ITV

Tag: Football

  • ISL piggybacks on EPL’s popularity to gain viewership

    ISL piggybacks on EPL’s popularity to gain viewership

    MUMBAI: Football is attempting to kick up a storm in India. Though it has to withstand the might of cricket in the country, the staunch supporters aren’t backing off.

    India’s successful hosting of the FIFA U-17 world cup has already delivered a massive attendance in the history of the tournament. As per Star Sports India Football Forum (IFF) 2017 data the event was witnessed by 1,347,143 spectators at the six host venues across the country, with average attendance at 25,906. But more than anything else, the WC U-17 has been about the youth getting connected on the ground and in the digital arena. 

    Sony Pictures Network India EVP & business head, Prasana Krishnan said, “The role of broadcasters in India moved away from being a broadcaster to an incubator. We need to expand the market, a country of 1.3 billion people can’t be serviced by a single sport and few select content that is available.”

    Football is also expanding in India through the Indian Super League (ISL), which is believed to have given the sport the impetus it desperately needed. 

    English Premier League (EPL) is the most watched football league in the world in the current scenario. According to ESP Properties senior business director Subhamoy Das,  there is a wide open area for ISL here. Says he, “45 per cent of the EPL audience tuned into ISL 2017-18, the remaining 55 per cent of the EPL viewers is the opportunity for ISL to win over.”

    Broadcast Audience Research Council business head- television Rohit Sarma feels that there is a huge vacuum to fill for Indian broadcasters for sports viewership. He said, “While globally sports contributes 9 per cent of total TV viewership, in India the contribution is currently 3 per cent. This shows that there is immense headroom for growth in this genre on TV. In India, ISL contributes to 60 per cent of the total viewership in football.”

    The digital numbers in terms of viewership in India for football are growing at 3x rate growing from 9 billion minutes in 2014 to 23 billion minutes in 2017 on digital platforms. “In Indian sports context, out of the overall population of 1.324 billion, sports consumption on TV is 741 million and in-stadium attendance is around 4 million,” Das added.

    According to Local Organising Committee tournament director Javier Ceppi, the three building blocks for developing a sport are participation, incentivisation and commercialisation.

    In India, the participation of kids for football is drastically less than that of the UK. According to All India Football Federation, 3.4 million kids play organised football in the UK as compared to a meagre 4000 in India. We have a coach per two lakh people in India and one coach per 55 thousand in the UK.

    The audience of EPL and ISL are very different. EPL is watched by 4-30 years old and ISL attracts 22-50 years old. ISL season 2 and 3 was also watched by 45 per cent females.

    The data provided by ESP Properties pointed out that as per Facebook audience insights, states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP, Punjab, Rajasthan and few more can potentially drive up cumulative interest levels towards ISL by 19 per cent.

    Commercialisation in India works well, with around 40 brands regularly investing in sports which includes DHL, Amul, Bisleri, Apollo Tyres and many more.

    La Liga country manager India Jose Antonio Cachaza is working to make the tournament popular in the country. He said, “We are here to bring a La Liga team to India. Indian football fans now don’t just support FC Barcelona or Real Madrid, but also other clubs of La Liga. Our motive is to get it to the number one league in Asia, by investing a lot in grassroots tournament, NGO programmes and academic activities to improve the quality. The main income in La Liga is from the TV rights.”

    Also read:

    Hero ISL S4 opening game saw 59% viewership growth

    DHL renews partnership with Hero ISL

    Mumbai City FC’s sponsorship amount up by 50 %

  • Mumbai City FC joins hands with Infinix Mobile

    Mumbai City FC joins hands with Infinix Mobile

    MUMBAI: Infinix Mobile from Transsion Holdings has announced a partnership with Mumbai City FC, the Hero ISL team owned by Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor. The partnership comes close on the heels of the global launch of Infinix’s flagship dual camera smartphone, the Zero5. Mumbai City FC are scheduled to play against Goa FC in their first home match on November 25
    Said Kapoor, “We are very pleased to have a forward-thinking brand such as Infinix on board. Mumbai City FC shares the same passion as Infinix Mobile to expand and grow across the country and deliver a great experience. Football, as a sport, is growing and gaining popularity in India and we welcome Infinix to the Mumbai City FC family.”

    Infinix Mobile senior vice president marketing Tathagat Jena added, “Mumbai City is an exciting team. The team and its owners are driven by performance and want to take this fabulous game forward by connecting with the youth. We, at Infinix, are extremely delighted with the partnership given a lot of similarities in our core philosophy of being game changers. With this association, we hope to bring more excitement to our fans.”

    Globally, Infinix is a youth-centric brand and follows passion points closely. It aims to be an enabler of football, touching the hearts and minds of the younger generation in India. Infinix’s journey in India has just begun and it kick-starts with football.

  • Premier Futsal announces 3 year association with football legend Ronaldinho

    MUMBAI: Premier Futsal, the world’s biggest Futsal tournament is all set to further strengthen its position as a sporting league with Season 2. Former Ballon D’or winner and Brazilian football player, Ronaldinho has extended his association with the league by 3 years.

    Premier Futsal has also collaborated with Dubai Sports Council which takes the tournament beyond the Indian territory with Semi Finals and Finals scheduled to take place in Dubai. With Goa paving way for Delhi and Bangalore as hosts, the geographical representation of the league has now grown to 4 cities, and more than 24 matches spread across two weeks further strengthen its status as the biggest futsal tournament in the world.

    The tournament begins on 15 September will travel to Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore before culminating in Dubai with the ultimate battle of Futsal supremacy taking place on 1 October. The six teams will play each other 7 times prior to the semi-finals which will also take place in the port city. All the matches will be broadcasted live on Sony Network.

    Premier Futsal Chairman Xavier Britto said, “We are extremely proud to have been a part of this remarkable journey that Premier Futsal has traversed in such a short span of time. Guided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for innovation and entrepreneurship, and motivated by his vision to make India a successful sporting nation, we are committed to foster and expand the sport even further allowing for sports enthusiasts from different geographies to come forward and engage with Futsal”
    The marquee futsal tournament revealed RR Kable Group Proprietors Rajesh Kabra and Hemant Kabra, as the Mumbai team owners of the league. Commenting on the announcement, Rajesh Kabra said, “Premier Futsal has seen significant traction in its first edition and has clearly gained stickiness amongst its TG. It gives us immense pleasure to be able to facilitate the growth of the unique sport in the city of Mumbai through this association and enable it to be an integral part of one of India’s fastest growing sports properties.”

    Premier Futsal MD Dinesh Raj said, “The fixtures for this year’s tournament have been scheduled keeping in mind the imparting of a wholesome Futsal experience to sports enthusiasts not only in India but across the world. We envision Premier Futsal to be one of the leading global sports properties in the coming years and the current expansion and diversification of Premier Futsal is in line with this vision of ours.”

    Present to mark the landmark moment, the Brazilian Football legend, Ronaldinho said, “I enjoyed and loved playing in India last year and entertaining the audience. I love the food and warmth of the Indian people. Futsal has been an important part of my life ever since I started indulging in the sport as a young kid. Premier Futsal has quickly become the biggest futsal event in the world and I am here to support this league in the long term, and make it a huge success globally. Now with Season 2 of the tournament, we want to break the glass ceiling and set the benchmark for sporting leagues across the world. We want to inspire more and more youngsters to take up the sport and all of our efforts especially the Launch Pad are directed towards bringing in youth closer to the game.”

    Mediapro, a global leader in broadcast media, marketing and sport has also made its foray in the Indian market with Premier Futsal. The strategic alliance will facilitate and create an intellectual property for Premier Futsal globally. The Spanish company will engage in delivering marketing solutions and services along with the production and distribution for all matches in season 2. Dr. Kiran Kumar, promoter of Lalitha Jewellery was also announced as a key investor in the independent sporting venture.

    Premier Futsal, the world’s largest futsal promotions company is bringing football legends, futsal superstars and home-grown talent on a unique platform in a never-seen-before made-for-TV product. The tournament was broadcasted in United Kingdom, Middle East, Europe, South America and South East Asia regions other than India. Season 2 only promises to be bigger and more engaging with more match days, greater number of host cities and a varied range of global superstars all set to participate in the sporting spectacle. The tickets for the marquee sporting event will go live soon and will available on Paytm.

  • Milo campaign shows how critical is sports for kids

    MUMBAI: Milo Ready to Drink is a recently launched cocoa-malt milk beverage crafted specially for growing children, and has lower sugar with less than 10 grams of added sugar per pack (180 ml).

    Milo has unveiled its national advertising campaign ‘Milo — Grow with sports.’ Milo believes that sports helps imbibe life values that set the foundation for a child’s future. With this new TVC, it aims to underline the importance of sports in the growing years, making it a must-have nourishing beverage for kids, to excel in the same.

    In the new ad campaign, Milo is building on the fact that a mother’s greatest wish is to see her child succeed and fulfill his/her potential. While she does her best to prepare the child for life ahead, she knows that success in life needs more than skills learnt from books. Through sports, children will learn to persevere through hardship, find courage over fear, work as a team, find self-belief, be respectful and learn how to lead.

    Dairy, Nestlé India GM Arvind Bhandari said, “Milo believes that sports is critical for personality development and helps kids grow holistically in their formative years. We hope that mothers understand our message and nurture their children with Milo as they grow with sports.”

    The 45-second TVC features children participating in various sports like Football, Basketball, Athletics and Kabaddi with a voice over that highlights the prominence of sports in life. The video leads to a child’s victory in a race post which his mother gives him Milo to replenish his energy. Towards the end, the ad highlights the much loved international taste of Milo RTD, based on our unique ingredient ACTIV-GO™, which contains PROTOMALT™, Vitamins (B2, B3, B6, B12), and minerals (Calcium, Iron, Phosphorus). Milo RTD has lower sugar with less than 10 grams of added sugar per pack (180 ml).

    ‘Milo — Grow with sports’ campaign is being aired across prime time on National & Regional TV (Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam) as well as Facebook and YouTube.

    Watch the ad campaign here:

  • ‘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.

  • Tata Motors looks to score on football’s popularity with Messi

    Tata Motors looks to score on football’s popularity with Messi

    MUMBAI: Football fanatics in the country were overjoyed to hear the words “Namaste India” from their idol and one of the biggest names from the world of soccer Lionel Messi, as he made his maiden campaign address to the nation. After ruling over the hearts of millions of soccer fans across the globe, the champion has now set his eyes on India as the brand ambassador for Tata Motors for the brand’s #madeofgreat campaign.

     

    This is also the football star’s first ever association with an Indian brand.

     

    “I am very excited about my first association with an Indian brand and am extremely thrilled to be part of the Tata Motors family,” said Messi on his association with the brand.

     

    Titled #MadeOfGreat, the campaign that took off few weeks ago created quite a buzz in the industry through powerful TVCs , digital advertising, and experiential marketing initiatives. The campaign’s ground activation organised by Wizcraft across multiple cities at malls and other popular public places were well appreciated.

     

    Keeping all the fanfare aside, one can’t help but ask how relevant is Messi to Tata’s consumer base in India? Can a marketing campaign ride solely on the star player’s popularity without any relativity factor for the consumers? If sports were to be a moving factor, wouldn’t cricket and an Indian player fit the bill better for the brand’s India campaign?

     

    While some may argue that the brand’s’ idea to get Messi onboard was to create a huge stir with their first ever celebrity association, Tata Motors, passenger vehicle business unit, marketing and communications – head, Delna Avari begs to differ.

     

    According to her, the decision wasn’t single-mindedly led by Messi’s far reaching influence on the youth, but a well thought of strategy keeping India’s growing exposure to the game.

     

    “Football is not only a global phenomenon but it is one of the fastest emerging sports in the country in terms of popularity. Currently, India has an approximate viewership of 80 million for football. With various researches conducted across fields to measure the impact of celebrity association on a brand, we realised that Indian celebrities are over exposed and were associated with multiple brands,” shares Avari, hereby nullifying any prospect of brand association with an Indian sporting celebrity.

     

    She further adds, “We as a company wanted to connect with the younger audience (less than 35 years) especially in our domestic market and ‘cool’ is something that this age group loves to associate with. Messi is found cool across all age groups, his iconic stature and values inherent to him were just the perfect kind of amalgamation for us as a brand. He is a winner who is trustworthy, reliable, pioneering, simple and driven by self-belief, which is what is at the core of Tata Motors as well and hence he is the perfect match for us.” 

     

    Not to mention, with Indian Super League (ISL) second season going on, the campaign couldn’t have had a better head start.

     

    Avari points out that the campaign has garnered a positive response from both consumers and stakeholders. “Besides trending on Twitter on the day of the campaign launch, we have received approximately 178 million impressions. As part of the campaign, fans were sent around the city through a series of clues, until they arrived at the final destination where the hidden letter stood,” she informs.

     

    Backing the brand’s reason for changing their marketing strategy, Avari adds, “With an overall aggressive marketing strategy, we have always customised our marketing plans as per our products. Sub brands like Nano, Bolt, Zest, Safari and Indigo have their own strong individual identities. However the need to have a common link to bind these sub brands and to create a well-defined brand architecture for the company brought this campaign to life.”

     

    When it comes the mediums used to propagate the brand message, Tata Motors hasn’t left any stone unturned for maximum impact and reach. “All the mediums that we have worked with have a different strategy, be it print, digital or mobile. Experiential marketing is another important leg of our campaign as we believe that on-ground activations create great impressions on people’s mind,” she voices.

     

    Expanding further on their experiential marketing initiative, Avari says, “With Wizcraft on board to execute our BTL plans and DigitasLBi as our digital partners, we are working on a great mix and it will be showcased through this 360 degree campaign. which will comprise a series of innovative and compelling campaigns across mediums. For instance, a part of our BTL activation involves the implementation of augmented reality. With this, we gave our customers an exclusive chance to experience how getting a picture clicked with Lionel Messi would feel.”

     

    Not only that. On 3 November, over 10 million customers of the brand were pleasantly surprised by getting a call from Messi himself, albeit a recorded message. The initiative was an integrated campaign with Truecaller. “We were thrilled to know that out of the 10 million calls made, approximately 9.8 million people received them. While #madeofgreat trended on Twitter on the day of the campaign launch, we also crossed over 300 million impressions across mediums in just two weeks,” shares Avari.

     

    Given the football player’s high brand value, there’s natural curiosity on his signing amount for the campaign. “It is a two year contract. The cost is in line with what international celebrities are paid globally,” answers Avari when asked about the particulars of the contract.

     

    As per Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes in the world for 2015 Messi ranks 4th with a net earning of $22 million from his endorsements. In the light of this knowledge, it is safe to assume that a large pie of the brand’s marketing spends has gone into getting Messi on board.

  • Preps on for India’s first international football event – Under 17 World Cup

    Preps on for India’s first international football event – Under 17 World Cup

    NEW DELHI: With the first-ever international football event coming up in India, Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has urged all the stakeholders of the FIFA U 17 World Cup 2017 tournament to work together as a team and put their best foot forward.

     

    Addressing the first board meeting of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the tournament, he assured the complete support of the government. 

     

    Earlier, All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Praful Patel explained the vital importance of the tournament for the overall development of Indian football and outlined the support necessary from all quarters for successfully staging the tournament. 

     

    LOC FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 Tournament director Javier Ceppi updated the board on the current progress of the preparations. 

     

    Sports secretary Rajiv Yadav and representatives of Goa, Kochi, Guwahati and Kolkata also updated the forum on the current progress of work at the various venues. 

     

    The FIFA U 17 World Cup, 2017 is the first ever FIFA tournament to be held in India and will be staged in September–October 2017. Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Kochi, Kolkata and Guwahati have been initially shortlisted as venues for the event. 

  • Club Football to kickstart again: When & where can India tune in?

    Club Football to kickstart again: When & where can India tune in?

    MUMBAI: Manchester City – the undisputed team so far in this season of English Premier League has shown class and composure while defending champions Chelsea’s jittery start seems to last too long. Arsenal failed to sign a single outfield player in the transfer window and Manchester United are yet to go all guns blazing.

     

    After the international break, the club competition across the globe is all set to kickstart again. The top of the table affair in Bundesliga is also equally poised with both Borrosia Dortmund and Bayern Munchen tied up at nine points. It will be a battle between defence and attack when Atletico Madrid hosts Barcelona in La Liga. Fans will be eagerly waiting for to how the teams are shaped up after transfer dealings.

     

    In India, Star Sports holds the broadcasting rights of EPL and Bundesliga, while one can tune in to Sony Six and Sony Kix for La Liga and Italian SerieA actions.

     

    Indiantelevision.com compiles a list of important not-to-be-missed matches:

     

    Indiantelevision.com compiles a list of important not-to-be-missed matches:

     

    Saturday, 12 September

     

    Everton vs. Chelsea, 05:05 pm, Star Sports 4 and Star Sports HD 4

     

    FC Bayern Munich vs. FC Augsburg, 6:46 pm, Star Sports 2

     

    Hannover 96 vs. Borussia Dortmund, 6:46 pm, Star Sports 2 HD

     

    Arsenal vs. Stoke City, 7:20 pm, Star Sports 1 and Star Sports HD 1

     

    Crystal Palace vs. Manchester City, 7:20 pm Star Sports 4 and Star Sports HD 4

     

    Eintracht Frankfurt vs. 1. FC Koln, 9:46 pm, Star Sports 2 and Star Sports HD 2

     

    Manchester United vs. Liverpool, 9:45 pm, Star Sports 4 and Star Sports HD 4

     

    Frosinone Vs Roma, 9:30 pm, Sony Six

     

    Sporting Gijon VS Valencia 9.45, Sony Six HD

     

    Espanyol VS Real Madrid 7.30, Sony KIx

     

    Sunday, 13 September

     

    Atletico Madrid VS Barcelona 12 AM, Sony Kix

     

    Hannover 96 vs. Borussia Dortmund,12:00 AM, Star Sports 1 and Star Sports HD 1

     

    Sunderland vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 5:50 pm Star Sports 4 Star Sports HD 4

     

    1899 Hoffenheim vs. SV Werder Bremen 6:46 pm, Star Sports 2 and Star Sports HD2

    Leicester City vs. Aston Villa, 8:20 pm, Star Sports 4 and Star Sports HD 4

     

    Match Of The Week, Athletico Madrid vs. Barcelona

  • Mr. Netflix, are you ready for India?

    Mr. Netflix, are you ready for India?

    After tasting global success, Mr. Netflix is revving up to thrust into India by 2016. But let’s take a breather here. We are talking about a country which debates about Bharat and India and where a part of the demography still views its favourite content in black and white CRT TV.

     

    While youngsters these days are widely speaking about Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black, dear Mr. Netflix wait before you get buoyed by all these series that generates millions for you, as Indians still believe in ‘torrent’ing .

     

    In India, while some of the best movies, made by the greatest filmmakers have been uploaded on YouTube, what has worked is the bathroom comedy by All India Backchod. Why do I talk about this, because if one has to believe the sources, Netflix is meeting a lot of producers across India to rope in quality content for the subscription based video on demand (SVOD) platform. 

     

    I know that the unprecedented number of downloads of Hotstar has tested your temperament and you can’t wait to enter the lucrative Indian market, but this video on demand (VoD) platform from Star India, got most of its downloads, thanks to Cricket, a religion in India. The app has so far been downloaded by more than 10 million Android users.

     

    Hotstar was placed in the top spot in the Google free app category even taking over Facebook and Whatsapp while the ICC Cricket World Cup was on. Now that the World Cup and IPL are over, the platform is not even in the top 10. This substantiates the fact that Hotstar’s unprecedented success was because of the two cricketing events.

     

    So what are you thinking now, Mr Netflix? Hotstar does not have adequate content? Hold on, the platform has 20,000 hours of content spread across seven languages. This includes 120+ full length TV shows and 500+ movies. This apart, the app also live streams popular sports like Cricket, Football, Tennis and Kabbadi. In short, Hotstar caters to a very large and diverse audience.

     

    Hotstar is not the only VOD platform India has. Right from Zee’s DittoTV, Spuul, Zenga, YupTV to the speculated Viacom 18’s soon to be launched VOD platform, competition will be tough. So, Mr Netflix it’s not just another regular expansion of business, you are going to enter a war: A war of over the top (OTT) services.

     

    Not only domestic players, but international ones like HOOQ and Vuclip among others have already entered the Indian market. HOOQ launched in India in May 2015 with a subscription plan of Rs 199.

     

    The subscription based platform has managed to secure 10,000 downloads in the two months since its launch. So Mr. Netflix, you may just have to change your strategy and become an ad based VoD platform, to woo Indian consumers. If industry sources are to be believed, Netflix is looking for a possible tie up with HOOQ for its India launch.

     

    Mr Netflix if you are thinking you will change your strategy and take the ad route let me throw a few numbers. Of the Rs 414 billion Indian advertising budget, only 10.5 per cent is expected to be spent on digital. Eating into this 10.5 per cent will be giants like Google, Yahoo and Bing among others, leaving you with a meager percentage share of the ad pie. If this satisfies you, join the fight and prepare yourself with some melodrama content that can please the advertiser.

     

    By now you must be thinking: what do 1,280 million people in India do and what about the 300 million smartphone exaggeration? Let’s take the number route again. Yes it’s true that India is about to dethrone the US and become the second largest mobile internet market by having more than 300 million wireless internet users and the year-on-year growth rate stands at 31 per cent. The main reason behind it is availability of smartphones at a low price which is enabling the penetration in rural India. But Mr Netflix what content will you provide in rural India? Malgudi Days? And you think rural India will accept it? On a Rs 5,000 smartphone Malgudi Days will look like Guilever Travels and produce sound like a radio. So not convincing!

     

    I know what is lucrative — 210 million wireless internet connections which is estimated to reach 402 million by 2017 and 528 million by 2019. While urban India widely speaks about 3G, majority of them disable their 3G service and stay satisfied with Edge or 2G service. 3G is largely alien to rural India. To add to your vivid imagination, while you are widely reading about smartphone penetration, 66 per cent of the urban internet traffic comes from desktop. 11 per cent of active urban consumers use tablets to access internet of which only 16 per cent consider tablets as their primary device for internet access.

     

    So Mr Netflix, if you still have zest let me present to you the fiercest competition: Television, which you think will diminish with the emergence of digital. Yes, there are close to 300 million internet users whereas only 168 million television households in India. But if one takes a closer look, the168 million households amount to 825 million television viewers.

     

    The growth rate of internet users is also expected to be much higher compared to that of television. From 2014-19 television is expected grow at a CAGR of 3 per cent, when pitched against the huge CAGR 18 per cent for internet users. The television growth can go much higher if more areas are empowered with electricity.

     

    So, only if there is a complete paradigm shift, with five national MSOs and six DTH players committing a bundle of mistakes and a Tsunami of technology comes in to change the entire infrastructure, a concept like SVOD may work, otherwise it may just perish.

     

    Mr Netflix let me introduce a term to you which you might have never come across throughout your journey – ‘buffering’. To watch a video at 144p one has to go through numerous buffering so guess what will happen to someone who wants to watch an Argo or Apocalypse Now.

     

    The only ray of hope for you Mr. Netflix is 4G. Airtel has already launched 4G in some parts of the country and Reliance Jio is expected to launch by 2015 end. 4G is supposed to be a lot faster compared to 3G but the price is yet to be determined. Why did I mention price? As the current scenario goes, to watch 1GB of content one has to pay around Rs 300. So for 10 GB worth of content, one has to pay approximately Rs 3,000 — an amount that can give 500 channels on television for 10 months.

     

    The other ray of hope is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Digital India’ vision.

     

    Mr Netflix don’t worry India believes in Atithi Devo Bhava (Guest Is God) and hence will welcome you with grace and gratitude, like the nation did with Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts.

     

    But at the end of the day as Charles Darwin said ‘Survival of the fittest.’