcast ‘WWE Crown Jewel’ on 21 October

    Mumbai: Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) will telecast the return of ‘WWE Crown Jewel,’ the final event before the changes of the WWE draft goes into effect for both ‘Raw’ and ‘SmackDown.’ The mega-event will take place in Saudi Arabia on 21 October and the live studio show will be broadcasted at 8:30 p.m IST and the main event will begin at 9:30 p.m IST, shared the channel. 

    “The event will be broadcasted live on Sony Ten 1 channels in English, Sony Ten 3 channels in Hindi and Sony Ten 4 channels in Tamil and Telugu as well as livestreamed on OTT platform SonyLIV. The main event will be preceded by a live studio show “Extraaa Dhamaal” which will feature WWE Legend and hall of fame, Booker T, who will interact with fans and answer their questions on ‘WWE Crown Jewel,’ live on the show,” said the statement.

    The third installment of the WWE pay-per-view (PPV) event will see the return of WWE superstar, Brock Lesnar after he challenged Roman Reigns at the end of ‘SummerSlam 2021.’ Both superstars will be seen in the title match of ‘WWE Crown Jewel 2021’ with Roman Reigns defending his universal championship title.

    The event also provides for an interesting match card with another championship match where SmackDown women’s champion Becky Lynch will engage in a triple threat bout with Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks. The Scottish warrior, Drew McIntyre will also seek to reclaim his lost WWE title against the current title-holder, Big E, who will defend his title for the first time at a major PPV event, making it an explosive showdown. Goldberg and Bobby Lashley will also be seen in a no-holds-barred match. Viewers will also witness yet another Raw tag team match between SmackDown winners RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) and former winners AJ Styles and Omos at the event.

    Apart from the above matches, the event will also feature an iconic hell-in-a-cell match between long-standing rivals, Edge and Seth Rollins. ‘WWE Crown Jewel 2021’ will also host the finals of the ‘King of the Ring’ tournament as well as the ‘Queen’s Crown Tournament,’ making it symbolically apt to crown the new king and the queen at the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

  • Inox to screen ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup matches live

    Inox to screen ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup matches live

    Mumbai: Inox Leisure Ltd, has announced that it will be screening LIVE matches of the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2021 at its multiplexes in all major cities across the country.

    The 7th edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup hosted by BCCI in UAE and Oman is beginning on 17 October. The Final is scheduled on 14 November 2021.

    Depending on the market, the multiplex chain will have differential pricing for tickets ranging from Rs. 200 in tier-3 cities to Rs. 500 in metros.

    The multiplex brand is expecting to draw cricket fans in large numbers by offering them an exceptional stadium-like experience of their favourite sport. Inox will showcase all league matches to be played by Team India, along with marquee league matches, the Semi-Finals and the Final.

  • Star Sports ropes in 18 sponsors for Ind-Pak match on 24 Oct

    Star Sports ropes in 18 sponsors for Ind-Pak match on 24 Oct

    Mumbai: Star India has unveiled the sponsors for the ICC T20 World Cup India vs Pakistan match to be held on 24 October starting at 7:30 p.m. The broadcast sponsors include ‘co-presenting’ partner Dream11, BYJU’s, PhonePe, Thums Up, Vimal Paan Masala, Havells, JioMart, Netmeds.com and ‘associate’ partner Aakash (BYJU’s), Skoda, White Hat Jr, Great Learning, Royal Stag, CoinDCX, Trends, Cred, Upstox, and Cadbury Dairy Milk.

    The match will be broadcasted on Star Sports channels and Star Gold as well as streamed on Disney+ Hotstar. Star Sports has launched a hilarious ad campaign ‘Buy 1 Break 1 Free Offer’ that has gone live on the broadcasters’ YouTube channels. The film has been conceptualised by Star Sports in-house team and continues with the concept of the Indian and Pakistani fans trying to get the better of each other.

    The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup held in 2019 saw 273 million unique viewers tuning into linear TV to watch the India vs Pakistan match. Additionally, 50 million digital-only viewers saw the match on streaming platforms. The game became the most-watched match in World Cup history, according to ICC.

    “The India-Pakistan clash is one of the biggest matchups in the world of sports,” said Star and Disney India head of sports Sanjog Gupta. “The clash at an ICC event attracts core and casual Cricket fans as well as viewers who don’t watch any other Cricket. The historic on-field rivalry between both teams is unparalleled and we believe that the iconic ‘Mauka Mauka’ campaign captures the spirit of this rivalry, blending competitiveness, banter, and sportsmanship.”

    India and Pakistan renew their on-field rivalry. The ‘Men in Blue’ have never lost to Pakistan in either 50-over World Cup games or T20 World Cup games.  Team India has gotten the better of team Pakistan in five consecutive ICC T20 World Cup encounters – twice in the 2007 T20 World Cup, followed by victories in 2012, 2014, and 2016. 

    The group stage of the T20 World Cup begins on 17 October.

  • Star Sports to air #SelectDugoutDebate on IPL 2021 finale

    Star Sports to air #SelectDugoutDebate on IPL 2021 finale

    Mumbai: Star Sports brings back #SelectDugoutDebate for its fourth edition with new teams and a previous winner and Dugout expert Brett Lee as the adjudicator. The one-hour special will be aired on 14 October, starting at 7 p.m.

    The experts of the game will put their minds together to predict the winner of the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL). The show will be aired on Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2, and Disney+ Hotstar.

    Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) boys Scott Styris, Abhinav Mukund, and S Badrinath form ‘Team Scotty’ who will go up against Dugout panelists Graeme Swann, Brian Lara, and Ajit Agarkar from ‘Team Swanny’ for pride, glory, never-ending banter, and ultimate bragging rights. “I look forward to defending my title. We won last year because we easily proved why Mumbai Indians would beat Delhi Capitals, which they did. Swann is taking over from Brett Lee and hopefully, his team provides a greater challenge,” said Styris.

     

     

    The debate follows a unique T20 format, with four segments: Powerplay, Middle overs, Death Overs, and a Bonus Round: Super Over – each of these modern greats and legends will speak for ‘their finalist team’ to score points. The Dugout experts will present their case on their respective teams and why they believe their team is going to win the IPL. The teams will dive deep into the wealth of analytical data available to them at Star Sports and look to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of both the finalists of Vivo IPL 2021.

    “Once more the #SelectDugoutDebate is here. I yearn for strong opposition but will have to make do with Scott. The dugout debate is bigger than the IPL itself,” said Graeme Swann.

  • Sony Sports to telecast Women’s Big Bash League on 14 Oct

    Sony Sports to telecast Women’s Big Bash League on 14 Oct

    Mumbai: Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) is set to telecast the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) starting on 14 October on Sony Six channels as well as on its OTT platform, SonyLIV.

    The WBBL features eight Indian cricketers including Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Poonam Yadav, and Richa Ghosh who will participate in a premier women’s cricket league.

    WBBL is among the top watched sporting leagues of Australia. The league comprises eight teams including Sydney Sixers, Sydney Thunder, Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, and Perth Scorchers. It features top Australian players along with select international players. Five out of the eight teams of WBBL will feature Indian female cricketers.

    The broadcaster has released the schedule for the first week’s games. The first match will be played between Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Stars starting at 2:10 p.m on 14 October. This will be followed by Melbourne Renegades vs Hobart Hurricanes on 16 October at 10:10 a.m and Sydney Thunder vs Adelaide Strikers at 1:35 p.m. On 17 October, Perth Scorchers will face Brisbane Heat at 4:45 a.m followed by Hobart Hurricanes vs Sydney Sixers at 8:10 a.m. Melbourne Stars will be up against Hobart Hurricanes on 19 October at 7:55 a.m followed by Brisbane Heat vs Perth Scorchers at 11:20 a.m. On 20 October, Melbourne Renegades vs Adelaide Strikers will air at 7:55 a.m and Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Sixers will air at 11:20 a.m.

  • Pro Kabaddi League season eight to start on 22 December

    Pro Kabaddi League season eight to start on 22 December

    Mumbai: Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season eight is set to return on 22 December, announced the organiser Mashal Sports.

    The player auctions for the season were conducted on 29-31 August. Keeping in mind the safety and health of players and stakeholders, this year the league will be held without spectators, at a single venue in Bengaluru, moving away from the traditional caravan format.

    Season eight of Vivo PKL will be broadcasted live on Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar.

    “We are very privileged that Season 8 of the Vivo Pro Kabaddi League will be hosted in Karnataka, especially as this state is a very significant geography for kabaddi and PKL fans in India,” said Vivo Pro Kabaddi League league commissioner and Mashal Sports chief executive officer Anupam Goswami. “Bengaluru has all the facilities for the conduct of big competitive sports events with best safety practices, and we look forward to demonstrating this with PKL Season 8.”

    The league will implement protocols to comply with government regulations and guidelines and will work with specialized safety agencies to implement stringent safety practices and create a bio–secure bubble, a first for any professional indoor contact sports league in India.

    “Kabaddi is a genuine indigenous sport of India and very popular in Karnataka. We welcome and support the conduct of forthcoming Pro Kabaddi Season 8 in our state,” said Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai.

  • Five categories dominated airwaves during Tokyo Paralympic Games

    Five categories dominated airwaves during Tokyo Paralympic Games

    Mumbai: The top five categories contributed up to 95 per cent of ad volumes on TV during Paralympics 2020, according to data by TAM Media Research. Considering the combined ad volumes for Tokyo Olympics and Tokyo Paralympics, the latter contributed only 17 per cent to total ad volumes, the data revealed.

    The top five categories only contributed to 41 per cent share of total TV ad volumes during Tokyo Olympics 2020 showing that Olympics attracts a far greater depth of advertisers.

    TV ad volumes during the telecast of Paralympic Games were dominated by categories such as corporate/brand image, life insurance, corporate-financial institute, aerated soft drink, and e-commerce-media/entertainment/social media. The top three categories combined contributed 86 per cent share of ad volumes.

    The top five brands for the Paralympics include LIC Corporate, LIC New Jeevan Anand, AMFI, Thums Up, and Watcho. The top five brands for the Olympics include JSW Group, MPL Sports Foundation, AMFI, Thums Up, and BYJUs learning app.

    Both the events attracted common categories. Among the top five categories, three including life insurance, aerated drinks, and corporate-financial institute were common categories. Association of Mutual Funds India (AMFI) was the only common brand among the top five brands visible during both events.  

    Ad rolls of 20-40 seconds were most utilised during the Paralympics with 98 per cent share of ad volumes, as per the data.

    (Source: TAM Sports | Figures are based on Secondages for TV; Commercial ads only; excluding promos and social ads | all matches of Paralympic, 2020; only live matches; excluding pre-mid post programs | Channels – Tokyo Paralympic, 2020: two Eurosport channels + DD Sports | Tokyo Olympic, 2020: 10 Sony network channels + DD Sports)

  • Star India garners 380 mn viewers until match 35 for IPL ’21

    Star India garners 380 mn viewers until match 35 for IPL ’21

    Mumbai: Star India Network has reported that it is on track to breach 400 million viewers’ mark on TV, for the fourth year in a row. The tournament so far has garnered 380* million viewers until match 35, 12* million higher than IPL 2020 at the same stage. The TV viewer aggregation is higher than the last three editions of the tournament, since 2018.

    The second phase of IPL 2021 got off to a brisk start with viewer engagement levels also being at a healthy average of 32 per cent** on a per match basis – at par with IPL 2020, according to Star Sports.

    “We are proud to have delivered IPL to over 380 million viewers for the fourth time in a row,” said a spokesperson from Star Sports. “The last two occasions have been special as we navigated unprecedented circumstances and overcame challenges in bringing IPL to fans in the comfort of their homes.”

    Star India has adopted a strategy of regionalisation and customer segmentation, whereby the tournament is presented in eight different languages to cater to viewers in different states and regions and two additional customised match-feeds to cater to specific consumer segments.

    The broadcaster has also created a slate of programming around the tournament including BYJU’s Cricket Live, Cricket Countdown and Game Plan. There are also a roster of franchise shows such as Knight Club (Kolkata Knight Riders), Inside RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore), The Super Kings Show (Chennai Super Kings), MITV (Mumbai Indians) and Ye Hai Nayi Dilli (Delhi Capitals). The consumption of IPL 2021 including Star Sports’ pre-match programming stands at 242 billion minutes.

    (*On 2+U+R basis for TV only figures – first 35 matches; ** On M15+AB Urban for TV only – first 35 matches) [Source: Barc India] 

  • Supreme TV to telecast LPL in Sri Lanka

    Supreme TV to telecast LPL in Sri Lanka

    Mumbai: Sri Lankan TV channel Supreme TV has acquired the exclusive rights to broadcast the Lanka Premier League (LPL) in Sri Lanka, from the IPG Group, the official franchise and broadcast holder. According to a statement, Sony will continue to be the official broadcaster of the league in India.

    The multi-year agreement, positioned as one of the biggest broadcast deals so far in Sri Lanka will help LPL penetrate deep into every nook and corner of the country and Supreme TV is committed to play an integral part in the television and digital transmission of the LPL starting from the second season, said the statement.

    “Supreme TV has become a household name and it is the fastest growing Sinhala Language channel in Sri Lanka with special focus on sports and entertainment,” said Supreme TV chairman RM Manivannan. “At a time when our nation is going through a challenging period due to the Covid-19 pandemic, LPL comes as a breath of fresh air to infuse positivity and regain its character as a sport loving nation. LPL brings to the island the revolutionary concept of franchise T20 cricket which features international cricketers of repute pitched along with our own leading cricketers, not to mention the budding ones who greatly learn from this exposure. One of my biggest hopes is  that young and upcoming cricketing talent that our country has always been blessed with, uses this opportunity to harness their talent and soon start to compete for selection in the national side.”

    “LPL is a great opportunity given to Sri Lankans to see many cricketing stars in action, whilst passionately supporting their preferred team all in our turf. Supreme TV considers it a great privilege to take this rare entertainment to all Sri Lankans – the urban elite, as well as to every village, with their strong island wide coverage for a continuous period of almost a month. For a cricket loving nation, which is slowly disengaging from the pandemic at this moment, opportunity to enjoy the high quality second season from home is probably the best year end gift,” he added.

    The inaugural edition of the LPL which was played in a bio-secure bubble at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota from 26 November till 16 December, 2020, reached a cumulative audience of 557 million people through TV, digital-social space, and traditional media outlets. Sponsors enjoyed a media evaluation (visibility) of $54.5 million and title sponsor My11Circle enjoyed a ROI of 9.85 times. Winner of the first edition of LPL, Jaffna Kings tops the valuation chart with $3.98 million, followed by Galle Gladiators ($3.82 million), Dambulla Vikings – now Dambulla Giants, ($3.54 million), Colombo Kings ($3.44 million), and Kandy Tuskers ($3.19 million).

    “It gives me immense pleasure to welcome on board Supreme TV as our broadcast partner of the prestigious Lanka Premier League and I can confidently say that this association is a great testament to the brand LPL,” said Dubai-based IPG Group’s founder and CEO Anil Mohan. “In the first edition, from Sri Lanka alone we garnered a total viewership of 1.9 million which is quite significant. Our first season was big success and with the addition of Supreme TV, we will only grow bigger.”

    As per the statement, the LPL matches which were telecast live by Sky Sports, Sony Sports Network, Geo, PTV, and Willow TV, ITN in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, UK, US, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand saw 155 million people tuning in to catch live action. On social media, it achieved a reach of 218 million and LPL found 133,478 mentions as the League came alive with each and every match with some scintillating performances on the ground.