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Tag: Australia

  • Sony Sports to telecast Women’s Big Bash League on 14 Oct

    Sony Sports to telecast Women’s Big Bash League on 14 Oct

    Mumbai: Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) is set to telecast the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) starting on 14 October on Sony Six channels as well as on its OTT platform, SonyLIV.

    The WBBL features eight Indian cricketers including Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Poonam Yadav, and Richa Ghosh who will participate in a premier women’s cricket league.

    WBBL is among the top watched sporting leagues of Australia. The league comprises eight teams including Sydney Sixers, Sydney Thunder, Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, and Perth Scorchers. It features top Australian players along with select international players. Five out of the eight teams of WBBL will feature Indian female cricketers.

    The broadcaster has released the schedule for the first week’s games. The first match will be played between Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Stars starting at 2:10 p.m on 14 October. This will be followed by Melbourne Renegades vs Hobart Hurricanes on 16 October at 10:10 a.m and Sydney Thunder vs Adelaide Strikers at 1:35 p.m. On 17 October, Perth Scorchers will face Brisbane Heat at 4:45 a.m followed by Hobart Hurricanes vs Sydney Sixers at 8:10 a.m. Melbourne Stars will be up against Hobart Hurricanes on 19 October at 7:55 a.m followed by Brisbane Heat vs Perth Scorchers at 11:20 a.m. On 20 October, Melbourne Renegades vs Adelaide Strikers will air at 7:55 a.m and Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Sixers will air at 11:20 a.m.

  • CARS24 expands operations to UAE and Australia

    New Delhi: E-commerce platform for pre-owned vehicles, CARS24 is set to disrupt the used automobile ecosystem around the globe. The company has launched its business in Australia and UAE and is gearing up to launch business in Southeast Asian and Middle East countries this year.

    As part of its expansion strategy, CARS24 will use its India playbook to expand globally and continue to invest in technology to transform the consumer experience in buying-selling cars, it said on Thursday. “In the last six years, we have worked very hard to revolutionise the way our consumers buy or sell their cars in India. Interestingly, the pain points of used car consumers across the globe remain pervasive. We are sure with our expertise and experience of operating in a diverse market like India, we will be able to cater to the needs of our new customers as well,” said CARS24’s co-founder and CEO Vikram Chopra.

    Elaborating on the company’s international expansion plans, Chopra said, CARS24’s launch in markets of UAE, Australia and Southeast Asia marks a milestone moment in its growth story. “CARS24 is well-poised for explosive growth internationally and we will continue to offer our burgeoning roster of offerings to newer markets that have been at the forefront of embracing new technology and innovation,” he added.

    CARS24 has earmarked an investment of over $100Million for international markets in 2021. These investments will be used to build the brand in these new territories coupled with a strong supply of cars for the platform, and a state-of-the-art workshop to recondition cars to ensure top quality, the company said in a statement.

    Currently, CARS24 is shipping cars to customers across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah and to Brisbane in Australia, shortly followed by Sydney and Melbourne as well. “We are delighted to be spearheading the global expansion of CARS24 in the Australian market. Australia is a car-loving nation of consumers who have had no alternative to the traditional used car buying model – until now. Australians are truly ready to embrace 100% online car buying; and with the support of our founders, we have incredibly high expectations for our growth in this market.”, said CARS24 Australia, GM Australia, Olga Rudenko.

    Founded in 2015, CARS24 has grown rapidly over the years, using product, tech and data science, to fuel the growth in the Indian used cars sector and enabling a quality experience for sellers and buyers, completely online & from the comfort of their homes.  

  • Netflix launches improved parental controls for families

    Netflix launches improved parental controls for families

    MUMBAI: Netflix, based on feedback from its members, has launched new, improved controls on its service to help parents, guardians and elders make the right viewing decisions for their families. 

    Parents can now:

    ●      PIN protect individual profiles to prevent kids from using them;

    ●      Tailor their kids’ Netflix experience by filtering out titles that are not appropriate for their age;

    ●      Remove individual series or films by title. When this filter is used, the blocked title(s) won’t show up anywhere in that profile;

    ●      Easily review each profile’s setting using the “Profile and Parental Controls” hub within account settings;

    ●      See what their kids have been watching within the profile created for them; and

    ●      Turn off auto play of episodes in kids profiles. 

    These controls can be added to the Netflix profile by going to account settings on a laptop or a mobile browser.

    “Choice and control have always been important for our members, especially parents. We hope that these improved controls will help parents make the right choices for their families,” said Netflix kids product manager Michelle Parsons.

    Recognising that every family is different and to give them more viewing choices, Netflix is investing in a wide variety of kids and family films and TV shows from all over the world, including award-winning animated films like Klaus, interactive shows like Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal and kids’ series such as Boss Baby. The Indian kids series Mighty Little Bheem is the most-watched preschool series on Netflix globally, and the second-most watched kids’ series for Netflix worldwide. 

    Since its launch in April 2019, Mighty Little Bheem has been watched by over 27 million households worldwide, including in Latin America, Australia and New Zealand. Netflix has also announced Ghee Happy, an animated show about Hindu deities who, as children, attend a special daycare and discover their own powers.

  • SPSN partners with Social chain of restaurants as on-ground screening partner

    SPSN partners with Social chain of restaurants as on-ground screening partner

    MUMBAI: To provide a real-time drama to cricket fans, Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) has partnered with Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality’s Social chain of restaurants across India to be its official on-ground screening partner for high-octane series between Australia and South Africa.

    Sony Pictures Sports Network will broadcast the Australia tour of South Africa starting from 21 February till 7 March 2020. It comprises three T20Is and three ODIs and will be played across six venues in South Africa.

    All the six matches will be screened live at the 25 venues of Social across five cities: New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chandigarh, and Bengaluru. Moreover, collector’s edition bats signed by the Australian Cricket team including Steve Smith, David Warner, and Mitchell Starc among others will be showcased across three outlets – Khar Social in Mumbai, Hauz Khas Social in Delhi and Sarajpur Social in Bangalore.

    The series marks the return of David Warner and Steve Smith after their infamous sandpaper scandal of 2018. Both the players will brace themselves for a hostile reception from Proteas fans.

    While the Australian team’s last visit to South Africa ended in disappointment, both on and off-field, this series will act as a platform to make amends and stage their perfect comeback to the Rainbow Nation.

    A series win will be important for Australia as it tries to build on the foundation of success, while South Africa will look to replicate the success of 2018 and restart their glory era.

  • Sony Pictures Sports gears up for upcoming women tri-nation series

    Sony Pictures Sports gears up for upcoming women tri-nation series

    MUMBAI: Before ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) will telecast the Women’s T20i Tri-Nation Series 2020 between India, England and Australia from 31 January to 12 February. The knock-out matches will be telecast live on SONY ESPN and SONY SIX channels.

    The tri-nation series that is going to be held in Australia will mark the first appearance of the Indian women’s cricket team in 2020 for a cricket battle. While the women in Blue is led by Harmanpreet Kaur, will take on hosts, Australia first led by Meg Lanning and then with England led by Heather Knight.

    The matches will be a crucial fixture for all three teams as they go straight into the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup following this tournament.

    SPSN’s campaign for cricket, ‘Love for Cricket knows No Boundaries’ will be carried forward for this mega-series, which features the three cricketing giants, India, Australia, and England.

  • Gautam Gambhir & Funngage.com give warm send-off to 15 cricketers for Perth, Australia

    Gautam Gambhir & Funngage.com give warm send-off to 15 cricketers for Perth, Australia

    MUMBAI: Padma Shri Gautam Gambhir and Funngage.com gave a warm send-off to 15 of the 33 talented aspiring cricketers who have qualified for the 5-year cricket scholarship and are selected to go to Guildford Grammar School, Perth, Australia for 21 days of overseas training.  Earlier in August’18, Funngage.com in the inspiring leadership of Gautam Gambhir launched FG PowerPlayer – India’s First Cricket Scholarship. While in Perth, the cricketers will train under the watchful guidance of former South African Test Cricketer, HD Ackerman who is now engaged as the Director of Coaching at Guildford Grammar.

    All these 33 PowerPlayers have been awarded 5-year Cricket Development Scholarship which includes the following:

    Benefits of FG PowerPlayer Cricket Development Scholarship

    ·5 years of fully paid cricket equipments

    ·5 years of fully paid medical support along with sports physiotherapy sessions at Funngage’s wellness partner and hospitals across India

    ·5 years of fully paid match fees for cricket matches and tournaments across India

    ·5 years of fully paid cricket camps by experts for continued exposure and training

    ·Fully paid for oversees training (for topmost 15) at Perth, Australia (Guildford Grammar School), this includes visa fee, return air fare, accommodation, trainings, nutrition sessions, injury management, and matches with local clubs etc.

    Trials and selection process

    A scientific process of assessing the cricketers started in October last year with the video-based trials held in 17 cities in 10 states across India. The program attracted both girls and boys and 5000+ aspiring cricketers participated in 12 to 24 years of age categories. The trials were held at the center wicket of the ground with at least 5 High Definition (HD) cameras making ball-by-ball videos of each and every cricketer. These videos were shared with players on their Funngage.com account.

    These videos were then shared with the panel of top coaches of Funngage.com for a thorough assessment. The detailed report card and assessment scores highlighting their strengths and areas of improvements were given to each player. The program progressed as under:

    ·Stage 1 – Basic Skills Trial: 12-balls trials on the center wicket with each batsman facing 4 bowlers and each bowler bowling to 4 batsmen and 5 HD Video cameras capturing the action

    ·Stage 2 – Advanced Trial: each player got to bowl or bat 4 overs on a turf wicket

    ·Stage 3 – Residential Camp: 14 days of training camp wherein each player got coaching, training, and got to play minimum of 5 matches of 40 overs each

    ·Stage 4 – 5 Years of Cricket Scholarship: 33 aspiring cricketers selected for 5 years of Cricket Development Scholarship and topmost 15 were chosen to for 3 weeks of oversees training at Guildford Grammar School, Perth, Australia in four batches

    *Overall Funngage.com is committed to selected 120 aspiring cricketers across the age groups and to send 60 to Australia for oversees training

    Highlights of Residential Camp

    110 (Age group 17 – 24) out of 5000+ applicants were invited for a residential camp at Funngage’s Meerut Centre, Neelkanth Group of Institutes (NGI). Under the able guidance of Senior Coach Arun Bharadhwaj along with Jayaraj Samual, Biju Nair, Sanjay Bharadhwaj, and Manu Kumar, the players were put through a rigorous schedule of training, coaching, fitness, and matches.

    ·Players were divided into 8 teams

    ·All eight teams played seven matches in a round-robin format with each player playing a minimum of 5 matches of 40 overs each.

    ·Matches were played at three cricket grounds in Meerut – NGI Cricket Ground, Victoria Park Cricket Ground, and Gandhi Bagh Cricket ground

    ·Matches went on for 13 days that included three matches every day

    ·The best players were awarded as the Man of Match and inducted into the FG PowerPlayer Hall of Fame

    ·Umpires from UPCA were engaged for transparent and credible decision-making

    ·Players were constantly assessed on the basis of their potential and performance and their stats were updated real-time Funngage’s website and mobile apps

    Marquee experts during the assessment process

    ·HD Ackerman, former South African Test Cricketer and Director of Coaching at GGS

    ·Samuel Jayraj (KL Rahul’s coach)

    ·K. Barathan (Former BCCI Umpire and Ranji Player)

    ·Biju Nair (BCCI Level C and Ranji Coach)

    ·Dinesh Lad (Rahit Sharma and Shardul Thakur’s Coach)

    ·Sanjay Bharadhwaj (Gautam Gambhir’s Coach)

    ·Yajuvendra Krishnatry (indian Railways Coach)

    Quotes:

    Gautam Gambhir, inspirational partner of Funngage.com said, “I always wanted to give back to the game which has given meaning to my life. With FG Powerplayer I am living my dream of helping young, budding cricketers in exceling at their game. Perth is a wonderful city to train at, and once these 15 cricketers come back, they will have a different outlook towards the game.”

    Kavendra Karan Singh, Founder, Funngage.com said, “We started this initiative six months back and now the first batch of 33 PowerPlayers have been announced, 15 of these boys are going to Perth for oversees training and we have a solid plan for the selected lot to develop into better cricketers. We are committed in our endeavor of providing a platform to these cricketers and with Gautam, we have understood the nuances of the needs of young cricketers. Hopefully many more will participate in the coming years.”

  • India tour of Australia live streaming now on SonyLIV

    India tour of Australia live streaming now on SonyLIV

    MUMBAI: SonyLIV, India’s most preferred destination for sports is the official mobile and internet broadcaster for the much awaited India – Australia series that kicks off today. In one of the most high-profile bilateral series in International Cricket, Team Virat Kohli and Australia will go head on for three T20Is, four Tests and three ODIs across Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney over the next two months. The match feeds will be available in English and Hindi. SonyLIV has also launched a second screen initiative wherein users can engage with the game.

    SonyLIV has roped in 15 advertisers for this high-octane series. Brands like Swiggy, Quikr, Pepsi Co, Nestle, Myntra, Netflix, Total Lubricants, Nestle, Marico, Xaomi, Fossil, Garnier, Tourism Australia, Kotak Bank, Pharmeasy and Indeed have come on board as sponsors for the series. Increasing viewership for cricket on the platform has led SonyLIV lock productive deals with some of the most prominent brands in India.

    Starting today, SonyLIV will be the go to destination for all sports lovers anticipating an intense clash between the two teams. Subscribers will get access to the live feed of all the matches without any delay while non-subscribers will get to watch the blue squad play with a delay of 5 minutes. Viewers can also avail a 30% cashback by subscribing through our partner Paytm.

  • Sony Pictures Networks India gears up for the India tour of Australia with engaging programming initiatives

    Sony Pictures Networks India gears up for the India tour of Australia with engaging programming initiatives

    MUMBAI: For the year ending high-octane cricket series between India and Australia, Sony Pictures  Networks India  (SPN), will be  undertaking several  initiatives to enhance the  viewing experience and increase engagement with  cricket enthusiasts across  the  nation. The series, with three  T20s, four Tests and three  ODis, is highly anticipated by fans across  the globe as the clashes  between the two  leading teams have always been intense.

    SPN's flagship  wraparound show, Extraaa  Innings, comes  to  this  series  with  a new  look  and  set design  featuring an unrivalled set of expert panellists rotating through the duration of the series. This exciting round-up of panellists, providing pre, mid and post-match analyses  include Sunil Gavaskar, Michael Clarke,  Harbhajan Singh,  Ashish  Nehra,  Robin  Uthappa, Gautam  Gambhir,  Mark  Butcher, Nick  Knight, Dominic  Cork, Murali  Kartik, Sanjay Manjrekar, Mohammad Kaif, Harsha  Bhogle, Gaurav Kapur, Deep Dasgupta  and  Vivek  Razdan. The  panel  comprises cricketing legends who  will  bring their  years of experience and expertise to the table, alongside contemporaries who  possess  a first­ hand  experience of  modern cricket   to  provide audiences with  comprehensive analyses.  All  the matches  will  be  telecast  with  English  and  Hindi  commentaries to  ensure  an unparalleled viewing experience for viewers across India.

    Following the  astounding success  of  the  FIFA World  Cup  and  UEFA Champions League  second screen experience, SPN brings  back an interactive digital  experience for the world's biggest bilateral series. Viewers watching the series  on SPN's premium OTT platform, SonyLIV, can access  "Extraaa Innings" for exclusive content and  increased interactivity. The features  include a host  of predictor games,  quizzes,  team  selector game,  trivia, emotion-based selfie  filter  and  stats  – all designed to keep  the  fans engaged. One  of  the  features  on "Extraaa  Innings", the  "Aggression Meter", will  be displayed on-air  during the  broadcast through which  fans, based  on  the  match, can  express  their emotional state during  the series.

  • 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.

  • ITW Consulting bags in-stadia ad rights for Ind & Aus tours of SA 2018

    ITW Consulting bags in-stadia ad rights for Ind & Aus tours of SA 2018

    MUMBAI: ITW Consulting, India-based sports management company, has acquired in-stadia advertising rights for the Indian and Australian Tours of South Africa for 2017/2018. ITW Consulting rights will market and sell these in-stadia advertising rights to non-South African companies and entities.

    With these rights, ITW Consulting will cover three tests, six ODIs and three international T20s under South Africa vs India Series and four tests from 1 March to 30 March 2018 under South Africa vs Australia Series.

    ITW is permitted to re-sell and market the in-stadia advertising rights and can enter into contracts with potential clients and agencies towards exploiting the rights commercially.

    Commenting on the association, ITW Consulting director MS Muralidharan said, “We are one of the new generation companies and are delighted to partner with Cricket South Africa and Megapro Marketing (Ry) Ltd for these two series. We are sure that we will be able to build strong and strategic brand associations that will be fruitful for both, the brands and cricket fans across the globe.”

    Commenting on the deal, ITW Consulting co-founder Bhairav Shanth said, “With utmost pride in bagging these rights, ITW welcomes brands around the world to stand tall with global brands and cherish a seamless branding experience in South Africa, across two months of high-octane competitive cricket.”

    “The Proteas have always been marquee opponents to the visiting Men in Blue over the last three decades. It’s ‘Redemption’ time for the Indians now playing away from home, post their overhaul by the South Africans during the Freedom Trophy in India, way back in 2015,” he further added.