Category: Sports

FanCode to exclusively live stream Hero Caribbean Premier League

MUMBAI: FanCode a multi-sport aggregator platform by Dream Sports, has partnered with Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL T20) to exclusively live stream all the cricket matches from the T20 tournament starting 18 August. FanCode will provide a comprehensive digital experience to Hero CPL fans through an array of features such as live streaming with interactive data overlays, real-time highlights, interactive live scores with multimedia commentary, and even provide India’s first customised commentary for fantasy sports users. This comprehensive digital experience of Hero CPL will be available through FanCode's industry-first offering – Match Pass and Tour Pass.

Hero CPL will be the first mainstream T20 cricket league to start since COVID-19 lockdown. Now in its eighth edition, the CPL matches will be starting at 7:30 pm IST on each match day. Launching with CPL, the consumer-first features being rolled out to fans by FanCode includes interactive data overlays, where fans can customise the data they want to see while watching the live stream. Fans will also, for the first time in India for cricket, have the choice and flexibility to subscribe to the specific content they want for the CPL through Match Pass, for match-wise access, and Tour Pass, for access to the entire tournament. Sports fans will not have to commit to a monthly or annual subscription fee for the entire platform to watch their favourite tournament or a match of their choice.

Talking about the new features that enhance the sports fan experience FanCode co-founder Yannick Colaco said, “We are glad to have the opportunity to provide comprehensive coverage of CPL to Indian cricket fans. In continuing with our commitment of providing great experiences to sports fans by unlocking the potential of digital, we will be rolling out features like interactive data overlays on the live feed, customized commentary and detailed analysis around the progress of the matches. With Match and Tour Pass, we’re continuing to put the fan at the centre of everything we do, giving them the flexibility to choose what they want to subscribe to.”

Talking about the partnership with CPL, FanCode co-founder Prasana Krishnan said, “The world is finally witnessing the gradual return of sports, and with CPL, the fans are in for a treat to enjoy the first T20 cricket from the big leagues since lockdown. This time around, cricket fans will not be able to go to the stadium and restaurants to enjoy these matches with friends due to the pandemic. They will have to stay indoors and enjoy the matches from the comfort of their homes.”

Talking about the partnership CPL T20 commercial director Jamie Stewart said, “It’s a great pleasure to have Hero CPL 2020 available live on Fancode for the first time. With a match coming into India during primetime on each day of competition, the opportunities for our fans there to enjoy all the fun and excitement of the “biggest party in sport” just got bigger. As Official Streaming Partner (FanCode), CPL fans know exactly where to go to get their fill of the action.”

The 33-match season will be hosted in Trinidad and Tobago. All the matches will take place across two stadiums in that country – The Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba will host 23 games, including the semi-finals and final, and the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain will have 10 matches. Two of the six teams competing in the CPL are owned by Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises – Kings XI Punjab owns St Lucia Zouks, and Kolkata Knight Riders have acquired CPL’s most successful franchise to date – Trinbago Knight Riders. CPL will witness participation from the likes of Afghanistan's Rashid Khan, Australia's Chris Lynn, West Indies' Carlos Brathwaite, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard and India’s Pravin Tambe. Apart from the FanCode App (iOS | Android), the matches will also be live streamed on the website – www.fancode.com.

CPL Full Schedule:

MATCH

DAY

DATE

MATCH 1 – 7:30 PM IST

Time IST

MATCH 2 – 11:45 PM Weekends/ 3 AM Weekdays IST

Time IST

1 & 2

Tuesday

18-Aug-20

Tridents v Patriots

7:30 PM

TKR v Warriors

3:00 AM

3 & 4

Wednesday

19-Aug-20

Tallawahs v Zouks

7:30 PM

Warriors v Patriots

3:00 AM

5 & 6

Thursday

20-Aug-20

Zouks v Tridents

7:30 PM

TKR v Tallawahs

3:00 AM

7 & 8

Saturday

22-Aug-20

Warriors v Tallawahs

7:30 PM

Patriots v Zouks

11:45 PM

9 & 10

Sunday

23-Aug-20

TKR v Tridents

7:30 PM

Warriors v Zouks

11:45 PM

11 & 12

Tuesday

25-Aug-20

Patriots v Tridents

7:30 PM

Tallawahs v Warriors

3:00 AM

13 & 14

Wednesday

26-Aug-20

Zouks v TKR

7:30 PM

Tridents v Tallawahs

3:00 AM

15 & 16

Thursday

27-Aug-20

Zouks v Patriots

7:30 PM

Warriors v TKR

3:00 AM

17 & 18

Saturday

29-Aug-20

Tridents v TKR

7:30 PM

Patriots v Tallawahs

11:45 PM

19 & 20

Sunday

30-Aug-20

Tridents v Zouks

7:30 PM

Patriots v Warriors

11:45 PM

21 & 22

Tuesday

1-Sep-20

Tallawahs v TKR

7:30 PM

Warriors v Tridents

3:00 AM

23 & 24

Wednesday

2-Sep-20

TKR v Patriots

7:30 PM

Zouks v Warriors

3:00 AM

25 & 26

Thursday

3-Sep-20

Tallawahs v Patriots

7:30 PM

Tridents v Warriors

3:00 AM

27 & 28

Saturday

5-Sep-20

TKR v Zouks

7:30 PM

Tallawahs v Tridents

11:45 PM

29 & 30

Sunday

6-Sep-20

Patriots v TKR

7:30 PM

Zouks v Tallawahs

11:45 PM

END REGULAR SEASON

31

Tuesday

8-Sep-20

Semi-Final 1

TBC

32

Tuesday

8-Sep-20

Semi-Final 2

TBC

33

Thursday

10-Sep-20

FINAL

TBC

August 14, 2020
It’s celebration time for fans as IPL returns!

MUMBAI: The scene: a flat in a middle class society in Mumbai’s Malad suburb. It’s late evening Sunday, 1 August. Varun Gupta, a 23-year-old is working on a presentation, which his boss unsuspectingly thrust on him in the afternoon. His neighborhood has been declared a containment zone as around three individuals have been tested Covid positive.

Suddenly, a notification pops up on his computer informing this die hard IPL fan that the IPL governing council has cleared the staging of the the tournament in the UAE from 19 September to 10 November 2020.

His hitherto frowning face breaks into a smile of joy. He leaps out of his chair, and goes to his mother in the kitchen and dances around her, whooping with delight.

Varun is just one of hundreds of millions of cricket fans who have been celebrating in their own ways since the IPL’s announcement early in August. For long they have been starved of live sports courtesy the rampaging SARS COV2 virus and the lockdowns it imposed on the world.

Ever since the news that the IPL2020 is taking place, albeit in the UAE and possibly with limited or no stadium attendance, has come out, IPL fans are ecstatic. They have gone into overdrive, tweeting, posting on Instagram, Facebook and what have you, expressing their joy.

Excited for this year IPL#IPLinUAE #IPL2020

— Virat Kohli (@viratkohliq) August 11, 2020

More than a month for #IPL2020.
I can’t

— Rrachna (@magicaldiarie) August 11, 2020

The IPL not only brings out the passion, it also helps harness creativity in cricket fans as can be seen in the tweets and posts above.

IPL devotees form different cohorts and go to the extent of going on a fast, avoiding meat, making huge sacrifices in order to propitiate the powers that be to aid and guide their teams to victory. They thrive on the emotional rollercoaster that the game provides, the adrenalin rush, when their teams get the better of the competition, and the downer when they are at the receiving end. Donning their favorite team’s colors, player’s T-shirt number, faces painted like warriors, fans watch every run being scored, every six being knocked out of the ground, every wicket falling and also the heart-stopping run chase, whilst sitting on the edge of their seats in their homes before the TV set.

For Indians, IPL cricket, its teams and players are not just a release, they are a religion, their gods, which and whom they will die for. And lovers of the T20 format – running into hundreds of millions – have been deprived of the divinity of the game for longer than they would have liked to be. The pent up demand is sure to explode into a frenzy of binge watching of each and every match when IPL goes live.

The fact that the IPL was called off in March 2020, leading to fans having a break from it and the fact that most of them are at home – and will be homebound for sometime – could mean that IPL 2020 could be the year when it touches new levels in terms of viewership and reach – the highest possible ever.

August 11, 2020
BCCI invites third party interest for IPL title sponsorship rights

KOLKATA: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has invited third parties to express their interest (EOI) in acquiring the title sponsorship rights for the Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL) to be held in the United Arab Emirates from 19 September 2020 to 10 November 2020.

The rights are available for the period from 18 August 2020 to 31 December 2020. The turnover of the interested third party must be over Rs 300 crore as per the last audited accounts.

The BCCI confirmed on 6 August that Vivo will not be the title sponsor for IPL 2020 which signed a five-year sponsorship deal in 2018. The title sponsorship is a large source of IPL revenue.

“For the avoidance of doubt, it is clarified that marketing agency/agents are not eligible to bid and any bid submitted by a marketing agency/agent shall be rejected at the outset,” BCCI added.

The rights and the product categories will be discussed after the delivery of EOIs, with each third party having submitted an EOI and to clarify, third parties need not include any indicative level of fees for acquiring the rights in their EOIs.

“For the avoidance of doubt, it is clarified that BCCI shall not be obliged to award the rights to the third party which indicates willingness to pay the highest fees in the course of discussions/ negotiations with BCCI after submitting an EOI. BCCI’s decision in this regard will also depend on a number of other relevant factors, including but not limited to, the manner in which the third party intends to exploit the rights and the potential impact of the same on brand IPL as also the fan/ viewer experience, which will be examined/ evaluated by BCCI in the course of discussions/ negotiations with interested third parties who submit an EOI,” BCCI stated.

Each EOI has to reach BCCI’s relevant email id by 5 pm IST on 14 August. Any EOIs received after this deadline will not be considered unless BCCI decides otherwise at its sole discretion. Post-delivery of the EOI, BCCI shall inform the rights, product categories and entitlements to the interested third parties. The final bid should be sent to the board between 11 am to 1 pm on 18 August 2020.

August 11, 2020
UEFA tournaments return on Sony Pictures Sports Network in India

MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN), the official broadcaster of UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League in India, is all set to broadcast the return of top-tier European football tournaments. With UEFA all set to restart their season, the finest clubs across Europe are back in action to be crowned as Champions of Europe. Football fans can catch the biggest Europeans teams battle for the ultimate football throne, LIVE, from 5 August 2020 only on SONY TEN 1 and SONY TEN 2 channels and the quarter-final stages for the Champions League matches will be aired with Hindi commentary on SONY TEN 3 channels.

The matches from the quarter finals to the finals will be played as a straight knockout tournament in Portugal and Germany respectively. Apart from football fans, the UEFA Champions League has also attracted a lot of interest from brands with Amul, Vivo, Philips One Blade, Kia Motors and Apple already on board for the restart of the season with many more to follow.

UEFA Champions League and Europa League are an annual football competition and home to some of the best football clubs such as Juventus FC, Real Madrid CF, Barcelona FC and Manchester United, Liverpool FC, Bayern Munich among many others.

The resumption of 2019/20 UEFA Champions League will start with the remaining Round of 16 second-leg matches and will have Manchester City take on Real Madrid; Barcelona face Napoli; Bayern Munich welcome Chelsea to the Allianz Arena and Juventus host Lyon for the four pending spots in the quarter-finals. Clubs such as Atalanta BC, Paris Saint-Germain FC, RB Leipzig and Atlético Madrid have already paved their ways into the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Viewers can watch all the round of 16 clashes live on SONY TEN 1 and SONY TEN 2 channels and the quarter-final stages on SONY TEN 2 channels in English and SONY TEN 3 channels in Hindi.

Sony Pictures Networks India Sports Business distribution and head chief revenue officer Rajesh Kaul said, “It is our privilege to be the premier destination for maximum live global sporting events in India whether it is cricket or football. Sony Pictures Sports Network is home to the best footballing clubs in Europe with UEFA Champions League and Europa League. Football followers in India have felt the absence of these two tournaments and we are excited to bring back the LIVE coverage of both these competitions in what will now be a power-pack fortnight of the best European footballing action, along with Hindi commentary, for the last leg of the Champions League games”

August 4, 2020
Vivo pulls out of IPL 2020 sponsorship

MUMBAI: In or out?

Well first came the announcement that Chinese mobile company Vivo was in as the sponsor of the IPL T20 tournament, which would be held in the UAE from September to November this year.

Now comes the news that it is out. Vivo today announced that it would back out of the title sponsorship of the IPL following the backlash about its decision to go ahead on social media.

India and China have been having a verbal duel about national borders which the former says the latter has impinged upon and killed its soldiers. Since then, India has been gradually building barriers to many a trade and economic activity with China.

August 4, 2020
IPL governing council clears UAE as venue; Vivo as sponsor

MUMBAI: So, the Indian Premier League is moving to the UAE after all. All that it awaits is the official government go-ahead, which is likely to come in the next couple of days or so. The IPL’s governing council green signaled the holding of the world’s most premium cricket tournament in the UAE on Sunday from 19 September to 10 November.

The council also approved the retention of all its sponsors including Chinese mobile company Vivo, which has committed to Rs 440 crore annually for five years. The tournament will be played in Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi – all of which have world class stadiums.

Ten of the matches will be played in the afternoon from 3.30 IST while the evening matches will be played from 7.30 pm.

The IPL governing council agreed that each team will have a squad of 24 while allowing any number of replacements in teams in case players get infected. However, standard operating procedures are being prepared. The final will take place during the Diwali week, which should augur well for brands and broadcaster Disney Star India as well.

Fans who have been starved of cricket are clearly looking forward to the recommencement of live cricket starring their favorite Indian players.

Meanwhile the IPL council has also agreed to go ahead with the women’s IPL, featuring three teams and four matches to be played during IPL Playoff week.

August 3, 2020

THE NBA UNVEILS NEW SPOT FOR SEASON RESTART #WHOLENEWGAME

After a long hiatus, the National Basketball Association (NBA) is back with a ‘Whole New Game’, a campaign that inspires fans to reimagine the game of basketball in its purest form for the rest of the 2019-2020 season. The heart of the game remains unchanged but everything else will be different. With 22 teams set up in the bubble at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, the season restarts on July 31, 2020. The games will be available live for Indian fans on SONY SIX SD & HD, SonyLIV, FanCode and NBA League Pass.

The restart of the 2019-20 season will be one for the books given the never-seen-before elements, be it the broadcast innovations or the immersive fan experiences. The high energy global campaign film opens with empty arena pondering on the profound changes that the world has witnessed this year, reminding fans where we left off the last season and building anticipation for the restart. With no fans or the sparkling glamour in the court, the game we all love is like we have never seen before echoes through the story.

The NBA has introduced never-before-seen camera angles and enhanced audio of players and coaches. With digital video boards in the stands, fans can virtually live the game experience along with an all-encompassing sound system, the restart will be nothing short of a modern-day miracle.

The US only version of the film features prominent American actress, writer and producer, Issa Rae, literally walking the fans through the Whole New Game. Translated in more than 10 languages including Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Mexico) and Thai, the campaign has also been integrated throughout the NBA Campus in Orlando and will be an integral part of the comprehensive social media activation amplifying the user-generated content on @NBA platforms.

Fan all over the world including Bollywood superstar Ranveer Singh, Indian cricketer and LA Lakers fan Mayank Agarwal, star YouTuber Bhuvan Bam and actor Rannvijay Singha expressed their awe and excitement by sharing the campaign film minutes after it was launched.

It’s a new world and yes, it’s a Whole New Game!

Block your calendars and catch the action live starting July 31, on SONY SIX, SONYLIV, FanCode and NBA League Pass.

Schedule of the game:

DAY	DATE	MATCH	IST
Fri	7-31-20	New Orleans vs. Utah	4:00 AM
Fri	7-31-20	L.A. Lakers vs. LA Clippers	6:30 AM
Sat	8-1-20	Milwaukee vs. Boston	4:00 AM
Sat	8-1-20	Dallas vs. Houston	6:30 AM
Sun	8-2-20	Toronto vs. L.A. Lakers	6:00 AM
Sun	8-2-20	Brooklyn vs. Washington	11:30 PM
Mon	8-3-20	Houston vs. Milwaukee	6:00 AM
Mon	8-3-20	Miami vs. Toronto	11:00 PM
Tue	8-4-20	Utah vs. L.A. Lakers	6:30 AM
Wed	8-5-20	Miami vs. Boston	4:00 AM
Wed	8-5-20	Portland vs. Houston	6:30 AM
Thu	8-6-20	L.A. Lakers vs. Oklahoma City	4:00 AM
Thu	8-6-20	Boston vs. Brooklyn	6:30 AM
Fri	8-7-20	Dallas vs. LA Clippers	4:00 AM
Fri	8-7-20	Houston vs. L.A. Lakers	6:30 AM

July 29, 2020

IPL 2020 to be held from 19 September to 8 November

KOLKATA: The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 has finally got its dates. It will commence on 19 September and the final will be played on 8 November. The T-20 league will be held in the UAE, pending clearance from the Indian government.

The tournament was originally scheduled to start at the end of March but was postponed indefinitely due to the Covid2019 crisis. Recently BCCI decided to hold the tournament in the UAE as the number of cases are rising rapidly in India. Moreover, ICC postponing the Men's T20 World Cup opened up the window for IPL to be held.

According to reports, the IPL governing council will meet next week to chalk out the final schedule. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly repeatedly expressed his strong will that the tournament will be held this year.

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July 24, 2020
IPL2020 window opens; UAE likely destination

MUMBAI: Cricket lovers – specially those who thrive on the short format of the game, the T20 – can now rejoice. The IPL 2020, which was scheduled to begin on 29 March, but had to be called off on account of the SARS Cov2 virus, is finally set to take place, the IPL chairman Brijesh Patel announced today. It will be a full-fledged IPL, with 60 games in all, and is most likely to take place in the UAE between September and November.

A window of opportunity to go ahead with the IPL popped open on account of the ICC’s decision to postpone the T20 World Cup to next year from its earlier schedule of October-November. Patel added that the IPL had applied to the government for permission to go ahead with its decision to hold it in the UAE. The IPL governing council is scheduled to meet in a week to 10 days to thrash out the details of the tournament.

In June 2020, the UAE had offered to host the league, which had a valuation of $6.7 billion in 2020 according to consulting firm Duff & Phelps, saying it had the required infrastructure to host the entire tournament. In fact, the tournament was held in the UAE in 2014 on account of the central elections in India. According to some estimates, the BCCI would stand to lose $500 million if the IPL was canceled for this year.

The development should come as much needed good news to Star India head honcho Uday Shankar who has seen an 80 per cent drop in revenues at Disney Star India courtesy the IPL being a non-event in March. He, however, has a challenge on his hands: getting the right value from sponsor-advertiser-partners who normally associate with the IPL for the air time on the Star India network during the telecast of the matches. Advertisers have been having a gala time, going in for volume deals, discounting air time rates drastically, on general entertainment channels, which recently launched new episodes after three months of archival repeats. The belief at the Star network is that advertisers will start opening their wallets by October – which is the festival time – and will be more than open to splurge to target consumers who have been starved of sporting action for more than four months already.

July 22, 2020
ICC postpones T20 World Cup due to the ongoing pandemic

KOLKATA: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia 2020 has been postponed due to the ongoing Covid2019 pandemic.

ICC also put out in the statement that – ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will be held October – November 2021 with the final on 14 November 2021; ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 will be held October – November 2022 with the final on 13 November 2022; ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 will be held in India October – November 2023 with the final on 26 November 2023.

ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney said: “We have undertaken a comprehensive and complex contingency planning exercise and through this process, our number one priority has been to protect the health and safety of everyone involved in the sport.

“The decision to postpone the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was taken after careful consideration of all of the options available to us and gives us the best possible opportunity of delivering two safe and successful T20 World Cups for fans around the world.

The IBC Board (the commercial subsidiary of the ICC) agreed to continue to monitor the rapidly changing situation and assess all the information available in order to make a considered decision on future hosts to ensure the sport is able to stage safe and successful global events in 2021 and 2022.

July 21, 2020