ITV

Tag: IPL 2019

  • Summer of IPL and a bonanza for the TV

    Summer of IPL and a bonanza for the TV

    MUMBAI: In Shaktigarh, a small town, on the outskirts of Burdwan, West Bengal, Ranjan Basu settles down in front of his TV set in his living room. It is all quiet outside, except for the chirping of crickets, as dusk settles. He picks up the TV remote, his finger pressed on the power button as his heart races with excitement.

    It’s the final of IPL 2019, featuring the Mumbai Indians and the favourites CSK.  He raises the TV’s volume and the family sits down to what they hope will be an evening of a heart-stopping cricket match. The commentary is in Bengali and the action keeps them on the edge of their seats. For the next four hours, they will be transported to another world, as they find themselves totally engrossed in the fascinating game of T20 IPL cricket on the ubiquitous medium in India: the television.
    The scenario is repeated all over the country: in the north, south and the west.

    In fact, IPL is the biggest unifier in India. The spectacular event has now become so integral to the socio-cultural narrative of the country during the last one decade that the fans of a particular team leave no stone unturned in showering their love on its players even if they are out of the hometown or the state. Moreover, people’s alacrity to watch the matches with a group on the big screen of TV is not showing any signs of receding.

    Even as the naysayers have been saying that television is yielding ground to streaming services, the facts prove otherwise. According to the KPMG report 2019, TV continues to be a critical mass entertainment medium and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.2 per cent between FY19 and FY24 on the back of strong viewership from rural and urban markets as well as continued investment in new regional channels and sports properties by broadcasters.

    According to the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), television is the widest spread medium in India and one of the most watched pieces of content is sports, and more specifically, the IPL. The TV measurement body revealed that 462 million viewers watched last IPL, 12 percent up from the previous year.

    Not only did the number of viewers go up but engagement as well. IPL season twelve garnered 337.7 bn viewing minutes, a 13 per cent increase in live viewership. Along with cumulative reach, average time spent for the last season of IPL also went up by eight per cent, reaching 36.40 minutes.  It’s no wonder that sponsors and advertisers are getting more aggressive to make their presence visible during the league.

    Moreover, IPL is not anymore a man’s game. The marriage of entertainment and sports in the biggest cricket showbiz of the country also brought viewers across age groups and genders before TV sets. IPL 2019 saw the highest growth of viewership among kids (2-14 years), an increase of 25 per cent compared to last session. Even female viewership grew by 14 per cent during  the edition. More age groups coming to the League are also increasing the chances of new brand associations.

    According to a report by Velocity MR, brands which were not associated with any IPL teams but were advertising heavily during the tournament were seen to be doing better than brands which were associated with a particular team. As per this report, Swiggy and PhonePe are major instances of the brands which reaped benefit from the association with IPL as an advertiser. Total awareness went up by 8 per cent for Swiggy and by 10 per cent for PhonePe, as both the brands were heavily advertised or marketed during the IPL season.

    IPL 2019 went deeper into the hinterlands, too. Star’s gambit on regionalization paid rich dividends for the broadcaster. Last year,  there were dedicated Telugu, Kannada and Bangla sports channels for matches. According to BARC data, while viewing minutes in Hindi increased by 18 per cent, other regional languages including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali and Marathi saw 10 per cent growth. Regional languages other than Hindi got 74.9 bn viewing minutes, which was higher than the viewership that the English language commentary got. We may see local brands trying to associate themselves with the League in coming time.

    Sports in general, and the IPL in particular, is a driver for cable TV and DTH subscriptions. While major DTH operators are trying to penetrate deep into TV dark areas, major tournaments like IPL drive that growth.

    IPL may have crossed a decade. But the excitement around the League is not ebbing. The brand value of the tournament went up to Rs 47,500 crores in 2019 from Rs 41,800 crores in 2018. With just a month or so left for the next season, we can only see the League shining even better.

  • Will make brands’ IPL 2020 splurge into judicious investment: Velocity MR’s Jasal Shah

    Will make brands’ IPL 2020 splurge into judicious investment: Velocity MR’s Jasal Shah

    MUMBAI: Summer and IPL are now synonymous in India. Even after a decade since its launch, the mega sporting event continues to attract eyeballs as well as brands.

    Last year, a new age consumer insights provider Velocity MR published IPL Brands Insights Book 2019 unravelling the mystery of marketing decision makings during the league. The research firm announced the second edition of the study as well.

    For the first edition, Velocity MR tracked ads worth $40 million during IPL 2019 and covered more than 70 advertisers and over 100 sponsors. Altogether, it evaluated around 150 ads.

    “This study got interests from 11 brands who aggressively promoted their brand during IPL 2019. Our book titled, IPL Brands Insights Book 2019 was very well received in the marketing corridors of brands who sponsored or advertised during IPL 2019 and have plans for 2020 as well,” Velocity MR CEO and managing director Jasal Shah commented.

    “Our unique models of ROI calculation, Impact Scores AKA 'Mother of all Insights' because just one score covers more than 10+ marketing metrics, Jersey Analysis, Viewership Trend, Loyalty Analysis, Media Basket Analysis, Sponsorship Analysis – generate quality insights for brand custodians and these make our IPL Brands Insights Study a must for all those who are going to splurge in IPL 2020. We’ll make that splurge into a judicious investment,” he added.

    Shah added that there will be new outcomes certainly in the second edition as the market dynamics are never same. According to him in this fast-evolving digital world, strategies change overnight and with multiple options, even consumers’ patronage can’t be taken for granted. He noted that they keenly study all the changes and understand more from the viewers.

    For this year’s study, the methodology remains the same as last year but new centres have been added. The research methodology includes quantitative Online Surveys for Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Pune (18-20 Minutes), quantitative Offline F2F Surveys for Visakhapatnam, Indore and Jaipur (18-20 Minutes).

  • IPL 2019: Star India clocks 283 mn viewers in opening week, up 15% from last season

    IPL 2019: Star India clocks 283 mn viewers in opening week, up 15% from last season

    MUMBAI: Star’s strategy of widening appeal of VIVO IPL across regions, languages, with focus on families and youth has resulted in a historical opening week in the tournaments 12th edition both in terms of reach and viewership. The high decibel marketing campaign ‘Game Banayega Name’, curated programming and a multi-city VIVO IPL Trophy Tour, contributed to making the opening week a grand success. 

    The inaugural week of the VIVO IPL 2019, recorded a historic opening with 283 million viewers tuning in across the country, which is 15 % higher than last year. Television viewership reached a phenomenal 33.1* million average impressions registering a growth of 28%* setting a viewership record in the history of the tournament. 

    Taking IPL to India

    Regionalization fuels growth – HSM grew 32% and South grew 19% versus last year. This growth can be attributed to the massive regionalization efforts, as the tournament is being broadcast in 8 languages – English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali including Marathi and Malayalam on Sundays. Star has expanded the appeal for the tournament further inviting kids and family with a curated feedcalled Super Funday, telecast every Sunday on Star Gold. This contributed a massive growth of 41% in viewership amongst kids versus last year.  

    VIVO IPL 2019 on Star continues to have the best in class and largest congregation of commentators and experts for all kinds of fans including the core cricket aficionado who enjoyed the action on Star Sports Select with #SelectDugout.  The opening week is a historic first in many ways and the world’s toughest T20 tournament was enjoyed by all members of the family including children and women. 

    The opening week of IPL sure has set the tone for an exciting summer of cricket coming up on Star.

    * Source: BARC (TV + OOH), Only Match Telecast Hours considered
    ** For the growth vs last year, comparison has been done with Star Channels excluding DD on TV versus TV+OOH of this year IPL Channel Bouquet in 2019 – Asianet Plus, Star Suvarna, STAR Suvarna HD, Jalsha Movies, Jalsha Movies HD, Star Maa Movies, STAR Maa Movies HD, STAR Gold HD,STAR Gold, STAR Pravah, STAR Sports 1,STAR Sports 1 Tamil, STAR Sports 1 Kannada, STAR Sports 1 Telugu, STAR Sports 1 Bangla, STAR Sports 2(v), STAR Sports 1 Hindi, STAR Sports 1 HD,STAR Sports 2 HD(v), STAR Sports 1 HD Hindi, STAR Sports Select 1 HD, STAR Sports Select 1 SD, STAR Vijay Super, Hungama. 

  • What Works bags the video content mandate for Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL 2019

    What Works bags the video content mandate for Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL 2019

    MUMBAI: What Works, a Video Content Agency and Production company, has won the video content mandate for Kolkata Knight Riders, the two times champion franchise team in the Indian Premier League. What Works has been retained after their successful stint with KKR last year and is tasked with creating engagement and affinity for the very loved cricket team on the digital medium with content assets created for different platforms.

    The  mandate  entails  What  Works  to  ideate  and  execute  video  content strategy  across  platforms  in  line  with  KKR’s  other  marketing  plans.  The agency has deployed video producers, cinematographers, editors and a full backend team with edit setups including graphics and animation support to execute over 300 video content pieces during the IPL this season. At the same time What Works will also be producing all the branded, sponsor led and merchandise promotional videos for the franchise.

    "Content is a major driver in our overall marketing strategy and What Works plays an instrumental role in producing world-class content around the team. Last year KKR garnered more than 100 million views on social media platforms, which was the highest for any IPL team and we hope to cross new benchmarks this year as well”, said Venky Mysore, CEO, Kolkata Knight Riders.

    Imran Shamsi, Founder of What Works, said “We are super excited to be working with KKR for the 2nd time in a row. We, at What Works, are ardent fans of KKR and feel fortunate to bag this account. The brand of KKR enjoys such affinity in the digital media space that it gives us tremendous scope to innovate, build further affinity and take the engagement with the fan base to the next level. The team at KKR believes in the power of the digital medium which is in perfect sync with our philosophy of creating out of the box content to deliver impact.”

  • IPL 2019’s ‘Game Banayega Name’ campaign aimed at younger, contemporary audience

    IPL 2019’s ‘Game Banayega Name’ campaign aimed at younger, contemporary audience

    MUMBAI: IPL is not only prominent for its matches but is also a platform for advertisers to make a mark, similar to the Super Bowl in the US. This year too, broadcaster Star India in collaboration with Taproot Dentsu has created a beautiful campaign which along with promoting the series also tells the heartwarming tale of the players participating in it. The ‘Game Banayega Name’ docu-series highlights the stories of uncapped talents who got recognised because of their game at IPL.

    Taproot Dentsu head-strategy planning Shashank Lanjekar shares that the idea behind the campaign was to offer something unique. He says, “When 11 campaigns of a particular brand have already happened, the first question you normally ask is what is new. How do we say something new and also in a way that has never been seen before? That’s how the whole process began for us and incidentally, we came across the line that is written on the IPL trophy, in Sanskrit, which reads ‘Where Talent Meets Opportunity’. So, we picked from there and the campaign was conceptualised.”

    ‘Yatra Pratibha Avasara Prapnotihi’ is the credo of the IPL game and highlights how the tournament gives opportunities to rank outsiders, to stand with and also play against established international players like Dhoni and Kohli.

    ECD Pallavi Chakravarti continues, “The part of the brief (shared by Star) was that they wanted something that appealed to a cricket loyalist as much as is to the infrequent viewer. They wanted something that speaks to everybody. So, for all of us, the thought was to capture the universality of the game. The idea of a newcomer who joins the team to make a name for him connected well to the thought.”

    Speaking about the lyrics for the campaign, Chakravarti reveals that the peppy words were co-written by her along with a lyricist. She says, “We wanted to say it in an easy manner that is neither too cumbersome nor too ‘Shuddh Hindi’ or too English. It had to be younger and contemporary so it appeals the most of the audience. The song tells the philosophy (of the game) but not in a very philosophical way.

    Co-founder and CCO Agnello Dias shares that it was very taxing to be a part of such an interesting and unique campaign. Summing up his thoughts about it, he says, “I can think of an old saying that states that when you enter a casino, you might win or lose, but if you don’t enter it, you will definitely lose. So, it was a challenge that we took.”

    It is for the first time that the players from all the eight teams have come together for a campaign like this, and the energy on sets was undoubtedly infectious. Chakravarti mentions that the players were very cordial to one-another as well as the boys on the other side of the wall. Dias notes that not only the concept but also the way the ad was shot was very interesting. He shares that the screen that the players are seen pushing in the ad is not a special effect, but an actual panel with a camera attached to it.

    The docuseries has been shot with five young players, who were selected by a joint decision taken by BCCI and Star India. The main campaign ad has garnered around 15 million so far, as shared by the team.

  • IPL 2019: Star India says 219 mn tuned in on opening weekend

    IPL 2019: Star India says 219 mn tuned in on opening weekend

    MUMBAI: The opening weekend of the 12th season of VIVO IPL, broke all existing viewership records. 219* mn viewers (All India 2+ U+ R) tuned in on the opening weekend, which was 31per cent* higher than last year. Specifically, on the opening day, reach in HSM grew by 30 per cent* while in South reach grew by 20 per cent*, driven by a strong regionalisation strategy. Apart from the robust growth in reach, viewership (as measured by Impressions) also grew by a solid 29 per cent (Source: BARC Preview Report).

    On the back of a successful marketing campaign, ‘Game Banayega Name’, India tuned in to make the opening weekend the highest ever watched in the history of the tournament. A great leveler and reflective of young and fearless India in every sphere, the campaign culminated in a Dhoni vs Kohli fan face-off featuring the two legends themselves inviting viewers to tune in for the opening encounter on March 23rd.

    In 2019, the regionalisation story was strengthened with the introduction of Marathi & Malayalam taking the total number of languages to 8 (English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali being the other languages) which is the maximum for any sport tournament till date.

    Additionally, Star curated a special feed targeting families & kids on Star Gold to invite a wider section of audiences. The first episode of ‘Sunday Funday’ was broadcast on the opening weekend to give viewers a fresh and relatable experience to VIVO IPL 2019. As part of the feed, an exclusive show – ‘Meet the Khelkars’ had cricketing legends Irfan Pathan, Virender Sehwag and Krishnamachari Srikkanth talking about their cricketing journey in a fun and light-hearted manner.

    Making it a truly global extravaganza the commentary roster for VIVO IPL 2019 features over 100 experts from India and across the globe. The #SelectDugout meant for the ardent cricket fan who is always looking for more, also received an overwhelming response from the fans with the introduction of Brendon McCullum to the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Dean Jones, Kumar Sangakkara, Scott Styris, Anil Kumble, etc.

  • India News curates special programming for IPL 2019

    India News curates special programming for IPL 2019

    MUMBAI: As the cricket fever is rising up with 2019 Indian Premiere League (IPL) season 12, beginning from 23rd March, India News, one of India’s leading Hindi news channel curates special programming lineup for the IPL series under the umbrella branding of  Jhamajham Cricket, the special cricket show telecasted every day at 6:30 PM.  

    India News will bring to the viewers a descriptive and insightful review of each match from on and off the field during all the IPL matches. 

    During the half an hour cricket show Jhamajham Cricket will cover  different aspects of the IPL  series including top news stories of the IPL Matches in a superfast format, the show will be a showcase the graphical representation of bowling and batting figures of key players from both the innings also there will be a special segment to analyze bowler’s performances for each day, the cricket experts will gauge and analyze the players performance during the studio discussion.      

    There will be special guests from the cricket fraternity like Mr. Praveen Kumar, Mr. Anshuman Gaekwad, Mr. Reetinder Sodhi and Mr. Rajkumar Sharma who will give their expert opinions on the team strategies, pre and post-match analysis and team line up during studio discussions.

    These cricket experts will analyze the player’s performance during these segments and will also analyze the performances of each team to make it to the finals. In addition to the studio shows, there will be special outdoor shows with the live audience which will cover spot interviews and vox-pop with fans from the cricket stadium.

  • GRADO from The House of GBTL and OCM unites with Sunrisers Hyderabad

    GRADO from The House of GBTL and OCM unites with Sunrisers Hyderabad

    MUMBAI: GRADO from the House of GBTL and OCM has joined forces with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) as its principal sponsor and cotton blazer partner for IPL 2019. The format of the association will be of GRADO being SRH’s principal sponsor with logo presence on its jersey, on perimeter board, visible branding on the giant screen and collaterals for cheering at the stadium.

    Along with this, there will be a stand named as ‘GRADO’ reserved for ardent Sunrisers fans on their home turf. An experiential space will also be created for the cricket aficionados. While there will also be tickets for the team’s channel partners, the sixer of this collaboration is GRADO’s tie-up with key SRH players, namely  Kane Williamson, Bhuvneshwar, Vijay Shankar, and Yusuf Pathan. Along with making numerous runs on-field, the team members are all set to bowl us over via a shoot in cotton collection fabrics from GRADO.

    Speaking about the association, GRADO mentor Rajendra Agarwal said “The opportunity to collaborate with Sunrisers Hyderabad as their Principal Sponsor was a momentous stride for us. Our brand and SRH have a lot in common – team spirit, hard-work, well-synced functions, and continued dedication. These synchronicities also abetted the launch of our Cotton Collection. The SRH team perfectly dovetails into our brand ethos of simplicity and sophistication.”

    Delighted about this alliance, Sunrisers Hyderabad CEO K Shanmugham said, “We are delighted to welcome Grado as the principal sponsor with Sunrisers Hyderabad for the forthcoming season Grado is a prestigious brand in the luxury fabric segment and their philosophy resonates with ours.  This is an important season for us and we’re looking forward to having their valuable support for what promises to be exhilarating, and hopefully in our case, a triumphant journey ahead.”

  • 93.5 RED FM is principal sponsor of SunRisers Hyderabad for IPL 2019

    93.5 RED FM is principal sponsor of SunRisers Hyderabad for IPL 2019

    MUMBAI: 93.5 RED FM has announced its association as the principal sponsor of SunRisers Hyderabad for the 12th edition of VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL 2019). This is the seventh consecutive year of the radio channel’s association with the Hyderabad team.

    Taking the entertainment quotient a notch higher, RED FM aims to give the fans a sneak peek into Sunrisers Hyderabad through its digital assests. Also, this year the fans can lend their ears and be a part of an entertaining campaign around cricket called ‘Kaan Cricket’. It will test the listeners’ cricket knowledge and will give them a chance to win exciting prizes by the end of each week.

    Commenting on RED FM’s association with SunRisers Hyderabad, RED FM COO Nisha Narayanan said, “We are really excited to be extending our association with Sunrisers Hyderabad for 7th year in a row. Over the years, both the brands have benefitted immensely from the association and given their listeners and fans exciting content which is not available elsewhere. We look forward to this year’s association and have plans to give our listeners more of cricket and SRH, bigger and better than the previous years. Brand RED will be buzzing with cricketing content over the next two months. On behalf of the RED FM team, we wish Sunrisers Hyderabad a successful season ahead.”

    Commenting on the announcement, Sunrisers Hyderabad CEO K Shanmugham said, “We are delighted to have RED FM as our principal sponsor for seventh year in a row. SunRisers Hyderabad is currently in its best form and we expect an extraordinary IPL season this time. Our association with RED FM will help us elevate the engagement to another level as we plan to create gripping entertainment for the cricket fans.”

  • IPL 2019: YuppTV bags digital broadcast rights for Australia, continental Europe, south east Asia

    IPL 2019: YuppTV bags digital broadcast rights for Australia, continental Europe, south east Asia

    MUMBAI: YuppTV, the world’s leading OTT platform for South-Asian content, has acquired the digital broadcasting rights for Vivo IPL 2019 outside of India. With this development, cricket fans across the globe can catch all the action of Season 12 of the world’s biggest T20 tournament, right as it unfolds. 

    YuppTV is bringing the highly engaging action to all of its existing and new users in Australia, Continental Europe, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and RoW including South & Central America and Central & Southeast Asia.

    Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Uday Reddy, Founder & CEO, YuppTV, said, “We are glad to acquire the digital broadcasting rights for the IPL 2019 and would be enabling on-the-go-access to all the action unfolding in the Season 12 of IPL. We are determined to provide our global audience with convenient and real-time access to their favorite sporting action, through a wide gamut of internet-enabled devices.”

     As one of the biggest and most-awaited cricketing extravaganzas, Season 12 of Indian Premier League will finally hit the stands on March 23. Promising an enthralling season, the 8 teams will be headed against each other in a total of 60 matches. The season will open with the defending champions, Chennai Super Kings taking on Royal Challenger Bangalore. 

    Cricket fans in Australia, Continental Europe, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and RoW including South & Central America and Central & Southeast Asia can catch all the action from IPL 2019 on YuppTV. The may log on to http://www.yupptv.com/cricketor access the same via the YuppTV app on smart TVs, smart Blu-ray players, streaming media players, gaming consoles, smartphones, and tablets.