ITV

Category: Sports

  • Star Sports bags New Zealand cricket rights

    Star Sports bags New Zealand cricket rights

    MUMBAI: Star Sports has acquired the broadcast and digital rights for New Zealand Cricket for all men’s and women’s international matches being organised in New Zealand for the next three years for the Indian subcontinent and South-East Asia.

    India is expected to play a total of three Tests, 10 ODIs, and three T20s during this period in that country.

    The first tournament to be broadcast under Star Sports’ partnership with New Zealand Cricket will be West Indies’ tour of New Zealand beginning from 1 December 2017. The partnership will see many high-octane international series, including a resurgent Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand and the much-anticipated tri series between Australia, New Zealand, and England in early 2018, being broadcast on Star Sports’ rich bouquet of offerings.

    A Star India spokesperson said, “Star Sports is proud to become the home for New Zealand Cricket in India. In recent years, the New Zealand cricket team has delivered a strong performance on the field, taking it to number one in the T20 rankings. With two India tours to New Zealand over the next two years, Indian sports fans are in for very exciting cricket on Star Sports.”

    New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said, “We’re delighted to form this partnership with Star, India’s leading sports broadcaster, and a market-leader in the industry. It’s great to be aligned with such go-ahead, progressive broadcasters, well known for their innovative approach, and for putting fans and businesses first.”

  • NBA and Dream11 to bring fantasy basketball to India

    NBA and Dream11 to bring fantasy basketball to India

    MUMBAI: The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Dream11 today announced a partnership making Dream11 an official fantasy partner of the NBA in India.

    Beginning this season, the NBA and Dream11 will introduce an official NBA daily fantasy game, which allows fans to simulate the role of an NBA general manager. In daily fantasy, fans create virtual teams of NBA players and accumulate points based on their selected players’ statistics in real life.

    The free-to-play game will offer a variety of prizes as rewards, including NBAStore.in gift cards, NBA merchandise, Dream11 game bonuses, and the opportunity to win a trip to the U.S. to attend the 2018 NBA Finals.

    “We are excited to partner with the NBA to add basketball to our growing set of fantasy sports offerings,” said Dream11 CEO & Co-Founder Harsh Jain. “Fans of the official NBA fantasy game will enjoy a fast and responsive platform which delivers a rich user experience. We believe that avid and casual fans alike will enjoy this simple and easy to understand way of engaging with the NBA.”

    “The official NBA fantasy game with Dream11 will be a great platform for fans to engage with the league alongside millions of NBA fans,” said NBA India Managing Director Yannick Colaco. “Fantasy basketball provides an engaging fan experience and can help drive tune in to our NBA game broadcasts on Sony SIX and Sony Ten 3.”

    The official NBA fantasy game will reside on NBA.com, the NBA’s official digital destination in India.

    Follow the NBA on Facebook (Facebook.com/NBAIndia), Twitter (@NBAIndia) and Instagram (@NBAIndia), and download the NBA App on iOS and Android for the latest news, updates, scores, stats, schedules, videos and more.

  • Star Sports launches new anthem as Vivo PKL Season 5 nears finale

    Star Sports launches new anthem as Vivo PKL Season 5 nears finale

    MUMBAI: Star Sports, India’s leading sports broadcaster, launched Doompak Doompak, a new anthem dedicated to Vivo Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) as the season five finale draws close. The anthem is created by Star Sports’ creative team and directed by Amol Patil.

    Celebrating the Kabaddi mania that has gripped sports fans across the country, the anthem, released along with a music video, is quirky, vivid and features leading Kabaddi stars.

    With a vision to make Kabaddi accessible and engaging for fans across India, Star Sports has built a strong narrative throughout the season, with a host of innovative and appealing marketing campaigns.

    The new anthem, Doompak Doompak, is energetic, fast-paced and invites fans to participate in the ongoing excitement for the last few matches of the season. Penned by renowned Bollywood lyricist, Amitabh Bhattacharya, the lyrics takes fans into the journey of season 5 and the preparation for the final battle among the 6 qualified teams. The anthem is composed by leading music composer Ram Sampath.

    For season 5 of Vivo PKL, Star Sports moved away from the traditional campaigns to a celebration anthem. The film showcases players, referees, coaches and fans in an all-new avatar, celebrating the spirit of the sport, as the finale of a magnificent season of the game draws closer. The film is scripted in 4 languages – Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali, to ensure that it reaches sports fans across the nation.

    Season 5 of Vivo PKL has received an impressive response over 3 months, and now as the Playoffs are approaching – the penultimate phase of the league – the campaign aims to stir more excitement into the mix.

    Vivo PKL Season 5 Playoffs begin from 23 October to 26 October, from 7:30 PM onwards and the final takes place on 28 October in Chennai. Fans can catch each match live on the Star Sports network.

    Video Link:

  • Star Sports brings out the fun side of kabaddi players

    Star Sports brings out the fun side of kabaddi players

    MUMBAI: As the league stage of VIVO Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) 5 is nearing its end, Star Sports has planned an interactive show with top PKL players this season, all dressed in traditional attire. The show is named as ‘Yeh Diwali, Kabaddi wali’.

    The hour long show will air on 19 October at 7:30pm. Viewers can watch Kabaddi stars getting candid and reliving their best moments of Diwali. The show will include rapid fire questions – player picks on Phuljadi player of the league, Dhamakedar player of the league etc., questions on their Diwali celebrations at home and with their teammates.

    The players will share their childhood memories of spoiling neighbours’ Rangolis and cracker pranks to dreaming big of celebrating Diwali with their role models and favourite stars.

    The show host will be VJ Mantra and the players present in the show will be Rohit Kumar (Bengaluru Bulls), Rahul Chaudhari (Telugu Titans), Pardeep Narwal (Patna Pirates), Deepak Nivas Hooda (Puneri Paltan), Suriner Nada (Haryana Steelers), Rishank Devadiga (UP Yoddha).

    PKL 5 is promoting the game with many on-ground activations, which includes, ‘Team Up – Lift the Cup’, the mantra for fans, as they took up the Pull Room Challenge, getting first-hand taste of Le Panga. The challenge involved a replica of the Season 5 trophy placed inside a locked chamber which could only be opened when a team of seven individuals, just like in a team, attempt to unlock it.

    Taking place at multiple locations across Mumbai and Bangalore, the activation saw scores of kabaddi enthusiasts trying to strategise and come up with innovative ways to accomplish the seemingly difficult task.

  • DSport to exclusively broadcast HBL Pakistan Super League ’18 live

    DSport to exclusively broadcast HBL Pakistan Super League ’18 live

    MUMBAI: DSport, the sports TV channel of Discovery Communications India, will broadcast the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2018. DSport will air live and exclusive all the 34 matches of the third edition of the premier T20 competition in Pakistan.  Scheduled to begin on February 23, 2018, PSL will see participation from 6 teams including debutant Multan Sultans. 

    The third edition of the HBL PSL is expected to get bigger and better with the addition of 10 extra games (24 games last season), one new team (Multan Sultans) and participation from some very prominent names in international T20 cricket. 

    Among them are likes of the South African born English maverick Kevin Pietersen, Kiwi master blaster Brendon McCullum, Caribbean T20 stars Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara. Among local cricketers participating will be Pakistan cricket’s biggest superstar Shahid Afridi and former captain Misbah Ul Haq apart from present captain Sarfaraz Ahmed and all current national players including the likes of Mohammad Amir, new batting sensation Babar Azam and veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik.

    Besides, the Pakistani superstars are joined by top-tier international players such as Mitchell Johnson (Australia), Chris Lynn (Australia), Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh),  JP Duminy (South Africa) and Rashid Khan (Afghanistan). The player roaster also includes Mitchell McClenaghan (New Zealand), Luke Ronchi (New Zealand), Colin Munro (New Zealand), Jason Holder (West Indies), Darren Bravo(West Indies), Evin Lewis (West Indies), Lendl Simmons (West Indies), James Vince (England), Tim Bresnan (England), Adil Rashid(England), John Hastings (Australia), Wayne Parnell (South Africa), Albie Morkel (South Africa), Imran Tahir (South Africa), Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka).

    In a bid to form the initial teams, the five teams from the previous two seasons were allowed to retain two players each from the Platinum, Diamond and Gold category, and three from the Silver category. Multan Sultans were allowed to pick nine players from the five categories in the pre – draft which meant they only had the right to those players which the first five teams didn’t retain in their squad.

    The player pool for the HBL PSL Player Draft 2017 will now consist of new signings along with players who were released during the retention window and went unpicked in the expansion draft.

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  • NBA: Sony TEN3, HD and Sony SIX, HD to air games with respective Hindi, English commentaries

    NBA: Sony TEN3, HD and Sony SIX, HD to air games with respective Hindi, English commentaries

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) and the NBA today announced that beginning the 2017-18 NBA season, NBA games will be telecast live with Hindi commentary every weekend on Sony TEN 3 and Sony TEN 3 HD. A package of close to 100 NBA games including the regular season and playoffs.The games will continue to be simulcast with English commentary on Sony SIX and Sony SIX HD.

    The move aims to engage a wider set of fans and enthusiasts with Hindi as their primary language. The Hindi commentary will be presented by an expert panel of commentators which will include celebrity NBA fans. The commentators have undergone rigorous training to fine-tune their abilities in presenting the games, which included personalised training by long-time Indiana Pacers’ play-by-play announcer Chris Denari.

    The league has also associated with popular basketball influencers such as Bollywood actor and VJ Rannvijay Singha, popular culture stand-up comedian Gursimran Khamba to be guest-commentators on a regular basis.

    SPN president sports and distribution business Rajesh Kaul said, “We are committed in channeling our efforts towards expanding NBA’s fan base in the country and strengthening our reach. We have seen a consistent increase in viewership over the years for NBA and to keep up this momentum we are continuing our initiative of the Hindi language commentary. A special panel of expert commentators has been engaged to deliver expert analysis in Hindi for each play.”

    NBA India MD Yannick Colaco said, “Along with our partners, Sony Pictures Networks, we are excited to offer Hindi in-game commentary through the 2017-18 season. As a part of our commitment to popularize the game of basketball in India, we will continue to offer more localised programming to engage with a wider audience.

    The network will also continue to broadcast daily and weekly NBA highlight shows and integrate daily content from NBA TV, including team previews and recap shows. The daily 30-minute highlight programs will be broadcast in primetime every day of the season. The weekly highlight show – ‘NBA WEEKLY’, hosted by a local anchor, will recap all the happenings around the game during the past week. The NBA and sports cluster of SPN will also continue the customised, local live NBA wraparound show ‘NBA AROUND THE HOOP’ every weekend throughout the season to bring viewers closer to the game. The program will be hosted by a panel of basketball experts that will provide analysis and insight on all the latest game news.

    The action on Sony SIX & Sony SIX HD will start on 18 October and exclusive Hindi in-game commentary on Sony TEN 3 & Sony TEN 3 HD, along with the Live wraparound show Around the Hoop, every weekend, starting 21 and 22 October 2017.

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

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

    MUMBAI: After the CSA (Cricket South Africa) T20 Global league fiasco, it seems another T20 league is in a mess, albeit of a different kind.

    DSport, the sports channel from the Discovery Networks stable, has served a legal notice to restrain the reselling agent Impress Matra Consortium (IMC), which had in October 2016 pocketed the worldwide broadcast rights of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Cricket for 2017-19 seasons (excluding Bangladesh).

    According to DSport, they entered into a conclusive and binding contract with IMC for the global media rights (all forms) excluding Bangladesh for three years 2017-2019 on 22 September, 2017. 

    In a legal notice dated 8 October, signed by Imran Anwar, barrister-at-law, Tanjim Alam and Associates, served on the Impress Matra, DSport has called upon IMC to perform its obligations under the contract entered by it with the former, as per which transmission and distribution rights had been offered to it for three seasons.

    Three companies other than Impress — Gazi Satellite Television Ltd, Ardent and Mediacom Consortium and Top of Mind — vied for obtaining the BPL broadcast rights. The rights winner Impress became eligible to sell the rights to other companies in addition to telecasting the matches.

    DSport alleges that the IMC members have gone incommunicado after entering into the agreement, and are not returning calls or responding to email communication. Left with no other option, DSport has served the notice with a time deadline, and says it plans to move courts in several jurisdictions to restrain IMC from dealing with any other party in respect to these rights.

    The BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) has also been served with a copy of the notice, Discovery stated.

    DSport has also sent cautionary notices to parties across the globe asking them not to deal with any other party in respect of these rights.

    DSport has also written to the BCB CEO Nazim Uddin Chowdhury as well as the BPL governing council chairman Afzalur Rahman Sinha apprising them of the conduct of their franchisee, and has urged them to intervene in the matter.

    A DSport spokesperson confirmed the developments and said they will be moving courts in Dhaka (Bangladesh) over the next couple of days to take suitable action to protect their rights. 

    The 4th BPL T20 cricket will kick off in Dhaka on 4 November with the participation of seven franchise teams — defending champions Comilla Victorians, runners-up Barisal Bulls, Dhaka Dynamites, Rangpur Riders, Chittagong Vikings, Khulna Titans and Rajshahi Kings. Apart from Dhaka, Chittagong will host the BPL matches.

    Let’s hope this saga, unlike CSA T20 Global League, has a happier ending, and fans get to enjoy the matches.

  • Sony India acquires Cricket Australia’s subcontinental media rights for six years

    Sony India acquires Cricket Australia’s subcontinental media rights for six years

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) has acquired the exclusive media rights for all men’s international matches played in Australia, beginning with the Magellan Ashes Series starting from 22 November to 8 January 2017( five test matches). The term of the deal is six years and will cover multiple Indian tours and visits by Pakistan, South Africa and the Ashes of 2021 – 22.

    Separately, SPN has also acquired the media rights for women’s international cricket played in Australia, beginning with the Commonwealth Bank Ashes later this month, along with the KFC BBL (Big Bash League) and the Rebel WBBL (Women’s Big Bash League).

    SPN will have extensive access to content from Cricket Australia’s archives and some original programming from the newly-created CA Productions team. The agreement for the Indian subcontinent covers a number of countries, including Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and SPN will broadcast Australian cricket via its sports network of 11 channels.

    SPN India CEO, NP Singh said, “SPN is committed to redefining the sports broadcasting landscape in the Indian subcontinent by curating a multi-sport culture. Our sports network comprising of 11 channels will offer something for everyone. Cricket enjoys a high viewership in India and with the acquisition of the media rights of Cricket Australia, we are ensuring that the viewer has continuous cricketing action, all through the year.”

    Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland said, “Sony understands the global value of Australian cricket. We’re also delighted with their support of our national women’s team, and the men’s and women’s Big Bash. Our summer of Big Bash will continue to expand and highlight the excitement and quality of our game. One of Australian cricket’s key strategies is to ensure it has a sustainable approach to investment, so that we can keep growing the game, and the six-year deal with SPN is part of that strategy.”

    SPN India president sports and distribution business Rajesh Kaul said, “Cricket Australia complements our existing portfolio of five International Cricket Boards further positioning us as the premier destination for the sport. The content line-up across the six boards strengthens our position in cricket broadcasting. Cricket fans can look forward to a full season of cricketing sporting action on our network.”

    Cricket Australia executive general manager of broadcasting, digital Media and Commercial Ben Amarflo said, “CA’s Media Rights and Broadcasting team is thrilled to have inked a deal with Sony as the new media rights partner for the subcontinent region, taking in key markets such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. We will have numerous tours by India over the next few years, along with Australia playing against other subcontinental cricket teams.”

    “Sony has done an exceptional job growing cricket in India with its ground-breaking broadcasting of the IPL and its widespread coverage of international cricket. To have our international and domestic cricket carried on such a premium sports platform as SPN is important to the continued growth and promotion of Australian and bilateral cricket in the region. We are looking forward to being a part of Sony’s elite cricket stable and it all kicks off next month with the Ashes,” Ben Amarflo added.

  • Twenty20: CSA may curtail plans, reduce licence fee as broadcast rights decline

    Twenty20: CSA may curtail plans, reduce licence fee as broadcast rights decline

    MUMBAI: Cricket South Africa (CSA) may be planning to reduce its franchise fees, as it girds up its loins for for GT20. CSA is in the process curtailing its Twenty20 Global League plans, and will reduce the fees for franchises as it faces declining broadcast rights.

    CSA had earlier demanded $5m to lease a Tier One franchise and $3m for the others, but the rates have been brought down since the owners’ income expectations have also reduced, Cricbuzz reported.

    A reduced figure is also apprehended from the Indian telecast rights, bringing down the owners’ expected earnings from their main income source. With player fee bills almost fixed, the 18-man team will cost owners over $1m per season – the only significant expense that can be reduced by franchises is the fee.

    While CSA had expected that the Global T20 would give it a dependable income outside of incoming tours from England, India, and Australia, its inability to secure a good rights deal has put the ambitions in a jeopardy.

    It is learnt that production costs – that may be around $ 100,000 each for the 57 matches – will be borne by CSA, further cutting into their margins.

  • @FIFAHindi: We have taken care of growing ‘football’ conversations, says Twitter exec Madani

    @FIFAHindi: We have taken care of growing ‘football’ conversations, says Twitter exec Madani

    MUMBAI: FIFA today launched a new Twitter account @FIFAHindi — the maiden global sports federation to do so — to cater to football fans in the most widely-spoken language in the host country — India.

    This FIFA U-17 World Cup is set to make history as it will be the first FIFA competition in India. It will also be the first participation of an Indian national team in a FIFA competition. Now, FIFA and Twitter are embarking on another ‘first’.

    The Twitter account will keep fans updated on the progress of the 52-match tournament, taking them on a journey across the six venues, as 24 teams compete for the trophy. It will also update fans about important information related to their fan journey, and will retweet the best fan tweets, as #FootballTakesOver in India.

    FIFA chief communications officer Fabrice Jouhaud said that they were committed to deepening their engagement with fans around the world.

    FIFA knew, he said, the Indian fans were not only excited about the World Cup, but were huge supporters as well. FIFA would therefore be closely analysing the success of the Twitter account over the next four weeks, he added.

    Football had a significant place on Twitter with a strong community and constantly growing conversations, said Twitter head of sports partnerships – Asia Pacific Aneesh Madani.

    With the launch of the Hindi Twitter account, FIFA was transcending the barriers of language and enabling even more access, as the first-ever FIFA event in the country would kick off, Madani added.