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Tag: Champions Trophy

  • ENO brings cricket banter to life with Aakash Gupta in humorous new campaign

    ENO brings cricket banter to life with Aakash Gupta in humorous new campaign

    MUMBAI: ENO, has launched a witty new campaign featuring comedian Aakash Gupta, celebrating the nation’s shared love for cricket and food. The campaign highlights passionate fan rivalries and indulgent match-time snacking, ensuring that acidity never spoils the fun.

    Fresh off the Champions Trophy victory, cricket fever grips the nation as fans gear up for the next big tournament. With every match comes friendly banter, intense team rivalries, and a spread of delicious snacks elements that define the true cricket-watching experience in India. ENO’s campaign playfully captures these moments, reminding fans that while emotions may run high, acidity shouldn’t interfere.

    Gupta takes on multiple humorous avatars, portraying enthusiastic fans enjoying regional delicacies without worrying about acidity.

    “For millions of cricket fans, it’s not just a game but a battle of pride, passion and some friendly banter. No matter which side you are on, one thing’s for sure great cricket is best enjoyed in the cheerful company of friends and family over delicious food that we love to indulge in. In the moments of nail-biting finishes and wholesome entertainment, the last thing we want is for acidity to spoil the fun. ENO understands the joy of these shared moments and wants to ensure that nothing comes between you and the excitement of the game – not even acidity. ENO is here to help you savour every moment, every snack, and every triumph, without interruption,” said Haleon India category lead, digestive health Bineet Jain.

    Comedian Gupta said, “I’m super excited to be teaming up with ENO for this campaign! As a die-hard foodie and cricket fanatic, I live for intense match moments where you get so caught up in the game, you don’t even realise how much you’ve devoured until the acidity hits. That’s when ENO is the ultimate solution for fast and effective relief to go right back to the game without missing a moment. I hope the humorous scenarios we’ve created in this campaign really resonate with audiences, reminding them to keep ENO handy so they can keep the party going, uninterrupted!”

    The campaign will run across digital platforms, including YouTube, Meta, and other social media channels, reaching cricket fans across the country.

    Watch the campaign films here,

    – Chennai vs Mumbai –

    – Delhi vs Punjab –

    – Gujarat vs Rajasthan –

    – Hyderabad vs Lucknow –

    – Kolkata vs Bangalore –

  • JioHotstar bowls over digital world with Champions Trophy final streaming record

    JioHotstar bowls over digital world with Champions Trophy final streaming record

    MUMBAI: JioHotstar has smashed the cricket ball clean out of the stadium with eye-popping viewership figures during India’s Champions Trophy final victory against New Zealand, giving Netflix’s boxing blockbuster a run for its money.

    The streaming giant registered a colossal 61 million concurrent viewers at its peak as cricket-obsessed fans piled onto the platform to witness India’s crowning moment. Total reach rocketed to a mind-boggling 182 million, with an astronomical 900.2 million views altogether.

    These staggering statistics narrowly trail Netflix’s boxing extravaganza featuring Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, which drew 65 million peak concurrent viewers globally and 38 million in the US. However, cricket enthusiasts certainly weren’t on the back foot with their passionate support.

    JioHotstar’s record-breaking performance demolishes the previous high of 59 million concurrent viewers set during the 2023 Cricket World Cup final by predecessor Hotstar, showing just how far the digital heavyweight has come.

    “The subcontinent was absolutely stumped by Team India’s magnificent display,” remarked an OTT technology expert. “JioHotstar’s platform faced a tsunami of viewers but never dropped a catch.”

    The India-Pakistan group stage clash proved particularly lucrative, notching up a whopping 602 million streaming views on JioHotstar. Meanwhile, on traditional television, Star Sports registered 206 million viewers tuning in – amassing over 26.1 billion total viewing minutes, an 11 percent jump from their 2023 World Cup encounter.

    The #CTonJioHotstar campaign delivered a perfect yorker, connecting millions of fervent supporters to every boundary and wicket as India’s cricketing heroes lifted the trophy.

    This viewership milestone cements JioHotstar’s position as the undisputed champion of India’s streaming landscape – the team there is not merely participating in digital entertainment’s premier league, it is writing the record books.

  • Championship Trophy final on JioHotstar clocks 90.2 crore views

    Championship Trophy final on JioHotstar clocks 90.2 crore views

    MUMBAI: The final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 between India and New Zealand rewrote the record books, amassing a staggering peak of 90.2 crore views on JioHotstar. The match, held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, was a bit of a cliff hanger, with the Kiwi spinners putting the brakes on India’s batters’ initial lofty hitting. It was an absorbing battle on the green between the bat and the ball as India lost half their side with 49 runs to get India over the line with 54 balls to be bowled. But K. L. Rahul steadied the ship, even as Hardik Pandya struck some nasty blows to the fence to get India closer to the win.  

    On 9 March 2025,  the men in blue chased down the black caps score of 251, finishing at  254 for six in 49 overs, securing a commanding four-wicket victory. Rohit Sharma with a explosive 76 partnered Shubham Gill 31 in a century stand, the first one for the opening wicket in the tournament. Shreyas Iyer accumulated a workman like 48, even as Rahul ended up  unbeaten on 34. Jadeja hit the winning runs. 

    The New Zealand squad lost wickets at regular intervals. Batsmen who contributed included Rachin Ravindra with 37, Daryl Mitchell with a slowly crafted 63, Glenn Phillips with 34 and Michale Bracewell with 53. The Indian spinning quartet had the Kiwi batsman in knots and they could only score easier when the quickies came on.

    This match didn’t just break records—it steamrolled them. Blasting past all previous viewership highs, it showcased the unstoppable dominance of digital sports streaming. The previous record-holding Tata IPL final on JioCinema with 62 crore views now has a fierce challenger, as this 90.2 crore views  milestone  has reaffirmed cricket’s popularity amongst the Indian populace. 

    With JioHotstar leading the digital streaming revolution, fans are consuming the game like never before—anytime, anywhere, and on any device.

  • JioStar hits it out of the park with planned Champions Trophy 2025 coverage

    JioStar hits it out of the park with planned Champions Trophy 2025 coverage

    MUMBAI: The ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 is set for a return, and JioStar Network is pulling out all the stops to deliver an unparalleled viewing experience. From 19 February 2025, cricket fans will witness the world’s top eight teams battle it out with cutting-edge broadcast innovations across television and digital platforms.

    JioHotStar will be  offering live streaming in 16 feeds across nine languages, including English, Hindi, Marathi, Haryanvi, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. This marks the first-ever ICC tournament to be streamed at such a scale, ensuring cricket fans across India can enjoy the action in their preferred language. Additionally, four multi-cam feeds on JioHotstar will provide a fresh perspective on the high-voltage encounters.

    timetable

    On TV, JioStar Network will offer extensive coverage across Star Sports and Sports18 channels, delivering commentary in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. Indian Sign Language feed and Audio Descriptive Commentary will also return on JioHotstar, making the tournament more accessible and inclusive for all fans.

    JioStar head of content–sports Siddharth Sharma said, “The ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 will be presented with an unprecedented range of viewing options. Our expansive linear television network and dominant digital presence will bring cricket deeper, wider, and in a more immersive way than ever before. Every cricket fan, regardless of language or accessibility preference, will have a front-row seat to the action.”

    A galaxy of cricketing legends will lend their expertise to JioStar’s coverage, making every match an engaging experience. English commentary will be helmed by Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, Nasser Hussain, Matthew Hayden, Ian Bishop, Wasim Akram, Ramiz Raja, Simon Doull, Dale Steyn, Shaun Pollock, and Aaron Finch.

    The Hindi panel includes Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Waqar Younis, Sanjay Manjrekar, Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa, Mohammad Kaif, Piyush Chawla, Sanjay Bangar, Aakash Chopra, and Deep Dasgupta.

    For regional language coverage, renowned names such as Hanuma Vihari, Venkatesh Prasad, Kedar Jadhav, and Shreevats Goswami will add flavour to the commentary, ensuring fans across India get expert analysis in their native tongue.

    The tournament kicks off on 19 February 2025 with Pakistan facing New Zealand in the opener. India, led by Rohit Sharma, begins its campaign against Bangladesh on February 20, before the much-anticipated India-Pakistan showdown on 23 February 2025. The final is slated for 9 March 2025.

    (Picture courtesy ICC)

  • CT ’17 final nets more viewers than hockey game

    NEW DELHI: On 18 June 2017, India faced off with arch rival Pakistan in two different venues in England amidst tension at the international border of the two countries and TV studio-generated hype. The results in the two games were different as were the television viewership trends, clearly highlighting that despite jingoism cricket overshadowed hockey as far Indian viewers were concerned.

    For the records, 18 June was dubbed a `Super Sunday’ for sports as India was playing Pakistan in the final of Champions Trophy cricket in England, the Indian hockey players were up against Pakistan in a match in Hockey World League, again in England, while shuttler K. Srikanth was playing the final at Indonesian Open.

    The results: in cricket, India crashed to a humiliating defeat, while in the other two games the national flag fluttered high as India thrashed Pakistan 7-1 in hockey and Srikanth won the badminton title in Jakarta.

    But what were the viewing trends that Sunday even while some former Indian Army generals cried hoarse in TV studios against India-Pakistan cricket match? According to BARC India data, a majority viewed the loosing game of cricket of course, which got an all-India viewership of

    71,193 (’000) Impressions vs. a measly 278 (’000) Impressions for the hockey game.

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    Interestingly, while the CT2017 India-Pakistan final was aired live across five channels of Star Sports and Doordrashan National, the hockey match, which threw up a more heart-warming result, aired on only two channels of Star Sports.

    Now let’s see how the rural and urban viewers responded? It becomes evident that on an all-India basis a large swathe of rural viewers of 2+ years saw the cricket final match between arch rivals on pubcaster DD

    National that is available terrestrially as well as via satellite. DD’s rural viewership share was 14,761 (’000) Impressions.

    If data for all the five Star Sports channel are taken together the combined viewership data would outstrip that of DD National but no single Star channel came close to pubcaster’s figures that could also indicate somewhat to its under-exploited reach.

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    A majority of urban viewers of 2+ years, 16889 (’000) Impressions, however, preferred Star Sports’ Hindi language SD channel, while DD

    garnered 9791 (’000) Impressions. The HD versions of Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 Hindi garnered much lower viewership, probably highlighting that HD still has much ground to cover in urban areas too.

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    It must be clarified here that though the pubcaster cornered fairly impressive viewership for the cricket match, the rights holder for the cricket match for the India region was Star India, which has to share the feeds of cricket matches under government regulations. Moreover, the cricket feeds supplied to DD were `clean’ that allowed the pubcaster to sell commercial airtime of its own if it wanted to.

    The following charts with BARC data also give some insights into viewership trends — like on an all-India basis lesser number of viewers aged over 51 years watched the India-Pakistan final or the hockey match between the two countries:

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/sites/drupal7.indiantelevision.co.in/files/styles/large/public/ind5.jpg?itok=v9HtgxUV

    public://ind6.jpg

    Why is it that India roots for cricket more even when the country plays against arch rival Pakistan in other games like hockey or Indian sportspeople like shuttlers K. Srikanth, P.V. Sandhog, Saina Nehwal or archers like Deepika Kumari and wrestlers bring national glory?

    Senior sports journalist Norris Pritam offers an explanation: “Over the years Indian performance at world level has largely diminished, while in cricket we have been winning. Due to monetary reasons, TV channels have pushed and promoted cricket beyond logical reasons, while in hockey, for example, even the national championship is not covered. Even badminton, where Indians have been doing well on the global

    stage, TV coverage and government support is comparatively less. Lack of (adequate) push and encouragement is a big reason for this skew towards cricket.”

    ALSO READ:

    TV ad rates sky-rocket ahead of India, Pakistan CT 2017 final

  • Ramzan or Champions Trophy can’t be an excuse for dull period at box office

    With the kind of films being made which find their way to the cinema halls, one can’t blame the dull period at the box office to the fasting month of Ramzan when the Muslim audience keeps away from entertainment or the Championship Trophy 50 over matches being played in England.

    It is more to do with a good film and a bad film. Because, Hindi Medium, which released on 19 May, continued to do excellent business even through its second and third weeks when Ramzan and Championship Trophy, both were already underway. And, Bahubali, a dubbed film, continues with its record breaking spree.

    Last week saw both, 10 new releases and flops each. This Friday, three films released and all three films failed badly. There were no hopes rested on Behen Hogi Teri and Love U Family. But, the trade as well as the exhibitors expected Raabta to help fill the auditoriums for at least four to seven days coming as it does from T Series backing and stars Sushant Singh Rajput, fresh from the success of M S Dhoni: An Untold Story.

    *Raabta is a high cost film and the prudence of such an investment in a next to nil face value film (it stars Sushant Singh, Kriti Sanon, Jim Sarb) with no other cast in support or even to distract one from the tedious goings-on! The choice of the subject, the screenplay and direction were poor beyond comprehension.

    The film opened to poor houses on Friday with some screens having to cancel shows due to lack of audience. As the negative reports spread, it failed to add much on Saturday and Sunday to end its opening weekend with Rs 13.2 crore.

    *Behen Hogi Teri, a film about neighbourhood romance of a UP girl and guy, was not quite the film for the multiplex era. The star cast lacks draw of any kind and the film faced a miserable fate on day one and through the weekend. It managed to put together about one crore for its first three days. The film’s screenings through rest of the week look unlikely.

    *Love U Family was a nonstarter.

    *Dobaara: See Your Evil has managed to cross one crore figure by collecting Rs 1.25 crore in its first week.

    *Hanuman Da’ Damdar (Animation) has collected Rs 1.1 crore in its first week.

    *The other releases of June 2: Dear Maya, A Death In The Gunj, Sweetiee Weds NRI, Mirror Game: Ab Khel Shuru, Flat 211 all fared badly proving to be total loss ventures.

    *Sachin: A Billion Dreams has added Rs 6.35 crroe in its second week to take its two week tally to Rs 39.85 crore.

    *Half Girlfriend has collected Rs 1.2 crore in its third week to take its three week total to Rs 54.1 crore (Rs 541 million).

    *Hindi Medium is a super hit for its budget. This much appreciated film has added 11.3 crore in its third week taking its three week tally to Rs 53.9 crore (Rs 539 million).

    *Bahubali (dubbed) has collected Rs 4.7 crore in its sixth week to take its six week total to Rs 496.8 crore.

  • Reliance Games launches 3D & 2D mobile games for the ICC Champions Trophy

    Reliance Games launches 3D & 2D mobile games for the ICC Champions Trophy

    MUMBAI: With cricket enthusiasts all over the world already having put their minds and hearts into the recently commenced ICC Champions Trophy, England & Wales 2013, the cricket fanatics can now gear up to enjoy the virtual matches on their mobile phones.

    [Click and drag to move] Reliance Games, a leading developer and publisher of mobile games globally & the official gaming partner of the International Cricket Council for the fourth consecutive year, has announced the launch of a 3D and a 2D mobile game specially for the ‘ICC Champions Trophy 2013.‘

    Both the 3D & 2D mobile games allow fans to be a part of their favourite cricket team and step onto the field to fight for the trophy. The cricket game in 3D can be enjoyed by iOS and Android users for a real cricketing experience. While the cricket game in 2D, which is a casual game to play, can be downloaded by Android, Java and Blackberry users.

    Commenting on the launch of the game, Reliance Games business head Chaitanya Prabhu said, “Whenever a popular cricket tournament is going on, we see a rise in demand for cricket based games. The ICC Champions Trophy is a big property in the world of cricket, and Reliance Games is proud to be International Cricket Council‘s official gaming partner for the fourth year in a row. This year we have launched two games – one in 3D and the other in 2D so users of all kinds of mobile phones can continue to be engaged and entertained with the spirit of the sport all through the tourney.”

  • ICC launches app for Champions Trophy

    ICC launches app for Champions Trophy

    MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced the update and re-release of its official ICC Cricket App, in partnership with Reliance Communications.

    The smart phone app, which will enable cricket fans from across the globe to follow all the action at the ICC Champions Trophy in England and Wales, is free to download.

    Among the features expected to be the most popular are the video match highlights, including opt in alerts for wickets and personal milestones, along with live audio commentary. There will also be free behind the scenes exclusive videos from the event, player interviews and footage from every post-match press conference.

    Cricket fans will also be able to use the app to vote in live polls during matches and throughout the duration of the tournament, the questions and results of these polls will be broadcast live on the global television broadcast.

    The official ICC Cricket App also includes exclusive access to the innovative Hawkeye technology for all ICC Champions Trophy 2013 matches, allowing fans to analyse many aspects of the players and team performances.

    The user will also have access to the live match centre on game day, which includes ball by ball text commentary and all statistical tournament information.ICC GM “ commercial Campbell Jamieson said, “We believe that the official ICC Cricket App will provide yet another invaluable platform to engage our fans at the ICC Champions Trophy 2013.”

    “By giving them an opportunity to have their say on the cricket they are watching, through the Pulse polls, or by providing notifications when a new piece of video content is available, we are offering an experience that all fans can enjoy, wherever they are in the world,” he added.

    The ICC Champions Trophy 2013 smartphone app was developed and produced through a partnership between the ICC, IMG Media and Moshen, a digital media and entertainment company based in Lancaster, England.

    The ICC Cricket App is available on iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Windows smartphones from the official App Stores and along with a Feature Phone Nokia App.

  • ICC to deliver official fantasy cricket game for upcoming ICC Champions Trophy

    ICC to deliver official fantasy cricket game for upcoming ICC Champions Trophy

    MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the launch of an official Fantasy League game for the ICC Champions Trophy 2013.

    The ICC Champions Trophy 2013 is being played across England and Wales from 6 – 23 June.

    The game will give fans from around the globe the opportunity to pick their own ‘dream’ team from the eight Champions Trophy squads and pit their wits against fellow entrants, known as managers.

    Selection begins with the balance of the side – you can choose to either favour more batsmen, more all-rounders or more bowlers – the would-be-manager then has to select their playing XI and allocate a captain who scores double points.

    Teams can contain up to three players from one international side for the group stages (extending to six for the semi-finals and final), and furthermore only three from inside the top ten of the Reliance ICC ODI Rankings in batting, bowling or all-rounder position.

    Team changes are unlimited until the start of the tournament and a manager can make up to 10 team changes during the Group Stages, reacting to injuries, form and fixture schedules.

    Changes are also unlimited between the end of the Group Stages and the first semi-final and up to two further changes can then be made between the second semi-final and the final.

    Captain changes are unlimited and can therefore be changed prior to every single match.

    ICC GM commercial Campbell Jamieson said, “An aspect of the ICC’s global strategy is to create a better level of fan engagement, and the Fantasy League game is just one of the ways we plan to do this for this event and moving forward. 

    “I’m sure every cricket fan in the world has mulled over who he or she would select in their ideal team, if they had that opportunity – and now they have the chance.”

    Fantasy League head of business development Luke Boyle commented, “We are delighted to be able to offer this exclusive game for the biggest International cricket tournament of the year. We hope fans get involved with choosing their ideal team and it all adds to the overall excitement of the tournament this summer in England and Wales.”

  • Hyundai celebrates Champions Trophy with activitiess

    MUMBAI: Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) which is an International Cricket Council (ICC) partner is conducting a trophy tour for the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 which takes place next month in England. The Trophy Tour commenced from New Delhi and will be followed by Mumbai and Chennai.

    The Trophy Tour in New Delhi runs till tomorrow 22 May. Then it goes to Mumbai from 23- 24 May and Chennai on 25 May. As a part of the trophy tour Hyundai will begin various engagement activities for the cricket fans.

    Fans can come to the malls and SMS – BBH to 5262. Five couples from these cities will win an exclusive Champions Dinner with the Champions Trophy. With this activity Hyundai aims to bring the game closer to the cricket fans.

    HMIL senior GM, group head Nalin Kapoor said, “As the official partner of ICC Champions Trophy 2013, it gives us immense pleasure to organise the Trophy Tour to give our cricket fans firsthand experience. We are confident that Trophy Tour will build excitement for the upcoming tournament and further strengthen Hyundai‘s association with ICC in a nation where cricket is passion. We are very keen to engage with our customers through exciting activities planned for the coming months.”

    ICC‘s GM commercial Campbell Jamieson said, “The initiative taken by Hyundai will provide the followers of the game and supporters of cricket in the three cities with an opportunity to get closer to and feel the thrill of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. The ICC Champions Trophy is a tournament of the elite in which the world‘s best cricketers go head to head in a nation versus nation contest. I‘m sure the trophy tour in India will ignite the buzz and add to the excitement as 15 matches will be played over 18 days with no team in a position to lose more than one match.”

    In addition HMIL in association with ESPN Cricinfo will organise a contest called Hyundai Cricjockey. This is a part of the company‘s Blue by Heart campaign, and the contest will be available online and mobile platforms. Cricket fans need to watch a cricket video and submit their commentary. Winning Hyundai Cricjockeys will get an opportunity to see the actual ESPN Cricinfo Studios in Bengaluru, where they would learn the entire cricket reporting procedures and also get to do Live Google+ Hangouts with the editorial team of ESPN Cricinfo during the champion trophy matches.

    The grand winner will get an opportunity to write a cricket blog on the main ESPN cricinfo site. Apart from these Cricjokeys would also get prizes like smart phones, tablet and music players.