ITV

Tag: Indian Premiere League (IPL)

  • After IPL, it’s FIFA time for broadcasters, advertisers

    After IPL, it’s FIFA time for broadcasters, advertisers

    MUMBAI: It’s been a busy year so far for broadcasters and advertisers. First came the election campaign of major political parties in the fray followed by that annual extravaganza called the Indian Premiere League (IPL) and now comes the mother of all sports tournaments, the FIFA World Cup 2014.

     

    If Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) Sony Six hit a six with the recently concluded IPL, it will most likely score a goal with FIFA as well.

     

    As MSM president Rohit Gupta says, “FIFA is clearly getting bigger and bigger in the country. In 2010, the tournament attracted almost 65 million viewers while this year, we expect the reach to touch 100 million.” Gupta feels football in India is touching T20 World Cricket levels when it comes to popularity. Even when it comes to revenue, Sony Six sold 10 second ad spots for Rs 4.9 to Rs 5 lakh and the final IPL match for Rs 18 lakh to Rs 20 lakh, for FIFA, it is selling 10-seconders for Rs 2 to Rs 2.50 lakh. (Media planners, however, said that the spot rates for the IPL final were between Rs 14 lakh to Rs 16 lakh).

     

    The channel has already got on board big advertisers, with Hero MotoCorp as the presenting sponsor and Xolo Mobile and Microsoft as powered by sponsors. Sony Six is also in talks with e-commerce sites that bombarded the online space during IPL.

     

    Media planners however are doubtful about how many brands will shell out the kind of money demanded by the channel. “If we compare last year’s IPL with the just concluded one, we can see that there were a lot of new advertisers. Online retailers leveraged the sporting event well. However, the same cannot be said about FIFA. Yes, it is true that the sport is gaining viewership and hence, increase in ad rates but we cannot be sure how many will be ready to shell out so much money,” says one media planner on condition of anonymity.

     

    Another media planner believes that while big advertisers and sports brands for whom, the tournament is a perfect occasion to advertise, may shell out big money for ads, but there won’t be much increase towards the end. “The rates are already too high and with the Indian Super League (ISL) too coming up, I wonder how much brands will be ready to spend with such exorbitant rates,” he says.

     

    Moreover, they feel that football, unlike cricket, is not an advertiser friendly game where a break comes not before half time i.e. 45 minutes into the game. Therefore, there is only so much an advertiser can do on television.

     

    Keeping this in mind, a lot of brands will be taking the virtual route to connect with the audiences.

     

    All ‘out’ on social

     

    In an official statement early last week, FIFA director of communications and public affairs, Walter De Gregorio said, “We aim to provide an all-round digital companion so that billions of fans can join in and share their excitement. Only the World Cup and digital can create this worldwide conversation.”

     

    FIFA officials have launched Global Stadium, a social, online and mobile hub for the event, which will help football fans across the world stay connected and updated. FIFA’s website has also been redesigned in the run-up to the tourney with football fans in mind and this is complemented by a strong presence on social media. The website has been optimized for mobile and the official World Cup app that went live early this month.

     

    In April alone, FIFA’s Facebook page reached over 280 million users, the World Cup page currently has more than 18 million fans, and there are over seven million FIFA followers on Twitter, who frequently re-tweet and engage in conversation across six language accounts. All these efforts have been undertaken after understanding the changing consumption habits and the “second screen” assuming prime importance in viewers’ lives.

     

    Similarly, MSM too has announced the launch of ‘LIV Sports’, a digital sports entertainment destination called www.LIVSports.in. LIV Sports will be the official mobile and internet broadcaster of the tournament. The platform will show both live and video-on-demand match content, with informative statistics and analysis.

     

    In a statement, MSM CEO NP Singh commented, “The idea was to create a premier digital sports entertainment destination where we will offer quality content which is mass inclusive and not designed to cater only to ardent sports fans. We have attempted to redefine the way sporting content is presented and consumed. With LIV Sports we will attempt to keep every cross section of our consumers actively engagement through high quality interactive sports content with informative data and analytics.”

     

    The official beer partner, Budweiser, has revealed ‘Rise As One’, the brand’s global creative campaign, to celebrate the moments that unite and inspire fans of the beautiful game around the world.

     

    “Most football fans come under a certain age group and hence, are very active online. So, it will be good if brands take that route to connect with them,” says a digital creative head of an agency. “And cheaper as well,” he laughs and signs off.

  • A livid M S Dhoni offers to quit as CSK skipper

    A livid M S Dhoni offers to quit as CSK skipper

    MUMBAI: After speculation around his association with the match-fixing and betting scandal in the sixth edition of the Indian Premiere League (IPL), India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is miffed and has offered to step down as captain for the Chennai Super Kings, if reports are to be believed.

     

    According to media reports, the Indian captain spoke to N. Srinivasan, now suspended by the Supreme Court as the BCCI chief, and offered to step down as skipper and a vice-president of India Cements.

     

    Harish Salve, the counsel for Bihar cricket association chief Aditya Verma, on Thursday accused Dhoni of giving false statements to the Mudgal committee about the role of Gurunath Meiyappan in Chennai Super Kings.

     

    Dhoni has led the team in yellow for the past six editions of the IPL, captaining the team to the title twice.

     

    The Team India skipper, currently in Dhaka for the T20 World Cup, is “extremely disappointed and annoyed” that his name has been dragged into the spot-fixing controversy.

  • IPL7 campaign: Chalo bulaava aaya hai

    IPL7 campaign: Chalo bulaava aaya hai

    MUMBAI: Remember the movie Exorcism? The same will happen to the whole country when the “bhoot” of cricket will enter the minds and hearts of the countrymen and women and children!

     

    If we go by the latest campaign, the IPL-loving “bhoot” in all of us has to wake up.

     

    The seventh season of Indian Premiere League (IPL) which will be aired on Sony Max has begun its promotion.

     

    As part of the excitement, the channel has started engaging people through e-mailers, social media and radio wherein the buzz was created with ‘sabse bada bulaava aa raha hai’ campaign. 

     

    RJs “prepared” people for an impending major announcement to be made soon while SMSes informed people to stand-guard as a bulaava will soon come for them.

     

    Today, the channel revealed the two TVCs on youtube. “From tomorrow, the TVCs will go on air on all the channels of our network,” informs Sony Max marketing head Vaishali Sharma, who is happy with the response generated so far. “We have got responses through SMSes and on social media from people, cricket-lovers and it is overwhelming.”

     

    The campaign conceptualised by Havas Media Worldwide is based on the thought that one has to come when the IPL calls. Unlike last year, this year the campaign will feature aam aadmi and not a popular face in Farah Khan which was used in season six campaigns by the channel.

     

    Nonetheless, staying true to its filmy style, the two TVCs are melodramatic and showcase how in the country where cricket is like a religion, everything else is forgotten when one hears the so-familiar IPL tune.

     

    The concept was chosen after various meetings between the various stakeholders with the focal point being entertainment. “It is as if you cannot refuse a call from the god. In the same way, when IPL calls, you have to be there,” is how Sony MAX and Sony MIX executive vice president and business head Neeraj Vyas had explained the thought behind the campaign for IPL7 to indiantelevision.com in an interaction last month.

     

    The tournament which will commence on 16 April and end on 1 June has already made headlines. Till a couple of days back, nobody knew where the matches will be played? Since the tournament clashes with the general elections, it will be now played the in UAE, probably some matches in Bangladesh and the matches after counting of votes on May 16 in India.

  • SRK relives the KKR moments with a documentary

    SRK relives the KKR moments with a documentary

    MUMBAI: When failure struck him while handling his Indian Premiere League (IPL) team – Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) – he took it in his stride. Except for few times, the king Khan always came across as an encouraging team leader, who did everything needed to gear up “his boys”. In the last six editions of the IPL, the team has seen many ups and downs.

     

    Shah Rukh Khan finds his team’s story to be an “incredibly compelling one” from start to finish and thus as the IPL is set to enter its seventh edition, Discovery Channel will present the riveting story of the team’s transformation – from a group of struggling players in the early years to their emergence as formidable champion of the league – in a four-part series, titled Living with KKR from 24 February to 27 February at 8 pm.

     

    “When you’ve won once, and you see yourself on the verge of loss, just overcome your difficulties. I may sound materialistic, but forget emotions, and go ahead and bloody well win, or else you wouldn’t have your own documentary!” quipped Shah Rukh while launching the series on Friday at Taj Lands End.

     

    When asked if he has a say in the management and functioning of the team? “Well, there is no creative input from my side in cricket as compared to films, where I do have a say.”

     

    And like always, he was at his witty best when asked if being a Bollywood superstar has helped in making the team more popular. “Nobody remembers the excellent captaincy of Gautam Gambhir during that last match, where the ball went out the boundary, but people remember me picking up my daughter. So, yes, being popular has its own advantages,” he cheekily remarked.

     

    Not just that, when a question was raised on the much talked about “superstition” surrounding the decisions being taken regarding the team, he had few interesting anecdotes to share. “When people don’t have anything to blame, they blame superstition. There were moments when people said, ‘kale ko neela kardo, jeet jaaoge’, and in fact, Juhi (Chawla) felt quite strongly about the colour! Also, when our team used to bat first, I used to leave late from the hotel thinking if we lose wickets early it is difficult to smile and cheer in front of people. And during that last match when Gautam Gambhir was out, I prayed, and there haven’t been a lot of time where I’ve had to pray because I know, whenever I pray, it comes true, or damn close to it.”

     

    Khan also remarked that the IPL matches have been the most watched program on Indian television in the last five years, making it one of the most successful ventures of his career. During this year’s IPL auctions, KKR lost three of its veteran ball players – Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Mohammed Shami and Manoj Tiwary – but Khan remains undeterred, “We hope all the very best for Laxmi, Shami and Manoj. I do hope they flourish in their respective teams, and hope they can make it for our matches.” He continued, “And we have quite a good team on our hands now with younger Bengali players. We have a strong team town with Gautam Gambhir heading it.”

  • IPL 7 auction ends; 154 players sold including 50 international

    IPL 7 auction ends; 154 players sold including 50 international

    MUMBAI: The two-day auction for the Indian Premiere League (IPL) finally came to an end. The auctions turned out to be much like the earlier six seasons – a heady mix of surprises, shocks, set-backs and happiness.

     

    The happiest of the lot was obviously Yuvraj Singh, who came aboard Royal Challengers Banglore for a hefty sum of Rs 14 crore. Even Delhi Daredevils coughed up Rs 12.5 crore to pick up Dinesh Karthik and Rs 9 crore for Kevin Pietersen using its right to match card.

     

    The right to match or the joker card worked wonders for the franchises this time as they managed to reclaim some of their ‘priced possessions’. Most of the teams used up their right to match card on day one of the auction itself, being aware that day two was consisted of the uncapped players.

     

    Out of the 154 players sold, 80 are capped and 74 are uncapped; again proving the purpose of the IPL – to nurture young and raw talent and provide them an international stage to play alongside and learn from the best in the business.

     

    The auction started on Wednesday morning with 514 players going under the hammer in two days. The sad part: nearly 70 per cent of the players went unsold.

     

    The dark side came to the fore when nobody bid for players like Mahela Jayawardena, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Angelo Mathews, Marlon Samuels, Brett Lee, Cameron White, Luke Wright, David Hussey, Praveen Kumar, RP Singh, Darren Bravo, Dirk Nannes and among others. While the reasons to it would be best known to the franchises, it just brought out the ugly side of the game.

     

    Now all that remains to be seen is whether the season 7 of the IPL can overshadow the dark history of the controversies that plagued season 6.

     

    With the biggest pool of players to have gone under the hammer in all the seasons so far, IPL 7 is all set to keep you hooked to your television sets for a roller coaster ride once again beginning from April.

     

    We will get you all the happenings of the Indian Premiere League season 7. Do continue reading this space for latest updates.