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Category: Sports

  • BCCI appoints Shastri as head coach, Zaheer & Dravid as consultants till World Cup ’19

    MUMBAI: The BCCI has announced the appointment of Ravi Shastri as the head coach, Zaheer Khan as the bowling consultant and Rahul Dravid will be the overseas batting consultant (test cricket) for the Indian cricket team.

    As part of the process for selecting the head coach, the Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman conducted the interviews and recommended these appointments in the best interest of the Indian cricket. The term of the appointments will be till the World Cup 2019.

    Shastri has been the Team Director in the past, and brings with him a wealth of experience, both as player and as coach.

    Khan is a contemporary cricketer who assumed the mentoring role to a young fast bowling unit even during his playing days with India. His inputs will be of immense value to our young fast bowlers, who have shown tremendous potential in the last couple of years.

    As the Indian team is to play Test cricket overseas in the next two years, Rahul Dravid’s expertise as batting consultant will be immensely helpful for youngsters.

    The Board appreciates the contribution of the Cricket Advisory Committee – Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman for recommending these appointments which will take Indian Cricket to greater heights.

  • Sports channels ratings dive in week 26

    BENGALURU: After the culmination of the recent ICC Cricket Champions Trophy 2017 in the UK, the ratings of the sports genre has taken a huge hit, going by Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) weekly data for Top 5 Sports channels and Top 5 Sports programmes (All India (U+R) : NCCS All : 2+ Individuals).

    Until mid-year (week 26 of 2017: Saturday, 24 June 2017 to Friday, 30 June 2017), the top combined weekly impressions (CWI) of the top 5 sports channels peaked in week 23 (Saturday, 3 June 2017 to Friday, 9 June 2017) during which the sum of the weekly impressions of all the five channels was 1,450.328 million impressions. Weeks 24 and 25 saw a progressive decline in the CWI and week 26 has seen the combined ratings of the Sports genre plummet to a little more than a fourth (fall by 3.71 times) of week 23 ratings. Weeks 24 and 25 of 2017 saw the top 5 channels of the sports genre with 1,294.254 million impressions and 813.826 million impressions respectively.

    Going by BARC data, international limited overs matches- one day matches as well as T20 matched have been the highest number of Indian audienceeyeballs. Please refer to the figure below for combined weekly impressions of Top 5 channels of the Sports genre during the first 26 weeks of 2017.

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    Week 1 of 2017 saw the lowest CWI during the year until week 26 of 2017 with the top 5 sports channels registering a figure of just 171.251 million. Week 3 of 2017 during which the first and the second ODIs’ were played between India and England in India witnessed the genre garnering the highest CWI for the top 5 channels until week 23 at 811.22 million impressions. CWI of 750.335 was registered in week 5 when T20 matches were played between India and England in India. The CWI of the top 5 Sports channels then petered down until week 10 when the top 5 channels registered a total of 555.647 million impressions. This was during the India Australia second Test Match held in India.  Among the private broadcasters in India, it was Star India’s Sports channels that telecast the India England, the India Australia matches and the Champions Trophy 2017.

    Week 14 of 2017 saw the kick-off of the tenth season of the T20 cricket Indian Premier League (IPL 10 or IPL 2017). The IPL ran until week 21 of 2017. Week 15 of 2017 saw the top 5 channels of the Sports genre registering a total of 691.605 million impressions – the highest combined ratings for the Sports genre during IPL weeks. IPL was aired on Sony Pictures Network (SPN) channels.

     

  • Elena Timina & A Muralidhara coaching UTT teams

    MUMBAI: With renowned coach Elena Timina, who masterminded two Gold medals and one Silver medal for the Dutch side in the European Championships, bringing tactical awareness to the fore and the team backed by domestic coach A Muralidhara’s fast experience, Shaze Challengers have the potential to pose a serious ‘challenge’ to the teams vying for top honours at the inaugural edition of CEAT UTT slated to begin on 13 July in Chennai.

    The Shaze Challengers features rising star Manav Thakkar along with Soumyajit Ghosh. While Manav at 17 is the youngest male Indian star in the CEAT UTT, 24-year-old Soumyajit has already participated in two Olympics, London in 2012 and Rio in 2016.

    After the positive impact of India Open 2017 in New Delhi in February 2017, Ultimate Table Tennis, developed by 11Even Sports, aims to take the sport of table tennis to greater heights.

    In the Indian Women’s category, the Challengers have another 17-year-old in Moumita Dutta. ‘Mou’ as she’s fondly called, displays an aggressive style of play. The right-hander also has 3 Gold medals in the Iran Open under her belt. Complimenting Moumita Dutta’s prodigious talent will be veteran Mouma Das. At 33, Das has been monumental figure in the Indian table tennis circles.

    The Challengers will look at her in the hopes of winning the inaugural UTT edition, and in the Arjuna Awardee, they have reliable shoulders to depend on. “We have some exceptional talent in our team with young guns who are eager to prove their might in front of home crowd. We have picked the team with a deliberate effort to keep the team youthful with also some players who bring great experience to the team. We are geared up for the start and we are confident of some exciting performances,” expressed team coach A Muralidhara, who spearheads the highly successful SDAT-AKG Academy in Chennai which has churned out gifted players including the famous Achanta Sharath Kamal.

    In Andrej Gacina and Li Ping, the Challengers have a formidable duo to lead the challenge. Both aged 31, have the potential to take their side to the CEAT UTT crown. Li Ping represents Qatar in the international circuit and was the crowned winner in the Mixed Doubles category at the 2009 World Table Tennis Championship. Croat Andrej Gacina has notably bagged first position at the European Championship in the Doubles Category as well as second position in the team event.

    As far as the international women players are concerned, the Challengers will believe they have the strongest pairing. Their first two Draft picks – Han Ying and Petrissa Solja are a force to reckon with. In Ying, the Challengers can boast of the highest ranked female player in the league. Ying along with Solja, represent Germany at an international level. And while Ying prefers a more defensive approach, Solja is famed for the attacking flair she brings to the table.

    Shaze Challengers Match Schedule:
    July 14th – vs Dabang Smashers TTC
    July 17th – vs Oilmax-Stag Yoddha
    July 21st – vs Falcons TTC
    July 24th – vs DHFL Maharashtra United
    July 27th – vs RP-SG Mavericks

  • FIFA U-17 draw: Hosts India to take on U.S. in Delhi

    MUMBAI: The official draw for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which will be played at six venues across India between 6 and 28 October 2017, took place in Mumbai on Friday.

    Telecast rights of this tournament are with Sony Pictures Network India. FIFA World Cup is held every four years, and Sony had bagged the rights in 2014, Sony Six business head Prasanna Krishnan had earlier told Indiantelevision.com.

    Friday’s draw revealed that hosts India will take on the U.S. in their opening match of the competition in New Delhi. Group A also includes Colombia and Ghana, who will also clash as part of the first day’s action.

    Perhaps the most intriguing quartet of teams can be found in Group D, where FIFA tournament debutants Niger were drawn with Korea DPR, Brazil, and Spain.

    The draw ceremony was held in the presence of FIFA Council member Sunil Gulati, All-India Football Federation president Praful Patel and Indian minister of youth affairs and sports Vijay Goel.

    Assisting in the draw ceremony were FIFA Legends Esteban Cambiasso and Nwankwo Kanu, as well as Indian national team legend Sunil Chhetri and Indian badminton star Pusarla Venkata Sindhu.

    One of the highlights of the ceremony was the performance of the tournament’s official song. Pritam and Babul Supriyo revealed ‘Kar Ke Dikhla De Goal’ for the first time, much to the delight of the assembled audience.

    FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 Draw

    Group A: India, USA, Colombia, Ghana
    Group B: Paraguay, Mali, New Zealand, Turkey
    Group C: Iran, Guinea, Germany, Costa Rica
    Group D: Korea DPR, Niger, Brazil, Spain
    Group E: Honduras, Japan, New Caledonia, France
    Group F: Iraq, Mexico, Chile, England

  • Star Sports FTA to be aired on FreeDish from 21 July

    MUMBAI: Shortly after its successful regional foray with the launch of Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports in its relentless pursuit of bringing fans closer to sports launches India’s first private free-to-air sports channel, Star Sports First. The channel will go on air on 21 July on DD’s FTA DTH platform Freedish. This will allow sports fans and enthusiasts to watch their favourite sports, in Hindi, without paying any subscription fee.

    Besides a very rich funnel of sports content, the channel will also air the much-awaited VIVO Pro Kabaddi League Season 5, which will begin in Hyderabad on 28 July, 2017. In addition, the channel’s programme calendar will also include BCCI domestic cricket tournaments, domestic football tournament etc.

    A Star India spokesperson said: “Television penetration in India has grown exponentially. We recognise that there is a very sizeable subset of this universe that is not on conventional pay TV. In the ‘Free-to-air’ content that they have access to, sports content is mostly absent and only sporadically available. It is our belief that there is, however, an eager appetite for it and that is the reason to launch SS First. We believe tens of millions of fans will be created for many different sports offerings through our content bouquet.”

    “Kya aapki life se sports action missing hai”, asks former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, in the film ‘Star Sports First, Aana Hai First’, capturing the essence of the launch of the FTA channel. The TVC runs fans through a diverse range of sports that will now be accessible on the Star Sports First channel.

    The launch of Star Sports First is supported by a 360-degree marketing campaign, Star Sports First, Aana Hai First, which includes television, radio, OOH and on-ground activations.

  • Star to focus on school-level games via FTA sports channel

    NEW DELHI: A sports war may just be brewing between India’s pubcaster Prasar Bharati and private sector TV channels. Close on the heels of  Doordarshan announcing its intentions to start sports leagues involving indigenous sports for viewers of FTA channels, Star India said it would launch a FTA sports channel Star Sports First showcasing non-cricket games with emphasis on school-level sports.

    What’s more, though Star’s FTA Star Sports First could be made available to all distribution platforms, it would debut on DD FreeDish, a satellite-based TV platform comprising mostly FTA channels belonging to the pubcaster and those from private sector media companies.

    “Our FTA channel’s aim would be to highlight indigenous sports like kabaddi and also games like hockey with extra emphasis on school-level sports,” Star India MD Sanjay Gupta said, adding sports is an under-exploited sector in India and advertisers have shown interest in such a FTA offering.

    According to a recent Ernst & Young (now, E&Y) report on India’s FTA TV market, only one percent of viewership of sports channels came from the FTA market, while the pay TV market cornered the lion’s share of viewership and, also, probably, advertising. According to media experts, the FTA ad market too is likely to go north clocking approximately Rs 10 billion in 2017.

    The move by Star India comes close on the heels of DD director-general Supriya Sahu telling media that the pubcaster is working on a blueprint to launch indigenous sports leagues on a FTA channel to largely cater to those TV viewers who access FTA channels on DD FreeDish, apart from making further inroads into the regional markets with more offerings.

    Meanwhile, Star’s Gupta while earlier on Thursday delivering a keynote address at CII-organised sports conference `Scorecard’ here said despite the strides India has made in the business of sports, it’s still an under-exploited market.

    “Despite this glitz and glamour of viewership and money, the reality remains that sports as an industry is just at a $2.5 billion size today (in India). Whereas, in a country, like, the US, this sector is over $80bn. We have all been celebrating the (sports) leagues that have come up, but again US has more than 30,000 league games happening in a year and we aren’t even at a 1/50th of that number,” he highlighted.

    Highlighting the reasons for slow growth of sports and businesses related to it in India, which was also a reflection on the country’s outlook towards sporting culture in general, Gupta said in a recent survey done across the country it was found Indian kids on an average play 20 to 30 minutes in a week, which is much low to their counterparts in developed markets like the US and Europe. Compared to Indian kids, children of the same age in the US and Europe played roughly “an hour a day”.

    Pointing out that there was an urgent need to “challenge the current mindsets of parents, schools and businesses” regarding sports in general, Gupta said, “There is an initiative being run by the sports committee of CII where they are working with a group of 1,000 schools to redefine the perception of parents and school administration toward sports. But we can’t expect such initiatives alone to move mountains. Such a mammoth shift in mindset and behavior requires a movement.”

    Gupta’s vision is to unleash the power of sports, with the help of the government and corporate sector, to “inspire, to unite, to teach things the way nothing else possibly can” and for which the country needed to “get 300 million kids to play for at least an hour every day.”

    Tough task? Well, India too has some shining rags-to-glories sporting icons in games like cricket, badminton, squash, snooker, hockey, football and, lately, basketball too.

    ALSO READ:

    Star India reimagines sports business  

    Star launches Tamil sports channel, localisation features Ashwin, Dhoni, TNPL & Chennaiyin stars

  • Ultimate Table Tennis: Ceat is title sponsor

    MUMBAI: In what can be termed as a major boost to the inaugural edition of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), India’s leading tyre manufacturing brand Ceat has come on board as title sponsor.

    Ceat has been associated with other sports in the past and their latest association with India’s first-ever Professional Table Tennis League comes as a shot in the arm for the sport. Ceat is the flagship company of Rs 22,000-crore RPG Enterprises.

    With this new association, the league will be called Ceat UTT. “Table Tennis is a very dynamic sport and we are very happy to come on board as the title sponsor for Ultimate Table Tennis which has the potential to revolutionise the sport in India. We at Ceat believe that the young crop of players have it in them to create greater success stories in the following years. We already have several Olympians in India from Table Tennis and I am sure that with the right kind of backing and exposure which Ceat UTT will provide, their performances in other major international events will be impacted positively. Ceat is committed to the development of the sport in India and are keen to help the sport in its endeavour to achieve glory,” stated Ceat Limited MD Anant Goenka.

    The corporate giant further stated that apart from the title sponsorship, they would continue to help the players in different ways like they do with other Indian sports. “CEAT has been actively involved with various other sports in India for a while now and we are very grateful to them for coming on board as title sponsor. This is another boost in our endeavour to bring about a revolution in table tennis and help the sport grow to greater echelons in India,” said Ceat UTT league owner Vita Dani.

    Ceat Ultimate Table Tennis will start from 13 July, 2017 in Chennai then will move to Delhi from 21 July and the ultimate culmination, two semifinals and final will be held in Mumbai from July 26, 2017. The league will have 24 of the best Indians as well as 24 world-class international players competing against one another through six clubs. Each club will have eight players—four men and four women with an equal mix of overseas and Indian players, apart from a foreign and an Indian coach. The league will be broadcast live on Star Sports Select 2 HD, Star Sports Select 2, Hotstar and JioTV.

  • IDMA: Star India best advertiser, sports channel pockets 3 medals

    MUMBAI: Sports broadcaster Star Sports has won three awards at the recently-concluded Indian Digital Media Awards 2017 (IDMA), with kabaddi emerging as a strong performer, off the mat.

    IDMA recognises and celebrates work in the digital media space, specifically, internet, mobile, gaming, social media and the blogosphere.

    Pro-Kabaddi Season 3 and 4 bagged a gold in the Best Integrated Media Campaign category.

    Khel Kabaddi, a unique and interactive online game which offered fans a virtual connect with kabaddi, earned a bronze in the Best Use of Web Based Games category.

    In addition to this, Star Sports picked up another bronze for Kabaddi World Cup in the Best Use of WAP/Html/other sites for mobiles category.

    A Star India spokesperson said, “It is a great honor to be awarded multiple accolades at the prestigious Indian Digital Media Awards 2017. It is a firm endorsement of the fact that Star Sports is undertaking innovative and the best-in-class digital marketing initiatives. These awards encourage us to continue delivering path-breaking campaigns that help fans get closer to their favorite sports. We would also like to congratulate the other winners for their outstanding work.”

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  • T20 Global League incentivises cricket infra & aids other sports, say Ajay Sethi & SA official

    MUMBAI: The T20 Global League is making all the right noises nowadays and two prominent Indians have associated with Cricket South Africa by acquiring franchises. The player draft is scheduled for 19 August, with almost 400 players from 10 countries confirming their interest.

    While Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who also owns IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, has been named owner of the Cape Town franchise of Cricket South Africa’s upcoming T20 League, businessman and media mogul Ajay Sethi has acquired the Port Elizabeth franchise.

    Outlining his plans to local media and stakeholders at a welcoming event in Port Elizabeth, Sethi said, “Port Elizabeth is a beautiful city and is deeply entrenched with interesting cricketing history. I am very pleased and proud to represent this city as my franchise team. In the coming weeks, we look forward to working very closely with the Mayor and City Council to put together a robust plan of action to create value for both the city and the team.”

    He further added, “In addition, I would like to extend my thanks to CSA (Cricket South Africa) in accepting our bid and giving us an opportunity to become a part of this exciting T20 Global League journey. This tournament is about the fans, the players, rekindling the magic and reviving the battles, between bat and ball, between heart and mind, showing the world what makes this game extraordinary.”

    Marquee player Imran Tahir, who has great expectations, gushed, “I’m really looking forward to the new team; I hope we as Protea players and the international marquee players make this league the best league in the world and show what South Africa is all about.”

    Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture for Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Andrew Whitfield also attended the event. He too is excited by the possibilities presented to the city by the T20 Global League.

    “This franchise has further incentivised us to invest and support our cricket infrastructure for the city. The T20 Global League will show the youth in PE that there is opportunity in sport. Working together with Ajay Sethi and CSA, we can leverage opportunities beyond cricket,” Whitfield concluded.
    Former ICC CEO and incumbent CEO of Cricket South Africa (CSA) Haroon Lorgat, who feels they have a winner up their sleeves, said, “Fans can look forward to epic game experiences, complimented by action-packed stadiums, big entertainment, top class broadcasters and accessible ticket prices. We can firmly say that the era of ‘sportainment’ has dawned upon us. It’s now South Africa’s time to capitalise while reigniting and celebrating our love for the game.”

  • PKL 5 advertisers grow three-fold, sponsorships rise 320%

    MUMBAI: Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) sponsorship revenue, in the fifth year, rose 320 per cent in 2017 and there was three times increase in the number of advertisers, Star India EVP and head – ad sales Anil Jayaraj said at the Mumbai event announcing the PKL 5. Star India owns the on-ground sponsorship and broadcast rights for Vivo PKL.

    Mashal Sports, the pioneers of Vivo Pro Kabaddi, and Star Sports, India’s leading sports broadcaster, began the countdown to the much-anticipated Season 5 of the league, with the unveiling of the new format and fixtures for the season. The league’s four new teams have been supported by JSW Sports and Adani Wilmar.

    The increase in sponsorship revenue and advertisers, Jayaraj said, was owing to spurt in viewership. “Season 4 of PKL witnessed higher ratings than IPL in three states — Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, that is 41 per cent as compared to IPL’s 21 per cent (as per Star’s internal analysis),” Star India EVP and head – marketing Shubhranshu Singh said.

    Jayaraj added:  “Around 50 per cent of our existing advertisers have advertised at least in one of the previous seasons, and 90 per cent realised that competition gained and as a result decided to advertise.” Looking at the sponsors from PKL 1, Fevicol was the first brand to be associated with PKL. In the second season PKL got some traction, and nine brands came on board.

    PKL has also roped in film and sports personalities such as Virender Sehwag, Shikhar Dhawan, Saina Nehwal, and Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan to spike PKL’s visibility.

    With only four years of play, PKL is the second most popular sports after IPL in India. Overall, around Rs 47 crore (Rs 470 million) was invested on over 260 players for the fifth season. “The sponsors investing in sports these days get 15x RoI (returns on investment),” Jayaraj said.

    There was a 12 per cent increase in consideration for sponsorships from 59 per cent after PKL 4, Jayaraj informed. Brand such as Flipkart, Bajaj, TVS, Amazon India, Castrol Active, Gionee, Coca Cola and SBI, among other are associated with PKL 5. “And, I’m expecting a total of around 24 brands to be on board for this season,” Jayaraj added.

    The challenge Star India faced in the beginning was how to revive the ancient Indian sport. “Kabaddi World Cup got a viewership of 114 million which consumed around 11 billion minutes of TV,” Singh said. PKL is no doubt on the growth path.

    The on-ground sponsorship in kabaddi grew by 13 per cent year-on-year in 2016 and that cricket’s contribution in the overall sports revenue fell. “Around 61% of 2016’s on-ground sponsorship was contributed by three deals, one of which is Vivo’s title sponsor deal with Pro Kabaddi,” said media investment management company Group M business head – entertainment, sports & live events Vinit Karnik. On-ground sponsorship in 2015 and 2016 for cricket were Rs 529.5 crore (Rs 5295 million) and Rs 562.7 crore, respectively, and that for kabaddi were Rs 48.0 crore and Rs 122.0 crore, respectively.

    Vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 5 will begin on 28 July in Hyderabad and will travel across 12 host cities, culminating in Chennai with the ultimate battle of Kabaddi supremacy taking place on 28 October. The first match will see Rahul Chaudhari-led Telugu Titans clash with Tamil Thalaivas, which boasts of marquee player, Ajay Thakur.

    The 12 teams have been divided into two zones of six teams each, where each of them will be playing 15 intra-zone and seven inter-zone matches, prior to the play-offs. The play-offs stage will comprise three qualifiers and two eliminators scheduled to take place in Mumbai and Chennai.

    Vivo Pro Kabaddi league commissioner Anupam Goswami said, “For Season 5, our goal was to create a high-impact tournament which evokes euphoric sentiment among fans for their favourite teams. Strong contenders will be seen clashing in the action-packed 3 months of the league. The longer duration of the league, in addition to 12 teams battling in 138 matches, will give fans an exciting season of kabaddi to cheer for.”

    International Kabaddi Federation CEO Deoraj Chaturvedi said, “It is our foremost priority to tirelessly work towards nurturing and developing an evocative and engaging Kabaddi culture in India. The International Kabaddi Federation worked with Mashal Sports to create a dynamic schedule for Vivo  Pro Kabaddi Season 5 which will thrill the audiences. We are proud to see that the league, which is uniquely driven by innovation, has grown into one of the biggest in Indian sports.”

    Team sponsors are also gung-ho, and are investing in training. U Mumba, for example, has started a training academy in Kerala to develop talent. “We will train 50 boys each year and will also be venturing into E-sports,” U Mumba CEO Supratik Sen said.

    Click here for detailed schedule