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Category: Sports

  • Win big in this Cricket World Cup with Bajaj Finserv’s #EMINetworkPowerplay

    Win big in this Cricket World Cup with Bajaj Finserv’s #EMINetworkPowerplay

    MUMBAI: Bajaj Finance, the lending arm of Bajaj Finserv, has announced its #EMINetworkPowerplay campaign. Through this campaign, Bajaj Finserv intends to ride on the excitement and celebration of the Cricket World Cup  and engage with the die-hard Indian cricket fans, giving them an opportunity to win big during this 45-day cricket extravaganza.

    As a market leader in the consumer durable financing space, Bajaj Finance aims to reach out to over 10 million customers and increase its consumer durable lending business multifold through its #EMINetworkPowerplay campaign. Here, customers get to Play, Shop on the Bajaj Finserv EMI Network and win exciting prizes.

    Customers simply need to go to the Bajaj Finserv website and participate in a simple quiz.  Every participant will have to answer three questions on cricket. Post that they need to shop for Consumer durable products like Air conditioner, LED TVs, Mobiles, etc. through the Bajaj Finserv EMI Network to be eligible to win exciting prizes.

    Customers not only stand a chance to win some great prizes in this contest but also get to avail cash vouchers up to Rs. 8000/- in their Bajaj Finserv wallet. The customer with the highest spending stands a chance to win the new Samsung S10 mobile worth Rs. 60,000/-. Apart from this, customers also stand a chance to win gift vouchers worth 14,000/- from Shoppers Stop.

    Customers can shop for 1 million products under EMI Network. The categories include electronics, large and small appliances, gadgets, clothes, accessories, eyewear, footwear, watches, international and domestic flight tickets, hotel stays, holiday packages, eye-wear, education, and even groceries. The Bajaj Finserv EMI network operates 60,000 stores in over 1300 cities.

    The #EMINetworkPowerplay campaign will be on till July 16, 2019.  For those looking for hassle-free financing options can now shop on the Bajaj Finserv EMI network with or without an EMI Network card and also win some exciting prizes in the process. To participate, click https://www.bajajfinservspotlight.in/cricket-world-cup/ 

  • Sony Pictures Networks India – The Dhun Project

    Sony Pictures Networks India – The Dhun Project

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India together with India Vision Foundation celebrated World Music Day with the release  of a heart-warming video of- The Dhun Project.

    The Dhun Project  has facilitated the opening of music training  centers  across five large  prisons  in North India. The initiative uses the powerful medium  of music (vocal and instrumental) to assist in rehabilitation of  prison  inmates, thus  preparing them  for  reintegrating into  society  post  their  prison  term. 'The Dhun Project'  has now  touched the  lives of close  to  250  inmates  at five training  centres  in UP and Haryana prisons.

    Since the project's initiation in 2018 with the launch of their first music training center  at the Bhondsi Jail in Gurugram,  Haryana, four  more  training centres  have  been  set  up  at Rothak  and  Ambala  prisons  in Haryana, and Dasna and Kasna prisons in Uttar Pradesh.

    Furthermore, special trainers (vocal and instrumental) have been appointed who visit the music centres on a regular  basis to train the prison  inmates. The training  centres  are well equipped with instruments such as drum set, pad, tabla, dholak, harmonium, guitar and electric  keyboards. So far, 116 inmates  have been trained in vocal, 105 in instrumental and 23 inmates trained in both vocal and instrumental music.

    Apart from being a source of cheer and entertainment, the training equips inmates with a potential source of livelihood.
     

  • ICC World Cup 2019, India vs Afghanistan: TV listing, live streaming, date, time

    ICC World Cup 2019, India vs Afghanistan: TV listing, live streaming, date, time

    MUMBAI: India take on the 2019 ICC World Cup’s favourite whipping boys Afghanistan in Match 28. The Men in Blue are flying in the tournament with three wins and a draw in their four matches. The Asian minnows are bottom of the points table having lost all their five games so far. India are overwhelming favourites to win the contest. Afghanistan will aim to put up a solid show against what many call is the best team in the tournament.

    Where will the 2019 ICC World Cup match between India vs Afghanistan take place?

    The India vs Afghanistan 2019 ICC World Cup match will be played at Rose Bowl, Southampton

    What time will the ICC World Cup 2019 match between India vs Afghanistan commence?

    The ICC World Cup 2019 match between India and Afghanistan starts at 3 pm IST on 22 June (Saturday).

    Which TV channels will broadcast the India vs Afghanistan match?

    You can watch the India vs Afghanistan contest live on the Star Sports network

    How can I live stream the India vs Afghanistan match?

    You can live stream the India vs Afghanistan match on Star India’s streaming service Hotstar.

  • VIVO Pro Kabaddi league season 7 schedule announced

    VIVO Pro Kabaddi league season 7 schedule announced

    MUMBAI: Mashal Sports Pvt. Ltd, the organizer of the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) have announced the fixtures for Season 7 starting July 20th. The opening match at Gachibowli Stadium, Hyderabad will have Telugu Titans’ superstar Siddharth Desai taking on his former team U Mumba. Season 7 will build new heroes and have each team playing all other teams twice. The schedule minimizes difference between matches played across teams at any given time making every game more crucial in the race to the playoffs. The LIVE coverage of the new season will begin at 7:00 pm with matches beginning at 7:30 pm on the Star Sports Network and Hotstar.

    VIVO Pro Kabaddi League Season VII – What’s new:

    Players and Coaches:

    Siddharth ‘Bahubali’ Desai had a brilliant debut season with U Mumba and will look forward to recreating the magic for his new team – Telugu Titans
    The ‘Showman’ that’s Rahul Chaudhari moves to Tamil Thalaivas playing alongside Ajay ‘Thalaiva’ Thakur
    The season will also see new coaches take to the mat- Anup Kumar for Puneri Paltan and Rakesh Kumar for Haryana Steelers
    With top familiar faces like Ajay Thakur, Rahul Chaudhari and Pardeep ‘King’ Narwal a new generation of breakout stars including Siddharth Desai and ‘Hi-Flyer’ Pawan Shehrawat are gearing up to take VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season 7 by storm

    The League:

    The season returns to the original VIVO PKL calendar of July to October, with the league beginning on July 20th and Finals on October 19th, 2019.
    The caravan continues with a focus on an equitable league table in a double round robin format where each team will play every other team twice, and the top six will go to the playoffs
    Each city leg begins on Saturdays while rest days for the team are on Tuesdays
    All home teams get 4 days rest before and after their home legs giving them adequate rest before their home leg
    The home teams play 4 home matches: Saturdays, Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays
    All teams will have played an equal number of games by the half-way mark of the season

    The season opener will see Telugu Titans and U Mumba take to the mat, and both teams will be looking to begin strong and lay down the marker as the team to fear. All eyes in game 1 will be on Siddharth ‘Bahubali’ Desai who is now part of Telugu Titans. He had a phenomenal start to his VIVO Pro Kabaddi career finishing with over 200 raid points at U Mumba last season.

    The second game on opening day will be a battle of the champions – defending champions Bengaluru Bulls take on three-time winners Patna Pirates and both will look to get one up on the other and take a step in the direction to winning the trophy again this season. Will the Dubki King Pardeep Narwal’s raiding prowess break some more records, or will Hi- Flyer Pawan Sehrawat, the winner of the league’s Most Valuable Player award in Season 6 lead his team to its first win?

    The other highly anticipated matches through the week include the big southern derby between Telugu Titans and Tamil Thalaivas. This has been a high-octane derby for the past two seasons, but this time, ‘the Showman’, Rahul Chaudhari will play for Tamil Thalaivas, and will pair up with his close friend and captain Ajay ‘Thalaiva’ Thakur.

  • ICC World Cup 2019: Star India network registers 315 mn viewers during first 2 weeks

    ICC World Cup 2019: Star India network registers 315 mn viewers during first 2 weeks

    MUMBAI: Continuing the momentum from week 1, the action in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is getting hotter with every passing week. The first 2 weeks of the tournament has seen 315 million* viewers tuning into Star Network from across the country. Television viewership delivered a phenomenal 182.7 million* average impressions for the first two weeks.

    Quest for #CricketKaCrown gets intense

    ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is off to a flying start with some scintillating player performances – Shikhar Dhawan’s confident knock of 117 against Australia, Shakib Al Hasan’s striking form with 121 against England, Aaron Finch’s massive 153 against Sri Lanka and James Neesham’s maiden ODI fifer against Afghanistan, to name a few. India and New Zealand’s 100%-win percentage and Australia’s steady yet cautious rise to TOP 4 are a testament to the #CricketKaCrown battle getting intense as the tournament progresses.

    #DeshKiMitti travels to UK

    To bring alive the emotion that is, ‘Cricket for all Indians’ and to support the players representing team India at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Star Sports sent the Indian team #BlessingsFromHomeGround. These blessings were given in the form of a deep-rooted symbolic item – a jar of soil collected from across the schools and maidans where the players first started their journey in cricket.  This #DeshKiMitti travelled to the United Kingdom and was handed over by Star Sports anchor Jatin Sapru to Captain Virat Kohli prior to the India vs Australia game.

    Enriching fan experience with content

    Giving fans a day full of exciting content to celebrate cricket, Star Sports had it all, from special segment called ‘Dil Se India’ on all India match days to a 90 mins pre-show ‘Philips Hue Cricket Live’ on all match days to a unique show ‘Follow the Blues’ which captures Team India’s journey off and on field in a never seen avatar from the UK.

    The game of cricket was further augmented on #SelectDugout for fans by experts such as Brian Lara, Matthew Hayden, Kevin Pietersen, Dean Jones, Scott Styris, Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan calling the game and analysing all aspects of it. Fans also enjoyed an age-old camaraderie between Master Blaster, Sachin Tendulkar who made his commentary debut on the network and joined his former teammates Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, as part of a special segment #SachinOpensAgain.

  • IPL 2019: Tech brands optimise ad slots to drive digital interactions

    IPL 2019: Tech brands optimise ad slots to drive digital interactions

    The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been growing with every iteration from its inception in 2008 and has become one of the most celebrated Twenty20 match formats in India. With some of the biggest players in the world joining in with local up-and-coming talent, the IPL has garnered both Indian and international audiences. According to BARC data, the first three games of IPL 2019 witnessed a 31 per cent surge in viewership as compared to last year.

    This massive audience can be the perfect opportunity for brands to position themselves and maximize their reach. Since we’re in the age of analytics, it would be a crime to leave out social media stats as well. In the month building up to IPL 2019 (20 February – 21 March), there were a total of 73,400 mentions and in terms of pure mentions across platforms and engagement stands at a whopping 1.1 million according to Talkwalker, a prominent social media analytics company based in Luxembourg.

    So when it comes to India, one thing to keep in mind is that cricket has no language. It’s our nation's favourite and most popular sport. In terms of revenue generating potential, Star India Pvt Ltd understood the capabilities and won the rights to the IPL. Last year, Star India aired the IPL final in eight languages across 17 channels.

    According to the BARC data analysed by Insidesport.co, 22 per cent of the viewership for IPL has come from regional language feeds. These statistics establish how Star India has been able to expand into, and open regional markets well than previous IPL seasons on the Sony Pictures Network.

    In fact, it is such a big opportunity for advertisers that Star TV has requested permission from the BCCI to broadcast political advertisements during the telecast of the games. While the IPL takes place from 23 March to 19 May, Lok Sabha elections are scheduled between 11 April and 19 May. For many political parties, this is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to connect with voters all across India.

    Coming back to brands and advertising, another aspect to consider is the evolving arena. Consumers are now watching IPL content on OTT platforms such as Hotstar, SonyLiv, etc. Star India said it would offer targeted ads on its video streaming platform – Hotstar for IPL 2019.

    As the viewing experience has diversified, advertisers are also changing their focus by using analytics to reach their TG with more relevant content. Broadcasters are increasing their efforts to take advantage of regional markets by targeting demographics on different platforms with different content as well.

    But purchasing ad space during the IPL is not for every advertiser. Only the most successful and premium brands are able to buy the coveted space of 10-20 seconds. So in turn, the question doesn’t come down to national or local advertisers but rather tech brands and non-tech brands.

    A majority of ads during the IPL (more than 60 per cent ads) on TV and OTT platforms are tech ads. Companies like Swiggy, Paytm, Netmeds and Make My Trip utilise these ad slots on mainstream media to drive interaction their own digital platforms.  

    Another key factor when it comes to advertising is actually the year. The ICC World Cup will also take begin in May 2019 and hence ads on the IPL and World Cup 2019 may be seen as a double-edged sword. If well strategised, brands can take advantage of the opportunity to gain maximum traction during these mega events. On the other hand, if unplanned, ad budgets are likely to dwindle leaving sub-standard visibility during only a single event.

    For brands not considering a direct tie-up with broadcasters, IPL fever can still be used to your advantage. If budgets are low, consider piggybacking on hashtags and contests to increase visibility and engagement. If adequate budgets are available, on-ground activations at stadiums can be a gold mine creating buzz amongst the attendees and connecting with your audience on a one-to-one basis.

    Similar to the IPL teams competing against each other, brands are starting to compete against each other for ad slots. Being one of the biggest opportunities to reach audiences across the country, brands are likely to bid against one another for a coveted piece of the IPL pie.

    (The author is CEO and MD at NeoNiche. The views expressed are his own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.)

  • Sony Pictures Networks India announces ‘#WWEKAMAHAYUDH’ campaign ahead of WrestleMania® 35

    Sony Pictures Networks India announces ‘#WWEKAMAHAYUDH’ campaign ahead of WrestleMania® 35

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited (SPN), the exclusive broadcast partner for WWE in India, today announced the launch of its new campaign ‘#WWEKAMAHAYUDH’ ahead of WrestleMania 35 this Sunday. WrestleMania is set to captivate millions of WWE fans across the globe while SPN’s programming and marketing initiatives will make this WrestleMania more accessible to fans across India than ever before.

    WrestleMania is ranked in the top 10 most valuable sports brands in the world* and to further the appeal in India, Sony Pictures Networks has launched ‘#WWEKAMAHAYUDH’, a campaign that showcases the scale of WrestleMania. In Indian mythology, ‘Mahayudh’ signifies the biggest battles with the fiercest warriors and is akin to WrestleMania 35 where the biggest WWE Superstars battle for supremacy on the Grandest Stage of Them All.  The #WWEKAMAHAYUDH campaign will have a complete 360-degree rollout across mass media; including television, print, outdoor, radio and digital.

    In 2018, WrestleMania 34 was live telecast in Hindi for the first time. The ever-growing popularity of WWE in South India has fueled the demand for regional feeds for the biggest Sports-Entertainment show of the year. For the very first time in the history of Sony Pictures Networks, WrestleMania will be live telecast in four languages: English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on SONY TEN 1, SONY TEN 3 and SONY SIX channels across India.

    In another first, Sony Pictures Networks along with WWE will host special screenings of WrestleMania 35 in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata in partnership with PVR. The screening parties will have many fun activities at an experiential fan-zone where attendees will get an opportunity to win branded WWE merchandise. An on-air contest for Sony Pictures Networks viewers had almost 30,000 fans enter to win the chance for a larger-than-life experience of #WWEKAMAHAYUDH and watch WrestleMania 35 on a 70mm big screen.

  • IPL 2019: Star India clocks 283 mn viewers in opening week, up 15% from last season

    IPL 2019: Star India clocks 283 mn viewers in opening week, up 15% from last season

    MUMBAI: Star’s strategy of widening appeal of VIVO IPL across regions, languages, with focus on families and youth has resulted in a historical opening week in the tournaments 12th edition both in terms of reach and viewership. The high decibel marketing campaign ‘Game Banayega Name’, curated programming and a multi-city VIVO IPL Trophy Tour, contributed to making the opening week a grand success. 

    The inaugural week of the VIVO IPL 2019, recorded a historic opening with 283 million viewers tuning in across the country, which is 15 % higher than last year. Television viewership reached a phenomenal 33.1* million average impressions registering a growth of 28%* setting a viewership record in the history of the tournament. 

    Taking IPL to India

    Regionalization fuels growth – HSM grew 32% and South grew 19% versus last year. This growth can be attributed to the massive regionalization efforts, as the tournament is being broadcast in 8 languages – English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali including Marathi and Malayalam on Sundays. Star has expanded the appeal for the tournament further inviting kids and family with a curated feedcalled Super Funday, telecast every Sunday on Star Gold. This contributed a massive growth of 41% in viewership amongst kids versus last year.  

    VIVO IPL 2019 on Star continues to have the best in class and largest congregation of commentators and experts for all kinds of fans including the core cricket aficionado who enjoyed the action on Star Sports Select with #SelectDugout.  The opening week is a historic first in many ways and the world’s toughest T20 tournament was enjoyed by all members of the family including children and women. 

    The opening week of IPL sure has set the tone for an exciting summer of cricket coming up on Star.

    * Source: BARC (TV + OOH), Only Match Telecast Hours considered
    ** For the growth vs last year, comparison has been done with Star Channels excluding DD on TV versus TV+OOH of this year IPL Channel Bouquet in 2019 – Asianet Plus, Star Suvarna, STAR Suvarna HD, Jalsha Movies, Jalsha Movies HD, Star Maa Movies, STAR Maa Movies HD, STAR Gold HD,STAR Gold, STAR Pravah, STAR Sports 1,STAR Sports 1 Tamil, STAR Sports 1 Kannada, STAR Sports 1 Telugu, STAR Sports 1 Bangla, STAR Sports 2(v), STAR Sports 1 Hindi, STAR Sports 1 HD,STAR Sports 2 HD(v), STAR Sports 1 HD Hindi, STAR Sports Select 1 HD, STAR Sports Select 1 SD, STAR Vijay Super, Hungama. 

  • India’s first professional Kho Kho league launched

    India’s first professional Kho Kho league launched

    MUMBAI: The Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI), along with eminent industrialist Mr. Amit Burman, today launched the country’s first franchise-based league for the sport – Ultimate Kho Kho, in the presence of Honorable Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports, Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. After the monumental success of Kho Kho at the Khelo India Youth Games 2019, Dabur India Ltd.’s Vice Chairman Amit Burman has decided to collaborate with the apex body of the sport – the KKFI to support the development of this league.

    Speaking on the occasion, Hon’ble Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports, Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said, “Indigenous sports are the manifestation of the local genius and ethos. I am very happy that a league is being launched for Kho Kho.  Surely, this will go a long way in enhancing the popularity of this very Indian sport and will open new vistas for the players and the fans.  I congratulate and wish the Kho Kho Federation of India the best in their endeavors.”

    Mr. Burman shared his vision for the league and said, “Ultimate Kho Kho will be a professionally structured league with eight participating franchise teams that will be owned by a mix of corporate houses and celebrities.  Each team will have a combination of players including Indian and international players from two age categories of under and above 18.”

    Kho Kho Federation of IndiaI and Amit Burman have brought on board Tenzing Niyogi, former sports advisory leader at EY, as the CEO of the league.

    “I always felt it is important to encourage other sports, especially those that bring communities together and promote active lifestyles to Indian youth. Kho Kho is the first ‘run and chase’ format sport and with the recent success of Kho Kho in Khelo India Games 2018 and 2019, it further signifies the massive fan following in states of Maharashtra, Punjab, Delhi, Kerela, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh to name a few. The biggest differentiator is – While other sports leagues are busy developing the grassroots program, Kho Kho is deeply entrenched in rural India across every state with school programs. Conglomerates, Business houses, Brands, Celebrity team owners will engage with fans from season one for the sheer recognition of the game”, said Mr. Tenzing Niyogi, CEO, Ultimate Kho Kho.

    Present among the dignitaries were also Mr. Rajeev Mehta – Chairman, Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) & Secretary General, IOA, who expressed his delight at the launch event, “It is a moment of joy and pride for all of us to announce the launch of the Ultimate Kho Kho League. Our aim is to restore the glory this sport has seen in our country and we look forward to receiving the support from sports lovers from across the country.”

    The Kho Kho Federation of India is working extensively, with support from the Indian Olympic Association, towards making the sport popular with the country’s youth.  

    “Ultimate Kho Kho is an initiative to bring the sport to the forefront and make it the most sought-after league for a home-grown sport in India. The league will witness participation of key athletes from India and other Kho Kho playing nations.’ said Mr. Sudhanshu Mittal, President, KKFI & Vice President, IOA.

    The first edition of Ultimate Kho Kho will feature eight teams named after the country’s prominent regions. There will be an initial draft of players where Kho Kho athletes from across the world, including England, South Korea, Republic of Iran, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, will be made part of the eight franchises. The teams will also have the opportunity to include U-18 players in their squad which will help develop a pool of young Kho Kho players in the country.

    A Kho Kho match consists of 4 innings of 9 mins each and will be played on specially developed mats in state-of-the-art indoor stadiums. It will also have some minor tweaks in the format to make it more visually appealing for fans and television viewers. The 21-day event is set to have a double round-robin format which will see the eight teams heavily involved in competition through the season.

    Kho Kho ranks as one of the most popular traditional sports in India, along with kabaddi. It is a modified form of 'Run Chase' which in its simplest form involves chasing and touching a person, requires speed and agility. It is considered one of the strongest tag-team sports.

  • IPL 2019: Star India says 219 mn tuned in on opening weekend

    IPL 2019: Star India says 219 mn tuned in on opening weekend

    MUMBAI: The opening weekend of the 12th season of VIVO IPL, broke all existing viewership records. 219* mn viewers (All India 2+ U+ R) tuned in on the opening weekend, which was 31per cent* higher than last year. Specifically, on the opening day, reach in HSM grew by 30 per cent* while in South reach grew by 20 per cent*, driven by a strong regionalisation strategy. Apart from the robust growth in reach, viewership (as measured by Impressions) also grew by a solid 29 per cent (Source: BARC Preview Report).

    On the back of a successful marketing campaign, ‘Game Banayega Name’, India tuned in to make the opening weekend the highest ever watched in the history of the tournament. A great leveler and reflective of young and fearless India in every sphere, the campaign culminated in a Dhoni vs Kohli fan face-off featuring the two legends themselves inviting viewers to tune in for the opening encounter on March 23rd.

    In 2019, the regionalisation story was strengthened with the introduction of Marathi & Malayalam taking the total number of languages to 8 (English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali being the other languages) which is the maximum for any sport tournament till date.

    Additionally, Star curated a special feed targeting families & kids on Star Gold to invite a wider section of audiences. The first episode of ‘Sunday Funday’ was broadcast on the opening weekend to give viewers a fresh and relatable experience to VIVO IPL 2019. As part of the feed, an exclusive show – ‘Meet the Khelkars’ had cricketing legends Irfan Pathan, Virender Sehwag and Krishnamachari Srikkanth talking about their cricketing journey in a fun and light-hearted manner.

    Making it a truly global extravaganza the commentary roster for VIVO IPL 2019 features over 100 experts from India and across the globe. The #SelectDugout meant for the ardent cricket fan who is always looking for more, also received an overwhelming response from the fans with the introduction of Brendon McCullum to the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Dean Jones, Kumar Sangakkara, Scott Styris, Anil Kumble, etc.