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Tag: 2014 FIFA World Cup

  • Etihad Airways to telecast all FIFA matches live at 30,000 feet

    Etihad Airways to telecast all FIFA matches live at 30,000 feet

    NEW DELHI: The United Arab Emirates airline Etihad Airways is to be beam live every FIFA World Cup football match live on all of the air carrier’s long haul aircraft during the month long tournament.

     

    All 64 games will be transmitted live at 30,000 feet on the airline’s modern, wide-bodied fleet of planes by IMG Media using Etihad Airways’ state-of-the-art interactive inflight entertainment system, E-box, powered by Panasonic technology.

     

    The E-box screens are installed in seats for every class of cabin – first, business and economy – so for flying football fans, no-one need miss a goal being scored. Etihad Airways chief commercial officer Peter Baumgartner said, “The FIFA World Cup is the biggest and most exciting sporting event in the world and I’m delighted that all of our guests will be able to watch every match while they fly with us on their long-haul business or holiday flights.” 

     

    He added, “I hope that they sit back, relax and enjoy the great football action. Etihad Airways non-stop daily flights from Abu Dhabi to Sao Paulo have been in operation since June and there has been great demand from British, Dutch and Belgian expatriates living in the UAE capital and connecting markets because their national teams play matches in the Brazilian city in the next two weeks. Etihad Airways employs 49 of Brazilian nationals as cabin crew, many of whom will work on board flights between Abu Dhabi and Sao Paulo during the World Cup.”  

  • MSM sub-licenses FIFA World Cup to Seven3Sports

    MSM sub-licenses FIFA World Cup to Seven3Sports

    NEW DELHI: Football fans across Indian subcontinent can now enjoy the biggest sporting event, 2014 FIFA World Cup, thanks to Seven3Sports bagging the sub-license rights from MSM India for telecasting the World Cup in the five countries across Indian subcontinent (excluding India). The media rights includes: TV broadcast through terrestrial transmission on an exclusive and Cable and Satellite on a non-exclusive basis besides mobile and broadband rights.

     

    Seven3Sports has put together an enviable partnership with several leading sports and state-owned government channels across territories, which includes Ten Sports and Pakistan TV in Pakistan; Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation in Sri Lanka; Gazi TV, Maasranga TV and Bangladesh TV in Bangladesh; Nepal TV and Kantipur TV in Nepal and Maldives Broadcasting Corporation and Island Broadcasting Company in Maldives.

     

    Seven3Sports founder and chief executive officer Jatin Ahluwalia said, “We are delighted to take this biggest sporting competition in the world to many more homes across Indian sub-continent countries (excluding India) and want to thank MSM for trusting our vision and for their faith in our abilities to deliver sub-license arrangements. This partnership has bolstered our strength and confidence in delivering to high standards. We are honoured to have been entrusted with this opportunity that has enabled us to notch up with our array of services as a sports media company.”

     

    Through this large scale arrangement, Seven3Sports is democratising viewing experience for the football-lovers through local partnerships, bringing the superior and outstanding soccer experience of 2014 FIFA World Cup  to nearly half a billion people across these states.

     

    Seven3Sports is a young company that has grown manifolds, making its presence felt in the sports & broadcast industry. The new, out-of-the-box approach to offer multi-platform / multi-region of super-premium sporting events makes it different from others.

     

    The company has set out a sustainable plan to build a sports media eco-system through its long term sports media arrangements – it already owns Pepsi IPL TV Broadcast rights for the Indian subcontinent region across Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka from 2014 for five seasons, Digital rights for French Open in India for 2013 and 2014,  Digital rights of Bundesliga the leading soccer league of Germany from 2014-2016, besides delivering India’s tour of New Zealand and Zimbabwe in 2013 across digital platforms.

  • Broadcasters may earn up to $4 billion from World Cup: Deloitte

    Broadcasters may earn up to $4 billion from World Cup: Deloitte

    NEW DELHI: Deloitte has predicted a record-setting World Cup for broadcasters globally with a $4 billion haul.

     

    According to Deloitte Sports Business Group senior consultant Austin Houlihan, “The World Cup is a premium property for free-to-air broadcasters in particular, due to its ability to generate high audiences in many territories. For example, in major European markets, tournament matches typically generate the highest sports audiences in that particular year. The German audience for the 2010 World Cup semi-final between Germany and Spain exceeded 30 million viewers, the first time a single German broadcaster had exceeded an audience of this size.”

     

     “The World Cup’s kick-off times are conducive to driving strong audiences in areas such as North and South America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. As a result, the tournament in Brazil could generate a record global television audience. The 2010 final—Spain vs. Netherlands—was watched by a cumulative global audience of 910 million in-home viewers (measured as people watching at least one minute of coverage), according to FIFA research and if you include out-of-home viewers (e.g. pubs/clubs) the audience was in excess of 1 billion,” he added.

     

     The World Cup’s ability to generate such audiences means that broadcasters and sponsors pay premium rights fees to secure rights to broadcast, or be associated, with the tournament. “The 2014 tournament is likely to generate record high revenues for FIFA, which has forecast broadcast and commercial revenues of around $4 billion, according to the report published by the National Association of Broadcasters,” informed Houlihan.

     

     Deloitte predicts that as well as driving record broadcast and sponsorship revenues, the tournament will help to drive new standards in the quality of broadcast production. Production innovations include some matches being produced in ultra-high definition—4k and 8k—and an increased number of cameras and angles covering matches. The tournament will also cater for the increasing trend for audiences to view content through mobile devices, with greater numbers of viewers being able to access match footage—live, highlights, video on demand, clips—and associated content through their tablets and mobiles.

  • Facebook provides facilities for watching and sharing FIFA details

    Facebook provides facilities for watching and sharing FIFA details

    NEW DELHI: Even as millions of soccer fans from around the world will be glued to their television sets to watch the 2014 FIFA World Cup, many will join the conversation about the Cup on Facebook.

     

    People come to Facebook during sporting events to connect and engage with friends who are following the action, to cheer their favourite teams and players, and to find out the latest scores and highlights.

     

    For this year’s World Cup, Facebook is giving users one great place to experience the action in real time.

     

    The social networking site has launched Trending World Cup, a dedicated hub for fans to follow the tournament as it unfolds. This includes the latest scores and highlights from the matches, a special feed with real-time posts from friends and updates from relevant players and teams, and an interactive map that shows where fans of some of the top players are located around the world.

     

    In addition, users can share the specific matches they are watching during the World Cup — by simply tapping the smiley icon before sharing a post and selecting “watching.”

     

    Over the course of the tournament, Trending World Cup can be found on Facebook by visiting www.facebook.com/worldcup. One can also get there by clicking on “World Cup” in the Trending section on the right-hand side of the news feed. If friends share that they are watching a specific match, a user can also get to Trending World Cup by clicking on their post.

  • Catch the FIFA World Cup Mania on CNN-IBN & IBN7

    Catch the FIFA World Cup Mania on CNN-IBN & IBN7

    MUMBAI: Celebrating one of the biggest sporting extravaganzas on the planet, CNN-IBN and IBN7 present an exciting programming line-up that will capture the latest happenings and the action from the football field during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The special programming ‘A Beautiful Game’ on CNN-IBN and ‘Mission Brazil’ on IBN7 will provide a 360 degree perspective on the tournament.

     

    Our panel of experts will add their analytical perspective to the game through special preview and review shows of each match played, and an in-depth examination of the players’ performance in the tournament. Our experts will include renowned former Moroccan football player and renowned football coach, Karim Bencherifa, country’s top football analyst and commentator Novy Kapadia and Shabbir Ali, former Captain and Coach, Indian football team. They will provide the viewers with all the vital highlights and analysis of the matches and cover all aspects of the FIFA World Cup 2014.

    Speaking on the special programming line-up for the FIFA World Cup 2014, Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, IBN Network said, “Football has a massive fan following in India and our extensive programming will be an absolute treat for the football enthusiasts of the nation. The programming will focus on providing extensive coverage of the tournament including unmatched analysis of the strategies adopted by various teams and a scrutiny of the players’ performances.”

     

    Don’t forget to watch ‘THE BEAUTIFUL GAME’ everyday @ 7 AM, 7.30 PM & 11.30 PM only on CNN-IBN & ‘MISSION BRAZIL’ @ 6.30 PM and 8 AM, daily on IBN7.

     

  • After IPL, it’s FIFA time for broadcasters, advertisers

    After IPL, it’s FIFA time for broadcasters, advertisers

    MUMBAI: It’s been a busy year so far for broadcasters and advertisers. First came the election campaign of major political parties in the fray followed by that annual extravaganza called the Indian Premiere League (IPL) and now comes the mother of all sports tournaments, the FIFA World Cup 2014.

     

    If Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) Sony Six hit a six with the recently concluded IPL, it will most likely score a goal with FIFA as well.

     

    As MSM president Rohit Gupta says, “FIFA is clearly getting bigger and bigger in the country. In 2010, the tournament attracted almost 65 million viewers while this year, we expect the reach to touch 100 million.” Gupta feels football in India is touching T20 World Cricket levels when it comes to popularity. Even when it comes to revenue, Sony Six sold 10 second ad spots for Rs 4.9 to Rs 5 lakh and the final IPL match for Rs 18 lakh to Rs 20 lakh, for FIFA, it is selling 10-seconders for Rs 2 to Rs 2.50 lakh. (Media planners, however, said that the spot rates for the IPL final were between Rs 14 lakh to Rs 16 lakh).

     

    The channel has already got on board big advertisers, with Hero MotoCorp as the presenting sponsor and Xolo Mobile and Microsoft as powered by sponsors. Sony Six is also in talks with e-commerce sites that bombarded the online space during IPL.

     

    Media planners however are doubtful about how many brands will shell out the kind of money demanded by the channel. “If we compare last year’s IPL with the just concluded one, we can see that there were a lot of new advertisers. Online retailers leveraged the sporting event well. However, the same cannot be said about FIFA. Yes, it is true that the sport is gaining viewership and hence, increase in ad rates but we cannot be sure how many will be ready to shell out so much money,” says one media planner on condition of anonymity.

     

    Another media planner believes that while big advertisers and sports brands for whom, the tournament is a perfect occasion to advertise, may shell out big money for ads, but there won’t be much increase towards the end. “The rates are already too high and with the Indian Super League (ISL) too coming up, I wonder how much brands will be ready to spend with such exorbitant rates,” he says.

     

    Moreover, they feel that football, unlike cricket, is not an advertiser friendly game where a break comes not before half time i.e. 45 minutes into the game. Therefore, there is only so much an advertiser can do on television.

     

    Keeping this in mind, a lot of brands will be taking the virtual route to connect with the audiences.

     

    All ‘out’ on social

     

    In an official statement early last week, FIFA director of communications and public affairs, Walter De Gregorio said, “We aim to provide an all-round digital companion so that billions of fans can join in and share their excitement. Only the World Cup and digital can create this worldwide conversation.”

     

    FIFA officials have launched Global Stadium, a social, online and mobile hub for the event, which will help football fans across the world stay connected and updated. FIFA’s website has also been redesigned in the run-up to the tourney with football fans in mind and this is complemented by a strong presence on social media. The website has been optimized for mobile and the official World Cup app that went live early this month.

     

    In April alone, FIFA’s Facebook page reached over 280 million users, the World Cup page currently has more than 18 million fans, and there are over seven million FIFA followers on Twitter, who frequently re-tweet and engage in conversation across six language accounts. All these efforts have been undertaken after understanding the changing consumption habits and the “second screen” assuming prime importance in viewers’ lives.

     

    Similarly, MSM too has announced the launch of ‘LIV Sports’, a digital sports entertainment destination called www.LIVSports.in. LIV Sports will be the official mobile and internet broadcaster of the tournament. The platform will show both live and video-on-demand match content, with informative statistics and analysis.

     

    In a statement, MSM CEO NP Singh commented, “The idea was to create a premier digital sports entertainment destination where we will offer quality content which is mass inclusive and not designed to cater only to ardent sports fans. We have attempted to redefine the way sporting content is presented and consumed. With LIV Sports we will attempt to keep every cross section of our consumers actively engagement through high quality interactive sports content with informative data and analytics.”

     

    The official beer partner, Budweiser, has revealed ‘Rise As One’, the brand’s global creative campaign, to celebrate the moments that unite and inspire fans of the beautiful game around the world.

     

    “Most football fans come under a certain age group and hence, are very active online. So, it will be good if brands take that route to connect with them,” says a digital creative head of an agency. “And cheaper as well,” he laughs and signs off.

  • MSM launches multi-media marketing campaign to promote LIVSports.in

    MSM launches multi-media marketing campaign to promote LIVSports.in

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media (MSM) has launched an integrated marketing campaign for its newly launched digital sports entertainment brand – LIV Sports (www.LIVSports.in). The campaign aims at creating awareness about LIV Sports and positioning it as a premier action and entertainment packed digital sports entertainment destination, across youth-focused media and to highlight that the 2014 FIFA World Cup matches will be streamed on www.LIVSports.in.

    The campaign has been derived on the basis of a consumer behavior study that reveals that today’s screen agnostic youth are riveted to multiple screens and devices all the time.

    The marketing strategy is inspired by the well established truth that today’s youth, that is always glued to social media has acquired the personalised “Me, Myself and I” tag. Hence the campaign idea –‘I, Me and My LIVSports.in!’

    LIV Sports has rolled out a 60-seconder Graffiti based TVC that emphasises on the brand’s unique selling points. Conceptualised by Havas Worldwide, the ads are extension to the key concept – ‘I, Me and My LIVSports.in!’

    Sony Entertainment Network executive vice-president – new media, business development and digital/syndication Nitesh Kripalani said, “We have based our communications approach on several studies, that reflects that today’s tech savvy youth are always connected and spend most of their times on their smart phones, tablets and other screens, irrespective of where they are or whom they are with. Live sports is enjoyed together with friends, hence we have also included multiple engagements that will allow users to play/compete with their friends. We are excited about the campaign; the on-ground execution will target specific product features and enable maximum outreach.”

    The brand building campaign is currently running on the MSM Network channels and will be activated across multiple youth-focused media avenues including on-air, outdoor, radio, in-cinema advertising, digital marketing, social media and BTL activities.

    “The look and feel of the commercials has been specially crafted in a way that appeals to the youth, right from the graffiti art to the jingle,” added Kripalani.

    The campaign leverages LIV Sports key offering to its consumers – making available quality content that is mass inclusive and not designed to cater only to ardent sports fans. The digital destination will showcase live and video-on-demand sports content, rich and informative world-class sporting data and analytics in a fun, engaging and entertaining way through games like ‘Mohit Bana Messi – Jerseyfy Me’ and ‘Pehchaan Kaun.’

    Grey Digital has created the interface for the portal as well the accompanying mobile and tablet app.

    “Given that most of the youth today are obsessed with their smartphones and tablets, they have all acquired the ‘Me, Myself and I’ tag. We tapped into this with a simple premise – if you are going to spend that much time on your devices, there’s no better way to enjoy watching sports and entertainment than LIVSports.in.  It’s packed in so many unique features you’ll always want to spend time on it,” said Havas Worldwide executive creative director Vivek Rao explaining the creative strategy behind the campaign.

    “The graffiti art is a funky visual style to depict the various features and demonstrate what you could spend your time on,” he added.

    Havas Worldwide president- west and south Shavon Barua commented, “The campaign speaks to today’s ‘screenagers’; the screen agnostic youth of India who keep switching between multiple screens at ease. Since this is a launch campaign, our approach is to highlight the unique features of LIVSports.in in a creative style that the ‘screenagers’ will identify with. The premise of our story-telling expresses how LIV Sports brings the ‘screenager’s’ screen to life touching upon the aspects of engagement, personalisation and Sports-Entertainment!”

    The digital surround for LIVSports is handled by Grey Digital. “LIVSports.in is not meant for just avid sport buffs, but also those who look at sports as a means of entertainment. The fun engagements on the portal will pique their imagination. The campaign will be promoted through select display and sustained use of social channels,” concluded Grey Digital senior vice-president and head Sudhir Nair.

    Click here to watch the video

     

  • MSM launches www.LIVSports.in

    MSM launches www.LIVSports.in

    MUMBAI: Making a giant foray into the digital space, Multi Screen Media (MSM) has announced the launch of ‘LIV Sports’, a digital sports entertainment destination called www.LIVSports.in.

     

    The website promises to present one-point access of the right mix of sports and entertainment across devices. Coming from the Sony Network, LIV Sports aims at targeting both avid sports fans as well as entertainment seekers.

     

    The launch has come right after the Indian Premier League, but on time before the most awaited 2014 FIFA World Cup of which Sony Six is the official broadcaster.

     

    LIV Sports will be the official mobile and internet broadcaster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup which starts from 12 June. The platform will show both live and video-on-demand match content, with informative statistics and analysis.

     

    MSM CEO NP Singh commented, “The idea was to create a premier digital sports entertainment destination where we will offer quality content which is mass inclusive and not designed to cater only to ardent sports fans. We have attempted to redefine the way sporting content is presented and consumed. With LIV Sports we will attempt to keep every cross section of our consumers actively engagement through high quality interactive sports content with informative data and analytics.”

     

    For the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup, LIV Sports will have features like live matches with four different camera angles, interactive timelines, live Statistics, match centre, heat maps, match highlights, best goals and team features. The sports website will also have LIV Sports’ football fantasy league, a ‘Pehchaan Kaun’ section, News and Sports editorials along with archive football videos.

     

    Sony Entertainment Network executive VP– new media, business development and digital/syndication Nitesh Kripalani reiterated, “LIV Sports is the first and only digital destination to offer a unique mix of live sports, live statistics and engagement, thereby catering to multiple user groups and their preferences. With LIV Sports we are aiming to create a new category of ‘Sport-ainment’ or ‘Sports Entertainment’.”

     

    He added, “One can either watch the live match, with the deep statistics overlaying the video, or can just click a selfie with the team’s jersey using the ‘Jerseyfy Me’ application. We have also brought back the digital avatar of the player cards, combined with educating fans about the different athletes with ‘Pehchaan Kaun’. The objective is to empower the sports fan with deep statistics on video; as well as engage with the fence sitters.”

     

    Over the next few months, viewers will be able to catch up with the widest range of sporting content, including football, NBA, UFC, tennis and cricket on LIV Sports. The digital destination will offer live and exclusive video content along with a complete coverage of the latest sporting content present, across devices.

     

    Considering the fact that data and statistics makes sports interesting, LIV Sports will aim at giving its viewers a comprehensive and in depth sporting data and info- graphics.

     

    The digital medium will involve its viewers through engagements for the sports loyalist, personalised content and fun applications on social media. So while activities like ‘Mohit Bana Messi’ will help viewers customize their look, ‘Pehchan Kaun’ will help one enhance their knowledge about sports.  

     

    One can login to LIV Sports online – www.LIVSports.in or via the iTunes and Google Play app stores.

     

    This move by MSM propels it to join the league of its rivals like Star Sports and Ten Sports that have a strong digital presence on their sports websites.

  • Sony Six set to redefine prime time viewing with 2014 FIFA World Cup

    Sony Six set to redefine prime time viewing with 2014 FIFA World Cup

    MUMBAI: Beginning 12 June, Sony Six, the official broadcast partner for 2014 FIFA World Cup, will redefine prime time viewing of Indian audiences. Being hosted in Brazil, the event is getting ready to capture the imagination of millions of sports enthusiast and hard-core football lovers. With an estimate of over 65 million viewers in the Indian sub-continent itself, the World Cup hopes to rival even the biggest of sporting events in India.

     

    With the world talking of the big sporting event, Sony Six is all set to tap into the prime time slot featuring the live games from the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The channel will exclusively broadcast nearly 38 per cent of the total live games in the prime time slot of 9.30pm across the Indian subcontinent (24 games in the 9.30pm time slot out of the total 64 matches).

     

    The telecast will begin at 8pm with one of a kind studio show, leading up to the match kick off at 9.30pm, where popular anchors and guests will provide the most interesting and unique insights about the players and the tournament.

     

     The 9:30pm slot will showcase some of the most exciting match-ups of the group stages including Germany vs Portugal. Viewers can also catch some of their favourite teams including Spain, England, Uruguay, Netherlands and few of the most exciting knock out stage games in the same slot.

     

    Last time around, of the total viewer demography in India, the tournament had attracted 38 per cent viewership from the 15-34 year audience category presenting a unique opportunity for advertisers and marketers to invest in.

     

    Commenting on the estimated viewership for this year tournament, Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan said, “The projected reach during the tournament is incomparable, given its value as well as time convenience, the viewership numbers account for a wide geographic spread as well as a significant proportion of the world’s population.”

     

    Alliance Advertising, the media buying agency of XOLO, the first official advertiser for 2014 FIFA World Cup on Sony Six, director Arshad Nizam said, “2014 FIFA World Cup is the most anticipated event this year and associating with an event of such magnitude gives XOLO a great opportunity to reach out to the key target audience who will be glued to Sony Six to catch the best footballing action. Considering majority of the matches are slotted for 9.30pm, which is prime time television viewing, gives advertisers a great platform to connect and engage with their audience.”

     

    Not limiting the reach through in-home viewing, the channel feels there will be a continued increase in viewership through out-of-home set up’s including pubs, bars, restaurants, clubs, hotels and official FIFA Fan Fests etc. from metros as well as other emerging markets across the country.

     

    Oxygen Entertainment & Media Solutions director Sajjad Meherally said, “2014 FIFA World Cup has created a huge stir across India with everyone cheering for their favourite team – planning parties and getting geared for the biggest sporting extravaganza. Clients are planning Brazilian themed viewing parties with international performances for their guests. We are getting a lot of inquiries from smaller towns like Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Indore, Nashik and Ludhiana too.”

     

    Besides India, the channel will also broadcast the tournament exclusively to audiences across Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Maldives. 

     

    The tournament will be in two stages; group stage will feature 32 nations and will be played from 12 June-26 June. The knockout stage will start from 28 June and conclude with the FIFA World Cup final match on 13 July.

  • Sony Six to air an exclusive run-up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup

    Sony Six to air an exclusive run-up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup

    MUMBAI: Starting 5 May, Sony Six, India’s premier sports and entertainment channel will launchan exclusive line up of content that will feature as an onset to run-up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Brazil. As the international home of football – ‘Brazil’ stands on the horizonto host the biggest football event on the planet; itsexcitementhas already journeyed onto the Indian shores. Thetournament is staged at an all-time high and is ready to capture the imagination of millions of sports enthusiast and hard-core football lovers. Sony Six, that holds the rights for telecasting the event exclusively in India, look to capitalise on this opportunity through high quality and exclusive content to the fans.

    The channel will broadcast the following programmes:

    Sony Six EVP and business head Prasana Krishnan said,“The excitement that stems from every World Cup is huge. We are using this fantastic opportunityto capture the hype of the upcoming2014 FIFA World Cup™. Our holistic line-up of content promises to ignite the fervour as well as the passion that the viewer’s hold for Football. Our comprehensive line up of pre-tournament programmes promises the fact that there’s something for everyone to enjoy as SIX will provide the fans a true taste of the best footballing action before the biggest tournament in the world kicks off.”