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Tag: Aloke Malik

  • Star Sports ups the glamour quotient for HIL with Akshay Kumar tie-up

    MUMBAI: Star Sports, Asia‘s leading sports broadcaster, has entered into a promotional tie-up with leading Bollywood Superstar Akshay Kumar for the first edition of Hockey India League (HIL).

    Akshay Kumar who is popularly known for his blockbuster Bollywood hits and hard hitting action roles will be promoting the league through specially crafted promotional spots. He will also use this opportunity to promote his upcoming movie ‘Special 26‘. The movie is scheduled to be released on 8 February.

    ESPN Software India MD Aloke Malik said, “We are delighted to be associated with Akshay Kumar for Hockey India League. We will leverage the India England ODI series to promote this association. Akshay will be seen in specially crafted promotional spots for HHIL which will be played during the 4th ODI while a special on-air integration is being planned for the last ODI as well.”

    Prior to the commencement of the tournament, Star Sports had unveiled former India cricketer and Member of Parliament Navjot Singh Sidhu as the brand ambassador for the Hero Hockey India League.

    For providing viewers with a sharp, incisive and engaging view of the game both in Hindi and English language, Star Sports has put in place an illustrious panel of experts comprising former hockey players who are doing commentary on live telecast as well as pre and post-match analysis throughout the league.

    The Hindi commentary panel includes eminent former Indian Hockey players like Mir Ranjan Negi, Jugraj Singh, Deepak Thakur, Mohammed Shahid and Pargat Singh. The English commentary panel comprises of Viren Rasquinha, Cedric D‘Souza, AB Subbaiah and Sandeep Somesh.

    As official broadcasters for the HHIL, Star Sports is showcasing hockey in a completely new avatar offering a TV experience relevant to India‘s young sports audience. The channel also has HD production supported by new camera angles for sharper imagery to sustain viewer interest through the league.

    The International Hockey Federation (FIH) sanctioned ‘Hero Hockey India League‘ is a truly global league with players from as many as 11 countries. The first edition has witnessed participation from 5 teams namely Uttar Pradesh Wizards, Jaypee Punjab Warriors, Delhi Waveriders, Mumbai Magicians and Ranchi Rhinos.

  • ESPN Star Sports eyes Rs 1.6 bn ad rev from Indo-Pak series

    MUMBAI: Sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports is playing hard ball with advertisers for the blockbuster India-Pakistan series comprising 3 ODIs and two T20s.

    The sportscaster has set high ad rates for the high-profile series hoping to suck in as much ad revenue as it can. The series kicks off on 25 December.

    According to industry sources, the broadcaster is asking for Rs 800,000 per 10 second spot for the ODIs while the T20s have been priced at mind-boggling Rs 900,000-1 million.

    In comparison, the going rate for an India-England series is about Rs 275,000-300,000 per spot for ODIs and Rs 450,000 for the T20s, according to media buyers.

    An ODI match typically has 5,000-5,500 seconds of FCT, out of which each sponsor gets about 240-360 seconds. In contrast, a T20 match has 2,000-2,200 seconds wherein a sponsor gets 120-180 seconds.

    ESS is eyeing eight sponsors including two co-presenting and six associate sponsors. It has set an ambitious target of Rs 1.6 billion ad revenue from the series.

    ESPN Software India MD Aloke Malik said it has already got one sponsor on board for the series which will be held from 25 December to 6 January.

    “We are looking at two co-presenting and six associate sponsors. We have just gone to the market with it and have got one sponsor,” Malik told Indiantelevision.com without revealing the name of the sponsor.

    The steep rates have clearly not gone down well with the advertisers who are questioning the basis on which the rates have been hiked coming as it is in the wake of a subdued ad market.

    Lodestar UM COO Anamika Mehta said, “The ad rates for the series are inflated because of the hype around the series. The entry price is too steep and it‘s not really easy to spend that kind of money even on an India-Pakistan series. In any case, we had a packed cricket calendar this year.”

    While acknowledging that an India-Pakistan series will deliver high ratings compared to any other series, Mehta said the price point is too steep to take the bait. Lodestar‘s client Tata DoCoMo had signed a deal with ESS for the entire cricket season.

    “Although an India-Pakistan encounter delivers high viewership, beyond a point the ratings won‘t increase. At that price point we can as well buy other cricket properties,” Mehta reasoned.

    A top media buying executive from Mindshare questioned the justification behind the ad rate hike while conceding that an India-Pakistan series is a lucrative property to buy for any advertiser.

    “An India-Pakistan series is a premium property but it cannot be just doubled. There has to be some justification for this kind of an ad rate. A couple of our clients are interested in the series but this is not the price that we are willing to pay,” the official said requesting anonymity.

    The executive said that ESS can expect a premium of 25 to 50 per cent maximum on the prevailing prices. But anything above that is obnoxious, he added.

    A media buying executive of another agency wondered which advertiser would spend the kind of money that ESS is asking for. “The ad market is not buoyant as big spenders of cricket like telecom are not spending much. The insurance sector is dead, colas also spend mostly during summer and MNCs have already closed their yearly budgets. So the question is who has the appetite to spend this kind of money,” the executive questioned.

    The negative mood notwithstanding, the sports broadcaster remains optimistic about the prospects of the series which is happening after almost half a decade. The two countries last played a series in 2007.

    A senior ESS official asserted that the company was in the process of finalising deals and by next week it would be able stitch together a few of them.

    “The media buyers can say whatever they want to, but we are confident of achieving our targets. We are in negotiations with advertisers and will hopefully finalise few deals by next week,” the official said.

    The official said that apart from big spenders they would also have about 20-30 per cent of first time advertisers who are willing to pump in money for the big bang series.

  • ESS targets 8 sponsors for Indo-Pak series

    MUMBAI: Sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports is looking at roping in eight sponsors for the blockbuster India-Pakistan series
    comprising 3 ODIs and two T20s.

    The sportscaster has already got one sponsor on board for the series which will be held from 25 December to 6 January. “We are looking at two co-presenting and six associate sponsors. We have just gone to the market with it and have got one sponsor,” said ESPN Software India MD Aloke Malik. He, however, did not name the sponsor.

    ESS is eyeing Rs 2 billion ad revenue from the India-England series involving 4 Tests, 5 ODIs and 2 T20s. “We have sold 90 per cent of our ad inventory for the series,” said Malik, while declining to talk about the revenues.

    Meanwhile, ESS will kick off its second multimedia campaign in a couple of weeks. It will rest on the search for a new Indian hero which India’s home season will throw up. The focus of the first multimedia campaign rested on the fact that three stalwarts – Laxman, Dravid and Ganguly – are no longer a part of the team and whether India can still beat England. The theme is ‘Kya Team India Baja Payengee’.

    Malik said that the campaigns had been conceptualised based on consumer insights. “The campaign is tactical. People haven’t forgotten the drubbing that India received in England. We have shot creatives also with Shane Warne (the legend spinner inked a 3-year contract for commentary with ESS).”

    The focus of Warne’s creatives is that the viewer doesn’t want to know about his achievements or the peripheral things happening. He wants to know how the game is unfolding and why the game is changing direction. “Also the fact is that Warne has his own persona. He is fortright in his views,” Malik said.

    Warne noted that 85 per cent of India’s cricket viewers would want commentary in Hindi. “That is why it is great that they have Hindi commentary. ESPN Star Sports’ commentary team is sensational. My aim is to provide an insight into tactics and what I would do if I was in the batsman or in the captain’s shoes,” he said.

  • ESS ups Sanjay Kailash to head of sales

    ESS ups Sanjay Kailash to head of sales

    MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has promoted Sanjay Kailash to ESPN Software India (ESI) executive VP and head of sales.

    He will have an expanded role with the overall responsibility of delivering revenue for various streams of the business including advertising, affiliate sales, digital media and event management group. He will continue to report directly to ESI MD Aloke Malik.

    Malik said, “As we further scale up our business in the market with new networks and offerings, we see great potential in bringing more synergy across different revenue functions. This will allow us to explore more opportunities and develop focused propositions for our business partners. Sanjay’s in-depth knowledge and cross-industry experience will help ESPN Software India further reinforce and broaden its business in the sub-continent, and I believe the organization will benefit from his contributions through this new role.”

    Kailash has been with the company for over 10 years, having made significant and consistent contributions to the ad sales function. Most recently, he led the ICC Cricket World Cup ad sales effort. In addition, he has been keenly involved in the programming and scheduling aspects of the business and contributed to the start-up of the event management group in India, as well as growing the Digital Media business for the company, the company said.
     
    TS Panesar will continue to head Affiliate Sales including both Cable & DTH business and ad sales will be led by Anup Govindan, both of whom will report to Kailash.