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Category: Sports

  • NBA, Perform announce multi-year digital media deal

    NBA, Perform announce multi-year digital media deal

    MUMBAI: The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Perform Media, a leading digital sports content and media group have announced a multi-year partnership that will see Perform manage the league’s official websites in more than 15 international markets, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, India, Japan, Mexico and Spain.

    Through the partnership, Perform will leverage its global editorial and commercial teams to manage the NBA’s official online destinations in select international markets that together reach more than 15 million unique visitors each month. Perform will focus on growing the league’s international audiences on these platforms through locally-relevant stories and branded content, and on promoting NBA League Pass – the league’s live-game subscription service – on DAZN, Perform’s OTT platform.

    “We are delighted to be working so closely with such a major rights holder as the NBA,” said Perform Media CEO Juan Delgado.  “Our goal is to help replicate the NBA’s success in additional markets by leveraging the power of digital, and of course, Perform’s unique international footprint and expertise. Our continuous focus on innovation in the digital world ensures we are uniquely positioned to help premium rights holders like the NBA drive interest and engagement in the sport worldwide.”

    “Perform has been a trusted NBA partner, and we’re excited to broaden our relationship to include the management of our digital properties in additional markets around the world,” said NBA senior vice president, global media distribution and business operations, Matt Brabants.  “We look forward to leveraging Perform’s expertise in building global audiences to bring exciting, localised content to our passionate international fans.”

    Perform currently owns and manages 10 D2C properties worldwide that reach more than 170 million fans per month – Goal.com being its largest property and the largest soccer platform in the world, with nearly 100 million users per month – as well as other strategic, long-term partnerships with the NFL, FIBA, WTA and CONMEBOL.

    The NBA currently features 20 localised, international web destinations. 

    Also Read :

    Mairu Gupta and the art of building the NBA in India

    Social media most significant for snackable content: NBA India MD

  • Biggest ever start to IPL, record numbers across screens

    Biggest ever start to IPL, record numbers across screens

    The Vivo IPL Season 11 on Star Network has got off to a grand start.  With exciting matches and the reintroduction of CSK and RR the tournament is generating massive fan excitement across screens across the country.

    This is the first time the tournament has gone live across screens, both TV and Digital.  This is the first time the tournament is being broadcast in 6 languages on 7 dedicated feeds. This Vivo IPL also marks a truly differentiated and immersive engagement on Digital with a global first gaming experience, “Watch N Play” and the introduction of a live Virtual Reality feed. The exciting games and content package are seeing a massive affirmation from fans across screens across the country

    For the first time: a “Total Audience Viewership” view across screens!

    We are excited to announce that for the first time we will be measuring a “Total Audience Viewership” across screens. This will capture consumption across TV screens in home, out of home and Digital – giving a unified, holistic view.

    Total Reach at 423 million fans* for the first two weeks

    The Total Reach across Star TV network (in home and out of home) and Hotstar is 423 million fans for the first 2 weeks and looks well poised to achieve the 700 million fans targeted across screens for the tournament. The 700 million fans target was an ambitious goal of adding 200 million fans across screens this IPL

    IPL Total Audience Viewership grows at an epic 27% on the back of a “Reimagined IPL”

    The central idea of the re-imagination of IPL was to put cricket at the core of the entertainment. Powered by an investment in a high amplitude “Best vs Best” marketing campaign, a world class production with ~100 commentators representing the finest cricketing minds in the world and a specialized super-fan “Dugout” feed – Total Audience Viewership in Urban India across TV (in home and out of home) and Hotstar has increased by 27% at 289 Mn** impressions for the first 2 weeks. This is an incredible surge given the scale of the tournament. In fact, viewership on Hotstar has set new global records for live sports peak concurrency touching 7 million in the RCB vs CSK game on April 25th, 2018, beating the previous record at 6 million peak concurrency achieved on the MI vs RCB game on April 17th, 2018.

    Localisation powers growth!

    The regional language feeds across 4 markets have received a tremendous response with the three southern markets of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh/ Telangana along with West Bengal witnessing a viewership growth of 39% on Total Viewership across screens. Fans have been vocal in their praise across markets enjoying the action in their own language.

    Excitement & Engagement like never before

    The thought behind this year’s offering has been to bring the fans closer to the stadium by participating in the Watch N Play game and expressing their emotions. On Hotstar, for the first time, fans were able to express their emotions during the match through emojis. Over 1.7 bn emojis have been sent by fans across the country in the tournament so far. 
     

  • DSPORT to telecast Badminton Asia Championships 2018

    DSPORT to telecast Badminton Asia Championships 2018

    New Delhi:  DSPORT, the premium sports TV channel by Discovery Communications India will telecast the 38th edition of Badminton Asia Championships being played in Wuhan, China.   DSPORT will telecast all the action from quarter final onwards starting April 27th for the benefit of Indian badminton fans.

    Date

    Matches

    Time

    April 27, 2018

    Quarter Finals –

    Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles

    2:30 pm onwards

    April 28, 2018

    Semi  Finals –

    Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles

    11:30 am onwards

    April 29, 2018

    Finals –

    Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles

    11:30 am onwards
  • Law Commission calls for BCCI to be brought under RTI Act

    Law Commission calls for BCCI to be brought under RTI Act

    MUMBAI: The Law Commission of India, headed by Justice BS Chauhan, has recommended to the Centre that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) be classified as a national sports federation and brought under the ambit of the Right to Information Act (RTI).

    BCCI CEO Rahul Johri did not respond to an email query when Indiantelevision.com reached out to him for a comment.

    The commission, which held its full meeting on Tuesday, has informed Union Minister of Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad that “BCCI exercises ‘state-like’ powers affecting the fundamental rights of the stakeholders,” and that the “board has taken a flight under the radar of public scrutiny.”

    It has asked the government to classify the BCCI as “state” under Article 12 of the Constitution so that it is answerable to authorities, including the courts.

    In its 124-page report, the commission has stated that the “BCCI exercises ‘state-like’ powers affecting the fundamental rights of the stakeholders, guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution. It is hereby recommended that BCCI be viewed as an agency or instrumentality of State, under Article 12 of the Constitution, thereby making it amenable to the writ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 32.”

    The commission has also noted that since BCCI had a ‘monopolistic’ approach in regulating the game of cricket, it has often escaped public scrutiny that caused malpractices. If the government heeds to the commission’s recommendations and classifies BCCI as a public body or an organisation under the RTI Act, anyone can file PILs in the Supreme Court or high courts questioning the selection of players representing India, states and zones. PILs could also target the agreements signed by the BCCI with other cricket playing nations and the International Cricket Council (ICC).

    “Non-consideration of the role played by BCCI as monopolistic in regulation of the game of cricket has resulted in the Board flying under the radar of public scrutiny, encouraged an environment of opacity and non-accountability. In the past, this has probably given an impression in the minds of the general public that corruption and other forms of malpractices are adversely affecting one of the most popular sports played in India human rights are sacrosanct and innately associated with the human personality,” reads the report. 

    The law panel has also recommended that the government brings the cricket administration under the ambit of RTI, which it has evaded till now. 

    “As per the statement made in the Lok Sabha, the Central Government has already been regarding BCCI as a National Sports Federation and hence, it is recommended that, for the removal of any doubt, the same be explicitly mentioned in the list of NSFs available on the ministry’s website. This express mention would automatically bring BCCI within the purview of RTI Act,” stated the commission. 

    “The government in impliedly authorizing BCCI to raise funds/generate resources from numerous other sources, funds and resources, which otherwise could have been directed to the national/state exchequer, also amounts to ‘substantial financing’. It can be asserted that the BCCI has, over the decades, indeed received ‘substantial financing’ from the governments,” said the report. 

    Also Read:

    Star’s BCCI rights bid not as astronomical as we all think

    Winning bid nets BCCI Rs 6138.70 crore for home rights

     

  • Star’s BCCI rights bid not as astronomical as we all think

    Star’s BCCI rights bid not as astronomical as we all think

    MUMBAI: Star India has made history by making two of the biggest bids for acquiring cricket rights in India—for the coveted Indian Premier League (IPL) along with the Indian cricket team’s home matches. After Star India successfully bid Rs 6,138.1 crore for the home matches, the question on everyone’s mind was whether the broadcaster would be able to recover and subsequently make a profit.

    To acquire the IPL media rights, Uday Shankar agreed to pay Rs 16,347.5 crore for five years. For the first 10 years of the league,  Sony Pictures had paid nearly half that amount to the BCCI for double the period.

    The BCCI rights were conducted through e-auction, which went to Star India after three long days of competitive bidding between Star India, Sony Pictures and Reliance Jio.

    The Indian team’s future tours programme (FTP) for the current five-year cycle includes 102 matches with 22 tests, 45 ODIs and 35 T20Is. Meanwhile, the next four seasons of the IPL, along with the ongoing year, will constitute 300 T20 matches.

    When calculated by hours of mandated play, the 300 matches in the IPL add up to 900 hours while the home matches have a tally of 1080 hours. Star India paid Rs 54.5 crore per match for the IPL rights and, after protracted bidding, paid Rs 60.1 crore per match for the 2018-23 home rights across five years. This was nearly a 50 per cent increase from the Rs 40.1 crore the broadcaster paid for the 2012-18 cycle cycle when it bid Rs 3851 crore for 96 matches. The 96 matches included 33 tests, 48 ODIs and 15 T20Is with 1371 hours of mandatory play.

    In the current FTP, the number of test matches has reduced by 11 and the sport’s most sellable format, T20I, has increased by 20 matches.

    Interestingly, the 2012-18 cycle had more test matches and fewer T20Is compared to the 2018-23 cycle and, therefore, the per hour rate has doubled in the current cycle. In the 2012-18 cycle, the per hour rate was Rs 2.80 crore as compared with Rs 5.88 crore in the ongoing cycle.

    For the first 10 years of the IPL, Sony Pictures Network coughed up Rs 12.69 crores per hour of play as compared to Rs 18.16 crore being paid by Star India to the BCCI for the IPL between 2018 and 2023.

    Analysts in many quarters felt that Star India paid a hefty premium per match for the BCCI rights thereby making it hard for the broadcaster to recover money leave alone profit. However, an analysis of the per hour rate of mandated play reveals that the company didn’t overstretch its bid. Armed with its regional feeds along with production rights, it seems that Star India may still gamely monetise the rights.

    Also read:

    The rise and rise of Uday Shankar the gambler, the decisive risktaker  who does not flinch

    Winning bid nets BCCI Rs 6138.70 crore for home rights

    Star India bags production rights for IPL 2018

  • STAR SPORTS PROMISES A SUPER SUNDAY FOR VIVO IPL WITH TAILOR-MADE CONTENT SUITED FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

    STAR SPORTS PROMISES A SUPER SUNDAY FOR VIVO IPL WITH TAILOR-MADE CONTENT SUITED FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

    MUMBAI : India’s leading sports broadcaster and the home of VIVO IPL 2018 – Star Sports has reimagined Sunday with Super Sunday. Every Sunday for the next seven weeks, Star Sports will broadcast a series of programs as a part of Super Sunday to build up for the double header games.

    Starting at 8.00 am every Sunday, Super Sunday will include a series of LIVE as well as non-LIVE programmes such as Bollywood Presents, IPL Unplugged, Cricket Countdown and exclusive franchisee shows. Fans who can’t wait for the games to begin on Sundays will be able to access a robust build-up of the games through Super Sunday with preview shows, up close and personal interviews with VIVO IPL stars, best of Bollywood and Hollywood stars along with highlights of the previous week’s action preceding Kent Cricket Live.

    The Super Sunday Schedule for April 15, 2018 will feature legendary Bollywood Superstar Amitabh Bachchan and World Cup Winning captain Kapil Dev on Bollywood Presents at 2:30 PM followed by special shows on Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings. Fans can catch all the Super Sunday action starting 8 am on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi and Star Sports 1 Hindi HD.

    The first edition of ‘Bollywood Presents’ was aired on Kent Cricket Live on Star Sports this Sunday with Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan as the guest editor. Throughout the day, Varun interacted with Star Sports experts for VIVO IPL 2018, played dizzy cricket with Irfan Pathan and chose his top 3 VIVO IPL players. This segment of Bollywood Presents was followed by Kent Cricket Live which was further followed by the live coverage of the games.

    Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tEKgU6SgHeBTyOOZZOV8uRsa0zyZkdu6/view

    SUPER SUNDAY content will include the following:

    Programming includes highlights of the previous week along with exclusive match highlights from the previous day. It also includes exclusive insight on future match predictions gathered from veterans of the game, notable persons from Bollywood and Hollywood and favorite players. “CRICKET COUNTDOWN” introduces an ever-changing countdown of some of the best highlights of the previous week. IPL UNPLUGGED features the best sideline stories of the IPL and exciting off-field stories and interviews taken of revered sportsmen. BOLLYWOOD PRESENTS features notable celebrities from both Hollywood and Bollywood providing their insight and preferences of teams and players. EXCLUSIVE FRANCHISE PROGRAMMING has been introduced to take fans inside the seasons of their favorite teams and follow them as they progress through the IPL. Interviews with favorite players, coaches and team owners highlight this programming initiative.

    SUPER SUNDAY aims to bring the entire family together to catch all the action leading up to the two games every Sunday. With highlights, film actor presence and expert analysis there is something for every family member to cheer about. The program will also provide exclusive windows into 4 VIVO IPL franchises namely Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders, with real time news and exclusive insights from the respective camps.

  • VIVO IPL on Star is bigger than ever before… ever!

    VIVO IPL on Star is bigger than ever before… ever!

    MUMBAI: The opening game of the VIVO IPL 2018 tournament broadcast across the Star Network and live streamed on Hotstar has recorded the highest ever viewership in the history of the tournament. The inaugural match of the 11th season played between the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings registered a blockbuster viewership on television of 6,355,000** impressions (India Urban, Males 15+AB) which translates to a 7.21 rating percentage (India Urban, Males 15+AB) on the Star Network. This is an unprecedented growth of 37% over last year’s opening game. These are simulcast ratings of the original telecast aired on Saturday April 7th at 8 pm across a bouquet of 10 channels (Star Sports 1; Star Sports 1 HD; Star Sports Select 1 SD; Star Sports Select 1 HD (English); Star Sports 1 (Hindi); Star Sports 1 HD (Hindi); Star Sports 1 Tamil (Tamil) along with Suvarna Plus (Kannada); Jalsha Movies (Bengali) and Maa Movies (Telegu).

    On Hotstar, the platform posted some of the largest numbers ever with a 42 Mn reach on opening day which was 2.3x of last year. This record has since then been surpassed on Tuesday, April 10th, by the CSK vs KKR game setting a new global record in sports viewership on digital with 5.5 Mn simultaneous viewers. In fact, if Hotstar were a television channel, the rating on the opening game would have an approximate average television percentage rating of 3.1.

    Star India – Managing Director, Sanjay Gupta said, “When we reimagined the VIVO IPL 2018, we were confident our immersive, multi-lingual, interactive and technology-driven presentation across TV and Digital would resonate strongly with IPL fans across India. We are pleased with the initial record-breaking numbers, which indicate that all the innovations this year have resonated with fans. As the tournament progresses, we look forward to delivering even greater all-round value to all stakeholders.”

    Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) – Chief Executive Officer, Rahul Johri said, “The VIVO Indian Premier League has once again proven that it is the largest media property in this country. This is IPL’s first year of partnership with Star India and I am delighted to see with the innovations that we have introduced, viewership has set new records and the tournament is set to reach a wider audience globally than ever before. It’s setting up to be a great tournament with some fantastic cricketing action for the fans who can enjoy the games in 6 languages, live across TV and Digital for the first time. As always, we are seeing a tremendous response from both stadiums and fan parks and the  atmosphere across the country has been very encouraging.”

    For the first time, Vivo IPL 2018 is connecting with many Indians in their relevant language – six different languages, Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Bengali. By leveraging the combined reach of digital and television the tournament will be broadcast, for the first time ever, on 10 TV channels and live streamed on Hotstar with an aim to reach out to more fans across TV and digital in India than ever before. This is one of the first few leagues in the world which has used virtual reality to bring live action from the stadium to the fans at home. This immersive VR experience will make it possible for fans to come closer to the high-octane matches from the comfort of their homes. Along with dedicated language feeds, the network also has the Star Sports Select feed, #SelectDugout, which is a bespoke offering for the ardent cricket fan who likes to stay ahead of the game, too received a positive response from fans who appreciated the presence of legends and the quality of analysis and its overall presentation available across cable, DTH. 

  • NBA and Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) launches the ‘Swag Ka Khel’ campaign for Hindi Speaking Markets in India

    NBA and Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) launches the ‘Swag Ka Khel’ campaign for Hindi Speaking Markets in India

    MUMBAI: This is with reference to the campaign the NBA and Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) ‘Swag Ka Khel’ launched today that is aimed specifically for the Hindi-speaking audience in the country.  The campaign, when translated, means ‘the sport with swagger’, aims to reach out to and engage the audience who have Hindi as their primary language.  

    The 360-degree marketing campaign rolled out across television, radio, outdoor, online and on-ground activation across the following fourteen cities – Pune, Nagpur, Nasik, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Lucknow, Kanpur.  This campaign will further amplify the opportunity of widening the popularity of the league in the regional markets. 

    A result of increasing engagement levels recorded of the Hindi in-game commentary, launched during the playoffs NBA 2016-17 season, ‘Swag Ka Khel’ will comprise of an on-ground experiential zone at prime locations to provide a peek into the world of NBA.  The interactive zone is focused on growing and eliciting participation in basketball by combining exciting competition with interactive virtual reality games as well as contests designed to engage the visitors and grow the NBA’s fan base.  A local basketball trickster, an NBA legend, a dance team and mascot, will travel to select cities to engage with fans.

    NBA’s campaign for the Indian market is focused on creating awareness and relevance to the audience who enjoy NBA Games in Hindi. There has been a significant rise in the viewership since the launch of the Hindi commentary, especially on prime-time Sundays. A total of 45 NBA matches have been telecast with live Hindi in game commentary on the SONY TEN 3 channels so far.

    The NBA games with Hindi commentary airs every weekend on SONY TEN 3 and SONY TEN 3 HD channels and the network will continue to broadcast daily and weekly NBA studio shows and integrate highlights as well as daily content from NBA TV, including team previews and recap shows.

  • MITV on Star Sports – a new go-to destination for Mumbai Indians fans to get closer to their favourite players

    MITV on Star Sports – a new go-to destination for Mumbai Indians fans to get closer to their favourite players

    MUMBAI: Star Sports in an endeavour to get fans closer to their favourite VIVO IPL team has partnered with Mumbai Indians to telecast MITV (Mumbai Indians TV) – a brand new show that will focus on telling player stories, team bonding, travelogues, insights into match strategy and profile the biggest fans of the team and its players. The show airs on Star Sports 1 Hindi and Star Sports 1 Hindi HD, with fresh episodes each day Mumbai Indians play at 8 am. 

    The inaugural episode, aired on Matchday 1 featured a sit-down interview with the talisman and captain Rohit Sharma as he spoke about Mumbai Indians’ preparation for the new season and previewed the first game against Chennai Super Kings.

    The second episode of the series that will go on air tomorrow at 8 am will feature an interview with hero from the first game – Mayank Markande talking about the people who helped shape his life and career and what influenced his decision to become a spinner. Besides Rohit Sharma will also share his thoughts on the team’s first away game, against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

    The show will conclude with former Mumbai Indians mentor Anil Kumble highlighting three things that Mumbai Indians need to watch out for against SunRisers Hyderabad.

    “Getting Mahi bhai’s wicket was obviously a great feeling. I have always idolised him and now to play in the same league as him is a dream come true.” Said an elated Mayank, who would like to pick-up from where he left in the previous game.

    Star Sports has reimagined India’s favourite sporting tournament, making it a six-moth fiesta and has introduced multiple initiatives and programmes to enhance the fan experience. This season, Star Sports will provide tailormade content for all the cricket fans across the country throughout the season making the Star Sports Network the destination for all the VIVO IPL action off the pitch as well. Fans of Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders will also be able enjoy shows on their teams ahead of every matchday.    

  • Barcelona aiming for new unbeaten mark among records in the mix this LaLiga weekend

    Barcelona aiming for new unbeaten mark among records in the mix this LaLiga weekend

    MUMBAI: LaLiga’s teams return to action this weekend with Barcelona aiming to move a step closer to the 2017/18 title, and plenty more on the line up and down the table.

    Leaders Barça will look to set a new all-time LaLiga record of 39 consecutive games unbeaten when they host Valencia at the Camp Nou on Saturday afternoon. But visitors Los Che are on their own hot streak of five straight LaLiga victories, and will provide a stern test for Lionel Messi and company.

    Second placed Atletico Madrid defend their undefeated home record at the Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday afternoon, against a Levante team yet to taste defeat since Paco Lopez took over as coach in early March.

    Fourth placed Real Madrid go to Malaga Sunday evening having lost just once at La Rosaleda in two decades. However, Los Boquerones are now battling for their LaLiga survival and come into the game having won last time out in front of their home fans.

    Two of LaLiga’s most in-form teams meet Friday evening at Montilivi, as Girona’s run of seven wins and a draw in their last eight at home comes up against Real Betis’ six victories in their last eight away games.

    Another big clash in the battle for European qualification comes at the Sanchez-Pizjuan on Saturday, with Villarreal looking to avenge their 3-2 defeat earlier to the season by Sevilla in what was one of LaLiga’s games of the season so far.

    Real Sociedad’s recently installed coach Imanol Alguacil remains unbeaten after two games in charge of the San Sebastian club, while Las Palmas boss Paco Jemez really needs a first win in 10 outings if his team are to climb out of relegation trouble.

    Athletic Club have conceded just nine goals at San Mames all season, where Saturday evening’s visitors Deportivo La Coruña must score for a first time in six away trips if they are to get the three points they require in their battle against the drop.

    Leganes will be aiming to notch their eleventh win of the LaLiga season when Celta Vigo come to Butarque on Saturday afternoon. 24 hours later, elsewhere in suburban Madrid, Getafe will look for their tenth shut-out of the campaign against visitors Espanyol at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez.

    Sunday afternoon’s Basque derby at Ipurua will see hosts Eibar looking for a first win in six games, while visitors Alaves will be looking for a third consecutive clean sheet.