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Tag: Hero MotoCorp

  • Hero MotoCorp TVC shows Indian super-skills as FIFA U-17 WC starts

    Hero MotoCorp TVC shows Indian super-skills as FIFA U-17 WC starts

    MUMBAI: Hero MotoCorp, the national supporter of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, has kicked off its campaign with a TVC and digital engagement.

    The TVC titled “#PLAYINSPIRE” has been conceptualised by Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi creative team and produced by Elements. It revolves around the fascination of young, gritty, super-skilled footballers from across the country who are revelling in the football frenzy that has the nation hooked.

    With India playing in a FIFA World Cup for any age-group for the first time, it’s a historic moment for the country and a great motivator for budding footballers who can now dare to dream.

    Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi senior VP Debarjyo Nandi said about the film, “It’s rare to find work and something you love come together. So, this one was special for me personally. It was also a revelation to discover the amazing football talent that exists out there. Thanks to Hero being true to their cause for football, this amazing talent pool came together for this film. It was an absolute joy to work with people who are also as passionate about football.”

  • I-Day: Hero salutes true heroes behind heroes

    MUMBAI: Hero MotoCorp has rolled out its Independence Day campaign with its third edition of #HeroSalutes. The campaign has been conceptualised by Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi and has been on-air from 11 August.

    #HeroSalutes is an attempt to bring the nation’s attention to the real heroes of the nation who are with the armed forces be it the army, navy or airforce. While last year, #HeroSalutes urged the nation to show respect and regard to our nation’s soldiers at all times at all places by saluting them, this year Hero has extended the sentiment to their families, the heroes behind the heroes. Families who miss out on their loved ones because they are away serving the country. And their absence becomes more evident on special occassions where they are missed most like the opening story of the film; a young boy who is missing his father at a football match while he notices all other fathers of his team-mates cheering for them on the field.

    Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi joint national creative director Rahul Nangia added, “How does a child, whose parent is away serving in the armed forces make sense of their absence? That’s heroism too!”

    While the film peaked on-air on 15 August, and screened in theatres, the campaign also had full page print ads in leading national dailies on 15 August as well and was supported with digital engagement on social media with unprecedented views and likes.

  • NDTV Car and Bike Awards 2016 embraced by leaders

    NDTV Car and Bike Awards 2016 embraced by leaders

    MUMBAI: It was a night celebrating fast paced thrills and glamour, the coveted NDTV Car and Bike Awards, presented by Future Generali and powered by Mobil was a scintillating affair indeed. 

     

    Renault Kwid won the NDTV car of the year award 2016 and Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 was awarded the NDTV two wheeler of the year 2016. Leaders from the automobile industry, marketers, jury members and PR persons joined on the occasion.

     

    This year, the NDTV Car and Bike Awards saw a panel discussion on the state of the industry, the status of the crucial road safety bill, and how the industry is looking to play its part to tackle growing air pollution. The eminent panellists included Hero MotoCorp managing director and CEO Pawan Munjal and Maruti Suzuki India managing director Kenichi Ayukawa. The discussion was moderated by NDTV group CEO Vikram Chandra.

     

    Renault India CEO Sumit Sawhney was awarded the coveted automotive man of the year 2016 for the launch of the KWID, and his bold strategy behind that success. The 11 edition of the awards also honoured products launched over the past year, across both car and bike segments and recognised industry leaders, advertisers, marketers and PR professionals from the industry.

     

    The Mobil CNB Viewers’ Choice Awards for both cars and bikes provided NDTV viewers the exciting opportunity to vote for their favourite car and bike nominees and stand a chance to take the year’s hottest wheels home. Renault Kwid and Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 were announced as the Mobil CNB viewer’s choice car and two wheeler respectively. Virat Kohli was awarded the brand ambassador of the year while the BMW i8 took home the trophy for automotive technology of the year. 

     

    On the eve of the 11 edition of the awards, NDTV group’s editor auto and head of automobile programming  Siddharth Vinayak Patankar said, “What a superb year it has been, that has given us such competent and exciting products. The industry is also climbing back from its worst days, which is encouraging for us all. I remain proud that we deliver India’s most credible automobile awards! I have fiercely guarded the awards process and we had fantastic juries for the various categories, which made it even more comprehensive. As always we credibly honour the best of the auto industry while also reflecting the choices and sentiments of customers, manufactures and auto lovers alike.”

     

    The Marketing and Communications awards categories had a special jury made up of Madison World chairman and MD Sam Balsara, Clea Public Relations chairman and MD Vinod Nair, Ogilvy & Mather national creative director Rajiv Rao, McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific chairman and lyricist Prasoon Joshi, Asylum Films founder Razneesh Ghai , NDTV Prime strategy head editor and anchor Shruti Verma Singh, and  NDTV group editor-auto and head of automobile programming Siddharth Vinayak Patankar.

     

    The product awards boasted a panel of eminent jury members including Car India and Bike India editor Aspi Bhatena, DC Design, Racers CEO Dilip Chhabria,   Aditya Patel, Karun Chandhok and Rayomand Banajee, senior industry consultant Dr V Sumantran, rallyist and auto enthusiast Kamlesh Patel, Man’s World managing editor Pablo Chaterji,  Evo India editor Sirish Chandran, NDTV  Assistant Editor-Auto PS Balakrishnan,  and NDTV Group Editor-Auto Siddharth Vinayak Patankar.

     

    The key categories include: NDTV car of the year, NDTV two wheeler of the year, car manufacturer of the year, two wheeler manufacturer of the year, CNB viewers’ choice car and two wheeler of the year, and automotive man of the year.

     

    To ensure a seamless and transparent selection process, jury members got a hands-on experience of each car and bike at the Buddh International Circuit, along with the nominee’s specifications, its market performance and details on its immediate competition. The jurors then led through a sanitized process filled out their assessment on each nominee and awarded points to all the contending vehicles. The scoring and voting system instituted by the World Car of the Year Awards was used in the selection process.

     

    Ballot voting was conducted in isolation to other jurors and is monitored and organised by auditors Ernst and Young.  

  • Rahul Nangia gets promoted as L&K Saatchi & Saatchi national creative director

    Rahul Nangia gets promoted as L&K Saatchi & Saatchi national creative director

    MUMBAI:  L&K Saatchi & Saatchi has elevated Rahul Nangia to the position of joint national creative director, alongside Charles Victor. The move is a clear indication of the emphasis the organisation wants to put in its creative leadership space in order to live up to its global iconic reputation. Nangia henceforth, will report to L&K Saatchi & Saatchi CEO and managing partner, Anil Nair.

     

    L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, co owner, chairman and managing director Praveen Kenneth said,  ““Our focus over the last decade has been to build a strong business foundation and strong client partnerships. We have a great reputation of being thought leaders and it is but natural for us to establish a strong creative reputation to maximize our to serve our clients.”

     

    Rahul has been credited with the creation of the iconic ‘Hum Mein Hain Hero‘ punchline during the launch of Hero MotoCorp that helped the brand catapult from being Hero Honda. His association with the organisation goes back by seven years and his contribution has been significant in some of its highly acclaimed work with accounts like Jockey, Thomas Cook, VIP Skybags and recently, pepperfry.com, to name a few.

     

    Charles Victor, with whom Nangia shares the designation, has been serving L&K Saatchi since 2006 and is placed as the National Creative Director.

  • O&M bags maximum statuettes at IndIAA Awards

    O&M bags maximum statuettes at IndIAA Awards

    MUMBAI: Ogilvy & Mather bagged the maximum number of six awards at the IndIAA Awards, which are organised by theIndia Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA).

     

    O&M was awarded for its creative work on brands such as Titan, Kinley, SBI Life, Hero Indian Super League, BMW and Vodafone.

     

    On the other hand, amongst media agencies, Maxus won four awards for Dabur Vatika, Vodafone, Titan and Hero Motocorp.

     

    IndIAA Awards, which held on 13 October at ST Regis Hotel, saw 16 winners from various creative and media agencies. It also included various agency partners from digital, activation, PR and events.

     

    IndIAA awards chairman Pradeep Guha said, “The IndIAA Award format ensured that ‘ads for awards only’ didn’t come through and this itself was the differentiator.”

     

    IAA India chapter president Srinivasan Swamy added, “With the IndIAA Awards, IAA has added another interesting concept to its existing cache of clutter-breaking events. We attempted IndIAA Awards as an experiment; we wanted to create a different way of awarding creativity. With the response to our call for entries and the turnout today, we know that this concept has been very well accepted.”

     

    On the jury for the awards were Unilever COO and Hindustan Unilever non-executive chairman Harish Manwani, Titanmanaging director Bhaskar Bhat, Standard Chartered Bank group head of brand and chief marketing officer Sanjeeb Chaudhuri, State Bank of India managing director and group executive (national banking) B Sriram and Kelloggs India managing director Sangeeta Pendurkar.

     

    “Great brands are built around insights, not analytics,” said Manwani, while addressing the audience in the ceremony.

  • CPL takes a leap with SRK as franchise owner; Hero as title sponsor

    CPL takes a leap with SRK as franchise owner; Hero as title sponsor

    MUMBAI: With two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp as title sponsor and actor Shah Rukh Khan as the owner of Trinidad and Tobago franchise, the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is emerging as a substantial entity in the franchisee cricket fraternity.

     

    Both developments are of huge magnitude for the mushrooming league as Khan’s involvement will drive his fans to the sports too, which will result in increased viewership.

     

    The broadcasting right of CPL is with Multi Screen Media’s sports and entertainment channel Sony Six, which also telecasts Indian Premier League (IPL). A viewership boost will only help the channel generate more revenue.

     

    Not long back after Hero invested heavily on Indian Super League (ISL) and bagged the title sponsors tag speculations were drawn that the automobile company will permanently move away from cricket and endorse other emerging leagues. However, the one-year deal with CPL quashes all speculations. As part of the deal, CPL will now be called as Hero Caribbean Premier League, which is synonymous with other sports properties like Hero Indian Super league and Hero Hockey India League.

     

    Hero has been associated with cricket for over two decades in various capacities. In 2007, Hero was the Global Partner of the ICC World Cup, held in West Indies.

      

    Speaking to Times of India after signing the deal with CPL franchise Trinidad and Tobago, Khan said, “This is in line with our vision to expand globally. We are thrilled to become part of the cricketing tradition of Trinidad & Tobago. The passion for franchise cricket in the Caribbean is evident with the success of CPL and we hope to bring all the best practices of KKR to the T&T franchise.”

     

    Speaking about the deal, Hero MotoCorp CEO and managing director Pawan Munjal said, “Hero MotoCorp has been associated with sports, and particularly cricket, for well over two decades. The game of cricket has for long remained the most popular sport in India, and also in the Caribbean. As Hero rapidly expands its global footprint, we have been forging strong associations with sporting icons and events as part of our global brand building initiatives. Caribbean cricket and cricketers have always been highly popular in India and in many other parts of the world, and our title sponsorship of the CPL is a logical extension of our long-term association with the game. We look forward to a highly exciting month of cricket in the Caribbean.” 

     

    Hero Caribbean Premier League chairman Richard Bevan added, “It is our pleasure to have the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero MotoCorp, as title sponsor of CPL. Hero has been one of the leading sponsors of cricket throughout the game’s history, and it is a testament to CPL’s growing success that the event will now be known as the Hero CPL. We look forward to Hero’s support and to making season 3 of the CPL the biggest yet.

     

    CPL started two years back and has been growing in terms of both players’ participation and global viewership. Renowned international cricketers like Kevin Pietersen, Jacques Kallis and Shahid Afridi will join the Caribbean’s finest cricketers namely Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo. The tournament will also witness participation of talented local players from the Caribbean region.

     

    CPL 2014 attracted a massive global audience in excess of 65 million. This number is expected to break all previous records to post record participation of spectators from around the world.

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com a senior cricket expert asserts, “Caribbean cricketers have always been the best entertainers of cricket. If we see in recent times in the IPL, it has been Gayle. Pollard and Bravo have always been crowd pullers. Indian cricketers not participating will hamper viewership in India but if quality cricket is exhibited, then people will tune in provided there is no India match happening simultaneously.”

     

    He further added, “Shah Rukh Khan owning a franchise is a big boost for the league, as he will make efforts to promote the franchise. KKR was the first franchise to start generating profit from IPL so with his business mind, he will make sure he gets good returns.”

     

    A veteran media planning expert feels that though there are big names associated with the league, it is highly unlikely that the brand interaction will go anywhere close to IPL or any other India involved cricket match. “The game is clear, you have India playing cricket… it’s a festival. You have matches played in India, it is a celebration but cricket without Indian players will find it tough to garner viewership. Hero and Shah Rukh joining the league is good news for the league as well as for the broadcaster. However, at the end of the day, it’s the quality of cricket and cricketers that will get brands and viewers.”

  • Hero MotoCorp names Pawan Munjal as chairman

    Hero MotoCorp names Pawan Munjal as chairman

    MUMBAI: Hero MotoCorp has named Pawan Munjal as chairman as his father Dr. Brijmohan Lall, who has been the company’s chairman since its inception in 1984, expressed his desire to relinquish his post.

     

    The company’s board unanimously approved Munjal’s appointment as the chairman, managing director and CEO.

     

    Accepting Dr. Lall’s offer to relinquish his duties as the executive chairman of the company, the board requested him to continue to mentor the company in the form of chairman emeritus, which he accepted.

     

    Under the leadership of Munjal, Hero has remained the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer in terms of unit volumes sold in a calendar year by a single company since 2001 – the year he took over as the MD and CEO. Munjal has consistently demonstrated his visionary leadership to emerge as one of India’s highly respected business leaders.

     

    Hero MotoCorp continues to command well over 50 per cent share in the domestic motorcycle market in India. The company sold record 6.63 million units two-wheelers in the financial year 2015 – its highest-ever annual sales.

  • ASCI upheld complaints against 134 out of 147 ads

    ASCI upheld complaints against 134 out of 147 ads

    MUMBAI: In July 2014, Advertising Standard Council of India’s (ASCI) Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) upheld complaints against 134 out of 147 advertisements.

    The CCC found the claims in health and personal care product or service ads of 56 advertisers, released in the press to be either misleading or false or not adequately/scientifically substantiated and hence violated ASCI’s code. Some of the health care products or services advertisements also contravened provisions of The Drug & Magic Remedies Act, Chapter 1.1 and III.4 of the ASCI code.

    The complaints were upheld against L’Oreal India’s advertisement claims that Garnier Colour Naturals provides nourishment to hair for eight weeks. ITC’s YouTube advertisement derides colour as a dark skinned girl is shown as not being confident and suffering from an inferiority complex due to her complexion. It shows that only after applying Vivel cream does she appear confident enough to sing in public. Similarly, Marico advertisement, which stars Rahul Bose, claims that Livon Hair Gain helps to stop hair fall within 90 days. The claims on the product pack were not consistent with those in the advertisement.

    The personal and healthcare category was followed by 61 advertisements in the education category.

    International Institute of Hotel Management advertisement claims to be India’s largest hotel school chain and Asia’s 100 fastest growing private educational institutes with 100 per cent global placement record. Prestige Institute of Management advertisement claims that Prestige Institute of Management is ranked among the top 1000 B-schools in the world by Ed-universal official selection, Paris. It further adds that Prestige is rated A++ among Management Institutions by Business India, November 2013 issue and ranked 16th among Management Institutes in India by Higher Education Review, 2014. In addition, the advertisement claims to be truly number 1 B-school in Central India.

    In the automobile category, Hero MotoCorp advertisement for Hero Xtreme shows an everyday activity being performed on the bike in an irresponsible manner. The advertisement contravened Chapter III.3 of the ASCI code (“Ads shall not, without justifiable reason, show or refer to dangerous practice or manifest a disregard for safety or encourage negligence.”). The complaint was upheld. Similarly, TVS Motor Company advertisement for TVS Phoenix 125 shows actor Nazar asking for a lift by standing in the middle of the road. When asked for lift, actor Mahesh stops the bike in the middle of the road. The CCC viewed the TVC and concluded that the visual promotes unsafe practices. The advertisement contravened Chapter III.3 of the ASCI code. The complaint was upheld.

     

    Click here to view the entire list

  • Star India and brands gear up for the launch of Hero ISL

    Star India and brands gear up for the launch of Hero ISL

    MUMBAI:  As India is gearing up for its own Waka Waka moment with the Hero Indian Super League kicking off tomorrow, football fans from across the country are invited to be a part of the footballing moment.  With an ambitious broadcast and on ground blue print in place, the Hero ISL by IMG-Reliance and Star India along with the AIFF  is gearing up to score a goal through its campaign- ‘C’mon India, Let’s football’.  The league kicks off tomorrow at the Salt Lake Stadium Kolkata.

    The league unlike the Pro Kabaddi league has already garnered a good amount of sponsorship interest. Hero MotoCorp has come on board for the league as the title sponsor while Maruti Suzuki has been signed as the associate sponsor. FMCG brands PepsiCo India and Amul are the official partners. The Muthoot Group along with Puma and Dr Reddy’s Nise Gel have also been signed as the official partners of the league. Industry sources peg the title sponsorship deal at Rs 54 crore for a period of three years. According to sources, the associate sponsorship deal could be pegged close to Rs 20 to Rs 22 crore for three years while the associate sponsors could have shelled out close to Rs 13 crore to Rs 15 crore for three years.

    Ogilvy & Mather has created the official TV campaign for the league which includes TVCs and snippets featuring the co-owners of various teams like Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Saurav Ganguly and Virat Kohli urging football fans to take to the game.  The ad is being telecast across the Star network. A peppy soundtrack for the same has been composed by Amit Trivedi. Industry sources say that Star which has around a 30 per cent stake in the league is spending close to Rs 25 to Rs 30 crore on its marketing initiatives and create visibility for the league in different cities.

    GroupM ESP national director entertainment sports and live events Vinit Karnik speaking on the various stakeholders of the league says, “The Hero ISL has come at the right time to India. The grassroots programme undertaken by the various teams and the support provided by the league organisers such as the strategic partnership with the English Premier League is fantastic. Star’s move to broadcast the league in five languages will see a very high reach through its various platforms. Brands on the other hand, need to look at this league as long term investments that will provide good returns.”

    The eight different teams for the league are Atletico de Kolkata, Chennaiyin FC, Delhi Dynamos FC, FC Goa, FC Pune City, Kerala Blasters FC, Mumbai City FC and Northest United FC. The teams too are busy promoting the league and undertaking various grassroots programme in their home turfs. FC Pune City CEO Gaurav Modwel says that his team is creating visibility through multiple pub and mall activations in Pune. Various schools are being targeted while many BTL and ATL activities are being initiated. The team has got on board Avanse Education Finance Services and lifestyle brand HRX as its sponsors.

    Down South, Kerala Blasters general manager Viren D’silva says that some brands already believe that the league will succeed.  “There are the believers who are optimistic about the sport and then there are the non-believers who are playing a wait and watch game to see how the game pans out before investing,” he says.  When asked if it is easier to lure sponsors since cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar is a co owner of the team, D’silva replies that the master blaster is not just an owner but part of the team’s psychology and  the deals they are working with are commercially independent and brands look at it from the returns they would receive.  Muthoot Pappachan is the title sponsor for the team which has also locked deals with other local brands.

    Some of the teams too have got sponsors on board. Chennaiyin FC has Ozone Group as the principal sponsor. Atletico de Kolkata has Aircel as its principal sponsor while its other partners include Peerless Hospitals and Lux Cozi. Max Healthcare is the health partner for Delhi Dynamos which has an alliance with Dutch club Feyenoord that will help in development of the team besides providing players and technical staff. Videocon d2h is the principal sponsor of FC Goa while Usha International is its co sponsor.
    Madison Media COO Karthik Lakshminarayanan elaborating further on these brands locking deals with the franchises says, “Given the success of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League, people are hoping the same for the Hero ISL. Kabaddi was not a very popular sport until now and with football already having a fan following in the country, advertisers are optimistic that the league will be a success.”

    And money was not an issue when both domestic and international players were selected during the draft. Close to Rs 16 crore was spent on international players who were picked by eight teams in seven rounds while on the other hand, Rs 24 crore was spent by teams during the domestic draft. The total insurance cover for the league is pegged close to Rs 600 crore including that of the teams.
     
     The league will be televised on Star Sports 2 (English), Star Sports 3 (Hindi), Star Sports HD 2 (English), Star Gold (Hindi), Star Utsav (Hindi), Asianet Movies (Malayalam), Jalsha Movies (Bengali) and Suvarna Plus (Kannada) while there will be live streaming on www.starsports.com.  The portal will present video on demand content, match highlights and full match replays. The channel says with this move it plans to reach around 85 per cent of India’s television audience. Star has partnered with international agencies such as IMG for the live programming of the matches. It has also roped in Argentina-based 4HUMANS to put forth superlative graphics design and the UK-based AE Graphics for its execution.

    The league featuring 56 matches will have its final match on 20 December 2014.The entertainment packed proceedings will be telecast tomorrow starting 6 pm on the eight channels and on www.starsports.com, whereas the on-ground entertainment will start 5:20 pm onwards. The highlight of the grand opening ceremony will be a special performance by Bollywood diva Priyanka Chopra, accompanied by Salim Merchant of the Salim and Suleiman famed duo. Following the inauguration ceremony, the first match of the Hero ISL will be played between Atletico de Kolkata and Mumbai City FC, locking horns against each other on the field.
    Star India COO Sanjay Gupta had earlier said, “We believe in the potential of football as a sport that cuts across culture, race, religion and economic might. As the leading sports broadcasting network in India, we plan to take the viewer experience to the next level. The magnitude of what we are setting out to do has never been attempted.”

     

     

  • “Hero ISL will be equivalent to the Barclays Premier League”: Nitin Kukreja

    “Hero ISL will be equivalent to the Barclays Premier League”: Nitin Kukreja

     

    Try naming some of the sports played in India and one will be able to count them on one’s fingers. Cricket will top the list leading to clichés such as ‘India is a cricket obsessed nation’ or ‘cricket is a religion in India’.

     

    Ironically, India’s National Sports Developmental Bill 2013 recognises 66 sports in the country.  

     

    Off late, we are witnessing a rousing appetite for emerging sports from the birth of leagues like the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), World Kabaddi League and the upcoming Hero Indian Super League (ISL).

     

    Star India is one of the broadcasters aiding the growth of a multi-sport ecosystem in India. After the success of the PKL, it is gearing to make the ISL a roaring success too. Leading the sports division is Star India president sports Nitin Kukreja who joined the group in August 2007. With earlier stints at Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Morgan Stanley, the young executive talks about how the broadcaster plans to reach out to multiple sports fans in India and the strategy ahead of India’s footballing movement exclusively to indiantelevision.com’s Herman Gomes.

     

    Excerpts:

     

    Which are the sports Star is looking at experimenting with in the next five years?

    Over the past year, we have invested in sports like kabaddi, hockey, badminton and football, apart from cricket. Whichever sport we invest in, our objective is to make the game relevant and exciting even for the un-introduced population, thereby attracting viewers and eventually helping the entire sports ecosystem of the country.

     

    For the first time we have a TV network which is the promoter of the upcoming Hero Indian Super League. Is the league based on the Japanese J league model where the teams were named after their home city and emphasis was laid on the grassroots development programme?

    Football is a universal language that cuts across culture, race, religion and economic might. Being a prime provider of sports content to the sports fans in India, it was natural for us to become one of the promoters of the Hero ISL. We have gone a step ahead, as for the first time in the history of football, we’ll telecast the matches live with commentary in five different languages – English, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada and Bengali.

     

    The Hero ISL is conceptualised jointly by IMG-Reliance and Star India. We’re also fortunate to have the support of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) that reaffirms the commitment of the governing body to develop and promote the game in the country. With the league, India has joined the world of football and Star Sports is attempting to reach each and every sport lover in the country in his own language.

     

    Grassroots development is one of the most important aspects in the agenda for the Hero ISL. The mandate for winning a city team in this league was not just based on the highest financial bid, but also on the bidders’ proposal of a sound plan for developing football in the catchment area they wished to bid for.

    What are the factors that offer huge consumption potential for the businesses of sports in India?

     

    Our country is one of the youngest in the world and statistics show that over 50 per cent of India’s population is aged less than 25 years. In fact, India is set to be the youngest country in the world by 2020. It is this segment that provides a huge potential for the business of sports in India. For far too long, we have been a single-sport country. At Star, our efforts are aimed at inspiring people to make sports an integral part of their daily lives. We believe sports is more than getting people to watch TV, it is about shaping a culture where sports can thrive and talent can be honed.

     

    We realised that there is a growing appetite from Indian sports fans for cricket and other kinds of sports. We want to address this need and offer the best of cricket, international sports as well as domestic and global leagues that will give birth to a new sporting nation.

    The success of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League indicates that the appetite of sports fans in India has grown beyond the boundaries of just cricket. However, all of sports constitute just four per cent of the total TV viewership in our country, which is substantially below general entertainment and news. Of this, almost 3.5 per cent is contributed by cricket. While cricket remains central to our business, Star is making significant investments to increase the fan following for non-cricket sports in India. The passion with which the Indian youth connects with different sports is the key to this business.

     

    How many viewers are you planning to reach out to, during the League?

    The Hero ISL will be the first sporting event in the country to be backed by a never seen before ubiquitous broadcast plan, with a potential to reach around 85 per cent of India’s television audience. This ambitious plan is expected to herald an unparalleled reach for any content, in the history of Indian television. Spanning over eight channels in the sports and general entertainment categories, the Hero ISL will be televised in five languages: Star Sports 2 (English), Star Sports 3 (Hindi), Star Sports HD 2 (English), Star Gold (Hindi), Star Utsav (Hindi), Asianet Movies (Malayalam), Jalsha Movies (Bengali) and Suvarna Plus (Kannada). Through this, we would engage more viewers in non-English speaking regions of our nation and present the game in the language that the fans speak.

     

    Which are the international agencies that you have got on board to provide better production values for the ISL?

     

    While there are millions of football lovers in our country, the popularity for international tournaments and European leagues has been predominant. We plan to change this with the Hero ISL, which will be a world-class product equivalent to European leagues like the Barclays Premier League.

     

    In our commitment to showcase a truly global league, we have partnered premier international agencies such as IMG for the live programming of the matches, Argentina-based 4HUMANS to put forth superlative graphics design and the UK-based AE Graphics for its execution.
     

    While Star invested in the infrastructure for the Pro Kabaddi League, how much will you be investing in infrastructure in different cities for the Hero ISL?

     

    We are investing heavily in the sport, not just monetarily but by putting in sincere and significant efforts as well. Our investments go beyond infrastructure building, whereby we’re working towards grassroots development for the sport that will help putting India on the global map for football.

     

    The league has invested in stadium refurbishment in the eight identified venues to create a platform to groom young footballing talent in the country. These include Salt Lake Stadium (Kolkata), Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai), Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Delhi), Fatorda Stadium (Goa), Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Kochi), DY Patil Stadium (Mumbai), Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium (Delhi) and Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex (Pune).
     

     In how many years do you see the franchise teams breaking even?

     

    It is too early to talk about that. All our efforts at this point in time are pointed towards building it as a premium property. But given that the game has such an enormous potential we’re confident that the league will enthrall sports fans and be commercially successful as well.

    Many football experts and club owners in India are of the opinion that the Hero ISL will affect the I-League and lead to it becoming an inconsequential format. What are your thoughts?

     

    We’re glad that I-League exists today, as having multiple properties that support the game only help the overall sports ecosystem in a country. However, the Hero ISL is an entirely different property with a well-differentiated offering.

    Some I-League clubs have joined our property; team owners from Salgaocar, Dempo and Shillong Lajong FC co-own teams in the Hero Indian Super League. This really benefits Indian football as a whole in the long run.

     

    How has starsports.com been performing and how will you utilise the platform during the Hero ISL?

    All matches of the Hero ISL will be telecast live on starsports.com. Over a short span of time, the traction on starsports.com has grown significantly and we are expecting a steep growth in online traffic for all our upcoming football properties. The website is currently approaching a 100 per cent growth already over last year’s football subscription numbers, with almost 70 per cent of the traffic coming from the age group 18 – 24.

    Besides live telecast of all Hero ISL matches, starsports.com will also present video on demand content, match highlights and full match replays. Our reach on football this season is touching 25 per cent of the entire core football watching audience on TV.

     

    What is more exciting for a football fan is that Starsports.com offers all matches of the Barclays Premier League, Spanish La Liga , Italian Serie A and the Hero ISL offering a wide variety of content to the viewers.

     

    While advertisers missed the bus for the Pro Kabaddi League how many advertisers have you got on board for the ISL besides Hero Motocorp? Are you looking at providing a combined on ground and on air package for advertisers?

     

    There are no preset benchmarks for the game of football in India and we intend to set them right at an unprecedented scale and vision to serve our product. Our focus has been on building the Hero ISL as a premium property and we’ll continue with that approach. For the first season of the league, we are offering package deals for brand visibility, both, on-ground as well as on air. With Hero Motocorp being signed as the title sponsor, there is a lot of buzz and anticipation around the associate sponsorships. We’ll announce the names of the associate sponsors as well soon.

     

    What was the ad revenue from the Pro Kabaddi league?

    Firstly, we did not sell Pro Kabaddi to advertisers, simply because we treated it as a start-up in its investment phase, like any other new business. Star Sports was the title sponsor for the league. However, the advertiser interest kept mounting as the league progressed and got an unprecedented, rather historic response from people across the country.

    Don’t you think two Kabaddi leagues will cause a viewer fatigue?

     

    Cricket has demonstrated that the fans just cannot have enough of the sport that they love. We are used to seeing cricket, tournament after tournament, all year long. The recently concluded Pro Kabaddi League indicates the mass acceptance of Kabaddi as an engaging sport and there is no way that having two Kabaddi leagues will create a viewer fatigue of sorts. In fact, the two leagues are different from each other in terms of their formats and the game-play, which overall makes Kabaddi even more interesting. It only increases the exposure and penetration that the game deserves.

    Are you looking at building new leagues in India for volleyball and basket ball?

    Following the overwhelming success of Pro Kabaddi League, we are currently focused on repeating the act with the Hero ISL. As of now, we don’t want to divulge the details of properties in the pipeline. Being the leading sports network in India, we have continually worked for the betterment of sports, and we’ll take up any opportunity that is aligned with this objective. Rest assured, we will keep you abreast with any further developments.

    Do you now see India becoming a multi sports nation soon?
    The appetite of the Indian sports fans has been steadily increasing and there is an increasing acceptance of non-cricket sports. However, the nation is still far away from being known as a multi-sports nation today.

    At Star, we believe that India with its 1.2 billion population should not be a single-sport nation. Hence, we’re putting forth and reintroducing other sports like kabaddi, football, hockey, badminton, etc. to revolutionise the sporting landscape in the country. We are sowing the seeds to spawn a multi-sport culture, and our vision will definitely translate into reality.