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Tag: M S Dhoni

  • Hotstar.com’s Ajit Mohan targets 100 million digital viewers this IPL

    Hotstar.com’s Ajit Mohan targets 100 million digital viewers this IPL

    MUMBAI: Star India has long presented itself as undisputed disruptor when it comes to the Indian media and entertainment industry. The disruption wave does not look like settling down any too soon. Star India digital head and president Ajit Mohan is now chasing history: something that The Facebook achieved in early 2015 and India’s largest telco Airtel got to in 2009.

    “Our objective is to reach out to 100 million users this IPL for our digital streaming services,” says Mohan with a smile on his face.

    Star India started the online streaming of cash rich Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2014. The matches were streamed on Starsports.com and as per Mohan’s analysis over 21 million people logged on to watch the action on their hand held devices.

    A year later, Star India invested a whopping Rs 302.02 crore to outbid then Multi Screen Media or MSM (now Sony pictures Networks or SPN) and Times Internet (TI) bid to acquire the streaming rights for three more years.

     “The reach doubled and we got to over 42 million viewers. Not only that we also witnessed a significant traction when it came to time spent watching,” discloses Mohan.   

    Complementing Star’s unfettered digital disruption is the improving bandwidth condition in India. The affluent metro youth who are considered to be the biggest spenders and are always engaged with their hand held smart devices. It is these mobile natives that Hotstar is targeting this year.

    “The audience we cater to is what makes Hotstar an attractive platform for advertisers. The response we got so far for IPL is overwhelming and we are extremely happy with it. We are selling as per slots exactly how it happens on television,” avers Mohan.

    The digital innovation of Murdoch’s media conglomerate has roped in nine brands so far. Flipkart, Volini, Raymond, Axe have come on board as sponsors, while the other large advertisers include Lloyd, Hindware, Hero Fincorp, Airtel and Amazon.

    “The metro is either working or returning back by the time IPL matches start and hence the streaming service is the go-to for cricket lovers. Moreover, with 3G getting better and 4G coming in, the infrastructure is also looking good so the streaming service is becoming more useful,” explains Madhouse COO Milind Pathak.

    The growth of Hotstar continues unabated as per Mohan, especially its reach. It was at just two per cent of TV a year back. Today, Mohan, says it has multiplied manifold. “Hotstar has already reached 40 to 45 per cent of television audiences,” he points out. “I believe more than compete with TV, what we are doing is adding another screen and forming a consumer habit which is a great benefit for the industry.”

    The leapfrogging numbers are not only because of the sacks full of dollars being spent on content, but also on account of an aggressive marketing overdrive. Captain of the Indian cricket team M S Dhoni promotes the platform. And for IPL the media house signed on with ad creative power house Lowe Lintas to unleash a cutting edge campaign.

    “With our analysis we found out that affluent male youth in metros are the ones who spend most of the time on their mobile phones and our creative is targeted at them. Also there is a perception that Indian youth are selfish and stay by themselves which is not totally true and that’s why it has the tagline Screen Chota hai magar Dil bada,” says Mohan.   

    The promotional spots focuses on youth and their connection with community. It shows that although they are always in their own world, but whenever needed they become an active part of the society.

    Last year Starsports.com streamed the matches along with Hotstar, “This year also we will continue to stream the action on both the platforms. The rights that we have are for a five minute delayed stream; an addition that we have this year is the fact that both Hindi and English commentary will be available for audiences to enjoy,” reveals Mohan.

    Digital is still perceived as an ancillary consumption medium, mainly for snacking and for small pieces of content, not long form.  Mohan believes Hotstar is paving many a pioneering path. “We broke all such myths, we proved the perception wrong,” he says with a wide grin. “One more wrong notion that we tore apart was that India was not ready for a premium OTT platform. With the time spent on OTT that we witnessed in the past and the way it is increasing now, I must say that the platform is only going to get bigger.”

  • Hotstar.com’s Ajit Mohan targets 100 million digital viewers this IPL

    Hotstar.com’s Ajit Mohan targets 100 million digital viewers this IPL

    MUMBAI: Star India has long presented itself as undisputed disruptor when it comes to the Indian media and entertainment industry. The disruption wave does not look like settling down any too soon. Star India digital head and president Ajit Mohan is now chasing history: something that The Facebook achieved in early 2015 and India’s largest telco Airtel got to in 2009.

    “Our objective is to reach out to 100 million users this IPL for our digital streaming services,” says Mohan with a smile on his face.

    Star India started the online streaming of cash rich Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2014. The matches were streamed on Starsports.com and as per Mohan’s analysis over 21 million people logged on to watch the action on their hand held devices.

    A year later, Star India invested a whopping Rs 302.02 crore to outbid then Multi Screen Media or MSM (now Sony pictures Networks or SPN) and Times Internet (TI) bid to acquire the streaming rights for three more years.

     “The reach doubled and we got to over 42 million viewers. Not only that we also witnessed a significant traction when it came to time spent watching,” discloses Mohan.   

    Complementing Star’s unfettered digital disruption is the improving bandwidth condition in India. The affluent metro youth who are considered to be the biggest spenders and are always engaged with their hand held smart devices. It is these mobile natives that Hotstar is targeting this year.

    “The audience we cater to is what makes Hotstar an attractive platform for advertisers. The response we got so far for IPL is overwhelming and we are extremely happy with it. We are selling as per slots exactly how it happens on television,” avers Mohan.

    The digital innovation of Murdoch’s media conglomerate has roped in nine brands so far. Flipkart, Volini, Raymond, Axe have come on board as sponsors, while the other large advertisers include Lloyd, Hindware, Hero Fincorp, Airtel and Amazon.

    “The metro is either working or returning back by the time IPL matches start and hence the streaming service is the go-to for cricket lovers. Moreover, with 3G getting better and 4G coming in, the infrastructure is also looking good so the streaming service is becoming more useful,” explains Madhouse COO Milind Pathak.

    The growth of Hotstar continues unabated as per Mohan, especially its reach. It was at just two per cent of TV a year back. Today, Mohan, says it has multiplied manifold. “Hotstar has already reached 40 to 45 per cent of television audiences,” he points out. “I believe more than compete with TV, what we are doing is adding another screen and forming a consumer habit which is a great benefit for the industry.”

    The leapfrogging numbers are not only because of the sacks full of dollars being spent on content, but also on account of an aggressive marketing overdrive. Captain of the Indian cricket team M S Dhoni promotes the platform. And for IPL the media house signed on with ad creative power house Lowe Lintas to unleash a cutting edge campaign.

    “With our analysis we found out that affluent male youth in metros are the ones who spend most of the time on their mobile phones and our creative is targeted at them. Also there is a perception that Indian youth are selfish and stay by themselves which is not totally true and that’s why it has the tagline Screen Chota hai magar Dil bada,” says Mohan.   

    The promotional spots focuses on youth and their connection with community. It shows that although they are always in their own world, but whenever needed they become an active part of the society.

    Last year Starsports.com streamed the matches along with Hotstar, “This year also we will continue to stream the action on both the platforms. The rights that we have are for a five minute delayed stream; an addition that we have this year is the fact that both Hindi and English commentary will be available for audiences to enjoy,” reveals Mohan.

    Digital is still perceived as an ancillary consumption medium, mainly for snacking and for small pieces of content, not long form.  Mohan believes Hotstar is paving many a pioneering path. “We broke all such myths, we proved the perception wrong,” he says with a wide grin. “One more wrong notion that we tore apart was that India was not ready for a premium OTT platform. With the time spent on OTT that we witnessed in the past and the way it is increasing now, I must say that the platform is only going to get bigger.”

  • Six-team IPL may disrupt BCCI’s economics: experts

    Six-team IPL may disrupt BCCI’s economics: experts

    MUMBAI: When Justice Lodha committee spelt a part of its landmark verdict on 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) betting case on the afternoon of 14 July, 2015, many ripples were created.

     

    IPL is the largest revenue generating property of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI). As per the board’s 2013-14 annual report, gross receipts from IPL 2013 were Rs 1194 crore as against Rs 892 crore in 2012. The main reason behind the increase in gross receipt, as per then honorary treasurer, was mainly incline in receipts from media rights which has gone up from Rs 556 crore to Rs 844 crore. The franchisee consideration had also witnessed a marginal incline from Rs 460 crore to Rs 502 crore. Now with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) being suspended for a period of two years by the Justice Lodha Committee, the reduction of two teams will result in less number of matches and subsequently generate lesser revenue for the Board as the broadcaster will pay less than the proposed deal.

     

    Apart from BCCI, the official broadcaster of IPL – Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) Sony Max will also face a major blow if the number of matches go down. MSM paid a mammoth $1 billion (Rs 6600 crore) to acquire broadcasting rights for a period of ten years. Lesser number of matches will leave Sony with less opportunities for monetization. The 2015-16 season of IPL was the most successful year for Sony as the broadcasters sealed advertising deals of more than Rs 1000 crore before the first ball was bowled.

     

    A source closely associated with the broadcasting network tells Indiantelevision.com on condition of anonymity, “It’s too early to predict anything and also it’s highly unlikely that BCCI will enter IPL with six franchises. This is a judicial step taken and the entire fraternity will abide by it. The broadcaster will wait and watch what BCCI does and the best part is there is time in hand to ensure smooth proceedings.”

     

    As per TAM Sports analysis, CSK matches in IPL 8 (2015) garnered 4.2 per cent TVR whereas RR matches secured 3.7 per cent TVR. Moreover, as per the analysis, CSK featured six times in the list of top viewed matches of the season, which only goes on to prove the growing popularity of the MS Dhoni led team.

     

    If IPL is played with six teams, the million dollar tourney will have 34 matches in total instead of 60. A cricket expert opines, “Firstly, we have to keep in mind that the two teams are suspended for two years and not for life. Now, in the meantime if BCCI adds two more teams to make it eight again, after two years when the two teams are back, IPL will be a 10 team tourney and that’s when it goes for pitch. So the hypothesis that the IPL will face a blow, is a null hypothesis. And if we think that because of the controversies, Indians will stop watching IPL then we are wrong because if it had to happen it would have happened in 2014 and 2015 because the case we are talking about is of 2013. So I see the IPL only growing bigger.”

     

    On the brand value of IPL, Baseline managing director Tuhin Mishra says, “There might be a bit of a blip, but it’s temporary. The game of cricket and IPL are much bigger than a few individuals. It’s a game that is embraced by Indians and the world over. Controversies and incidents have been a part of sports from time immemorial and this too shall pass.”

     

    Revenue from ticket sales will easily see a 25 per cent decline if there are only six teams feels a senior member of an e-ticketing giant. Every match of IPL witnesses more than Rs 7 crore gross in ticket sales and hence if the number of matches go down, ticketing revenue will also decline, which will in turn result in a substantial loss of e-ticketing venture associated with the league.

     

    Addressing a press conference after the Justice Lodha Committee verdict was delivered, Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra said, “I am shocked and hurt. There are many inaccuracies… have requested for a copy of judgment.”

     

    As per a PTI report, India Cements is set to move to Supreme Court and appeal against the order of the Lodha Committee. However, it must be kept in mind that it was the apex court, which in the first place, appointed the Lodha Committee to investigate the matter and said that its verdict on the case would be “final and binding.” 

     

    Following the pronouncement of the order of the Lodha Committee, BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya said, “BCCI is committed to honour and respect judicial decisions and it would give its observations after the entire report is read and a collective decision is taken. BCCI is committed to ensuring transparency, accountability and cleansing the sport in order to restore the faith and confidence of millions of cricket loving people in the glorious game of cricket in general and IPL in particular.”

     

    Veteran cricket expert Ayaz Memon tweeted, “Most significant import of Lodha verdict? Busted time-held defence of BCCI that it’s a private society, which can function with its own rules.” Another tweet from him read, “Momentous day not just in Indian but international cricket. Tremor will be felt everywhere….”

     

    The focus now will gradually shift towards the broadcasting rights bid for the IPL in 2017 as there will be a number of broadcasters aggressively vying to get their hands on the Twenty20 cash cow. A senior media planner is of the opinion that things will get interesting with time. “An IPL comprising six teams will enforce 30 per cent loss if compared to the number registered this year. But a 10 team IPL will raise the brand value enormously as the broadcaster will have additional time to monetise.”

     

    Experts also believe that the ball now is in BCCI honorary secretary Anurag Thakur’s court and he will play a pivotal role in the fate of the league. Speaking on the verdict and the way forward Thakur said, “We respect the verdict and would undertake a collective decision in a transparent manner, in the right direction and in the larger interest of the game after the verdict is received and analysed.”

     

    Click to View CSK and RR matches viewership pattern (TAM Sports)

    Click to View Overall ratings click (TAM Sports)

  • Ten Sports upbeat about India tour of Zimbabwe

    Ten Sports upbeat about India tour of Zimbabwe

    MUMBAI: After all the hue and cry, the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has finally decided to go ahead with the Zimbabwe tour, a week after reportedly calling it off.

     

    As per earlier reports, BCCI citing Team India’s fatigue and conflict with broadcaster Ten Sports had decided to cancel the Zimbabwe tour. But after rounds of negotiations between the representatives of the two boards in Barbados, the decision of going ahead with the tour was taken.

     

    Subhash Chandra owned Essel group, the parent company of Ten Sports, which is reportedly investing heavily to form an alternative cricket regulatory board and organise lucrative cricket leagues is what had irked BCCI and thus the decision to call off the series which is to be aired on Ten Sports.

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Rajesh Sethi says, “The tour was never called off officially and we were always prepared for it. Ten Sports shares a very cordial relationship with all the five boards and pleased to have their broadcasting rights (Zimbabwe, South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka). We are upbeat about the series.”

     

    Adding some relief to the cricket fans of Zimbabwe board chairman Wilson Manase had earlier said, “While negotiations are still on with respect to Team India tour to Zimbabwe, but it seems confirmed that the tour will go ahead. Consequently Team India is expected in Zimbabwe on the 7th of next month. Team Zimbabwe must get ready and be prepared to give Team India a rousing welcome.”

     

    The tour will help Zimbabwe cricket raise some money which they are in real need of, says a cricket expert and historian on condition of anonymity. “In the battle of ego between BCCI and the broadcaster, we should not forget the third stake holder Zimbabwe cricket, which desperately needs to generate revenue. So I am thankful to BCCI that they have decided to go ahead with the tour. From cricket perspective it’s never over till the last ball is bowled and the Bangladesh tour is the proof of that. Zimbabwe cricketers will come hard to the Indians. Having said that the senior bras desperately needed a break and team sent will try their level best to leave a mark. Overall, I expect it to be a good series,” he adds.

     

    Media planning fraternity feels that the ad rate for the series will go down as big names are missing from the team. “MS Dhoni featured in the Forbes list of top 100 richest athletes and he also has a huge fan following and so does Virat Kohli. Hence their absence will make life difficult for the sales team of Ten Sports,” feels a senior media planner who closely deals with sports planning and buying.

     

    Normally for a bilateral series, a 10 second ad slot is sold at Rs 3.5 to Rs 4 lakh. But, with big guns missing from the playing 11, media buyers feel that Ten Sports will be able to fetch around Rs 2 lakh for every 10 second slot.

     

     “Ad rates are directly proportional to the viewership. Dhoni, Kohli are big names and they generate huge word of mouth which results in higher ad rates. So the fact that they are missing will certainly impact the ad rates. But, if the tour was cancelled it would have yielded nothing. Hence it’s good for all three parties involved that the tour is happening,” says a media planner.

     

    Ajinkya Rahane who was dropped after the first ODI in Bangladesh will be leading the team in Zimbabwe. The selection committee has given a career reviving opportunity to veteran wrist spinner Harbajjan Singh by selecting him in place of Ravichandran Ashwin. Singh’s performance in IPL 2015 was key to Mumbai Indian’s success and was acknowledged by numerous pundits. Now it remains to be seen if Rahane can pull off a successful tour in the land of Lions.

     

    The ODI squad for Zimbabwe tour:  Ajinkya Rahane (capt), M Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, Manoj Tiwary, Kedar Jadhav, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Harbhajan Singh, Axar Patel, Karn Sharma, Dhawal Kulkarni, Stuart Binny, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma.

  • India vs Australia semi final match smashes record on Twitter

    India vs Australia semi final match smashes record on Twitter

    MUMBAI: India’s defeat in the semi final match against Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup may have been disappointing for Indians but the energy set the social media arena on fire.

     

    The India – Australia semi final match recorded the highest number of live Twitter impressions on the platform compared to all ICC Cricket World Cup matches. It garnered close to 161. 4 million Twitter impressions. The previous highest match was the India versus Pakistan match, which accounted for 118.3 million Twitter impressions.

     

    The top tweets per minute (TPM) moments were:

    1) Australia winning by 95 runs

    2) M.S Dhoni being run out for 65

    3) James Faulkner dismissing Rohit Sharma leaving India with 232/9

    4) Aaron Finch being dismissed for 81, Australia was 233/4

    5) David Warner being dismissed too, Australia was 15/1

     

    The top three mentioned India players were M.S.Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. On the other hand, Steve Smith, Aaron Finch and Mitchell Johnson were the top three players for Australia.

     

    A group MEC report, which analysed the India versus Pakistan and the semi final match against Australia shared some highlights too. It said the chatter around the India-Pak match on 15 February was 0.7 million. On the other hand, the India-Australia semi final match had a chatter of 0.9 million. (All the chatter has been gathered across Twitter, Facebook, other forums and blogs). The report also highlighted that the top two hashtags were #ShameOnTimesNow and #DareToBeDhoni.

     

  • Star India’s ‘Mauka’ mania inspires creative videos

    Star India’s ‘Mauka’ mania inspires creative videos

    India qualified to the semi-finals of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in sublime fashion. In the semi-final, India will face host nation Australia and pundits predict an evenly poised match.

     

    The voyage of team India in this edition of ICC Cricket World Cup was well complimented by Star India’s creative innovation ‘Mauka’ and as India readies itself for the important bout against the Kangaroos, Indiantelevision.com lists various ‘Mauka’ moments that brought smile to thousands of faces.

     

    As is the trend nowadays, after every India match Star launches a ‘Mauka’ video, the world also partakes in the Mauka Mania and creates a piece of its own. We take this opportunity to scan through the non Star India ‘Mauka’ videos made during the course of the tournament.

    Take a look:

     

     

    Bangladesh indeed is flying high as they stunned England to secure their berth in the quarter finals of ICC World Cup 2015. But their opponent in the quarter final was none other than the defending champions: India, who is so far undisputed in the tournament.

     

    The video features a giant monster decimating representatives of nations, which Bangladesh has defeated so far in the championship while the Indian astronaut hides himself to escape the demolition. The humorous piece with Rise of Tigers slogan depicts Bangladesh’s emergence in the tournament.

     

     

    This video shows an India supporter witnessing disappointing moments during the India VS Bangladesh match in 2007 World Cup with crackers in his hand, which India had lost. 

     

     

    The renowned online netwrok “The Viral Fever” came up with its version of the ‘Mauka’ video.

     

    The video was launched before India Vs West Indies match. It depicts India’s formidable performance and claims “Is Baar Sab Ki Phodenge,” which implies that in this World Cup, team India will spoil every opponent’s celebration.   

     

     

    This video from ITV 2.0 Productions goes beneath the boughs to depict a different scenario. It showcases circumstances where India lost all of its group matches and the opponents are participating in a joint celebration. But unfortunately for them the celebration turns out to be a flop show because the crackers were too bad to burst, and while they anxiously try to find what is wrong with the fireworks, they discover they are a low quality China made products. In the next scene, the video shows PM Narendra Modi cracking a deal with his Chinese counterpart. The moral of the video is that while the entire world planned and plotted against India, India refuses to hold back and keeps prospering.

     

     

    The same group came up with another one of a kind, all girl ‘Mauka’ piece, right before the India Vs Bangladesh match. The video shows how every team that has qualified for the quarter finals is pampering Bangladesh. The moral of the video is that if Bangladesh knocks India out of the tournament, then other teams will escape the demolition India has been offering so far to opponents.

  • India – South Africa match garners 2 billion impressions: TO THE NEW report

    India – South Africa match garners 2 billion impressions: TO THE NEW report

    MUMBAI: India’s stellar performance against South Africa during the Sunday match did not enthral fans at just the stadium and homes but also set social media abuzz. Digital services provider – TO THE NEW has come up with a comprehensive report on the post match analysis of India versus South Africa that trended on social media platforms.

     

    According to the report, the match generated an estimated two billion impressions, which were garnered from 4,16,339 Twitter mentions by 3,18,041 users. Close to 77 per cent of these came from males while 23 per cent was by females.

     

    When the conversation is further broken up, 58 per cent (2,40,509 mentions) came from re-tweets, 39 per cent (1,62,852 mentions) came from regular tweets while the remaining three per cent (12,978 mentions) were from replies.

     

    In terms of tweet volume, the top five cities from where tweets came from are Mumbai (25 per cent), New Delhi (19 per cent), and Bangalore (10 per cent). Pune and Chennai complete the list with five per cent each volume.

     

    The report also provides the geographical breakup of the social media buzz. India stands at 73.80 per cent followed by Saudi Arabia at a distant 9.40 per cent. Neighbouring Pakistan is placed at 4.50 per cent, USA at two per cent while other countries put together made up for 7.40 per cent.

     

    When these tweets were analysed in terms of sentiments, a majority of 75 per cent of the tweets were positive in nature while 23 per cent were negative. A minor two per cent were neutral in nature.

     

    When it came to player mentions M.S Dhoni topped the Indian list as the Indian captain was the most mentioned on Twitter. The list is then followed by Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina and Mohammad Shami. From South Africa, Hashim Amla topped the charts followed by AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir and Quinton De Kock.

     

    The top trending hash tags were #INDvsSA, which received 145,356 mentions, #CWC15 received 38,636 mentions. The hash tag #SAvsIND came third with 7,777 mentions. The other prominent hash tags were #maukamauka, #wontgiveitback, #dhawan, and #poonampandeykobulao.

     

    The report also states that compared to the pre-match buzz, there is around 7,384 per cent increase in mentions around the hashtag #INDvsSA.

  • Star Sports launches new World Cup campaign

    Star Sports launches new World Cup campaign

    MUMBAI: With the ICC Cricket World 2015 a few days away, Star Sports in association with Lowe Lintas + Partners unveiled a youth-centric campaign titled, #wontgiveitback, for the upcoming tourney. The campaign, the second in a series to promote the ICC Cricket World Cup, will set the stage for a marketing blitz that will be unleashed by Star Sports for the biggest ever sporting spectacle in the country.

     

    The campaign reflects the sentiment among the young India cricket fans and perfectly captures their mood as the Men in Blue prepare to fend off 13 other teams and defend their title with the war cry – ‘Won’t Give It Back’. It’s the fans’ rallying call to support Team India in their quest to give it their all Down Under in Australia and New Zealand.  

     
    The film features the young Team India connecting with their fans on the World Cup. The fans expect them to “give it back” and answer all the challenges head on… the pressure, the aggression… but not the Cup… ”won’t give it back”!  

     
    A Star India spokesperson said, “The passion for cricket in this country is second to none and we at Star, are committed to make the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup bigger and better than ever. We have a series of path-breaking initiatives in the pipeline ready to be launched in the build-up to the World Cup, across multiple platforms. #wontgiveitback sets the ball rolling and portrays the attitude of this new, young and bold Team India. The campaign connects with the youth in their language, reflecting their attitude and will get the young cricket fans excited about cricket’s biggest and grandest extravaganza.”

     
    Commenting on the creative execution for the campaign, Lowe Lintas + Partners’ national creative director Arun Iyer said, “We wanted to capture the aggressive attitude of the new Indian cricket team. They are team that gives it back. And given the fact that we are defending champions we felt won’t give it back was an interesting way to capture this attitude.”

     
    The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will be broadcast on Star Sports network. India kicks off its title defense on 15 February, when they face-off against arch-rivals Pakistan. The tournament will be broadcast in six languages (Hindi, English, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Bengali). The games will be streamed on allowing viewers to “carry the cup” and watch it on their own personal screen.

     

    The campaign will be unleashed by a multi-media campaign across the Star network supported by digital, print, radio and outdoor. The campaign will be supported by digital amplification and an extensive trophy-tour – with fans across the country sending their message “won’t give it back”.

  • Will test retirement impact ‘Brand Dhoni’?

    Will test retirement impact ‘Brand Dhoni’?

    MUMBAI: Mahindra Singh Dhoni’s achievements suddenly seem to be a thing of the past. What immediately comes to mind is Dhoni’s stupendous victory as hugely popular ‘Captain Cool’ of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. 

     

    Dhoni recently announced his impending retirement from the test cricket format,  to supposedly concentrate better on ODI and T20 formats.  Close on the heels of this news, came the announcement that Dhoni had been declared the team’s captain of the Indian squad, at the forthcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

     

    His on-field, cool ‘dude’ charms and his exciting and varied hairstyles, have hitherto made him quite the favourite with various Indian brands. Not surprisingly, late last year, he was the only Indian sports person to figure on Forbes list of the world’s most valuable athlete brands. Ranked at the fifth position, with a mammoth brand value of $20 million, he was darting ahead of sprinter Usain Bolt and even edged football giants like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who were placed at the sixth, seventh and ninth position, respectively. But will the recent announcement grossly affect his brand value or his new signings? Only time will tell…

     

    Celebrity and sports management firm, CAA KWAN’s COO, Indranil Das Blah, feels his retirement from test cricket will definitely impact his erstwhile huge brand value. “Being the captain of the Indian test cricket team, he is pretty much the statesman of Indian cricket, but now brands will see him retiring slowly as he winds down his career.” When questioned if his performance at the ICC World Cup 2015 could impact his brand value, he goes on to say, “If the team manages to do well and even win, Dhoni’s brand value could be bigger than ever before. Therefore, if the team is not successful, the captain’s brand value will simultaneously diminish rapidly. So, all rests on the World Cup.”

     

    The cricketer currently endorses close to 20 different brands in categories ranging from FMCG, telecom to real estate. He also co-owns the Chennaiyin FC team of the Hero Indian Super League, a fitness chain called SportsFit and the Ranchi team for the Hockey India League, along with Sahara India Pariwar. He is the face and his wife Sakshi Singh Rawat, holds a 25 per cent stake in Amrapali Mahi Developers, which is a joint venture between the sports personality and the firm.

     

    According to Eureka Mobile Advertising’s senior vice president Ganapathy Viswanathan, the move won’t see any impact on his brand fees. “I do not see his brand value being affected. For the simple reason that at the end of the day, cricket has become an entertainment-based game. He is still in the exciting part of the game like ODIs and Twenty20s.  Therefore, I do not see his brand value being diluted. Maybe, it will not go up phenomenally, but it will remain stable.”

     

    GroupM ESP India entertainment sports and live events national director Vinit Karnik, on the other hand, opines that Dhoni’s brand value will not be impacted in the short term this year, as he will still be playing the game’s marquee events like the World Cup and the Indian Premiere League (IPL). “But subsequently, in 2016, there could be an impact. Post 2015, there will definitely be some correction, even if he does well at the World Cup.”

  • M S Dhoni to lead team for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

    M S Dhoni to lead team for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

    MUMBAI: The wait is finally over for cricket fans as the list of the Indian squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup has been finalised.

    The all-India senior selection committee, which met today, selected the Indian team for the tri-series between India, Australia and England to be played in Australia from 18 January 2015, as well as the final Indian team for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup 2015. It will be played in Australia and New Zealand from February 2015.

    The Indian squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will be led by MS Dhoni while Virat Kohli has been appointed as the vice captain. Others in the squad include Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Stuart Binny, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ambati Rayudu, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Md. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma.

     

    On the other hand, the squad for the tri series will see Dhoni taking charge as the captain. Kohli will again come into play as the vice captain. The others who made it to the list are Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Stuart Binny, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ambati Rayudu, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Md. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Dhawal Kulkarni.