Tag: Badminton

Indian players gear up for Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2024

Mumbai: With the Race to Paris 2024 heading into its final stretch, Indian shuttlers will have an excellent opportunity to earn valuable points and stake claims to Olympic berths across categories at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open Super 750 to be held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi from January 16-21, 2024.

Asian Games gold medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and bronze medallist HS Prannoy will aim to boost their position in the world ranking ahead of the Paris Olympics while the likes of former world number one Kidambi Srikanth, 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lakshya Sen and the up and coming Priyanshu Rajawat will be gunning for the second Indian spot at the Games.

According to the Paris Olympics qualification rules, two Indian men’s singles players can participate in the Games only if both of them are ranked among the top 16 at the end of the qualification process that ends on 30 April 2024.

The Yonex-Sunrise India Open, organised by the Badminton Association of India (BAI), was upgraded to Super 750 category from Super 500 last year which means that the players can earn significantly higher ranking points in their quest for Olympics qualification.

It has also meant that almost all the Top-10 players in current world ranking will be in action at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall and badminton lovers can enjoy watching them in action on all six days for free as the BAI has decided to keep the entry free.

Looking forward to yet another fantastic week of quality badminton, BAI general secretary Sanjay Mishra said, “The BAI has consistently maintained a very high standard of preparation for the India Open and that has ensured that it is now a Super 750 level event. This means that all our Olympics hopefully will have a good chance of using the home conditions to earn valuable points and even win the title. It will also be a great opportunity for fans to witness some breathtaking action as more top ranked players will be participating.”

Among the Indian stars, one among Sen and Rajawat are assured of a pre-quarterfinal spot as the young guns will face off against each other in the men’s singles opening round.

Eighth seed Prannoy will be opening his campaign against Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei and will face the winner of the match between Sen and Rajawat after clearing the first-round hurdle.

Former champion Srikanth, currently in 24th position in the Race to Paris rankings, will meet Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu in the opening round and has a potential second-round clash against defending champion Kunlavut Viditsarn of Thailand.

In men’s doubles, former champions and second seeds Satwik and Chirag will kick off their challenge against World No. 25 Fang-Jen Lee and Fang-Chih Lee of Taipei in the opening round and are expected to go deeper in the competition.

The women’s doubles combinations of Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand and Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto are also locked into a see-saw battle for an Olympics spot.

All England semi-finalists Treesa and Gayatri have a tough opener against fourth seeds Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida of Japan while Ashwini and Crasto, who made three back-to-back finals to end 2023 on a high, will face World No. 10 Thai combination of Rawinda Prajongjai and Jongkolphan Kititharakul in the first round.

Among the other high profile first round clashes, defending women’s singles champion An Se Young of South Korea will take on three-time champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand while Spain’s Carolina Marin will face Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in a clash of former world champions.

In men’s singles, former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore will meet third seed and reigning All England champion Li Shi Feng of China while top seed Viktor Axelsen will open his campaign against Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei.

December 30, 2023
Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films partners with Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023

Mumbai: Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films collaborated with Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023, a platform that brings the best of contemporary world cinema to the City of Dreams, to celebrate the art of cinema in the short-film format. Over the course of two days (Nov 1-2) at PVR Maison, Jio World Drive BKC, the platform offered passionate filmmakers the opportunity to bring forth authentic stories and engaged audiences with stellar performances.

As part of the association, Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films premiered two original short films at the festival – ‘Badminton’ (directed by Dibakar Banerjee) and ‘Next, Please’ (written-produced by Chaitanya Tamhane, directed by Rishav Kapoor). Starring Jim Sarbh, both films received a fantastic response from the audience. Equally engaging was the panel discussion that followed, where the moderator RJ Malishka spoke to the filmmakers, scriptwriters and Jim Sarbh about the significance of short format filmmaking and their association with Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films platform. Other cast members, including Sayani Gupta, Vijay Maurya, Shreya Dhanwantry and Shardul Bhardwaj were also present at the premiere.

This year, Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films also curated a short film contest #ForTheSelectOnes, inviting entries for 8 to 10-minute films across genres. The top 10 shortlisted entries were screened at the film festival, and the winners in two categories were acknowledged for their cinematic brilliance. Fostering a creative environment for filmmaking enthusiasts, the screenings were followed by engaging discussions about the rise of the short-film format, moderated by actor Inayat Sood and featuring the film creators. Awards for best film and best actor were also announced. Best Film winner was Summer of Soul by Sanjib Gogoi and Best Actor winner was James Elia from the film, Vakuppu (The Clause).

Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival head of marketing, PR and partnerships Abhishek Kumar said, “This is a very special partnership for us, and we are thankful for the continued support by Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films to Jio MAMI. The curation is incredible by some established and new talent from different parts of the country. Our aim collectively is to provide a stage for filmmakers to showcase their authentic stories and further bolster the rapidly growing demand and appetite for the short film format in India.”

November 6, 2023
Sony Pictures Networks India acquires exclusive broadcast rights of Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

Mumbai: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has acquired the exclusive TV and digital rights for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The 22nd iteration of the multi-sporting event will take place between 28 July and 8 August, 2022. The deal provides SPN with exclusive rights to broadcast the games in India and the subcontinent, including countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan, and Maldives, and will also be available to livestream on its premium OTT platform, SonyLIV.

The quadrennial event will witness participation from 72 nations and will feature 19 sports along with eight para-sports across 11 days of the event. Competitions will be facilitated across athletics, badminton, swimming, basketball, boxing, wrestling, hockey, judo, and others. The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will witness sports like basketball, 3×3, wheelchair basketball, 3×3, beach volleyball, and para table tennis. Additionally, to promote women’s cricket, the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Birmingham Organising Committee announced the inclusion of women’s cricket in the T20 format. The ICC has fully sanctioned the Birmingham 2022 competition.

Over the past two decades, India has seen a steady growth in the medal tally at the Commonwealth Games, with the Indian contingent marking the 2010 Commonwealth Games as their most successful campaign with 101 medals. India’s next feat arrived when the nation secured the third position on the points table at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, where they showcased their best-ever performance as a non-host nation with a 66-medal haul.

Sony Pictures Networks India chief revenue officer, distribution & head – sports business Rajesh Kaul said, “The acquisition of Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games’ media rights is a proud moment for us, as our nation will get to watch the country’s biggest sporting heroes reach new milestones of success on our network. After the record-breaking Olympic Games, our journey will now move ahead with the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, and we are certain that our Indian contingent will win big. The 2022 edition of the games is of great significance to Indian viewers as women’s cricket makes its debut at the quadrennial event in the T20 format and will see India’s finest women cricketers representing team India. “

Commonwealth Games Federation Partnerships CEO David Leather added, “We are delighted that Sony Pictures Networks India will exclusively broadcast the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games across the country. India’s top athletes will be competing in Birmingham 2022, including the likes of Neeraj Chopra and Harmanpreet Kaur, so it is fantastic that Sony will be taking world-class sport into the homes of millions of people across the country.”

“This partnership is particularly important because India is the largest and most populous country in the Commonwealth and a real leader across the Commonwealth Sport Movement. This deal represents a huge vote of confidence in Birmingham 2022 and the future direction of the Commonwealth Sport Movement, so we are pleased to be working together on this exciting venture,” he said.

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will be available on Sony SIX, Sony TEN1, Sony TEN2, Sony TEN3, and Sony TEN4 channels starting from 28 July, 2022 at 11:30 p.m.

July 19, 2022
Exclusive: Regional space to play a major role in Viacom18’s sports plans

Mumbai: Media conglomerate Viacom18 has big plans to create a splash in the sports broadcasting space. The aim is to have nine to ten channels including regional channels. According to sources, the languages being considered include Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. Channels have already been launched – Sports18 in HD and SD and Sports18 Khel a Hindi FTA offering that is available on DD Freedish.

A source tells IndianTelevision.com that for Viacom’s sports business both linear broadcast and the streaming platform (Voot) are equally important. The expectation is that in the coming five years digital will overtake linear broadcast in terms of sports content consumption. On the revenue front, advertising and subscription will both be important.

“The focus so far for the company has been on a variety of sports including badminton, basketball (NBA rights for three years), ATP tennis and soccer. The marquee property acquired so far has been Fifa (Sony was the previous rights holder),” explains the source, adding, “The company has also bought other soccer rights like La Liga, Serie A and the French League. The plan for the sports business is to have an extensive presence across TV and digital. So Voot will also have a very important role to play. As and when properties come up including cricket-based upon the commercial considerations the company will decide whether or not to go for them.”

For now, specialty channels like a Golf channel are not being considered as they are not commercially viable in the current market scenario. “For the next two to three years specialty channels are not on the horizon. Before the Fifa World Cup in November the company will launch all its regional channels. It is fair to say that it will have 9-10 regional channels. They will all be pay channels, apart from the current FTA offering. Across TV and digital the properties need to deliver,” the source tells.

MTV, the source adds, will stop airing sports in due course. “Right now they are airing sports as an adequate number of sports channels are not there.” The source further states that as of now non cricket is still very small. “The reality is that it is still very, very small compared to cricket. One cannot compare the two.”

On the distribution front, Sports18 is present on the major platforms apart from Dish TV. “That will also happen soon. The channels are present across most cable networks including the small ones.”

In terms of media rights, the source informs that rights price for some properties like EPL de-grew substantially because the viewership has been falling for quite a while. The source expects acquisition prices of the Tennis Grand Slams to also fall as the viewership is just not coming. “The expectation earlier was that the audience would grow. That has not happened. A correction was inevitable.”

“The French Open takes place during the latter part of the IPL which is not the best timing. However, Fifa being a marquee property saw quite a few parties bid,” the source informs. In terms of the IPL ratings falling in the initial few weeks, the source says that one cannot go by one season to judge the value of the property. The source expects the Board Of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI) to get a substantial jump over last time. “It is still the biggest media property in the country.”

The source maintains that the BCCI has every right to sell it the way they want including the 18 non-exclusive games for the digital arena.

“It is a unique sort of construct but I am sure that the BCCI would have decided what is best for them. I expect digital players like Amazon, Fancode to go after the non-exclusive 18 games digital package quite aggressively. It is very monetisable. “Those 18 games are all the premium games including the playoffs. There is a real good reason for people to go after that 18-game package. In the next five years, digital will be much bigger than television and so the overall digital rights package will also be targeted by the digital players.”

The source adds that digital is playing a big role in catching up. When people travel they watch sports on their mobile. So time is not being compromised. To some extent, cord-cutting is also helping the growth of digital. Post-IPL the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the BCCI rights will come up. But the expectation is that whoever gets the IPL will probably not aggressively go after ICC. “It is very unlikely that one bidder will get all these three properties because the cost is very high. It will not be like the past. Resources are limited.”

It is worth noting that Disney Star is the incumbent for all the three marquee cricket properties mentioned above. The source adds that e-auction is the best way for the BCCI to go about the IPL bidding as it is the most transparent process.

May 9, 2022
Sony Sports to broadcast ‘Badminton Asia Championships 2022’

Mumbai: Sony Sports Network will broadcast the upcoming Badminton Asia Championships 2022. The tournament will take place between 26 April and 2 May 2022. The network will get exclusive TV and digital rights to the tournament. The event will be broadcasted in India and the subcontinent, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Badminton Asia Championships, rechristened version of the Asian Badminton Championships, will make its comeback in 2022, after being called off in 2020 and 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament will be held in Manila, Philippines.

The tournament will be televised between 29 April 2022 and 1 May 2022 with matches starting from 1:30 pm on April 29 and 10:30 am on the remaining two days.

The high-octane matches will be available on Sony TEN 2 channels, as well as live-streamed on Sony Picture’s Networks’ on-demand OTT platform SonyLIV.

India will be represented by Kidambi Srikanth in the men’s singles events. The women’s singles will see PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal representing the country. The men’s doubles will have prominent Indian duos like Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty, Arjun M.R & Dhruv Kapila and Krishna Prasad Garaga & Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala. The women’s double will feature Simran Singhi with Ritika Thaker and the Mixed Doubles tournament will witness Indian participation with Ishaan Bhatnagar & Tanisha Crasto and Venkat Gaurav Prasad & Juhi Dewangan.

Sony Pictures Network’s Chief Revenue Officer and Distribution and Head – Sports Business, Rajesh Kaul said, “The following for badminton is steadily growing with strong performances by Indian players like PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth and others in global marquee tournaments in the last few years.”

“And badminton fans will once again get to see these players in action at the Badminton Asia Championship on Sony Sports Network. Broadcasting the Badminton Asia Championships will not only serve fans of the sport but also foster a multi-sport viewing culture in the country.”

April 28, 2022
OTT and the future of sports broadcasting

Mumbai: According to a recent study ‘Can OTT sports platforms shake up the broadcast landscape’ by data and analytics firm Ampere, the growing number of pure-play and generalist OTT services in the sports rights market is putting the traditional rights model under stress.

In Europe, the likes of DAZN and Amazon Prime Video are beginning to eat into the market share of traditional rights holders, accounting for nearly 10 per cent of sports spends annually. Globally, though, the figure stands at slightly below six per. In cases where OTT services increased the number of bidders for rights, the value of rights has increased. For instance, DAZN’s entrance to German UCL market grew the total value by 62 per cent for 2018-21 cycle. For 2021-24, OTT services have secured all rights to the UCL in Germany, with the new deals increasing the total value by 58 per cent. However this trend did not hold in cases where the overall number of bidders came down, where the impact was negative.

What this suggests is that pure OTT players have the potential to impact an upward growth in sports rights value together with traditional buyers, especially in cases where the value of rights has stagnated over the years. In the short term, until OTT platforms reach a comparable or higher level of subscription than pay-TV, they will keep adding value to the game.

The study outlined four broad ways in which OTT services are impacting the sports media landscape – targeting digital-first audiences, making premium sports more affordable, super-serving specific categories of sports fans, and creating a range of D2C opportunities like out-of-market selection, co-exclusivity, and exclusive D2C for rights holders.
Case in point: IPL stagnation in rights value is a far-cry for a cricket crazy nation as India. Take for instance, the next (2023-27) cycle of IPL rights that has an aggressive set of bidders in the fray, including the content behemoth Amazon Prime Video.

Reliance’s bid, which is likely aimed at more data revenue through Jio, than subscription and ad revenue through the media business under Viacom18, will make the ‘Amazon vs RIL vs Disney vs Sony pitch’ more interesting. The winner will be announced around end-March or early April.

While Star’s September 2017’s bid of Rs 16,347.50 crore or ~$2.3 billion (amounting to a 158 per cent increase over the previous deal worth $1.03 billion) for just half the number of years was jaw-dropping, equally noteworthy was Facebook’s individual bid of R. 3,900 crore for the digital rights alone. From less than five per cent in the overall pie of 2008 deal, digital had grown by 25 per cent (4.5 times) in 2017, being seen as a standalone package.

According to market buzz, IPL’s digital rights value will see similar growth of around 25-30 per cent for this cycle and understandably so. From 2017 to now, IPL has seen considerable value addition in terms of both OTT viewership as well as digital technology. The overall value is expected to soar up to of $ five billion. A senior BCCI official recently told news agency PTI, “With two new teams about to fetch anything between Rs 7000 to Rs 10,000 crore, IPL broadcast rights could more than double to reach $ five billion (~Rs 36,000 crore).”

The OTT value ad
Hotstar got on to a flying start with the first match of IPL 2015 registering 7.2 million views on the app; six times the viewership of the first match of IPL 2014 on starsports.com. In the seven years since it began streaming the IPL live, the league’s viewership has grown from around 40 million in 2015 to 300 million in 2019, increasing every year. While the viewership for the 2020 edition on Hotstar could not cross the previous year’s benchmark, it ranged between 5.7 million and 6.7 million throughout the next (2021) season.

What’s more significant about these numbers is that they were reached despite the matches being played behind a paywall. Going back to the Ampere study, sports OTT audiences currently make up 25 per cent of total sports audience, and there nearly 800 mn to convert. This is a significantly younger audience with 75 per cent aged between 18 and 44 years. Not only are they willing to pay more, but are also spending more time and are more engaged with both live and non-live programming on the OTT services. In addition to accessibility of content and flexibility of billing options, OTT services are more affordable and unbundled, offering higher control to viewers. They target fans of sports which struggle to find sufficient space on traditional broadcasting platforms.
Echoing a similar viewpoint, Grapes national business head – Rajeesh Rajagopalan says, “by virtue of being both precise and personal, OTT services have consolidated the scattered viewership for niche sports, or sports other than cricket in India. The badminton and kabbadi leagues that have come into existence today, is because OTT players started buying these rights.” Pointing out another positive contribution of sports streaming, he states, “OTT being way more innovative with advertising than TV, offers scope even for the smaller brands with medium or modest budgets, provided they have a clearly-defined objective.”

“The decline in TV viewership of niche sports due to NTO will add to the popularity of sports streaming, which has been on the rise since the onset of the pandemic. The growth is expected to come from tier 2 and 3 cities. It will be spearheaded by DTH platforms providing OTT as a part of their services,” adds Zenith VP Linu John.

Commenting on the OTT opportunity for brands in India Havas Media Group India head–digital services Rohan Chincholi remarks that from the consumers’ standpoint, India is a market with the lowest cost per GB (~Rs seven per GB) & from the advertisers’ standpoint, there is a massive 350 million+ OTT viewership in India. Of these, paid subscribers are to the tune of ~80 million+ and they subscribe to over two OTT platforms each.

“Hotstar is projecting to reach close to 100 per cent of OTT users in India this IPL which speaks volumes about viewers’ interest in streaming sports. However, these audiences are not loyal to one OTT service. Cricket has the potential to garner mass reach in a short span, which is where the platforms win via subscriptions and repeat usage,” observes Chincholi.
On the kind of advertising being explored this season he adds, “from an advertising perspective, bundled sponsorships, associations and standalone buys will be a function of clients’ budget. Ad rates will command a premium on all marquee streaming events. Cost per reach will be higher than any other video sharing/social platform but it’s also a function of audience targeting and data layering – transacting audience cut, connected TV audience.”

Building on the point WATConsult AVP media planning and strategy Shanu Jain shares that about 70 per cent deals are bundled under different sponsorships including presence on different IPL collaterals, Live prediction, pre & post shows brand integrations, special packages, while around 30 per cent of them are standalone on mid-roll video ads. They command 35-40 per cent premium than normal rates on GEC and other video streaming platforms like YouTube. “Majority of IPL viewership comes from the age bracket of 15-30 years, and Hotstar leads the way in innovative ad formats and inventories. A lot of new ad formats have been introduced to facilitate better recall and user engagement, beginning with pre-rolls every time you start the match to drive higher relevance, and integrating the brand communication at different intervals, to additional options like group chats, contests and regular CTW ads have helped brands look at efficiencies in-terms of audiences who’re watching and clicking on the ads,” notes Jain.

OTT services globally have only just started to move the dial in the sports rights market which continues to be dominated by legacy players. They have an increasingly significant part to play alongside TV buyers by helping sports appeal to young hard-to-reach demographic. The Ampere study indicates that while the OTT audiences’ higher willingness to pay may make them look more attractive, their size compared to traditional TV broadcasters must be taken into account to ascertain whether this actually equates to higher revenues or not.

February 28, 2022
Lodestar UM CEO Nandini Dias on her love for Badminton, emergence of PBL and its brand value

MUMBAI: Badminton, today, is the world’s second most popular sport. And some 150 years after the game was invented in India, the humble shuttlecock sport has once again dazzled one and all in the country of its origin.

A survey by British research firm SMG Insight revealed that badminton ranks just behind cricket in terms of a sport that Indians choose to play regularly. Additionally, another survey revealed that the interest in Badminton among Indians has more than doubled since 2017, and has gone up by 40 per cent in 2019 over 2018.

Badminton’s rising popularity in India can also be gauged from the fact that the last edition of Premier Badminton League (PBL) was watched by over 133 million Indians. A mind-boggling number when you consider that the opening ceremony of Rio Olympics 2016 was watched by 342 million people globally. Already one of the world’s biggest Badminton league, PBL has also helped in establishing the sport as a coveted career choice in India. PV Sindhu got auctioned for Rs 77 lakhs and Sai Praneeth bagged 32 lakhs for PBL Season 5, starting January 2020.

As you would expect, big brands have also joined the bandwagon. Brands and sporting events have, in fact, always worked very well together and PBL is no exception. Apart from access to some 150 million audiences, PBL is a great opportunity to build reputations and long-term brand image by investing in a growing sport in India. No wonder then that from telecom operator (Vodafone) to energy drink (Red Bull) to cement manufacturer (Dalmia), big brands have associated with the franchise.

As count-down begins to PBL season 5, we bring you stories of media executives who have played, loved and followed the sport; what they love about the game and how can brands effectively leverage PBL’s growing popularity.

Name: Nandini Dias

Media agency: Lodestar UM

Designation: CEO

Favourite PBL team: Mumbai Rockets

What is behind Badminton’s growing popularity in India as a sport?

I think it is a few things coming together at the same time. The rise of coaching, led by Gopichand, is a powerful force. The emergence of more than one world-class player at the same time. Till now it's only been a single player followed by a single player. And of course, the emergence of Premier Badminton League. All of these feeding off each other and happening together has resulted in the rise of the sport's popularity.

When did you start playing Badminton?

I do not play regularly anymore due to a serious injury a few years ago but I've been a state player for Maharashtra before advertising and in fact, briefly joined the Railways as a sports quota employee before gravitating to advertising.

What do you love about Badminton as a sport?

I started playing Badminton as a kid. I guess one naturally tends to gravitate towards something that one starts doing well at quite early. And there was something about the poetry of hand eye coordination, the power and grace of a flying shuttle, the mix of strength and touch that drew me to it.

Three Indian and International Badminton players – you admire the most?

Prakash Padukone, obviously the hero of our times. He was the one who broke down the door as far as our mentality was concerned. I used to admire Rudy Hartono a lot and I will always have a soft corner for Saina Nehwal. In many ways, she is the Prakash Padukone of Indian women's badminton.

Your favourite PBL team?

My favourite, even without trying naturally tends to be, Mumbai. It's something that comes naturally due to my past association with the game.

Between Prakash Padukone and P V Sindhu, how has the association between brands and Badminton players evolved?

I don't think the two eras are in the same ballpark as far as brand association goes. Prakash's era in India could at best hope for an association with sport equipment brands that a player actually used and even that was rare. Today of course, the brands that the likes of PV are associated with go far beyond the purview of sport equipment into social and personal categories which is indicative of the foray of the sport's popularity into non-core audiences.

Do you anticipate more brands engaging with Badminton players as PBL viewership grows?

Yes it will. Badminton is also a spectator-friendly sport and currently enjoys huge casual participation. Which is great news for any sport and with familiar faces growing out of the sport into prime time viewership through talk shows etc, it is only natural that more brands will want to be part of the bandwagon. What is also great is that there is a steady second layer of players coming in. Last few years we had 3-4 singles players but now we have five male players in the top 30 BWF list and even the rise of our doubles teams.

What is behind PV Sindhu’s unmatched brand value?

PV has got a certain X-factor as a personality that makes her both inspirational and human at the same time. It's her personality that is now coming to the fore along with the delivery of her talent which was always there. She can switch from a winning-machine to someone who seems approachable, chat-able and hang out-able with when she's off court. And yet,she has delivered impressive results, which makes her an obvious choice for any brand.

What is driving PBL viewership growth, from 35 million in 2016 to 133 million in 2018?

Badminton as a sport has a wider casual playing segment than most other sports. It can be indulged in by a wider range of age groups, genders and geographies. This, in turn makes badminton a more involved viewing experience. Secondly, the length of the matches are short and extremely high intensity points, the longer rallies and improved fitness of the players has literally drawn in sceptical watchers to become involved enthusiasts. Thirdly, I feel the team structure of PBL makes it a more competitive experience rather than an individual sport. Be it the Olympics or Davis Cup and of course hockey and cricket, we've always been more favourable to team sports than individual sports as a nation. In addition we like watching if there is an Indian competing. Last few years we have had several winners bringing in big medals. Lastly, the technical quality of the broadcast, the cameras, the packaging, the replays, the challenges; the graphics etc have pulled it up to a far more engaging level than we've ever seen before.

What role can PBL play in making Badminton a coveted career option in a Cricket-crazy country like India?

The number of prize money tournaments inside India should go up drastically. Like cricket and football and now Kabaddi, a player should be able to earn a decent living even if she/he doesn't become a global superstar. That single act of giving the sport a consistent safety net moves it from a sport to a career. And PBL is the biggest chance to do that.

PV Sindhu and Tai Ying got auctioned for Rs 77 lakhs each for PBL season 5. Your thoughts?

It is a testament to the sport's growing popularity in India and the fact that it can provide both glamour and an enviable career.

How can brands fully leverage their association with PBL?

Other than naming rights and a few interesting innovations, I don't think we' ve yet explored the possibility of what all can be done with various aspects of the game in order to create properties that can be leveraged by brands.

November 29, 2019
PBL: Setting stage for next big thing on Indian sporting landscape

MUMBAI: India has witnessed the emergence of a multi-sports culture over the past few years. This significant development has come on the back of a promising display by Indian sportspersons across various disciplines, the meteoric rise of home grown leagues and the consequent widening of the fan base of sports such as badminton, kabaddi, soccer, hockey, and wrestling.

Badminton has always been one of the precursors in attracting the attention of the Indian sports fan to the sporting universe that extends beyond Cricket. The Sindhu vs Marin final at the Olympic Games attracted a whopping 17 million viewers, making it the most watched Olympics tie ever in the country. However, the popularity of badminton is not driven just by this record breaking match. Over the past five years, we have seen more and more Indians breaking into the top 20 world rankings. Badminton outsells every other sport in terms of sales on e-commerce portals. Courts are mushrooming all over the country in new age residential complexes and sports clubs. The sport is truly on its way to becoming mainstream for a new generation of Indians.

The Premier Badminton League, launched in 2016, aims to target this generation of youngsters. Being the richest badminton league in the world, the second edition is expected to feature the world’s best players including Spain’s Carolina Marin, China’s Lin Dan, Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen and Jan O Jorgensen, Thailand’s RatchanokIntanon, and Korea’s Lee Yong Dae and YooYeon Song, amongst others facing off in front of Indian fans.

2016 has been a great year for Indian Badminton with Saina Nehwal’s Australian Super Series victory and Kidambi Srikanth’s south Asian games singles’ gold giving company to Sindhu’s silver medal finish at the Olympics. India is fast emerging as a force in the world of Badminton and giving traditional powerhouses like China, Indonesia and Malaysia a run for their money with performances from the likes of Parupalli Kashyap, B Sai Praneeth, PC Thulasi complementing those of Saina, Srikanth and Sindhu. The Premier Badminton League has been one of the catalysts to lead this change in terms of bringing the home grown stars to compete with the global talent in a league that matches the standards of any world class tournament.

While the inaugural edition proved to be the ideal training ground for PV Sindhu to build herself for the Olympics, winning all five matches that she played for Chennai Smashers, the Premier Badminton League has also brought the talent of youngsters like Siril Verma, Vrushalli Gummaddi and Manu Attri to the fore. The league, under the aegis of the Badminton Association of India has played an important role in bringing in more and more international stars to the Indian shores and allowing the Indian talent to lock horns with the best in the world and hone their own skills in the process.

With badminton steadily amplifying its reach to the Indian sports fan resulting from promising performances of the Indian players in international tournaments, the Premier Badminton League provided a healthy boost in terms of viewership numbers allowing for badminton to reach to a more diverse audience base.The League introduced the fresh idea for a format in which each of the competing teams will nominate one match in each tie as their trump card to further stimulate the element of audience interest in the tournament. A victory by the team that picks the particular game as its trump will provide it with one extra point but a defeat will set it back by one point, the intent being generating intrigue that would keep the ties alive till the very end, providing edge of the seat action to the viewer.

Further, the league provided recognition to those who are the most integral part of the sport – the players. Top stars Saina Nehwal and Lee Chong Wei fetched contracts amounting to US$100,000, while Indian shuttlers P.V. Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth were bought for a whopping US$95,000 and US$80,000, respectively.

The tournament was not only instrumental in raising the stature and ‘relatability’ of the sport amongst the Indian audience but also played a key role in enhancing the reach of the sport to a more global audience. With the next edition of the tournament slated for December 2016, we are already salivating at the prospect of watching the rematch between Sindhu and Marin. There could not be a better way to kick off the new year for sports fans in India.

October 24, 2016
PBL: Setting stage for next big thing on Indian sporting landscape

MUMBAI: India has witnessed the emergence of a multi-sports culture over the past few years. This significant development has come on the back of a promising display by Indian sportspersons across various disciplines, the meteoric rise of home grown leagues and the consequent widening of the fan base of sports such as badminton, kabaddi, soccer, hockey, and wrestling.

Badminton has always been one of the precursors in attracting the attention of the Indian sports fan to the sporting universe that extends beyond Cricket. The Sindhu vs Marin final at the Olympic Games attracted a whopping 17 million viewers, making it the most watched Olympics tie ever in the country. However, the popularity of badminton is not driven just by this record breaking match. Over the past five years, we have seen more and more Indians breaking into the top 20 world rankings. Badminton outsells every other sport in terms of sales on e-commerce portals. Courts are mushrooming all over the country in new age residential complexes and sports clubs. The sport is truly on its way to becoming mainstream for a new generation of Indians.

The Premier Badminton League, launched in 2016, aims to target this generation of youngsters. Being the richest badminton league in the world, the second edition is expected to feature the world’s best players including Spain’s Carolina Marin, China’s Lin Dan, Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen and Jan O Jorgensen, Thailand’s RatchanokIntanon, and Korea’s Lee Yong Dae and YooYeon Song, amongst others facing off in front of Indian fans.

2016 has been a great year for Indian Badminton with Saina Nehwal’s Australian Super Series victory and Kidambi Srikanth’s south Asian games singles’ gold giving company to Sindhu’s silver medal finish at the Olympics. India is fast emerging as a force in the world of Badminton and giving traditional powerhouses like China, Indonesia and Malaysia a run for their money with performances from the likes of Parupalli Kashyap, B Sai Praneeth, PC Thulasi complementing those of Saina, Srikanth and Sindhu. The Premier Badminton League has been one of the catalysts to lead this change in terms of bringing the home grown stars to compete with the global talent in a league that matches the standards of any world class tournament.

While the inaugural edition proved to be the ideal training ground for PV Sindhu to build herself for the Olympics, winning all five matches that she played for Chennai Smashers, the Premier Badminton League has also brought the talent of youngsters like Siril Verma, Vrushalli Gummaddi and Manu Attri to the fore. The league, under the aegis of the Badminton Association of India has played an important role in bringing in more and more international stars to the Indian shores and allowing the Indian talent to lock horns with the best in the world and hone their own skills in the process.

With badminton steadily amplifying its reach to the Indian sports fan resulting from promising performances of the Indian players in international tournaments, the Premier Badminton League provided a healthy boost in terms of viewership numbers allowing for badminton to reach to a more diverse audience base.The League introduced the fresh idea for a format in which each of the competing teams will nominate one match in each tie as their trump card to further stimulate the element of audience interest in the tournament. A victory by the team that picks the particular game as its trump will provide it with one extra point but a defeat will set it back by one point, the intent being generating intrigue that would keep the ties alive till the very end, providing edge of the seat action to the viewer.

Further, the league provided recognition to those who are the most integral part of the sport – the players. Top stars Saina Nehwal and Lee Chong Wei fetched contracts amounting to US$100,000, while Indian shuttlers P.V. Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth were bought for a whopping US$95,000 and US$80,000, respectively.

The tournament was not only instrumental in raising the stature and ‘relatability’ of the sport amongst the Indian audience but also played a key role in enhancing the reach of the sport to a more global audience. With the next edition of the tournament slated for December 2016, we are already salivating at the prospect of watching the rematch between Sindhu and Marin. There could not be a better way to kick off the new year for sports fans in India.

October 24, 2016
Star Sports innovates to build Saina Nehwal international fanbase

MUMBAI: Keeping up with its commitment of building and supporting heroes in Indian sports, Star Sports is giving it’s viewers a reason to ‘cheer’ India’s shuttling superstar Saina Nehwal. The leading sports broadcaster is recruiting 20 passionate Indian fans to join the ‘Saina Squad,’ an ensemble of Saina Nehwal supporters who will be flown to Dubai to cheer on the ace shuttler at the BWF World Superseries finals, 9 – 13 December 2015.

Currently ranked second in the world, Nehwal is one of India’s biggest sporting icons. She reflects the aspirations of millions of Indians and has a huge following of fans cutting across demographics. That same support, however, is missing when she plays abroad. But now, with Star Sports forming the #SainaSquad, she can count on an army of fans cheering her on in Dubai.

The ‘Saina Squad’ will play from the stands and support the Badminton prodigy during the tournament. The ubiquitous ensemble will drive, motivate and cheer the ace shuttler as she will take on the world’s best players in the Emirates state.

Star India COO Sanjay Gupta said, “Saina Nehwal, with her exceptional performances in the recent past, is the new sporting icon in the country. From reaching the summit of the sport to medals in Olympics and Superseries, Saina has done the country proud. As a broadcaster, we believe in bringing the fans closer to the game and their heroes. Keeping Saina’s growing fanbase in mind, we decided to form an ensemble of fans that will support her during her next international tour. We are confident ‘Saina Squad’ will not only create a platform for her fans but will also help increase the following of the sport.”

Saina Nehwal said, “The support I have at home in India is phenomenal and while I do have followers internationally, there’s still a certain buzz that’s missing when I’m playing abroad. I’m always striving to give my best on the court for the nation but having my own army of fans cheering for me in Dubai will definitely give me a massive boost. I would like to thank Star Sports for giving me my own army of fans through ‘Saina Squad’.”

‘Saina Squad’ will be shortlisted after a series of contests and activities on Social media. The first of those contests – featuring 20 cards celebrating Saina’s career achievements – kicked off on November 9. Fans can tweet using the hashtag #SainaFact to get a card. Those who collect all 20 cards will be eligible to be shortlisted. The activity will be followed by a quiz contest, an online treasure hunt, a puzzle featuring Saina’s top moments for fans to solve and a Saina chant competition. Finally, participants will have to answer why they think they are fit to join the ‘Saina Squad’.

The film has been planned and executed by the in-house team. The creative team had Mustafa Rangwala, Prathamesh Sakte, Ajeet Mistry. The production house who executed the production was O2 films and was directed by Ninad Chava. The marketing team consisted of, Shubhranshu Singh, Jarmaan Randhawa, Snigdha S

Activity Timelines:

November 9-10                                :               Saina Factoids

November 13-14              :               Video Quiz

November 16                    :               Timeline Treasure Hunt

November 17-18              :               Top Saina Moments

November 20-21              :               Saina Chant & Cheer

November 23-24              :               Last stage – Why should you be in the Saina Squad?

November 25                    :               Announcement of the winners

November 13, 2015