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Tag: Cricket

  • FanCode & DD Sports partner for exclusive TV broadcast of India tour of West Indies

    FanCode & DD Sports partner for exclusive TV broadcast of India tour of West Indies

    MUMBAI: The Indian cricket team will play with West Indies in an eight-match series comprising three ODIs and five Twenty20 Internationals. The series will run from 22 July – 7 August 2022. The matches will stream digitally on the Dream11-owned platform FanCode. The company, which has the rights for West Indies Cricket till 2024 has sub-licensed the broadcast rights to free-to-air (FTA) platform DD Sports, which is available in 210 million homes across the country. Sports-only digital platform FanCode has announced the exclusive partnership with DD Sports aims to build accessibility for the tour for television viewers across the country.

    This marks the first time in over two decades that the pubcaster will exclusively telecast Indian cricket on the television. The matches will be on air during primetime. ODIs start at 7 p.m and T20Is start at 8 p.m.

    Prasar Bharati CEO Mayank Kumar Agrawal said, “Cricket is the undisputed leader in sports & entertainment in India. Even in the fast-growing digital age, there continues to be a significant market and audience for sports consumption on television, and we are glad to bring the upcoming India tour of the West Indies to the masses through DD Sports. While FanCode is building a unique digital experience for sports fans, their extension of rights to DD Sports will mean wider access to all sports fans for the series.”

    FanCode co-founder Prasana Krishnan said, ”FanCode’s single-most objective is to provide superlative user experience and solve for accessibility gaps fans to witness in sports consumption and experience, in line with the government’s vision to transform India’s adaptability for digital through initiatives like Digital India. DD Sports’ reach in smaller cities and towns is unbeatable, making it the ideal platform to televise the India tour of West Indies, while we continue to build a superior digital experience for fans nationally.”

    The series for the record will be absent on private channels. Normally DD only airs India cricket on Freedish for which content sharing by the rights holder is mandatory. In this case, the rights holder is a subscription-based digital platform that does not have a TV channel. Last year, FanCode had inked a deal with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to air the series until 2024. During the rights period, India is also scheduled to make another visit to the West Indies besides the upcoming series.

    Other teams who will visit the West Indies in the rights period for cricket series include England, Australia, South Africa and Pakistan. Earlier, WICB rights were with Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI).

    FanCode decided to go after consolidated rights (TV+Digital) as it wants to grow its subscriber base. It has been learnt that the rates on DD Sports are Rs 3 lakh for a spot on ODIs and Rs 5 lakh for the Twenty20 Internationals. Vin Global Media is the sales agent that is selling the series on DD Sports to advertisers. Ad revenue is the norm and will be shared 75:25 in favour of the rights holder who in this case is FanCode.

    Advertisers are said to be surprised that the series is on FTA. The last two Twenty20 Internationals will be played in Florida, America.

    Lodestar UM VP Avinash Hegde said that the good news is that the matches are in primetime. At the same time, marketing and promotional activities will need to be done to inform consumers that the matches are going to be available on TV exclusively on DD Sports. “Consumers were used to watching West indies cricket matches on Sony. The need would be to see how Doordarshan manages to communicate to the cricket fans and promote the series effectively. The series not being on a private broadcaster could see a small amount of viewer disconnect. So the communication must be effective. This is where things will settle”. FanCode will also need to do effective marketing to drive cricket fans to its subscription platform.

  • The fantasy sports industry is poised to play a huge role in creating highly skilled jobs: My11Circle SVP Saroj Panigrahi

    The fantasy sports industry is poised to play a huge role in creating highly skilled jobs: My11Circle SVP Saroj Panigrahi

    Mumbai: Fantasy cricket app, My11Circle, has launched a campaign featuring the ‘Women in Blue’ titled Lalkaar Ladkiyon Ki dedicated to promoting and building momentum for the Women’s T20 World Cup. Set in the backdrop of prominent women cricketers like Harmanpeet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, and Smriti Mandhana practising & preparing for the tournament, the 45-second video narrates how these women have shown resilience and grit to leave a mark in the field of cricket. My11Circle is also the proud official sponsor of Women’s T20 Challenge 2022 – a tournament to showcase women’s representation in the largest cricket league in the world. 

    On the sidelines of the digital campaign launch, My11Circle senior vice-president Saroj Panigrahi spoke to Indiantelevision.com about the importance of this sponsorship that goes beyond being just sponsors, towards bringing gender neutrality to the world of sports, especially cricket.

    India is the biggest market for fantasy sports globally, with more than 130 million users playing across over 200 platforms. Launched in 2019, the My11Circle platform has created a distinct spot for itself witnessing a 100 per cent growth in user base last year. The brand was also the official title sponsor of Lucknow Super Giants during this season’s IPL. However, it hasn’t been a cake walk for the fantasy sports platform which had to go through its fair share of trials during the pandemic with live sports coming to a halt. Panigrahi also shared inputs on the future of online skill gaming in India and the roadmap ahead for the brand.

    Edited excerpts:

    On the objective behind sponsoring the Women’s T20 Challenge 2022

    Cricket has always been a strategic investment for us. As an organisation, we strongly believe in gender parity. Our title sponsorship of the Women’s T20 Challenge 2022 was not only a great opportunity to demonstrate that belief, but also the perfect stage to associate with the finest batters, bowlers and fielders in the cricket world. We have consistently been striving to encourage women’s participation in games and sports that have traditionally been dominated by men, as we acknowledge the dedication and quality they bring to sports.

    This partnership has strengthened our connection with millions of cricket fans throughout India, and will inspire more women to take up the sport. It has also certainly helped us in generating more visibility for the My11Circle brand.

    On the recent spurt in growth in the online gaming industry

    As per industry reports, the Indian gaming industry is currently pegged at $2.2 billion and expected to be a $7 billion industry by 2027. Live interaction, end-to-end encryption, payment gateways, freemium formats, hyper-personalised experiences, and other features have made the gaming environment safer and more entertaining for players. Mobile phone-based gaming applications continue to dominate the market, accounting for 86 per cent of all gaming experiences.

    We are a technology company with a passion for gaming. We specialise in artificial intelligence and behavioural science. From pioneering the first online monetised skill gaming platform in India to becoming the most valued multi-gaming unicorn with over 100 million users, Games24x7 has witnessed tremendous growth in the last few years. Our fantasy platform My11Circle is India’s fastest growing fantasy sports platform, and we witnessed a 100 per cent increase in our user base last year.

    On overcoming the impact of the pandemic on the company’s business

    Just as the Covid pandemic wreaked havoc on every industry, the fantasy sports business also took a hit. As a platform, we are completely dependent on live sports, which came to an indefinite halt during the lockdown. However, things started to pick up after the restrictions were lifted. Our fantasy platform, My11Circle saw a 100 percent increase in its user base last year, and recorded stellar growth of over 30 per cent during this year’s IPL season.

    On the industry trends you see emerging in the near future

    Cricket is an important part of India’s cultural fabric and people’s interest in cricket directly translates into their interest in fantasy cricket. By associating with tournaments like the Women’s T20 Challenge, we have seen a huge growth in female user engagement on our app. We aim to maximise women’s participation in competitions that will promote the growth of sports in India by bringing to the fore new skills, talents, perspectives, standards, and idols. This will also impact women’s digital engagement patterns and the way they participate in fantasy sports.

    On My11Circle’s association with the Lucknow Super Giants during this IPL

    My11Circle is the official title sponsor of Lucknow Super Giants, and the brand enjoys a position of prominence on the team’s jersey. India’s central region did not have an IPL team until 2021, so it was a great opportunity for us to associate with Lucknow Super Giants. Since our fan base is spread across different regions, we have witnessed an amazing response. There has been strong support for the team from users which has been reflected in their engagement on our platform.

    Our association with the Lucknow Super Giants has played a key role in the expansion of our user base. While the team was a new entrant to the fray, their performances were nothing short of remarkable. The brand of cricket that LSG played, and their involvement till the final stages of the tournament piqued the fans’ interest, and gave us exceptional visibility, translating into many new users joining our platform.

    On the future of fantasy sports and online skill gaming in India

    Owing to the increasing internet penetration, we see a lot of opportunities for user expansion in the coming years. If we look at data, mobile gaming is poised to surpass $136 billion in 2022. Technology will help us diversify narratives, create immersive storylines, and build more realistic gaming experiences for our players.

    The fantasy sports industry is poised to play a huge role in creating highly skilled jobs, generating revenue, attracting FDI, propagating sporting culture, and contributing to India’s socioeconomic status. As a sport of national value, cricket garners a lot of buzz in the fantasy ecosystem. However, in the coming years, other sports like kabaddi, football and hockey will be gaining traction in the fantasy space. The ever-growing fan base of fantasy sports is further redefining the love for gaming as a mainstream recreational activity.

    Watch the video here:

  • Kapil Dev to be the guest of honour at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2022

    Kapil Dev to be the guest of honour at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2022

    Mumbai: The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne which for the last two years was held virtually will make its physical comeback with programming spanning both in person and online to keep up with the current times. The festival is set to take place in Melbourne from 12-20 August. Before the world was hit by a pandemic, in 2019 the festival hosted by the likes of Shahrukh Khan, Arjun Kapoor, Tabu, Vijay Sethupathi, Rima Das, Zoya Akhtar, Karan Johar amongst others.

    This year the festival will kick off with its opening night on 12 August and will have its yearly annual awards gala on 14 August. The film programming the organisers said is more diverse than ever before with over 100 films in 23 languages having been selected for the festival. Programming of the festival will soon be announced by the organisers and Indian film artists will be flying down to Melbourne to celebrate cinema in all its diversity.

    Furthering the popularity of one of the most talked about films this past year, 83 directed by Kabir Khan, the festival has invited former cricketer, Kapil Dev to be the guest of honour.

    Dev said, “I look forward to being part of IFFM 2022. It’s a great platform celebrating the best in Indian cinema. I truly do believe that sports and cinema are two major cultural experiences for not only Indians but various communities and countries that bind us together. It’s something for decades now that has united people. It’s a deep rooted emotional connection and love we have for both cinema and sports, and when they come together it’s a rewarding experience for everyone.”

    Speaking of the festival and its coming back physically, the festival director Mitu Bhowmick Lange said, “We are absolutely delighted to have IFFM come back physically this year alongside exciting virtual programming. To have with us a legendary cricketer, Kapil Dev in honour of a film based on his iconic 83 World Cup Win, we are excited to have him in Melbourne. Being a city of cinema and cricket lovers alike, we are certain the audiences will be excited to see him here. The festival this year has over 100 films from across the India sub-continent and we are excited to celebrate Indian cinema in all its glory and diversity”.

    Minister for creative industries Steve Dimopoulos said, “From its diverse program of film and joyous celebration of culture to the star power it attracts, the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne is an unmissable event. The Victorian government is a proud, long standing supporter of IFFM, this year boosting our support for the festival to extend its reach and impact, and we look forward to seeing Victorians from all communities join the celebration.”

  • Customer centricity is our single biggest USP, says Fantasy Akhada’s founder SK Jha

    Customer centricity is our single biggest USP, says Fantasy Akhada’s founder SK Jha

    Mumbai: In the fast growing world of gaming there are several players in Fantasy Sport. Fantasy platform Fantasy Akhada, while being a late entrant, says that it has managed excellent growth. Backed by popular cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle, the company says that it is an initiative of hard core sports lovers who understand the fan and fantasy sports. Fantasy Akhada provides a platform, covering fantasy cricket, fantasy kabaddi, fantasy basketball and fantasy football, where users can come, play, and win contests.

    The brand claims to have close to 2.5 million users currently. The platform has held 40 lakh contests and claims to have disbursed Rs 200 crore in cash winnings. Indiantelevision.com caught up with Fantasy Akhada founder Sumit Kumar Jha to find out more on the company’s plans.

    Jha is an alumnus of leading universities like XLRI Jamshedpur and NIT Jamshedpur. Being a business enthusiast who strives for growth, he has a demonstrated history of experience in Product Management, Customer Analytics, Customer Life-Cycle Management, Loyalty Program Management, Mobile Internet, and P&L Management. Sumit Kumar Jha has profound domain knowledge and hands-on experience of over 8 years across different industries including Automobile, Telecom, Fashion & Retail industries and furthermore, earned 7 months of international project work experience.

    He began his career with Tata Motors and after completing his MBA, joined the coveted Aditya Birla Group Leadership Program. He was deputed at Idea Cellular Limited (Now Vodafone Idea Limited) where he worked for 5 years prior to beginning his own venture-Fantasy Akhada. The rich experience that he gained in his professional journey has moulded a solid foundation of his entrepreneurial vision.

    Edited excerpts:

    On the traction that fantasy sports are getting vis-a-vis other areas of gaming and esports.

    The love for cricket and the development of other sports, on the back of domestic leagues, has increased the level of interest in sports for all Indians. Fantasy sports share a very symbiotic relationship with live sports and thus the excitement of FS coupled with the love for sports is driving major growth in the Fantasy Sports market in India.

    However, we believe that the growth of the overall gaming ecosystem will drive individual growths like fantasy sports, e-sports, etc. There must be an overall acceptance of the gaming community in Indian households; to ensure the next level of growth for this sunrise sector.

    On the challenges that Fantasy Akhada faced as a late entrant

    We believe that if we let the timing of entry into the industry bother us, Fantasy Akhada would not have been able to become one of the top five fantasy sports apps in the country. All of us, founders, were ardent fantasy sports users before launching Fantasy Akhada. We realised that there is a clear need for a platform that believed in the highest level of customer and sports centricity.

    While we believed in our vision and the need for such a product, it took a lot of marketing push as well as the highest level of customer service to stand out amongst the clutter of the other 180 platforms. Post the IPL in 2022, on the back of a viral marketing campaign feat. Ali Fazal and Harsha Bhogle, we can confidently say that we have been able to make a significant mark in the space.

    On the sports that the company is actively involved in

    We currently provide customers with the opportunity to play four sports. The number was three until a week back; we added fantasy basketball in the first week of July. So as of today, Fantasy Akhada offers fantasy cricket, fantasy football, fantasy kabaddi and fantasy basketball.

    On whether cricket dominates activity on the platform.

    Cricket, no doubt, is by far the most loved sport on all Fantasy Sports platforms in the country. However, owing to our sports centricity, we have always done our 100 per cent towards each sport; and that shows in the numbers as well. Football, for example, contributes almost 15-20 per cent of our overall revenue and this has been made possible by hosting games, even in major leagues, that are exclusively available on Fantasy Akhada.

    Kabaddi, also, was an excellent launch for us with the Pro Kabaddi League in December 2021. We are hoping to get some good traction on basketball as well, a sport that has been launched in response to rising customer demand.

    On Fantasy Akhada’s USP is in a competitive arena where the entry barrier is very low

    As mentioned earlier, our single biggest USP is customer-centricity. In the context of fantasy sports, it means doing the basic tasks well like instant withdrawal, 24*7 customer service to customer delight activities like international trips, regular leader boards with amazing prizes, etc.

    Apart from this, we focus on our commitment to increasing sports engagement and ensure that all our marketing activities are in line with sports development.

    On the impact of Covid on fantasy sports

    Barring the first month of the worldwide lockdown, when the sport was either not happening or restricted to smaller leagues in countries like Belarus, etc. Covid has not had a very negative impact on our business.

    Personally, for us at Fantasy Akhada, it was the time that we had just started, and it gave us the opportunity and time to work on a lot of things which we hadn’t envisaged before the launch. To summarise, we came out stronger and provided a better experience post with the initial Covid blip.

    On the direction that regulation should take

    We believe that more clarity on regulation will help the Industry grow multifold. The lack of clarity on the regulations hurts the business. We, along with other FS platforms, are working with the central government to build a well-structured framework that will help all platforms in the country.

    On the role that Harsha Bhogle plays

    Harsha Bhogle joined the Fantasy Akhada team in June 2020 as a brand ambassador and investor. Since then he has been, more than his role, a great mentor for the entire organisation. We have been lucky to have his guidance in various decisions and also his support in getting a lot of things done, which would have otherwise been very challenging for us.

    On the activity seen on the platform during the recently concluded IPL

    IPL is the highlight event for all FS platforms in India; primarily due to the love for cricket that the customers have and also the short duration of matches – which helps them rotate money quickly. Apart from the growth in value of transactions, it is one of the best times for user acquisition, not only for FS platforms but for brands across industries.

    In terms of Fantasy Akhada, we had the biggest IPL, on the back of our first IPL campaign that went live on the Star Sports Network. The virality of the campaign, backed by our previously highlighted USPs, helped us catapult the growth of users to the next level. We had set out on a target of 100 per cent increase in our numbers over the two months of IPL, and we were able to comfortably achieve the same. Another great success has been that these users have stayed back with the platform post the IPL, increasing the overall base of our transactions.

    On expansion plans abroad

    Currently, we are present only in India – and allow only residents of India to play on our app. We have plans to spread our wings to other nations and currently, we are evaluating the right countries that fit our business and plans.

  • Cricket.com collaborates with Darren Gough for India’s tour of England

    Cricket.com collaborates with Darren Gough for India’s tour of England

    Mumbai: Cricket news, updates, analytics and video platform Cricket.com has roped in Darren Gough for the ongoing India – England tour 2022. The retired English fast-bowler has been signed for six videos which will be spread across three T20 and three ODI matches.  

    Darren will analyse every game for Cricket.com and he will also contribute to various content strands on platforms including YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

    With more than 200 ODI wickets and countless other records, his perspective on each game is sure to provide cricket enthusiasts a lot of rich insightful information and viewpoints. Additionally, viewers may take in the first-ever Instagram Live with Gough on the site and get his candid opinion about the matches.

    Post the historical test, Gough, one of the all-time greats for England in ODIs will dissect performances and tactics during the white-ball leg of the series. However, his analysis will not be all about the present tour. As a common trend on Cricket.com, experts engage in shows like dressing room stories and life in pictures giving a BTS look at the cricketing world to the readers. These shows also involve ex-cricketers who tell fascinating tales from their playing/coaching days and life in general.

    Head Digital Works, Cricket.com’s manager- content Somesh Agarwal said, “It has always been our endeavour to provide a premium, yet an inclusive platform, for cricket enthusiasts. As one of India’s leading multi-gaming companies, it is imperative for us to engage our viewers with content that excites them. Through our engagement with Darren Gough on the platform, we aim to reach out to new subscribers globally as well as in the Indian subcontinent. We are inclined towards continuing to design campaigns that help in building the CDC platform with different voices for different series.”

    India vs. England has always been a nail-biting competition. With such high stakes and the audience’s attention, this exclusive collaboration of Cricket.com and Darren Gough will provide platform users with an opinion throughout the tour in Gough’s style. With initiatives like this, Cricket.com is completely changing the way people follow cricket. They not only get updated on the scoreboard, news and highlights of the tour but can now ask their questions directly to legends like Gough through Q&A sessions.

  • We add more credibility & variety to our sports line-up every year: Rajesh Kaul

    We add more credibility & variety to our sports line-up every year: Rajesh Kaul

    Mumbai: India loves cricket with 90 per cent of most watched sports broadcasts in the country being live cricket. Sony Sports, a leading sports broadcaster, is going to bring 1800+ hours of live cricket on television screens starting from June till February 2023.

    Sony Sports has recently launched its cricket campaign for the year led by Indian cricketer Smriti Mandhana and actor Pankaj Tripathi. The ‘Non-stop cricket on Sony Sports Network’ kickstarts with the broadcast of the India tour of Ireland and England.  

    In the previous year, the sports broadcaster set new viewership records with its back-to-back programming of marquee sporting events including Olympics Games Tokyo 2020, UEFA EURO 2020, and Copa America.

    Sony Sports, once again, hopes to ride the momentum of its back-to-back cricket calendar comprising India and non-India cricket, women’s cricket and T20i tournaments to garner viewership and attract advertiser attention.

    Leading the sports and distribution verticals for Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) India, Rajesh Kaul is responsible for invigorating the sports business at SPN and the acquisition of marquee sports properties for the network.

    He also drives international sales for the network in collaboration with the digital team to expand SPN’s brand presence and lead across the world. Under his leadership, the SPN distribution has been expanding rapidly.

    Kaul joined the SPN in 2008. He began his career with ICI Paints and thereon moved on to Modi Entertainment Network. He joined ESPN Star Sports in 1997 and sharpened his leadership skills at the organisation for over 11 years. Rajesh played a vital role in creating the success story of ESPN Star Sports, heading their distribution and marketing nationally, and was credited with the successful launch of Star Cricket.

    In conversation with Indiantelevision.com, Sony Pictures Networks India chief revenue officer, distribution and head – sports business Rajesh Kaul speaks about Sony Sports strong sports programming line-up and the business and marketing strategy to maximise eyeballs and revenues.  

    On the diverse line-up of live cricket for the year 2022

    With each passing year we add more credibility and variety to our sports line up and this year the Sony Sports Network will be home to 1800+ hours of cricket. In addition to the marquee India tour of England, which has one historic Test match pending, the team also plays 3 T20i’s and 3 ODI’s in England. This will take place between India playing in Ireland and India playing in Zimbabwe. In addition to this action-packed calendar of Indian men’s cricket, we also have the women’s team touring England and an enviable bilateral cricket calendar featuring England vs New Zealand, Australia vs South Africa, Sri Lanka vs Australia, England vs South Africa, Australia vs England and more along with popular T20i tournaments like the Big Bash League, Pakistan Super League and Women’s Big Bash League. 

    On the amplification strategy of the sports network

    Love for cricket knows no boundaries and this is what we have showcased through this campaign. To that end, we have crafted this ‘Non – Stop Cricket’ campaign featuring a very differentiated star Pankaj Tripathi, India’s most loved actor and Smriti Mandhana, Indian women team’s opening batter. Our sports network has been known for creating thought provoking and meaningful campaigns such as ‘Meri Doosri Country’, ‘Hum Honge Kamyab’, ‘Sona Mana Hai’ amongst others and this campaign, conceptualised through the creative partnership of our inhouse team and Scarecrow M&C Saatchi Advertising Agency, aims to break the clutter by bringing a leading woman cricketer to promote men’s and women’s cricket.

    On beating the viewership records set in 2021

    2021 was a landmark year for Sony Sports Network. In this milestone year, we hosted marquee sporting events such as the Olympics Games Tokyo 2020, UEFA EURO 2020, and Copa America, which helped us attract the highest ever ratings. Viewership impressions on TV for UEFA EURO 2020 were more than double of the previous edition, whereas ratings for Copa America & Olympics Games Tokyo 2020 grew by 59 per cent and 23 per cent respectively (BARC, All India U+R, All Audience, LIVE match Impressions on TV). 

    In 2022, we ride on an action-packed cricket calendar with 1800+ hours of cricketing action on our network. Cricket has always been a bestseller in our country and with the new era of Rohit Sharma and Ben Stokes’ captaincy in the upcoming India tour of England, there is a lot to look forward to on Sony Sports Network. Along with cricket, we also have football properties like UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Nations League, Bundesliga and much more. In addition to these we also have WWE and UFC action through the year, Grand Slam tennis action with the recently concluded Roland Garros, as well as domestic leagues like Prime Volleyball League and the upcoming Ultimate Kho Kho tournament.

    On its association with advertisers

    Cricket has always been a major crowd puller and advertisers have always shown interest in various bilateral series, T20 leagues and international tournaments. Our campaign for our cricket calendar which includes India and non-India cricket, women’s cricket and T20i tournaments has attracted the interest of advertisers. Apart from that, team India’s remaining Test against England is seen as an attractive proposition due to its high value. This will be followed by limited overs’ T20i and ODI series which will mark the beginning of a new era of Rohit Sharma and Ben Stokes’ captaincy. Taking into consideration the importance of the series, we have already received a positive response from the advertisers.

  • Sony Sports to air India tour of Ireland, England starting 26 June

    Sony Sports to air India tour of Ireland, England starting 26 June

    Mumbai: Sony Sports Network will telecast two bilateral series with India tour of Ireland and India tour of England in succession, starting 26 June.

    Team India returns to the shores of Ireland for two T20i matches after their last series there in 2018. This will be followed by the much-anticipated series starting with the fifth test against their arch-rivals England followed by three T20Is, and three ODIs starting 1st July 2022. Both the series will be aired live on Sony Six (English), Sony Ten 3 (Hindi), and Sony Ten 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels, as well as live-streamed on its on-demand OTT platform Sonyliv.

    Both the series will mark a new era for the Indian cricket team with Rohit Sharma captaining for the very first time overseas and Hardik Pandya leading the T20i side in Ireland. England also has a new captain in Ben Stokes who is currently leading his side in the series against New Zealand. Both the new captains will meet in July to close the test chapter that started last year under the captaincy of Virat Kohli and Joe Root, with the series score line currently at 2-1 in India’s favour. Much to play for, the Indian side is looking at a historic test series win in England, while Ben Stokes and his men need a win to draw the series 2-2.

    Sony Sports Network has also announced a list of eminent names who will be a part of their commentary panel and will also feature on their live studio show Extraaa Innings across the two series. The English and Hindi commentary panel will feature David Gower, Graeme Swann, Virender Sehwag, Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar, Mohammad Kaif, Ajay Jadeja, Sanjay Manjrekar, Saba Karim, Vivek Razdan along with Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton joining directly from the grounds in England. The Tamil commentary box will feature WV Raman, Vidhyut Sivaramakrishnan, TR Arasu, and R Sridhar, while the Telugu commentary will be presented by Venkatapathy Raju, Gnaneshwar Rao, C Venkatesh, Vijay Mahavadi and Sandeep Kumar. The list of presenters across the two series includes Harsha Bhogle, Sanjana Ganesan, Matt Floyd, and Arjun Pandit.

    Additionally, the network will bring back its School of Cricket segment for young cricket enthusiasts across the nation. Ace presenter and writer, Anubhav Jain will be seen hosting the show with cricket experts.

    Sony Pictures Networks India chief revenue officer, distribution and head – sports business Rajesh Kaul said, “We are delighted to have India cricket back on Sony Sports Network with two back-to-back bilateral series. Viewers are excited to watch the much-anticipated fifth test against England which has been a mainstay of all the cricket conversations in the past year, and fans across the nation have been looking forward to this closure. As we get a conclusion for the 2021 series, we are excited to start the next chapter with three T20Is and three ODIs. And to further provide audiences with a seamless and holistic viewing experience, we present our live studio show, Extraaa Innings that features a star-studded panel and both the series will be live telecast in four languages”

    India’s tour of Ireland and England is a part of Sony Sports Network’s ‘Non-stop Cricket’ campaign. The campaign that highlighted 1,800+ hours of international cricket action available on Sony Sports Network, features the unique duo of India Women’s Cricket Team opening batter Smriti Mandhana along with actor Pankaj Tripathi. After the first campaign film successfully broke the clutter in sports advertising, the network recently launched the second film for the upcoming India tour of England. The film shot at a Dhobi Ghat metaphorically implies the impending ‘Dhulai’ of the England cricket team on their turf by Team India.

  • TenderCuts rolls out father’s day campaign #madebydad

    TenderCuts rolls out father’s day campaign #madebydad

    Mumbai: Omnichannel meat and seafood D2C brand TenderCuts has rolled out a campaign for father’s day with cricketer Dinesh Karthik and chef Sanjay Thumma. The campaign was conceptualized in-house, and no agency was involved. It evokes a sense of nostalgia while cherishing the contributions of a father.

    As a part of the campaign, TenderCuts engaged with its customers on all social media platforms, encouraging them to share their unforgettable personal memories with their father. The best three videos will be awarded with a mini cricket bat autographed by Dinesh Karthik.

    The brand has released a video that revolves around Cricketer Dinesh Karthik sharing a short story about his experience on father’s day every year. He shares that every year on father’s day, his father would prepare mutton biryani for the family. This year, he plans to emulate his father by preparing a delicious mutton biryani himself. The video continues with Dinesh Karthik mentioning that he ordered fresh mutton from TenderCuts that is antibiotic free with the FSSAI and other safety certifications in place, which was also freshly cut only after the order is placed.

    https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OGrcsjFIeC0

    https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WnmSB8FuBto

    It continues with him reminiscing about how much he enjoyed his father’s mutton biryani and how his father wished the local markets were cleaner. The commercial ends with a scene of Dinesh Karthik enjoying a meal of biryani with his father.

    TenderCuts chief marketing officer Aruna Jathar said, “Fathers have always been characterized as sacrificing but are never acknowledged. This year, we wanted to showcase the caring aspect of a ‘father’ in his role to provide only the best for his family. This story comes alive with a real-life experience of our very own Dinesh Karthik. TenderCuts celebrates every father this Father’s Day through this story.”

  • High price dictated Disney-Star’s decision not pursue IPL digital rights

    High price dictated Disney-Star’s decision not pursue IPL digital rights

    Mumbai: Disney+ Hotstar which was in the running for the Indian Premier League digital broadcast rights decided to drop out due to the high price of the rights package. 

    Disney Star participated in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights e-auction and stated that it made disciplined bids with a focus on long-term value.

    The company retained the TV broadcast rights to the tournament for the next five years for a substantial price of Rs 23,575 crore or Rs 57.5 crore per match. “We made disciplined bids with a focus on long-term value. We chose not to proceed with the digital rights given the price required to secure that package,” stated Campbell.

    “We are pleased to extend our association with the Indian Premier League and look forward to offering the next five seasons across our portfolio of television channels,” said Campbell. “IPL is an important component of our portfolio of television channels in India, providing an incredible opportunity for us to showcase The Walt Disney Company’s powerful global brands and iconic storytelling, as well as Disney Star’s impressive collection of local original content, to millions of viewers in India.”

    Disney Star India will explore other multi-platform cricket rights controlled by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The company holds the rights to premier sports properties such as Pro Kabaddi League, Indian Super League Football as well as various international rights including Tennis Grand Slam Wimbledon Championships and the English Premier League.

    Disney Star operates a portfolio of more than 70 television channels in India that cut across general entertainment, films, sports, infotainment, kids and lifestyle content reaching 90 per cent of pay cable and satellite TV homes in the region.

    The company’s OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar has 100 local original titles in the pipeline with over 80 originals slated to premier this fiscal year. Last year, seven out of the top ten most popular Hindi subscription-video-on-demand (SVOD) entertainment series in India were Hotstar Specials. “Disney+ Hotstar has changed the way Indians watch their entertainment – from favourite locally produced original TV shows to global blockbuster films,” said Campbell.

  • Value creation is the prism through which we evaluate sports: Rahul Johri

    Value creation is the prism through which we evaluate sports: Rahul Johri

    Mumbai: Zee Entertainment Enterprises president business for South Asia Rahul Johri stated that the company evaluates every sports property through the prism of value creation for its stakeholders. It was the only Indian company that participated in the recently concluded e-auction for the Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights from 2023-2027.

    The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sold the media rights to the IPL for the next five years for a total of Rs 48,390 crore or Rs 118 crore per match for 410 matches. Disney Star retained the TV broadcast rights, while Viacom18 claimed the digital broadcast rights and shared the international broadcast rights with Times Internet. Zee was a contender for the digital broadcast rights.

    In his statement, Johri congratulated BCCI for running an extremely efficient and transparent e-auction process. He said, “We are grateful to the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, honourable secretary Jay Shah, and treasurer Arun Dhumal for their able leadership and unwavering support in enabling Zee’s participation in the IPL media rights tender process.”

    He stated that Zee will focus on value creation for its stakeholders over everything else and will continue to evaluate every sports property through the same prism.

    Zee is currently in the process of completing a merger with Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) India who was a contender for the IPL TV broadcast rights.