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  • ICC scouts for official spirits partner for World Cup 2015

    ICC scouts for official spirits partner for World Cup 2015

    MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) is inviting alcohol companies to submit proposals to become the official spirits partner of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in Australia and New Zealand.

     

    The successful applicant will receive marketing rights and benefits that will enable it to use valuable ICC intellectual property in association with its spirits brands. In addition to having the right to sell products through retail channels using the exclusive ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 event logo, the successful applicant will also supply product at all 14 venues of the event.

     

    ICC GM commercial Campbell Jamieson said in a statement: “Responsible consumption of alcoholic spirits while watching sport has long been a part of the culture of Australia and New Zealand. The opportunity to become the official spirits partner of ICC is a valuable marketing and business opportunity for any spirits brand.”

     

    The ICC is seeking companies with a proven track record in running national sponsorship marketing programs and supplying product at major sporting events, as well as sufficient human and financial resources to leverage the promotional opportunity.

     

     “Proposals should clearly set out how the company will leverage the marketing rights granted to them to maximise association with ICC and enhance the status of this prestigious global sporting event,” Jamieson added.

  • ICC safeguards commercial rights for ICC World Twenty20 2014

    ICC safeguards commercial rights for ICC World Twenty20 2014

    MUMBAI: Following a successful partnership during the ICC World Twenty20 2012 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, the ICC has continued its engagement of Copyright Integrity International (CII) to work closely with its in-house legal team on the management of a comprehensive rights protection programme for the ICC World Twenty20 2014, which gets underway on 16th March in Bangladesh.

     

    Based in Bengaluru, India, CII is a privately-held specialist in online and offline anti-piracy protection services for sports clients. It will provide the ICC with a suite of commercial rights-protection and anti-piracy services and solutions such as online content and broadcast protection, comprehensive trademark and brand protection, and media terms enforcement, in a programme designed to protect the ICC’s intellectual property rights from the threats of piracy, ambush marketing and unlicensed use.

     

    ICC head of legal Iain Higgins, said: “Our commercial partners and sponsors make our events possible and generate significant funding for the global game. The aim of the ICC’s commercial rights protection programme is to maintain the exclusivity of their association with our events. It is vital that those rights are protected so that our partners’ investments can be channelled into the development of cricket throughout our 106 Members.”

     

    The ICC’s legal team has been working hard over the past few months to develop strategies to monitor and combat unlawful association with the ICC World Twenty20 2014. 

     

    CII head – legal and business affairs, Roshan Gopalakrishna, added: “It’s a privilege to continue our engagement with a client such as the ICC to manage the commercial rights protection programme for the ICC World Twenty20 2014. Our role will include not only the monitoring and enforcement of infringements but also an education programme for the public that will ensure enjoyment of and engagement with the event with due respect to the ICC’s commercial partners and sponsors.”

     

    As part of that programme, it has recently released brand and content protection guidelines for the tournament.  Through a series of easy to understand FAQs and illustrations, this document provides companies and members of the public with a useful guide to how they might associate with the event without infringing the rights that have been granted to the ICC’s official partners.

     

    Click for the brand and content protection document

  • ICC U19 Cricket WC gets underway today in UAE

    ICC U19 Cricket WC gets underway today in UAE

    MUMBAI: The tenth edition of the tournament will be staged across seven venues in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 14 February to 1 March, and the International Cricket Council’s (ICC’s) global broadcast partner Star Sports is stepping up its production, as it gets set to make history.

     

    More cricket fans than ever before will be able to enjoy watching the most far-reaching and comprehensive coverage of an ICC U19 Cricket World Cup (ICC U19 CWC).

     

    Following up on its world-class production of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, Star Sports will produce 11 matches in High Definition (HD) – the most matches ever at an ICC U19 CWC.

     

    Star Sports business head sports Nitin Kukreja said, “The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup is a premier tournament which showcases cricket’s future super stars. We have mounted an unprecedented production and broadcast effort to take cricket aficionados even closer to the action than ever before. We are confident that cricket fans will enjoy introduction of LED stumps for the very first time in an ICC tournament which will further enhance the broadcast experience.”

     

    The event is set to reach an estimated audience of 1.3 billion, with broadcast agreements secured by Star Sports. This includes the continued coverage by ICC broadcast partners, Fox Sports in Australia, Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, OSN across Middle East and North Africa, ESPN in North America and the Caribbean and Sky NZ in New Zealand.

     

    The Dubai International Cricket Stadium will be the main TV venue for the tournament while one match from the Sharjah Cricket Stadium will also be broadcast live. All televised matches will be covered using 14 cameras, including ball tracking and virtual graphics provided by Hawk-Eye.

     

    ICC chief executive David Richardson said: “The expanded broadcast and digital reach of this edition of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup will ensure that more fans globally now have an opportunity to see the sport’s future stars in action.”

     

    For the first-time in an ICC event, LED stumps will be used to provide the television viewers and spectators at the venue an enhanced experience.  The stumps and bails illuminate when the bails are dislodged, giving the broadcaster and the crowd a true indication of when a batsman is out. They will be used for the semi-finals and final only.

     

    The live broadcast will be complimented by a world-class commentary team, which includes Harsha Bhogle, Sanjay Manjrekar, Damien Martyn, Danny Morrison, Jonty Rhodes, Wasim Akram and Alan Wilkins.

                                                                                

    The TV broadcast of the event will be a truly interactive one for fans, who can stay engaged through polls on the event website www.icc-cricket.com and via the social media using the hashtag #futurestars and #u19cwc.

     

    Fans can also stay updated on the event via the event website www.icc-cricket.com which will feature live scores of all the matches and video clips of the key moments from the televised matches. 

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

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

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

     

    The ICC Board unanimously supported the following principles: 

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

    Alan Isaac                                                      ICC President

    Mustafa Kamal                                               ICC Vice-President

    David Richardson                                          ICC Chief Executive

     

    Zaka Ashraf                                                     Pakistan

    Dave Cameron                                                 West Indies

    Peter Chingoka                                                Zimbabwe

    Giles Clarke                                                     England and Wales

    Jayantha Dharmadasa                                      Sri Lanka

    Wally Edwards                                                  Australia

    Nazmul Hassan                                                Bangladesh

    Imran Khwaja                                                   Associate Member Representative

    Chris Nenzani                                                   South Africa

    Keith Oliver                                                      Associate Member Representative

    Martin Snedden                                                New Zealand

    Neil Speight                                                      Associate Member Representative

    Narayanaswami Srinivasan                               India

  • Star India to become FIH’s Media Partner in eight year broadcast & rights deal

    Star India to become FIH’s Media Partner in eight year broadcast & rights deal

    MUMBAI: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) and Star India, which runs India’s leading sports network Star Sports, are delighted to announce that they have signed an eight year strategic partnership to improve the production of international hockey broadcast and extend hockey’s reach worldwide. The ground-breaking deal will run from January 2015 to December 2022. During the period of the deal, FIH will look to host a major event in India each year.

     

    Enhancing production

    Star Sports will be the host broadcaster for key FIH events both in India and throughout the world and will be responsible for ensuring consistent and high level production.

     

    The partnership with Star Sports is in line with FIH’s strategy to put events at the forefront and also its determination to inspire and entertain a global movement of hockey fans and players. FIH recently introduced a strong focus on digital engagement, branding and promotion of events to improve the spectator experience. Making the television coverage more entertaining and compelling is fundamental to achieving this goal.

     

    Star Sports has an impeccable track record. In their position as the International Cricket Council’s (ICC’s) global Broadcast & Production Partner, the company has continuously raised the bar in their television coverage of all ICC events.

     

    Last year, Star Sports partnered with Hockey India to launch the pioneering Hockey India League (HIL). Star Sports showcased hockey in a completely new way, offering a TV experience relevant to the youth market. In its first season, HIL was broadcast in more than 80 territories across the globe.

     

    Extending hockey’s reach

    As part of the deal, Star Sports has acquired global media rights for all territories, excluding Argentina. Through its network of international affiliates and other national broadcasters, content will be distributed to over 200 countries, reaching billions of sports fans taking hockey’s global viewing audience to unprecedented levels.

     

    Leandro Negre, President of the International Hockey Federation, said: “This partnership is an incredibly important and exciting development for international hockey. Our vision is to entertain and inspire a global movement of hockey fans and players and Star Sports is an industry leader when it comes to significantly increasing the reach and popularity of sport. Not only will Star Sports promote hockey worldwide between Olympic Games’ cycles, which is incredibly important to sustaining interest in hockey, but it will make our sport much more interactive and entertaining. Star’s ability to deliver immersive, engaging and captivating coverage will draw new young audiences towards hockey. We look forward to working together to truly grow the popularity of hockey.”

     

    Kelly Fairweather, CEO of the International Hockey Federation, said: “Our partnership with Star Sports is a major stride forward for hockey, and one that I am personally very excited about. I consider it to be a game changer both for the sport of hockey and for the millions of fans who will watch FIH events on television and on the internet all around the world. STAR Sports share our determination to raise the bar in terms of the production values and the viewer experience in a rapidly changing multi-screen environment. Their know-how will be hugely beneficial, and we look forward to working with them to ensure that our incredible sport is presented to the world in the best possible way.”

     

    Nitin Kukreja, Head of Sports Business, Star India, said: “We are delighted to be FIH’s global production, host broadcast and distribution partner. The partnership ties-in well with our overall vision of promoting sports culture in India. Hockey is a priority sport for us and we are thrilled that India will host one key event every year during the eight year term. We believe that hosting an international event each year, which is produced innovatively, will significantly boost the popularity of hockey in India. The sport has a glorious heritage in India and we believe that it has a tremendous future. We will work closely with FIH and invest in production to ensure that hockey reaches its full potential. As we have done with HIL, we will aim to innovate and create an exciting visual spectacle for international viewers.”

  • Waqar Younis is now on the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame

    Waqar Younis is now on the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame

    MUMBAI: Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis has been inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame before the first Twenty20 International between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai Sports City kicked off on Wednesday.

     

    The cricketer received his commemorative cap from International Cricket Council (ICC) Chief Executive David Richardson in front of a large and appreciative crowd. He has now become the 70th male member and fifth Pakistani after Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad and Wasim Akram to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

     

    Nicknamed ‘The Burewala Express’, Waqar is famously known as one half of ‘The Two Ws’ – a moniker for the fast bowling pair of Wasim Akram and Waqar. A famed exponent of reverse swing, he claimed 373 wickets from 87 Tests and 416 scalps from 262 One-Day Internationals.  

     

    The 42-year-old, who was born in Vehari, Punjab, also led his country in 17 Tests and 62 ODIs. In a first-class career spanning over a decade, he snared 956 wickets from 228 matches with a best of 8-17.

     

    Waqar’s Test figures bear ample testimony to his brilliance – he registered 22 hauls of five wickets or more in an innings, and, on five occasions, took 10 wickets or more in a match. He also boasted the best strike-rate of any bowler with more than 200 wickets in Tests during his playing days – a record only recently beaten by Dale Steyn. His best bowling performance in a Test came almost 20 years ago, when he registered match figures of 13-135 against Zimbabwe in the first Test in Karachi, having taken 7-91 and 6-44.  

     

    Earlier the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame has felicitated many well-known cricketers including Sydney Barnes, Bishan Bedi, Alec Bedser, Richie Benaud, Allan Border, Ian Botham, Geoffrey Boycott, Donald Bradman, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell among many others.

     

    In 2009-10, Herbert Sutcliffe, Steve Waugh, Wasim Akram, Victor Trumper and Clarrie Grimmett were included in the list. In 2010-11, Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Ken Barrington, Courtney Walsh and Joel Garner were the inductees. Belinda Clark, Frederick Spofforth, Curtly Ambrose, and Alan Davidson were the inductees of 2011-12; while Enid Bakewell, Brian Lara, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne were included in the list in 2012-13.

     

    Besides Waqar Younis and Adam Gilchrist, two more cricketers would be announced later this year.

  • Star India bags Team India title sponsorship

    Star India bags Team India title sponsorship

    MUMBAI: It wants to own Indian cricket, it appears. The Rupert Murdoch owned 21st Century Fox India offshoot STAR India has bagged the title sponsorship rights to team India. Two bidders were in the final running – Sahara and Star India – the former was disqualified leaving Star with the title sponsorship.

    This was announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) through a tweet a short while ago.

    A release sent out by the BCCI says that the team sponsorship will be “covering BCCI events, ICC events and ACC events, for the period 1 January 2014 to 31 March 2017.”

    Rights include the right to be called the “Official Team Sponsor,” and to display a commercial logo on the team clothing of the Sr. Men’s Cricket Team, the U-19 Men’s Cricket Team, the Men’s A-Team and the Women’s Team.

    The decision was taken at a meeting of the BCCI’s Marketing Committee, on 9 December 2013.

    The tender document, which was available from 11 November 2013, was picked up by seven prospective bidders. Bids were accepted until 3:00 pm on 9 December 2013, at which time the bids were opened and evaluated.

     

    Two bidders – Star India and Sahara India Financial Corporation – were in the fray. Sahara’s bid was found to be ineligible.

    “Star is the Title Sponsor for BCCI international and domestic matches for the period October 2013 to 31 March 2014, as well as the Holder of the Broadcast, Internet and Mobile Rights of cricket in India, for the period July 2012 – March 2018. Star has a deep understanding of the game of cricket, and what it means to the nation. We are pleased to extend our association with them,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said.

    “Star is delighted to become the Official Sponsor of the Indian cricket team. It’s a team of brilliant talent and we are proud to be associated with them. This is further endorsement of Star’s deep commitment to Indian cricket and Indian Sports in general,” said Star India CEO Uday Shankar.

    Sources indicate that Star bid Rs 1.92 crore per match for a bilateral series, and Rs 61 lakh per match for ICC-sponsored tournaments.

  • ICC invites breweries to partner with them for World Cup 2015

    ICC invites breweries to partner with them for World Cup 2015

    MUMBAI: The pitch is open for the brewing companies for the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2015. The Council is inviting brewing companies to submit proposals to become the Official Beer Partner of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in Australia and New Zealand.

    The brewery that gets the partnership can avail a lot of provisions — it will receive a raft of rights and benefits that will enable it to use valuable ICC intellectual property in association with its beer brand(s); it will also have the right to sell products containing the exclusive ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 event logo, and will also have the right and obligation to supply beer at all 14 venues of the event.

    But to be on board to avail all this and more, the company should have a proven track record. The Council is seeking companies that have dealt in large scale sports sponsorship and marketing programs, the supply of beer at major sporting events, and a sound understanding of the Australian and New Zealand markets, as well as sufficient human and financial resources to leverage the promotional opportunity.  

    ICC General Manager – Commercial Campbell Jamieson said in a release: “Being the Official Beer Partner of ICC is a much bigger opportunity than just being an exclusive supplier of beer to the 49 matches of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. This will be an attractive marketing and business opportunity for any brewing company, and hopefully the seed of a longer term relationship with ICC. We expect to receive high quality proposals from brewing companies that will both leverage the marketing and media rights package to maximize association with this prestigious global sporting event, and to provide a great product to the spectators in the stands.”

  • Reliance Games launches 3D & 2D mobile games for the ICC Champions Trophy

    Reliance Games launches 3D & 2D mobile games for the ICC Champions Trophy

    MUMBAI: With cricket enthusiasts all over the world already having put their minds and hearts into the recently commenced ICC Champions Trophy, England & Wales 2013, the cricket fanatics can now gear up to enjoy the virtual matches on their mobile phones.

    [Click and drag to move] Reliance Games, a leading developer and publisher of mobile games globally & the official gaming partner of the International Cricket Council for the fourth consecutive year, has announced the launch of a 3D and a 2D mobile game specially for the ‘ICC Champions Trophy 2013.‘

    Both the 3D & 2D mobile games allow fans to be a part of their favourite cricket team and step onto the field to fight for the trophy. The cricket game in 3D can be enjoyed by iOS and Android users for a real cricketing experience. While the cricket game in 2D, which is a casual game to play, can be downloaded by Android, Java and Blackberry users.

    Commenting on the launch of the game, Reliance Games business head Chaitanya Prabhu said, “Whenever a popular cricket tournament is going on, we see a rise in demand for cricket based games. The ICC Champions Trophy is a big property in the world of cricket, and Reliance Games is proud to be International Cricket Council‘s official gaming partner for the fourth year in a row. This year we have launched two games – one in 3D and the other in 2D so users of all kinds of mobile phones can continue to be engaged and entertained with the spirit of the sport all through the tourney.”

  • ICC launches app for Champions Trophy

    ICC launches app for Champions Trophy

    MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced the update and re-release of its official ICC Cricket App, in partnership with Reliance Communications.

    The smart phone app, which will enable cricket fans from across the globe to follow all the action at the ICC Champions Trophy in England and Wales, is free to download.

    Among the features expected to be the most popular are the video match highlights, including opt in alerts for wickets and personal milestones, along with live audio commentary. There will also be free behind the scenes exclusive videos from the event, player interviews and footage from every post-match press conference.

    Cricket fans will also be able to use the app to vote in live polls during matches and throughout the duration of the tournament, the questions and results of these polls will be broadcast live on the global television broadcast.

    The official ICC Cricket App also includes exclusive access to the innovative Hawkeye technology for all ICC Champions Trophy 2013 matches, allowing fans to analyse many aspects of the players and team performances.

    The user will also have access to the live match centre on game day, which includes ball by ball text commentary and all statistical tournament information.ICC GM “ commercial Campbell Jamieson said, “We believe that the official ICC Cricket App will provide yet another invaluable platform to engage our fans at the ICC Champions Trophy 2013.”

    “By giving them an opportunity to have their say on the cricket they are watching, through the Pulse polls, or by providing notifications when a new piece of video content is available, we are offering an experience that all fans can enjoy, wherever they are in the world,” he added.

    The ICC Champions Trophy 2013 smartphone app was developed and produced through a partnership between the ICC, IMG Media and Moshen, a digital media and entertainment company based in Lancaster, England.

    The ICC Cricket App is available on iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Windows smartphones from the official App Stores and along with a Feature Phone Nokia App.