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Tag: Indian Premier League

  • Five Reasons Why Hotstar is Hot

    Five Reasons Why Hotstar is Hot

    With 10 million users in just 40 days, it set a benchmark in the digital space. In a record time span, Hotstar the new app from the Star India network, catapulted the audience’s attention and is showing continued signs of growth.

    While VOD platforms are being selective in drawing up their content map, Hotstar has opened its large library for users, that too in regional languages. With smartphones increasingly altering the consumption landscape in the country, Indiantelevision.com gives you five reasons why this is a must have app for your phones.

    A rich video experience

    Gone are the days when enthusiasm levels of experiencing a video would be marred by buffering issues. Through almost zero buffering, the app claims that it can change the pixel value of the content depending on the bandwidth so that users witness uninterrupted services. In layman’s terms, when the bandwidth decreases, the video will continue playing but there will be a decline in the HD pixilation value. Video is downward optimized to playback continuously in as little as 64 kbps.  

    Want IPL, download Hotstar!

    With the eighth season of India Kya Tyohar returning, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the biggest event on the sports calendar this year. Therefore, it is imperative that you download the app so that you don’t miss out on your favourite Kolkata Knight Riders or Chennai Super Kings scoring some brilliant wins on the palm of your hands. 

    Novi Digital Entertainment, a unit of Star India, which owns the digital rights of the Indian Premier League, will stream this glitzy event on the VOD platform in its first such endeavour. Plus, in this cricket event, India has no fears of losing in the semi finals. Everyone is a winner here including Stuart Binny!

    India’s content hub 

    Where will you find 20,000 hours of content, across languages including 12 plus full length TV shows, 500 plus movies and live screening of popular sports like cricket, football, tennis and kabaddi on a single platform? The answer is – Hotstar! 

    In a first for India, Indya Interactive Services (which runs Hotstar.com) earlier premiered the Star Guild Awards 2015 on the video on demand service on 17 January. The award function was aired on Star Plus a day later on 18 January.  It recently also premiered Bollywood movies like Baby and Roy first on the platform, much before the world TV premieres. Star India also recently acquired the weekly film and entertainment broadsheet Screen from the Express Group. Content from here will now move to digital as the print edition gets closed. Hotstar is definitely turning hotter! 

    Marketers, catch up with your digital audiences

    Marketers and brands dread when audiences click on the tiny yet powerful option Skip This Ad Now. Weeks of ideation and production of a costly advertisement that is invested on digital mediums, goes down the drain. But fret not, Hotstar does not allow this potent option as audiences have to witness the ads. Besides, consumers wouldn’t mind the same as fresh as well as nostalgic content like Sarabhai versus Sarabhai too is up for grabs. With the India-Pakistan match during the World Cup receiving 25 million views on digital, there is a large chunk of young audiences that can’t be missed by marketers and brands alike. 

    Personalization and availability across devices

    The app allows users to create their own playlists with content they curate for at leisure viewing. Individual episodes, movies, full collections of even movies can be curated. It has also managed to do the impossible as it unites a diverse range of mobile phone users. It doesn’t matter if you own a Samsung or an iPhone, it is compatible for Android, iOS and Nokia ASHA users too.

     

  • Uncertainty over KKR’s participation in IPL 2015

    Uncertainty over KKR’s participation in IPL 2015

    MUMBAI: Indian Premier League (IPL) defending champions and the Shah Rukh Khan owned franchise Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) participation in IPL 2015 is as yet uncertain.

     

    KKR has made its stand clear that if Sunil Narine, who is the trump card when it comes to their bowling attack, is restricted to bowl, the team will opt out of the cricketing extravaganza.

     

    It all started during the Champions League T20, where Narine was banned following a suspect bowling action. The spinner then went to the nets and rectified his action, which met the criteria. International Cricket Council (ICC) has cleared Narine’s action and allowed him to bowl in the Cricket World 2015. However, the West Indian voluntarily opted out of the World Cup as he was not prepared to bowl at a competitive level in his new action.

     

    The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on the other hand refused to surrender to the threats of KKR and asked them to get Narine’s bowling action tested at Sri Ramachandra Medical College in Chennai. As per media reports, BCCI president Jagmohan Dalimiya said, “I have had a word with them (KKR). He will have to appear for the test again, does not matter once or twice.”

     

    Soon after Dalmiya’s words KKR arranged the bowler’s travel to Chennai. Narine reached Chennai on the morning of 2 April, 2015 and went through the tests in the presence of a top KKR official and other experts before leaving for Kolkata in the evening.

     

    “We can only say that he has undergone the tests. We cannot give any further details,” a The Times of India report quoted a KKR official as saying.

     

    The official broadcaster of IPL, Multi Screen Media (MSM) has already sold its ad inventory and is preparing aggressively for the eighth edition of the tournament. When asked about the impact of the KKR – BCCI spar, MSM president Rohit Gupta told Indiantelevision.com, “It is something between BCCI and KKR, and whatever happens will be decided by both of them.” 

     

    If BCCI restricts Narine and KKR opts out of IPL, it will affect the ratings of the tournament and advertisers reach will be curtailed by 14 matches, which KKR is supposed to play against all other franchises.

  • MSM launches new pay channel in Sony Kix

    MSM launches new pay channel in Sony Kix

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media (MSM) has launched another sports channel called Sony Kix to complement its existing channel – Sony Six.

     

    Kix will be available on all the major cable and DTH platforms with a pricing of Rs 45 and Rs 18.90 in analog and digital respectively. 

     

    The channel will be headed by Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, he says, “With the number of sports we have in our catalogue, a new sports channel launch was just a matter of time. Recently we saw a number of FIFA matches taking place simultaneously and we were handicapped since we could not air all of them. Moreover, we also at times had to place important matches on our GECs and that creates a lot of confusion for consumers. As the name suggests, Kix will mainly focus on football and fight sports but whenever needed it will complement Six with other sports too.”

     

    Speaking about his vision for the channel, Sony CEO NP Singh says, “Sports has always been a core focus for us right from our early days. Our entertainment and movie channels such as SET, Max and Pix have also, over the years, broadcast some of the landmark sports events both in India and internationally. While the resounding success of Six in less than three years was a deciding factor to launch Kix, there was also this need to cater to the clear demand seen in the market for largely, alternative sports programming. Kix promises to be a great addition to our mix of channels and will go on to complement Six in more ways than one with exciting and iconic properties such as Pepsi IPL, UFC and NFL among many others.”

     

    The channel will be launched during MSM’s flagship asset Indian Premier League (IPL), which is set to kick off on 8 April, 2015. Kix will carry Tamil and Telegu feeds apart from English. The channel’s major geographic target will be South India for the time being.

     

    “When one campaign is already on, there is no point setting up another and hence we will not launch a promotional campaign for Kix till the IPL is over. Post IPL, we might give an aggressive push but for the time being, it’s a new sports channel from Sony and will be airing IPL in three different languages. The channel will be launched in standard definition and in near future there may be another HD feed too,” Krishnan informs.

     

    According to Krishnan, multilingual feed is emerging as a recent trend and every big event has been following the trend. “We started it with FIFA and Sony Aath airing the Bengali feed and now no big event is complete without the multilingual feed. In the future too, we will innovate and invade into new territory,” he adds.

     

    In his two year stint at Sony, Krishnan has helped expand Sony Six’s portfolio and acquired new assets of international importance. Kix will be the newest channel under his tutelage. “I am happy and satisfied. It has been very significant two years and we managed to grow bigger and bigger. Being a two years old sports channel, what we are doing and have done is commendable. The end goal is to make Sony the one ultimate destination of sports broadcasting for both viewers and advertisers. We have partnered and discovered new leagues like Champions Tennis League and World Kabaddi League and in future also we will evaluate and explore something new, which will be long term entertainment for viewers,” he concludes.

  • KKR appoints Achint Gupta as content & media management head

    KKR appoints Achint Gupta as content & media management head

    MUMBAI: Indian Premier League (IPL) 2014 champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has appointed Achint Gupta as the head of content and media management.

     

    Gupta brings with him 12 years of content and media experience having worked until recently as a cricket producer with Star Sports as well as media houses like India Today and Times Now.

     

    KKR CEO Venky Mysore said, “With a view to focusing on building the KKR brand and deepening our engagement with our fans, we are investing more in content development under Achint’s leadership.”

  • CEAT hops on as segment sponsor for IPL 2015

    CEAT hops on as segment sponsor for IPL 2015

    MUMBAI: CEAT has hopped on board as one of the central sponsors for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015. 

    CEAT will be the prime sponsor for the Strategic Time Out segment in Pepsi IPL. CEAT and Pepsi IPL association leverages on common values between both the brands i.e. premium and dynamic. The association also acts as a perfect marriage between two brands that are youth centric.

     

    CEAT as a brand has always been associated with cricket, which includes CEAT Cricket Ratings amongst others and recently launched CEAT Cricket gear. The tie up with Pepsi IPL will make CEAT’s association with cricket even stronger. The partnership with Pepsi IPL will leverage CEAT as a global brand, increasing its brand awareness in key markets. 

     

    CEAT will also be leveraging the partnership with Pepsi IPL through multiple on-ground and digital activations during the upcoming season. For its Facebook and Twitter followers, CEAT has planned contests around Strategic timeout. The contest will comprise tricky questions around strategic timeout creating buzz around this segment for cricket enthusiasts.

     

    Additionally, this property will also allow the brand to be actively visible on various platforms for entire IPL period. CEAT will also be launching an app on cricket that will have elements of the IPL theme.

     

    CEAT managing director Anant Goenka said, “We have signed a three year deal with BCCI by picking up the sponsorship of Strategic Time Out for Pepsi IPL. Pepsi IPL has emerged as the biggest cricket property in India and given CEAT’s long term association with cricket this became the perfect platform for us to come on board. This property allows us to bring saliency around the brand through which we hope to build value for our customers over the next three years. Further, this allows us to be synonymous with Pepsi IPL in the tyre category and bring excitement to both our internal & external customers.”

     

  • Star India overcomes obstacles in making World Cup a hit

    Star India overcomes obstacles in making World Cup a hit

    MUMBAI: Not long ago speculations were drawn that cricket’s biggest tournament may emerge as a super flop in India courtesy Team India’s feeble performances Down Under, the questioned integrity of the sport and odd timings of the matches. Adding to the list of negatives was the absence of Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh. India, after two decades, was playing a World Cup without the master blaster, who is also known as the God of Cricket in India. 

     

    However, as is said – where there is a will there is a way.  The young Indian brigade which was was looking like a beaten lot, pulled up their socks and came together as a unit, and lo and behold the magic was back. And that was more than evident from their first match performance against Pakistan. Indian cricket fans – who had been wearing frowns, and had their noses turned up in disgust reading about the legal proceedings in the sports pages –  are now rejoicing, celebrating the Indian team’s going from strength to strength. Adding to their delight have been the stellar batting displays from Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakarra, West Indie’s Chris Gayle, South Africa’s AB De Vlliers, and the tough fights  associate teams have been giving more established national sides. All this has made the tournament a worthy exhibition and created a perfect platform for Star India. 

     

    “With India being the defending champions, interest from viewers and advertisers for the World Cup was very positive from the start. We started the World Cup with over 30 sponsors on board and the first India game, against arch rivals Pakistan had 93 advertisers showcasing their brands across digital and TV. In the first two weeks only, the advertiser as well as sponsor count for the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup is 50 per cent higher than 2011 edition as well as the IPL. We currently have 38 sponsors across feeds and World Cup programming and over 100 brands advertising during the ongoing World Cup. With India’s strong performances, there is a cricket frenzy through the nation. We have been in talks with more brands for coming on board cricket’s biggest extravaganza, the ICC Cricket World Cup,” says a Star India spokesperson.

     

    The ICC World Cup has opened doors for many first time advertisers and buoyed by the progress so far, there are many brands that are also lining up to the brigade. “For the India – West Indies game we had added hungama.com, Max Life Insurance, Hike, UP Tourism, Reliance Communications and Joy Alukkas as advertisers for the game,” asserts the channel official.

     

    “India stepped into the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 as the defending champions and we at Star have introduced numerous ‘Firsts’ that would bring the entire World Cup experience closer to the fans. These include broadcast in multiple regional languages and first ever global telecast in 4K technology among others. Our efforts have borne fruits as within the first two weeks, 473 million viewers tuned into their television sets to capture the live action of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. As the race for a berth in the quarter-finals heats up, the viewers’ excitement is sure to go through the roof,” says the spokesperson, describing expectations from the tournament. 

     

    According to Star, by the beginning of the knock out rounds of World Cup 2015, all the past TV viewership records registered in India by a sporting event, which includes World Cup 2011 and various seasons of Indian Premier League (IPL), have been surpassed. 

     

    The World Cup so far has seen an exhibition of sportsman spirit and quality cricket. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com veteran cricket analyst Hemant Kenkre said, “The quality of games this year has been outstanding. We have seen a few mind-blowing individual performances but the team efforts were unbelievable. I know there were a few questions that emerged before the tournament started but no one remembers them now. Now everyone will cheer for team India because the way they have performed so far. Match fixing speculations are nothing new; it was always there since 1999 – 2000. It is just that the country needed good performances from team India and the India VS Pakistan match gave the necessary ignition. The tournament will grow bigger in terms of sponsorship and viewership if India plays well. And I would be highly disappointed if ICC restricts the World Cup to 10 teams. Being associated with the Singapore Cricket Association, I know the hard work the associate teams put and if a championship is restricted to 10 teams then it will disappoint and demotivate all the aspirants.” 

      

    Credit should also be given to Star Sports for unveiling up the Mauka campaign. After every India match, the broadcaster has been unleashing a new promo, which engages viewers and starts trending across social media platforms.

     

    Drawing light on the reverberating Mauka campaign, the Star India spokesperson adds, “Cricket is nothing less than a religion in India and nothing is bigger than the ICC Cricket World Cup for millions of cricket fanatics. The Mauka campaign struck the right chord among fans as it portrayed the World Cup from a fan’s lens. The idea was at a human level, it was true, funny and ignited a sense of pride without being nasty to the opponents. The film received great response online and on social media from fans across the two countries. The campaign was promoted across 45 channels including news, movies, regional, films, GEC genre and it has received close to 17 million views online making it the most viewed campaign during the World Cup.”

     

    Depicting the commercial growth of the tournament, Maxus Global managing director Kartik Sharma said, “Typically sporting events start with a certain base expectation, which is dependent on recent performances of the playing teams. The cricket World Cup is no exception to this and people’s expectations were dependent on India’s recent performances. With two very interesting India matches everything has changed and more people are now interested in them. Ad rates are a function of early sponsors and also last minute advertisers who might want to utilise it tactically. Rates reflect recent interest in matches. It’s critical that matches have close finishes, which will fuel the interest of viewers irrespective of which country plays.”

     

    Helios Media managing director Divya Radhakrishnan adds, “The tournament has already made its impression in advertisers’ mind and hence all the speculations that were drawn in the initial stages because of controversies and absence of Sachin Tendulkar have been put to an end.”    

     

    Expectations have in fact been surpassed so far with Ireland defeating West Indies and Bangladesh knocking out cricket inventor England. Every cricket lover wants last over finishes and close encounters, and this World Cup so far has offered it. If permutations and combinations are to be believed, India is set to face Bangladesh in the quarter finals and despite having a rough start, Pakistan is also on the verge of securing a quarter final berth. This increases the probability of another Indo-Pak bout, which will be the icing on the cake for both viewers and Star India as it will definitely up the the brand value of the tournament.

  • IPL 2015: 65 percent ad inventory of Sony already sold

    IPL 2015: 65 percent ad inventory of Sony already sold

    MUMBAI: Even as the cricket World Cup fever is on, Multi Screen Media (MSM) is gearing up for the next big cricket tourney – the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 and advertisers are flocking to it nineteen to the dozen.

     

    The tournament starts right after the World Cup. Speaking on advertisers reaction so far, Multi Screen Media president Rohit Gupta says, “We have got amazing responses so far and the way it’s shaping up, we may have to extend our ad inventory. We already have our two presenting sponsors in Vodafone and Amazon. It must be noted that Amazon has upgraded itself as a presenting sponsor and it’s an encouraging example. The seven associates are Hero Moto Corp, Cardekho.com, Intex, Vimal Pan Masala, Pay TM, Pepsi and we have one more advertiser who has confirmed its participation. Hero Moto Corp, Cardekho.com and Vimal Pan Masala are first timers and it proves the growing interest of the tournament.”

     

    Sony Max and Six have already launched India Ka Tyohaar campaign for IPL’s 2015 edition. The campaign, which has been orchestrated by DDB Mudra, speaks about unity and celebration, and portrays IPL as a festival that is followed by one and all irrespective of caste, communities and creed.

     

    Way before the campaign launch, Gupta had told Indiantelevision.com that ad rate for the 2015 edition will be hiked by 15 per cent and MSM has successfully managed to achieve the figures.

     

    “As decided, we have hiked our ad rate by 15 per cent and the hike was not on the basis of arrogance or overconfidence, it’s because we had a seven per cent increase in viewership. We have already sold 65 per cent of our ad inventory and we are in last stage talks with many companies. IPL is a tournament that consistently delivers in terms of meeting viewership expectations and advertisers are presented a platform for the entire tournament. IPL is not a tournament where fans have to wait for a week’s time to have a good match. Moreover all the IPL matches are played in prime time and each and every match has equal interest. The growth of viewership is constant in each and every match unlike World Cup where non India matches failed to garner viewers so far. Overall IPL is an insured platform for advertisers where whatever may happen viewership never declines.”

     

    Talking about the campaign, Sony Max senior EVP and business head Neeraj Vyas says, “IPL is beyond any barrier; it’s a huge event that connects everyone. A family that has members of different generations sit together to enjoy the cricketing extravaganza, which has nail biting finishes and entertainment to satisfy everyone’s need. We are our biggest competitor and the only challenge for us is to do better than what we have done in our previous editions. We did aisa mauka aur kahan milega in 2012, which we followed up with Jumping Japang and Come on bulava aaya hai in the following years. But this year we are going to be better than any other year.”

     

    MSM is known for aggressive marketing of IPL, which is their biggest asset and this year is no different. “We have spent 15 per cent more than previous year for the India ka tyohaar campaign,” informs Vyas.

     

    DDB Mudra chairman and chief creative officer Sonal Dabral is satisfied with the progress and the feedback received so far. “India ka tyohaar is something that everyone has been missing. Festivals in India are based on religion and region. IPL is one such festival where everyone participates in the celebration,” Dabral tells Indiantelevision.com.

     

     

    When queried about the other campaigns that are already buzzing, Dabral says, “There will always be a flurry of creative campaigns and it’s not about what others are doing. You have to understand the brand and then come up with a creative concept. Mauka is a good and creative campaign but India Ka Tyohaar is different and it will emerge as the testimony of all campaigns.”

     

    Sony will launch an interactive digital campaign to connect with youth on various social media platforms. The broadcaster is going to feature the 2015 edition of IPL in different languages and there will be a regional awareness initiative to promote the multilingual strategy.

     

    The anthem of the campaign has been composed by musical duo of Salim – Sulaiman, who hope to get everyone to dance to the anthem of Pepsi IPL 2015. “With Pepsi IPL that reflects the fervour of the nation and an idea as powerful as ‘India Ka Tyohaar’, we tried to create a song, which is very Indian in its spirit but yet has the sound of ‘The Now’. Once we had the lyrics we composed the tune and created a rhythm around it which is the beat of our folk music and festivals all across India. The song is infectious! We hope the audiences will celebrate the music and this festive spirit of the Pepsi IPL across the globe,” the duo said.

     

    When asked if composing music for a tournament of such high magnitude is different and difficult from feature films and music albums, Salim Merchant told Indiantelevision.com, “After composing Chak De nothing seems to be difficult anymore but it is indeed different. The tournament will be watched in each and every household and the audience is across age groups. While we ensured that the song pumps up, we also took care that the unifying factor, which is the USP of the campaign, is kept alive.”

     

    Stretching across a four-week period till the launch of the tournament, the Pepsi IPL 2015 campaign will have a complete 360 degree rollout across mass media. The communication will be seen by viewers across mediums like television, print, radio, digital, outdoor, on-ground, mobile and BTL.

  • BCCI reports lower gross media rights income in 2013-14

    BCCI reports lower gross media rights income in 2013-14

    MUMBAI: The annual report of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the financial year 2013 – 14 shows a decline in gross media rights income as it dipped from Rs 774.24 crore  to Rs 419.38 crore. The honourary treasurer of the board Anirudh Chaudhry blamed lack of international action in India for the dip in media rights income. During the year of consideration, the annual gross receipts from international tours was Rs 193.52 crore as against the Rs 216.02 crore in the previous year.   

     

    BCCI’s million dollar baby Indian Premier League (IPL) did not disappoint the treasurer. Gross receipts from IPL 2013 were Rs 1194 crore as against Rs 892 crore of previous year. 

     

    The treasurer said, “This is because the receipts from IPL media rights income have gone up from Rs 556 crore to Rs 844 crore and the franchisee consideration has gone up marginally from Rs 460 crore to Rs 502 crore.”

     

    The rights income from Champions League has also gone up, as a substantial hike from Rs 278.88 crore to Rs 327.50 crore was registered. 

     

    Receipt from ICC share of distribution remained at Rs 32.26 crore. There is a reasonable increase in interest income from Rs 85 crore last year to Rs 120 crore for the year of consideration. “This is mainly because of better treasury operations in getting better-negotiated interest rates for the short term deposits and efficiency of operations,” said Chaudhry.

     

    In the year under consideration, the expenses on cricketing operations went down marginally from Rs 551.17 crore to Rs 516.83 crore. The provision for gross revenue share payable to the players has gone down from Rs 48.57 crore to Rs 11.02 crore. “This is because of the lesser media rights income. From 2013-14, the Board decided that all the common expenses, which are not allocable to any specific tournament would be apportioned on the basis of revenue generated by IPL, CLT20 and BCCI’s international tours. This will reflect more accurately the income generated from these activities of Board,” said Chaudhry. 

     

    In the year under consideration, the surplus of income over expenditure was Rs 526 crore as against Rs 319 crore in 2012-13, before any appropriation. In the current financial year 2014-15 the budgeted surplus is estimated at Rs 391 crore. 

     

    During the year four finance committee meetings were held. The following decisions were taken during the year: 

     

    · The Board awarded the Team Sponsorship contract for the period from 1 January 2014 till 31 March 2017 to Star India. 

     

    · Star India was awarded the title sponsorship for the limited period from October 2013 to December 2013 in which two series i.e., India versus Australia and India versus West Indies were played. 

     

    · The back office of the honorary treasurer was set up in Chennai from 1 April, 2014 and the coordinating office of honorary treasurer was established in New Delhi. 

     

    · The allowances and fees payable to support staff accompanying the senior team, A team, under 19 team, junior team and women’s team were revised.

     

    · Under the scheme of One Time Benefit to former players, an amount aggregating to Rs 1.55 crore was paid during the year under consideration. 

     

    · Under the infrastructure subsidy scheme, the member units have claimed Rs 764.03 crore till 31 March, 2014, including subsidy for ground equipment. 

     

    · During the year, Board invoked the Bank Guarantee given by Sahara Adventure Sports (Pune Franchisee) to recover the balance franchisee consideration of Rs 133 crore. 

     

    · During the year, as per the order of Supreme Court of India, the three bankers of Nimbus, who had provided the Bank Guarantees of Rs 1600 crore together and who had not honored the invocation of the Bank Guarantees by the Board and had challenged the invocation, paid Rs 400 crore to the Board against an undertaking from the Board that in case the decision goes against BCCI the said amount will be returned along with the applicable fixed deposit interest.

     

    · During the year the team won the ICC Champions Trophy and the Board awarded prize money of Rs 1 crore to every playing member of the team and Rs 30 lakh to every member of support staff. 

     

    · In the last Annual General Meeting, a new Finance Committee was appointed under the chairmanship of Dr. Ganga Raju. The Finance Committee and the Treasurer’s office benefited from the rich experience of Dr. Raju.

  • Lalit Modi ousted from Rajasthan Cricket Association

    Lalit Modi ousted from Rajasthan Cricket Association

    MUMBAI: Former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi was ousted from the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) as the members of the association passed a no-confidence motion against Modi and his office-bearers at the Extraordinary General Meeting today (9 March).

     

    With 17 out of 18 members casting their votes against Modi, Amin Pathan is expected to take charge as the new chief of RCA.

     

    However, Modi loyalists alleged that their members were not allowed to participate in the general meeting and that their bus was even pelted by stones. RCA deputy president Mehmood Abdi, who is also a Modi loyalist, cried foul claiming that it was an intentional sabotage.

     

    As per media reports, out of a total 33 district associations, only 18 could attend the meeting and since the majority was present, RCA members decided to go ahead with the meeting.

  • Sony goes full-throttle with new IPL campaign for 2015

    Sony goes full-throttle with new IPL campaign for 2015

    MUMBAI: Even as the country enjoys the ICC Cricket World Cup and its vibrant Mauka campaign, Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) IPL right holder Sony Max has launched its campaign for the flagship tournament. It’s indeed a daring attempt to launch a cricket oriented campaign when every cricket fan in India is either speaking about World Cup or Mauka.

    India ka Tyohaar, which implies to festival of India, is Sony’s campaign for IPL 2015. The campaign reverberates around the concept of how IPL is a festival of unity. DDB Mudra orchestrated the campaign and a series of videos were released on both television and social media platforms. It must be noted that last year the campaign was conducted by Havas Media and was called Come on bulava aaya hai.

    Among the videos launched so far, Firework has garnered maximum views on YouTube. The humorous video starts with a look alike of Shah Rukh Khan asking price of a cracker and he sees Salman Khan’s look alike and goes and hugs him. Basically IPL is portrayed as festival of unity, which successfully merges many distances and dilutes animosity.

    In a span of six days the video managed 60,922 views, which is commendable compared to their last year's videos on YouTube.

    The video is likely to get more popularity as the tournament comes closer. The parody was trending on social media for a brief time after its release.

    The second video that the channel launched was titled Office. The video starts with an office boy choreographing dance moves to celebrate various glorious moments and the executives follow him. At the time of penning the article, the video has managed 26,448 views.

    The third video is called Auto, which shows how India prepares for a festival and people easily agree to compromise. The video is targeted to the crazy youth who unitedly plan for a match and watch it together. The video has garnered 36,209 views so far.

    Last year’s campaign Come on bulava aaya hai had four videos shared on the social media platforms of which the Ghost video garnered maximum views with 382,457 hits. The video starts with a priest trying his level best to free a conjured body but the spirit refuses to leave the victim. When the priest is about to give up the IPL siren blows and the spirit comes out to say mera bulava aagaya.

    In another video the creative agency targeted the Bengal audience where they show a Bengali wife running away from the wedding ceremony to catch IPL action. This video managed to garner one third of the previous one with only 119,577 in more than a year time.

    Humor was very much evident in last year’s campaign too. In one of the video they show a mother is about to expire and wants to share something very important with her son. The paranoid son waits eagerly for his mother’s disclosure and when she starts talking, the siren blows and the son runs away leaving his mother on death bed to catch IPL action. The video has got 93,475 views in more than a year's time.

    Considering the circumstances and timeline, the progress made by the campaign so far should be an encouragement to the organizing committee. 

    When queried about the campaign sources in MSM revealed that a few more teasers will be released in the coming days. “The released videos have done well so far and we will have a few more videos hitting public forum in the coming days,” said the source.