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  • FIFA U-17 WC ’17: Delhi football fest a curtain-raiser

    FIFA U-17 WC ’17: Delhi football fest a curtain-raiser

    NEW DELHI: A function under Mission 11 Million (MXIM) programme was held as a curtain-raiser in Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in the capital over the weekend for FIFA Under-17 World Cup 2017, to be telecast on Sony TV channels, with the objective of promoting football in India, especially among children and youth.

    Indians can watch live coverage of the entire tournament on Sony Six and Sony ESPN, while fans can also go to SonyLiv.com to enjoy FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 live streaming online for free.

    The trophy for FIFA Under-17 World Cup 2017 to be held in India from 6 to 28 October 2017 was also displayed at the stadium in the presence of the sports secretary Injeti Srinivas and tournament director FIFA U-17 World Cup Javier Ceppi.

    MXIM is the joint programme of FIFA, AIFF and youth affairs and sports ministry to promote football among 11 million school children in India. Around 7000 school students of Delhi held a march past and gave a cultural performance on the theme of sports, especially football. A football festival was also held in which around 1000 school students were taught football techniques to mark the occasion.

    Fans in the United States can watch all the matches on Fox Sports in English and online streaming service will be available on Fox Soccer 2GO. NBC Universo or En Vivo Extra will have live action in Spanish in the US. The United Kingdom viewers can see the live action from India on TV sets through Eurosport while they have options to watch live stream matches via Eurosport Player.

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    FIFA U-17 World Cup in India: Tencent bags media & digital rights for China (updated)

  • FIFA U-17 World Cup in India: Tencent bags media & digital rights for China (updated)

    MUMBAI: Tencent Sports has acquired the exclusive media rights in China for the 2017 Under-17 World Cup which will be held in India in October. The first FIFA tournamnet to be hosted by India from 6 – 28 October 2017 will be played with 24 teams in six cities.

    Tencent Sports has also signed an agreement with FIFA to become the exclusive digital media rights holder in China for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia. The deal will witness the online sports platform provide live streaming of the tournament as well as offering VoD (video-on-demand), highlights and original programmes “across digital channels,” the Sports Business Daily reported.

    The 24 teams are: Ghana, Mali, Guinea, Niger, India, Japan, Korea DPR, Iran, Iraq, England, France, Germany, Costa Rica, Spain, Turkey, Honduras, Mexico, USA, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Paraguay.

    Greek public broadcaster ERT and FIBA announced a pact for the ’17-21 cycle of FIBA events. ERT will also telecast all Olympic Qualifying Tournaments for men and women for the Tokyo 2020 Games (FIBA).

    Spain’s National Commission of Markets & Competition (CNMC) has meantime fined La Liga for ‘impeding Mediaset channels’ access to football stadiums. It is the CNMC’s first formal fine to La Liga after the competition started managing rights of every football club in the country. The fine, against which La Liga is entitled to appeal, is $280,000 (Rs 18 million) as reported by Rapid TV News. Spain’s broadcasters are finalizing their offers for the rights to the Champions League from the ’18-19 season through ’20-21.

    Also Read :

    Vivo becomes FIFA’s smartphone sponsor in a six-year, US$ 450m deal

    Sony Networks looking to change face of Indian football in ’17

  • Vivo becomes FIFA’s smartphone sponsor in a six-year, US$ 450m deal

    MUMBAI: Football is one of the most fascinating sports, and the FIFA World Cup one of the top global sporting competitions. The global smartphone brand Vivo announced its agreement with International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) to sponsor the FIFA World Cup for six years, covering two tournament cycles.

    FIFA reportedly secured the vital financial support of the smartphone maker in a US$ 450 million (EUR 400m) sponsorship deal. According to people in the know cited by Financial Times, Vivo will pay about EUR 60m– EUR 70m a year to sponsor tournaments run by FIFA until the 2022 cup in Qatar. FIFA has in the past lost several big-time sponsors, such as Sony and Emirates, when their contracts expired.

    Vivo, which is the sponsor of the recently-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) and the ongoing Pro-Kabaddi League in India, has been presented as FIFA’s official smartphone sponsor under an agreement that will cover the next two editions in 2018 and 2022. As one of the world’s largest sporting events, the FIFA World Cup has tremendous influence and worldwide coverage. Apart from IPL and PKL, Vivo’s previous involvement in sport includes a strategic partnership with the NBA to become NBA China’s official mobile handset sponsor.

    Vivo became FIFA’s twelfth sponsor for the 2018 World Cup. Before the previous tournament in Brazil, FIFA had 20 corporate partners on board, which supported payment of of US$ 2bn cost of running the event.

    The announcement was made in Beijing at the historical and iconic Imperial Ancestral Temple in the presence of Vivo executive vice-president Ni Xudong and FIFA secretary-general Fatma Samoura. Vivo’s persistent focus on constant improvement was attractive to organizers of the FIFA World Cup. Vivo became the third Chinese company to sponsor the World Cup in 2017-18 after Wanda and Hisense.

    Vivo will sponsor the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups as well as the FIFA Confederations Cup. The global reach of this partnership is set to take Vivo to new heights. The Vivo logo will appear during every match on pitch advertising boards, match tickets, media releases and other key promotional platforms. The agreement includes special marketing activations such as the right to select guests to be a Vivo phone photographer during pre-match player warm-ups. Vivo will also gradually introduce a customised FIFA World Cup phone that will offer a unique experience for football fans around the world.

    Xudong explained: “Football is a sport full of passion and moments of wonder, creating happiness for millions of people. The spirit of football is about constant progress. As a global sponsor of the FIFA World Cup, Vivo hopes to strongly associate itself with the football spirit and show consumers all over the world Vivo’s creative, joyful and international brand image. In the meantime, Vivo will bring more personalised, energetic and youthful elements to the FIFA World Cup experience and the game of football.”

    Samoura said: “Football and technology are coming closer by the day, on and off the pitch, and it is a great moment to start a partnership of this nature with the leading global smartphone brand. We are very excited to be working closely with Vivo and keen to see their involvement in the next editions of the FIFA World Cup and FIFA Confederations Cup.” Samoura told the FT that seeking and pocketing sponsorship was not an easy business anywhere, but to have China as the partner for the third time in a year showed that football was a global sport and that China would be an important client.

    FIFA rights include special marketing programs such as the right to invite guests to be Vivo phone photographers during pre-match player warm-ups. Later, Vivo will introduce a customised FIFA World Cup phone to offer a one of a kind experience for Vivo consumers and football fans. Additionally, FIFA staff will use Vivo smart phones on-site and the FIFA Confederations Cup 2017, which will begin on 17 June, marks the start of Vivo and FIFA’s cooperation.

    Sports marketing: From 2014, Vivo began to expand into markets in Southeast Asia and other regions. Deploying localized product and marketing strategies, Vivo saw rapid growth, and was strongly embraced by local consumers. Vivo has continued to invest in R&D, and established seven major research centers across China and the United States. Vivo has also used sports marketing to increase brand awareness in international markets.

    In 2015, Vivo became the title sponsor of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a sporting association that is highly influential in British Common Wealth countries and India. In 2016 Vivo started a strategic partnership with NBA China as its Official Mobile Handset Sponsor, inviting NBA superstar Stephen Curry to become the product ambassador for Vivo’s flagship Xplay6. As sponsor of the FIFA World Cup, Vivo seeks to earn itself even more attention on the international stage.

    According to FIFA’s annual reports, revenues from commercial and marketing deals related to the 2018 World Cup were US$ 246m in 2015, down from $404m in 2013. The lack of sponsors, alongside legal costs related to corruption probes, contributed to FIFA making a $369m loss in 2016.

  • Ayaz Memon appointed as mentor for DigiOsmosis’ Sportswallah

    Mumbai: Senior journalist Ayaz Memon has been roped in as the mentor of sportswallah.com – the latest venture by digital media firm DigiOsmosis. Memon, who has been writing and reporting on sports for over three decades will now present a unique combination of sports and lifestyle news to the masses. Ayaz will also be reporting live on various sporting events on the Sportswallah.com and aims to keep fans up-to-date on all the action.

    Apart from focusing on innovative segments like social sporting trends, nostalgia, gossip, legends, statistics, live scoring and much more, Sportswallah will partner with lifestyle experts and create content that centres around the trends, looks, fashion and lifestyles of not just the athletes but also teams and even the games themselves.

    Commenting on the partnership, Memon said, “Interest in sports is undergoing a massive change globally and particularly in India. While serious sports content — driven by quality reportage and trenchant analyses — is still highly coveted, the younger generation is also keen to find out more about what’s going on in a sportsperson’s life in a 360 degree prism. Sportswallah aims to meet the demands and expectations of all factions of sports followers.’’

    DigiOsmosis CEO and co-founder Manish Kumar said, “Sports in India has grown to become a large and multi-faceted industry. There are a number of sports and franchisees that are now important to the audience and not just one. The ISL, Kabaddi League, Badminton League, and even the NBA and FIFA Under-17 World Cup are only some of the tournaments that come to mind. Media consumption in India has gone digital in a big way and there is a large gap when it comes to sports lifestyle and sports gossip. We aim to fill that gap.”

  • Sony Networks looking to change face of Indian football in ’17

    Sony Networks looking to change face of Indian football in ’17

    MUMBAI: The year 2016 saw quite a bit of shake-up in the realm of Indian sports broadcasting. Zee signed a proposal with Sony to sell its sports channels, marketed under Ten Sports brand, to the latter; the Indian cricket broad’s fight with the Supreme Court putting a question mark on IPL and its broadcast and the arrival of some professional sports leagues in India that garnered viewers as well as on-ground audience. The developments also saw sports broadcasting turn primarily into a two-horse race Star India on one side and Sony-ESPN combine on the other, while Nimbus Sports remains a comparatively small player.

    Talking to indiantelevision.com on the changing sports broadcast dynamics, Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) sports and distribution president Rajesh Kaul said, “2016 was a spectacular year for the sports cluster of Sony in terms of the growth. In January 2016, we launched the Sony ESPN channels, which scaled us up to a four-channel sports network. IPL 2016 exceeded expectations with a record viewership of 361.6 million viewers.

    “In addition to this, we also had the on-air and digital telecast of UEFA Euro 2016 on our network, one of the biggest and most watched international football tournaments in 2016. To amplify the viewing experience of the tournament, we continued our pioneering initiative of multi-language feeds and for the first time in India, there was a multi-language feed for an international football tournament with the telecast of Euro 2016 in English, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam languages.”

    Acquisition of Ten Network by SPN, subject to regulatory approvals, in a deal worth US$385 million does add fire-power as the channels operate in several countries, including the Indian sub-continent, Maldives, Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East and Caribbean.

    The Sony sports network grew majestically in 2016. From Sony Six, Six HD, Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD to a bouquet of nine sports channels (Ten Network) prove Sony is looking to be serious player.

    Asked about the most viewed sporting event on SPN in 2016, Kaul said, “2016 was a strong year for the sports cluster of SPN and we enjoyed an excellent response to a plethora of our properties in cricket, football, fight sports and basketball / NBA. Both our marquee sports events IPL 2016 and UEFA Euro 2016 got an unprecedented level of viewership. In addition to this, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and NBA in our breakfast viewing category have also seen a substantial growth in viewership this year. Over 100 million viewers sampled UFC this year and more than 140 million viewers sampled NBA season 2015-16.”

    To cash in on the growing popularity of football in India and give a contest to cricket viewership and English Premier League (still the most followed footlball league in the world), the network tried to change the Spanish La Liga playing timings for the Indian audience who are ardent followers of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Real Madrid and Barcelona. The matches were scheduled to start at 4.30 pm local time in Spain (8 PM IST). This added a huge chunk of viewership to the Spanish League and with a new La Liga office in Delhi, the league and the region’s broadcaster is surely looking to tap into the South-Asian audience.

    Talking about viewership of foreign leagues in India, Kaul opined, “The sports cluster of SPN caters to a diverse spectrum of viewers with a wide range of sports. The variety of foreign sport on SPNI is widely followed by Indian viewers.

    La Liga made a blockbuster start to the 2016-17 season by trebling its reach compared to last season. El Clasico match between Barcelona & Real Madrid is the most watched international football league match of the year (4.1 million viewers).

    UFC has seen exponential growth in ratings in 2016 with over 100 million viewers this entire year. TNA is immensely popular in India with the property being sampled by over 185 million viewers this year.

    NBA is another sport which has a wide following among Indian fans last season NBA 2015-16 being watched by more than 140 million viewers and we are expecting a strong season showing for the 2016-17 season.”

    With the television rights of La Liga in India, SPNI also has the digital rights for the Spanish League. Showcasing important matches on Sony LIV, its digital platform, SPNI has been able to get its share of sports’ digital audience. Knowing its huge potential in the Indian market, the digital platform, beamed the El Clasico live on its website and garnered huge numbers.

    “Sport is one of our key focus areas and we have the best football action available with us. We have showcased big ticketing football events like Euro 2016, Copa America Centenario as well as the El Clasico,” SPNI EVP and digital business head Uday Sodhi said, adding with a strong event line-up that includes La Liga Santandar, Sony was “truly the (Indian) home of football.”

    The network also recently showcased Bangladesh Premier League 2016 and, according to Sodhi’s claims, it turned out to be most watched cricketing event so far on Sony Liv. “In all our marketing and brand communications, we have sports as a prime genre. We have done a 360-degree campaign for promoting Sony Liv as the one-stop for the best of sporting action,” he added, highlighting the digital platform’s attempts to ride the sports bandwagon.

    With the Internet’s reach increasing in India, which also ups the potential of products riding it, dwelling on digital platforms’ strategies in general, Sodhi said, “With 350 million internet users in India (65 per cent users being mobile only) and projections of crossing 700 million internet users by 2020, there is huge potential in India that’s yet to be tapped. Online video is thriving and 50 per cent of total mobile data traffic is video. Youth is driving the mobile data usage and sports is one of the top online video genres.”

    So, what’s in store for 2017? “For the sports cluster of SPN, 2017 would be one of the biggest years and epic too as IPL would have its 10th edition. In addition, Kaul elaborated, adding there will also be two major FIFA events (2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup). Since the juniors’ championship will be the first FIFA even to be hosted in India, there is lot of anticipation and it could, according to him, change the whole landscape of football as a sport in India.

  • Sony Networks looking to change face of Indian football in ’17

    Sony Networks looking to change face of Indian football in ’17

    MUMBAI: The year 2016 saw quite a bit of shake-up in the realm of Indian sports broadcasting. Zee signed a proposal with Sony to sell its sports channels, marketed under Ten Sports brand, to the latter; the Indian cricket broad’s fight with the Supreme Court putting a question mark on IPL and its broadcast and the arrival of some professional sports leagues in India that garnered viewers as well as on-ground audience. The developments also saw sports broadcasting turn primarily into a two-horse race Star India on one side and Sony-ESPN combine on the other, while Nimbus Sports remains a comparatively small player.

    Talking to indiantelevision.com on the changing sports broadcast dynamics, Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) sports and distribution president Rajesh Kaul said, “2016 was a spectacular year for the sports cluster of Sony in terms of the growth. In January 2016, we launched the Sony ESPN channels, which scaled us up to a four-channel sports network. IPL 2016 exceeded expectations with a record viewership of 361.6 million viewers.

    “In addition to this, we also had the on-air and digital telecast of UEFA Euro 2016 on our network, one of the biggest and most watched international football tournaments in 2016. To amplify the viewing experience of the tournament, we continued our pioneering initiative of multi-language feeds and for the first time in India, there was a multi-language feed for an international football tournament with the telecast of Euro 2016 in English, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam languages.”

    Acquisition of Ten Network by SPN, subject to regulatory approvals, in a deal worth US$385 million does add fire-power as the channels operate in several countries, including the Indian sub-continent, Maldives, Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East and Caribbean.

    The Sony sports network grew majestically in 2016. From Sony Six, Six HD, Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD to a bouquet of nine sports channels (Ten Network) prove Sony is looking to be serious player.

    Asked about the most viewed sporting event on SPN in 2016, Kaul said, “2016 was a strong year for the sports cluster of SPN and we enjoyed an excellent response to a plethora of our properties in cricket, football, fight sports and basketball / NBA. Both our marquee sports events IPL 2016 and UEFA Euro 2016 got an unprecedented level of viewership. In addition to this, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and NBA in our breakfast viewing category have also seen a substantial growth in viewership this year. Over 100 million viewers sampled UFC this year and more than 140 million viewers sampled NBA season 2015-16.”

    To cash in on the growing popularity of football in India and give a contest to cricket viewership and English Premier League (still the most followed footlball league in the world), the network tried to change the Spanish La Liga playing timings for the Indian audience who are ardent followers of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Real Madrid and Barcelona. The matches were scheduled to start at 4.30 pm local time in Spain (8 PM IST). This added a huge chunk of viewership to the Spanish League and with a new La Liga office in Delhi, the league and the region’s broadcaster is surely looking to tap into the South-Asian audience.

    Talking about viewership of foreign leagues in India, Kaul opined, “The sports cluster of SPN caters to a diverse spectrum of viewers with a wide range of sports. The variety of foreign sport on SPNI is widely followed by Indian viewers.

    La Liga made a blockbuster start to the 2016-17 season by trebling its reach compared to last season. El Clasico match between Barcelona & Real Madrid is the most watched international football league match of the year (4.1 million viewers).

    UFC has seen exponential growth in ratings in 2016 with over 100 million viewers this entire year. TNA is immensely popular in India with the property being sampled by over 185 million viewers this year.

    NBA is another sport which has a wide following among Indian fans last season NBA 2015-16 being watched by more than 140 million viewers and we are expecting a strong season showing for the 2016-17 season.”

    With the television rights of La Liga in India, SPNI also has the digital rights for the Spanish League. Showcasing important matches on Sony LIV, its digital platform, SPNI has been able to get its share of sports’ digital audience. Knowing its huge potential in the Indian market, the digital platform, beamed the El Clasico live on its website and garnered huge numbers.

    “Sport is one of our key focus areas and we have the best football action available with us. We have showcased big ticketing football events like Euro 2016, Copa America Centenario as well as the El Clasico,” SPNI EVP and digital business head Uday Sodhi said, adding with a strong event line-up that includes La Liga Santandar, Sony was “truly the (Indian) home of football.”

    The network also recently showcased Bangladesh Premier League 2016 and, according to Sodhi’s claims, it turned out to be most watched cricketing event so far on Sony Liv. “In all our marketing and brand communications, we have sports as a prime genre. We have done a 360-degree campaign for promoting Sony Liv as the one-stop for the best of sporting action,” he added, highlighting the digital platform’s attempts to ride the sports bandwagon.

    With the Internet’s reach increasing in India, which also ups the potential of products riding it, dwelling on digital platforms’ strategies in general, Sodhi said, “With 350 million internet users in India (65 per cent users being mobile only) and projections of crossing 700 million internet users by 2020, there is huge potential in India that’s yet to be tapped. Online video is thriving and 50 per cent of total mobile data traffic is video. Youth is driving the mobile data usage and sports is one of the top online video genres.”

    So, what’s in store for 2017? “For the sports cluster of SPN, 2017 would be one of the biggest years and epic too as IPL would have its 10th edition. In addition, Kaul elaborated, adding there will also be two major FIFA events (2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup). Since the juniors’ championship will be the first FIFA even to be hosted in India, there is lot of anticipation and it could, according to him, change the whole landscape of football as a sport in India.

  • ‘Mission 11 Million’ to engage children in football from October

    ‘Mission 11 Million’ to engage children in football from October

    NEW DELHI: All states and Union Territories have been urged to take necessary steps to popularize and promote the sport of football in their territory in order to make the FIFA U-17 World Cup a huge success by including Football in various programmes of the State Governments.

    In a letter sent to all chief secretaries of states and union territories, Department of Sports secretary Rajiv Yadav said that FIFA U-17 World Cup is going to be held in India in October 2017 and it is the first time that this prestigious tournament will be held in India.

    Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme on 27 March, the letter said that Modi had called for building an atmosphere and fervour of football in the country as a run up to the FIFA U-17 World Cup. He wants football to be played in every nook and corner of the country.

    The communication said that following the call of the Prime Minister, the Department of Sports had initiated a series of steps to popularize football throughout the country. Several rounds of discussion have been held with FIFA, AIFF, KVS, CBSE, Subroto Mukerjee Sports Education Society and other stakeholders to firm up appropriate programmes.

    As a result, ‘Mission 11 Million’ programme has been formulated and will be launched in coordination with FIFA in about 30 cities across the country. The letter said the primary objective of the programme is to engage more than 11 million children in activities relating to football. It said the programme is likely to be launched in October this year.

  • ‘Mission 11 Million’ to engage children in football from October

    ‘Mission 11 Million’ to engage children in football from October

    NEW DELHI: All states and Union Territories have been urged to take necessary steps to popularize and promote the sport of football in their territory in order to make the FIFA U-17 World Cup a huge success by including Football in various programmes of the State Governments.

    In a letter sent to all chief secretaries of states and union territories, Department of Sports secretary Rajiv Yadav said that FIFA U-17 World Cup is going to be held in India in October 2017 and it is the first time that this prestigious tournament will be held in India.

    Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme on 27 March, the letter said that Modi had called for building an atmosphere and fervour of football in the country as a run up to the FIFA U-17 World Cup. He wants football to be played in every nook and corner of the country.

    The communication said that following the call of the Prime Minister, the Department of Sports had initiated a series of steps to popularize football throughout the country. Several rounds of discussion have been held with FIFA, AIFF, KVS, CBSE, Subroto Mukerjee Sports Education Society and other stakeholders to firm up appropriate programmes.

    As a result, ‘Mission 11 Million’ programme has been formulated and will be launched in coordination with FIFA in about 30 cities across the country. The letter said the primary objective of the programme is to engage more than 11 million children in activities relating to football. It said the programme is likely to be launched in October this year.

  • Will Ronaldo-Messi heat give Sony Kix wings of fire?

    Will Ronaldo-Messi heat give Sony Kix wings of fire?

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) newest sports channel Sony Kix has been making many a headlines. The three months old mushrooming channel has acquired three ginormous properties from the world of football namely La Liga, SerieA and FA Cup.

    What’s more, its sister channel Sony Six already had international football rights of both FIFA and UEFA international matches, which will now be aired by Sony Kix. This in turn means that the channel will have quality football throughout the year be it domestic or international leagues – an offering that no other channel has in the Indian subcontinent. 

    El Classico remains one of the most watched battle in the history as Real Madrid is considered the representative of Spanish nationalism while Barcelona is viewed as representing Catalan nationalism. Besides that the battle also features Ballon d’or winner Christiano Ronaldo as well as Lionel Messi, who is often argued as the best player to ever play the game. However, what needs to be closely watched is if the battle between the two maestros gives Sony Kix the much needed wings to fly. 

    Football is a continuous game where there is absolutely no room to fit in advertisements while the match is on. Hence in India where subscription revenue is still in its nascent stage, football finds it difficult to emerge as a profitable asset for the broadcaster. 

    Nevertheless the game is widely watched in the country and as per FICCI report, it was slotted second in terms of most viewed sporting event with annual viewership of 215 million GVTs in 2014. Going by these statistics, football acquisitions will certainly help the channel to enhance its presence. 

    Speaking exclusively to Indiantelevision.com Sony Six and Kix business head Prasanna Krishnan says, “We had international action with us but what lacked was quality club football. With these new acquisitions, we will certainly have quality football actions every week, which undoubtedly makes us the footballing destination of India.”

    Post the acquisitions, Krishnan’s main focus now is proper execution, offering consumers an exquisite viewing experience. Throwing light on the primary marketing plan that has been chalked out for the same, he says, “We will curate various special programming to keep the buzz going and keep viewers in the loop. In the initial stages of marketing, we will put efforts to make people aware about the acquisitions and gradually we might venture into various on ground marketing initiatives.”

    A media planning expert asserts, “All the three properties that they have acquired have the potential to garner huge viewership and if smartly planned, they can generate some ad revenue, which obviously won’t be as much as Cricket or Kabaddi. But sports all over the world is run by subscription revenue and I feel India is also taking that route. There can be no bigger brand ambassador for a sporting venture than Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi so I feel it’s the best way for Sony Kix to kick off.”

    While the channel is available across all DTH platforms, its presence is limited to a very few cable operators and hence availability remains a key question.

    Commenting on the opportunity to see of Sony Kix, Chrome Data Analytics and Media founder and CEO Pankaj Krishna says, “The new entrant started off with a relatively low OTS of 11 per cent in Week-16 and is still struggling, according to Chrome DM data. Their current availability is 17 per cent across the 101 million homes that Chrome DM monitors, which translates to 17 million homes, vis-?-vis the leader, Ten Sports, reaching 62 million homes. With Sony’s former sports channel, Sony Six, being at 54 per cent OTS in Week 30 (as per Chrome Track 2.0), Sony Kix is yet to score higher and catch up!”

    One hopes all the football action will give the channel the perfect ratings kick-start.

  • Star Sports-Sony spar over World Cup, IPL performances

    Star Sports-Sony spar over World Cup, IPL performances

    MUMBAI: Even as the national sides are battling it out on the pitches in Australia-New Zealand to decide who will take home the World Cup in the quarter final stage, a behind the scenes slugfest is taking place between two rival broadcasters, which have both laid big bets on the sport. We are referring to Star India and Multi Screen Media (which runs the Sony Entertainment Television network in India).

    The former is telecasting the World Cup and has the rights to India cricket internationally, while the latter is gearing up to telecast the cricket league – the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the next two months, apart from Euro 2016 qualifiers, FIFA International friendlies and various Fight sports. At stake is close to Rs 4,500 crore that is likely to be spent by advertisers on sports television this year. Of this ginormous pie, approximately Rs 2000-2,200 crore is estimated to be spent on the World Cup and IPL. It’s no wonder then that the two are resorting to sledging within the confines of advertisers’ and media agencies’ cabins and to journos.

    Star India began its World Cup innings just about three weeks ago – rather shakily. A Sony spokesperson reveals that the Star ad sales team had just about managed to raise Rs 100 -150 crore or so in ad and sponsorship deals before the once-in-four-years tourney began. “They were really desperate,” he says. “India were performing abysmally on their tour overseas.”

    The Star spokesperson is quick to respond, “In the first two weeks only, the advertiser as well as sponsor count for the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup was 50 per cent higher than 2011 edition as well as the IPL.”

    The Sony spokesperson’s rejoinder to this is that India’s stupendous display against Pakistan in their opening encounter helped bail out Star Sports. Advertisers flocked to its doors, cash in hand ready to pay premium to air their TVCs. Estimates are that Star India will raise anywhere from Rs 800 – 900 crore from this year’s contest, which ends late in March.

    And even as Star has been screaming that this year’s edition has generated the highest ratings ever, and in its trail ad revenues, Sony’s spokesperson has been rubbishing the numbers. Says he: “The ratings in this edition have seen a substantial decline when compared to the 2011 edition. Moreover fans had to wait for a week to witness an India match; the decline is constant in the non-India matches too. Whereas in IPL, each and every match is entertaining and is showcased on prime time.”

    He adds, “After 31 matches, the bouts involving India are generating 6.1 TVRs, which was 10.3 during the 2011 edition and the decline is constant in non-India matches too wherein it has dropped from 3.6 TVRs to 1.3 TVR.”

    Terming those figures as absolute no-balls, the Star India spokesperson asserts, “The cumulative reach of the ongoing World Cup touched 534 million viewers after the first 29 matches (TAM data CS4+ extrapolated to the universe using a standard conversion factor). In terms of TVRs, the India vs Pakistan match garnered 14.9 TVR, India vs South Africa got 12.7 TVR, and India vs West Indies managed 13.1 TVR and the non-India match ratings are fluctuating from 2 to 2.5.”

    Media observers also point out to the fact that the reporting of the ratings has also changed since 2011. “In those days, LC1 towns were not factored into the ratings. Hence, a pure comparision is also not possible,” says a media expert. “It’s like comparing apples and oranges.”

    The Star India spokesperson in turn takes a dig at MSM’s telecast record of the IPL, saying the trend is clear. “The IPL reach has declined continuously since season one and sharply in the last three years. Post World Cup in 2011, the tournament suffered as both foot fall and engagement dropped.”

    Terming these allegations as “baseless,” the MSM official shared the cumulative reach of IPL since its inception.

     

     

    The official also added, “Not only in terms of cumulative reach every year but also in terms of ad revenue we witnessed an eight – 10 per cent increase.  IPL is an established entity and considering the fact that the tourney has survived through many ifs and buts in past years, the asset is now beyond question.”

    The Star spokesperson says that MSM has a major challenge on its hands over the next few weeks. It is going to telecast the IPL very soon after the World Cup ends; at a time when the sports ad spends appetites of some advertisers may have been satiated courtesy the World Cup. However, to MSM’s advantage is the fact that most big spenders are beginning new financial years (the year end for most large corporates in India is 31 March) and hence will have fat wallets. Nonetheless, Sony has to raise anywhere from Rs 900 to 1,200 crore to make this year’s IPL outing pay off.

    The Sony spokesperson quickly reverts that this is a given. “While we don’t comment on internal financial figures, we will meet and maybe even beat the revenue target we have set for this year’s IPL,” he says. “Advertiser interest is rising thanks to the excitement that is building around cricket.”

    Even as they are taking digs at each other’s performances, the fact remains that both broadcasters are well aware of the importance and valuation of the two flagship tournaments. Moreover the fact that Star’s Hotstar platform is the digital partner of IPL and Max was the destination of the World Cup not long back, proves that the two desire both the tournaments equally. Star India probably is hungry for growth in sports. Its CEO Uday Shankar has outlined the broadcast network’s intentions very clearly: it wants to pitch in a big way to grow the sports ecosystem in India. And in the process, also bring in mountains of revenues for his network.

    When the next bidding process for the IPL begins by next year or so, you can be sure Shankar and his team will be on the frontlines making a definitive attempt to acquire its rights. Of course MSM’s NP Singh will be up front too. The rivalry will continue.