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Tag: India West Indies series

  • FanCode expects India West Indies series to grow its user base to 100 mn sports fans

    FanCode expects India West Indies series to grow its user base to 100 mn sports fans

    MUMBAI: Last year the Dream Sports owned digital platform FanCode had taken the media rights for the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) till 2024. The Indian cricket team will play West Indies in an eight match series comprising three ODIs and five Twenty20 Internationals. The series runs from 22 July – 7 August 2022. 

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com FanCode co-founder Yannick Colaco highlighted the importance of matches being played during primetime. “We expect the event to grow our FanCode user base to 100 million sports fans.”

    The platform is being innovative in terms of its pricing. He explains that the focus has always rested on subscription packaging being inclusive and easily accessible for sports fans across the country. “For the India tour, fans will get to watch the entire tour of three ODIs and five T20s by paying just Rs 99. Fans will also be able to take a monthly subscription of FanCode, which will include events like The Hundred, and other cricket internationals featuring New Zealand, Bangladesh, Pakistan & Zimbabwe, in addition to the India West Indies tour for Rs 199. First, we are also creating an “ad free” premium subscription, where users will get to watch each match without ads for the price of Rs 159,” he explains.

    He further noted that the Caribbean is home to some of the most entertaining cricket played in the world. “Our partnership with Cricket West Indies is a comprehensive one, which includes close to 400 matches from the Caribbean featuring some of world cricket’s biggest and brightest stars, over a four year period. The partnership has allowed us to give millions of cricket fans in India the opportunity to experience FanCode and the many digital innovations we are bringing to fans in redefining their sports consumption experience.”

    He goes on to note that FanCode is the first-ever digital-only platform to host an India bilateral series and the entire coverage of the event will be customised for digital audiences. The aim he noted is to put the fan first. “Fans will now have the ability to choose the highlights they want to watch with the “real time highlights” feature, access real time stats like wagon wheels, manhattans, etc., through interactive overlays on the “Match Hub” and choose their commentator of choice.”

    FanCode, as had been reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, has sublicensed the broadcast rights to DD Sports. It marks the first time in over two decades that the pubcaster will air India cricket exclusively. “We are laser focused on providing great user experiences and solving for accessibility gaps that fans have in sports consumption & experience. DD Sports reach in smaller cities and towns is unbeatable, making it the ideal partner to help broadcast the tour on linear television while we continue to build a superior digital experience for fans nationally” he said.

    Talking about cricket properties that FanCode has besides WICB, he said that the platform also has partnerships with the English Cricket Board, New Zealand Cricket, the ICC, Afghanistan Cricket Board, Zimbabwe Cricket, Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland, KNCB (Netherlands), Cricket Namibia and Malaysia Cricket. It is the exclusive partner for Vitality Blast, The Hundred, which are events done by the English Cricket Board. For the record, The Hundred is both a recently introduced event and a new format. There are 100 balls per innings for example.

    Also Read: FanCode & DD Sports partner for exclusive TV broadcast of India tour of West Indies

    It is also worth noting that Vitality Blast was established by the England & Wales Cricket Board in 2003 as the first professional Twenty20 league in the world. It was back when the concept of Twenty20 cricket was alien to India. Sharing his views on The Hundred, he said the format has been well thought out and is innovative in achieving its goal of engaging younger audiences better. “The response for the event last year was very positive and we expect the fan base for the event to grow exponentially this year.”

    FanCode is also the ICC exclusive partner for all Pathway (World Cup Qualifier) events. It is also the exclusive partner for the cricket boards in Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan. In addition to this, it is a partner for New Zealand’s Twenty20 competition Super Smash.

    When asked if viewership for non India cricket is growing, he said, “Sports fandom has grown exponentially in India, especially among the youth. What has been missing is the depth in coverage of non-India cricket events and an integrated experience for sports fans. We are constantly striving to solve both these fan problems & the response has already been tremendous, as evident by over 50 million sports fans who have used FanCode”.

  • Star Sports builds #NayaCaptainRohit narrative ahead of India-West Indies series

    Star Sports builds #NayaCaptainRohit narrative ahead of India-West Indies series

    Mumbai: The India-West Indies series including three one-day internationals and as many T20 internationals will begin on 6 February on the Star Sports network.

    Under coach Rahul Dravid, the new captain Rohit Sharma will lead team India against West Indies. The ODIs will be played at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad behind closed doors.

    Star Sports has released a new promo #NayaCaptainRohit in continuation of its #BelieveInBlueNarrative.

    “Through the aperture of this series, we want to build a larger context to galvanise support for the Indian team as the team prepares for ICC events,” said a Star Sports spokesperson. “#BelieveInBlue provides a perspective to have a continuing narrative that strings multiple tournaments of Team India. This is an important juncture for the Indian team as they return home to play their 1000th ODI under a new Captain. We wanted to bring forward the high emotions and support of fans across the country and the world who rally behind their captain and team and stand by them in this new era.”

    The series will see the return of wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who has been out of competitive cricket for the last six months. On the batting front, Rajasthan’s Deepak Hooda has received a maiden ODI call-up. For the T20I series, 21-year-old wrong ‘un specialist Ravi Bishnoi earned his maiden call-up. Bishnoi, bought recently by IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants, has 24 wickets from 23 matches in the IPL with an average of 25.25 and economy rate of 6.96.

    Meanwhile, West Indies pacer Kemar Roach received an ODI recall after being out of the side for almost two-and-a-half years. Roach is among six additions to the squad that went down 2-1 at home to Ireland earlier this month. Fabian Allen makes his comeback to the 15-man squad, with Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo and Brandon King adding muscle to the batting department. Hayden Walsh Jr adds the extra spin option. The selectors will announce the T20I squad following the completion of the England series.

     

     

  • Sachins farewell frenzy works in favour of Star Sports

    Sachins farewell frenzy works in favour of Star Sports

    MUMBAI: He isn’t called the God of cricket for no reason. Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar certainly has some supremacy that creates magic. His farewell test match has emerged as the highest rated test match on television in India in the last eight years. According to the TAM ratings provided by the channel, the match garnered 1739 average TVTs (TG: C&S 15+, M, SEC ABC) that remains unmatched since 2005.

     

    The two test matches in the India-West Indies series were telecast on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2 and Star Sports HD1 in English, while Star Sports 3 showcased the match in Hindi. Star Sports network channels together had the maximum channel share across all genres during the six days when the test series was on in terms of overall TVTs generated during the day.

     

    Even online, the Sachin frenzy worked well for the Network. The series was also streamed live on www.starsports.com that attracted 3.5 million unique visitors during the two matches of the India West Indies test series. A Sachin Memory Project that captured Sachin’s 24 years with videos and stories was also launched on the website and has received rave reviews with many regarding it as the best salutation to the cricketer.

     

    The series along with the 360-degree marketing campaign launched around it has made the Star Sports brand really big. Its campaigning involved interesting programming, innovative production, disruptive marketing to add buzz around the maestro’s farewell series. The network also launched three high quality programs to engage deeper with the cricket fans.

     

    Besides, a distinctive “Cheer for Sachin” campaign featuring stars from Bollywood, cricket and television stars calling Sachin fans to cheer ‘Sachin Sachin’ was also popular. Many other on-ground activities were also initiated to make the test series memorable for fans who came together to watch the maestro in action.

     

    Star India head of sports business Nitin Kukreja said, “We are delighted with the ratings. We are humbled that maestro’s farewell series was played on our network and wanted to give him a befitting farewell. I am happy to note that cricket fans have appreciated our efforts. Our strategic investment in the Hindi language feed over the past year or so is now paying us huge dividends. We will continue in our endeavor to promote sports culture in the country.”