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Tag: IPL

  • Shah Rukh Khan’s KKR most valued IPL brand at $86 million: American Appraisal

    Shah Rukh Khan’s KKR most valued IPL brand at $86 million: American Appraisal

    MUMBAI: As the Indian Premier League (IPL) gathers full speed, American Appraisal has released a concise report called “On a sticky wicket” on the brand values in IPL. While many expected that the latest round of controversies will shake the belief that advertisers and corporates had put in the million dollar cricketing extravaganza, the report is upbeat about the IPL and tags the event as most popular and anticipated event around, which advertising campaigns are run despite the launch of several rival sporting leagues in the country during the last 12 months.

    As per the report, Shah Rukh Khan co-owned franchisee Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), grabs pole position in the brand valuation chart, followed by Mumbai Indians (MI). KKR’s brand value increased from $69 million to $86 million, while MI was stagnant at $72 million. Chennai Super Kings dropped to number three slot as their brand value declined to $69 million as compared to $72 million in 2014. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) were also stagnated at fourth and fifth berth with $51 million and $45 million respectively.

    Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab after their strong performance in the 2014 edition, rose to number six position as their brand value hiked from $32 million to $41 million in the 2015 edition. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), at penultimate position, also secure growth as their valuation rose to $35 million from $25 million. Positioned at the bottom of the table in terms of brand valuation, Delhi Daredevils saw the biggest dip following an underperformed 2014, with a brand valuation of $34 million, which dipped from $40 million in 2014.

    The report also depicts that player selection is not just limited to skills and performance but also to the ability of a player to garner sponsorships, case in point being Delhi Daredevils’ acquisition of Yuvraj Singh for a record Rs 160 million. Yuvraj has all the abilities to change the fate of a match single handedly with either batting or bowling but in recent times he failed to step up to his ability as he registered average performances. He started his IPL career with Kings XI Punjab then went to Pune Warriors before Royal Challengers paid a hefty amount for his services. However, his stint with RCB didn’t last for long as the Vijay Malya owned franchisee decided to let him go following his exclusion from India’s World Cup team. In the current season, Yuvraj is a part of Delhi Daredevils and the franchise will hope that he can change both his and the team’s luck with strong performance. The irony is that despite not showing a satisfactory performance, Yuvraj’s value kept increasing year after year.

    There is a clear sense of maturity and business intent by franchises in selecting their teams, evident in the way player auctions took place earlier this year. With almost all social media platforms set to be awash with IPL content over the next few weeks, and the fact that the Indian national cricket team did unexpectedly well at the recently concluded World Cup, there is no surprise that the real winner of the next IPL will be cricket.

    Viewership

    The cumulative reach of the IPL increased from 155 million for the 2013 edition to 190 million for the 2014 edition. The TV reach of IPL has been consistently growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10 per cent since the first edition, despite the fact that the IPL’s TV ratings have been consistently falling every year since the first edition suggests the report. The report describes 2014 as a tremendous year for India when it comes to sport and entertainment, driven by the success of the IPL, the country saw a plethora of new sporting leagues, some of which have seen unexpectedly high levels of popularity. The Pro Kabbadi League (PKL) and the Hero Indian Super League (ISL), both of which had their first editions in 2014, saw viewership numbers large enough to rival even the IPL. The PKL garnered viewership of 435 million viewers for its first edition, a shade more than the ISL’s 429 million viewership, while season seven of the IPL garnered close to 552 million viewers, despite the controversies and changes in venue.

    Emergence of Digital

    In a recent development, the global digital media rights (excluding the US region, which were sold separately to ESPN for an estimated $12.4 million for a three year contract) for the IPL were sold to a Star Group company for a staggering Rs 302 crores for a three year contract. This represents a 50 per cent increase in previous deal value. With the TV broadcasting rights for the IPL due for renewal in a few years, we could be looking at a TV broadcasting deal of record proportions in India. Some food for thought here would be the 83 per cent increase in the annual broadcasting fees for the English Premier League paid by Sky and BT for a league whose viewership has been increasing at a fraction of the growth seen in the IPL.

    Understanding The Brand Value

    Great sporting brands across the world have been built over several decades of fan following, successful performances, the ability of a team to attract great talent, and continued association with large companies, partners and sponsors. Teams like the New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Los Angeles Lakers and the like have become much sought after brands by advertisers and represent brand values in the billion dollar range.

    In the IPL, brand value is derived from a wider variety of reasons, keeping in mind the Indian viewer’s association preference for vernacular proclivities, cricketing knowledge and celebrity influence. Accordingly, drivers of brand value in the IPL can be categorised under the following broad headings.

    Management Strength and On Field Performance

    For an advertiser / sponsor, being associated with a team that is consistently performing at the top of the table is a key factor in assessing brand potential. A look at the largest deals in the sponsorship space not only in the IPL, but also internationally, will reveal that teams that are better on field performers garner higher sponsorship values In the IPL, the estimated lead sponsorships (lead chest and limited player promotions) were valued at a 100 per cent premium for a top ranked team over its lower rung peer.

    Of course, a team that consistently performs at the top of the table is not the result of a prefixed formula. Team management plays an important role in squad selection, talent acquisition, performance management and administrative support. Clearly, a winning team is the result of a combination of several factors including the strength of the management team.

    Marketing Strategy

    Based on an analysis, it is estimated that, on average, franchises spend anywhere between 15 and 25 per cent of their revenues towards marketing and promotion. Some teams, like Kolkata Knight Riders, who invested significantly towards brand building in the early part of their IPL existence, have seen fantastic support from sponsors and partners. IPL events, television advertisements, merchandising, in stadium freebies and other such promotional activities driven by the franchise go a long way in garnering exposure and support translating into brand gains. Merchandising in the IPL is presently in a nascent stage, and most franchises are still coming to terms with the best possible way to monetise different streams. The reports suggests that this will be a game changer for franchises that are able to crack this difficult market and identify new monetisation streams by tapping into their existing fan base.

    Celebrity Influence and Marquee Players

    The presence of key marquee players and celebrity owners in a franchise brings additional popularity to the individual team brands. However, it may be added that cricket is a team game, and no one person can change the fortunes of a badly performing franchise. In addition, while franchise brands may be able to ride on the brand of a celebrity owner or a marquee player, they are also open to the risk of damage in cases where said individual is embroiled in a controversy, even if that controversy is outside of the IPL.

    Geographical Location

    The geographical location of the franchise determines the population of its support base and is an important factor in assessing the strength of an individual team brand. In general, it is likely that higher density of teams in a particular region of the country will split the fan base and impact the ability of a team to garner support outside of its immediate location. While the intention of the IPL was never to split support on the basis of vernacular lines, this does seem to be the current situation with every team in the current season belonging to a different state of the country. While this makes support for each team more intense, it remains to be seen how support will be impacted once a few more franchises are added to the current format.

    Governance and Transparency

    Over the last few months, teams or promoters of teams accused of professional misconduct or embroiled in any controversy have had a negative impact on brand perception. Last year, as part of the survey, respondents were asked to rate their preferred IPL franchises on the basis of their perceived brand strength and the quality and transparency of their management teams. The results were interesting, to say the least.

    Social Media Engagement

    The ability of a franchise to engage fans on a regular basis, particularly during the IPL season, has been crucial in building positive brand perception. Over the last few seasons, dedicated Twitter campaigns and “player battles” organised by the franchises have been seen with the intention of engaging fans regularly and keeping them up to date with the events of the individual teams.

     

  • Leagues propel Indian sports industry to Rs 48,069 million in 2015: GroupM

    Leagues propel Indian sports industry to Rs 48,069 million in 2015: GroupM

    MUMBAI: From being a country that thrived on a single sport namely cricket, India has come a long way in the last couple of years. The country witnessed a sports boom of sorts with the mushrooming of various sports leagues. And with that came in the moolah in terms of sponsorships and advertisements.

     

    According to a report by GroupM ESP and SportzPower, the overall sports industry in India has grown by 10 per cent – up from Rs 43,725 million in 2013 to Rs 48,069 million in 2015. However, cricket saw a dip in on-ground and cricket team sponsorship. While on-ground sponsorship fell from Rs 5083 million to Rs 4647 million, team sponsorship was down to Rs 3478 million from Rs 3892 million.

     

    The growth in the industry has come mainly on the back of the emergence of new sports leagues – Indian Super League, Pro Kabaddi League, World Kabaddi League, Champions Tennis League and Indian Premiere Tennis League. FIFA was the big factor for the increase in TV spends.

     

    The second edition of GroupM ESP and SportzPower’s report on sports sponsorship captures the emergence of new leagues in India along with other key highlights. The report captures the trends and developments in advertising and sponsorship in the Indian sports industry in 2014.

     

    Speaking on the future of sports marketing in India, GroupM South Asia CEO CVL Srinivas says, “Sports marketing is finally coming of age in India. Even though cricket has shown the way and continues to be the dominant sport, newer leagues are helping broad base sports and make it a great platform for brands. Digital, especially social media, is helping build a fan following much faster. At GroupM, we made inroads into sports marketing some years ago and are now scaling up our practice.”

     

    The second edition of report examines:

    • Emergence of five new leagues in India.
    • Advertising investments and sponsorship in Indian sport from four angles: On-Ground, Team Sponsorship (subset franchise fees), Athlete Endorsement, and On-Air spends
    • Investments in sports besides cricket
    • 10 trends in the sports broadcast industry

     

    Focusing on the key developments that are expected in 2015, GroupM ESP national director, sports & live events Vinit Karnik says, “The key highlights of this report are on-ground sponsorships, team sponsorships and franchise fees, social conversations and endorsements. The sports industry has grown by 10 per cent in 2014 and seen the formation of newer leagues and successful franchises. From a single sports country to a multi-sport country, India is witnessing a boom, which will benefit the sports business ecosystem. In 2015, we predict to see a change in the way consumers interact in the realm of sports and entertainment.”

     

    SportzPower co-founder Thomas Abraham further discusses the future of sports broadcasting in India. “Other sports are emerging gradually with the onset of many new league styled sport events. Even though FIFA was a big factor in the increase in TV spends in 2014, cricket yet dominated Indian sports TV broadcasting with back to back cricketing sports tournaments like the World Cup and IPL, although there was a rise in viewership of other sports too,” he says.

     

    Key Observations:

     

    · From a single sports country to a multi-sport country; India is witnessing a sports boom.

     

    · The entertainment value adds the necessary pull for the new leagues, as audiences are being offered a wide platter of sportainment that is being relished by one and all.

     

    · Split beam: India being a diverse regional market with large linguistic preference, networks have begun to offer feeds in regional languages too. This will grow further with split beams leading to ad-versioning with even regional advertisers getting a slice of the pie.

     

    · TV & Digital: The lines are now blurring. The ICC Cricket World Cup had more than 25 million views on digital. IPL is slated to surpass that in the current 2015 season.

     

    On Ground

     

    · Dip in cricket on-ground numbers are mainly due to lesser matches being held in India in 2014 – only eight cricket matches were played in India in 2014 vis-?-vis 21 matches in 2013. IPL also had no new central sponsor, resulting in a flat year for IPL ground sponsorship.

     

    · New leagues contributed in driving the growth for on-ground sponsorship. While ISL had 10 sponsors at the central level with almost Rs 500 million sponsorship amount; Coca Cola – IPTL was the landmark deal.

     

    Social Conversation

     

    · IPL had over 550,000 social conversations. In spite of the first season, ISL had around 200,000 conversations. 

     

    · PKL (70,000) has more conversation than IPTL (32,000) & HIL (11,000) put together, even though Kabaddi is the least talked about sports in India.

     

    · Pepsi received 41 per cent visible mentions with IPL, whereas 29 per cent associated with Hero Moto Corp with ISL.

     

    Team Sponsorship & Franchise Fee

     

    · Indian cricket team sponsorship price was reduced to Rs 20 million/match from Rs 33.3 million/match with the new sponsorship of Star India. Also IPL 2014 team sponsorship money saw a dip in 2014 from Rs 2750 million to Rs 2537 million, because of the tournament partly shifting to UAE.

     

    · Other sports have also contributed in growth of team sponsorship & franchise fee due to the new sports league. While Football registered a 227 per cent increase from Rs 265 million to Rs 603 million powered principally by the ISL, it was the emergence of other leagues – notably IPTL, CTL, PKL, and WKL that saw a spectacular 1,064 per cent jump from Rs 70 million to Rs 745 million.

     

    · Social & search data depicts different trends for different leagues – while the popularity of IPL led the Search and Social data trends independent to each other; Social and Search data for the other leagues were almost parallel to each other.

     

    Endorsement

     

    · A 14 per cent dip was seen in overall sports celebrity endorsement from Rs 3822 million in 2013 to Rs 3278 million in 2014.

     

    · While the new kids like Virat Kohli’s endorsement fee and number of endorsement brands are going up steadily, for the old boys like Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag, the number of endorsements and fee per endorsement have gone considerably down.

     

    · Moving off cricket and the top earners are all women of substance. Boxer Mary Kom, tennis ace Sania Mirza and badminton queen Saina Nehwal (in that order) are the Big Three of Indian non-cricket sports brand endorsements.

     

    · Tiger Woods endorsing Hero Moto Corp is first-of-its-kind in non-cricketing sports industry– Rs 500 million per year.

     

    · Social & Search Data – While Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar were the most talked about & searched on digital media athletes in 2014; Saina Nehwal, Mary Kom and Sania Mirza are keeping the flame alive for non-cricketing sports.

     

    Year 2015:

     

    · Non-cricket sports are likely to expand the sports business ecosystem.

     

    · Live match content is being repurposed in multiple ways to facilitate social consumption. This trend is slated to grow even bigger in 2015.

     

    · Sporting entities will evolve by building digital and social assets to drive their valuation.

     

    · Sports businesses are predicted to build strong grassroots engagement through experiential programs.

     

    · In stadium experience will be more social and thus, more enhanced. Given that 70 per cent of fans bring a mobile device to the stadium or arena, they are expected to use it during a game too.

     

    · Pro Kabaddi League is the one to watch out for!

     

    Conclusion:

     

    In 2015, non-cricket sports are likely to expand on the lines of various trends all around. Live match content will repurpose in multiple ways to facilitate social consumption. Sports businesses will build strong grassroots engagement through experiential programs. In stadium experience will be more social, more enhanced, as a large majority of fans bring a mobile device to the stadium or arena and will be expected to use it during the game.

     

  • “It was friends & food that made Crash the IPL possible”: Nikita Deshpande

    “It was friends & food that made Crash the IPL possible”: Nikita Deshpande

    MUMBAI: The challenge was to seize the opportunity and uncork the creative genius in you. Nikita Deshpande, a budding film-maker from Mumbai, has done just that and has emerged as the first winner of Crash the Pepsi IPL campaign.

     

    Her film titled ‘Served’ beat over 400 films that were submitted by consumers from all over the country to become the first winner in the campaign. Deshpande’s film went on air on 12 April, 2015 as the official Pepsi television commercial during the match between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Deshpande was awarded a cash prize of Rs 100,000 and has won seats for herself and her friends in the esteemed Pepsi VIP box for the match in Chennai.

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com Deshpande says, “It was in March when we sat and decided: let’s go for it. We had a nice and long brainstorming session amongst 12 of us and we came with the idea. The video was shot with Canon 5d Mark II and was edited by Prashant Ramachadran, who was also associated with Badlapur. The entire group was from the film fraternity and that helped a smooth execution. Quality VFX and sound engineering was also exhibited, which made the production quality allusive. The total expenditure of the film was close to Rs 3500 only. We may make a few more ads for the same campaign and in future also I aspire to make more ad films for different brands. I also have dreams of making a feature film… it’s always Dil Mange More.”

     

     

    Ranbir Kapoor had earlier said, “Crash the Pepsi IPL is a first-of-its-kind campaign in India, and I am excited to team up with Pepsi in judging the entries for this creative challenge! Crash the Pepsi IPL will give people a chance to really uncork their creativity and leave a mark. It’s awesome that Pepsi has put consumers at the forefront of something as big as the Pepsi IPL – it’s a really bold move and I would expect nothing less from Pepsi!”

     

    Congratulating the winner, PepsiCo India senior director marketing – social beverages Ruchira Jaitly said, “The ad film by Nikita Deshpande has hit the bull’s eye with the messaging. The film brilliantly portrays Pepsi as the perfect food accompaniment by weaving in a delectable trail of signature cuisines from the host cities of Pepsi IPL. The connection between cricket, food and fun-times with friends and Pepsi can’t be missed in the ad. We congratulate Nikita on being the first consumer to crash the Pepsi IPL. We look forward to many more such films over the next few weeks. Nikita is exactly the kind of talent we were looking for, as she displays a true reflection of Pepsi’s philosophy of seizing the moment now.”

  • IPL & Twitter launch new initiatives to enhance user experience

    IPL & Twitter launch new initiatives to enhance user experience

    MUMBAI: Continuing from their partnerships in 2013 and 2014, the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Twitter have come together for the eighth season to bring new products and experiences to enhance the cricket viewing experience for fans around the world.

     

    Cricket enthusiasts and IPL aficionados, who are online or offline, watching on any type of device or screen, those on the Twitter mobile app, desktop web to SMS will all be able to participate in the festival this year.

     

    Speaking about the partnership, IPL governing council chairman Rajiv Shukla said, “IPL has always strived to put fans first. The evolution of our partnership with Twitter means that this season will be even more accessible to fans with real-time, interactive experiences both online and offline.”

     

    Highlights of the initiatives launched are as follows:

     

    IPL Hashflags

     

    Waving the flag for your team has never been easier, as IPL will become the first sports league in the world to use hashflags on Twitter. “Hashflags are a fun and easy way to add some colour to tweets, and IPL fans on Twitter who use their favourite team’s hashtag will see that team’s flag appear after the text. The official hashtags for Hashflags are #IPL, #CSK, #DD, #KKR, #KXIP, #MI, #RCB, #RR and #SRH,” informs BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur.

     

    Missed Call to follow IPL

     

    In another global first, IPL will become the sports league that debuts the opportunity for sports fans to stay connected to their Twitter account via missed calls. Fans, who give a missed call to IPL on 011 3008 2008, will receive up to six tweets per day from @IPL that contain the hashtag #live as SMS. This service is free and will make the IPL even more accessible for fans as they can get Twitter updates from IPL even without an Internet connection.

     

    IPL Timeline 

     

    With BCCI having introduced cricket timelines on Twitter, a special IPL Timeline has been created within all of Twitter’s platforms, from iOS to Android and also twitter.com. The two distinct timelines, one each for the tournament and live games, which will give fans all they need to know, from IPL to the fans, experts to the teams. Game timelines can be found by using match specific hashtags like #KKRvMI, #CSKvDD, #KXIPvRR, #CSKvRR. Users will also be to tweet with the tournament and match hashtags from right within this timeline. For mobile, this experience is available to all users who have updated to the latest version of the Twitter app.

     

    IPL tweet-Wall-of-Fame

     

    The IPL tweet Wall of Fame will give fans an opportunity to be seen by viewers watching the IPL around the world. The IPL will select the best tweets from users tweeting with #PepsiIPL and showcase them in the live global TV broadcast of every match. Fans whose tweets are showcased on air will then receive a tweet from @IPL with the screenshot of their tweet going on live TV. These tweets will also be featured on a dedicated IPL tweet-Wall-of-Fame page on iplt20.com

     

    IPL Q&As on Periscope

     

    Innovating with live mobile video broadcast, IPL will also take fans behind-the-scenes like never before with surprise, real-time Q&As. Fans on iOS will be able to watch and type in questions to their favourite players and commentators as they engage with them from the IPL Periscope account.

     

    IPL #OrangeCap and #PurpleCap

     

    In the latest season of the IPL, fans will also have the opportunity to tweet and create their own #PurpleCap and #OrangeCap leaderboards by using #PepsiIPL and #<Player’s last name> or his Twitter handle. The results will be displayed in real-time on a special leaderboard in the IPL on Twitter section of iplt20.com from the end of Week 1 to the end of the season.

     

    Twitter India and Southeast Asia market director Rishi Jaitly said, “The IPL has led the way with cutting edge innovations and we are thrilled that they are giving Twitter users the opportunity to consume and engage with such premium content and content participation experiences again this season. It is a reflection of their commitment to reach and engage a mobile, global fanbase across all screens and devices.”

  • Strategic brand discussions are a rarity these days: D Shivakumar

    Strategic brand discussions are a rarity these days: D Shivakumar

    GOA: While delivering a keynote at the Goafest, PepsiCo India CEO D Shivakumar pointed out that technology is taking a toll and becoming a priority, which in turn is leading to negligence of a brand’s strategy.

     

    “Nowadays, we see ads put up on platform at a certain point of time, which have no relevance with the strategy of the brand. We are just getting carried away by the tactics and suppressing the strategy,” said Shivakumar.

     

    He went on to add, “Clients meet agencies again and again, which signifies that they are not clear in their head. Hasty decision-making and confusing agencies leads to debacles. Many campaigns fail because of clients’ confusion, as the discussion is always around buying, planning and selling. Strategic discussion has become a rarity, which needs to change.”

     

    Talking about the innovative Pepsi campaign for the IPL, Shivakumar said, “PepsiCo, with its IPL campaign, has turned consumers into an agency as we asked them to make an ad, and promised that better words will find place in television. We will release six different ads made by consumers during the course of the tournament. The first will be launched on 12 April. We will put all the videos online for people to vote and select the best one according to them. The agency has been assigned the work of judging the videos so that nothing that violates law and order is put up and consumers can go to any level with their imagination.”

     

    “We always keep track of what is happening. Who is saying what about Kohli, Ranbir etc. These factors play a vital role in coming to a consensus. Moreover innovative ideas also come out from trending topics, so it is highly important to be in the loop,” he concludes.

  • Reliance Jio to provide 4G at Wankhede Stadium during IPL

    Reliance Jio to provide 4G at Wankhede Stadium during IPL

    MUMBAI: The telecom venture of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, Reliance Jio Infocomm, has chosen the Wankhede Stadium to provide its 4G services through Wi-Fi.

     

    Around 30,000 people who will come to see the eighth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be able to enjoy the services. At present, the organization has started to test the 4G services at the stadium.

     

    The infrastructure to provide Wi-Fi along the entire stadium has been set up and the company has begun trials of the service. Besides, the company’s executives are working on varied factors so that high-speed services are efficiently delivered to the people.

     

    Out of the eight franchise cricket teams of the IPL, Mumbai Indians, is owned by IndiaWin Sports Pvt. Ltd., which belongs to the group of Reliance Industries. This is the main reason why Reliance Jio has chosen Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium to offer its services. Seven T20 league matches of Mumbai Indians will be played at Wankhede Stadium. The first match at Wankhede Stadium will be of Mumbai Indians against Kings XI Punjab on 12 April.

     

    Some other league matches that Mumbai Indians will play at Wankhede Stadium will be against Chennai Super Kings on 17 April, SunRisers Hyderabad on 25 April, Rajasthan Royals on 1 May, Delhi Daredevils on 5 May, Royal Challengers Bangalore on 10 May and Kolkata Knight Riders on 14 May. Spectators of all these matches will be able to enjoy the 4G service experience. 

     

    Preparations of Reliance Jio Reliance Jio is gearing up for its official launch of 4G services. It is conducting varied tests in different regions of the country to provide efficient services.

     

    It has chosen few campuses of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and high-streets in some of the states, for the same. In January, the organization offered the services to many entrepreneurs from around the world who were present at Vibrant Gujarat summit held in Gandhinagar. Providing 4G internet services for four – five hours at Wankhede Stadium will be completely different than the previous trials. Cricket fans will have a different experience when they will be able to send real-time images and videos and also do video-chats with people outside, using the 4G service.

     

    Reliance Jio is the first telecom company to acquire pan-India unified licence that enables it to give 4G services. After the recently concluded government’s spectrum sale, Reliance Jio on 26 March, bagged rights to use spectrum in 13 regions across the country. 

     

    The company spent around Rs 10,077.53 crores to get spectrum in the frequency bands of 800 MHz and 1800 MHz. Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani had then said, “Jio’s seamless 4G services using proven multi-band LTE technology and supported by our large spectrum footprint will provide superior user experience for voice, video and data services in line with the best service providers in the world.”

     

  • Hotstar notches record 340 million views during WC

    Hotstar notches record 340 million views during WC

    MUMBAI: The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 has registered 340 million video views on Hotstar through the tourney making it the most viewed sporting event ever on digital in the world. The eleventh edition of the World Cup registered a record 87 million unique users on Star’s digital platforms – Hotstar and starsports.com, over the course of the tournament, the highest ever aggregation of users for a sporting event on digital, claims Star India.

    With 13.5 billion hits during the course of the event, the tournament registered an all-time high for any single digital broadcaster for a sporting event globally. The tournament also created global history for digital viewership with 50 million video views for the India Australia semi-final clash, the largest for a single event for any broadcaster anywhere in the world on digital. The game surpassed the previous record of 25 million video views set by the India – Pakistan league game of the WC.

    Speaking on the achievement, Star India COO Sanjay Gupta said, “The tournament logged record views on digital from the opening day itself and broke the internet during the India – Pakistan game. Mobile has emerged as a preferred platform for the 87 million Indians, and we will look to renew the fans’ relationship with their sport again with the Pepsi IPL on Hotstar.”

    Hotstar will stream all the 60 games of the Pepsi IPL live, including the qualifiers, eliminators and the final. With a dramatic surge in viewership on digital platforms in the last 12 months, Hotstar is likely to reach more than 100 million fans over the course of the IPL. Hotstar will also be programming a digital-only pre show that builds on the dramatic success of the two original shows it created for the WC, One Tip One Hand and Juicy Half Volley.

    The Pepsi IPL has also witnessed interest from a mix of large traditional advertisers as well as new advertisers looking to associate with cricket. Key categories of advertisers include two-wheelers, four-wheelers, e-commerce, FMCG, handsets and durables.

    Hotstar digital platform that has content across sports, TV shows and movies in seven languages, was launched on 1 February, 2015, 14 days before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. With over 12 million downloads in a month, the application has witnessed the fastest adoption of any digital service in the world.

  • Star India’s Hotstar records 7.2 million views on IPL day 1

    Star India’s Hotstar records 7.2 million views on IPL day 1

    MUMBAI: After setting the record for the largest sporting event on digital with the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Star India’s Hotstar is off to a stunning start with Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015. 

     

    The platform recorded 7.2 million video views for the first match between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders on 8 February. This is six times the viewership on starsports.com last year for the first match of Pepsi IPL 2014.

     

    Coming soon on the back of the World Cup, which recorded the biggest digital traffic for a single sporting event for a broadcaster globally, the surge in traffic for the start of start of Pepsi IPL 2015 suggests that the tournament is likely to set new global records for Hotstar.  

     

    Hotstar is streaming all the 60 games of the IPL. With a dramatic surge in viewership on digital platforms in the last 12 months, the platform is likely to reach more than 100 million fans over the course of Pepsi IPL 2015. It is also likely to see a striking growth in video consumption over last year’s version, which was broadcast on starsports.com.

     

    Hotstar will also be programming a digital-only pre-show that builds on the dramatic success of the two original shows it created for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, One Tip One Hand and Juicy Half Volley.

  • News broadcasters churn out special programming for IPL 8

    News broadcasters churn out special programming for IPL 8

    MUMBAI: India Ka Tyohaar – the Indian Premier League (IPL) season 8 kicks off with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) hosting Mumbai Indians at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. However, cricket in India is not only limited to the field or stadiums, news broadcasters too have geared up full throttle to provide expert opinions, reviews and previews, off the field gossip and franchisee owners’ reactions right through the league.

     

    All major news channels have come up with exclusive programming for the multimillionaire sporting league.

     

    NDTV 24/7 has a strong line-up to ensure its viewers do not miss any IPL action. On weekdays at 7:30 am and 7 pm, the channel will air a discussion show with Dean Jones and Sunil Gavaskar. While on weekends, one additional 3 pm show will be aired. The shows will also have match highlights, analytical stories, graphics and feature stories on the IPL.

     

    An NDTV India spokesperson said, “After some serious cricket, it’s time for cricketainment and IPL 8 is the perfect platform for that. NDTV India has lined up a slew of IPL special programming with a blend of glamour and entertainment. As the name implies Bindas Cricket will bring to its viewers all the action and reactions, glamour and glitz and the highs and lows of both the entertainment and cricket worlds. We shall showcase all this, three times a day at 8:30 am, 3:30 pm and 5:30 pm on NDTV India.”

     

    NewsX and India News from the iTV Network stable will showcase Summer Storm-IPL Season 8 and Run Jhamajham, respectively. Under this 44-days long extensive programming, there will be special segments on IPL, twice a day at 5:30 pm and 11:30 pm on NewsX and 12:30 pm and 6:30 pm on India News.

     

    CNN-IBN & IBN7 is all set to capture the action and excitement of the 47 day long tournament with extensive programming to provide viewers 360 degree view of this mega cricketing event. Kiran More and Shishir Hattangadi will be the dignitaries in the panel of experts.

     

    Cricketainment on CNN-IBN and Runutsav on IBN7 will bring to its viewers all the latest updates and insights on this cricketing extravaganza with an unrivalled spread of shows through the entire duration of the tournament.

     

    Hindi news channel ABP News has also come up with a special segment titled 20-20 Ka King Kaun, which will be aired through the tournament.

     

    While the teams fight it out on the ground, news channels too with their programming, are leaving no stones unturned to make this season an exciting one!

  • MSM unleashes high voltage plans for IPL season 8

    MSM unleashes high voltage plans for IPL season 8

    MUMBAI: India is pumped up as cricket mania of another kind is all set to take the entire country by storm just as Chris Gayle’s massive sixes. As India Ka Tyohaar, the Indian Premier League (IPL) welcomes Indians in its eighth season, official broadcast network Multi Screen Media (MSM) is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that India’s hot selling multimillion dollar property reaches audiences across the length and breadth of the country.

    MSM’s newly launched channel Sony Kix will carry Tamil and Telugu feeds, Sony Six will have the English feed, while Max and Sony Aath will have Hindi and Bengali feeds respectively.

    “Our flagship show Extraaa Innings will continue this year as well. It will be a pre-show, mid-show and post analysis of the match that will be common across feeds. Our marketing plans involve a nationwide campaign focused on a 360 degree plan, right from radio, print, television as well as outdoor. Along with the BCCI, we will have mass scale screenings in 16 cities with 10,000 odd capacities,” informs Sony Six and Kix business head Prasana Krishnan.

    The commentators for the Telugu feed will be Venugopal Rao, Venkatpathy Raju, and MSK Prasad, while for the Bengali feed it will be Arun Lal, Devdas Gupta, Abhishek Jhunjunwala, Devang Gandhi, Savadun Mukherjee and Ranade Bose. On the other hand S Ramesh, Hemang Bhadani, V Chandrashekhar, Satyanarayan, and S Srinivas will be the match commentators for the Tamil feed.

    The network is clearly betting big on outdoor to reach a wider range of audience. Throwing light on the marketing activations, Max marketing head Vaishali Sharma says, “Apart from mass media, we will come up with clutter breaking innovations. We have already started a countdown ticker at Juhu beach in Mumbai along with LED lights and it will continue till 8 April. Fireworks display will start before the opening match.”

    Sharma also informs that LED projections along with the IPL logo and fireworks will be displayed on prominent buildings as projector vans move across Mumbai.

    “We will also project our TVCs keeping in mind India Ka Tyohaar and it will continue for a couple of days. Something similar has also been planned in Kolkata besides Mumbai since the games begin there,” adds Sharma.

    Speaking about the plan to stage screenings in 16 cities, Sharma opines that the concept is completely new to the country. People who do not have a chance to visit the stadiums will be able to experience the magnitude of the games and the in-stadia experience. A huge outdoor hoarding has also been displayed near Hotel Tulip Star Juhu in the western suburbs of Mumbai. Accompanying this hoarding is a photo booth where people can go and click pictures as India rejoices in an all new season of the IPL. 

    “Canters will move across the city creating a high amount of buzz of dhol baaja announcing and encouraging people to come and visit these venues. The entry is free and people can come and cheer together,” says Sharma.

    Sharma also adds confidently that year on year the network has increased its audience base and already has a cumulative viewership of 190 million so far. “It’s only going to go up further with the addition of all the language feeds we have launched this year besides the great season we have this year,” concludes Sharma. 

    The tournament will feature a total of 60 matches, including the live telecast of the opening ceremony on 7 April, the home and away matches between the franchises, the qualifying playoffs and the finals. The knockout stage will be from 19 – 22 May and conclude with the final match on 24 May, 2015. As MSM bets big on this season of the IPL, we wish it all the very best.