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Tag: Chennai Super Kings

  • Rs 1500 crore riding on World T20 & IPL’s back to back play out in 2016

    Rs 1500 crore riding on World T20 & IPL’s back to back play out in 2016

    MUMBAI: Come 2016 and merely five days separate the two flagship cricketing extravaganzas – the ICC World T20 and the Indian Premier League (IPL). Even as World T20 draws to a close on 3 April, IPL takes to the ground on 9 April and riding on the two tourneys in terms of advertising spends by multiple brands is approximately Rs 1500 crore.

    While one tournament invokes national pride, the other appeals to emotions at a more regional level. The two tournaments will be played over a span of 80 days, which in turn poses the threat of fatigue.

    On one side, Star India will be pulling all stops in order to rake in the highest possible revenue. The broadcaster had an average 50 over World Cup played in Australia and New Zealand, which generated ad revenue of approximately Rs 400 crore. On the other hand, there’s Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) India (erstwhile Multi Screen Media), which has two more editions of the IPL with them to break even and close with a neat profit. The remaining two seasons will be very crucial for SPN India’s balance sheets. It should be recalled that MSM acquired the rights of the tournament for a period of 10 years in 2007 after dishing out a whopping $1 billion.

    Ad spends on the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup can go up to Rs 400 crore including digital as per estimates of a senior media planner. “At the same time, if Sony goes by their normal 10 per cent ad rate hike even for the 2016 edition of IPL, they should manage to generate close to Rs 1100 crore, which I think they would be happy with,” the planner adds. Similar estimates were drawn by multiple other media planning executives that Indiantelevision.com spoke to.

    So when Rs 1500 crore is on the line for two major cricketing events, will the back to back scheduling eat into one another’s ad pie?

    Havas Media Group, India & South Asia CEO Anita Nayyar is of the opinion that it will not. “I don’t think the schedules of either of the tournaments will effect the advertising spends they are expecting. Whether it’s ICC World T20 or IPL season 9, there are different clients focused on them. IPL specially enjoys a different section of advertisers, who keep an eye on it in well in advance. Even with the common advertisers, it’s a question of their marketing and advertising budgets. Marketers plan their spends for a year in advance after looking at the calendar. I am sure they have prepared for both the cricketing events,” she says.

    Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia CEO and chairman Ashish Bhasin concurs with Nayyar. “I don’t think that the two tournaments scheduled one after another will have an affect on their ad revenues. This is not the first time that it’s happening. Often we do see tournaments like the IPL leading to a different sporting event or vice versa. Marketers and advertisers who look forward to such events plan their budgets and strategies accordingly in advance,” he says.

    IPL and World T20 are completely different ball games when it comes to ad spends according to Bhasin. He says, “World Cup invokes following and fandom for team India. While it appeals to everyone, it is when the India matches air that our audience is mostly interested. That is why you see peaks of viewership for India matches, which reduce drastically if India is out of the tournament early. Whereas IPL retains the general interest of all. Marketers are aware that IPL is prolonged entertainment. It is not just the game but all the action around it. Therefore, advertisers strategise for IPL and World T20 in a different way.”

    The most consistent team of the IPL – Chennai Super Kings (CSK) owned by N Srinivasan promoted India Cements will not be a part of the tournament courtesy a two year ban imposed on it. The two year ban has also been imposed on Rajasthan Royals (RR). The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has added two new franchises in the interim period. The players of the two banned teams thereby went under the hammer and after following the bidding process, the two new teams – Pune and Rajkot – absorbed them. So cricket fans will get to see their idols albeit wearing a different coloured jersey and maybe even in a new role.

    When queried as to how the absence of CSK and RR teams will impact the brand value of the tournament, Bhasin says that it might leave a certain impact on the ad rates. “Two of the biggest teams are out of the tournament and new ones have been introduced. At a time like this, clients may start questioning the credibility of the tournament all together. If the tournament has to retain its advertisers, they have to work on keeping the credibility intact,” he adds.

    “Having said that, a popular event like IPL will never have a lack of sponsors. The key issue is the ad slot prices. Over the years we have seen an increase in ad rates from the preceding tournaments for every new season. This year however, it will be hard to aim for higher ad rates for the ad slots,” he asserts.

    One thing that the SPN India president – ad sales Rohit Gupta and his team managed to achieve over the years is a constant hike in ad rates. The tournament 2015 edition, as per Indiantelevision.com’s analysis, raked in over Rs 1000 crore to make it one of the best ever IPL for the network. In the previous edition, the tournament hiked the ad rates by close to 15 per cent, taking the price of a 10-second slot to Rs 4.5 – 5 lakh. The tournament’s viewership has also kept ascending with time, and keeping the regional importance in mind, the broadcaster relayed the tourney in six different languages last year. Last year IPL was welcomed by ICC cricket World Cup. Played in Australia and New Zealand on a totally different time zone, the 50 over tournament did no harm to the flagship domestic T20 tournament.

    If sources are to believed then Star India is all set to bring back the Mauka Mauka craze. The ad campaign emerged as one of the most talked about elements during the ICC World Cup earlier this year.

    A cricket expert on condition of anonymity says, “The quality of cricket is elite in both the tournaments. India will be playing Pakistan in one of the league matches and I think that will be one of the most viewed matches of the year. Having said so, the enthusiasm won’t be similar during non-India matches, whereas when it comes to the IPL because of its unity in diversity nature all the matches turns out to be of equal importance. Pune is a good inclusion but I doubt if the pitch will last seven matches because last the time it did not. If you ask me to choose one between IPL or ICC World T20 Cup from a cricketer’s point of view, I will choose the IPL because of it’s consistent quality for a longer period of time whereas, as an Indian I will choose the World Cup because at the end of the day, when the National Anthem resonates, the feeling is special.”

    That said, the first half of 2016 will definitely be exciting for cricket, broadcasters, advertisers as well as fans of the game.

  • IPL Governing Council proposes 2 new teams; total 10 teams after CSK, RR ban lifts

    IPL Governing Council proposes 2 new teams; total 10 teams after CSK, RR ban lifts

    MUMBAI: A moment of respite and glory may come for Multi Screen Media (MSM) – the official broadcaster of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the league’s governing council floated a proposal of adding two new teams to replace the suspended Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) spot. 

     

    Additionally, the IPL governing council also proposed that after the two year ban was lifted from both the teams, the IPL will be a 10 team affair.

     

    “One suggestion is to have two new teams only for two years and replace them with CSK and RR in 2018 when they come back,” an IPL GC member told PTI today (27 August).

     

    “The second suggestion is to make it 10 teams from 2018 onwards once the two suspended franchises complete their sentence,” he added.

     

    The council’s two proposals will be put forward to the BCCI Working Committee on 28 August.

     

    MSM holds the broadcasting rights of IPL till 2018, which means that the last season of its IPL broadcasting tenure will be an elongated one with 10 teams. Trade media experts and economists believes that the MSM will make a profit from the revenue generated in the 2018 edition. If the proposal is accepted, it will be icing on the cake for MSM as 10 teams means more number of matches and subsequently a longer time span to monetise.

     

    The broadcaster raked in more than Rs 1000 crore in 2015 edition of the multi million dollar tourney. It may be recalled that MSM bagged the IPL broadcasting rights for a whopping $1 billion.

     

    Broadcasters, who are gearing up to bid for the IPL telecast rights when it comes up for grasp again, are making their permutations and combinations to bid for the tournament. It’s no rocket science that they will be following the developments closely.

     

    Now it remains to be seen whether CSK and RR players are relieved by their respective franchises and are allowed to participate in next edition of IPL.

  • Six-team IPL may disrupt BCCI’s economics: experts

    Six-team IPL may disrupt BCCI’s economics: experts

    MUMBAI: When Justice Lodha committee spelt a part of its landmark verdict on 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) betting case on the afternoon of 14 July, 2015, many ripples were created.

     

    IPL is the largest revenue generating property of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI). As per the board’s 2013-14 annual report, gross receipts from IPL 2013 were Rs 1194 crore as against Rs 892 crore in 2012. The main reason behind the increase in gross receipt, as per then honorary treasurer, was mainly incline in receipts from media rights which has gone up from Rs 556 crore to Rs 844 crore. The franchisee consideration had also witnessed a marginal incline from Rs 460 crore to Rs 502 crore. Now with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) being suspended for a period of two years by the Justice Lodha Committee, the reduction of two teams will result in less number of matches and subsequently generate lesser revenue for the Board as the broadcaster will pay less than the proposed deal.

     

    Apart from BCCI, the official broadcaster of IPL – Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) Sony Max will also face a major blow if the number of matches go down. MSM paid a mammoth $1 billion (Rs 6600 crore) to acquire broadcasting rights for a period of ten years. Lesser number of matches will leave Sony with less opportunities for monetization. The 2015-16 season of IPL was the most successful year for Sony as the broadcasters sealed advertising deals of more than Rs 1000 crore before the first ball was bowled.

     

    A source closely associated with the broadcasting network tells Indiantelevision.com on condition of anonymity, “It’s too early to predict anything and also it’s highly unlikely that BCCI will enter IPL with six franchises. This is a judicial step taken and the entire fraternity will abide by it. The broadcaster will wait and watch what BCCI does and the best part is there is time in hand to ensure smooth proceedings.”

     

    As per TAM Sports analysis, CSK matches in IPL 8 (2015) garnered 4.2 per cent TVR whereas RR matches secured 3.7 per cent TVR. Moreover, as per the analysis, CSK featured six times in the list of top viewed matches of the season, which only goes on to prove the growing popularity of the MS Dhoni led team.

     

    If IPL is played with six teams, the million dollar tourney will have 34 matches in total instead of 60. A cricket expert opines, “Firstly, we have to keep in mind that the two teams are suspended for two years and not for life. Now, in the meantime if BCCI adds two more teams to make it eight again, after two years when the two teams are back, IPL will be a 10 team tourney and that’s when it goes for pitch. So the hypothesis that the IPL will face a blow, is a null hypothesis. And if we think that because of the controversies, Indians will stop watching IPL then we are wrong because if it had to happen it would have happened in 2014 and 2015 because the case we are talking about is of 2013. So I see the IPL only growing bigger.”

     

    On the brand value of IPL, Baseline managing director Tuhin Mishra says, “There might be a bit of a blip, but it’s temporary. The game of cricket and IPL are much bigger than a few individuals. It’s a game that is embraced by Indians and the world over. Controversies and incidents have been a part of sports from time immemorial and this too shall pass.”

     

    Revenue from ticket sales will easily see a 25 per cent decline if there are only six teams feels a senior member of an e-ticketing giant. Every match of IPL witnesses more than Rs 7 crore gross in ticket sales and hence if the number of matches go down, ticketing revenue will also decline, which will in turn result in a substantial loss of e-ticketing venture associated with the league.

     

    Addressing a press conference after the Justice Lodha Committee verdict was delivered, Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra said, “I am shocked and hurt. There are many inaccuracies… have requested for a copy of judgment.”

     

    As per a PTI report, India Cements is set to move to Supreme Court and appeal against the order of the Lodha Committee. However, it must be kept in mind that it was the apex court, which in the first place, appointed the Lodha Committee to investigate the matter and said that its verdict on the case would be “final and binding.” 

     

    Following the pronouncement of the order of the Lodha Committee, BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya said, “BCCI is committed to honour and respect judicial decisions and it would give its observations after the entire report is read and a collective decision is taken. BCCI is committed to ensuring transparency, accountability and cleansing the sport in order to restore the faith and confidence of millions of cricket loving people in the glorious game of cricket in general and IPL in particular.”

     

    Veteran cricket expert Ayaz Memon tweeted, “Most significant import of Lodha verdict? Busted time-held defence of BCCI that it’s a private society, which can function with its own rules.” Another tweet from him read, “Momentous day not just in Indian but international cricket. Tremor will be felt everywhere….”

     

    The focus now will gradually shift towards the broadcasting rights bid for the IPL in 2017 as there will be a number of broadcasters aggressively vying to get their hands on the Twenty20 cash cow. A senior media planner is of the opinion that things will get interesting with time. “An IPL comprising six teams will enforce 30 per cent loss if compared to the number registered this year. But a 10 team IPL will raise the brand value enormously as the broadcaster will have additional time to monetise.”

     

    Experts also believe that the ball now is in BCCI honorary secretary Anurag Thakur’s court and he will play a pivotal role in the fate of the league. Speaking on the verdict and the way forward Thakur said, “We respect the verdict and would undertake a collective decision in a transparent manner, in the right direction and in the larger interest of the game after the verdict is received and analysed.”

     

    Click to View CSK and RR matches viewership pattern (TAM Sports)

    Click to View Overall ratings click (TAM Sports)

  • IPL: Justice Lodha committee bans CSK, Rajasthan Royals for two years

    IPL: Justice Lodha committee bans CSK, Rajasthan Royals for two years

    MUMBAI: In a landmark judgement, which has come as a major blow to the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Supreme Court appointed Justice Lodha Committee has suggested that two teams namely Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) be suspended for two years from playing in the cash-rich tourney.

     

    Moreover, Gurunath Meiyappan, the son-in-law of ex-BCCI chief and CSK owner N Srinivasan, and Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra have also been suspended for five years from involvement in any type of cricket matches with the BCCI. Additionally, Meiyappan and Kundra have been banned for life from any cricketing activity as they have violated the rules of IPL and cricket.

     

    “The purity of the game has been affected by the actions of India Cements and CSK. Fans have been cheated. India Cements did not take any action against Meiyappan. I propose to impose sanctions on India Cement’s franchise by suspending it from the league for two years. RR can’t shrink responsibility by saying Kundra acted in personal capacity. RR is also suspended for two years from IPL,” Justice Lodha said.

     

    Informing the media that Meiyappan suffered a loss of Rs 60 lakh in bets, Justice Lodha said that Meiyappan’s passion for the game was questionable and that he put the game into disrepute as a team official.

     

    “Three RR players were arrested for charges of fixing in 2013. Also a player was approached this year. This shows all is not well in RR. The purity of game must remain central to cricket,” he added.
     

    Speaking about the future of the two franchisees that have been suspended, Justice Lodha said that it was for the BCCI to decide whether CSK or RR will be bought by another franchise.

     

    Clarifying that the committee had not decided any criminal liability, Justice Lodha said that the committee had acted on behalf of BCCI. “The law will take its own course. No criminal liability has been decided by us,” he said.

     

    The Lodha Committee was appointed by a Supreme Court Bench on 22 January. Its verdict will be final and binding on the BCCI, the promoters and owners of the IPL.

     

    The IPL match fixing scandal came to light in May 2013 when the Delhi Police arrested three Rajasthan Royals players S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan for being involved in match fixing.

     

    Pertinent to note here is that the broadcasting rights of IPL, which currently vest with Multi Screen Media (MSM), are slated to come up for bidding in 2016-17. MSM had the rights to the T20 tourney for a period of nine years, which is up to 2017. Whether this landmark outcome of the 2013 match-fixing scandal will have an impact on the bidding price remains to be seen.

  • IPL 8: MSM rakes in Rs 1000+ crore in revenue

    IPL 8: MSM rakes in Rs 1000+ crore in revenue

    MUMBAI: After defeating Chennai Super Kings by a huge margin in the final of the Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015, Mumbai Indians emerged as the champion for the second time! However, it’s not only the Reliance owned Mumbai Indians that is celebrating. IPL 2015 was also a champagne opener for Multi Screen Media (MSM), as the official broadcaster is speculated to earn an unprecedented Rs 1200 crore from the tourney.

     

    IPL 8 came in right after the ICC Cricket World Cup, which started with substantial performances from team India, which made brands go ballistic. Naysayers speculated that IPL might face the plight of brand’s fatigue. Also the Supreme Court intervention raised several questions over the integrity of the tournament.

     

    The speculations and controversies were anything but a hurdle for the progressive league feels a senior media expert. “This is the best IPL Sony has ever had since inception. They had Rs 1000 crore before the first ball was bowled. More brands associated with them and hence the inventory was packed. Hence the argument of fatigue and integrity was null and void. In fact, in my opinion, they raised more than Rs 1200 crore so IPL is here to stay and will grow bigger and better,” he said.

     

    However, a senior official from MSM says that the broadcaster fetched around Rs 1000 crore this IPL, which is on a ‘slightly’ conservative side from the speculated Rs 1200 crore figure!

     

    Not only in terms of brand engagements, IPL 2015 was a pioneer for cricketainment too, GroupM ESP national director Vinit Karnik told Indiantelevision.com, “This year I think we had the most number of last over finishes. In fact, the number of last three balls finishes was relatively high, quality of cricket was great and naturally the positive aspects reflected in the ratings, which were also higher than before. Overall, IPL just exhibited another year of exquisiteness and left a subtle answer who doubted the longevity of the tournament.”

     

    “IPL 2015 was an enlightening year, which sent a strong message about the coming generation of Indian cricket. Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Pawan Negi showed their talent and that’s the beauty of IPL. This year, the experience was even better because five teams had opportunities till the last ball of the final league match was played and only two teams were declared eliminated before the last week of the tournament. So all this signifies that the tournament is becoming more unpredictable and competitive, which is exactly what cricket lovers want. This IPL is a step back for critics and forward for the tournament,” opined former first class cricketer and veteran cricket analyst Hemant Kenkre.

     

    MSM holds the rights to the IPL till 2017 until it goes under the hammer again. When asked if there are possibilities of an increase in the broadcasting rights of the tourney, when it comes up for bidding again, Karnik said, “I certainly think it will go up and by a significant margin because the ratings are going up and in two years, it will manage to reach more people, which will naturally add to the value.”

     

    New sporting leagues in the heart of India are establishing the nation’s vision on sports but all the mushrooming leagues are dependent on a solitary revenue source and that is advertising. The first edition of Indian Super League (ISL) succeeded to garner huge publicity and hence will be in the mind of brands and so will the soon to be played Pro Kabaddi League. With this, the revenue pie is no doubt getting distributed among various avenues.

     

    When queried if this division of pie could impact cricket and whether BCCI’s low revenue generation in the previous financial year was due to that, Karnik informed, “BCCI’s low revenue was due to lack of international cricket in domestic conditions and has nothing to do with emerging leagues. Cricket in the near future is unlikely to get effected by any other sporting event. The new leagues will find a new source and at the same time new brands will associate with cricket. At this point of time, there is no competition to cricket and events like IPL with safely prevail.”

     

    MSM, in association with BCCI, launched Fan Park initiative to bring IPL action closer to cities not hosting IPL matches and that venture also saw good success. Apart from that, the broadcaster took the multilingual feed route to target regional audiences but did not monetize it separately and went for similar inventory. However, rumours are rife that after garnering good ratings from the regional feeds, MSM may have different inventories for different feeds in the coming year.

     

    Overall it remains to be seen if this mix of new and old, cricket and entertainment, brands and viewership continues to propel and establish itself as a goose that laid the golden eggs for fans, broadcasters and BCCI. 

  • MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings dominate Facebook fandom map

    MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings dominate Facebook fandom map

    MUMBAI: Facebook has been mapping fans of the eight teams playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), which shows the most-liked teams on Facebook across all of India’s states and districts. Led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are the kings of IPL when it comes to their Facebook likes.

     

    The map shows that every team is the most supported team in their home states. In states that do not have a team, CSK dominates. 

     

    Interestingly, more people in Delhi like the CSK team than their home team. In fact, the Delhi Daredevils do not have a plurality of fans in an Indian district. And in Gurgaon, Mumbai Indians are the most popular among Facebook fans. 

    The Facebook fandom map is created by the Facebook Data Science team, shows fans of all eight IPL teams across India. Each district is color-coded based on which official team Facebook page has the most likes from the people that live in that district.

     

    What’s more, from 1 April to 10 May, approximately 26 million people had nearly 250 million Facebook interactions around the IPL wherein people engaged in the conversation their favorite teams, players, and with their friends around IPL content. In India, 19 million people had nearly 200 million interactions.

  • IPL frenzy spills on Twitter with 180.4 million live impressions

    IPL frenzy spills on Twitter with 180.4 million live impressions

    MUMBAI: When it comes to pure cricketing entertainment, the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) never disappoints. The first three weeks of this tournament have been breathless, both on field and off field i.e on social media. Fans of the tournament have not only been present at the stadiums but also on micro blogging site, Twitter. During the live match windows, 180.4 million live impressions were registered on Twitter for the matches held between 8 to 29 April 2015.

     

    The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) versus Mumbai Indians match held on 8 April was the top game garnering the highest live tweet impressions so far. This was followed by Mumbai Indians vs. Chennai Super Kings (17 April), Chennai Super Kings vs. Delhi Daredevils (9 April), Royal Challengers Bangalore vs. Mumbai Indians (19 April) and the Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore (11 April).

     

    The following is the Twitter leader board for the most mentioned teams on Twitter in week  three of the mega sporting tournament:

    Chennai Super Kings (@Chennaiipl)

    Kolkata Knight Riders (@KKRiders)

    Royal Challenger Bangalore (@RCBTweets)

    Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan)

    Delhi Daredevils (@DelhiDaredevils)

    Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals)

    Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip)

    Sunrisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers)

     

    The most-tweeted about moments during the first three weeks of the tournament also feature several of the most-mentioned teams. The winning moment came during the one run win of @Chennaiipl over the @DelhiDaredevils, which was the most talked about moment during the IPL so far.

     

    The micro blogging site also gave out the weekly #PurpleCap and #OrangeCap honours for the most-mentioned bowlers and batsmen, respectively. For this week, the top pair is an overseas couple. Dwayne Bravo received the vote amongst batsmen, while Mitchell Starc was the most mentioned bowler. 

     

    The IPL is helping fans stay in touch through tweets via SMS for free by giving a Missed Call on 011 3008 2008. The IPL has also integrated Twitter into their official Android app with #IPLSelfie where fans can click a selfie along with their favourite team’s logo. Fans by tweeting the pic can get featured on a special page on iplt20.com on the @IPLSelfie. To add to the fun, the @IPL is posting slow motion replays of explosive on-field moments using six-second Vines.

  • IPL season 8 fever transcends on to Twitter

    IPL season 8 fever transcends on to Twitter

    MUMBAI: The Indian Premier League mania is reaching a crescendo on social media. The excitement of the eighth season of the tournament continued this week on micro blogging site Twitter with close to 62.7 million live impressions.

     

    Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) fans are roaring on Twitter making them the favourites this week. The team in yellow is closely followed by defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (@KKRiders) and 2013 champions Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan). Given their popularity, the most talked about game this week was Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings.

     

    The top Tweets Per Minute (TPM) moments during the match window for the same period are as follows:

     

    – Kings XI Punjab wins in the super over against Rajasthan

     

    – Royal Challengers Bangalore’s AB de Villiers hits 24 off one over by Lasith Malinga from Mumbai Indians

     

    – AB de Villiers falls for 42 to Kieron Pollard from Mumbai Indians with RCB on 129/6

     

    – Dwayne Smith of Chennai Super Kings brings up his 50 versus Mumbai Indians

     

    – Chennai Super King’s Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Bravo bring up 107 off 7 overs against Mumbai Indians

     

    Ranking of most mentioned IPL teams on Twitter from 16 – 22 April, 2015.

     

    Chennai Super Kings leads the pack closely followed by Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians. Rajasthan Royals are next in the list keenly followed by Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab. Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad complete the final tally.

     

    Most Retweeted Tweets about the Indian Premier League for the same period is as follows:

     

    #MIvCSK (17 April)

     

    #RCBvMI (19 April)

     

    #RRvKXIP (21 April)

     

    #RRvCSK (19 April)

     

    #DDVSvKKR (20 April)

     

    #KXIPvKKR (18 April)

     

    #SRHvKKR (22 April)

     

    #SRHvRR (16 April)

     

    #SRHvDD (18 April)

     

    Some of the most retweeted moments are given below. KKR’ s Shah Rukh Khan congratulating his boys was the most retweeted.

    @iamsrk: Always & Everytime…a mature innings..@GautamGambhir. & my man @iamyusufpathan in the thick of things again. Morne & Umesh deadly. Love KKR –https://twitter.com/iamsrk/status/590212393260621824

     

    @realpreityzinta: OMG ! What a game I’m still shaking  SUPER OVER !!! @lionsdenkxip Are u Kidding me Still shaking I swearSo proud #KXIP – https://twitter.com/realpreityzinta/status/590584295535828993

     

    @mohitfreedom: #RRvsCSK Even in these T20 matches, u can’t come close to athleticism of @SauravGhosal  Sure to be No1 sometime soon and fly #India’s flag –https://twitter.com/mohitfreedom/status/58975497091376742

     

    With the momentum gathering pace, the game has only begun.

  • ‘Bombay Velvet’ song to premiere on Hotstar

    ‘Bombay Velvet’ song to premiere on Hotstar

    MUMBAI: One of the most anticipated releases of Bollywood this year, Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet starring Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma, will be premiering one of its song on Star India’s video on demand (VOD) platform hotstar.

     

    In what is seen as a first for cinema anywhere in the world, Fox Star Studios will premiere the song titled ‘Mohabbat Buri Bimari’ on hotstar during the Indian Premier League (IPL).

     

    The song will play out at 7.45 pm on 17 April on hotstar, just before the Pepsi IPL 2015 match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.

     

    With the increasing popularity of the hotstar platform, the song premiere is likely to attract a few million fans and give a dramatic fillip to one of Fox Star Studios’ biggest movie releases of 2015.

     

    With a million downloads in the first six days and nearly 15 million downloads since launch, hotstar has seen one of the fastest adoption of any digital service anywhere in the world.

     

    Fox Star Studios India chief marketing officer Shikha Kapur said, “We are excited about this premier. We believe this innovation will be a trailblazer for Indian cinema and an example of how it can engage with an audience that is young and on a mobile phone. We live in times where the digital doorway is omnipresent and is fast becoming the most effective and astute way to reach out to consumers. Bombay Velvet is a special film. And its song is being launched on a special platform, hotstar.”

  • “It was friends & food that made Crash the IPL possible”: Nikita Deshpande

    “It was friends & food that made Crash the IPL possible”: Nikita Deshpande

    MUMBAI: The challenge was to seize the opportunity and uncork the creative genius in you. Nikita Deshpande, a budding film-maker from Mumbai, has done just that and has emerged as the first winner of Crash the Pepsi IPL campaign.

     

    Her film titled ‘Served’ beat over 400 films that were submitted by consumers from all over the country to become the first winner in the campaign. Deshpande’s film went on air on 12 April, 2015 as the official Pepsi television commercial during the match between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Deshpande was awarded a cash prize of Rs 100,000 and has won seats for herself and her friends in the esteemed Pepsi VIP box for the match in Chennai.

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com Deshpande says, “It was in March when we sat and decided: let’s go for it. We had a nice and long brainstorming session amongst 12 of us and we came with the idea. The video was shot with Canon 5d Mark II and was edited by Prashant Ramachadran, who was also associated with Badlapur. The entire group was from the film fraternity and that helped a smooth execution. Quality VFX and sound engineering was also exhibited, which made the production quality allusive. The total expenditure of the film was close to Rs 3500 only. We may make a few more ads for the same campaign and in future also I aspire to make more ad films for different brands. I also have dreams of making a feature film… it’s always Dil Mange More.”

     

     

    Ranbir Kapoor had earlier said, “Crash the Pepsi IPL is a first-of-its-kind campaign in India, and I am excited to team up with Pepsi in judging the entries for this creative challenge! Crash the Pepsi IPL will give people a chance to really uncork their creativity and leave a mark. It’s awesome that Pepsi has put consumers at the forefront of something as big as the Pepsi IPL – it’s a really bold move and I would expect nothing less from Pepsi!”

     

    Congratulating the winner, PepsiCo India senior director marketing – social beverages Ruchira Jaitly said, “The ad film by Nikita Deshpande has hit the bull’s eye with the messaging. The film brilliantly portrays Pepsi as the perfect food accompaniment by weaving in a delectable trail of signature cuisines from the host cities of Pepsi IPL. The connection between cricket, food and fun-times with friends and Pepsi can’t be missed in the ad. We congratulate Nikita on being the first consumer to crash the Pepsi IPL. We look forward to many more such films over the next few weeks. Nikita is exactly the kind of talent we were looking for, as she displays a true reflection of Pepsi’s philosophy of seizing the moment now.”