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Tag: Akshat Rathee

  • Nodwin Gaming and Star Sports announce BGMI season 2 with Rooter as the digital streaming partner

    Nodwin Gaming and Star Sports announce BGMI season 2 with Rooter as the digital streaming partner

    Mumbai: NODWIN Gaming, one of the world’s leading emerging market gaming and esports media company, in association with Star Sports, India’s leading sports broadcaster, has announced the highly anticipated return of India’s biggest esports tournament, BGMI Masters Series.  Building upon its record-shattering success in season 1, the upcoming season 2 of the BGMI Masters Series which kicks off on August 4, will feature 24 teams, and offer one of the highest-ever prize pools of INR 2.1 crore (over USD 250K) for a non-publisher event. 

    Among the 24 teams, 14 esports outfits will be invited directly, while the remaining 10 spots are to be earned by the victors from the Open Qualifier where anyone in India can participate. The high-octane live broadcast of the BGMI Masters Series Season 2 will kick off at 9:30 pm on the Star Sports Network and Rooter. 

    The television broadcast of the inaugural season of the BGMI Masters Series (2022) was a tremendous success, garnering over 36 million viewers over the course of the tournament. In celebration of that success, BGMI Masters Series Season 2 will be broadcast on Star Sports in three different languages – Hindi, English, and Tamil. This initiative undertaken by NODWIN Gaming, and Star Sports aims to connect core esports with viewers from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds, making esports content more inclusive and appealing to a broader audience. Beyond the regular broadcast, Star Sports has also announced additional programming to provide viewers with a distinctive and enriching esports experience, setting the popular sports network as a key destination for BGMI enthusiasts. 

    Commenting on the new season of the BGMS Masters Series, NODWIN Gaming co-founder & managing editor, Akshat Rathee said, “Last year, we took a bold and historical leap of faith by airing the BGMI Masters Series on primetime television with our partners Star Sports. That leap turned out to be an incredible success, revolutionizing the esports ecosystem and transforming how esports is traditionally consumed in India. BGMS season 2 doubles down on our commitment to bringing the epitome of BGMI esports to the masses. We have a larger prize pool, larger participation base, and larger distribution with all our partners. We are sure that this year we will amaze you with the games, the production, and the passion only our community can bring. Remember to tune in with your family!”

    Speaking about the upcoming season, Disney Star head – sports, Sanjog Gupta said, “Esports is a rapidly emerging category, fueled by the growing gaming culture in India and the global acknowledgement of its status as a sport. The first season of the BGMI Masters’ series, in partnership with NODWIN Gaming, was positioned as the pinnacle tournament for the game in India and demonstrated the potential of a world-class esports competition staged at an elevated scale. Over 36 million viewers tuned in for the first season on TV with more than 40% below the age of 21. Encouraged by the results, we believe that this endeavor – BGMI Masters – will excite the gaming community, drive wider acceptance for esports among non-gamers, and overall, engage a younger demographic on our platforms.”

    The digital broadcast of the Masters Series 2022 followed suit with the television broadcasts’ record-breaking performance and surpassed the 100 million viewership milestone, setting a new record in the history of Indian esports. For the upcoming BGMI Masters Series Season 2, NODWIN Gaming has announced its partnership with India’s biggest gaming and esports content platform Rooter as the championship’s digital streaming partner. Rooter’s expertise in delivering sharply crafted streaming experiences and an extensive distribution ecosystem across Android, iOS, web, and connected TV, will contribute to NODWIN Gaming’s objective of setting the benchmark for esports audience experience within the ecosystem.

    Speaking about the association, Rooter co-founder & COO, Dipesh Agarwal said, “NODWIN Gaming’s BGMI Masters Series has become the biggest and most loved esports IP in the country, and we are excited to be their exclusive digital streaming partner. From multi-platform distribution strength to sharp, tech-led content creation solutions, we’ve been pushing the boundaries of how Indians consume and engage with esports. For the tournament, we are geared to deliver the rich and immersive viewing experience that fans expect from us, even as we create more interactive avenues for them to root for their favorite teams. The much-awaited Master Series is also a great opportunity for brands to connect with the gaming community in a highly engaging setting. We are now actively working with multiple brands to help them reach out to the community through our media solutions like sponsorships, advertising campaigns, creator marketing, and more.”

    NODWIN Gaming has also announced its partnership with Indian two-wheeler manufacturing giant TVS Motor Company as the mobility partner for the upcoming season of the BGMI Masters Series. Under the aegis of this collaboration, TVS Raider, the leading sporty commuter from TVS will exclusively be the mobility partner of the BGMI Masters Series Season 2. 

    The BGMI Masters Series Season 2 promises an even more intense showdown than its previous edition. Mass-favorite esports powerhouses from last year’s tournament have undergone significant roster changes, and with emerging underdog teams qualifying from the preceding qualifiers, an exciting David vs. Goliath narrative could be on the cards. Furthermore, the community might even witness an unexpected turn of events, heralding the arrival of a new BGMI powerhouse.  

    The newest season of the BGMI Masters Series is set up to be a magnificent celebration of gaming excellence, exhibiting exhilarating gameplay, and unforgettable esports moments delivered exclusively to the community by NODWIN Gaming, Star Sports, Rooter, and TVS.

    NODWIN Gaming invites all to embark on this thrilling journey as the Indian esports community witnesses the rise of the next generation of BGMI Masters. This remarkable journey marks a significant paradigm shift within the Indian esports industry, unveiling many untapped opportunities for esports organizations to expand their regional dominance and for brands seeking fresh advertising avenues.

  • PVR and Nodwin Gaming bring e-sports to cinemas

    PVR and Nodwin Gaming bring e-sports to cinemas

    Mumbai: PVR Ltd and e-sports company Nodwin Gaming on Monday announced their partnership to launch India’s first in-cinema e-sports live tournament together. The pilot will commence with the popular game “Battlegrounds Mobile India” (BGMI) and going forward it will include games from different genres, said the statement.

    This initiative is expected to fast-track e-sports entertainment’s growth trajectory in India by combining the appeal of e-sports gaming with the magic of big-screen experience. The quarter-final, semi-final, and finals of the cups, in each participating city, will be broadcasted in select PVR cinemas, along with live streams on various digital platforms, including Nodwin Facebook page and YouTube page and the PVR mobile app.

    “Nodwin Gaming has always emphasised on the importance of reinforcing grassroots development that can be a strong and reliable foundation for esports, and this property is a step in that direction,” said Nodwin Gaming MD & co-founder Akshat Rathee. “City-level penetration of professional esports leads to solid exposure for the grassroots ecosystem and as seen in the past, the more exposed the grassroots is, the better it gets at the higher tiers. This, in turn, paves the way for the collective growth of all tiers of professional players.”

    Commenting on the partnership he added, “Our association with PVR cinemas opens a corridor towards mainstreaming esports and placing it right in the middle of the entertainment industry. E-sports as an upcoming medium of interactive entertainment has had its fair share of visibility in the jam-packed arenas but it’s about time that we bring action to the silver screen. Nodwin, along with building grassroots, will also give its audience a premium watching experience with this partnership.”

    According to a statement, the partnership introduces larger-than-life experiences for all e-sports fans across the country and will be able to participate in online e-sports cups and in-cinema tournaments with separate prize pools for each city.

    “At PVR, we strive to continually evolve as an entertainment destination, offering our customers the opportunity to have an entertaining escape into more than just big films,” stated PVR Ltd joint managing director Sanjeev Kumar Bijli. “Our immersive environment lends itself particularly well to the gaming community, putting players in the universes in which they are competing.”

    “Our purpose at PVR is to gather, grow and entertain communities. With us becoming a part of the Indian e-sports eco-system, we have the opportunity to serve our purpose by giving PVR communities another entertaining way to gather on our esports platform. Nodwin team has a relentless passion for gaming, we are delighted to be partnering with them on this initiative,” noted PVR Ltd chief of strategy Kamal Gianchandani.

  • Ex-Fnatic India lead Nimish Raut joins NODWIN Gaming

    Ex-Fnatic India lead Nimish Raut joins NODWIN Gaming

    Mumbai: Esports company NODWIN Gaming has appointed Nimish Raut as the head of global esports partnerships and business development.

    In his role, Raut will oversee global partnerships, business development and media rights for all NODWIN properties across the world. He will be based out of Singapore and report to NODWIN Gaming, MD, Akshat Rathee, said the company.

    Raut comes in with over 15 years of experience in sports and esports experience with companies like Star Sports where he led strategy for new sports and was previously the head of sports marketing at Red Bull India. He kickstarted his esports passion at Redbull and then joined Riot Games (Southeast Asia) for League of Legends. Over the last few years, he has been actively involved in propelling the growth of esports in India as the India lead at Fnatic.

    “It’s exciting to have Nimish on board given his vast experience with key players in the industry,” said Akshat Rathee, welcoming Raut on board. “He has a high-spirited persona about him. I have known him for over a decade and he shares my passion for transforming esports and we have strong faith in his capabilities to build valuable partnerships for NODWIN.”
    Raut has already secured partnerships for NODWIN Gaming with brands such as Gillette, OnePlus, HP, Red Bull and looks to continue the great form, said the company.

    “I’m personally excited to be a part of a driving force that is NODWIN Gaming,” said Raut on his new role. “The value that NODWIN brings to the developing world esports market is massive and I’m in line with their vision and plan of action. I am very excited of joining forces with Akshat again and bringing substantial value to the esports ecosystem.”

  • The world of Indian e-sports, according to Nodwin Gaming’s Akshat Rathee

    The world of Indian e-sports, according to Nodwin Gaming’s Akshat Rathee

    MUMBAI: Perhaps because people have been stuck in their homes due to the Covid2019 pandemic, the e-sports industry is bigger and bolder than ever before. For many gaming platforms, user engagement was at an all-time high during the lockdown and even now, the revenues are continuing to pour in.

    Nodwin Gaming MD Akshat Rathee, an avid e-athlete himself has revolutionized the e-sports industry in India and has almost single-handedly expanded the company to the middle east and south Africa. In a virtual fireside chat with indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari, Rathee spoke at length about e-sports in India and the international market and the challenges faced by the industry.

    Online games have three key segments: casual games, e-sports, and real money games (RMG) that are basically skill-based online games played for stakes. However, Rathee said that there is no clear bifurcation between games in India, anything that is digital and has competition is termed as e-sports by people. This is not the case in the US or UK.

    He also highlighted that outside India, the law is clearer on what constitutes gambling, skill-based games and real money gaming. He explained: “In terms of practical implications, an American or European customer is worth far more than the Indian one. But during the pandemic, physical events were cancelled and that impacted the value of sponsorship more in the western world.”

    In India online viewership counts for a lot, said Rathee, citing PUBG live streams that millions tune into. “Even after the ban, the entire segment has grown… In the 45 days since the downfall of PUBG in India, a lot of other games have cropped up,” he observed.

    According to Rathee, game publishers did really well during the Covid2019 pandemic. “New games were being discovered, games like The Fall Guy started becoming very popular. Apart from this, game casters benefited a lot but the algorithms did not favour the smaller players in the market,” he added.

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    Answering Wanvari’s question on how to clear the clutter and mess that has mucked up the e-sports and gaming ecosystem, Rathee opined that bringing in clear and well-defined regulatory measures is the only option.

    “Having a differentiated definition of the word e-sports that is as per Indian regulation and doesn’t apply to the rest of the world will not work. E-sports is a speed competition. Just because a person has more money doesn’t mean he can play twice. The e-sports game needs to be fair as well so that everyone gets equal opportunity to win the competition,” he explained.

    Rathee defined e-sports as something that has physicality of results. It is the physicality of moves and actions that is the differentiator between the results of the participants. For instance, chess.com clearly mentions that chess is not a sport but a game. He further added, 

    “E-sports are and need to be dependent on publishers. We are the world’s first sports category that is owned by someone from the very beginning. Owner of Kings belongs to Tencent, Bluehole owns PUBG, while Call of Duty is an Activision entity. So it is someone’s property – everything about the game, from the IP, data, rules, players and to the systems belongs to them,” he clarifies.

    Rathee went on to say: “Another important thing is to understand the business of sports. The question arises – is e-sports a B2C business anywhere in the world without the publisher?” In his opinion, e-sports has always been a B2B business, for the simple reason that a sports organization is making money from sponsorship and media rights.

    The gaming industry is at a watershed moment where the youth, information and technology, finance and IT ministry are actively making plans to regulate the sector. But there exists the roadblock of censorship and data privacy. The gaming industry is also stuck between the state and central government over GST issues. Rathee asserted that while the gaming industry is valued at less than Rs 10,000 crores, it’s like the goose with the golden egg for the government – precisely because it holds sway over the millennials and Gen Z, as well as the future of social media.  

    Rathee argued that it is not easy to remove one country from the ecosystem. China also has a regulatory body that makes it mandatory for companies to license the games.

    “China is in a position to ban many e-sports and games because they run the ecosystem. China already has a regulatory body which could say that you have to license games through us without which we won’t let you do it. Due to the fragmentation of the internet, the Middle East is raising concern over their cultural sensibilities. So, it is a very thin line if you put a regulatory framework in place that can be exploitative,” he shared.

    At the end, the question raised is whose interest you are working for. “It is important to have a proper regulatory body in place so that the industry grows,” he emphasised.

    It is high time the industry developed a strident voice of its own, declared Rathee, because most of the world outside India often looks at mobile gaming and mobile e-sports as second-class citizens to the e-sports ecosystem.   

  • Nodwin Gaming, MTV join hands for premium esports content

    Nodwin Gaming, MTV join hands for premium esports content

    MUMBAI: India’s biggest esports company Nodwin Gaming and India’s no.1 youth entertainment brand MTV have partnered to bring quality esports content to the masses.

    The move by Nodwin Gaming and MTV comes in as a big leap towards mainstreaming esports and taking it to the general audience. The recent boom in the number of esports players and professional tournaments in the country have served as the perfect setup for this monumental partnership.

    MTV India’s latest offering “Esports Mania” encompasses a variety of shows that will go on air this December.

    Viacom18 youth, music and english entertainment head Ferzad Palia said,“At MTV we are always looking for new offerings for the young Indian and esports as a category has been gaining popularity with our audiences. In Nodwin Gaming, we have found partners who are already doing ground-breaking work in the space of gaming and we are glad to bring in the next wave of growth for esports in India.”

    Nodwin Gaming founder and chief executive officer Akshat Rathee commented on this association, “We are delighted that esports has found a fitting destination on Indian television with MTV joining hands with us. With our property Esports Mania, we believe we can showcase the best of esports to the television audience. TV goes a long way in furthering the consumer connect of our nascent sport and our approach of curated programming for the MTV viewer is directed to make esports mainstream in India. In MTV, we at Nodwin Gaming have a partner which is the de-facto destination for youth in India.”

    The esports mania line-up includes:

    ● Match of the week- The best esports matches with the most thrilling moments handpicked from tournaments in the country and around the world. Tune in every Thursday at 10 p.m. starting December 12.

    ● Esports 360– Weekly dose of latest esports news and updates, starting December 17, tune in every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 4.55 p.m.

    ● World of esports- A general informative and fun show around esports with conversations with pro players, insights on new developments in the industry, memes and lot more. Tune in every Friday at 10.30 p.m. starting December 20.

    ● Documentary series- Documentaries and stories surrounding esports players and big tournaments. Documentary series showcases the lesser known side of some of the individuals, their hardships and their path to success. Tune in every Saturday at 9.30 p.m. starting December 21.

    Nodwin Gaming is India’s biggest esports company with years of expertise in tournament organization, execution and esports content creation. With this association, esports has found a new home with MTV, the most loved entertainment destination for Indian youth.

  • Esports industry expected to reach $3 bn by 2021

    Esports industry expected to reach $3 bn by 2021

    MUMBAI: When everything is going online, what’s there to stop sports? With improved internet speed, smartphone penetration, government digital push and highest youth population, Esports in India has the right territory for growth.

    In the third edition of Times of India Global Sports Show (GSS) 2018, industry experts came together to discuss about “Unlocking potential: The eSports revolution in India”.

    The state of esports industry over the next three to five years is estimated to grow by 5.3 per cent in Asia and 9.4 per cent in Middle East and Africa (ME&A) according to PwC Sports Survey 2018.

    Esports is a subculture that is just growing. It is the sport of the new generation. In India, it is played on multiple platforms like Voot, Hotstar, Youtube and Twitch.

    Tencent GM Aneesh Arvind said, “Once you have a large enough mass in a region or a country then I would think it’s a matter of time to really become big. The three things we can do from our side to make it really popular are the infrastructure, devices and data where people can play and watch others play.

    The recent sensational game made by Tencent Games is PlayerUnknown’s Battleground’s (PUBG) Mobile, which has crossed 100 million downloads.

    “We have such a large player base in India that all the assumptions we used to have in the gaming industry doesn’t hold true anymore. We have built the game and the ecosystem around it by doing TV commercials, advertisement in different media, got influencers on board,” Arvind added.

    U Sports AVP-brands and partnerships Tushaar Garg said that esports was the first they spotted when they looked for new investment. “The first season of UCypher was to create awareness and created a docu-drama series format. We looked at two thing that is the big massive fan base in terms of demographics as we have a very young population below the age of 35 and biggest smartphone market after the US. We took the most popular title like DOTA, Tekken and Counter-Strike.”

    “We packaged UCypher in such a way that the actual user gets tri-fold offering i.e., career, content and community and with that, we also looked at how we can mass-ify it,” Garg added.

    Esports for the first time became a part of a major sporting event in 2018 Asian Games Jakarta as a demonstration sports. This was announced by Asian Esports Federation (AESF). 10 Indian gamers qualified for the event.

    According to Tencent, Esports is a video game, which is played competitively with rewards attached to it and an ecosystem where people are ready to watch that.

    Nodwin Gaming MD Akshat Rathee asked the panel whether it a monetisation time or a growth time for esports in India to which Garg said, “I think for us it is an investment time. As a company which is building IPs we are very clear that for the next 3-5 year time frame we have to invest in the fan base, create the infrastructure getting the right stakeholder and the right federations.”

    According to UK-based Juniper Research, the advertising spend will dominate in terms of revenue and spend (accounting for 50 per cent in 2022).

    In 2018, the market size of esports is supposed to be $900 million and in 2021 it is likely to reach $3 billion. “We as the esports industry are trying to figure out ways in which we can grow and models of monetisation,” Arvind added.

    “We are the only sport in the world which is not run by the federation because the publisher owns the trademark of the game,” Rathee concluded.

  • Esports on the path to be mainstream in India

    Esports on the path to be mainstream in India

    MUMBAI: The state of sports industry over the next three to five years is estimated to grow by 5.3 per cent in Asia and 9.4 per cent in Middle East and Africa (ME&A) according to PwC Sports Survey 2018. Despite the prediction in Asia and ME&A, globally the industry will witness a drop of 10.2 per cent. This is because the market conditions across the industry are stabilising as it progresses in the transition from traditional to digital media consumption, with sports leaders continuing to predict healthy growth in absolute terms.  

    Adding to this, PwC head-sports business advisory David Dellea said, “Overall, sports leaders foresee stable market growth driven by persistent media and sponsorship revenues as the business models behind them continue to shift towards digital.”

    The report mainly focuses on top 10 sports by growth potential globally; esports is leading the chart this year leaving behind the likes of football. The amount of people around the world who have watched some of the FIFA World Cup this year is 3.4 billion which is nearly half the total world population of 7.6 billion, according to research company GlobalWebIndex. The most watched and followed sports in India, cricket, takes the number 10 position. Overall viewership of Indian Premier League (IPL) across all platforms TV (in-home & out-of-home) and digital in urban + rural audiences was 11.3 billion gross impressions.

    Esports economy is estimated to reach $804.9 million in 2018, which is a 29.8 per cent jump y-o-y from 2017. The growth in terms of revenue is expected to reach $1.58 million by 2022, which is 18.4 per cent compound annual growth (CAGR) from 2018. The drivers of this growth are sponsorship ($500 million, 31.7 per cent of overall revenues), followed closely by media rights ($449 million, 28.4 per cent of overall revenue) and streaming advertisers ($316 million, 20 per cent of the overall revenue).

    An Indian gaming solutions company and creator of e-sports events, Nodwin gaming head Akshat Rathee said, “Esports is already growing in India. One of the biggest testimonies to a market growth of anything is measured by the number of investments done in it. Fundamentally esports is like a sports media marketing property, it’s like the IPL. It is not measured by the number of teams or by prize pool but by media rights auction.”

    The growth in esports economy is substantiated by developments such as publishers (Blizzard Entertainment and Riot Games) introducing franchise leagues, traditional sports (such as the NBA and F1) launching esports competitions and mainstream broadcasters (such as ESPN and Sky Sports) airing esports content over the past year.

    Esports federation of India (ESFI) director Lokesh Suji said, “Esports in India has massive potential, which is yet to be tapped. With improved internet speeds, smartphone penetration, government digital push and highest youth population, there is no reason why India will not be one of the superpowers for esports.”

    Esports for the first time became a part of a major sporting event in 2018 Asian Games Jakarta as a demonstration sports. This was announced by Asian Esports Federation (AESF). 10 Indian gamers qualified for the event.

    “We created history for Indian esports when Tirth Mehta won bronze (Hearthstone) and Karan Manganani was placed 4th (Clash Royale) in Asian Games this year, where esports was a demonstration sport. This is the fuel/trigger point which Indian esports was waiting for, it has boosted the confidence of many people who wanted to get involved in esports but were sitting on the fence (be it the brands, investors, gamers or parents). Gamers who were playing casually have started playing seriously as now they know that they can become esports athletes and build a career in esports,” he added.

    In January 2018, Nazara Technologies invested Rs 767.68 million for 55 per cent of equity share capital of Nodwin Gaming, a company engaged in activities pertaining to eSports in India. Nazara Technologies is a mobile games company headquartered in Mumbai, which is engaged in the acquisition of, value addition to and distribution, of mobile games across emerging markets such as India, Middle East, Africa, South East Asia and Latin America.

    “The viewership market for Indian esports market is 150 million people. We believe that India in 2022 will contribute close to 20 per cent of the overall revenue. India along with China, America and Germany would be the top four esports watching countries in the world. The drivers of growth will be publishers, better teams and better experience between teams,” Rathee added.

    “We need to make the Sachin/Virat of Indian Esports and only then will we have viewership numbers. For that to happen, a lot of work needs to be done at the grassroots level such as skill development and enough opportunities need to be created for an esports athlete to showcase his/her skill not only at the national but also at the international level. Mere participation will not help, we have to win. Any broadcaster who is willing to invest will have to invest in building this sport and if they are only looking at building an event they will eventually fail, which at least we don't want as it will create a wrong precedent,” Suji added.

    If we look at the growth rate by market segment over the next 3-5 years, digital media rights contribute 11.5 per cent to the overall pie. Sponsorship and advertising is the next big thing with 5.5 per cent share followed by licensing and merchandising with 4.8 per cent share.

    India’s first multi-platform, multi-game esports championship was launched by USports in the name of UCypher. The league tied up with MTV for the television broadcast. UCypher’s ambition is to present a platform to talented gamers that help them achieve their maximum potential as well as shape their career in e-sports leagues.

    Many advertisers were part of UCypher in its inaugural season like Amazon, Burger King, Fossil, Gillette, Idea Cellular, Mercedes Benz, Nestle, OPPO, Nivea, Netflix, Philips electronics, P&G, Seagram, United Breweries, Vodafone and Xiaomi technologies to name a few.

    Sony Pictures Network India head-digital business Uday Sodhi said, “Esports is an early stage development; it’s just getting popular with the younger TG. We covered Asian games in Jakarta in which esports was a part. This is an interesting category but still a small category as compared to other sports in Asian games. Yes, it is a developing, fast-growing category but will take some time to build a large following in India in the mainstream.”

    Another Indian esports company, CobX co-founder and CEO Mujahid Rupani said, “Esport already is in the visibility market considering the number of events, price pools that have come into play. Currently, we are six to seven years behind China, but we have the advantage of acceleration. The main thing is that industry support is lacking in India. Global sponsors, who generally fund esports throughout the world, in India have no budgets. The broadcasters in India are interested in esports and they are talking to people. Right now they are at a stage of doing market analysis. The content demand is so much for broadcasting which is not available.”

    “We are watching that space and participating in it. Till the time we don’t have Indian winners and heroes it is very unlikely that the sport will develop. We will continue to look at opportunities to showcase on SonyLiv,” Sodhi added.

    Talking about esports being broadcast on sports channels in India, “I think it’s dependent on them and us to go out and see what kind of IP is put in. We are already in conversation with Star and Sony Ten. We also believe there is some regional focus with someone like Sun TV who can pick up regional rights,” Rathee added. 

    The esports industry is only just picking up in India. Only when it amasses a good amount of fan following or if someone takes up the challenge of building its popularity will there be a speedy growth.