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  • Sony Sports Network enlists ECB Stars for ‘Iss Baar Drugs Ki Haar’ campaign

    Sony Sports Network enlists ECB Stars for ‘Iss Baar Drugs Ki Haar’ campaign

    Mumbai: Sony Sports Network takes its impactful ‘Iss Baar Drugs Ki Haar’ campaign to new heights by joining forces with marquee players from the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB). England Women’s captain Heather Knight, England Men’s wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler, and fast bowler Mark Wood lend their voices to this initiative, aimed at empowering India’s youth to reject drugs.

    This campaign’s second phase builds on the success of its debut, zeroing in on preventing first-time drug use among young Indians. Through the influential platform of sports, Sony Sports Network encourages youth to make informed choices, using the campaign to inspire a widespread movement against drug abuse.

    Sony Pictures Networks India, chief revenue officer – distribution & international business and head – sports business, Rajesh Kaul: “Drug abuse among India’s youth is a growing concern, often driven by peer dynamics. At Sony Sports Network, we believe that sports icons can influence positive choices. With the support of Heather Knight, Jos Buttler, and Mark Wood, we’re reinforcing our commitment to this critical cause. The success of our first film has motivated us to keep pushing forward, and we’re excited to continue inspiring India’s youth to say no to drugs.”

    England Men’s wicketkeeper-batter, Jos Buttler: “I am glad to be associated with Sony Sports Network for their noble campaign of ‘Iss Baar Drugs Ki Haar’. Drugs is a global issue and this campaign is a great initiative which can create a difference among the youth.”

    England fast bowler, Mark Wood: “Sony Sports Network’s initiative of “Iss Baar Drugs is Haar” is an important message for the youth in particular. It is a growing concern across the world and we are proud to associate with Sony Sports Network and lend our voice to the cause.”

    England women’s captain, Heather Knight: “Drugs can ruin lives. My message to young people is clear: Stay away, make better choices, and focus on a healthier future.”

  • Dream Sports’ FanCode to exclusively broadcast ECB’s ‘The Hundred’ in India

    Dream Sports’ FanCode to exclusively broadcast ECB’s ‘The Hundred’ in India

    Mumbai: Dream Sports’ FanCode has bagged exclusive four-year broadcast rights for England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) new format cricket competition, The Hundred. The partnership between ECB and Dream Sports, the parent company of both Dream11 and FanCode, is a comprehensive sports deal with FanCode as an official broadcast partner in India and Dream11 an official partner.

    The action-packed 100-ball cricket competition will include 68 matches played over five weeks starting 21 July. In an entirely new format of cricket, ECB’s The Hundred has eight women’s and men’s teams from major cities across England and Wales. A 25-ball powerplay for each team will allow two fielders outside of the initial 30-yard circle. Each of the eight squads will have 15 players with a maximum of three overseas stars.

    FanCode will provide a personalised sports experience to Indian sports fans through many user-first features for all the LIVE action from The Hundred. Some of these offerings include interactive data overlays, fastest ad-free live scores, multimedia commentary, in-depth sports statistics and analytics, real-time match highlights, multiple audio feeds, and much more, the platform said in a statement.

    “The Hundred is a new, innovative, cricket competition featuring some of the world’s top players, and we’re excited that fans in India will be able to enjoy the action,” said ECB’s chief commercial officer Tony Singh. “We’re sure it will be a big hit with fans across the globe. As both FanCode and Dream11 are at the forefront of transforming digital sports engagement and experience in India, we are thrilled to partner with them to bring the most comprehensive and immersive sports experience for Indian cricket fans.”

    “We are excited to bring The Hundred to our rapidly growing fan base in India,” said FanCode co-founder Prasana Krishnan. “Continuous digital innovation in creating unmatched sports viewing and engagement experience is an important part of our customer promise, and The Hundred, with its unique format, fits in perfectly with what we at FanCode stand for.”

    “We are thrilled to launch a comprehensive partnership with ECB for their new and exciting cricket tournament, ‘The Hundred’, with both Dream11 and FanCode,” said Dream Sports’ chief marketing officer Vikrant Mudaliar. “Through this partnership, we hope to drive fan engagement for The Hundred by reaching over 120 million Dream Sports fans in India. ‘The Hundred’ offers a truly innovative format, and we are confident that cricket fans will love this new sporting experience.”

    The competition will give equal weight to both men’s and women’s sides, with almost all the matches taking place as back-to-back men’s and women’s matches at the same venue on the same day. It will feature five Indian players across women’s teams – Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, and Jemimah Rodrigues. Cricketing greats such as Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Rashid Khan, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali, and Jonny Bairstow, among others, feature in this action-packed competitive format. 

  • SPN bags ECB’s media rights for 5 years

    SPN bags ECB’s media rights for 5 years

    MUMBAI: In another major breakthrough, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has acquired exclusive media rights from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for the Indian subcontinent for a five-year term. Millions of cricket fans across India now can watch men’s and women’s international matches, including Test matches, T20 Internationals and ODIs, played in England, the native origin of the sport.

    The new deal allows SPN to both televise and digitally broadcast a bunch of international matches played in the territory of ECB within the Indian subcontinent. Five Test matches, three ODIs and three T20 Internationals of upcoming India cricket tour of England will also be broadcast live.

    “The acquisition of the media rights of ECB for a five-year term, effective now through 2022, provides for some exciting cricket viewership. Cricket is a passion for most Indians and this term of ECB games includes three tours of the Indian cricket team which promises some thrilling cricket, the first of these coming close on the heels of the hugely exciting South Africa series. SPN will now be home to almost all international away series giving our fans a one-stop destination to view their favourite stars in action,” SPN managing director and CEO NP Singh said.

    “Today’s announcement means millions of cricket fans across the Indian subcontinent can follow their favourite team in action the next time they tour England – as well as enjoying access to iconic cricketing contests like next year’s Ashes,” ECB CEO Tom Harrison added.

    “It will also help further raise the global profile of the English game–giving both the England men’s and women’s teams valuable exposure in a part of the world where people are passionate about cricket and avid followers of the global game as well as their own national team.”

    With this acquisition, SPN’s exclusive cricket portfolio includes most of the major international cricket boards, namely, Cricket Australia, ECB, Pakistan Cricket Board, Sri Lanka Cricket, Cricket South Africa, Cricket West Indies and Zimbabwe Cricket Board.

    Earlier SPN acquired the exclusive media rights for all men’s international matches played in Australia as well as well as women’s international cricket played in the country. It even acquired the media rights of the newly introduced T10 Cricket League last year.

    Also Read:

    SPN India acquires TV, OTT rights for T10 Cricket League

    Sony India acquires Cricket Australia’s subcontinental media rights for six years

  • Siti Network looks to raise $100 million

    Siti Network looks to raise $100 million

    MUMBAI: Essel group multisystem operator (MSO) Siti Network has plans to raise $100 million through an issue of securities and/or equity related instruments.  The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that  it  needs the money to fund its operations. It has an ambitious plan to further expand its footprint in the cable TV  and broadband landscape in India as DAS progresses into its last phase.

    Siti Network said it had got an in-principle board approval to raise the money taking the equity or equity related instrument route through a qualified institutional placement (QIP)/external commercial borrowings (ECBs) with rights of conversion into equity shares, foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs),  American Depository Receipts (ADRs), global  depository receipts
    (GDRs) or any other securities convertible into or exchangeable for equity shares or securities linked to equity shares.

    The company’s board of directors approved the fund raising and other  proposals at its meeting held on 26 August. 

    Siti Network further stated that as per a family  arrangement  agreed between the  promoter  group, communication has been received from Dr Subhash Chandra, Jawahar Lal Goel, Laxmi Narain Goel and Ashok Kumar Goel to  declassify the three mentioned along with their respective family  members as promoters of the company in terms of Regulation 31A of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.

    The board decisions will take effect after necessary corporate and regulatory approvals are obtained.

    This is not first time that the company is raising funds. In October 2014, the company’s shareholders had approved raising up to $100 million by passing a special resolution through postal ballot.  However, against this, it made a QIP issue not exceeding Rs 250 crore; of which it received a subscription for Rs 221.11 crore at a price of Rs 35 per Re 1 share. 

    Then earlier this year, it received promoter funding to the tune of Rs  Rs 530 crore. Most of it was used to pare down its debt, while a minority portion was used for acquisition, including bigger stakes in associate companies and joint venture partners. 

    ALSO READ: 

    Siticable partners dittoTV; to push OTT to cable TV and broadband …

  • Siti Network looks to raise $100 million

    Siti Network looks to raise $100 million

    MUMBAI: Essel group multisystem operator (MSO) Siti Network has plans to raise $100 million through an issue of securities and/or equity related instruments.  The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that  it  needs the money to fund its operations. It has an ambitious plan to further expand its footprint in the cable TV  and broadband landscape in India as DAS progresses into its last phase.

    Siti Network said it had got an in-principle board approval to raise the money taking the equity or equity related instrument route through a qualified institutional placement (QIP)/external commercial borrowings (ECBs) with rights of conversion into equity shares, foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs),  American Depository Receipts (ADRs), global  depository receipts
    (GDRs) or any other securities convertible into or exchangeable for equity shares or securities linked to equity shares.

    The company’s board of directors approved the fund raising and other  proposals at its meeting held on 26 August. 

    Siti Network further stated that as per a family  arrangement  agreed between the  promoter  group, communication has been received from Dr Subhash Chandra, Jawahar Lal Goel, Laxmi Narain Goel and Ashok Kumar Goel to  declassify the three mentioned along with their respective family  members as promoters of the company in terms of Regulation 31A of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.

    The board decisions will take effect after necessary corporate and regulatory approvals are obtained.

    This is not first time that the company is raising funds. In October 2014, the company’s shareholders had approved raising up to $100 million by passing a special resolution through postal ballot.  However, against this, it made a QIP issue not exceeding Rs 250 crore; of which it received a subscription for Rs 221.11 crore at a price of Rs 35 per Re 1 share. 

    Then earlier this year, it received promoter funding to the tune of Rs  Rs 530 crore. Most of it was used to pare down its debt, while a minority portion was used for acquisition, including bigger stakes in associate companies and joint venture partners. 

    ALSO READ: 

    Siticable partners dittoTV; to push OTT to cable TV and broadband …

  • ICC and ECB float RFPs for world cup 2019 brand identity

    ICC and ECB float RFPs for world cup 2019 brand identity

     MUMBAI: The ICC and the England and the Wales cricket board (ECB); who will be hosting the mega cricket event in the summer of 2019, have invited proposals from companies interested in providing the brand identity for the flagship ICC event.

     

     The ICC, along with the ECB, will be involved in the development of the new brand identity to ensure sufficient flexibility across a diverse range of touch points that will be required of the brand. The selection procedure for these proposals shall consist of a technical evaluation of each proposal examining each applicant’s ability to provide the services in accordance with the requirements; a financial evaluation of each proposal examining each applicant’s ability to secure and offer the best possible prices in connection with the services; and an evaluation of each applicant’s suitability, experience and qualifications, including (without limitation) its compliance with the criteria as well as the organisational structure and infrastructure proposed by the applicant to provide the services.

     

    The ICC Development International Limited (IDI) after careful consideration and thorough examination of the proposals will select applicants whose proposal satisfies the criteria and the requirements mentioned in the RFP. The competitiveness of the financial terms offered may not necessarily be a decisive factor in choosing between proposals by the IDI.

     

    This RFP has been designed to attract applications from companies that have an extensive, proven track record in the design of sporting event identities, preferably on a global scale, along with a talented and experienced design team capable of committing itself to the project over an extended period of time.

     

    Timelines for the development of the strategy and event brand design along with an in-depth description of the required services are available in the RFP. To begin with, interested parties need to submit their intent-to-submit letter along with a cost estimate and brief summary of credentials.

  • BCCI, ECB and CA on course to play ball for ICC

    BCCI, ECB and CA on course to play ball for ICC

    MUMBAI: A change is gonna come, wrote one of the most revered R&B artists, Sam Cooke, in 1963.

     

    Possibly singing the same tune today is the triumvirate of India, Australia and England, what with reports of the ‘Position Paper’ – which gives decision making powers to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket Australia (CA), and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) – soon coming into effect. Buzz is the trio may well be on its way to securing the necessary votes for revamping the global cricket governing body, ICC, even as other member nations lose their grip on the situation.

     

    “Around July last year, I encouraged CA, ECB and the BCCI to work together and develop conditions to which all the member countries can come to terms with,” ICC president Alan Isaac said in a recent press conference. “We have currently drawn up the principles but the detailing needs to be done after conducting discussions. The idea was to get the three of the biggest and strongest boards together in one room and come up with a strong plan of action.”

     

    At the same press conference, ICC CEO Dave Richardson added: “There were numerous negotiations going on with all the member countries, but at the end of the negotiations, we saw that there were only these three nations that had those sticky points which we were looking out for.”

     

    Neither of the other boards has released an official statement but top officials on the executive board of ICC have gone on record in approving the proposed changes that give the trio complete freedom in the way cricket will be played 2015 onward as well as revenue shared in accordance to the brand value a test-playing nation is worth.

     

    Among the first ones to point out detrimental flaws in the BCCI-drafted ‘Position Paper’ were the cricket boards of South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Thereafter, the trio tweaked a few clauses to get other member boards to agree to the terms with West Indies, New Zealand and minnows Bangladesh having already given the go-ahead. The biggest hurdle the trio faces is that for the ‘Position Paper’ to come into effect, they need eight out of the 10 member nations to give their nod. Apparently, they are just one vote away from the three-fourths majority required to push the proposal through. And the financially crippled Pakistan cricket board is likely to be the one to bite the bullet. Not only has the country been struggling to maintain cricketing ties, given the prevailing political conditions, it hasn’t been able to host an international match since early 2009. This may be just the opportunity for the nation to have bilateral series under long-term contracts with the trio.

     

    That said, the proposal put forth in the ‘Position Paper’ appears fundamentally flawed as it assumes members have a proprietary interest in the money their respective economies generate for ICC events.

     

    Fact is broadcasters buy cricket rights because it appeals to their customers, drives subscriptions and advertising revenues. Similarly, sponsors use cricket to promote their products and services.

     

    While values are generally greater when the broadcasting country is playing, not all of it can be attributed to the country’s cricket board. The opposition too has a great bearing on the value cricketing boards receive for their media rights.

     

    Indian broadcasters would prefer broadcasting ICC events and Star Sports would stand to earn brownie points, having acquired the broadcast rights for Indian cricket for a price of Rs 3,851 crore, which covers over 96 matches between 2012-2018 including internet and mobile rights.

     

    That BCCI generates nearly 80 per cent of the world’s cricket earnings is a given. The only way most other boards can maintain a reasonably plump bottom line is from the massive broadcast rights acquired from a tour by India. Not surprisingly, weaker boards such as West Indies and Bangladesh would jump at the opportunity where they are guaranteed no relegation from test cricket plus the possibility of India touring more frequently to help generate revenue.

     

    So, it’s just a matter of time before the trio start officially throwing around their weight in terms of decisions regarding the scheduling of bilateral ties, especially involving either of the three.

  • First day of ICC Board meeting concludes with unanimous support for key principles

    First day of ICC Board meeting concludes with unanimous support for key principles

    DUBAI: The first day of the International Cricket Council’s Board meetings concluded in Dubai on 28 January with unanimous support for a set of principles relating to the future structure, governance and financial models of the ICC.

     

    The ICC Board unanimously supported the following principles: 

     

    * There will be an opportunity for all Members to play all formats of cricket on merit, with participation based on meritocracy; no immunity to any country, and no change to membership status.  

     

    * A Test Cricket Fund paid equally on an annual basis to all Full Members (except the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board) will be introduced to encourage and support Test match cricket.

     

    * A larger percentage from the increasing Associate Members’ surplus will be distributed to the higher performing non-Full Members.

     

    * Mutually agreed bi-lateral FTP Agreements which will be legally binding and bankable and will run for the same period as the ICC commercial rights cycle (2015-2023).

     

    * Recognition of the need for strong leadership of the ICC, involving leading Members, which will involve BCCI taking a central leadership responsibility.

     

    * A need to recognise the varying contribution of Full Members to the value of ICC events through the payment of ‘contribution costs’.

     

    * The establishment of an Executive Committee (ExCo) and Financial & Commercial Affairs Committee (F&CA) to provide leadership at an operational level, with five members, including BCCI, CA and ECB representatives. Anybody from within the Board can be elected to Chair the Board and anybody from within ExCo and F&CA can be elected to Chair those Committees. With the ICC undergoing a transitional period that includes a new governance structure and media rights cycle, this leadership will be provided for two years from June 2014 by: a BCCI representative to Chair the ICC Board, a CA representative to Chair the ExCo and an ECB representative to Chair the F&CA.  

     

    * A new company will be incorporated to tender future commercial rights for ICC events.  There will be three major ICC events in each four-year cycle, including the ICC Champions Trophy which will replace the ICC World Test Championship.

     

    * ICC will utilise a more efficient operating model for all ICC events, with a simplified accounting model across ICC income and expenditure to help better manage ICC administrative and event costs.

     

    ICC President Alan Isaac said: “This is an important time for world cricket and it is extremely encouraging that the ICC Board has unanimously supported a set of far-reaching principles that will underpin the long-term prosperity of the global game.

     

    “These principles emphasise the primacy of Test cricket and that for the first time in cricket’s history participation will be based entirely on meritocracy, giving everyone powerful incentives to play better cricket and develop better cricketers. 

     

    “There is more work to be done by the Members in developing their schedules of bilateral cricket while at the ICC we need to work through the detail of the manner in which these principles will be implemented.

     

    “Extensive work will now be undertaken in advance of a follow-up Board meeting next month.”

     

    Isaac also expressed his disappointment with the misconceptions that had been created as a result of a draft position paper produced by three ICC Members being leaked.

     

    “Several months ago I encouraged BCCI, CA and ECB to enter into a constructive dialogue together to help resolve some of the key commercial and governance issues facing the game. These leading cricket nations have worked tirelessly to produce a document which provided the basis for the past few weeks of extremely constructive discussions.

     

    “It is obviously very disappointing that a draft position paper from these Members was leaked as this prompted a debate that ignored the ongoing negotiations between all Members and led to unwarranted criticism of many of those involved in the process.

     

    “The principles agreed today provide clear evidence that through the course of further discussions over the coming weeks we can be increasingly confident in achieving consensus.”

     

    David Richardson, the ICC Chief Executive, added: “An enormous amount of effort has gone into developing a comprehensive set of proposals that include input from all Members.

     

    “The Board has held some very constructive, inclusive, wide-ranging and far-reaching discussions and I am looking forward to bringing to fruition some of the principles that have been proposed and accepted in relation to the cricketing structures of the global game.” 

     

    The ICC Board consists of the chairman or president from each of the 10 Full Members plus three elected Associate Member representatives. Also present at ICC Board meetings is the ICC President, who chairs proceedings, the ICC Chief Executive and the ICC Vice-President.

     

    Alan Isaac                                                      ICC President

    Mustafa Kamal                                               ICC Vice-President

    David Richardson                                          ICC Chief Executive

     

    Zaka Ashraf                                                     Pakistan

    Dave Cameron                                                 West Indies

    Peter Chingoka                                                Zimbabwe

    Giles Clarke                                                     England and Wales

    Jayantha Dharmadasa                                      Sri Lanka

    Wally Edwards                                                  Australia

    Nazmul Hassan                                                Bangladesh

    Imran Khwaja                                                   Associate Member Representative

    Chris Nenzani                                                   South Africa

    Keith Oliver                                                      Associate Member Representative

    Martin Snedden                                                New Zealand

    Neil Speight                                                      Associate Member Representative

    Narayanaswami Srinivasan                               India

  • CL T20 2013 returns to India, to kick-off 17 September

    MUMBAI: The fifth edition of Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) will be held in India from 17 September to 6 October. The international T20 tournament, which was held in South Africa last year, will return to India for the third time in five years.

    This year, the tournament will once again feature a Pakistan team in the qualifier stage. The English teams, though, will give the tournament a miss as the England Cricket Board (ECB) has expressed that its teams won‘t be able to participate in this year‘s tournament.

    West Indian team Trinidad & Tobago, who were the runners-up in the inaugural edition of the tournament, have earned a direct entry into the group stage this year after playing in the qualifier in 2011 and 2012.

    The format of the tournament will be the same as in two previous editions with a group stage preceded by a qualifier. A total of 29 matches will be played in the tournament.

    “The CLT20 will return to India this year. It will be the third time India will host the tournament in five years, after 2009 and 2011. The competition, which will again feature leading cricketers from across the world and some of the established legends of world cricket, will be watched and followed by equally passionate fans,” says CLT20 Governing Council chairman N. Srinivasan.

    The Qualifier will feature four teams – the fourth-ranked team from the IPL 2013, Otago Volts (New Zealand‘s HRV Cup champions), and the winners of the Sri Lanka and Pakistan domestic T20 competitions.

    The teams will play each other once, with the top two advancing to the group stage. The group stage will feature 10 teams.

    The top team from Group A will play the second-ranked team from Group B, and vice versa, in the semi-finals. The winners of the semis will play in the CLT20 2013 Final on 6 October. The venues of the CLT20 2013 will be decided at the end of the Pepsi IPL 2013, once the top three teams in that tournament are known.

    Group A will comprise the winner and third-ranked team in the IPL 2013, Highveld Lions (winner of South Africa‘s RAM SLAM T20 Challenge), Perth Scorchers (KFC T20 Big Bash League runner-up), and the top team from the CLT20 2013 Qualifier.

    Group B will comprise Brisbane Heat (KFC T20 Big Bash League champion), Trinidad & Tobago (West Indies T20 champion), the runner-up in the Pepsi IPL 2013, Titans (RAM SLAM T20 Challenge runner-up), and the second-ranked team from the CLT20 2013 Qualifier.

  • Havas walks away with ECB creative and media biz

    Havas walks away with ECB creative and media biz

    MUMBAI: Havas Worldwide Duesseldorf combined with Havas Media Frankfurt (MPG) to win the European Central Bank’s creative and media business following a bid called in by the bank in Frankfurt in July 2011.

    The agencies have been commissioned to provide a pan-European information campaign for the launch of the second series of euro banknotes in the 17 countries of the European Union that adopted the euro. The pitch was led by Havas Worldwide Europe CEO Andreas Geyr and Havas Worldwide Germany MD business development Europe and COO Christian Claus.

    Havas Worldwide will be the lead agency for all communication disciplines including TV, print, outdoor, radio, online advertising, direct marketing, microsites, PR and events while MPG will look after the media budget across Europe.

    Geyr commented, “The win of this significant client for Havas Worldwide is another milestone in the agency‘s success story. It also endorses HAVAS’s strategy of making Germany into a European hub alongside France and the UK as well as the power of integrating all disciplines including media planning and buying and digital. We are very proud to have won one of the most important and comprehensive pitches of the year and we very much look forward to working together.”

    From now on client operations will be supervised by a pan-European leadership team representing all involved agencies and communication disciplines, consisting of Havas Worldwide Duesseldorf for mass media communication, Havas Worldwide Paris (headed by Julien Carette) for PR/Press and Events, Havas Worldwide Digital for the multilingual microsite and Havas Worldwide Amsterdam for Online Communication.

    The team will be headed by Guido Koerfer (director client services) and CCO Felix Glauner and Darren Reynoldson who will supervise the campaign throughout all disciplines.