ITV

Tag: Football

  • BBC World News to showcase major sport events

    BBC World News to showcase major sport events

    MUMBAI: With the FIFA Women’s World Cup beginning in Canada this weekend, BBC World News TV and bbc.com/sport are gearing up to bring audiences a truly global perspective on sports.

     

    From football to Formula One, rugby to basketball and tennis to golf, the BBC’s international news services will be on hand to bring global audiences the action, expertise and analysis as well as capturing the passion of fans.

     

    The channel will showcase popular sporting shows such as Sport Today and Football Focus will have top interviews with former Open Golf champions Tom Watson and Greg Norman and football’s Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal, Chile), plus dedicated previews, highlights and specialist analysis of the most important moments in sport this season.

     

    Meanwhile audiences can also follow all the summer’s action with BBC Sport online with dedicated pages for all the sporting action, live text commentary of all the major events along with video, clips, news headlines, gossip and analysis. People can also follow the best of the sports on offer on Twitter and Facebook.

     

    Football will gear up for the FIFA Women’s World Cup followed by the UEFA Champions League Final and later witness Copa America.

     

    Tennis, on the other hand will showcase the Wimbledon, US Open and recaps from the action at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on BBC World News.

     

    While the channel aims to cater to all sport lovers, it couldn’t have missed the racers. Followers of Formula One can also expect to be kept up to date with every race throughout the summer, including the British Grand Prix from 3 – 5 July.

     

    On the Golf front, Sport Today Extra will be in the presence of golfing royalty this summer as the team interview golfing legends and former Open champions, Tom Watson and Greg Norman on 11 July and 8 August respectively. It will be followed by the 144th Open Golf Championship, live from St Andrews from 16 – 18 July on BBC World News TV.

     

    Some of the events in cycling and cricket get underway in July, with the Tour de France commencing on 4 July and the Ashes series between England and Australia starting in Cardiff on 8 July.

     

    It will also show some Sailing events like ‘The Spirit of Yachting’, some athletics with World Athletics Championships in Beijing and the Diamond League and Rugby events like the Rugby World Cup in September this year.

  • Jabong and Nike create football frenzy with ‘Day of Play’

    Jabong and Nike create football frenzy with ‘Day of Play’

    MUMBAI: Jabong.com and Nike hosted ‘Day of Play’ a football tournament for young footballers in Mumbai. Kids in the age group of 13-20 years faced-off a two day football camp going through rigorous trials and a selection match assessed by AIFF licensed coaches.  Twenty four of the most promising players were chosen and mentored by the former Indian captain, Bhaichung Bhutia and current India team goalkeeper, Subrata Pal. These young players were divided into teams and the finals were played between the top two teams.

     

    The best player of the tournament and the winning team were awarded the trophies along with personalized Nike football boots in the presence of  Bhaichung Bhutia, Subrata Pal, Arun Chandra Mohan (Founder & CEO, Jabong.com) and Avinash Pant (Marketing Director, Nike India).

     

    Recently, Jabong has introduced Shoe personalization in collaboration with Nike which has happened for the first time ever in India. Reaching out to the increasing football fans in India, Nike boots can now have their name written or they can choose the flag of their favorite football FIFA ’14 team printed on various locations on the boot. Jabong as a brand has always encouraged various sports in the country, evident so from its past alliances like FIFA merchandise – NIKE soccer shoes, exclusive NBA retailer in India and much more. With an effort to further popularize sport in India, Jabong and Nike are providing this unique offering to help football enthusiast’s show off the support for their favorite teams and players. Additionally employees of Nike and Jabong played a friendly match, post which Bhaichung Bhutia and Subrata Pal got their own Nike personalized boots by Jabong.

     

    “We are at a very interesting chapter in Indian football, the sport is finally beginning to get its due and this will only increase over the next few years. I am really delighted to be here at Nike’s Day of Play with Jabong. The passion of these young footballers will help elevate the sport. I would like to congratulate the winners and all the footballers who were part of this tournament” said Nike athlete Bhaichung Bhutia.

     

    On the occasion, Mr. Arun Chandra Mohan, Founder & CEO, Jabong.com said, “We are delighted to partner with Nike to offer our customers the exclusive Nike football boot personalization feature on our website for all footballers. #Nameurshoe is a strong fashion trend amongst sports enthusiasts and personalized boot is something that we believe ardent football fans would love to own.  Personalizing their football boots with either their name, the name of their idol or their favourite football team is a cool feature that makes it unique and speaks to their individual style”.

     

    Mr. Avinash Pant, Marketing Director, Nike India said “At Nike, it is our mission to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the World. The chance to play alongside two of India’s greatest footballers is not only a unique experience but is also inspiring. Personalization on football boots is a global phenomenon and we are delighted to be partnering with Jabong to provide this feature for footballers in India”.

  • Dish TV leverages sports channels to push HD packs

    Dish TV leverages sports channels to push HD packs

    MUMBAI: With festive fervor just around the corner, India’s oldest DTH operator Dish TV has decided to make the most of the season. New packs have been introduced for north India with special variants for south India.

     

    A recent study done by Dish TV showed that HD was a big necessity and an increasing number of people were keen to take sports channels. “Even if multi screen viewing is on the rise, HD is going to be big. So we tweaked and introduced flexible packs. Sports is picking not just due to cricket but also events such as Asian Games, Olympics, Kabaddi and Football,” says Dish TV COO Salil Kapoor speaking to indiantelevision.com. Consumers have the choice to opt for HD packs with channels that may not be in the base SD pack.

     

    The operator has laid stress on sports in every level for SD packs. It has a total of 36 HD channels with several additions coming in after it got its additional transponder space early this year. Dish TV claims that it provides more sports content at every price point. The HD boost is also being backed by the uptake of HD TV sets during Diwali. The new packs have been introduced a month ago and Kapoor says that the growth has been ‘multifold’.

     

    While regional channels that are available in HD will be on Dish TV, its second brand Zing does not have an HD side to it. Kapoor says it would like to keep its HD audience to stay with Dish TV. The HD focus will be primarily in the metros. However, a plus point is that it provides the feature of inbuilt recorder in every HD STB, without any additional cost.

     

    The packs available are:

     

    Game on HD at Rs 125 (sports and Hindi entertainment)

    Life on HD at Rs 175 (English entertainment with sports and Hindi entertainment)

    Full on HD at Rs 200 (entertainment)

    Sports packs include:

     

    Maxi pack at Rs 275 (six sports channels)

    All sports at Rs 320 (maximum 11 sports channels)

    Platinum Sports at Rs 440 (English, Hindi, Sports, Lifestyle and Infotainment

     

    The HD channels include Ten HD, Six HD, Star Sports HD 1, Star Sports HD 2, Baby TV HD, AXN, Movies Now HD, Star Movies HD, Star World HD, WB HD, Zee Studio HD, Fox Crime, FX, Zee Café, Sony Pix HD, Life OK HD, Star Gold HD, Star Plus HD, Zee Cinema HD, Zee TV HD, Sony HD, &Pictures HD, Dish Box Office, Animal Planet HD World, Discovery HD World, NGC Wild HD, Nat Geo HD, Discovery Science, Nat Geo People HD, TLC HD World, Fox Life HD, NGC Music, M Tunes HD, Travel XP HD and ET Now.

  • Sony Six brings American football to India with NFL

    Sony Six brings American football to India with NFL

    MUMBAI:  The Multi Screen Media (MSM) India promoted Sony Six has now acquired the broadcasting rights of National Football League (NFL).

     

    The announcement follows a multiyear television partnership between NFL and MSM, making Sony Six NFL’s broadcast partner across the Indian Subcontinent. The channel will air the NFL for four years.

     

    The partnership includes television rights to live regular season games, playoff games and most significantly to the tournament’s paramount sporting event, the Super Bowl.

     

    Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan said, “We are extremely thrilled and excited about this partnership, as we look to deliver on providing the audiences an opportunity to experience the best of American football. The raw nature of the sport promises audiences a combination of high speed action and thrill.”

     

    “This acquisition brings us a step closer in reiterating our efforts in providing quality sports content to our viewers that greatly adds value to our channel as well as to our existing comprehensive bouquet and line-up of sporting events,” he added.

     

    The programming will be themed around educational vignettes, highlight shows and NFL’s trademark pre-season documentary series Hard Knocks. They will work collaboratively on unique initiatives to engage Indian audiences in order to grow fan base and increase knowledge and awareness of the NFL through media.

     

    Talking about the deal, International Media and Business Development VP Julie Moeller said, “We are excited to be working with Sony Six to bring the NFL to new and existing fans in India Their endeavor and focus in delivering fast paced sports in India, aligns with our long-term goal of popularizing NFL in the country. Through live games, marquee events, highlights and league recaps we will provide Indian viewers with a comprehensive platform to experience NFL like never before.”

  • FIFA World Cup Final sets Twitter, Facebook abuzz

    FIFA World Cup Final sets Twitter, Facebook abuzz

    Mumbai: Football is fodder for social buzz. And when a European team and a Latin American team are battling to take home the FIFA World CUP, it can scale new heights. As it did in the case of the final last night when Germany emerged triumphant by sneaking a goal in in the second half of extra time. According to both Twitter and Facebook, the World Cup Final has set new records for them as far as social engagement is concerned.

     

    Twitter announced the  game peaked at 618,725 tweets a minute, smashing the previous record of 580,166 tweets per minute set during Germany’s wipeout of Brazil in the semifinal. The total number of tweets: 32.1 million during the game.  But the German-Brazil match holds the record at 35.6 million tweets for the most socially active sports event ever.

     

    Facebook said that its timeline was buzzing like never before with 88 million users making a record 280 million interactions (posts, likes, comments) when the Germans and Argentinians chased the ball on the field during the final.  The previous highest was 245 million interactions, which was registered during the SuperBowl in 2013.

  • Adidas the ‘sole’ winner of 2014 FIFA World Cup?

    Adidas the ‘sole’ winner of 2014 FIFA World Cup?

    If you thought FIFA was all about the game then you are highly mistaken. While Brazil was spending millions to prepare for the world’s biggest extravaganza, the two brands which rule the football merchandise market, had been busy playing their own matches.

    Even before the tournament began, the two giants with their marketing strategies were all set for FIFA 2014.

    It was in the month of May that Adidas, which has sponsored FIFA, the world football’s governing body, since 1970, launched its ?50million plus global World Cup campaign featuring Lionel Messi. Titled ‘Leo Messi’s World Cup Dream,’ the campaign also included Luis Suarez and Dani Alves and associated with Kanye West.

    The $1.9 billion Nike’s ‘The Last Game’ animated short film was launched a month later. To keep the buzz alive, the brand also opened its first pop-up store in Brazil. The five-minute World Cup film featured animated versions of the sport’s best players, from Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo to Brazil’s Neymar Jr., under the Nike Football campaign tagline, ‘Risk Everything’.

    Overall, Nike with $25 billion revenue has 17 per cent market share worldwide while Adidas with $20 billion revenue owns 12 per cent of the market share.

    Nonetheless, Adidas which has signed an agreement with FIFA until 2030 for $70 million for every four-year cycle, created the colourful WC ball – known as the Brazuca – which surpassed sales of the 2010 World Cup ball.

    Although eight different companies provide jerseys to the 32 participating teams, as the tournament entered the nail-biting semi-finals, the fight was no longer between Argentina, Brazil, Germany and Netherlands, but was all about Nike versus Adidas.

    The two companies with a combined market share of 70 per cent of the world football merchandise market sponsored two teams each: Argentina and Germany wore Adidas while Brazil and Netherlands wore Nike.

    But one can note that though Adidas provided the German kit, about nine of the country’s top players wore Nike boots. This WC Nike made a shoe statement with its new Magista and Mercurial boots.

    The marketing war at its highest saw the two in a tightly-cornered match. Social and digital media was conquered by both as fan base increased manifold. So much so that in the last five months or so Nike grew its Facebook fan base by approximately 14 million users, largely due to growth in markets like Indonesia, Turkey and India and thanks to ‘Risk Everything.’

    The last year has been volatile for the companies on the Wall Street index as well. Over the past year, Nike shares have trounced those of Adidas.

     

    If one goes by the numbers and strategic marketing, the competition between Nike’s and Adidas’ battle for the hearts and minds of soccer fanatics would have made the Goddess of Victory (Nike) take the trophy home.

    However, as Brazil and Netherland crashed out of the tournament, it was Adidas vs Adidas at the finals.

    Even though Adidas and Germans took the Golden trophy home, Nike the unofficial partner created enough buzz and revenue throughout the tournament.

    The companies are sure that even though the tournament is over, the momentum will remain the entire year. And keeping in mind that today the competition has moved beyond the pitch; with brand ambassadors and innovative marketing strategies, there is no longer but one winner.

    It was a win-win situation for both sport giants.

  • Viber India to help young footballers

    Viber India to help young footballers

    MUMBAI: With FIFA fever gripping the world, Viber India has initiated a corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity to support a home grown football team. 

    Every conversation made through Viber India contributes to the campaign titled ‘Vibe The Goal’ that will support the girls of the YUWA football team in Jharkand.

    Founded in 2009, Yuwa is a girls’ football programs in India, with 250 players. The Yuwa Foundation uses football as a platform to combat child marriage and human trafficking in the poorest of communities in Jharkhand.

    Through this activity Viber is giving its users a change to be a part of a movement to ensure there are football equipments and education facilities for these girls who have succeeded at the national and international levels.

    The campaign is conceptualised and executed by FoxyMoron.

    “Viber India aimed to engage with their target audience interested in football. The idea is to leverage the football madness that has taken over everyone. With India nowhere close to participating in the World Cup, it only seemed fitting to have the youth identify with an Indian team through an emotional yet inspiring message,” said FoxyMoron business head – north Akshay Gurnani.

    The inspiring story of girls of the YUWA football is encapsulated in a short digital film. The campaign was launched on 17 June. The film has received over 2.9 Lakh views., so far.

    Click here to watch the film:

    The campaigned has garnered 18.6 million impressions on Twitter with 24,300 tweets generated in support of the #VibeTheGoal initiative and close to 9.5 lakh fans have engaged on Facebook.

    “Viber is proud to partner with YUWA team. Through our association with YUWA we are aiming to generate maximum awareness about the NGO which has championed the social cause of combating issues such as child marriage and human trafficking in India. Everyone can be a part of the conversation on Viber to support the team. Every message exchanged on Viber will go a long way in contributing towards uplifting the social and economic conditions for these girls who have earned great reputation for India at national and international levels,” mentioned Viber country head Anubhav Nayyar.

    Through every conversation happening on Viber various monetary levels of contributions will be displayed on a meter on the campaign microsite which is also an aggregator of the support the girls are receiving.

    YUWA India founder Franz Gastler said, “Society teaches girls to fit in. Yuwa coaches girls to stand out.  In Jharkhand, 6 in 10 girls drop out of school and become child brides. Yuwa is using football and education to combat child marriage, illiteracy and human trafficking.  We are thrilled to join hands with Viber India to build support for Yuwa’s programs and a center of excellence to educate, nourish and sustain the girls of Yuwa.  Join the cause, make some noise.”

  • 400 private websites restrained from beaming FIFA

    400 private websites restrained from beaming FIFA

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court issued an injunction order restraining around 400 private websites from beaming the World Cup Football FIFA matches.

     

    The vacation bench of Justice V Kameswar Rao gave a directive to the Department of Information Technology and Telecom to ensure implementation of the order of the court. He directed that his directive would be forwarded to the concerned ministry.

     

     The judge, who listed the matter to come up in the last week of July, gave the directive after hearing Saikrishna Rajagopal who was arguing on behalf of Multi Screen Media Entertainment (Sony) which holds the exclusive rights for beaming the matches in India.

     

     The sports arm of MSM, Sony Six, is the official broadcaster of the football extravaganza, while its digital platform LIVSports.in has the exclusive rights to live stream the event.

     

    The network had moved the court after it found out that several unauthorized websites were streaming the World Cup matches.

  • Indian Super League signs partnership with English Premier League

    Indian Super League signs partnership with English Premier League

    MUMBAI: The Indian Super League (ISL) has entered into a strategic partnership with the English Premier League (EPL) – the world’s most popular and successful football league, to bring its best practices to India under the exchange programme.

     

    The Co-operation Agreement between the Indian Super League, co-promoted by IMG-Reliance, the joint venture between IMG and Reliance Industries, Star India with support from All India Football Federation (AIFF) – and the English Premier League will allow ISL to leverage the league’s expertise in nurturing and growing a high quality football competition.

     

    The recently appointed Board of Director at RIL Nita M. Ambani said, “Partnering with Premier League brings credence to Indian Super League and to our vision of popularising the sport in India. I am confident that the tie-up will immensely help in nurturing and establishing Indian Super League with good governance and best practices. The alliance also presents a great opportunity of partnership and cross promotions between the ISL League Partners and Premier League Clubs.” 

     

    England’s Premier League is the most watched continuous annual global sporting event in the world. Last season, 13.9 million fans attended matches with record average stadium occupancy of 95.9 per cent. Across nine months, 380 matches are viewed in 175 countries with coverage available in more than 650 million homes.

     

    Star India CEO Uday Shankar added, “The partnership puts belief in Stars Sports philosophy of `Believe’. From a game that hobbled about on the fringes of Indian sports, there’s promise that this partnership will lift and reinvigorate football. Star strongly believes in creating local heroes, inspiring Indians to believe greatness is possible through sport and together we can create a world where sports comes first. The partnership with PL is going to help us achieve just that. Through this tie-up Star India will cross promote coverage of the Indian Super League and the Premier League to the growing base of Indian football followers.”
     

    The Indian Super League, set to kick off in September 2014, will receive strategic support, advice and assistance from the Premier League to further the development of the league and its clubs. The EPL will also assist in establishing club governance, shaping the brand, fan engagement, defining anti-corruption and anti-doping policies for the ISL, as well as joint promotion of the ISL and Premier League football in India.

     

    EPL chief executive officer Richard Scudamore said, “Having earlier this year signed a mutual co-operation agreement with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), we are very pleased to also enter into this partnership with the ISL. This will see both organisations work together and share knowledge in several key areas including player development, refereeing, marketing and promotion.”

     

    He added, “We know from our broadcast partner Star India, and our work with the AIFF on our long-established grassroots football project Premier Skills that we run in several locations across India, that the popularity of football, and the Premier League, is growing. There is a further opportunity to develop the sport as a result of that increased interest and we hope to continue to make a real contribution to all levels of Indian football.”
     

    The co-operation between the Indian Super League and the Premier League lends credence to the Indian Super League’s mission to engage the 200 million-plus Indian football fan base by showcasing a quality football offering with international standards of governance and an unparalleled viewing experience.

     

    ISL is an unrivalled football championship, aiming to foster local talent and feature international stars, making the game one of the country’s flagship sports and India, a name to reckon within the global arena. ISL will feature eight franchises from Bangalore, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.
    India is the Premier League’s number one market in terms of social media engagement, with an average reach of 1.48m Indian fans every week.

     

    IMG, Global Football Development senior vice president Jeff Slack informed, “Pairing the Premier League, an established best-in-class football organisation, with the Indian Super League is a dream arrangement for football fans in India.  The ability to leverage the Premier League’s experience in creating a successful league model for both players and fans will be a tremendous value to the Indian Super League as it continues to grow the sport in India.”
     

    Through the alliance, Indian Super League will help Premier League and its clubs in staging football matches and assist in other business development initiatives in India. This will encourage exchange programmes and partnership building between clubs of the two leagues. Indian Super League and the Premier League will also cross-promote football coverage on Star India’s platform to the growing Indian fan base.

     

    “The AIFF is extremely pleased to be a part of the strategic partnership between the English Premier League and the Indian Super League. This is an outstanding opportunity for the Indian Super League to build from the very best in the business when it comes to running a highly successful league. The EPL is revered around the world and by learning from the practitioners who have made it so successful; the Indian Super League will develop and grow in the right way, ensuring benefits not only for the league itself but also for the wider Indian football ecosystem in the longer term,” concluded AIFF president Praful Patel.

  • Sony Six TAM (es) rating with FIFA World Cup

    Sony Six TAM (es) rating with FIFA World Cup

    MUMBAI: It has been 10 days since the FIFA World Cup started and the excitement is only rising for fans and official broadcaster, Sony Six.

     

    According to inputs provided by the channel, 14.8 million viewers have switched on to the channel to watch the games despite the fact that three of the five games take place post midnight.

     

    For the ninth week now, Sony Six has retained its position as the number one sports channel in India, it claims.

     

    Meanwhile, MSM group’s regional channel Sony Aaath providing live Bengali commentary during the matches in West Bengal has proved to be a brilliant business move for the channel. Five million viewers from Kolkata tuned in to watch the games being held in Brazil versus 4.6 million viewers that had tuned in during the 2010 World Cup. Similarly, 1.6 million viewers from the rest of Bengal watched versus 1.2 million viewers who tuned in last time.

     

    Beyond the metros, the ratings have been positive in towns with a population of more than 10 million, while towns within the population range one to 10 million homes have registered a growth of six per cent.

     

    With most games being showcased during the primetime at 9:30 pm, the response so far for the channel has been positive.

     

    Meanwhile, the FIFA World Cup seems to be breaking viewership records in several countries, FIFA has revealed.  34.1 million Japanese viewers tuned into watch their country get deafeated 2-1 by Ivory Coast on NHK at 10 am when the match was telecast. TV Globo reported that  42.9 million Brazillian viewers watched the host nation beat Croatia 3-1. The story in the US was no different with 11.1 million Americans watching Uncle Sam play with Ghana on ESPN.

     

    Audiences were also glued to their TV sets in both Italy and England as the former beat the latter 2-1. The viewership numbers for the BBC were 14.2 million for the match, while RAI1 in Italy notched up 12.8 million viewers – the highest TV viewership in 2014 for both the countries. In Germany, ARD channel lured 26.4 million  viewers as it beat Portugal 4-1.