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Tag: DAZN

  • CSI sports scores big with John Skipper on board

    CSI sports scores big with John Skipper on board

    MUMBAI: CSI Sports kicks off a winning streak. CSI Sports is gearing up for a game-changing move with the appointment of renowned sports television executive John Skipper to its board of directors. Skipper, the former president of ESPN, co-chairman of Disney Media Networks, executive chairman of DAZN, and co-founder of Meadowlark Media, will also serve as senior executive advisor to co-founders Richard and Craig Miele. His decades of global experience promise to bring a fresh playbook to the sports, streaming, and media arena.

    The announcement comes just ahead of Sportel, signalling CSI Sports’ ambition to level up its presence in the global sports content market. CSI Sports has also strengthened its executive team with HBO Sports veteran Mark Taffett as head of global live events, reality TV producer Brian Robinson as senior supervising producer of reality programming, and communications leader Chris DeBlasio of Showtime Networks as head of global communications.

    The organisation continues to invest heavily in global content acquisitions as it gears up for strategic partnership launches in 2026. With this stellar lineup, CSI Sports is clearly playing to win and redefining the rules of engagement in sports entertainment.

  • FAST frenzy: Viewers binge more, advertisers cash in, everyone wins!

    FAST frenzy: Viewers binge more, advertisers cash in, everyone wins!

    MUMBAI: Not too long ago, TV lovers had two choices—pay up for endless subscriptions or rely on old-school cable. But just when you thought you were stuck juggling streaming bills like a circus act, FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) swooped in like a digital superhero. Forget flipping channels—now, viewers get premium content for free, advertisers get their dream audience, and content providers rake in the ad dollars. It’s a win-win-win, and Amagi’s latest Global FAST Report 14 Edition proves it.

    The report unveils staggering double-digit growth in both hours of viewing (HOV) and ad impressions, making it clear that FAST isn’t some fleeting trend—it’s an advertising revolution. Gone are the days when ads interrupted your binge session; now, they power the very shows you love.

    Amagi crunched the numbers from 3,300+ channels streaming via its SSAI (Server-Side Ad Insertion) platform, Amagi Thunderstorm. The results? A jaw-dropping 95 per cent YoY surge in global HOV and a 65 per cent jump in ad impressions—because when it comes to FAST, the stream never stops, and neither do the ad dollars. If streaming had a crystal ball, it would be flashing ‘bright future ahead!’

    Key takeaways:

    . U.S. and Canada keep the FAST train running at full throttle, contributing the lion’s share of global ad impressions and HOV. Who needs cable when free streaming is this good?

    .  APAC is the new streaming superstar, boasting a blockbuster 132 per cent YoY increase in HOV and a 130 per cent spike in ad impressions. If FAST were a stock, you’d want to buy in now.

    . LATAM and EMEA aren’t sitting on the sidelines, with entertainment, news, and documentaries leading the charge. Because who doesn’t love free content that informs and entertains?

    .  Entertainment remains the undisputed champion of FAST, making up 40–45 per cent of global HOV. Drama, reality TV, and movies—FAST has it all, without the price tag.

    .  New FAST channels are shaking up the game, with 25 per cent of global HOV and ad impressions coming from channels launched after December 2023. The future of TV is FAST, and it’s only getting started.

    The streaming wars may be ongoing, but FAST has found its niche. Unlike SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand), which relies on subscription models, FAST offers premium content free-of-cost, funded entirely by ads. Viewers have spoken, and their preference for free, high-quality content has set the stage for an advertising revolution.

    Amagi’s consumer survey of 500+ U.S. households revealed key trends:

    . 75 per cent of respondents watch free, ad-supported streaming content.

    . 66 per cent reported watching FAST channels multiple times per week.

    . 67 per cent noticed and engaged with overlay ads, proving the model’s efficacy for advertisers.

    FAST isn’t just standing alone—it’s merging with traditional Pay TV and SVOD models. Pay TV services now offer FAST channels, SVOD giants like Warner Bros. Discovery are experimenting with ad-supported tiers, and FAST services are enhancing their content portfolios with premium offerings.

    With global advertisers shifting their focus from Pay TV to CTV (Connected TV) and FAST, content providers are being forced to rethink their distribution strategies. Industry leaders like Dazn are already unifying conventional broadcasting with FAST to create a seamless viewing experience.

    As more regions embrace FAST, expect to see a sharper focus on localised content, better ad targeting, and stronger partnerships between streaming giants and advertisers. The numbers don’t lie—a 95 per cent rise in viewing hours and a 65 per cent spike in ad impressions make one thing clear: FAST isn’t slowing down—it’s just getting warmed up.

    So, whether you’re an advertiser chasing eyeballs, a content creator searching for the next big platform, or just someone who loves free TV with a side of perfectly timed ads, FAST is your new best friend. 

  • Streamer Dazn acquires Australian Foxtel group from News Corp & Telstra for A$3.4 bn

    Streamer Dazn acquires Australian Foxtel group from News Corp & Telstra for A$3.4 bn

    MUMBAI: It’s a deal that’s happening  down under but it’s given streaming platform Dazn group an upper hand as it continues its march towards spreading its wings even further globally. News Corp and Telstra owners of the Foxtel group– once a prized pay TV operator in Australia now turned streamer – have agreed to sell it to the Dazn group in a deal that values it at A$3.4 billion, including debt. Dazn is a  privately-held global streamer owned by British-Ukrainian billionaire Len Blavatnik.

    Under the terms of the agreement, Dazn will pay News Corp’s loans to the tune  of $578 million in cash on account of Foxtel, give it a board seat and a six per cent shareholding in the acquiring company. 35 per cent Foxtel owner Telstra’s debt of A$128 million too will be repaid and it will end up with a three per cent minority interest in Dazn. Foxtel’s existing debt will be refinanced by Dazn when the deal closes. 

    Founded in 2016, Dazn has more than 3,000 employees and reported a top line of $3.2bn in 2023, having grown its annual revenues by over 50  per cent on average from 2020 to 2023, through diverse revenue streams comprising subscriptions, advertising, sponsorship, and transactional video on demand. It has more than 300 million viewers across 200 markets. Dazn streams over 90,000 live events annually and is the home of European football, women’s football, boxing and MMA, and the NFL internationally. The platform features sports and leagues from around the world including Bundesliga, Serie A, LALIGA, Ligue 1, Formula 1, NBA, Moto GP, and the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

    A press release mentioned that the agreement follows a strategic and financial review of Foxtel as part of its  ongoing efforts to optimise its portfolio and simplify its corporate structure. With Dazn’s global reach, industry leading technology and broad content portfolio, the proposed transaction enhances Foxtel’s position as a digital-first, streaming-focused business, led by the current CEO, Patrick Delany, and his management team. The Foxtel group includes the Foxtel, Hubbl, Flash, Kayo Sports and Binge streaming brands along with Fox Sports and Foxtel Media. Foxtel has 4.7 million streaming subscribers

    The transaction, which is expected to close in the second half of fiscal 2025, is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. For News Corp financial reporting purposes, Foxtel will be classified as discontinued operations as of the second quarter of fiscal 2025. 

    “This agreement is a victory for News Corp shareholders, Dazn, and sport fans in Australia and around the world,” said News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson. “Foxtel has been transformed into a genuine digital and streaming leader in Australia, and we believe Dazn is the right owner to take the business to the next level with their technological capabilities, global footprint and compelling sports rights. This transaction also allows News Corp to focus on our other growth pillars of Dow Jones, digital real estate and book publishing, while benefiting from repayment of our shareholder loans and an improved credit profile. We are proud to be a long-term partner of Dazn and its talented team.”

    Dazn chief executive officer Shay Segev said: “Australians watch more sport than any other country in the world, which makes this deal an incredibly exciting opportunity for Dazn to enter a key market, marking another step in our long-term strategy to become the global home of sport. Foxtel is a successful business that has undergone a remarkable digital transformation in recent years, and we are confident that our global reach and relentless pursuit of innovation will continue to drive the business forward and ensure long-term success. 
    “We are committed to supporting and investing in Foxtel’s television and streaming services, across both sports and entertainment, using our world-leading technology to further enhance the viewing experience for customers. We are also committed to using our global reach to export Australia’s most popular sports to new markets around the world, and we will continue to promote women’s and under-represented sports. 

    “We’re looking forward to working closely with Patrick Delany and his team, as well as News Corp and Telstra as shareholders in DAZN, to realise our ambitious vision for the future of sport entertainment.” 

    Foxtel chairman Siobhan McKenna, said the agreement with DAZN was international recognition of the transformation of Foxtel from an incumbent pay TV operator to a sports and entertainment digital and streaming leader. “Over the last seven years the Foxtel team, with the strong support of News, have achieved an extraordinary turnaround in an intensely competitive environment.” 

    Foxtel Group CEO Patrick Delany said: “News Corp’s unwavering support and guidance has seen Foxtel successfully reinvent itself into a dynamic, streaming-led business delivering strong financial performance. We are excited to embark on the next chapter with Dazn, a premier global sports streaming provider, as our new shareholder. Dazn’s backing will enhance our strategy needed, provide access to their global reach, and strengthen the infrastructure and technology to accelerate our transformation. Most importantly, we will continue to be a proudly Australian-based business, led by local management, committed to delivering locally-produced sports and entertainment content for our audiences.” 
     

  • Dazn to live broadcast Fifa Club World Cup ’25 for free globally

    Dazn to live broadcast Fifa Club World Cup ’25 for free globally

    MUMBAI: Here’s even more good news for football fans. There’s more football fever being kicked into your living rooms to cheer for until you are hoarse. 

    The international football federation Fifa has signed up with streamer Dazn making it the exclusive global broadcaster of the FiFa Club World Cup 2025. Under the agreement, the tournament which will see 32 clubs from all over the world fighting it out for the trophy over 63 matches is to be live streamed on Dazn free globally in multiple languages, and includes the possibility of sub-licensing to local free to air linear broadcast networks. 

    The Fifa Club  World Cup 2025, which was launched in 2000, but had gone through a bumpy ride in certain years, was  converted into a quadrennial competition (starting 2025) when it was last held in 2023. The teams are drawn into eight groups of four, with each team playing three group stage matches in a round-robin format. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage, starting with the round of 16 and culminating with the final.

    In its previous avatar when it was an annual competition, Real Madrid emerged as the winner on five occasions, Spanish teams have won the tournament eight times. The current champions are Manchester City which held the trophy aloft in 2023.

    The agreement to hold the exclusive global broadcast rights to the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 marks the start of a broader partnership between Dazn and Fifa. This includes integrating Fifa+,   Fifa’s library of iconic football moments and full-match replays, as well as live fixtures, into the Dazn platform. 

    The partnership begins with the draw of the Fifa Club World Cup which will be broadcast live on Dazn on 5 December. The 32 participating clubs will discover their group-stage opponents in a live studio event that will kick off at 13:00 EST/18:00 GMT/19:00 CET. The Fifa  Club World Cup 2025, which kicks off on Sunday 15 June 2025 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami will have matches being played in 12 venues across the US over a 29-day period, culminating with the final at MetLife Stadium, New York New Jersey on Sunday, 13 July 2025.

    Making a top club competition freely available to every single fan globally, the ground breaking partnership combines Dazn’s unique expertise and vision for the future with Fifa’s commitment to making football truly global, claims a press release issued by the two. 

    It also helps that the Fifa Club World Cup has finally found a home as this will help the football federation rope in sponsors. Reports say that the clubs have been asking for $50 million per head to participate ; so far it has managed to sign up Chinese electronics firm Hi-sense, Anheuser Busch (AB InBev) and Bank of America as sponsors.  Additionally, reports say that the deal between Dazn and Fifa is valued at about $1 billion, though no financial terms were disclosed. 

    “I am delighted to announce that Fifa, in partnership with Dazn and Fifa+, will bring the best of club football for free to everywhere in the world, meaning that every single football fan across the globe can watch the best players from the 32 best clubs compete in the new Fifa Club World Cup to be the first official Fifa Club World Champions’,” said Fifa president Gianni Infantino “The new Fifa Club World Cup is a merit-based, inclusive tournament that will be the pinnacle of global club football, capturing the imagination of players and fans across the world. Through this broadcasting agreement, billions of football fans worldwide can now watch what will be the most widely accessible club football tournament ever – and for free. Football Unites the World.” 

    Added Dazn chief executive officer Shay Segev: “This groundbreaking deal with Fifa is a major milestone in Dazn’s journey to be the ultimate entertainment platform of choice for sports fans everywhere. We’re delighted to have the exclusive rights to this new chapter in global club football, marking the start of our long-term relationship with FIFA and cementing our status as the home of football. Dazn is the only sports streaming platform that has a truly global reach, with world-leading technology and a single-minded focus to deliver the very best digital experience for all sports fans. We’re committed to ensuring that every fan can watch every moment of the thrilling action from this new prime club tournament.”

    Dazn – a fully interactive and immersive platform  – enables fans to watch, play, buy and connect, all in one place and with a single account. It is available on all connected devices, including smart TVs, smartphones, tablets and game consoles. It has a large portfolio of sports  rights and  that includes the world’s most prestigious leagues. Its content is watched by over 300 million viewers in more than 200 markets. It is normally charges a subscription fee for premium sports tournaments.

    A detractor says that Dazn and Fifa have taken the decision to stream the Fifa Club World Cup for free as the tournament is working on gaining prestige amongst football fans. As well as advertisers.

    “It does  not have the respectability of the La Liga or the EPL. In its annual avatar it did not get even a fraction of the eyeballs the EPL does. Hence by streaming it for free, both Fifa and Dazn are hoping it will grow on football fans,” says a football rights expert. 

    The critics can carp from the sidelines, but with both Fifa and Dazn working in tandem, the Fifa Club World Cup 2025 could well end scoring well with viewers. And come out a winner!

                                             FIFA Club World Cup 2025 – participating clubs

    Africa: Al Ahly FC (EGY), Espérance Sportive de Tunis (TUN), Mamelodi Sundowns FC (RSA), Wydad AC (MAR) 

    Asia: Al Ain FC (UAE), Al Hilal (KSA), Ulsan HD (KOR), Urawa Red Diamonds (JPN) 

    Europe: Atlético de Madrid (ESP), FC Bayern München (GER), SL Benfica (POR), Borussia Dortmund (GER), Chelsea FC (ENG), FC Internazionale Milano (ITA), Juventus FC (ITA), Manchester City (ENG), Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), FC Porto (POR), Real Madrid CF (ESP), FC Salzburg (AUT) 

    North and Central America and the Caribbean: CF Monterrey (MEX), CF Pachuca (MEX), Club León (MEX), Inter Miami CF (USA), Seattle Sounders FC (USA) Oceania: Auckland City FC (NZL) 

    South America: CA Boca Juniors (ARG), Botafogo (BRA), CR Flamengo (BRA), Fluminense FC (BRA), SE Palmeiras (BRA), CA River Plate (ARG)

  • Avia’s inaugural ‘Japan in View’ highlights Japan’s future of digital entertainment

    Avia’s inaugural ‘Japan in View’ highlights Japan’s future of digital entertainment

    Tokyo – The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) held its very first Japan focused industry event, Japan in View, on 29 October at the Andaz Tokyo, bringing together over 130 international and regional players from across the video and streaming industry.

    The conference opened and dove straight into the streaming potential of Japan, with TVer Inc., executive managing director & COO Shinjiro Ninagawa, sharing his ambitions of growing TVer to thrice as large as it was now, with the business doubling over the next two – three years. Dazn CEO (Japan, Asia) Yu Sasamoto, also said that Japan was still at the tipping point of the shift and transformation from traditional linear programming to digital services, and he expected more disruption from new players, with the landscape shifting significantly in the next five years.

    Ampd Analytics (an MPA company) VP, Sam Yousif further expanded on the opportunities for Japan, opening his session describing Japan as “a lucrative, consistently growing multi-billion-dollar industry with a complex competitive landscape and unique customer behaviour.” In Asia (excluding China), Japan was the largest Video On Demand (VOD) market in terms of revenue with $ 6 billion in 2024, almost two times bigger than the next biggest market, Australia. Revenue had also been growing near double digits every year in the past four years, with a Cagr of 17 per cent from 2020 – 2024. VOD consumers also had diverse options, both within and outside of the industry, with VOD only representing six per cent of their free time. Japanese consumers also exhibited unique viewing behaviour not seen across other markets, including a distinct preference for local content. 78 per cent of the total hours viewed on VOD in Japan was with Japanese content, with 93 per cent of VOD users consuming Japanese content and US content only at 16 per cent. And interestingly, there was also a large, shared economy where the top titles, mostly anime, were shared across all the platforms. “With so much content shared across so many platforms, it feels more like a streaming cooperation in Japan than a streaming war,” added Avia CEO Louis Boswell.

    However, beyond anime, panelists believed that Japan was only scratching the surface in terms of the international opportunity for the export of its content. “If the industry can turn and create content that can be appealing both for Japanese audiences and globally, it’s enormous value and enormous opportunity,” said Iconique Pictures executive producer David Shin.What was key was to take the wonderful stories that were indigenous to Japan and elevate them with a high level of storytelling that could propel the industry and that content overseas, added Shin.

    And with the success that Korean content has had internationally, Tving chief content officer Sun Hong Min shared that the foremost reason behind TVING’s impressive growth this year was their strategic partnership with leading content providers, that enabled them to offer a diverse arrangement of high-quality premium content that resonated deeply with their users. Min was also of the opinion that local content could resonate on a global scale by combining universal human elements with a narrative deeply rooted in local history, culture and sentiment.

    Partnerships were also key to growing the business for Warner Bros. Discovery general manager – Japan, Buddy Marini across both linear and streaming, having recently announced a new partnership with U-Next to launch Max in Japan. For local giant J:Com, general manager, media business division, Kaz Sasajima, the digital domain too represented room for growth, particularly in the space of professionally produced content. And wrapping up in the closing panel, for TV5Monde, managing director, APAC, Alexandre Muller, AI was presenting new possibilities, notably in terms of providing greater access to content across multiple languages. “Definitely the place to be is in Asia Pacific, and this is really where the growth is and I can see growth both in linear and as well as on OTT,” added Muller.

  • Cracking down on Indian TV & streaming piracy, Italian style

    Cracking down on Indian TV & streaming piracy, Italian style

    MUMAI: Piracy has been the bane of both broadcasters and streamers for some time now. Yes, both have anti-piracy crews who spend crores of rupees behind sophisticated tools which crawl the world wide web round the clock to track illegal streams and bring down the rogue sites with the help of ISPs. 

    Even the Indian government has stepped in at times with the department of telecommunications (DoT)  directing  ISPs to take down the crooks, but more often than not the takedowns relate to what the mandarins fear could be a threat to national security,  religious sentiment, is defamatory or points fingers at the powers-that-be wrongly. 

    Could it learn from what the Italian government is doing to protect broadcasters and streamers and bring down piracy? The authorities there are not using Mafia-like tactics; they are simply putting in place stricter regulation, policing and implementation. 

    Italy has more than five million or more citizens accessing scoundrel sites costing the pay TV ecosystem (more specifically sports) – Dazn, Sky Italia, Prime Video and Mediaset Infinity –  more than €400 million  annually.

    To get an insight into what’s happening in Italy a little bit of background in sequential order would help. In August 2023, the Italian government passed a strict anti-piracy law which brought in lay viewers  into the fold of those who would be penalised with fines going up  as high as  €5,000.  ISPs would be slapped with administrative fines of 20 million lira to 500 million lira, or in today’s currency – €10,00  to €265,000.  Those involved in the supply/distribution of infringing IPTV streams would  face up to three years in prison and a fine of up to €15,000.

    Then on 31 January 2024, Lega Serie A (the governing body of football  in Italy)  launched an anti-piracy platform Piracy Shield which is operated by the nation’s Communications Regulatory Authority, AgCom. Its purpose was to identify and penalise those who are watching –  mind you, those who are WATCHING –  pirated content, and even those who are streaming it. Piracy Shield was designed to block illegal streaming within 30 minutes of detection by targeting both IP addresses and domain names.

    In March 2024, Italians  received reminders that fines were on the way, even for those who download illegal sports streaming apps from legal marketplaces operated by Google, Apple, and Amazon.

    Reports are that the measures seem to be working so far. The multi-pronged exercise has succeeded in blocking over 1,000 online domains and more than 500 IP addresses associated with illegal streaming activities since the start of the new football season in Italy. However, no information was available about individuals being penalised for viewing pirated content at the time of writing.

    Recently, AgCom announced the extension of  Piracy Shield to cover cultural events, music and TV series. Additionally, it signed a memorandum of understanding between the prosecutor’s office and Guardia di Finanza (financial police) under which automatic information exchange between the parties will enable subscribers of pirate IPTV services to be automatically fined. Yes – AUTOMATICALLY fined.  

    Secondly, an amendment to the online copyright enforcement regulation approved by the Italian senate proposes prison sentences of up to a year for individuals who do not report – yes, those who DO NOT REPORT – piracy or related offences. The amendments also target service providers such as VPN and DNS companies. This includes VPN and DNS service providers such as Google and Cloudflare. These providers will face stricter obligations to cooperate with authorities in stopping the distribution of pirated material.

    The amendments and changes have  been welcomed by the Italian pay TV industry and streamers. The reason: under the new dispensation, authorities will soon have access to names, surnames, IP addresses, and other identifying details of those accessing criminal websites and hence penalties will be automatically imposed.

    We will have to wait and see how effective these measures will prove to be and how much they will deter the pirates in Italy.

    In the meantime, can the Indian pay TV ecosystem, DoT, and the government take a closer look at the Italian model of curbing piracy?  Can the cash-rich Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and industry come together to create an industry wide platform to curb sports broadcast leakages? Especially, since it is the main sports body that has been raking in billions of dollars by licensing the TV rights. Can the penalties for resorting to piracy be made tougher?

    A study in 2023 pointed out that Indian broadcasters and streamers are losing close to $3 billion (Rs 25,000 crore) annually on signal leakages related to sports and TV series telecasts through illegal cable TV and internet distribution. Indian anti-piracy laws also only finger and penalise the pirates – and that too infrequently as policing, and implementation is weak. Hence, piracy continues to be to be widespread and almost everyone in the ecosystem takes it lightly.  

    Harsher measures like making viewers and the likes of Google and Apple culpable through automatic  penalties could help alleviate the problem. The authorities will not have to penalise too many violators; just making a loud noise about a few could prove a deterrent to most.

    The times, they are a-changing. Can the anti-piracy efforts in India gain in strength and momentum through collaboration between the stakeholders? 
     

  • Disney Star India in shortlist for SportsPro OTT awards

    Disney Star India in shortlist for SportsPro OTT awards

    MUMBAI: There’s good news for Disney Star India. Its tech innovations have got a pat on the back from the leading streaming awards for –  the SportsPro OTT awards.

    The company’s streaming service has been shortlisted in the categories of innovation and platform of the year and for its marketing strategy while Star Sports has found a mention among the toppers in the use of artificial intelligence.

    Disney+Hotstar worked with the ICC to introduce Max View during the World Cup – which allows users to switch to a vertical view, maximizing the screen space for a more immersive experience. This innovation has been shortlisted in the innovation of the year category.

    The streamer recorded peak viewership numbers of 5.9 crore viewers during the World Cup final between India and Australia, which required deft engineering excellence. The SportsPro OTT Awards have recognised this effort by shortlisting Disney+Hotstar  in the platform of the year category (from a network) for managing this humungous traffic using cutting edge technologies.

    Its marketing campaign for the World Cup 2023 which resulted in it never seen before cumulative viewers  through its messaging “One Platform, One Nation: Online India Comes Together for Cricket World Cup 2023” has been placed in the shortlist of the marketing category.

    Finally, Star Sports  use of artificial intelligence to translate international cricketers commentary into Indian regional languages has got a mention in the best use of AI category.

    The awards, which were created by leading UK-based  publication SportsProMedia, have a jury consisting of executives from some of the top sports firms including Formula 1, IMG Sports, SailGP, Dazn, among many others.

  • Market-leading ThinkAnalytics is the only content discovery vendor with capability to scale to over 100 million users in the cloud

    Market-leading ThinkAnalytics is the only content discovery vendor with capability to scale to over 100 million users in the cloud

    MUMBAI: ThinkAnalytics™ today announced that its cloud-based personalized content discovery platform is the first in the industry to scale to over 100 million monthly active users in the cloud.

    ThinkAnalytics’ customers rely on this ability to deal with massive scale to power personalized user experiences as they undergo rapid growth in both audience numbers and the number of hours each user spends viewing content.

    Four of the firm’s OTT customers – BBC, DAZN, Tata Sky and Viacom 18 – now have a combined user base that exceeds 100 million monthly active users. Plus Viacom18 has attracted more than 50 million monthly users to its Voot platform and is targeting 100 million by the end of March 2020.

    Using the Amazon Web Services cloud platform, ThinkAnalytics’ content discovery platform both auto-scales to meet peak demand and deliver a consistently high-quality personalized viewing experience that boosts engagement, and scales down during quieter periods to reduce costs.  Combining full redundancy in geographically distributed data centres and a self-healing capability that automatically replaces any failed instances, the ThinkAnalytics platform provides industry-leading performance, scalability and reliability.

    One global streaming customer recently scaled to run at over a million requests per minute without a glitch, with no manual intervention required. The ThinkAnalytics platform auto-scaled from the minimum configuration to peak demand, all fully automated.

    Peter Docherty, ThinkAnalytics CTO, said, “Scalability, which has always been at the heart of our technology, is critical as established brands look to scale their D2C services quickly across multiple markets, while established providers in countries such as India are breaking new barriers with ever growing numbers of active OTT users. For these providers, a cloud-based content discovery platform that can reliably auto-scale to support many millions of viewers is a priority, offering the peace of mind that comes with a reliable, high-quality experience – even at peak periods. With our platform, customers get the world-leading personalization capabilities they need to engage their audiences and showcase the breadth and depth of content available, combined with the tools and insight needed to attract and retain viewers. ”

    The ThinkAnalytics portfolio gives customers a holistic view of their business with full viewer lifecycle management, helping them to better address KPIs such as boosting loyalty, ARPU and customer experience, and developing new revenue streams.

    As well as personalized content discovery powered by AI and machine learning, solutions include: ThinkInsight, the TV industry’s first viewer and video insight platform; the ThinkEditorial campaign tool, and the ThinkComposer dynamic UX engine that provides the ability to personalise the viewer experience.

  • FIH, DAZN renew deal for 2019-22

    FIH, DAZN renew deal for 2019-22

    MUMBAI: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has renewed its media rights agreement with DAZN for a period of four years (2019-2022) in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, according to Insidesport. FIH and DAZN first entered into a media rights agreement back in 2017. DAZN is a subscription video streaming service owned by Perform Group.

    The rights include all FIH Pro League matches, the Olympic qualifiers and the Hockey World Cups 2022 – both men and women.

    FIH CEO Thierry Weil said, “FIH is delighted to extend its working relationship with DAZN. This partnership will help us to increase the exposure of hockey. In particular, it will contribute to promote FIH’s brand-new competition, the FIH Pro League, our global home and away league involving many of the world’s best hockey teams.”

    DAZN DACH EVP Thomas de Buhr said, “The multisport approach has been part of DAZN’s core DNA right from the start. For fans of smaller sports, often in the shadow of major sports, it’s nice to know that DAZN is home to all sports fans. Field hockey has been an integral part of DAZN since 2017 and we look forward to accompanying the German national teams on their way to the Olympics 2020 and beyond.”

    The service is dedicated to sports, offering live and on-demand streaming of events from various properties. It was first launched in Austria, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland in August 2016, and in Canada the following year. It was launched in the United States and Italy in 2018.

  • Former ESPN president joins rival Perform Group

    Former ESPN president joins rival Perform Group

    MUMBAI: The former president of ESPN, John Skipper, has been hired as the executive chairman of sports media company Perform Group. Skipper left ESPN in December 2017.

    Less than six months after his departure from ESPN, Skipper will soon be competing against his former long-time employer. Skipper was with ESPN for over 20 years and was president for six.

    The Perform Group is based in London with offices around the world. Perform currently owns and manages 10 D2C properties worldwide that reach more than 170 million fans per month with Goal.com being its largest property with nearly 100 million users per month as well as other strategic, long-term partnerships with the NFL, FIBA, WTA and CONMEBOL.

    “Perform Group’s platform and expertise, coupled with its success in launching subscription services in Germany, Japan and Canada, provides a model we intend to replicate around the world,” Skipper has said.

    Skipper’s appointment stated that he would oversee all of Perform’s operations and strategy but both his statement and that of Simon Denyer, the founder and chief executive of Perform, implied that Skipper would be focusing on DAZN.

    Recently, Perform Group and NBA have announced a multi-year partnership that will see Perform manage the league’s official websites in more than 15 international markets, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, India, Japan, Mexico and Spain.

    DAZN, pronounced ‘Da Zone,’ has been compared to Netflix. Available in five countries—Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan and Canada—DAZN gives sports fans access to thousands of live sports events for a monthly subscription fee, usually around $20 (Rs 1345).

    Perform has not yet announced which countries will be next as part of that global rollout but it is unlikely that Skipper will soon be engaged in bidding wars against his former company. Most American sports rights are unavailable to be bought for several years.

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