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  • At 1824 mn seconds, 2021 ad volumes spike 22% over 2020: Barc Think Report

    At 1824 mn seconds, 2021 ad volumes spike 22% over 2020: Barc Think Report

    Mumbai: 2021 has bounced back with a substantial double-digit spike, delivering an all-time high of 1824 million seconds of ad volumes during the year. This translated into a 22 per cent and 18 per cent growth over 2020 and 2019, respectively. The Top 10 advertisers accounted for 780 million seconds of ad volumes, and the next 40 accounted for 340 million seconds. The data was shared by Barc India, which recently launched its Think Report, 2021 – A Voluminous Year (Yearly Ad Volume Report 2021) analysing television advertising volumes for the past year.

    According to the report, FMCG brands continued to lead in share across categories and Hindi channels continued to dominate across languages. New advertisers and brands consistently jumped in throughout the year, thus playing an important role in the advertising volume growth witnessed throughout 2021. 2020 was a subdued year for television advertising, leading to a decline in total ad volumes across the year despite the record stay-at-home rise in viewership.

    “2021 certainly brought in much needed cheer to the broadcast industry. The year started off on a positive note and also ended on a high with the festive quarter,” remarked Barc India head – client partnership and revenue function Aaditya Pathak. “Year on year, despite pandemic impediments, television has repeatedly proved effective for every penny spent for advertisers and brands. 2021 saw over 9000 advertisers turn to television with a significant number of new entrants. Overall, 2021 was a positive year for the industry as a whole that witnessed growing value for both advertisers and broadcasters.”

    Advertisers & Brands Count

    TV had a total of 9239 advertisers and 14616 brands advertising on the medium in 2021, of which, 49 per cent i.e, 4483 were either new advertisers or returning ones. Similarly, for brands, 51 per cent i.e, 7470 were new or returning brands.

    Categories

    The FMCG category continued to lead with an enormous share of 1117 million seconds of ad volumes in 2021, followed by e-commerce with 185 million seconds and building, industrial, & land materials/equipment with 60 million seconds. Television also understandably continued to be an important medium for the corporate brand image category which registered two times growth over 2019, with 24 million seconds.

    The e-commerce category had a total of 587 advertisers in 2021 of which 65 per cent were new entrants or earlier advertisers returning to TV in 2021, registering a growth of 51 per cent over 2020 and 26 per cent over 2019. Media/entertainment/social media, education, online shopping, matrimonials and financial services were the top five sub-categories within e-commerce. Ad volumes for education grew by 461 per cent and financial services by 153 per cent over 2020.

    Languages

    While Hindi continues to play a dominant part of the language mix, regional language channels recorded strong growth as well across 2021. Ad volumes for Bhojpuri language channels doubled over 2019 and Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati and Assamese language channels posted over 40 per cent growth over 2019. South language channels (Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada) grew by 26 per cent over 2020.

    2021 – Quarterly Analysis

    Q1 2021 kickstarted on a positive note having registered 24 per cent growth over 2020 and 21 per cent growth over 2019. Despite the sporadic and partial lockdowns on account of the second wave of Covid-19, ad volumes for Q2’ 21 were relatively higher at 417 million seconds as compared to Q2’19 which recorded 399 million seconds. Q4’21 brought in cheer for broadcasters with a bumper festive season that recorded 489 million seconds of ad volumes, the highest quarter ever. New advertisers continued to flock to television for effective communication with Q4’21 welcoming 2156 new advertisers or earlier ones returning to the medium, the highest for the year.

    After a marginal decline in Q2 2021 on account of the lockdowns, regional language channels experienced steady growth in Q3 and Q4.

    SD and HD Channels

    Ad volumes for HD channels in 2021 grew by 11 per cent over the previous year and SD channels grew by 22 per cent in 2021 over 2020 and by 20 per cent over 2019.

    TV Commercials

    TV commercials with an average commercial duration of under 30 seconds, were most favoured by advertisers while spots more than 60 seconds were least preferred. The average commercial duration has been reducing Y-O-Y. The prime-time band, i.e, 20:00 hours to 24:00 hours enjoyed the maximum share of ad volumes at 27 per cent. The share of ad volumes for the four time bands, viz 08:00 – 12:00 hrs, 12:00-16:00 hrs, 16:00-20:00 hrs and 20:00-24:00 hrs, continued to stay the same since 2019. TV commercials in local languages on regional channels are consistently increasing since 2019.

    IPL 2021

    IPL 2021 registered a total of 1680 thousand seconds of ad volumes with 119 advertisers and 228 brands in all. There were 59 new advertisers and 158 new brands for the season. The top 10 advertisers for the season contributed 35 per cent of the ad volumes.

    Tokyo Olympics

    With 466 thousand seconds, ad volumes for the Tokyo Olympics were almost at par with the Rio Olympics that was held in 2016. There were 34 advertisers and 61 brands that advertised during the Tokyo Olympics. Significantly, 31 per cent of the ad volumes during the Tokyo Olympics featured olympians.

  • OTT and the future of sports broadcasting

    OTT and the future of sports broadcasting

    Mumbai: According to a recent study ‘Can OTT sports platforms shake up the broadcast landscape’ by data and analytics firm Ampere, the growing number of pure-play and generalist OTT services in the sports rights market is putting the traditional rights model under stress.

    In Europe, the likes of DAZN and Amazon Prime Video are beginning to eat into the market share of traditional rights holders, accounting for nearly 10 per cent of sports spends annually. Globally, though, the figure stands at slightly below six per. In cases where OTT services increased the number of bidders for rights, the value of rights has increased. For instance, DAZN’s entrance to German UCL market grew the total value by 62 per cent for 2018-21 cycle. For 2021-24, OTT services have secured all rights to the UCL in Germany, with the new deals increasing the total value by 58 per cent. However this trend did not hold in cases where the overall number of bidders came down, where the impact was negative.

    What this suggests is that pure OTT players have the potential to impact an upward growth in sports rights value together with traditional buyers, especially in cases where the value of rights has stagnated over the years. In the short term, until OTT platforms reach a comparable or higher level of subscription than pay-TV, they will keep adding value to the game.

    The study outlined four broad ways in which OTT services are impacting the sports media landscape – targeting digital-first audiences, making premium sports more affordable, super-serving specific categories of sports fans, and creating a range of D2C opportunities like out-of-market selection, co-exclusivity, and exclusive D2C for rights holders. 
    Case in point: IPL stagnation in rights value is a far-cry for a cricket crazy nation as India. Take for instance, the next (2023-27) cycle of IPL rights that has an aggressive set of bidders in the fray, including the content behemoth Amazon Prime Video. 

    Reliance’s bid, which is likely aimed at more data revenue through Jio, than subscription and ad revenue through the media business under Viacom18, will make the ‘Amazon vs RIL vs Disney vs Sony pitch’ more interesting. The winner will be announced around end-March or early April. 

    While Star’s September 2017’s bid of Rs 16,347.50 crore or ~$2.3 billion (amounting to a 158 per cent increase over the previous deal worth $1.03 billion) for just half the number of years was jaw-dropping, equally noteworthy was Facebook’s individual bid of R. 3,900 crore for the digital rights alone. From less than five per cent in the overall pie of 2008 deal, digital had grown by 25 per cent (4.5 times) in 2017, being seen as a standalone package. 

    According to market buzz, IPL’s digital rights value will see similar growth of around 25-30 per cent for this cycle and understandably so. From 2017 to now, IPL has seen considerable value addition in terms of both OTT viewership as well as digital technology. The overall value is expected to soar up to of $ five billion. A senior BCCI official recently told news agency PTI, “With two new teams about to fetch anything between Rs 7000 to Rs 10,000 crore, IPL broadcast rights could more than double to reach $ five billion (~Rs 36,000 crore).”

    The OTT value ad
    Hotstar got on to a flying start with the first match of IPL 2015 registering 7.2 million views on the app; six times the viewership of the first match of IPL 2014 on starsports.com. In the seven years since it began streaming the IPL live, the league’s viewership has grown from around 40 million in 2015 to 300 million in 2019, increasing every year. While the viewership for the 2020 edition on Hotstar could not cross the previous year’s benchmark, it ranged between 5.7 million and 6.7 million throughout the next (2021) season.

    What’s more significant about these numbers is that they were reached despite the matches being played behind a paywall. Going back to the Ampere study, sports OTT audiences currently make up 25 per cent of total sports audience, and there nearly 800 mn to convert. This is a significantly younger audience with 75 per cent aged between 18 and 44 years. Not only are they willing to pay more, but are also spending more time and are more engaged with both live and non-live programming on the OTT services. In addition to accessibility of content and flexibility of billing options, OTT services are more affordable and unbundled, offering higher control to viewers. They target fans of sports which struggle to find sufficient space on traditional broadcasting platforms. 
    Echoing a similar viewpoint, Grapes national business head – Rajeesh Rajagopalan says, “by virtue of being both precise and personal, OTT services have consolidated the scattered viewership for niche sports, or sports other than cricket in India. The badminton and kabbadi leagues that have come into existence today, is because OTT players started buying these rights.” Pointing out another positive contribution of sports streaming, he states, “OTT being way more innovative with advertising than TV, offers scope even for the smaller brands with medium or modest budgets, provided they have a clearly-defined objective.”

    “The decline in TV viewership of niche sports due to NTO will add to the popularity of sports streaming, which has been on the rise since the onset of the pandemic. The growth is expected to come from tier 2 and 3 cities. It will be spearheaded by DTH platforms providing OTT as a part of their services,” adds Zenith VP Linu John.

    Commenting on the OTT opportunity for brands in India Havas Media Group India head–digital services Rohan Chincholi remarks that from the consumers’ standpoint, India is a market with the lowest cost per GB (~Rs seven per GB) & from the advertisers’ standpoint, there is a massive 350 million+ OTT viewership in India. Of these, paid subscribers are to the tune of ~80 million+ and they subscribe to over two OTT platforms each. 

    “Hotstar is projecting to reach close to 100 per cent of OTT users in India this IPL which speaks volumes about viewers’ interest in streaming sports. However, these audiences are not loyal to one OTT service. Cricket has the potential to garner mass reach in a short span, which is where the platforms win via subscriptions and repeat usage,” observes Chincholi.  
    On the kind of advertising being explored this season he adds, “from an advertising perspective, bundled sponsorships, associations and standalone buys will be a function of clients’ budget. Ad rates will command a premium on all marquee streaming events.  Cost per reach will be higher than any other video sharing/social platform but it’s also a function of audience targeting and data layering – transacting audience cut, connected TV audience.”

    Building on the point WATConsult AVP media planning and strategy Shanu Jain shares that about 70 per cent deals are bundled under different sponsorships including presence on different IPL collaterals, Live prediction, pre & post shows brand integrations, special packages, while around 30 per cent of them are standalone on mid-roll video ads. They command 35-40 per cent premium than normal rates on GEC and other video streaming platforms like YouTube. “Majority of IPL viewership comes from the age bracket of 15-30 years, and Hotstar leads the way in innovative ad formats and inventories. A lot of new ad formats have been introduced to facilitate better recall and user engagement, beginning with pre-rolls every time you start the match to drive higher relevance, and integrating the brand communication at different intervals, to additional options like group chats, contests and regular CTW ads have helped brands look at efficiencies in-terms of audiences who’re watching and clicking on the ads,” notes Jain. 

    OTT services globally have only just started to move the dial in the sports rights market which continues to be dominated by legacy players. They have an increasingly significant part to play alongside TV buyers by helping sports appeal to young hard-to-reach demographic. The Ampere study indicates that while the OTT audiences’ higher willingness to pay may make them look more attractive, their size compared to traditional TV broadcasters must be taken into account to ascertain whether this actually equates to higher revenues or not. 

  • India fastest-growing market globally at 14.6%: dentsu Global Ad Spend Forecast report

    India fastest-growing market globally at 14.6%: dentsu Global Ad Spend Forecast report

    Mumbai: Advertising expenditure in the Asia Pacific is expected to grow by 5.9 per cent, with India being the fastest-growing market globally at 14.6 per cent, followed by the US, Russia and Canada, according to dentsu’s Global Ad Spend Forecast report. Digital forecast is expected to increase 9.6 per cent to a share of 61.1 per cent of total APAC advertising spend, even as advertising investment overall is forecast to grow by 9.2 per cent globally in 2022, as per the report.

    In APAC, overall ad spend growth is boosted by key sporting events such as the Indian Premier League, FIFA World Cup, Winter Olympics, and country elections in Australia and India.

    Moving towards a second consecutive year of growth following the five per cent market dip in 2020, 2022 is projected to build on a stronger than expected recovery in 2021 which itself saw a record-high 14.4 per cent growth in APAC, totalling $241 billion. The twice-yearly report which combines data from over 50 markets globally, anticipates $745 billion will be spent globally. 

    Digital and television continue to be the two powerhouses driving global and APAC ad spend, yet with opposite dynamics. Following a 24.8 per cent increase in 2021 (vs 29.1 per cent globally), dentsu forecast digital investment to grow by 9.6 per cent (vs 14.8 per cent globally) in 2022, fuelled by Social and Programmatic in APAC. This will result in the digital share of spend increasing to 61.1 per cent ($150 billion) of the total ad spend in APAC, over twice as big as the television share of spend (24.5 per cent) in 2022.

    Linear TV ad spend increased by 5.1 per cent in 2021, the highest rate since 2013. In 2022, dentsu forecast linear TV ad spend to grow by 1.4 per cent to reach $60 billion in APAC. Unlike digital and despite staying in high demand, dentsu is seeing linear TV share of spend on the decline – both globally and in the region – as connected TV and video on demand (VOD) grow.

    Out-of-home (OOH) and cinema will both see encouraging growth in 2022, respectively 12.8 per cent and 23.4 per cent globally (vs 2.8 per cent and 30.0 per cent in APAC). Radio too is forecast to grow, yet at a slower pace of 1.5 per cent in APAC (vs 2.0 per cent globally). As with previous predictions, ad spend in newspapers and magazines will continue to decline globally and in APAC. 

    Globally, the industries that will see growth in ad spend this year will include the beleaguered travel industry which is forecast to see a 10.3 per cent rise. There is also confidence the automotive advertising spend will grow by 7.6 per cent in 2022. Growth follows an 11.5 per cent increase in 2021 and steep declines in 2020 of -15.9 per cent. With pent-up demand and a trend towards personal vehicles in how people want to travel post-pandemic, there is confidence in the recovery of the automotive industry.

    Looking further ahead, APAC ad spend is predicted to grow by 5.6 per cent (vs 4.6 per cent globally) in 2023 and 4.9 per cent (vs 5.8 per cent globally) in 2024 – exceeding growth before the pandemic (4.1 per cent in 2019). Digital is forecast to increase its share of spend domination to 64.6 per cent in APAC (vs 59.4 per cent globally) in 2024. Of course, many factors contributing to the uncertain economic outlook could influence the predictions, from the evolution of the pandemic to supply chain issues, and dentsu recommends the industry keep a close eye on key economic indicators.

    “APAC region is expected to post robust growth in ad spend in 2022. India, Hong Kong and Vietnam will drive double-digit growth with the rest of the region showing strong growth,” said dentsu International CEO Media APAC Prerna Mehrotra. ” The share of digital spends in APAC is set to increase to 61.1 per cent up from 50.1 per cent in 2019 (pre-covid), driven by Greater China and ANZ. TV as a platform will continue to play a key role especially in Southeast Asia and South Asia.”

    “Marketers will need to be nimble, leaning on technology and maximizing opportunities in video, social, connected TV and e-commerce. The use of data to drive business outcomes without compromising privacy or security will continue and we expect data collaboration to be a big focus for 2022. In light of the ongoing global turbulence and recovery, we will continue to work with brands to accelerate efforts to engage consumers and drive attentive reach,” she further added.

    When compared to previous global financial and advertising crises, notably the financial crash of 2008, this rebound is almost three times greater, said the report. In 2022 the growth forecast at 9.2 per cent is nearly three times the 3.4 per cent growth in 2011 – the second-year post-global financial crisis. In 2022 the global ad market exceeded the 2019 pre-pandemic level of spend by 18.7 per cent, whereas in 2011 the global ad market continued to be one per cent lower than in 2008.

    “The bounce back from the early pandemic impact continues to be strong, especially in digital,” remarked dentsu International Global CEO media and global clients Peter Huijboom. “As we spend more time consuming digital media, brands have the opportunity to tap into the increased flexibility in which consumers engage through multiple touchpoints. Businesses who truly understand these developed human behaviours have the best opportunity to build lasting relationships with them.”

    “It also comes as no surprise of the increased popularity in gaming. Dentsu launched its global gaming proposition in 2021. Along with the burgeoning Metaverse, there has never been a more exciting time for brands to experiment, innovate and engage with their customers – as all forms of media are increasingly more central to daily life and routine,” he further said. 

  • Tata Group to replace Vivo as title sponsor of IPL

    Tata Group to replace Vivo as title sponsor of IPL

    Mumbai: Business conglomerate Tata Group is all set to replace Vivo as the title sponsor for the Indian Premier League (IPL) next year, said the league chairman Brijesh Patel on Tuesday. The decision was announced post the governing council meeting.

    “Yes. Tata Group will replace Vivo as title sponsor,” Patel told PTI. The Chinese manufacturer still has two years left in its sponsorship deal with the league, and consequently, Tata will remain the main sponsor during this period.

    Meanwhile, the two new teams including Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG group for the Lucknow Franchise and CVC Capital’s Ahmedabad team also received formal clearance from the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI).

    Vivo had a Rs 2200 crore deal for title sponsorship rights from 2018 to 2022 but the brand had to take a year-long break in between due to the ongoing tension between India and China. Dream11 had joined the league during the period. However, the Chinese giant returned as the title sponsor in 2021.

  • My11Circle joins Lucknow IPL Team as official Title Sponsor

    My11Circle joins Lucknow IPL Team as official Title Sponsor

    Mumbai: Games24x7’s fantasy sports platform, My11Circle has signed up with RP-Sanjiv Goenka group’s newly announced Lucknow franchise as the official title sponsor. The three-year deal will see the My11Circle logo featured on the Lucknow team jersey, as it begins its IPL journey this year.

    “We are excited to announce our first IPL team sponsorship and the Lucknow team is a perfect fit as it represents the heartland of the country where cricket fans have ardently supported the sport and now get an opportunity to support their own team,” said Games24x7 co-founder Bhavin Pandya. “We launched My11Circle in 2019 and within a short span, it has emerged as one of the most popular fantasy sports platforms in the country. We witnessed a 100 per cent growth last year primarily because of our ability to connect with the discerning Indian cricket fan, where our campaigns have celebrated and rewarded their fervor and skill. We believe that this partnership will further strengthen our engagement with millions of cricket fans across India.”

    The team will fight their first IPL game this year, with Gautam Gambir as the mentor, and former Zimbabwean cricket coach, and former cricketer Andy Flower as head coach. “We are delighted to have My11Circle as our Principal Team Sponsor. We thank them for the faith they have shown in our new franchise and are confident that this will be a winning partnership,” said RPSG Sports CEO Raghu Iyer.

  • CVC Capital Partners, RPSG Group win bids to own two new IPL teams

    CVC Capital Partners, RPSG Group win bids to own two new IPL teams

    Mumbai : Kolkata-based business tycoon Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG Group has won the bid for Lucknow franchise for a whopping Rs 7090 crore while international equity investment firm CVC Capital won the bid for Ahmedabad with a Rs 5600 crore offer, as the much-awaited IPL bidding took place in Dubai on Monday.

    The T20 cricketing extravaganza will now witness ten teams competing for the coveted trophy when the league enters its 15th season next year. The two new teams will be from Lucknow and Ahmedabad.

    The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) earned a whooping Rs 12,690 crore from the two new franchises. “We’re extremely happy that Indian cricket is growing forward. That is what is important for us. We look at Indian cricket and that’s what our job is. The more Indian cricket prosperous, the better it is,” BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said.

    Goenka Group has been in the IPL for two years in 2016 and 2017 when he owned the Rising Pune Supergiants.

    “Yes, RPSG had the highest bid while CVC had the second-highest bid at Rs 5600 crore. The BCCI stand to earn around $ 1. 70 billion from the deal,” reported PTI citing a senior BCCI source.

    The Governing Council of the IPL had issued the ‘Invitation to Tender’ (“ITT”) document available on payment of the non-refundable tender fees on 31 August. But BCCI had later decided to extend the date for purchasing the ITT document till 10 October.

    As many as 22 companies had picked up tender documents worth Rs 10 lakh when the BCCI opened the process this year. But with base price for new teams pegged at Rs 2000 crore, only five to six serious bidders entered the fray.

  • Koo rolls out multi-lingual campaign ahead of T20 World Cup

    Koo rolls out multi-lingual campaign ahead of T20 World Cup

    Mumbai: Multi-lingual micro-blogging platform Koo has announced its new campaign #SabseBadaStadium for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021. Through this campaign, Koo aims to provide an immersive and hyperlocal World Cup experience across a gamut of native Indian languages.

    The platform will host interactive content with legendary cricketers, commentators, celebrities, and the media engaging in conversations with users and sharing live match updates. Commentators will present an insightful analysis of matches through “Koo of the Match,” “Koo Fan of the Match,” “Koo Poll of the Match” exclusively for ‘Koosters’ to enhance the overall engagement.

    As part of the campaign, Koo will also run a user contest ‘Koo Creator Cup’ for content creators to unleash their creativity through memes, videos, or real-time #Koomentary around the matches or players. Winners will bag prizes including MacBook, holiday in the Maldives. In addition, there are product enhancements on the platform to provide an unmatched experience to fans as they get together and cheer for India.

    Cricket conversations carrying unique local flavours have gained tremendous momentum on Koo app in recent times with players like Virender Sehwag, Venkatesh Prasad, Nikhil Chopra, Syed Saba Karim, Piyush Chawla, Hanuma Vihari, Joginder Sharma, Praveen Kumar, VRV Singh, Amol Muzumdar, Vinod Kambli, Wasim Jaffer, Aakash Chopra, Deep Dasgupta enjoying huge following on the platform.

    They have been sharing insights around the game in regional languages by leveraging Koo’s multi-lingual features to offer an immersive language experience to users across India.

    “Never before have Indians had the opportunity to cheer for their favourite players or engage in cricketing banter in their mother tongue. We received an overwhelming response from users during the recent IPL – with star cricketers like Sehwag, Akash Chopra and others engaging with fans in their native language and taking the experience to a whole new level. The success of the IPL has encouraged us to design an even bigger interactive experience with the T20 World Cup 2021 with #SabseBadaStadium,” a Koo spokesperson said.  

  • slice targets Gen Z with its new campaign on Disney+ Hotstar

    slice targets Gen Z with its new campaign on Disney+ Hotstar

    Mumbai: In a move to capture the cricket momentum to build reach among millennials and Gen Z, credit card challenger brand slice has launched its first ad film on Disney+ Hotstar. 

    The campaign will be played on the streaming service platform and also be promoted across digital platforms including Youtube and Facebook, said the brand.

    Through a series of 20-second quirky films centered on the idea ‘Makes Everything Else Seem Slow,’ the brand puts the spotlight on its card’s USP of speed in this campaign conceptualised by 82.5 Communications.

    “From the fastest onboarding experience, instant rewards and cashbacks to the quickest customer service, the slice card is designed to be the ‘fastest’ card in the market in every way for millennials and Gen Z,” said slice founder and CEO Rajan Bajaj. “We believe that speed plays a critical role for today’s generation and we want to be with them every step of the way. This is also crucial to ensure this set of consumers have a delightful customer experience, where all their needs are addressed instantly to help them make the most of their now.”

  • IPL ’21: MPL accelerates ‘Hai Akal Khelo MPL’ campaign with new ad spot

    IPL ’21: MPL accelerates ‘Hai Akal Khelo MPL’ campaign with new ad spot

    Mumbai: E-sports platform Mobile Premier League (MPL) is back with its IPL campaign Hai Akal Khelo MPL with a series of new digital films titled ‘Mind Blowing’.

    The new films attempt to highlight the ‘mind-blowing opportunities’ one can avail on MPL during this cricket season in an entertaining manner by featuring the human brain as a protagonist.

    According to the brand, the central thought is that anyone with a brain or ‘Akal’ (intellect) can create a winning fantasy team on MPL with their knowledge of cricket. Users can avail an exclusive season pass at just Rs 99, which will let them play unlimited Fantasy Cricket contests on the app throughout the T20 cricket season. The contests will run over the next one month with rewards worth Rs 10 crores every single match.

    There are a total of three digital films in the campaign, of which two are already live.

    MPL will also continue to promote films that it had launched in the first phase of the tournament on TV and digital mediums. These are based on the age-old Hindi language sayings ‘Akal badi ya bhains’, ‘Akal ke dushman’, and ‘Dimaag ghaas charne gaya hai’. MPL had roped in veteran actor Vijay Raaz for the films’ voice-overs. 

    The digital films were conceptualised, produced, and executed by Footloose Films, a media production company.

    The brand has also introduced a Fantasy Assistant feature on its MPL Pro app providing tips to users on a range of factors like pitch and bowling type, past performance, and past records of teams and players as well as prediction of the best 11 players to pick. It has also partnered with former Indian national team player Deep Dasgupta for a series called Fantasy Deep Dive, wherein he will participate in live sessions and share his knowledge and recommendations with users during IPL 2021 as well as the upcoming T20 season.

    To continue the fervour on social media and engage with fans, MPL has launched an AR filter, Guess the Muhavra, on Instagram. Similar to last year’s edition, it will also organise virtual meet and greet events between fans and players.