ITV

Tag: IPL

  • Star India launches MI Vs CSK IPL opening game campaign

    Star India launches MI Vs CSK IPL opening game campaign

    MUMBAI: With just two days for the gripping cricketing action-entertainment of the much anticipated VIVO IPL 2018 to begin, Star India has unveiled yet another feisty campaign; this time, it’s the ‘Best vs Best’.

    The narrative stokes passion of the fans around the high-octane action promised highly awaited opening clash between current champions Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), returning after two editions.

    This match and all the matches will be aired on the Star Sports bouquet (Star Sports 1 English, Star Sports 1 HD English, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 HD Hindi, Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Select SD English, Star Sports 1 Select HD English), Suvarna Plus, Star Maa Movies, Jalsha Movies and live streamed on Hotstar in India, US and Canada.

    The narrative of the latest campaign created by the Star Sports creative team rekindles the greatest rivalry of IPL between the two teams, who amongst them have won five IPL trophies out of the total ten leagues organised so far. The campaign drives a gritty face-off between MI and CSK in an opening encounter that promises great action with some of the best players in the VIVO IPL 2018.

    What is already fuelling fan frenzy is that VIVO IPL 2018 is set to witness CSK’s return under the iconic MS Dhoni’s leadership, after a two-year absence. The fact that these fierce rivals, who have clashed in three of eight past finals, will square up for the opening game of the VIVO IPL 2018, will give a dream start to the single largest event. The film, driven by a catchy, clever script, gives strident voice to the fanatic support of fans of CSK and MI, with each side throwing the gauntlet at the other, confident that their team will crush their rivals in the opening match.

    Star India president of consumer strategy and innovation Gayatri Yadav says, “With the combined power of digital and television and a first-ever six-language presentation including, Star Sports Tamil for CSK fans who have waited patiently for two long years for their heroes’ comeback, we are confident our presentation of the Vivo-IPL 2018 will deliver never-before fan experience.”

    BCCI CEO Rahul Johri adds, “The IPL is the biggest and widely followed cricketing properties in the world. Over the years, each of the franchisees has developed a strong and loyal fan following, globally. The opening game between MI and CSK will serve as the perfect start to the action-packed season. The latter will be returning after two years amidst much hype and celebration and led by none other than MS Dhoni while the former is a three-time champion and one of the most consistent T20 teams.”

    Star India will broadcast live matches of the league in six languages – Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Kannada on its broadcast network. The VIVO IPL will also be beamed live in these six languages on Hotstar.

  • BCCI strengthens IPL ACU, appoints Ajit Singh as head

    BCCI strengthens IPL ACU, appoints Ajit Singh as head

    MUMBAI: In a bid to further beef up anti-corruption initiatives during IPL, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has appointed retired top cop Ajit Singh as head of its Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU). A 1982 Rajasthan cadre officer, Singh retired as director-general of police, Rajasthan in November 2017.

    Singh will take charge ahead of 2018 season of IPL and will be based out of BCCI headquarters at Cricket Centre, Mumbai. The ACU would look to strengthen its hold on the game to protect its image from getting tarnished further.

    IPL has been rocked by controversies from time to time, including allegations of match-fixing, spot- fixing and other such non-gentlemanly activities. Two teams, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, make a return to IPL’s 2018 edition after a two-year suspension on grounds of irregularities involving individual players and team management.

    IPL apart, the game of cricket was recently rocked by the ball tampering affair in the ongoing Australia-South Africa series where several Aussie players were accused of tampering with the ball in the last test match, throwing not only cricket in general but also cricket Australia into crisis.

    Aussie captain and vice captain Steve Smith and David Warner, respectively, have been banned for 12 months from playing any international cricket, while batsman Cameron Bancroft was suspended for nine months. All three players have apologised and accepted responsibility in an emotional press conferences after being kicked off the tour and returning home last week. BCCI on 28 March 2018 banned Smith and Warner from this year’s IPL.

    Meanwhile, former police commissioner of Delhi Neeraj Kumar has been retained as advisor to ACU of IPL till 31 May 2018.

    Also Read:

    BCCI sweetens the pot for bidders of India rights

    The BCCI India rights conundrum

    Dsport not in the running for BCCI’s media rights

  • WROGN, IMARA are official lifestyle partners for RCB in IPL 11

    WROGN, IMARA are official lifestyle partners for RCB in IPL 11

    MUMBAI: Universal Sportsbiz Pvt Ltd (USPL) has announced that WROGN and IMARA will be the official lifestyle partners for team Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), the Bangalore based franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for its eleventh edition.

    WROGN fashion will add the right style to the RCB team with the squad sporting WROGN’s trendy and quirky designs off the field, and sporting the WROGN logo on their caps and helmets when in action on the field. At home ground, WROGN’s funky in-stadia branding will add colour and enhance the vibrant and lively atmosphere during the matches.

    IMARA, a contemporary interpretation of the conventional with a refreshing take on ethnic designs, will be the first women’s fashion brand to be an official lifestyle partner for a team in this edition.

    USPL founder Anjana Reddy says, “We are delighted that this season, two of our fashion brands, WROGN and IMARA are associating with team RCB, and we wish RCB all success as they #PLAYBOLD at T20 this season! This will give fans and our customers the opportunity to engage with the team and watch them in action!”

    Commenting on the growth in female viewership in the recent past, she adds “There has been a global increase in female viewership for sports events. In India too, women and children comprise a significant portion of the viewership pie, especially in T20, with a high entertainment quotient. The T20 matches have seen a significant growth in female viewership year on year with last year’s edition having 45 per cent of its viewers as females. IMARA is the first women’s brand in the country to be an official lifestyle partner for a team in the IPL, and Jacqueline Fernandez’s energy and youthfulness combined with her definitive fashion sense and incredible connect with fans will definitely add to the collaboration.”

    The two brands have comprehensive plans to engage and interact with RCB fans and customers at their outlets across the country. The association will be promoted across digital properties of RCB, WROGN and IMARA including the official websites and social media channels. Customers will also have the opportunity to get tickets to RCB matches on shopping either online or in stores.

    Excited about the association, RCB chairman Amrit Thomas believes that RCB supporters will appreciate the opportunities to get tickets to RCB matches on shopping either online or in stores, and to engage and interact with the team.

    Last season, the T20 matches had achieved a 24 per cent jump in television and digital viewership as compared to ningh edition. The average impressions per match stood at 21.18 million as against 17.11 million in 2016. This year, the player auction itself received a record viewership of 46.5 million on television that was six times more than last year, and digital viewership five times more. This season, the T20 matches are expected to see record viewership of about 30 million average viewership per match.

  • Hotstar releases Watch’NPlay to engage viewers

    Hotstar releases Watch’NPlay to engage viewers

    MUMBAI: This IPL, Star India’s streaming platform Hotstar will launch Watch’NPlay game, a skill-based game wherein a user gets to test his/her cricket knowledge and expertise with millions of other users tuned into the match.

    WatchN’Play is the feature that connects the Indian cricket enthusiasts’ behaviour of providing running commentary on player performance and strategy, into an actual game where they stand to win big.

    The deep connection that Indians share with cricket is what motivates the brand to keep raising the bar on delivering a fantastic experience for the viewer.

    This can only be achieved by understanding how viewers think and feel throughout the game through their deeper-rooted attitudes towards the sport. By shining a spotlight on what goes through a viewer’s mind at a deeper level, Hotstar has gained insight into the fact that cricket fans watching a match are always thinking about the result of the next ball, whether voluntarily or involuntarily.

    Diving deeper into this somewhat explicit insight uncovered an even more profound thought – that every sports fan would derive greater excitement and joy through participation and testing their cricket acumen as opposed to just watching.

    Hotstar’s new ad film encapsulates this message, bringing it to life through the eyes of its main protagonist – Duggal in the Hindi language film and Swamy in the Tamil and Telugu language film. The protagonist continues to correctly guess the result of the next ball, becoming increasingly popular in the process until one day the people around him realise that they all have been doing it too without knowing how to express themselves. The ad film concludes with everyone along with the protagonist using Hotstar’s Watch’NPlay to choose their expected result of the next delivery.

    Hotstar viewers get to win exciting prizes by doing what they love the most!

  • CricketNext Ranks #2, ahead of major sports players

    CricketNext Ranks #2, ahead of major sports players

    MUMBAI: Even before the onset of the T20 season, News 18 Sports (including CricketNext), has raced ahead to #2 with an all-time high traffic of 10.075 Million across desktop and mobile, according to comScore India, Feb 2018 MMX Multi-Platform, Sports Category.

    CricketNext is renowned for its “news” over “opinion” offering – and is a one-stop-destination for all cricket fans. With one of the fastest score cards in the business, as well as live blogs and in-depth match analysis, the platform is swiftly becoming the preferred destination for all the fans of the sport in country. 

    In addition to dabbling into the key features on CricketNext, visitors also engage in popular features on the portal such as ‘From the Press Box,’ ‘From the Archives’ and ‘Off the Field’ amongst others. The engaging features ensure that the visitors are constantly updated about the happenings in the field, and allows them to keep tabs on their favorite players.

    For the upcoming T20 season, CricketNext has tied up with former cricketer and KKR batsman – Aakash Chopra, in an exclusive digital show “Opening Salvo.”  A respected commentator with an eye for detail, Aakash Chopra will bring to the table some interesting pre-match analysis before every match. With this addition, the platform will be delivering a comprehensively engaging experience to cricket fans, like never before.

    Commenting on the tie up, Aakash Chopra said, “From power play to the death overs…I’m hoping to cover the depth of T20 cricket for CricketNext this IPL.”

    Speaking about the development, News18.com & CricketNext, Business Head, Rajiv Singh said, “This seems like one of the most promising T20 seasons, and we are expecting a traffic of 40 – 50 million unique visitors.”

    The comprehensive experience of CricketNext is also available via the CricketNext app on android and iOS.

  • Hotstar unveils subscription pack for IPL, live sports

    Hotstar unveils subscription pack for IPL, live sports

    MUMBAI: Hotstar has come up with a pleasant announcement for sports lovers with new annual sports subscription package. With an annual of Rs 299, subscribers can track all live sports including the matches of IPL.

    In history of IPL, this is going to be first ever digital broadcast of the premier cricket league. Earlier Star India stated that the IPL 2018 will be broadcast simultaneously on Star Sports and Hotstar after bagging IPL media rights. Besides, it will telecast the matches in six languages.

    The all sports plan from Hotstar has been announced prior IPL as the speculations say it will help the platform to get more subscribers. The lucrative subscription will provide sports access to entire sports portfolio of Star India.

    Each time non-paying users log on to Hotstar to watch a match, they will be able to see 10 minutes of live IPL feed free and then encounter a pay wall

    All Airtel and Jio customers, however, can watch the IPL live feed free.

    Also Read:

    Star to air IPL on 10 channels, in 6 languages; live on Hotstar

    Star India to introduce VR for IPL 2018

  • Kolkata Knight Riders, Nokia reunite after 3 years for IPL

    Kolkata Knight Riders, Nokia reunite after 3 years for IPL

    MUMBAI: Nokia is back after an absence of three seasons at the Indian Premier League (IPL) and has reunited with former partner Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the next two seasons.

    Nokia is the principal sponsor of the Shah Rukh Khan-owned KKR in the IPL.The duo unveiled the new official team jersey for the 2018 season sporting the Nokia logo.

    HMD Global VP and country head India Ajey Mehta said, “Nokia brand and KKR have a history together and we are delighted to reunite the two again. KKR is amongst the most successful IPL franchisees and teams on the IPL circuit and like Nokia brand enjoys a pan India appeal.” 

    Nokia was the principal sponsor of KKR from 2008 till 2014.

    Meanwhile, KKR has revealed all nine sponsors and six commercial partners for the IPL 2018 season. In addition to the title sponsors Nokia, it has signed on board Jio Digital Life, LuxCozi, Excide batteries, SRMB TMT, Royal Stag, Greenply, Khadim’s and JBL Harman as official sponsors.

    IPL 2018 commences on 7 April and the first KKR match is scheduled on 8 April with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Dinesh Karthik will be captaining KKR.

    Also Read:

    IPL 2018: Team sponsorship deals may see an uptick

    Mumbai Indians gets Goibibo as principal sponsor for IPL 2018

    IPL gets 34 major brands on board this season

  • Star India, Airtel Digital TV bury the hatchet

    Star India, Airtel Digital TV bury the hatchet

    MUMBAI: Direct-to-home (DTH) operator Airtel Digital TV and Star India, in the aftermath of a public spat, have joined hands and reached an agreement.

    “Airtel Digital subscribers will continue to get uninterrupted access to all of Star’s programmes including Vivo IPL, following an agreement reached between Star and Airtel. Both parties would like to assure their subscribers that the two companies are committed to bringing more and more high-quality content and experience to their consumers,” Star India tweeted on Saturday.

    The move will ensure that the Airtel Digital TV consumers will get access to Star India channels, which includes the Indian Premier League (IPL) telecast on Star Sports network.

    Earlier, both parties had decided to opt for reference interconnect offer (RIO) or a la carte deal as the negotiations on renewal was not moving forward. Had the agreement not been reached, Star channels would have been removed from Airtel Digital TV’s packages.

    The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) had directed Star and Airtel to either enter into a negotiated agreement before 31 March or else go the RIO deal will come into effect from 1 April.

    After the TDSAT order, the two parties indulged in a virtual slugfest running ads and scrolls accusing each other of being unreasonable. While Airtel accused of increasing prices of its channels Star retorted back by asking Airtel Digital TV subscribers to switch to other platforms to get Star channels without any additional cost.

    The agreement between Star and Airtel had expired on 31 October. The previous agreement was extended by Star during the period of negotiation.

    Also Read:

    Airtel Digital TV hits back at Star India

    Airtel Digital TV disconnects Star India channels

    Star India urges Airtel Digital subscribers to switch

  • Vodafone launches first IPL 2018 campaign with ZooZoos

    Vodafone launches first IPL 2018 campaign with ZooZoos

    MUMBAI: With great customer service at the core of its philosophy, Vodafone India has developed new age digital experiences for its 210 plus million customers. Vodafone is now bringing back the ZooZoos in a new Ninja avatar and communicating about “Happy to Help – In a click”.

    Like every cricket season, Vodafone is back this year with a big bang ZooZoo campaign.

    With the world going digital, customer service across categories has evolved from being a human led, call centre-based query resolution mechanism to a more digitally evolved, self-care and 24/7/365 experience. Vodafone is leading this evolution, handholding customers to move from assisted only care to digital self-care and anytime and doorstep services.

    With speed and efficiency at the core of its service philosophy, Vodafone focuses on convenience across channels for the customers. For example, customers can now customise their plans and numbers online and have a connection home delivered. They can also manage their entire family’s accounts on the My Vodafone App and pre book appointments before they visit a store.

    Vodafone India executive vice president of marketing Siddharth Banerjee says, “As technology drives the changing customer behaviour and expectations, we at Vodafone have driven our digital transformation initiatives hard and also evolved our Happy to Help philosophy for the 2018 Digital Customer to “Happy to Help – IN A CLICK”. Further, in keeping with the topicality of our campaign break, we are bringing back our much loved ZooZoos in a brand-new Ninja avatar, they are quick, agile and efficient; much like our service experience, enabled by the digital transformation initiatives at Vodafone India.”

  • Nerolac Paints associates with Sunrisers Hyderabad for IPL 2018

    Nerolac Paints associates with Sunrisers Hyderabad for IPL 2018

    MUMBAI: Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd (KNPL), one of the leading paint companies in India has announced its continued association with the most followed sports extravaganza in the nation, IPL. For IPL 2018, Nerolac will continue to sponsor the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

    This year also, the brand Nerolac will be visible on the helmets of Sunrisers Hyderabad.

    Nerolac has been an active advertiser in BCCI events for a very long time. In 2016, it associated with Gujarat Lions and to further deepen connect with the sport, Nerolac Paints became the official partner of Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2017.

    Nerolac believes in the significance of sports as a marker for human performance and cricket continues to be the biggest unifier of it in India. Thus, IPL becomes the natural platform to create a strong emotional connect with the nation.

    Nerolac Paints has always strived to create unique experiences for its stakeholders that money cannot buy. One such key initiative in the past was the ‘Man of the Match Grant’ whereby a total of 83 youths were trained and skilled to take up livelihood through painting.

    This year too, a variety of initiatives are being lined up to continuously build upon the association and the company will soon be announcing the same.

    Kansai Nerolac Paints director decorative Anuj Jain says, “The growing impact of IPL continues to give us great confidence in the potential of the league to impact the lives at large. Last year, our association with the Sunrisers Hyderabad created a fair amount of value for us and we are excited to announce our continued association with the team. We wish all the best to the players for this season and are sure that the team will continue to grow from strength to strength.”

    Expressing his excitement about the continued association, Sunrisers Hyderabad CEO K Shanmugam adds, “This is an important season for us and renewed support from Nerolac, SRH’s lead helmet sponsor, will be vital as we bid to win the title after a solid show last season where we qualified for playoffs. With a stronger partnership this year, we look forward to continue what promises to be an exhilarating, and hopefully in our case, a triumphant journey ahead.”