ITV

Category: Sports

  • Ten Sports’ Rajesh Sethi’s relocation challenge

    Ten Sports CEO Rajesh Sethi is clocking a lot of flying miles these days. And it is easier to catch him aboard a flight en route to Dubai than in his office. Reason: Well! He is busy organising a massive relocation of staff from Ten Sports’ Dubai office to Noida in Uttar Pradesh.  

    It is not only Sethi who is caught up with this shifting. Even those who have agreed to relocate are busy wrapping up rent agreements for accommodation in Dubai, repaying local loans, seeking admissions for their kids in schools in Noida, packing their bags and searching for new accommodation options in north Indian industrial town and surrounding areas.

    Ten Sports Network (TSN) which operates five sporting channels- Ten Sports, Ten Cricket, Ten Action, Ten Golf and Ten HD is today owned by Zee which bought out the Dubai-based Bukhatir group’s 95 per stake in Taj Television in 2010. And it had seen some sort of an exodus even then. Senior managers, mainly expatriates, headed for the exits following the acquisition by India‘s most known TV network. Among those who bailed out included:  COO Peter Hutton along with his number two Mark Denton, both of whom cofounded the network with former CEO Chris McDonald who had left even earlier.

    We are now consolidating our operations in India with the purpose of increasing stakeholder value and also enhancing viewership experience expounds Rajesh Sethi

    TSN has some prime cricket properties which can be considered hot viewing options for Indian sports TV viewers. This includes the exclusive India rights to telecast action on the field for five cricket boards – South Africa, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. As compared to this, rival ESPN Star Sports has the rights to domestic Indian cricket, which it pocketed after committing close to $770 million dollars to the BCCI.  Neo Sports – another sportscaster in India – has the rights to New Zealand cricket, while Sony Entertainment boasts of the highly popular and profitable though controversial Indian Premier League. This apart, TSN has also signed up other sporting properties such as WWE, US Open, ATP Tournaments, WTA, Ryder Cup, Moto GP, Euro league, PGA Championship, Asian Tour, European Tour and Tour De France.

    Clearly, when Ten Sports was set up in Dubai, it was headed by expats who were tapping into investments provided by Bukhatir with employees having several different nationalities as is the practice amongst companies in west Asia. At the time of being set up, the company had more than 100 staff and it had stated that “Taj represents Dubai‘s premier television production resource. No other production facility in the UAE can match Taj in terms of technology, experienced personnel and efficiency. “

    When Zee TV acquired the network from Bukhatir, chairman Subhash Chandra too had waxed eloquent about having an outpost in west Asia. “The acquisition of a stake in Ten Sports not only gives us a strong foothold in the arena of sports broadcasting across Asia but also strengthens our operations in the Middle East,” Chandra had said then.

    The Zee Network currently operates popular entertainment channels in the Middle East and has a team – headed by Mukund Cairae – which looks after its interests there. In fact, Cairae has done very well for Zee in the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and has been ranked 24 in a list of powerful Indians for the region.

    A Dubai-based broadcast professional who has been in the Middle East for more than a decade gives his perspective on Zee TV there. Says he: “Zee TV‘s operations in the Middle East involve turning around its GECs and movie channels and producing and acquiring local Arabic content for its channels Zee Alwan and Aflam. It also garners local advertising revenues for its bouquet of channels. Cairae and his team operate out of the same Ten Sports building from the third floor.”

    Two years on after acquiring Ten Sports, Chandra discovered that it was bleeding badly and running up losses running into crores, something which a former employee says upset him greatly. He decided to shift Ten Sports’ base to India to generate whatever sayings he could generate from the move. For the network, it became a mandate to be implemented.

    Says a sports broadcast veteran: “The sports business is pretty tricky, especially international sports rights. You buy the rights in dollars, which have been appreciating consistently against the rupee, and you take advertising in rupees. The rise in advertising rates has not been making up for the depreciation of the rupee against the dollar. Hence, unless distribution revenues go up significantly which have not so far, losses are bound to be there. For the Zee Network it made eminent sense for Ten Sports to shift its technical operations including play out, production and post-production to a lower cost base like Noida where it has its uplinking hub, rather than operate out of expensive Dubai where employee costs are pretty stiff, and everything is costlier.”

    Agrees Sethi: “The move is a part of our decision to make India a hub for better synergies, virtues and also for huge scales of economy, which the country, as a common central location, offers us. We have a significant set up in Noida with huge facilities and have invested heavily in both technology and modern equipment. We are now consolidating our operations in India with the purpose of increasing stakeholder value and also enhancing viewership experience.”

    An investment analyst expects the Ten Sports shift to Noida to generate savings in double digit crore annually for the Zee Network. A local TV professional estimates that the savings will be in the region of $4-5 million per annum, mostly in employee costs. “It’s a very good reason for them to shift,” he says.

    Since Chandra’s diktat was announced, the rumour mills had been running internally that relocation was coming, and several employees had already started looking for other options. Dubai-based Ten Sports COO Sanjay Raina left the firm in June end and is reportedly working with Fox International in Dubai.  A handful quit to take up jobs with other regional broadcasters, according to local reports.  Additionally, Mumbai-based TSN CEO Atul Pande chose to take up another posting within the Zee Network and Sethi was brought in as his replacement in mid-2013.

    Sethi claims that the first communication regarding the shift was relayed in March this year while the final letter went out in August.

    The Dubai-based broadcast professional – quoted earlier – highlights that “Effectively only a month’s notice was given to employees. The way TSN management has dealt with the relocation is objectionable. They could have dealt better with it on the human resources front. Employees have been given just one month’s severance pay; look at Network18 in India, it is giving employees a three month severance package. You have to remember the Dubai media job market is saturated with very few jobs going around. Working rules in the Middle East are pretty tough for Indians. Many of the former Ten Sports employees are literally on the streets; and this after serving the organisation for so many years. Remember their families’ future is also in jeopardy.”
    But Sethi empasises, “Every Dubai-based employee has been given an opportunity to relocate to Noida. While few are happy, there are a few who are anxious about the change. People are free to either take the opportunity or refuse. No one is being laid off.”

    Employee reaction to the offer has been mixed, says the Dubai-based broadcast professional.  He explains: “Most staff that had earlier moved to Dubai had done so to get higher salaries and to upgrade their life style. These executives and professionals are now apprehensive about shifting to Noida, where they will have to start from scratch. For many employees, this was more than a hint to resign. “

    Sethi however maintains that quite a few of the staff are looking forward to the change even as “There are others who are happily ensconced in the Arab emirate and not very enthusiastic about the shift. This is because of nationality issues. While there are a few who are happy and are in fact pushing to bring forward the shift date, there are others who are uncomfortable because they do not have roots in India. This is basically due to mixed nationalities that Ten Sports employs.”

    Out of the 114 employees with Ten Sports in Dubai, it is learnt that around 15 Pakistani employees have chosen to discontinue as working in India was not feasible.  And about 25-30 of them are actually boarding the relocation boat to Noida. The others are struggling to stay afloat.

    For employees being yanked out of the relative comforts of Dubai, things don’t just end with moving to a new workplace in crowded and noisy Noida. Concerns are also being aired about their pay slips being clipped.

    “The base salary according to Indian standards is anyway less. Additionally, there are taxes. One can expect a 30-40 per cent cut in the salary,” informs the Dubai-based broadcast professional.

    Sethi begs to differ. “We are not majorly cutting salaries of those we are relocating.  The taxation laws in the two countries are different. While India has a huge taxation policy, Dubai is a tax-free nation. And I do not think this can be termed as a salary cut,” he says.

    The TSN CEO expects the relocation exercise to keep him busy for at least another couple of months. Settling down the staff to a routine could take a little longer.

    But when it is completed and Ten Sports’ operations start purring smoothly out of India, he would have fulfilled what he had been mandated to do when he was hired for the job earlier this year.

  • Sreesanth and Chavan banned for life, Trivedi banned for a year

    Sreesanth and Chavan banned for life, Trivedi banned for a year

    MUMBAI: The Disciplinary Committee of the BCCI, comprising N. Srinivasan, Arun Jaitley and Niranjan Shah, enquiring into the allegations of match-fixing against certain players, held a hearing today at Hotel ITC Maurya Sheraton, New Delhi.

    After considering the evidence on record and hearing each of the players in person, the Disciplinary Committee has passed the orders regarding the players in question

    The players who have been slapped with a life ban include the eccentric S. Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan, both the players have been banned for life from playing any representative Cricket, or in any way being associated with the activities of the BCCI or its affiliates.

    While Amit Singh has been banned for a period of five years from playing any representative Cricket, or in any way being associated with the activities of the BCCI or its affiliates; Siddarth Trivedi will face a ban of one year.

    The case against Harmeet Singh has been closed in the absence of evidence against him.
    This is a wakeup call for all those cricketers who are out to tarnish the name of the sport, which is almost considered as a religion in the country and the players worshiped as deities.

  • Experts call for football alcohol advertising restrictions

    Experts call for football alcohol advertising restrictions

    MUMBAI: Newcastle University academics have called for the government to consider restricting alcohol marketing during televised football matches after studying a selection of games and finding they were ‘bombarded’ by references to drink.

    They found that on average there were 111.3 visual references to alcohol for every hour of football broadcast in the six games they looked at, nearly two every minute. This includes images on billboards at the side of the pitch and other references during replays or when scores were shown or substitutions were being made.

    The total broadcast time for the six matches, shown on the BBC, ITV and Sky TV, was 18 hours and 21 minutes. During that time there were 2042 visual references to alcohol of various types, mainly beer. There were also 32 verbal mentions, mainly of match or competition sponsors and 17 adverts during the matches, from last season, including games in the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup and Championship.

    In the UK ?202.5 million is spent every year on advertising alcohol, while over ?800 million goes on marketing every year. Previous studies have shown that alcohol marketing increases the likelihood that young people will start to use alcohol and will drink more if they already use it.

    It has been found that 96 per cent of all 13 years olds are aware of alcohol marketing and it has been suggested that 5.2 million 4-15 year olds were exposed to alcohol advertising during the 2008 European Championship.

    In the UK tobacco advertising has been banned since 1989 and in 2003 it was made illegal for tobacco companies to sponsor sporting events. Alcohol advertising is self-regulated by the industry itself through a code of practice and the Advertising Standards Authority, but previous studies have highlighted the belief that self-regulation is not working. There are restrictions, such as not equating drinking with social or sexual success or promoting irresponsible behaviour but there are no legal powers of enforcement.

    Dr Jean Adams, senior lecturer in public health at Newcastle University and a member of Fuse, the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health, said: “Alcohol – related hospital admission are continuing to rise, despite alcohol consumption falling overall because the heaviest drinkers are consuming more.”

    “This type of study has never been done before in the UK, looking at alcohol marketing during televised football matches. We wanted as broad a picture as possible, which is why we chose the matches from different broadcasters and from different competitions.”

    Andy Graham, speciality registrar in public health with the NHS, said: “Our findings show that young people are likely to be hugely exposed to alcohol marketing during televised football matches, and this is likely to have an influence on their attitudes to alcohol. We were surprised by just how many images there were during these games, it was a constant bombardment.

    “We believe a similar restriction to that imposed on tobacco products may be justified.”

  • Ten Golf changes course

    Ten Golf changes course

    MUMBAI: It is teeing once again and it surely is good news for golf lovers and players. 24 hour Zeel group golf channel Ten Golf, will now be available in India on both DTH and cable TV as part of  high end packages. It is close to announcing deals with three DTH players and some MSOs. The channel which is available at an a la carte subscription fee of Rs 200 per month for subscribers will now see a significant shift in pricing on both DTH and cable TV.

    The first among the three DTH operators is Airtel Digital TV which now has Ten Golf as part of its Ultra pack. “We are now a part of a package for which the DTH platform charges anywhere between Rs 400- Rs 500 a month,” says Ten Sports CEO Rajesh Sethi. Close to half a million viewers on Airtel Digital have signed on to the service, he says.

    There’s a shift in pricing strategy on the anvil he reveals. “On 1 September we have made a filing with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for price revision. We are looking at a reduction in rates to both promote golf and make it available to larger viewership base,” says Sethi. “I am looking at reaching out to 1.4 million subscribers once we get on the high end offerings like magnum, platinum packs etc on the other two DTH platforms. This should happen by October,” informs Sethi.

    Ten Golf was initially targeted at avid golf players, and hopes to address  aspirational golfers with its expansion in distribution and price lowering. “Aspirational golf players are mostly corporate executives and they are huge in number. Also Ten Golf today is seen as a lifestyle channel. People not only watch the channel for the sport, but also for the beautiful landscape it offers. All this called for a bigger reach and lower subscription fee,” he adds.

    Sethi is also hopeful to get advertisers to use the channel as an advertising platform.   “The positioning will help us with more advertisers. The channel has its own unique niche value and there are partners and corporates who want to advertise.”

    Ten Golf will in the next six to eight weeks be also clubbed together in high end packages offered by major MSOs like DEN, Hathway and Siticable, reveal industry sources.  “The subscription fee for the channel on the package provided by the MSOs will be much lower as compared to the DTH players. All this will take traction in next six to eight weeks,” informs Sethi.

    Shall we say fore?

  • India requests IOC to retain wrestling in the category of core sports in Olympic Games

    India requests IOC to retain wrestling in the category of core sports in Olympic Games

    NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has requested full membership of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to take up the matter of wrestling at the 125th session of IOC at Buenos Aires (Argentina) and take a decision to retain Wrestling in the category of core sports in Olympic Games.

    In a letter written to all the IOC members, Sports Secretary P K Deb has said that Wrestling, which combines Freestyle (Men and Women) and Greco-Roman events, goes back to the inaugural modern Olympics held in Athens in 1886 and has been a core sport from the first Olympics onwards. It was a part of the ancient Olympics too. The exclusion of the discipline from the core sports of Olympics is against tradition which is so much a part of Olympics.

    The letter said, in modern times, wrestling has immense popularity and fan following world-wide. Its popularity can be gauged from the fact that 71 countries participated in wrestling events in the London Olympic 2012, to full houses. The letter said the decision of the executive board of IOC not to include Wrestling in the core sports for 2020 Olympics will severely affect the sustenance of the game in future.

    The letter said, India believes that the decision to exclude the sport of wrestling from the 25 core sports needs to be reconsidered particularly in view of the fact that wrestling has got not only universal appeal, but is also very affordable.

    The letter has been written in the context of the decision of the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at its meeting held on 12 February 2013 recommending that wrestling governed by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling (FILA), be not included in the list of core sports for the 2020 Olympics. The Executive Board of IOC at its meeting held at St. Petersburg (Russia) on 20 May 2013 recommended that baseball / softball, squash and wrestling be proposed to the 125th session of IOC for possible inclusion as an additional sport in the Olympic Programme for 2020 Olympic Games. The full IOC membership will meet for the 125th session in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 7th to 10th September 2013 and will vote on which of the three sports to add to the programme of the Games for 2020 Olympics in addition to the 25 core sports.

  • ESPN re-ups with Twitter Amplify for college football

    ESPN re-ups with Twitter Amplify for college football

    MUMBAI: Television networks and publishers are really getting on board with Twitter Amplify.

    In the second development of its kind during the last few days, ESPN will quickly deliver college football highlights from numerous games this season – which kicks off this weekend—through its Twitter handle and via the social-TV Amplify platform. ESPN will run the same highlights across its Web and mobile app properties.
    In all cases, an eight-second pre-roll ad for Verizon Wireless will appear as part of a larger “#DidYouSeeThat” campaign for the telecom that will include spots on ESPN channels during the full college season.

    It’s the second year in which ESPN and Twitter have partnered for the Amplify program. The deal is probably a thing of beauty – the ability to focus on single games via the living room flat-screen TV while getting snippets galore of other contests on your laptop, tablet or smartphone.

    Twitter Amplify head Glenn Brown said, “Programs like this are a win-win-win for everyone involved. Brands get new opportunities to reach consumers, networks can distribute their content across multiple platforms and generate new revenues, and users get amazing content from the best plays happening in college football.”

    Earlier this week, Twitter debuted a similar agreement with the United States Tennis Association for the US Open, where the tourney is relaying top video highlights via the social site.

    In that example, Heineken has bought the exclusive sponsorship for the event, which runs through 8 September.

  • ESPN, Turner in talks to exit NASCAR early

    ESPN, Turner in talks to exit NASCAR early

    MUMBAI: ESPN and Turner Sports are talking with NASCAR about getting out of their broadcast rights agreement a year early, a move that could allow Fox Sports and NBC Sports Group to become the sport’s broadcasters next year.

     

    It’s unlikely that the four TV companies will be able to reach a deal, sources say. But the fact that these types of talks are occurring is precedent-setting in an industry where live sports rights are held sacred. For at least the past decade, no rights holder has exited a major media agreement with a property early.

     

    ESPN and Turner executives told the series that they are interested in forgoing the final year of their contract. Fox and NBC executives told NASCAR that they are interested in picking up those rights. And sources say NASCAR executives are open to the switch.

     

    But any deal faces significant hurdles. Sources said it would have to be a complete switch, not a partial one in which Turner exits its six Sprint Cup races or ESPN exits part of its Nationwide Series season. That means it would require an agreement between four competitors – ESPN, Turner, Fox and NBC – and one property, which would be difficult to structure.

     

    ESPN and Turner Sports have told NASCAR they are prepared to carry the races next year, but both would prefer avoiding that lame-duck status. Both opted not to submit final bids to retain NASCAR rights when the sport held TV negotiations last month, and they see upside in exiting their deals a year early.

     

    ESPN has had financial pressures in some areas over the last year, causing it to lay off staff and look for ways to reduce expenses. By unloading NASCAR rights in 2014, ESPN would be able to eliminate production costs and shed its roughly $270 million annual rights fee.

     

    NASCAR-related production costs are a concern for ESPN executives, particularly during the first half of the season when ESPN has rights only to the Nationwide Series.

     

    The talks won’t change NASCAR’s long-term TV picture. Between 2015 and 2024, NASCAR will collect more than $8.2 billion in media rights from Fox and NBC, which signed 10-year, $3.8 billion and $4.4 billion deals, respectively. The networks together will pay an average of $820 million a year, a 46 percent increase from the $560 million that NASCAR currently receives annually from Fox, Turner Sports and ESPN.

  • Ten Cricket Launches On Rogers

    Ten Cricket Launches On Rogers

    MUMBAI: ZEE AMERICAS in partnership with Ethnic Channels Group announces the launch of TEN Cricket on Rogers Communications Inc. Channel 671. Cricket, one of the most watched games in the world, will be broadcast in Canada as a 24-hour South Asian sports channel.

    Roger’s addition of TEN Cricket will enable cricket fans across the region to watch all home and away matches played between teams representing West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and India. Ten Cricket’s 24-hour programming will include LIVE and repeat broadcasts of major tournament matches such as Test, ODI and T20 as well as popular shows such as Cricket Classics, Great Centuries and The Inside Story.

    In order to enable Canadian cricket fans to cheer on their favorite teams, Rogers will extend a special free preview period of two months.

    “Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world next to soccer. Cricket lovers in Canada will be enthralled by TEN Cricket” said Slava Levin Co-Founder and CEO of Ethnic Channels Group.


    Sameer Targe, General Manager of Zee Americas said, “Canadian cricket enthusiasts have experienced TEN Cricket through ATN cricket channels for the last two and a half years and we saw great traction for our content. It was only logical for us to stop syndicating that to ATN (through Willow TV) and launch a full-fledged 24×7 linear channel—TEN Cricket”.

  • ESPN Star Sports gives English football league the Hindi touch

    ESPN Star Sports gives English football league the Hindi touch

    MUMBAI:  ESPN Star Sports seems to be scoring well with its viewers with the telecast of Barclays Premier League (BPL) this year. And it’s no plain statement. The broadcaster which is airing the football league in both English and Hindi this season says it has seen a 254 per cent jump in its ratings on the inaugural day. Not only this, it points out that it has recorded a 105 per cent increase in the time spent per viewer on the inaugural day.

     

    The league which went on air from 17 August on Star Sports and Star Cricket has also been made available in Hindi for the first time. “We believe there is a huge potential for growth in football viewership and that Indian fans would love to consume non-cricket sports as well if the product is packaged well, communicated and presented in an interesting manner,” said ESPN Software India COO Vijay Rajput.

    It is important to explain the live action in a language and idiom which is clearly understandable by the viewers expounds Vijay Rajput.

     

    According to the data received by Indiantelevision.com, BPL’s viewership in the 15 plus age group of men in the ABC segment rose from the previous season’s 324 TVTs (esimated) to 760 TVTs. Day 1 of the league saw it record a reported 206 per cent increase in its reach. The stickiness among the football crazy fans has also witnessed a jump in the league this time around. Though last year the inaugural matches of BPL recorded 10 minute TSV (Time Spent viewing), this year it went up to 16 minutes – a rise of 105 per cent.

     

    The launch of BPL in Hindi is in-line with the channel’s strategy of pushing multi-lingual content. “The focus on English commentary/graphics by sports broadcasters till date has been a big deterrent in the growth in viewership. For viewers to understand the nuances of football and the league itself, we feel it is important to explain the live action in a language and idiom which is clearly understandable to one and all,” stated Rajput.

     

    The Hindi commentary is in addition to the English commentary which will also be available for all the televised matches from the full season. Under the dual audio feed system,DTH/digital subscribers can choose the language of their preference.

     

    ESPN Star Sports has decided to select two matches every week and telecast them in Hindi and English. “We are targeting to telecast close to 140 matches live with Hindi commentary in this season. In addition, almost 50 matches with Hindi commentary will have delayed telecast. So, overall about 190 matches would be covered with Hindi commentary,” he informed.

     

    The sportscaster caster has identified UK based commentators of Indian origin who will describe the proceedings on the field in Hindi for BPL. The Hindi commentary is being done from the stadium itself. “For viewers to understand the nuances of soccer and the league itself, we feel it is important to explain the live action in a language and idiom which is clearly understandable to one and all.”

     

    A three-pronged strategy has been put in place to promote the BPL: this includes: appointing MS Dhoni as its brand ambassador, covering select matches with Hindi commentary and have non-live Hindi programming around the tournament to ensure that more and more sports fans sample and understand the league’s nuances, its clubs and its stars.

     

    “We roped in Dhoni as the brand ambassador to excite sports fans who consume a lot of cricket to sample BPL as well with an ultimate objective of expanding the fan base of BPL in the country,” he informed.

     

    ESPN Star Sports has launched a mix of shows based on highlights/goals/review and preview of the latest in BPL which will be showcased week on week through the season.

     

    “We started off with six episodes of a buildup show ‘Superstar Football’ which focuses on multiple facets of the league – famous owners, top clubs and top players in the league etc. We will also showcase highlight shows of BPL in Hindi through the season. This fast paced snapshot of happenings in BPL will make for interesting television,” informed Rajput.

     

    The broadcaster is also looking at magazine shows every week, which will be a review of the season gone-by and a preview of the coming week’s matches. “This show will have colour/ feature stories from BPL.We will also telecast a half an hour show on goals every week. All the Hindi programming around BPL will be produced in India.”

     

    The work done around BPL has helped the broadcaster in not only receiving good ratings, but has also lured in the advertising dollars.   “We have received a very positive advertiser interest for this season. Even before the start of the league, we had monetised close to 85 per cent of the annual available inventory,” he informed. Tata Motors, Pernod Ricard, Adidas, Tata Teleservices, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul) and Nokia India are some of the big names to have come on board as associate sponsors on-air for the live telecast.

     

    ESPN Star Sports tack to go local with Hindi commentary simulcast has found favour with cricket fans by contributing 40 per cent of the overall ratings for the India-Australia test series. The test series delivered an average rating of 2.05 TVR which was the highest average rating for a test series played by India in the past four years. “We also had a very successful inaugural season of the Hero Hockey India League in both Hindi and English, which delivered an impressive reach of 41.4 million.”

     

    With even the on-going IBL which is being showcased in both Hindi and English, the sportscaster is surely eyeing an eyepopping increase in viewership numbers. It clearly is serving (its customers we mean) right.

  • Football on your phone by the Manning brothers

    Football on your phone by the Manning brothers

    NEW DELHI: As NFL fans gear up for football season, they will find an off-the-field distraction in “Football on Your Phone,” a new DirecTV spoof starring quarterback brothers Eli and Peyton Manning. Production company Butter, via Grey, are behind the 3:00 promo, which has already shot past six million hits on YouTube.

     

    The video rewinds to the 1990s, where an incredulous Peyton discovers his brother Eli watching NFL games on his cell phone. Decked out in ’90s gear and sporting that decade’s over-the-top haircuts, the two launch into an old-school hip-hop duet, backed up by brass hits, bass slides, chimes, and an MPC drum beat, not to mention a trio of black-clad songstresses. The video frolics from New Orleans’ French Quarter to high-end cocktail parties, taking shots at everyone from Alexander Graham Bell to a bystander using his “phone as a phone,” according to a report by the National Association of Broadcasters.

     

    Having just worked with Butter on a funny Dairy Queen spot, Grey Group CD Steven Fogel approached them to create a jingle from his agency’s rough outline and script. Butter created several treatments of the song, ultimately settling on a “football on your phone” hook that was appropriately raunchy and catchy.

     

    One of the project’s highlights was working with the Manning brothers. “Working with Peyton and Eli was amazing,” Butter EP Ian Jeffreys notes. “They are true professionals. They drove three hours to get to an eight-hour shoot, where they had to get into costume and makeup, shoot the ad, shoot a photo spread, record 19 radio scripts, and record the actual song, which they had never heard before. I was seriously impressed by their work ethic and stamina. There was no drama, no attitude – just get it done.”

     

    Butter showed up on shoot day to find that they were sharing an enormous room with the photo crew and two dozen others, creating a racket that would make it difficult to capture high-quality vocals. Accustomed to finding solutions on the fly, Butter made some phone calls. “Our saving grace was our rental company, Studio 101 NOLA,” Jeffreys recalls. “Our contact there, DJ Boudreaux, found a friend with a collapsible vocal booth. It was pricey, but it was our only shot to do this right – without clean vocals, the whole day would be wasted. So DJ shows up with what looks like a church confessional booth. Apparently, a dentist with a songwriting hobby had his cabinetmaker build a vocal booth in his basement, then sold it when he moved. It was a wacky contraption, but it saved our asses.”