ITV

Category: Sports

  • SPNI acquires broadcast rights for 2021 MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE

    New Delhi: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has acquired the exclusive television & digital rights for the 29th season of Japan Professional Football League – MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE, till December 2021.

    The broadcast territories will include India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The matches will be aired LIVE on SONY TEN 2 channels in India and livestreamed on SonyLIV, SPN’s OTT streaming platform.

    Football is the second most popular sport in Japan and that can be witnessed through the lens of the Japan Professional Football Association who manages their professional football league – MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE. The 29th season began in the month of February with 20 clubs participating in the league.

    The league has made improvement in competitiveness through events such as the Fuji Xerox Super Cup and YBC Levain Cup which helped the country in nurturing great football talents like Shinji Kagawa, Takumi Minamino, Yuto Nagatomo and many more. These players can now be seen playing for some of the biggest teams across Europe.

    MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE is the top division of MEIJI YASUDA J. LEAGUE and also one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. The league has been home to some of the most exciting players from across Europe such as Diego Forlan, Lukas Podolski, Hulk, Jorginho and Andreas Iniesta among others, said the network in a statement on Thursday.

  • WTC Finals: Star Sports picks ‘The Greatest of All Time’ Test Cricketers

    New Delhi: Test cricket has occupied a special place in the hearts of every cricket aficionado. For the past 144 years, the longest format witnessed several success stories highlighting the physicality and mental toughness from players across the 22 yards. There have been memorable victories and hard-fought fabled battles, but a world champion was never crowned.

    That debate will be put to rest when the top two nations in Test cricket – India and New Zealand square off in the ICC World Test Championship Final. The match will be broadcasted LIVE and exclusive on the Star Sports Network from 18-22 June, 2 PM onwards.

    To celebrate the historic feats in Test cricket, Star Sports has strung together a promotional activity to pick the Greatest of All Time (G.O.A.T) of the 21st century in Tests from among Batsmen, Bowlers, All-rounders and Captains. The winners for all the categories will be announced during the lunchtime show Cricket Live during the ICC WTC Final from 18-22 June, on the Star Sports Network.

    “The nominees for the categories were carefully selected through a rigid process which included a set criterion for each of the categories. An elite 50-member jury was formed comprising legends of the game like Sunil Gavaskar, Ian Bishop, Harbhajan Singh, Shane Watson, Scott Styris, Gautam Gambhir among others, renowned sports journalists and coaches,” said the channel in a statement.

    Star Sports has also given fans a chance to be a part of the jury, as fan polls will be conducted between 15-17 June on Twitter. The polls for Captain and All-rounder will take place on 17 June. All stats considered for the nominees are from or after 1 January, 2000 only.

  • Star Sports successfully launches Picture in Picture ad format during Roland Garros

    MUMBAI: The date: 10 June 2021. The event: the first of the women’s semi-finals of the French Open between two debutantes Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Tamara Zidansek. The channel: Star Sports. The Russian seeded 31 in the world has just lost her first game to her competitor from Slovenia and the latter walks to her chair by the side of the court. 
     
    Tennis fans glued to their television at home are pleasantly surprised to see the appearance on their screens of two windows side by side – one showing Zidanesk as she wipes her racket off court, and the other a car commercial featuring world no 1 Novak Djokovic, followed by Rafael Nadal, and then Roger Federer, intercut with a Renault driving through water, ending with the auto maker’s logo and its association with the French Open telecast on Star Sports. Once, the TVC ends, the two windows give way to the match’s proceedings full screen. 
     

     

     

    Welcome to TV advertising innovation in 2021.  And this is one that India’s leading sports broadcaster Star Sports is especially proud of. Called Picture in Picture (PIP), it got a buy-in from car maker Renault India which was the presenting sponsor of the tournament’s telecast.   Put simply, PIP is a non-intrusive technique of playing an advertiser’s marketing commercial during live sports telecasts, when the ball is not in play. Despite not being a natural break, it provides unparalleled commercial stimulus during a live game.
     
    The marketers at Renault India not only took advantage of this first-time asset but they enthusiastically supported it as an extension of their own passion for creating experiences through technology, along with OMD India. Star Sports too pitched in and created a co-branded promo creative to showcase Renault’s brand and its association for a heightened visual treat.
     
    According to Renault India lead marketing communications Hardik Shah, the PIP option works very well for the brand. He was recently quoted in a publication as saying: “It helps break clutter, makes us stand out on live content, and builds association with the product (tennis), which usually is not offered in other premium sports. Though this is a classic advertising route, it puts across the message in a very subtle way without disturbing the audiences. If you have noticed, Renault India has not played a quintessential TVC in the PIP. Rather we chose to air an association promo that strengthens our relationship with Roland Garros and tennis as a sport overall through Star Sports.” The folks at Star Sports – like the druids of old – are constantly brewing up new potions in their AdTech labs in their endeavour to provide advertisers and agencies sticky ad solutions and give them further mileage for their spends on live sports.
     
    Yes, some may say PIP appears highly disruptive; its utilisation makes what many have considered a pipedream a reality: it makes an advertiser’s communication unmissable. It presents to them high-quality attention as viewers’ eyes are bound to stayed glued on the TV screen during the live telecast. To top it all, the team at Star Sports, along with the brand and the agency, works to co-create clutter-breaking custom creatives.

    SaysHavas Media CEO Mohit Joshi, a keen sports enthusiast: “We are brand custodians and we are constantly on the lookout for innovations in broadcast commercial advertising which would give us the comfort that spots and communications are indeed being watched by the multi-tasking TV viewer at home. Any innovation which enables this at a cost-effective price is welcome.”

    Agrees Indian Television Dot Com founder, CEO & editor in chief, Anil Wanvari who is an avid sports fan. “Overall, it’s a fantastic stickiness generating option that the Star Sports team has innovated. To some extent, TVCs have become a bit of a blind spot for viewers who have been locked at home for the past 16 months. Content and communications coming on a split screen together, will ensure that viewers don’t skip to another channel, and give a better guarantee that the advertiser’s money is well spent in terms of ROI.” 
     
    “Normally, I get irritated when I see commercials breaking up the play on the courts,” says 25-year-old Mumbai-based sports and automobile enthusiast Rohan Ghaneriwal. “I was watching the semi-final match between Nadal and Djokovic when there was this moment when both the court as well as a TVC was running simultaneously on screen. I was quite excited by it, as I wanted to know more about Renault’s car and watch the tennis court as well. I think more and more brands should take this route.”

    Indeed, Indian marketers and advertising agencies have a chance to fulfil Rohan’s wish and take advantage of this path breaking first time ad solution in the coming days. Star Sports has made PIP available to them and their brands for the mother of Grand Slams which starts on 28 June – the All England Lawn Tennis Championship at Wimbledon – and during the telecast of the next season of the Premier League. Both of course are premium tournaments and have a loyal cult following with fans swearing by the players vying for the title. 
     

  • upGrad ties up with Star Sports for upcoming WTC finals

    New Delhi: Higher ed-tech company upGrad on Tuesday announced its advertising tie-up with Star Sports for the upcoming ICC World Test Championship (WTC) finals: India Vs New Zealand and the 2021 Wimbledon Championship.

    This marks upGrad’s third collaboration with Star Sports post-IPL 2020, and India vs England series in 2021, thereby strengthening the ed-tech company’s deep India penetration. This is a part of the 360-degree campaign on TV, digital and social to talk about upGrad’s MBA programs as the batch launches for MBA across B-Schools are coinciding with the upcoming sports extravaganza, said the company on Tuesday.

    Commenting on this association, CEO, upGrad India, Arjun Mohan said, “While saving up to pursue a higher education degree, working professionals often have to halt their career. This is where edtech leaders like upGrad are working rigorously to bring Indians a variety of online MBA options which offers quality content pedagogy backed with global university credentials and can be pursued without having them to quit their lucrative jobs.”

    Since the pandemic hit the world, quite naturally even the traditional offline MBAs migrated to become ‘online MBA’, thus blurring the divide between the two. Furthermore, even the recruitment of 2020 and 2021 pass-outs happened online. “This has bolstered the trust in online MBA for aspirants as well as recruiters. Therefore, our strategically timed campaign is a wake-up call for the youth and working professionals to invest in real value-adding, outcome-oriented education that can result in employability and career progression,” added Mohan.

    Star Sports executive vice-president Anil Jayaraj said the channel is excited to collaborate with upGrad for their new ad campaign. “The World Test Championship and Wimbledon are global marquee events keenly followed by the viewers across India.  In the coming few months these events will be one of the biggest platforms for marketers to leverage. The WTC will be broadcast at a prime time across five languages; we are confident of setting a new viewership record,” he added.

  • PE firm CVC Capital proposes to buy out ATP, WTA tennis tours

    MUMBAI: Changes may be afoot as far as broadcasting rights of professional male and female tennis calendars are concerned if reports emerging over the past two days are to be believed. Sky News first reported that Luxembourg headquartered private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is in unconfirmed talks with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) to buy a 15 per cent stake into a new entity One Tennis which will combine their two itineraries. It is willing to serve a cool $600 million for the privilege of managing the broadcasting rights to the two tours, as well as selling data rights to gambling companies.

    CVC Capital has discussed leaving the running of the two sports to the two associations; all it wants is that the women and men’s tournaments should have a unified calendar (meaning female and male tennis players should play at the same competitions) – just like they do in the Grand Slam championships – Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open, and the French Open. The latter four contests are ruled by a different governing body.

    The private equity firm believes it can extract greater value than both ATP and WTA are doing currently by glamourising the tours, upping prize money, improving broadcast production quality, and setting up a global digital platform for tennis fans.

    Reuters reported on 8 June that the two associations had issued a joint statement which said that they are “continually looking for ways to bring the sport closer together to provide an enhanced experience for fans, players and tournaments.”

    CVC Capital is no stranger to managing sports; it had been the owner of the F1 from 2006 to 2017 when it sold it to John Malone’s Liberty Media. Over that period, it squeezed out billions of dollars in revenue from the racing sport; in the process, it helped turn around its fortunes. CVC Capital has recently invested in the six nations Rugby and the International Volleyball Federation.

    CVC is proposing that ATP Media (ATP’s existing sales and broadcasting arm) will be absorbed into the new entity with the former’s CEO Mark Webster leading One Tennis. Most of the broadcast rights to the ATP Tours for India lie with the ATP’s tennistv.com, with rights to the ATP 250s being shared by it with Discovery. Prior to Discovery, Sony Pictures Sports Network was the rights holder from 2015 to 2020. Hardcore tennis fans can watch matches online at tennistv.com with the annual subscription package running at $119.9.

    But apparently, a lot more could be done to popularise tennis and the tours among younger audiences, commentators and critics have averred. Tennis has alienated young tennis buffs as they have been drawn to other sports that have more excitement and entertainment. Statistics have shown that the tennis fan is beginning to age and to get back in the game, the sports need a rejuvenation.

    The ATP and WTA boards are expected to meet later this month on the proposal. Their decision will make it clear whether they believe that CVC Capital can be that white knight – who will inject some life into the sport.

  • NBCUniversal to telecast Tokyo Olympics across eight networks

    Mumbai: NBCUniversal will telecast 7,000 hours of the upcoming Tokyo Olympics across eight digital networks and multiple digital platforms. The telecast will begin on 20 June and will run through 8 August. 

    It should be noted that NBCUniversal is telecasting the Olympic games for the 11th consecutive time. NBC’s first Olympics production began in 1964 in Tokyo. The network is planning to telecast 250 hours of Olympic games across 17 days headlined by its primetime coverage. 

    A total of 1,300 hours of the Tokyo Olympics will be telecasted live on USA Network, CNBC, NBCSN, Olympic Channel, and Golf Channel, Telemundo Deportes and Universo have at least 309 hours content for Spanish viewers. NBCSN (440 hours) and USA Network (388.5 hours) will present the round-the-clock live coverage beginning on 24 July. 

    The NBCSN coverage will primarily focus on soccer, softball, beach volleyball, table tennis, handball, badminton, fencing, and equestrian, while USA Network will telecast basketball, soccer and water polo as well as swimming, track & field, diving, beach volleyball, volleyball, cycling, and triathlon. 

    Diving, beach volleyball, skateboarding, rowing, canoeing, archery, water polo, and rugby will be telecasted on CNBC (124.5 hours). Golf Channel (111 hours) will cover men’s and women’s tournaments, while the Olympic Channel (242 hours) will focus on tennis and wrestling events. 

    NBC had earlier announced this year that the network will telecast the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics on 23 June at 6.55 AM EDT. The time zone in Tokyo is 13 hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone, and as a result, most of the Olympic matches will be telecasted in the US primetime.

    NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app will telecast 5,500 hours of coverage digitally. The show lineup for NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service is yet to be finalized. 

  • IPL 2021 to resume on 19 September, final on 15 October : report

    Mumbai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to resume the remainder of the suspended edition of the 14th Indian Premier League (IPL) on 19 September in the United Arab Emirates. According to a media report, the final match will be played on 15 October- the day India will be celebrating Dussehra this year.

    BCCI had earlier announced that the IPL 2021 will be scheduled in Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi, in wake of the ongoing health crisis in the country.  The 14th edition of the immensely popular cricket league that began on 9 April was suspended mid-way on 4 May after several cricketers including team staff tested positive for Covid-19. Total 29 out of the 60 games have been played so far, while 31 matches remain in the current season. 

    “The discussions went well, and with the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) already giving us the oral nod to host the event ahead of the BCCI SGM, it was about closing the deal over the last week. The first game after the season resumes will be held on 19 September, while we have the final on 15 October. The BCCI was always keen on a 25-day window to finish the remaining matches,” reported ANI quoting a senior BCCI official.

    The officials also added that discussions are progressing steadily to ensure the availability of foreign players for the tournament.

    “BCCI will talk to the foreign boards and check on the availability of foreign cricketers. We are confident that BCCI will find the best possible solution. And honestly, it is a matter of the BCCI officials speaking to the respective board officials. So we have to wait to hear from the board on this,” added the official.

    IPL 2020 was played in the United Arab Emirates last September when the world braved the first onslaught of the deadly pandemic.

    The apex cricket body in India had earlier revealed that the governing body will incur a loss of Rs 2,500 crore if the suspended IPL 2021 is called off for this year. “If we fail to complete the IPL, the loss will be close to Rs 2500 crore ($340 million approximately). That is going by early estimates,” BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had told The Telegraph. 

  • SPSN eyes strong subscriber growth, as football season approaches

    KOLKATA: Football fans across the world are brimming with excitement, as the countdown to one of the biggest sporting events has begun. The delayed UEFA Euro 2020 is all set to enthral fans starting 11 June. To add to the fervour, is the return of Copa America 2021 around the same time.

    With the two sporting events all set to capture the fans’ imagination, the official broadcaster, Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) is leaving no stone unturned to make the best of the moment. The network has even launched a new regional channel amid the pandemic for its Tamil and Telugu viewers.

    The lockdowns induced by the second wave of the pandemic has walloped the economy, and the sentiment among advertisers remains low. Yet, the broadcaster is witnessing huge interest from advertisers, thanks to the marquee international football events that attract premium audiences, said Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), chief revenue officer and distribution and head-sports business, Rajesh Kaul.

    A wide category of advertisers like automobiles, mobile handsets, telecom, e-commerce, gaming & finance are showing interest for the tournaments. The sports broadcaster is charging Rs 2.5-3 lakh per 10-second spot.

    “Meri Doosri Country was a huge success during FIFA World Cup and that is why we have decided to make this our signature campaign for international marquee football tournaments, where India is not represented. For the EUROs, the same thought has evolved to ‘Iss baar konsi hogi tumhari doosri country’ and we have boldly showcased the rivalry between fans using protagonists across age groups and geographies,” Kaul added.

    SPSN is executing a 360-degree marketing plan involving ATL and BTL platforms to reach out not only to football fans, but also the larger group of sport fans. In addition to that, the broadcaster is also exploring a range of media platforms that will enable it to reach viewers across demographics in the country. Besides, SPSN will be identifying partnerships and associations that can be leveraged to reach out target audience as well as engage with them.

    Kaul is optimistic about the Football calendar driving subscription for the network. “The whole world was under lockdown. Once live sports started again, sports saw a huge growth since it was a means of escapism for people staying at home. Football is the second to cricket in India and there is a strong community who follow this sport on daily basis,” he said.

    With the start of football festival on Sony Sports, the subscription for the sports channels will follow an upward trajectory.

    Apart from the Euro 2020 and Copa America 2021, the line-up of sports properties in the next five to six months include India tour of England in cricket, Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 with various WWE and UFC LIVE main events. For this year, the network is expecting at least a 25 per cent increase in the sports subscription revenue of linear TV.

    “The whole country today needs events like EURO 2020, Copa America and Olympics to cheer up the mood. It couldn’t have come at a better time for us to launch the channel. The huge line up of content provides us an opportunity to bring cheers to the people in India and also relieve a lot of stress and tension along with diverting the whole attention from pandemic to far better and positive things,” he signed off.

  • ICC WTC Final: Star Sports launches promotional film with 12 sponsors onboard

    ICC WTC Final: Star Sports launches promotional film with 12 sponsors onboard

    KOLKATA: Cricket fans across the world are eagerly waiting for the India-New Zealand face-off on 18 June to decide the winner of the ICC World Test Championship 2021. In the run-up to the event, the official broadcaster Star Sports has released a promotional film capturing Team India’s journey to the finale and the excitement building among fans around the momentous Test match.

    The film, voiced over by cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle, is a narrative on the scintillating journey of the Indian cricket team in the lead-up to this landmark event. The skilful Blackcaps (New Zealand team) are equally eager to create history by becoming World Test Champion for the first time ever.

    The channel has roped in 12 sponsors for the mega event, which includes four co-presenting sponsors- Dream 11, Byju’s, Thumbs Up and Car 24 and eight associate sponsors namely Skoda, MRF, Cred, NiyoX, paisabazaar.com, UltraTech Cement, PharmaEasy, and policybazaar.com.

    “The World Test Championship will be a defining moment in Cricket, similar to the 1st ODI World cup in 1975 and the first T20 World Cup in 2007,” Star & Disney India sports head Sanjog Gupta said in a press statement on Thursday. “Over the last eight years, Star India has invested significant resources and effort to boost interest in Test Cricket. We saw the India v England series earlier this year register record viewership, which strengthened our belief in the appeal amongst core fans for the oldest format of the game. So, it’s appropriate that the first-ever ‘World Champion’ in Test Cricket will also be crowned on the network.”

    The key rivalries within the match, bringing some of the biggest names in World Cricket up against each other, could decide the destiny of the game and hence, a place in the record books. It will be an Ultimate Test of contrasting leadership styles between the ever-passionate Virat Kohli, and the calmness personified by Kane Williamson.

    In the bowling department, bragging rights will be up for grabs as Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah lead their respective bowling attacks. The fight between the spin and guile of Ravichandran Ashwin and the tenacious experience of Ross Taylor will be an ultimate battle of tactics. Pujara vs Jamieson; Pant vs Watling; Rohit vs Wagner – the list is long and intriguing; and the ultimate Test winner will be decided by these captivating battles within the match.

  • Sony launches new regional channel ahead of UEFA, Copa America

    Sony launches new regional channel ahead of UEFA, Copa America

    KOLKATA: Football fans in India can gear up for the biggest football festival with two of the most prestigious international football tournaments, UEFA EURO 2020 and Copa América 2021 on the Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN). The network has announced a range of programming initiatives for the tournaments to bring the global marquee events closer to viewers in India.

    SPSN will telecast UEFA Euro 2020 in six languages to reach out to a wider audience across India: English, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. The tournament will go live on Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 3, Sony Six and Sony Ten 4 channels and also live streamed on SonyLIV.

    Football fans can also enjoy Copa América 2021 on the network which will feature some of the biggest names like Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr, Dani Alves, Gabriel Jesus, Alisson Becker, James Rodriguez, Roberto Firmino, Paolo Dybala, Sergio Aguero and more. Copa América will be telecast live in five languages: English, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.

    New regional channel:

    Notably, UEFA EURO 2020 and Copa América 2021 will also be telecast on SPSN’s new regional language sports channel, Sony Ten 4, which will be available in Tamil and Telugu languages across the southern region of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

    The channel launch is in-line with SPSN’s commitment to foster a multi-sports culture in the country while providing fans with an unparalleled viewing experience of their favourite sports, the broadcaster stated. SPSN has roped in actor Rana Daggubati as the face of the channel and he will also be promoting WWE’s programming in Tamil and Telugu.

    Programming initiatives:

    UEFA EURO 2020 will also bring back the much-loved LIVE Studio Show Football Extraaa hosted by familiar faces, Manas Singh and Arpit Sharma.  The line-up of distinguished panellists to provide opinions, insights and analyses include International (former) footballers Louis Saha, Luis Garcia, Don Hutchison, David James, Terry Phelan, Mark Seagraves, Ashley Westwood and Jofre Mateu. The team of Indian football specialists on the show will include Indian legend, Bhaichung Bhutia and current superstars such as Indian Captain Sunil Chhetri, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Sandesh Jhingan and Robin Singh. SPSN will also have Andy Mitten, Adriano Del Monte and Eisha Megan Acton, reporting live from the ground across match venues and taking the viewers closer to the action.

    The tournaments that are being covered in multiple languages making it more accessible for viewers across India will feature a gamut of the most prominent football commentators in the country. The Hindi feed will be presented by Manish Batavia, Atish Thukral, Raman Bhanot and Sunil Taneja while the Bengali feed will have Pradip Roy, Pallab Basu Mallik, Debjit Ghosh and Kaushik Varun as part of the commentator panel.

    The Tamil feed will feature Pradeep Krishna M., Sudhir Sreenivasan, Abhishek Raaja and Nallappan Mohanraj while the Telugu feed will be showcased by Sandeep Kumar B., Sudheer Mahavadi, Joseph Antony and Norman Swaroop Isaac. Fans can also watch the Malayalam feed presented by Shaiju Damodaran, Jopaul Anchery, Eldho Paul Puthussery and Bineesh Kiran.

    “Sony Pictures Sports Network is committed to presenting our viewers with the best sporting action in the world and UEFA EURO 2020 is at the forefront of it. UEFA EURO 2020 is considered one of the toughest tournaments in the world because of the high quality of the participating teams and players. Our exhaustive coverage for the tournament to serve our viewers in six different languages and a comprehensive English language studio featuring prominent names like Louis Saha, Luis Garcia, Don Hutchison, David James, Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chhetri,” Sony Pictures Networks India sports business chief revenue officer, distribution and head Rajesh Kaul said.

    “We will also be telecasting Copa América 2021 which will feature, among others, Brazil and Argentina, two of the most popular international football teams in the country. We are presenting a football festival for sports fans in India with both UEFA 2020 and Copa América. We are presenting over 75 matches across 30 days and viewers can expect six to ten hours of daily live coverage of all the biggest and most popular international football teams competing in these two events,” Kaul added.

    The 16th edition of UEFA EURO 2020 will have 51 games for fans to enjoy over a period of 30 days. Rome’s Stadio Olimpico will host the opening match on 12 June while the finals on 12 July will be held inside the iconic Wembley Stadium in London. The opening round of matches from 12 June to 23 June will feature some thrilling encounters such as England vs Croatia, France vs Germany, Portugal vs Germany, Portugal vs France and many more.