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Category: Sports

  • Viacom18 bags exclusive TV, digital rights for Abu Dhabi T10

    Viacom18 bags exclusive TV, digital rights for Abu Dhabi T10

    The sporting extravaganza will premiere LIVE on COLORS Cineplex SD (Hindi), COLORS Cineplex HD (English), Rishtey Cineplex (Hindi), Voot, and Jio starting 19 November. The multi-year partnership was facilitated by sports management firm RISE Worldwide.

    Speaking about the partnership Viacom18, head- Hindi mass entertainment and kids TV network, Nina Elavia Jaipuria said, “Sporting events have always attracted a wide spectrum of audiences and we have been successfully experimenting with sports content on our network. The Abu Dhabi T10 collaboration is a bold step in further enhancing our sports content mix and we are hopeful it will help us expand our viewer and sponsor base.”

    The format will have eight participating teams, each representing a region from the subcontinent. The team comprises Delhi Bulls, Pune Devils, Bangla Tigers, Deccan Gladiators, Maratha Arabians, Qalandars, Northern Warriors, and Team Abu Dhabi. The league will witness participation from cricketers like Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Shahid Afridi, Muhammad Amir, Eoin Morgan, David Miller, Dawid Malan, Faf Du Plessis, Jason Roy, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Colin Munro, Babar Azam, Wahab Riaz, Imran Tahir and many more.

    The tournament is sanctioned by ICC and licensed for ten years by Emirates Cricket Board. It will have 90 minutes of fast-paced ‘cricketainment’ spread over 34 matches, said the company in a media statement on Tuesday.

    Viacom18, business head-Hindi movies cluster, Rohan Lavsi said, “It is our vision and constant endeavour to present our viewers with an unmatched entertainment experience that doesn’t require an episodic commitment. Movies and sports fit this vision and in that sense are quite complimentary as a variated content mix. This belief has been validated by both our viewers and advertisers as we witnessed significant uptakes whenever we have showcased sports – be it the NIDAHAS trophy or the RSWS.”

    Abu Dhabi Cricket, CEO, Matthew Boucher said, “Broadcasting the Abu Dhabi T10 to homes in the Indian subcontinent on one of the leading television and streaming channels in the country makes this media agreement truly unique as a global multiplatform viewership is a priority for us as a host destination partner. Together with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the Department of Culture & Tourism Abu Dhabi, we are thrilled to continually evolve the Abu Dhabi T10 into an event that drives growing audiences every year – digitally and otherwise.”

    T10 Sports Management, chairman, Shaji Ul Mulk said, “The Abu Dhabi T10 has grown by leaps and bounds over the past four seasons and has generated keen interest globally and gained tremendous traction in India. To our ever-growing list of fans and followers, we promise an even more exhilarating experience through one of India’s best media and entertainment networks- Viacom18”.

    Emirates Cricket Board, general secretary, Mubashshir Usmani said, “Starting out in 2017, we are happy with the growth that Abu Dhabi T10 has achieved over the years. The advent of this league has provided a huge platform for our domestic players. The league has provided entertainment to cricket fans in India, and we are pleased that Viacom18 is now aligned with the league to further enhance the reach on its varied TV channels and digital platforms.”

  • Tokyo Olympics reached 69 million TV viewers in the opening week

    Tokyo Olympics reached 69 million TV viewers in the opening week

    Mumbai: The Tokyo Olympics 2020 television broadcast was viewed by 69 million viewers and clocked 5.8 billion viewing minutes, according to data provided by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India. (India 2+/Live Events Only/ Share% of viewing mins)

    Assam/NE (27.7 per cent), Maharashtra/Goa (11.5 per cent), Tamil Nadu/Puducherry (8.8 per cent), Uttar Pradesh/Uttarakhand (6.3 per cent), and Kerala (5.8 per cent) were the top regions contributing to the viewership for the Tokyo Olympics. (India 2+/Live Events Only/ Share% of viewing mins)

    The Olympic games were broadcast on Sony Pictures Networks India TV channels Sony Six, Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 3, Sony Ten 4 and their HD channels. Prasar Bharati’s sports channel DD Sports also broadcast the event.

    The previous Rio Olympic games pulled in 191 million viewers, according to BARC data for that period. Star India was the official broadcaster for the 2016 games. (India 4+/cable and satellite homes/urban market)

    The Indian contingent for the Olympics made a strong showing by bringing home seven medals including one gold, two silver and four bronze. The athletes that won medals at the recently concluded games included Neeraj Chopra, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, Ravi Kumar Dhahiya, PV Sindhu, Lovlina Borgohain, and Bajrang Punia and the men’s hockey team.

  • Premier League broadcast to be supported by Bangla and Malayalam feeds

    Premier League broadcast to be supported by Bangla and Malayalam feeds

    Mumbai: The English broadcast of the Premier League will be supported by regional feeds of Bangla and Malayalam on Star Sports network. The new season of the international football tournament begins on 14 August.

    The tournament is scheduled to be broadcast on Star Sports Select, Star Sports 1 Bangla, Star Sports 3 and streamed on the OTT platform, Disney+ Hotstar behind the paywall.

    Apart from the English broadcast on Star Sports Select, regional feeds for key weekend matches of the tournament will be aired on Star Sports 3 (geo-tagged for West Bengal and Kerala) and Star Sports 1 Bangla.

    The Bangla commentary panel will consist of Sanjeeb Mukherjee, RR Varun Kaushik, Rajat Ghoshdastidar, and Soumitra Chakraborty, while Malayalam commentators include Vishnu Hariharan, Shiyas Mohammed, Shyjumon D, Jiju Jacob, and Jo Paul Anchery.   

    “Our mission has been to grow following viewership and fandom for sports. Customising our broadcasts for regional audiences has been a pivotal lever in growing affinity for properties such as IPL, PKL & ISL,” said Star and Disney India, head – sports, Sanjog Gupta. “We believe the time is right to extend this effort to the biggest football league in the world. We piloted this approach last year with ‘Sunday Night Football’, which powered a 3x growth in television reach for the Premier League and now expect a tremendous response to the expanded coverage of weekend matches in Bangla and Malayalam.”

  • Prasar Bharati garners 12.2 million digital views for Tokyo Olympics 2020

    Prasar Bharati garners 12.2 million digital views for Tokyo Olympics 2020

    Mumbai: Prasar Bharati on Friday said it garnered 6.6 million views and 2.6 lakh hours of watch time and 5.6 million views and 1.4 lakh hours of watch time for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 via its YouTube channels DD National and PB Sports, respectively.

    The public service broadcaster brought the games live to the screens of millions of viewers through its broadcasting and digital platforms. It reached households through TV, radio, and smartphones.

    The event was broadcast live every day on DD Sports with supporting coverage on the channels DD National, DD News, and DD India. It was also broadcast on All India Radio (AIR) including all AIR capital stations, FM Rainbow, Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), and other interested AIR stations. The programming was available on their YouTube channels (DD National and PB Sports), DTH, and NewsOnAir mobile app within the territory of India.  

    “The accessible coverage on DD Sports and All India Radio Sports network was hugely popular among Indians across age-groups, gender, class and regions is evident in the multi-million digital viewership clocked together by multiple YouTube channels and NewsOnAir app of Prasar Bharati,” said the public broadcaster in a statement.

    Prasar Bharati hired 14 sign language artists who presented 240 hours of live coverage of the Tokyo Olympics. For listeners, the broadcaster brought together 16 All India Radio commentators to draw a vivid picture of different Olympic events.

    Apart from live Olympic sporting events, its coverage included live broadcast of opening and closing ceremonies, exclusive virtual conclave with top Indian sports personalities, biographies and success stories of members of the Indian Olympic contingent, and celebrations of their victories across the country.

  • Eurosport India secures Tokyo Paralympics 2020 broadcast rights

    Eurosport India secures Tokyo Paralympics 2020 broadcast rights

    Mumbai: The Paralympic Committee of India has awarded the rights to broadcast the Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games to Eurosport India set to take place between 24 August and 5 September. The association marks the first time for Discovery-owned sports channel to broadcast a global multi-sport event in India.

    Eurosport India will be the exclusive pay-TV partner in the SAARC countries. The rights include a showcase of Live sports, delayed telecast, and highlights across key events in 22 sporting disciplines.

    With a focus on local heroes, Eurosport India’s coverage of the Paralympics will start on 27 August to coincide with the men’s and women’s archery events at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field. The Eurosport feed will also be Live on the discovery+ app for the fans to stay up to speed with all the action from Tokyo, the channel said in a statement on Wednesday.

    Speaking about the association, Discovery Inc SVP – affiliate sales and product distribution, Asia – India sales & distribution and Eurosport India head, Vijay Rajput said, “This is a milestone event in the short life of Eurosport India. Eurosport is the home of the Olympics in Europe and our association with the Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games will be the first step towards a similar journey in India.”

    “The Paralympic Committee of India and Eurosport India have a common vision of helping our athletes gain visibility amongst passionate Indian sporting communities and this association is a testimony of that,” he added.

    “At the brink of a historic national sporting movement, our Indian para sportsmen are inspired and excited to win glory and pride for the country. Such honouring moments must and would be shared and celebrated. Indians masses across the globe should be able to bask in the triumphant performance of our Paralympic stars,” added the Paralympic Committee of India, secretary-general, Gursharan Singh.

    India will be fielding its largest ever contingent at Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games with 54 Paralympic athletes participating across nine sporting disciplines.

  • ICC invites EoI for public screening & onboard rights to Men’s T20 World Cup

    ICC invites EoI for public screening & onboard rights to Men’s T20 World Cup

    Mumbai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday invited parties to submit expressions of interest for various non-exclusive media rights in relation to public screening and onboard rights ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. The event is scheduled to take place in the UAE and Oman from 17 October to 14 November.

    Interested parties are being offered the opportunity to acquire regional or worldwide public screening rights for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 matches.

    The ICC is also offering the opportunity for interested parties to obtain onboard rights to transmit or exhibit various attractive content packages for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup via any in-flight or on-board entertainment system aboard any aircraft, ship, or train (but not an automobile). Rights include the transmission of the live feed and highlights programmes to all matches, as well as various ICC-produced programming, said the press statement.

    Star Sports is the global broadcast partner for ICC major events – the ICC Cricket World Cup and its qualifiers, the ICC Women’s World Cup, the ICC World T20 and its qualifiers, the ICC Champions Trophy, and the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. The network channel holds broadcast rights until 2023.  

    Facebook is the exclusive digital content rights partner for ICC global events in the Indian subcontinent including the Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, until 2023.

    “The ICC is keen to partner with organisations who share in its ambition to continue to grow and deepen engagement globally in cricket,” the governing body said in a statement.

  • Pro Kabaddi League season 8 to begin in December

    Pro Kabaddi League season 8 to begin in December

    Mumbai: Mashal Sports plans to commence the eighth season of vivo Pro Kabaddi League in December 2021.

    The company has announced that the player auction for the latest season will take place between 29 and 31 August. The three-day auction process in Mumbai will be telecast on the Star Sports Network.

    This player auction will see domestic, overseas, and new young players (NYPs) divided into four Categories: Category A, B, C and D. Within each category, the players will be further subdivided as ‘All-Rounders’, ‘Defenders’ and ‘Raiders’. Base prices for each of the categories are Category A – Rs 30 Lakh, Category B – Rs 20 Lakh, Category C –Rs 10 lakh, Category D – Rs 6 lakh.

    The total salary purse applicable to each franchisee for its squad for season eight is Rs 4.4 crore. The player pool has been expanded to 500+ athletes including all squad players from PKL season six and seven, as well as all players who have represented the top eight ranked teams of the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India’s (AKFI) senior men’s national Kabaddi championships of 2020 and 2021 amongst others.

    Before going into the auction, the PKL teams are also expected to exercise their choice of retention of PKL season seven squads as per the league policies. For each PKL season, teams are allowed to retain up to six players under the elite retained players category and up to six NYPs under stipulated conditions. Of the 500+ players from the player pool, players who are not retained by the franchisees will go under the hammer which will be broadcast live.

    “PKL season eight, will be conducted as per strict government rules and safety protocols with the support and cooperation of all our stakeholders and associates in the national kabaddi ecosystem under the AKFI”, said Mashaal Sports, chief executive officer and PKL, league commissioner, Anupam Goswami.

  • Eurosport India appoints John Abraham as MotoGP brand ambassador

    Eurosport India appoints John Abraham as MotoGP brand ambassador

    Mumbai: Eurosport India and discovery+, on Thursday announced the appointment of Bollywood star John Abraham as the India ambassador for their flagship Motorsport property –  MotoGP. Abraham will be seen promoting MotoGP to a wider audience base in India as its face through Eurosport’s campaign – “MotoGP, Race Lagate Hai”.  

    The campaign will have a comprehensive promotional plan across platforms including radio, OOH, and digital. While digital and social media will be the key drivers to create conversations and buzz through interesting content videos with the new brand ambassador, Eurosport is also giving a chance to its followers to win exclusive motorsports merchandise signed by him, said the statement. 

    Prior to this association, John Abraham has shared the stage with MotoGP legend ‘The Doctor’ Valentino Rossi and has frequented many MotoGP races. 

    “It’s a moment of pride for any fan to become the India Ambassador, and it’s indeed a moment of reckoning for me. I am glad that through this association not only will I be able to showcase my love for MotoGP to all motorsports fans but also help many others understand the fine nuances of a highly technical and skill-oriented sport. I have been a motorsports fan for over 25 years now and I can only thank Eurosport India for associating with me as their friend for MotoGP, which I have been able to follow religiously. I am confident that my association with Eurosport India is only going to bring the sport of MotoGP closer to the hearts of millions of Indian motorsport fans,” Abraham said. 

    Commenting on the association, Discovery Inc, managing director – South Asia, Megha Tata, stated, “Discovery network has always believed in creating passionate communities and bringing on board John Abraham as the India Ambassador for MotoGP is just a step in that direction. Motorsport still has a lot of distance to travel as a mainstream sport in India and we couldn’t find a better fan of Moto GP than John Abraham himself who could join us in making the passionate motorsports fans cheer together for their favourite rider. We are thrilled to begin this partnership and with John’s involvement we are confident that we will elevate this pure sport to greater heights in the years to come.”  

    “Indians, across the country, love superbikes and racing but motorsports is still very community-focused, concentrated at certain pockets, which has resulted in a major part of the country still not being exposed to the thrill and excitement of the biggest global motorcycle race event – MotoGP. Through this power-packed campaign, ‘MotoGP, Race Lagate Hain’ we at Eurosport India along with MotoGP fan John Abraham, aim to expand its reach across the length and breadth of the country also fuelling more conversations around the thrill and competitiveness of the sport,” said Discovery Inc. SVP – affiliate sales and product distribution, Asia – India sales & distribution and Eurosports India head, Vijay Rajput.

    “Just like our unparalleled depth in motorsport programming, John’s depth and understanding of motorsports and MotoGP are second to none in this country and hence we are confident of a very fruitful outcome from this association,” Rajput added.

    Eurosport India and discovery+ currently have the LIVE and exclusive broadcasting rights for all three premier classes – Moto 2, Moto 3, and Moto GP.

  • SPSN signs nine sponsors for India Tour of England

    SPSN signs nine sponsors for India Tour of England

    Mumbai: Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) has wooed an impressive line-up of sponsors for India Tour of England Test series, starting on Wednesday.

    Mahindra & Mahindra, BYJU’S, Pan Bahaar, PharmEasy, Ultratech, Fogg, WhatsApp, Cars24 and MRF Tyres have signed up as co-presenting and associate sponsors.

    Additionally, SPSN has roped Kent RO as a presenting sponsor for its studio show ‘Extraaa Innings’. Other advertisers who have come on board are Policybazaar, Dafa News, Paisabzaar, TVS Tyres, Apollo Pharmacy, Castrol, Accenture, Netmeds, Housing.com, Apple, Tata Motors, Wolf 777 news, 1mg.com and Perfetti Van Melle.

    The series is all set to begin on 4 August and all five Test matches will be aired on Sony Six, Sony Ten 3, and Sony Ten 4 channels and on-demand OTT platform, SonyLIV from 2.30 pm onwards. The English and Hindi feeds will air on Sony Six and Sony Ten 3 channels, respectively, while the Tamil and Telugu regional feeds will be broadcast on Sony Ten 4 channels.

    The English broadcast of ‘Extraaa Innings’ will be presented by former players like Sunil Gavaskar, Shaun Pollock, Sanjay Manjrekar, and Harsha Bhogle along with Alastair Cook, Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton (on-ground).

    The Hindi broadcast of the studio show will be presented by former cricketers Ashish Nehra, Virender Sehwag, Ajay Jadeja, Ajit Agarkar, Mohammad Kaif and Vivek Razdan along with Arjun Pandit.

    The Tamil commentary box will feature Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, WV Raman, Vidhyut Sivaramakrishnan, TR Arasu and S Seshadri. Telugu commentary will be presented by Venkatapathy Raju, Gnaneshwar Rao, C Venkatesh, Vijay Mahavadi, RJ Hemanth and Sandeep Kumar.

    Sony Pictures Networks India, chief revenue officer, distribution and head – Sports Business, Rajesh Kaul said, “We have received tremendous response from various advertisers across Housing, finance, education, technology sectors and are confident to attract more sponsors as we progress further into the series.”

    To amplify the series, Sony Pictures Sports Network has also launched the #BackOurBoys campaign across its digital assets.

  • Team India gets a boost of confidence after easy ODI win

    Team India gets a boost of confidence after easy ODI win

    The Indian cricket team gets a boost of confidence after winning with seven wickets with 13 overs to spare in their first match against Sri Lanka on 18 July at the R Premadasa Stadium. Shikhar Dhawan’s esteem resonates with the rest of the squad, even declaring that they have a great chance at winning their rematch on July 20. 

    The first game of the three-match series between India and Sri Lanka was described as a ‘walk in the park’. Captain Dhawan shows his satisfaction for his team’s bowlers during the first game. Yuzvendra Chahal, Krunal Pandya, and Kuldeep Yadav were the most honourable mentions for their good spin from the surface.  

    Sri Lanka is one of the best in international cricket. They made a quick rise from being the underdogs to Cricket World Cup champions in 1996. Team Lions have also managed to reach the finals and end as runner ups a couple of times in the past (2007 and 2011). 

    It came to everyone’s surprise that India beat them so easily in their first match at the opponent’s home stadium. The home team failed to manage their defences against the Indian batting lineup. Such performance as seen from the latest cricket news on sportsbet shows that India continues to be a top favourite team in the sport.

    There were a few hopeful moments for Sri Lanka but only during the beginning and end of the match. Minod Bhanuka and Avishka Fernando from Team Sri Lanka had little trouble matching the opponent bowlers. They even reach an impressive 49 runs during their turns at the beginning. Chamika Karunaratne and Dushmantha Chameera did the same at the end of the event as they scored 40 more runs in just 19 balls.

    Team India turned the game around when they started to introduce spinning. The young prodigy, Prithvi Shaw, stylishly stole the game with a stunning 24-ball 43. Sri Lanka failed to respond during the shift which allowed India to snowball towards the next over. Another young cricketer, Ishan Kishan, continued Shaw’s momentum with a six and score. It is impressive given that this is his debut in the ODI and his birthday. 

    Dhawan noted that he is proud of his team’s performance. The squad was, as he described, mature and aggressive. It was even more impressive for him because he originally intended to play calmly but the young players, especially Prithvi and Ishan, were so eager. Though some would dismiss their eagerness as recklessness, Dhawan knew that the boys were wiser than that. After all, they are both famous for ending the game with only 15 overs.

    Captain Dasun Shanaka of team Sri Lanka admits that the opposing team bowled too well than they expected. The home team wasn’t prepared for aggressive bowling, especially because it is the beginning of the ODI. However, he is confident that their team will be better prepared to meet India’s mettle in the next matches or distant future games. Based on the latest cricket news on Sportsbet, their performances in the first matches of the ODI has affected their odds.