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Category: Sports

  • Star ushers in IPL’s new era with a bang

    Star ushers in IPL’s new era with a bang

    NEW DELHI: Star India is all set to reinvent the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 by increasing viewer-engagement levels. In a sign of things to come, the broadcaster’s press conference in Delhi today started with a conversation between social humanoid robot Sophia and former India cricketer Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh.

    In a bid to get closer to fans, Star India is using all its might to reach out to India’s vast regional audiences by tailoring coverage in six languages-Hindi, English, Bengali, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil. As a result, it is targetting 700 million fans across TV and digital. “We researched and found out that only 50 per cent of the potential fans consume IPL in Tamil Nadu because of the language barrier,” Star India MD Sanjay Gupta said.

    The auctions on 27 January 2018 are eagerly awaited. For the first time, fans can vote for their favourite players on vivoiplelection.hotstar.com as part of the ‘Election se Selection’ campaign on the network. The campaign, according to Gupta, has received more than one lakh votes in less than 12 hours of its launch.

    Gupta also confirmed that the TV and digital telecast will be in sync. “The feed on TV and digital will be aired live at the same time; there will be no five-minute delay,” Gupta confirmed to Indiantelevision.com. Additionally, for the first time ever, IPL will be streamed on Hotstar using virtual reality.

    BCCI CEO Rahul Johri said, “Despite the scale of its success, the sky remains the limit for the VIVO IPL 2018. The IPL, as a brand, is [worth] over $4 billion.”

    Star is actively seeking regional brands that cater to each of the six languages. “Star India is planning to multiply the number of brands compared to last season. The ad rates will be different for different channels based on their reach,” added Gupta.

    The Kannada channel, which was to replace Channel V on the airwaves, has, however, not yet seen the light of day. When asked about the launch of Star Sports Kannada, Gupta declined to comment and added that it was still at the planning stage.

    “Over its 10-year journey, the IPL has grown into the single biggest property by far on Indian television. And now that it is on the Star India network across both, television and digital, we are set to use the confluence of technology, consumer insight, and experience in cricket coverage, to broaden the outreach and experience even further,” Gupta concluded.

  • Sony Six rakes in ad rev from BBL despite slow start

    Sony Six rakes in ad rev from BBL despite slow start

    MUMBAI: The second most popular domestic T20 cricket tournament in the world after Indian Premier League (IPL) is Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL). The Cricket Australia rights, which were with Star India from 2011-12 to 2016-17, have now been acquired by Sony Pictures Network (SPN) India for the next six years till 2022-23.

    After losing the media rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to rival Star India, SPN has gone ahead and acquired the exclusive media rights of Cricket Australia–men’s international matches for the next six years, beginning with the Magellan Ashes series in November 2017. The network has also acquired the media rights for women’s international cricket played in Australia, the BBL and the Women’s BBL.

    According to All India BARC data, for the first 11 matches of the league on Star Sports 2, including the HD and the SD feeds, in the 2016-17 season, the channel got 6.4 million impressions. SPN India, however, garnered just 4.3 million impressions for the same number of matches, which were being telecast on Sony Six SD and HD.

    Collocation of channels plays an important role in attracting viewers. On most direct-to-home (DTH) platforms, the sports cluster begins with the Star Sports bouquet.

    Both networks in their first 11 matches had eight advertisers on board each but Star Sports (2016) had 2764 ad insertions compared to 3469 insertions on Sony (2017), an increase of 26 per cent according to BARC data.

    Though Cricket Australia considers Star India a favourite, it is learnt that after winning the IPL rights, the broadcaster was not very keen on paying a hefty sum for the Australia rights. SPN’s payout for the deal could not be ascertained till the filing of this report.

    Cricket Australia has been targeting $200 million per year from all the broadcasting deals. In Australia, Channel Ten paid $100 million for a five-year deal which expires at the end of the current season.

    Apart from Cricket Australia, SPN has five international cricket boards—South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies and Zimbabwe. The ongoing cricket series is the India tour of South Africa.

    Interestingly, fans seem to prefer Sony’s over-the-top (OTT) platform SonyLiv for sporting events despite the choice of entertainment shows it offers. At present, more than a third of SonyLiv’s traffic is garnered by its sporting properties.

    Also read:

    The BCCI India rights conundrum

    Star and BCCI pull out all stops to make the VIVO IPL 2018 Retention event – an unprecedented success

     

  • Star and BCCI pull out all stops to make the VIVO IPL 2018 Retention event – an unprecedented success

    Star and BCCI pull out all stops to make the VIVO IPL 2018 Retention event – an unprecedented success

    MUMBAI: The VIVO IPL 2018 Retention event, broadcast for the first time in its 10-year history, had cricket lovers riveted across television sets and mobile devices and set social media abuzz with mentions and conversations that came close to rivalling those of full-fledged T20 India matches.

    Star India’s presentation of the VIVO IPL Retention event was viewed by a massive, never-before audience of 8.1 million across both TV & digital. As per BARC data (Source : BARC 2+ U+R) 4.1 million TV viewers watched the event across the Star Sports Network from 7-8 p.m. on 4th January and as Star reported 4 million watched the event  on Hotstar.  

    On social media, the event dominated conversations across platforms with 35k mentions making the VIVO IPL Retention day comparable to the chatter during a T20 match. It was trending #1 in India on Twitter in no time at all.

    The Board of Control for Cricket in India at Chief Executive Officer, Rahul Johri said, “The discovery and nurturing of great cricketing talent and developing the cricketing infrastructure throughout the country, are important pillars of our mission at BCCI. Therefore, a quantum increase in the growth and popularity of the VIVO IPL 2018 would immensely scale up deliveries on those important fronts. We are delighted that with the transformative technology and the might of TV and digital combined, the VIVO IPL 2018 seems poised to be bigger than ever before.”

    Star India – Managing Director, Sanjay Gupta said, “The unprecedented response to the retention event across TV and digital is early proof of what Star’s scale and Hotstar’s technology possibilities can accomplish. By offering the VIVO IPL to cricket fans lovers through both, the Star Sports network and Hotstar, Star India will be with the consumer at every viewing opportunity, unleashing enormous convenience and richness of content for the consumer and the advertiser.”

    From the hitherto two-month series, Star will grow the VIVO IPL into a 5-month extravaganza of viewing delight of cricketing action and glorious entertainment, and the IPL Retention was just the first beginning of the great things to come.

    Star will use its technology prowess to power unique and first-of-their-kind viewing experiences by enabling first-time-live-on-digital, check-ins and live scorecards on handhelds for truly immersive engagement of consumers. 

    The Star network will make the VIVO IPL resonate even more closely with cricket lovers across major regional markets in the country. Star will make it a deeply local experience by adding four more languages – Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali — which will allow cricket lovers in various regional markets to enjoy their favourite passion sport in their first language.

    On Star, the VIVO IPL 2018, to be aired in as many as 6 languages on 10 star sports channels and Hotstar will reach its biggest audience ever.

  • Dsport acquires exclusive India rights for Bellator MMA

    Dsport acquires exclusive India rights for Bellator MMA

    MUMBAI: Dsport has acquired the rights from Electus International to air the popular mixed martial arts franchise, Bellator MMA, in India starting January 2018.

    Owned and operated by Viacom, Bellator MMA is a leading mixed martial arts and kickboxing organisation available to nearly 1 billion people in over 160 countries featuring many of the world’s best and most recognisable combat sports stars.

    According to a statement released by Discovery India, subscribers in the Indian subcontinent can soon enjoy exclusive linear broadcast transmission of Bellator’s world championship events from venues around the world.

    The first fight card of 2018 season, ‘Bellator 192: Lima Vs MacDonald’ from The Forum in Los Angeles, features world welterweight title bout between Rory MacDonald and Douglas Lima and the first round of the Heavyweight Grand Prix between two MMA icons, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson and Chael Sonnen.

    In 2018, Bellator MMA will present 24 live, prime-time combat sports events from venues in the US and across the globe. Sixteen of the fights will be in the US, and eight will be international, with more events to be scheduled.

    Overall, Dsport now has rights to broadcast more than 250 hours of fresh combat sports programming over the next 12 months.

    Also Read:

    The BCCI India rights conundrum

    DSport sends notice to Impress Matra for protecting its BPL T20 broadcast interest

    Dsport to telecast Poker Sports League’s season 2

  • The BCCI India rights conundrum

    The BCCI India rights conundrum

    MUMBAI: With BCCI’s India media rights coming up in March, big broadcasters and digital players are readying their war chest of cash.

    The current holder, Star India, acquired the rights in 2012 at Rs 3851 crore for a six-year period across 96 matches. The amount comes down to an average of Rs 40 crore per match. Multi Screen Media (Sony) bid a close second with Rs 3700 crore.

    Last year, The Hindu quoted a BCCI official who said, “I wondered how Star India even agreed to pay that price for each of the three forms of internationals. The reserve price could be Rs 30 crore for home internationals, if not even lower, next year.” In the last couple of years, BCCI officials, both former and present, have made no secret of the fact that Star India would not agree to enter the India bid race if the reserve price for a home international match (including Tests, ODIs and T20Is) is set anywhere close to Rs 43 crore.

    Therefore, it is fair to assume that Star India struggled to make money on the matches. Supporting this argument, a media observer said, “We can’t say how much of the subscription revenue they would be apportioning to India team, because when Star sells its subscription bouquet, it is sold as an overall sports package, not right wise. If we compare ad rates vis-à-vis the rights acquisition, they have not made money.”

    Star India, in September 2017, hit all other bidders in the fray for a six with just one single mind-boggling global bid of Rs 16,347.50 crore to acquire the broadcast and digital rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the next five years. IPL is hotter than even international events. An IPL game will fetch Rs 55 crore per whereas an international match brings about Rs 40 crore. Star India might focus on making the IPL the biggest revenue-generating property in the world after the EPL and the NBA.

    According to industry sources, broadcasters will be looking at paying Rs 35 crore per match, touted to be a fair amount in current market standards, to the BCCI for the upcoming rights acquisition.

    Sony Pictures Network (SPN) India is likely to make a strong bid for the Indian cricket team home rights. We know that Sony already has the Rs 11,000 crore that it was ready to splurge on the IPL rights.

    The other contender, Dsport, is also rumoured to throw its hat into the ring for the BCCI rights. In an interview to Mint last month, Discovery Communication India SVP and GM Karan Bajaj stated, “We may look at putting cricket on Dsport next year after launching the general entertainment channel Discovery Jeet.” The channel even picked up the bidding document for IPL media rights but didn’t turn up on the bidding day.

    For digital rights, players like Facebook, Twitter, Reliance Jio, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, and Sony Liv will play a crucial role. Facebook was the highest bidder from the digital communication platforms for the IPL with Rs 3900 crore followed by Jio with Rs 3075 crore. Hotstar, which was launched in February 2015, wasn’t in the picture when Star India acquired the BCCI rights in 2012. 

    Meanwhile, Twitter and Amazon have gotten their hands on one of the most high-profile sports properties in the world, the National Football League (NFL). In the time to come, both players have vowed to dominate the live sporting segment on digital in India, too.

    The contract with Nimbus, before the rights went to Star in 2012, had a base price of Rs 31.25 crore per game for each of the three formats purely for the broadcast rights. The BCCI’s marketing committee had kept the base price at Rs 31.25 crore plus Rs 1 crore (i.e, Rs 32.25 crore) for an international game in the A category and Rs 33 crore plus Rs 1 crore (Rs 34 crore) for B category matches.

    Looking at the current scenario, broadcasters will have to cough up a reasonable amount, which can be in the range of Rs 32-38 crore, in order to be in profit. The fact that Star India may not agree to enter the India rights bid, if the reserve price for a home international match is set anywhere close to its previous bid, will help broadcasters such as Sony and Discovery to be in strong contention.

    Also Read :

    The year of big switch in sports broadcasting

    BCCI invites brands to acquire third-party rights for IPL

    Comment: Is BCCI lbw on Star’s sponsorship googly?

  • Paris Saint Germain aims to maintain the leader position in French Ligue 1

    Paris Saint Germain aims to maintain the leader position in French Ligue 1

    MUMBAI: 1. PSG are eager to cement top position in the Ligue 1 standings

    Les Canaris have been more than impressive in their defence eyeing their fourth consecutive clean sheet in all competitions. However, preventing Les Parisiens from scoring is easier said than done, meaning that the hosts will have to find the net against Unai Emery’s troops if they are to grab something from that match. PSG on the other hand are eager to cement top position in the Ligue 1 standings and there is every chance coach Unai Emery is going to field the best possible side against Nantes. Scoring goals for Neymar and Co. have been a cake walk, taking everything into account, they will look forward to extend their winning run to four games.

    2. Nantes to aim for 3rd consecutive French League win

    This is going to be an interesting fixture as Nantes are currently in a good form. After recording back-to-back wins over the likes of Angers and Amiens in previous two league fixtures, Nantes will be aiming to give fans yet another reason for celebration with a hat trick when they host PSG at their Stade de la Beaujoire .

    3. Nantes aims for Top 4 position in French League 1 when they meet top-ranked PSG

    With PSG enjoying the leader position with 50 points and Nantes enjoying the 5th position with 33 points, both the team will display their best of footballing talent to dominate the match. They will try to show their best skills, combinations and tactics to win this match. However, with the current form Paris Saint Germain is expected to dominate the game, but Nantes with back-to-back wins will try to show us their best game and play draw or win.

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  • BCCI invites brands to acquire third-party rights for IPL

    BCCI invites brands to acquire third-party rights for IPL

    MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has invited third parties to indicate their interest in acquiring rights pertaining to the VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL).

     There will be three types of partner rights, which include official partner rights, strategic time out partner rights and umpire partner rights. The term for each partnering rights will be of minimum three and maximum five years.

    Last year, Star India won the global rights, which include broadcast and digital, by bidding Rs 16347.5 crores.

    According to a BCCI release, the official partner rights include the exclusive association of the brand as the official partner, right to use the official IPL composite logo and official partner status in all communications, category exclusivity across all the central sponsorships for Vivo IPL and also the first right refusal on broadcast sponsorship in product category.

    For on-ground, the official partner will be on LED perimeter advertising boards, pitch mat on the outfield at midwicket, boundary rope branding across all matches, branding on all interview and press conference backdrops and logo featured on back panel of team dugouts.

    The cut-off date for sending in expressions of interest (EoI) is 17 January 2018.

    On the digital side, brand logos will be featured on the IPLT20 website. Match day activation integration will also be done on the website. These will be applicable to all the three types.

    The second type, IPL strategic timeout partner rights includes the right to use the official IPL composite logo and strategic timeout partner status in all communications, category exclusivity across all central sponsorships for Vivo IPL, first right of refusal on broadcast sponsorship in product category.

    On-ground will include branded timing graphic on the big screen at each strategic timeout for all the matches.

    The last type is IPL umpire partner rights, which includes the right to use the official IPL composite logo and umpire partner status in all communications, category exclusivity across all central sponsorships for Vivo IPL and first right of refusal on broadcast sponsorship in product category.

    The TV facing branding includes static logo branding on LED sight screens (50 per cent on each sight screen), big screen for 3rd umpire decisions and DRS decisions, on all interview and press conference backdrops, logo featured on back panel of team dugouts, umpire shirts, trousers, hat/cap, match referee shirts and jacket.

    No more than one third party will be granted rights in relation to each product category. BCCI intends (but shall not be obliged) to appoint up to a maximum of six official partners, one strategic timeout partner and one umpire partner. Third parties may express an interest in acquiring the rights in respect of more than one product category but no single third party will be appointed as an IPL official partner, IPL strategic timeout partner or IPL umpire partner in respect of more than one product category.

    The grant of the rights shall be conditional upon the relevant third party entering into a binding agreement with BCCI, the form of which will be sent by BCCI to any relevant third party. No legally binding obligations shall be assumed by or imposed on BCCI or its nominated representatives in connection with this document and its subject-matter, and none of the rights shall be granted until such time as a binding agreement is entered into by BCCI and any relevant third party.

    BCCI anticipates a period of negotiation with third parties submitting EoIs till 31 January 2018, and does not intend to consider any offer for the rights which are received after this date. The above time schedule is subject to revision by BCCI in its discretion.

    Also Read:

    Star bids highest for BCCI’s IPL media & digital rights and is the winner

    Comment: Does Star stand to gain or lose by sharing IPL with DD?

    Star’s Uday Shankar on distribution challenges, IPL, FTA vs. pay TV, innovations, Made in India content…and much more

    Guest Column: Star India’s IPL deal raises three crucial questions

  • Matchday 19: 5 reasons to watch Laliga this weekend

    Matchday 19: 5 reasons to watch Laliga this weekend

    MUMBAI: 1. Los Blancos aims to record their first Laliga win of the year

    Real Madrid will be looking to get back to winning ways after dropping two points in a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo. Also, they will be aiming to start the new year with a win under their belt by defeating Villarreal at Bernabeu. Los Blancos are determined to stay in the race for the title and this has to go down as a must-win game as any slip ups from hereon will make life difficult for the reigning champions.

    2. The Battle of 3rd and 4th

    Even though this is between the 3rd and the 4th on the LaLiga table, there is still a significant gulf in class between the two sides. Los Blancos have a 5 point advantage on Villarreal and the record shows that whenever this champion side have hosted sides with 5th, 6th and 7th ranks over the past couple of months the former has been triumphant hammering 15 goals in those 3 games. But Villarreal are no pushovers, strong at the back with the 2nd best defensive record in the league but it will be a mountain to climb for them to keep Real Madrid’s dangerous front three quiet. Ronaldo and boys ideally should win the game but they have conceded 9 of their last 13 home league games.

    3. Visitors Barcelona look to keep their unbeaten run going when they travel to the Anoeta Stadium

    Barca are currently unbeaten in the league and as they face a Real Sociedad side who lost their last game 1-0 to Leganes. The Catalans have been very consistent and have bagged their 5th win in last six outings as they beat Levante 3-0 in their first 2018 outing. Matchday 19 clash against Real Sociedad comes just days after the mid-week Copa del Rey clash against Celta Vigo and the red hot form should allow the table toppers clinch a comfortable three points. Real Sociedad still sit in the mid-table and just five points behind 6th placed Villarreal but we have seen them struggle across competitions since mid-November and earn just two wins in ten games.

    4. Valencia aims for Top four, while Deportivo looks forward to secure their place in Laliga

    Following back-to-back losses to the likes of Barcelona and Celta Vigo, Deportivo did well to hold Villarreal to a 1-1 in their last league fixture. The Galician outfit showed character in Sunday’s football match against the Yellow Submarine, but they need to continue with fine performances in the remainder of the season if they are to secure yet another LaLiga survival. Florin Andone helped Deportivo pick up one point from the Villarreal game, meaning that Valencia defenders should have him at bay. However, on the other hand Valencia came from behind to beat Girona in their last league match and thanks to the triumph they moved one step closer to booking their place in the UEFA Champions League berth for next year.

    5. Atletico Madrid currently sit nine points behind league leaders Barcelona in the Laliga table and hope to close the gap.

    Atletico have regained their consistency and are all set to travel to Eibar after a convincing victory against Lleida and Getafe. However, on the other hand Eibar are unbeaten in their last five league games and sit just one point outside the Europa League spots. It will be an interesting fixture when these team meet each other at Eibar’s homeground.

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  • HIL partners IPL team Chennai Super Kings

    HIL partners IPL team Chennai Super Kings

    MUMBAI: HIL, building material company, today announced its first association with the Indian Premier League (IPL) by partnering with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) which is making a comeback after two years. HIL Limited is the flagship company of the CK Birla Group.

    As a part of this engagement, all the CSK players’ uniforms will carry the HIL logo and its super brands Birla Aerocon and Charminar logos. With this association, the company aims to boost its reach amongst its consumers, dealers and influencers.

    Commenting on the association HIL Limited MD & CEO Dhirup Roy Choudhary said, “We are excited to partner with Chennai Super Kings, which has emerged as champions over the years and look forward to the upcoming IPL season in 2018. The team is known for its performances and consistency, and HIL complements all of this. We truly believe both HIL and CSK are champion brands, and this association is an exciting platform to establish the same. We are confident that it will bring in a new wave of awareness for HIL and its products and provide a fresh take to evolve the market for HIL.

    The CSK spokesperson said, “We are glad to join hands with HIL as both of us have synergies of being innovative, passionate and trendsetters. HIL has some of the iconic brands like Charminar and Birla Aerocon under their ante, just the way we have Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Jadeja in our team. Our aim has always been to enhance the experience of our fans and supporters. We believe that this will mark the beginning of a long and fruitful journey for both organisations and help both brands expand its reach.”

    This investment is supported by the launch of its ingenious product, the non-asbestos roofing solution – Charminar Fortune and expansion of the PVC pipes and fittings business. Chaminar Fortune is manufactured by using an advanced autoclaving technology and the asbestos-free roofing sheet provides to consumers a solution, which is eco-friendly, long lasting and durable due to its high impact strength, good dimensional stability, light weight, sound and thermal insulated, fire resistant and low drying shrinkage characteristics. 

    Also Read:

    Star India to introduce VR for IPL 2018

    IPL 2018: Virat Kohli retained by RCB for Rs 17 crore

    Star to air IPL on 10 channels, in 6 languages; live on Hotstar

  • Twitter, Snapchat to stream Fifa 2018 shows, highlights in US

    Twitter, Snapchat to stream Fifa 2018 shows, highlights in US

    MUMBAI: Fox Sports, from the Twenty First Century Fox stable, is partnering Twitter to stream a live show and Snapchat to showcase stories with match-day highlights of the Fifa World Cup football to be hosted in Russia from 14 June to 15 July this year.

    Fox Sports would produce the show, which will be streamed from Moscow’s Red Square on each match day and provide previews, recaps and near real-time video highlights for each game, the company said. According to Reuters, Fox said that the coverage of the tournament will be available in the United States and can be seen using the @FOXSports and @FOXSoccer Twitter handles.

    Fox Sports will also produce magazine-like editions of content for Snapchat’s mobile-first audience, called Publisher Stories. The Publisher Story on Snapchat will record the day-by-day highlights of the month-long tournament through recaps, previews and features produced specifically for Snap.

    Snapchat will also produce Fifa World Cup “Our Stories” featuring video highlights of goals and other key moments provided by Fox Sports. Snapchat in October 2017 partnered Discovery Communications Eurosport for a European, multi-language deal that will see Winter Olympics content held this year as part of Snapchat’s ‘stories’ feature in Pyeongchang, a county in Gangwon Province, South Korea.

    Live-streaming has been one of Twitter’s biggest focus areas since last year as it seeks to attract new users. The company had previously signed a multi-year deal with the US National Football League to live-stream pre-game coverage as well as a 30-minute show.

    Also Read:

    FIFA U-17 WC caught 47 million viewers for SPN 

    FIFA U-17 World Cup in India: Tencent bags media & digital rights for China (updated)