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Tag: Argentina

  • Try time for India as GMR backs Rugby Premier League debut

    Try time for India as GMR backs Rugby Premier League debut

     MUMBAI: Rugby’s big break in India just got a power-packed boost courtesy GMR Group. One of India’s largest conglomerates has scrummed down with Rugby India to become the title partner of the inaugural Rugby Premier League (RPL), a first-of-its-kind franchise-based Rugby 7s tournament set to kick off in Mumbai on June 15, with the final scheduled for 29 June 2025.

    Organised in collaboration with GMR Sports, the league promises to be a landmark moment for Indian rugby. The action will unfold at Shahaji Raje Bhosale Sports Complex (Andheri Sports Complex), featuring six founding franchises and a mix of global and homegrown talent.

    The GMR Rugby Premier League (GMR RPL) will welcome players from rugby powerhouses like New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Fiji, Argentina, Great Britain, Ireland, USA, and Spain, along with 18 international athletes from Canada, Hong Kong, and Germany. On the home front, 30 Indian players were picked from a competitive auction pool of 71, putting the spotlight on the country’s emerging talent.

    GMR’s entry as title sponsor is no token gesture. With a strong track record in nurturing sport be it cricket with the Delhi Capitals, kabaddi, or grassroots initiatives the group’s involvement signals a serious intent to grow rugby’s footprint in India.

    Calling it a “very important opening season,” Rugby India president Rahul Bose hailed the partnership as one rooted in “mutual belief and optimism.” He added, “We are confident this partnership will stand the test of time.”

    For Indian rugby, this isn’t just a league, it’s a leap. And with GMR’s backing, the sport finally looks set to convert potential into points. Let the rucks and tries begin.

  • Piracy, LaLiga, BCCI and the Indian government

    Piracy, LaLiga, BCCI and the Indian government

    MUMBAI: LaLiga president Javier Tebas said he is prepared to collaborate with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to stamp out piracy of sports broadcast and streaming signals  in Europe and all over the world.  Speaking at sports and tech conference  Sportel Monaco 2024 on 29 October during a keynote address he addressed his pet subject for the past few years once again: piracy and how big tech is aiding in its spread.

    He pointed that  piracy – especially illegal internet streaming  – is causing huge losses to sports federations, broadcasters, and advertisers with the LaLiga alone losing around Euros 700 million each season.

    His belief is that big tech companies like Google, Cloudflare, X, are actually benefiting from piracy. (He has raised his voice against Google in the past on several forums but he expanded the responsibility towards X and Cloudflare in his latest address during Sportel Monaco.)

    He explained that Google is making money through searches online and on android phones through its ads that pop up during searches for pirated sites by viewers. Downloads of illegitimate apps  on its Playstore give it oodles of money. It has no mechanism – either reactive or otherwise – to tackle piracy.

    Cloudflare is profiting by providing reverse proxy services to pirates and more than 50 per cent of rogue sites are behind it. What’s alarming according to  him is that 70 per cent of delisted content by Google is behind a Cloudflare IP.

    X, he highlighted, is monetising through advertising on pirated streams and has been delaying enforcement by not providing automatic content detection. It does not have a content moderation team, neither is it blocking illegal content on its platform.

    He appealed to sports federations to come together  and raise their voices against big tech. In this regard he extended his hand towards the BCCI welcoming it to come and be a part of the anti-piracy campaign.

    “After football, cricket has a large fan base globally and revenue leakages through piracy could be reduced by making the tech companies  culpable,” he said. “The federations, accompanied by the broadcasters, need to lobby with governments to put in place the proper legislation.”

    Tebas requested governments world over  to pass legislation that would force big tech companies to clamp down on piracy. For the “how of doing it,”  he said, they can turn to Argentina where a federal court ordered Google to block the download and use of a pirate platform Magis TV.  Prior to this, Google had cited its inability to block the android application from being downloaded, but then it was forced to.

    “We need hard measures to be put in place.If we have to stand a chance of reducing the menace of piracy, ” said Tebas in closing. 

  • adidas celebrates Messi’s World Cup career; presents ‘The Impossible Rondo’

    adidas celebrates Messi’s World Cup career; presents ‘The Impossible Rondo’

    Mumbai: To commemorate the career of football player Lionel Messi, adidas releases “The Impossible Rondo,” the newest chapter in its “Impossible is Nothing” story, ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

    Football fans worldwide will be excited to see Messi pitted against himself in the movie, complete with his haircuts, Argentina shirts, and adidas boots over 18 years and five tournaments.

    The film was created using the most recent advances in artificial intelligence and visual effects to bring the magic of Lionel Messi’s World Cup career to life. Messi’s historical and current footage were used to create different, de-aged versions of him. This was then applied to body doubles, allowing us to create Messi versus Messi, in which he prepares for the World Cup alongside versions of himself from 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018.

    adidas will continue to celebrate its global football family throughout the tournament with iconic player moments, global social media activations, and the creation of the ‘Al Rihla Arena,’ an official adidas fan zone on-the-ground in Qatar, having already shared its “Family Reunion” film and “The Impossible Rondo” with fans.

  • Common man feels ignored by politicians: Ipsos Survey

    Common man feels ignored by politicians: Ipsos Survey

    New Delhi, Oct 01, 2018: Ipsos Survey shows that 58% Indians feel that the economy is partial to those with deep pockets – the rich and powerful. Further, 59% feel that traditional parties and politicians disregard the common man.

    The survey christened Beyond Populism was conducted online among adults aged under 65 in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Russia, Spain, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Turkey and the United States.

    Parijat Chakraborty, Executive Director, Ipsos Public Affairs says, “The survey shows that the common man is feeling left out in the scheme of things. With the General Elections coming up in 2019, this insight can help political parties focus on the needs of the marginalized and the man on the street.”
    Interestingly, Indians are clear about what attributes they look for in their politicians. Majority of Indians polled (62%) prefer outspoken politicians who can speak their mind without worrying about the consequences; and more number of Indians (68%) like their leaders strong and those who can create their own path and are not hesitant in breaking the norms.

    At the same time, only half of Indians polled see risk in electing political parties or leaders with radical ideas for change, who have not been elected earlier. 2 in 5 would stick with political parties and leaders who have been in power before.

  • BARC week 27: Sony sports cluster captures all top five slots

    BARC week 27: Sony sports cluster captures all top five slots

    MUMBAI: The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia continues its strong run for football viewership in India in its fourth week and guided Sony Pictures Network (SPN) India’s sports cluster to obtain all top five positions in the BARC all India ratings.

    The tournament that is being telecast live on Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 3 and Sony ESPN channels and live streamed on SonyLIV app and website.

    According to BARC, Sony Ten 3 is at the top spot with 149384 impressions (000s) sum, followed by Sony Ten2 with 146283 impressions (000s) sum. Sony Six, Sony Ten1 and Sony ESPN were the other channels in the list in week 27 data.

    According to the broadcaster, the network’s sports channel and Sony LIV’s total cumulative reach of the tournament is 192.7 million viewers for 58 matches which includes the viewership of live matches, wraparound shows, highlights, repeats, surround programming of FIFA World Cup for a TG of All India CS2+.

    If the broadcaster’s live streaming numbers are to be believed, Sony crossed 96 million viewers across India on the sports cluster TV channels. The channel has got most of its live traction from West Bengal with 20.4 million reach followed by Kerala with 16.9 million reach. Rural market has also shown some interest in FIFA and clocked 63.1 million viewers

    According to BARC, top three matches till now were Nigeria versus Argentina, Japan versus Senegal and Korea versus Mexico with 5.1 million, 4.6 million and 4.3 million impressions across India for a TG above 2+.

    SPN India also informed that 47 per cent of the overall viewership is contributed by local language feeds like Hindi, Malayalam, Bengali, Tamil and Telugu.

  • STB cos in India, China enhancing features, providing customised solutions, Technavio enlists top vendors

    STB cos in India, China enhancing features, providing customised solutions, Technavio enlists top vendors

    MUMBAI: The global STB market is characterised by intense competition as the market is saturated in developed countries. The market share of these players is declining because of the entry of new players. The STB companies are enhancing the features of STBs and providing customised solutions to retain their market share.

    Technavio, a technology research and advisory company, has enlisted the top five leading vendors in their recent global set-top box (STB) market report. This report also lists 45 other prominent vendors that are expected to impact the market during 2017–2021.

    There is a high demand for pay-per-channels used by customers who use gateways and multiscreen devices. The ongoing shift to the HD format contributes to the growth of the market. Digitisation in China, India, and Brazil contributes significantly to market growth. The ongoing shift from analogue to the digital platform in China and India has created the demand for HD STBs in these countries.

    Competitive vendor landscape: “The global STB market is characterised by intense competition as the market in developed is expected to be stagnant in future. The market is fragmented owing to the presence of a large number of small players. The entry of new players intensifies competition and reduces the profit margins of other vendors. The players are enhancing the features of STBs and providing customised solutions to retain their market share,” says Ujjwal Doshi, a lead consumer electronics research analyst from Technavio.

    The growth of the global STB market is driven by digitisation that has been taking place in developing countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, China, and India, since 2010.

    ARRIS International: ARRIS International offers STBs, digital video and IPTV distribution systems, broadband access infrastructure platforms, and associated data and voice equipment. The wide portfolio of the company offers end-to-end solutions that offer service providers a variety of choices to customize their approach to IP transition. The company focuses on expanding its product and solutions portfolio through organic development, partnerships, and acquisitions.

    Broadcom: Broadcom offers a range of consumer electronics products including STB, central office broadband access equipment, residential gateways, and stand-alone broadband access modems. Global service providers introduce new technologies and services in STBs such as HD content, transcoding, digital video recording, and increased networking capabilities.

    Pace: Pace provides technology solutions and caters to the subscription-based TV services providers and broadband industries. It offers a wide range of media servers, STB, gateways, software, optical transport and access control network solutions, and highly specialized services.

    Roku: Roku focuses on manufacturing streaming entertainment devices. The first product launched by the company was designed to secure movies from Netflix and feature them on TV with the help of the Internet. The streaming players can be connected directly to the user’s TV and grant access to movies, TV shows, games, music, and extra channels.

    Technicolor: Technicolor provides production, post-production, and distribution services to content writers, network service providers, and broadcasters. The company offers film processing, visual effects, and animation services along with the manufacture and distribution of digital video disks, Blu-ray disks, STB, and gateways.

    The emerging markets offer opportunities for growth to vendors as the developed countries have reached saturation, according to Technavio. The availability of affordable STBs fuels growth in the market.

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    BARC India to TRAI and MIB: Tweak legislation to make data tamper-proof

    TRAI workshop on interoperable STBs later this month

     

  • Colors to actively engage viewers through Israeli singing show ‘Rising Star’ in early 2017

    Colors to actively engage viewers through Israeli singing show ‘Rising Star’ in early 2017

    MUMBAI: Colors launched its first singing reality show Sur Kshetra in 2012, a musical battle between teams of two neighbouring countries Pakistan and India. The show was indeed one of its kind.

    Staying true to its brand value of being at the forefront of innovation and disruptive programming, Colors has joined hands with the world-renowned production and distribution giant Keshet International to bring the Israeli singing reality show Rising Star to India.

    The show is one of the world’s most celebrated singing-based reality shows with live viewer engagement at its core. Rising Star is slated for an early 2017 launch on Colors, and will be produced by Optimystix Entertainment.

    Originally created and produced by Tedy Productions and Keshet Broadcasting, has, since its inception in 2013, enthralled the global audience with the most vivid talent. With more than 250 episodes globally to its credit, the format has been aired across more than 16 countries including Israel, the U.S, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, China, Cambodia and Indonesia amongst others.

    Commenting on this landmark acquisition, Colors CEO Raj Nayak said, “For the first time, here is a reality show that will not only be Live but will also give the viewers sitting at home an opportunity to engage with the progress and build-up of the show. What is beautiful about the format is that it’s instant & Live. We are delighted to be collaborating with Keshet International to bring Rising Star to India. Our Channel boasts of having one of the biggest consumer engagement platforms in the country and one can assert that a format like Rising Star couldn’t have found a better stage than ours. The show’s USP is that it’s not only high on entertainment quotient but also has the ability to connect and communicate with the viewers directly.”

    With Digital India being the new order of the day, Rising Star is a first-of-its-kind futuristic interactive engagement-led format which puts the power of determining a contestant’s fate in the hands of the viewers. Through its app-based mass talent-led format, the show will welcome budding singers from across the country, bringing them together on a common platform.

    Keshet International head of Asia Gary Pudney said, “We are beyond excited about bringing Rising Star to the Indian audience. India is embracing technology more ferociously than ever before and, in partnership with our brilliant partners at Colors, we will be delivering prime time entertainment that satisfies viewers’ hunger to become more active and engaged viewers of high end content.”

    Apart from Rising Star, the recent adaptations of KIA formats include “Prisoners of War” India which will be aired on Star India’s Hindi general entertainment channel (GECs) Star Plus.

  • Colors to actively engage viewers through Israeli singing show ‘Rising Star’ in early 2017

    Colors to actively engage viewers through Israeli singing show ‘Rising Star’ in early 2017

    MUMBAI: Colors launched its first singing reality show Sur Kshetra in 2012, a musical battle between teams of two neighbouring countries Pakistan and India. The show was indeed one of its kind.

    Staying true to its brand value of being at the forefront of innovation and disruptive programming, Colors has joined hands with the world-renowned production and distribution giant Keshet International to bring the Israeli singing reality show Rising Star to India.

    The show is one of the world’s most celebrated singing-based reality shows with live viewer engagement at its core. Rising Star is slated for an early 2017 launch on Colors, and will be produced by Optimystix Entertainment.

    Originally created and produced by Tedy Productions and Keshet Broadcasting, has, since its inception in 2013, enthralled the global audience with the most vivid talent. With more than 250 episodes globally to its credit, the format has been aired across more than 16 countries including Israel, the U.S, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, China, Cambodia and Indonesia amongst others.

    Commenting on this landmark acquisition, Colors CEO Raj Nayak said, “For the first time, here is a reality show that will not only be Live but will also give the viewers sitting at home an opportunity to engage with the progress and build-up of the show. What is beautiful about the format is that it’s instant & Live. We are delighted to be collaborating with Keshet International to bring Rising Star to India. Our Channel boasts of having one of the biggest consumer engagement platforms in the country and one can assert that a format like Rising Star couldn’t have found a better stage than ours. The show’s USP is that it’s not only high on entertainment quotient but also has the ability to connect and communicate with the viewers directly.”

    With Digital India being the new order of the day, Rising Star is a first-of-its-kind futuristic interactive engagement-led format which puts the power of determining a contestant’s fate in the hands of the viewers. Through its app-based mass talent-led format, the show will welcome budding singers from across the country, bringing them together on a common platform.

    Keshet International head of Asia Gary Pudney said, “We are beyond excited about bringing Rising Star to the Indian audience. India is embracing technology more ferociously than ever before and, in partnership with our brilliant partners at Colors, we will be delivering prime time entertainment that satisfies viewers’ hunger to become more active and engaged viewers of high end content.”

    Apart from Rising Star, the recent adaptations of KIA formats include “Prisoners of War” India which will be aired on Star India’s Hindi general entertainment channel (GECs) Star Plus.

  • WPP’s Possible to acquire majority stake in German digital agency

    WPP’s Possible to acquire majority stake in German digital agency

    MUMBAI: WPP’s global digital agency Possible Worldwide has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Conrad Caine GmbH, a full service digital agency headquartered in Munich, Germany.

     

    Founded in 1998, Conrad Caine delivers digital strategy, user experience, asset creation, campaigns and CRM to its clients. Conrad Caine employs 140 people at its headquarters in Germany, and other offices in Pelotas, Brazil and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

     

    Conrad Caine’s revenues for the year ended 31 December, 2014 were approximately €8.5 million with gross assets of approximately €3.6 million as at the same date.

     

    This acquisition continues WPP’s strategy of investing in fast growth markets, new media and digital, including data and the application of technology.

     

    WPP’s digital revenues were $6.9 billion in 2014, representing 36 per cent of the Group’s total revenues. WPP has set a target of 40-45 per cent of revenue to be derived from digital in the next five years. WPP companies in Germany generate revenues of approximately $1.3 billion and employ around 7,000 people (including associates). On this basis, Germany is WPP’s fourth largest market after the US, the UK and China.

  • WPP’s Possible to acquire majority stake in German digital agency

    WPP’s Possible to acquire majority stake in German digital agency

    MUMBAI: WPP’s global digital agency Possible Worldwide has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Conrad Caine GmbH, a full service digital agency headquartered in Munich, Germany.

     

    Founded in 1998, Conrad Caine delivers digital strategy, user experience, asset creation, campaigns and CRM to its clients. Conrad Caine employs 140 people at its headquarters in Germany, and other offices in Pelotas, Brazil and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

     

    Conrad Caine’s revenues for the year ended 31 December, 2014 were approximately €8.5 million with gross assets of approximately €3.6 million as at the same date.

     

    This acquisition continues WPP’s strategy of investing in fast growth markets, new media and digital, including data and the application of technology.

     

    WPP’s digital revenues were $6.9 billion in 2014, representing 36 per cent of the Group’s total revenues. WPP has set a target of 40-45 per cent of revenue to be derived from digital in the next five years. WPP companies in Germany generate revenues of approximately $1.3 billion and employ around 7,000 people (including associates). On this basis, Germany is WPP’s fourth largest market after the US, the UK and China.