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Tag: Rahul Johri

  • 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.

  • Star India roars with IPL’s second national campaign

    Star India roars with IPL’s second national campaign

    MUMBAI: Following the recent launch of the Best vs Best VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL) anthem that crossed over 15 million views across social media platforms, Star India has launched the second phase of its campaign with a pertinent question.

    The national campaign ‘Sher vs Sher’ conceived and conceptualised by the Star Sports’ creative team is directed by Shlok Sharma in Bundelkhandi and Prakash Varma of Nirvana Films in Hindi, along with Vijay Prabakaran in Tamil.

    The iterations of the national TVC are a portrayal of how this simple question echoes across the nation. In Bundelkhandi: “KaunJeetego?”, shot in Chambal and Tamil: “YāruJeyippāṅga?”, shot in Madurai features two brothers who are in a question and answer banter, as they go back home from school. The older brother is a ’know it all’ , and has all the answers for his younger brother, but when they watch IPL on TV, he fails to predict the winner, concluding with the punchline that when a Sher takes on another Sher, the winner is always a Sher.

    Commenting on the launch of these films, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) CEO Rahul Johri said, “With fans across the globe waiting for the Vivo IPL 2018 to start, we decided to launch the second leg of the #BestVsBest campaign today. It is all about the universal appeal of IPL. This aspect is something I believe will keep fans glued to all the action which will further enhance this global celebration of the brand IPL.” 

    The Tamil version of the TVC will also be translated into Malayalam: “AaruJayikkum?”, Kannada: “YaaruGelluttaare?” and Telugu: “EvaruGelustharu?”.

    Star India president consumer strategy and innovation Gayatri Yadav said, “The Sher vs Sher campaign is a representation of what Vivo IPL 2018 has in store for millions of cricketing fans across the globe. Continuing from the IPL anthem launch earlier this month, with this motive we would like to reinforce how intense and unpredictable the contest would be between the teams to win the coveted trophy. This April, stars from across the cricketing world descend upon India to prove their mettle in one of the most testing tournaments in the world giving fans across a truly exhilarating and nail-biting experience.”

    The 11th edition of IPL starts on 7 April 2018 with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on Chennai Super Kings.

    Chambal film:

    Madhurai film:

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  • BCCI sweetens the pot for bidders of India rights

    BCCI sweetens the pot for bidders of India rights

    MUMBAI: In a move that seems to be aimed at luring big spenders from the broadcasting industry, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) CEO Rahul Johri, at an event in Mumbai, announced that a detailed calendar of the Indian cricket team’s touring programme from 2019 to 2023 would be made available to the public. The announcement could come as a big relief for broadcasters that are planning to bid for the upcoming BCCI rights on 27 March 2018.

    Johri said, “There is a four-year FTP (future tours programme) cycle that we follow. The BCCI has negotiated the FTP cycle for the Indian team from 2019 to 2023. For the first time, five years in advance, you’ll have a day-date wise calender of the Indian team’s programme.”

    Dsport is not bidding for the rights in the upcoming online auction while Star India and Sony have their hands full with other leagues and tournament rights.

    Recently, the BCCI also introduced central contracts for Indian cricketers. Two new categories were introduced: category A+ introduced for senior men and category C for senior women.

    Speaking about the decision, Johri said: “We are proud that the Indian cricket team is the best in the world in all the formats. The women’s team reached the final of the World Cup, the U-19 team won the World Cup. So, we have to give them the best infrastructure and the best support.”

    He added that the best part about the central contracts, which were announced earlier this week, was the focus on domestic cricket because that is the bedrock of the Indian cricket. “Until now, the domestic players would get the actual compensation after one-and-a-half-years. What has been done now is the match fee of the domestic cricketers has been raised from Rs 10,000 to Rs 35,000 per day. And they get the match fee after playing the games. Domestic players’ earnings are not dependent on the number of games team India plays. That is where the change will come,” he added. 

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  • India set to roar in unision with the launch of the VIVO IPL 11 #BESTvsBEST Anthem

    India set to roar in unision with the launch of the VIVO IPL 11 #BESTvsBEST Anthem

    MUMBAI: Nothing unites India like Cricket does! With VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 all set to begin this April, in a first, BCCI & Star India have collaborated to co-create the campaign this year. It puts the spotlight on ‘Best vs Best’, that is, the best in global cricketing prowess competing against each other. An enthralling anthem which brings alive the unifying spirit of VIVO IPL 2018 herald the start of a thrilling face-off of best vs best.

    Conceptualized by Ogilvy and Mather the anthem titled Best vs Best, focuses on VIVO IPL as the embodiment of the best of cricketing action with the best of global talent showcasing their prowess as match winners. The premier cricketing tournament stirs up a mix of emotions for Indian fans– pride, excitement, and euphoria. While IPL has grown each year since its inception, 2018 promises to be an inflection point in its history, as Star India re.imagines the VIVO IPL 2018 making it deeply local with technology at the heart of the experience.

    The anthem, is being released simultaneously in 5 languages – Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Kannada and Telugu across all platforms, TV, Radio, and Digital. Building great synergies, Star India, BCCI and O&M have collaborated with a talented team, comprising of South African film maker, Dan Mace, music director, Raajeev V Bhalla and vocalist Siddhart Basrur, who sung the anthem in 5 different languages.

    Sanjay Gupta, Managing Director Star India said “The very essence of VIVO IPL is a thrilling, action-packed celebration of cricket where the best of talent take on each other in one of the most gruelling cricket tournaments in the world. It is a fantastic celebration of both the game and its millions of fans across the world. The Best vs Best campaign endeavours to showcase the pinnacle of cricket that this tournament is associated with.”

    Rahul Johri, Chief Executive Officer, Board of Control for Cricket in India “That cricket has been a religion in India and that the BCCI’s – Indian Premier League is perhaps the best manifestation of that is beyond doubt. For us at the BCCI, the focus has always been on increasing the fan base for the sport by engaging not only the hard-core cricket fans but also those who do not follow the sport on a regular basis namely women and children. Given that we are now ready to embark on the next chapter for the Indian Premier League with the start of the 11th edition, the BCCI, in collaboration with Star India has worked on co-creating a large multi-media campaign focussing on the ‘Best vs Best’. We hope this campaign spurs the non – cricket viewing public to engage more deeply with the VIVO IPL 2018 like never before.”

    Piyush Pandey – Executive Chairman and Creative Director South Asia “IPL is the legendary cricket tournament in the world where every team is equally balanced and has an equal chance to win. It’s truly the best v/s the best. The campaign not only reflects the energy but also captures the fact that this is the best platform for young cricketers. We had fun putting it together!” 

    The 11th edition of VIVO IPL starts on Saturday, April 07, 2018 with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on Chennai Super Kings.

  • ‘The future of Indian cricket is shining bright’

    ‘The future of Indian cricket is shining bright’

    Mumbai: Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly said that the transformation of the Indian cricket team began with players having confidence in their own abilities. “We were a bunch of talents but we did not know how to win Test cricket. That culture needed to change. India always had great batsmen, but we needed fast bowlers who could take 20 wickets,” he said.

    BCCI CEO Rahul Johri said that the cricket body’s job was to give the cricketers best infrastructure. “Based on the feedback received from them, we have ensured that when the Team goes to England this summer, they play the first after spending almost a month there,” he said.

    He also said that BCCI is planning a five-year-long calendar scheduling every tournament in advance. “So you will know which tournament is happening when in next five years,” he said.

    Recounting his success during the recent tour of South Africa, vice-captain of Indian cricket team Ajinkya Rahane said that the key to success was thinking that they were playing in home ground. “In Johannesburg, I had the opportunity to become and hero and I played with a lot of discipline,” he said.

    Sourav Ganguly had another explanation behind Rahane’s success. “He bats at no 5 in Test as I also did. Batting at no 5 and 6 in India is the most dangerous, but it’s the reverse outside the country. That’s the reason No 5 batsmen do well abroad,” said Ganguly.

    Captain of the Under 19 World Cup winning Indian team Prithvi Shaw said that he had miles to go and this was just a beginning of his career.

    Ganguly appreciated the BCCI’s decision to raise the match fee of the domestic cricketers from Rs 10,000 a day to Rs 35,000 and demanded that the fee must be raised further.

    “We are the best team in all formats. The central contract focuses on domestic cricket because that’s the bedrock of Indian cricket. Now players get their fee on match day and don’t have to wait for one and a half year,” said Johri.

    Rahane also praised his captain Virat Kohli and said that he did not want to change Virat’s aggression as it got the best out of him.

    Ganguly added that the domestic structure of Indian cricket has improved the quality of Indian team and it now has bowlers who can take 20 wickets. Shaw said that he would like to lift the senior world cup some day.

  • Star ushers in IPL’s new era with a bang

    Star ushers in IPL’s new era with a bang

    NEW DELHI: Star India is all set to reinvent the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 by increasing viewer-engagement levels. In a sign of things to come, the broadcaster’s press conference in Delhi today started with a conversation between social humanoid robot Sophia and former India cricketer Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh.

    In a bid to get closer to fans, Star India is using all its might to reach out to India’s vast regional audiences by tailoring coverage in six languages-Hindi, English, Bengali, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil. As a result, it is targetting 700 million fans across TV and digital. “We researched and found out that only 50 per cent of the potential fans consume IPL in Tamil Nadu because of the language barrier,” Star India MD Sanjay Gupta said.

    The auctions on 27 January 2018 are eagerly awaited. For the first time, fans can vote for their favourite players on vivoiplelection.hotstar.com as part of the ‘Election se Selection’ campaign on the network. The campaign, according to Gupta, has received more than one lakh votes in less than 12 hours of its launch.

    Gupta also confirmed that the TV and digital telecast will be in sync. “The feed on TV and digital will be aired live at the same time; there will be no five-minute delay,” Gupta confirmed to Indiantelevision.com. Additionally, for the first time ever, IPL will be streamed on Hotstar using virtual reality.

    BCCI CEO Rahul Johri said, “Despite the scale of its success, the sky remains the limit for the VIVO IPL 2018. The IPL, as a brand, is [worth] over $4 billion.”

    Star is actively seeking regional brands that cater to each of the six languages. “Star India is planning to multiply the number of brands compared to last season. The ad rates will be different for different channels based on their reach,” added Gupta.

    The Kannada channel, which was to replace Channel V on the airwaves, has, however, not yet seen the light of day. When asked about the launch of Star Sports Kannada, Gupta declined to comment and added that it was still at the planning stage.

    “Over its 10-year journey, the IPL has grown into the single biggest property by far on Indian television. And now that it is on the Star India network across both, television and digital, we are set to use the confluence of technology, consumer insight, and experience in cricket coverage, to broaden the outreach and experience even further,” Gupta concluded.

  • Star and BCCI pull out all stops to make the VIVO IPL 2018 Retention event – an unprecedented success

    Star and BCCI pull out all stops to make the VIVO IPL 2018 Retention event – an unprecedented success

    MUMBAI: The VIVO IPL 2018 Retention event, broadcast for the first time in its 10-year history, had cricket lovers riveted across television sets and mobile devices and set social media abuzz with mentions and conversations that came close to rivalling those of full-fledged T20 India matches.

    Star India’s presentation of the VIVO IPL Retention event was viewed by a massive, never-before audience of 8.1 million across both TV & digital. As per BARC data (Source : BARC 2+ U+R) 4.1 million TV viewers watched the event across the Star Sports Network from 7-8 p.m. on 4th January and as Star reported 4 million watched the event  on Hotstar.  

    On social media, the event dominated conversations across platforms with 35k mentions making the VIVO IPL Retention day comparable to the chatter during a T20 match. It was trending #1 in India on Twitter in no time at all.

    The Board of Control for Cricket in India at Chief Executive Officer, Rahul Johri said, “The discovery and nurturing of great cricketing talent and developing the cricketing infrastructure throughout the country, are important pillars of our mission at BCCI. Therefore, a quantum increase in the growth and popularity of the VIVO IPL 2018 would immensely scale up deliveries on those important fronts. We are delighted that with the transformative technology and the might of TV and digital combined, the VIVO IPL 2018 seems poised to be bigger than ever before.”

    Star India – Managing Director, Sanjay Gupta said, “The unprecedented response to the retention event across TV and digital is early proof of what Star’s scale and Hotstar’s technology possibilities can accomplish. By offering the VIVO IPL to cricket fans lovers through both, the Star Sports network and Hotstar, Star India will be with the consumer at every viewing opportunity, unleashing enormous convenience and richness of content for the consumer and the advertiser.”

    From the hitherto two-month series, Star will grow the VIVO IPL into a 5-month extravaganza of viewing delight of cricketing action and glorious entertainment, and the IPL Retention was just the first beginning of the great things to come.

    Star will use its technology prowess to power unique and first-of-their-kind viewing experiences by enabling first-time-live-on-digital, check-ins and live scorecards on handhelds for truly immersive engagement of consumers. 

    The Star network will make the VIVO IPL resonate even more closely with cricket lovers across major regional markets in the country. Star will make it a deeply local experience by adding four more languages – Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali — which will allow cricket lovers in various regional markets to enjoy their favourite passion sport in their first language.

    On Star, the VIVO IPL 2018, to be aired in as many as 6 languages on 10 star sports channels and Hotstar will reach its biggest audience ever.

  • BCCI elevates Hemang Amin as COO

    MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has appointed Hemang Amin as the chief operating officer (COO) of the Vivo Indian Premier League.

    Amin was most recently assistant general manager – finance, commercial and events at BCCI and was recognized for successfully handling the management and operations of world’s premier T20 league – VIVO IPL. He has been with BCCI for the last 7 years.

    Amin will continue to report to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri.

    BCCI acting president CK Khanna said, “ Amin has been instrumental during a pivotal transition period for the IPL. His leadership over the past 7 years has shaped IPL’s strategy, laying a strong foundation for future course, improvements and success.”

    Acting Secretary Amitabh Choudhary said, “Amin’s experience, strong leadership and inclusive management style will further elevate the Indian Premier League and grow engagement among fans around the world.”

    IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla said, “ Hemang Amin is a wonderful executive with an incredible breadth of experience and relationships across a variety of markets and our stakeholders. Having worked with him firsthand, I know he will be a fine leader for the IPL and will bring unmatched innovation, passion, and vision to the role.”

  • Bigger & Better: IPL ’17 viewership on 5 May touched 386.3m surpassing entire IPL ’16 reach

    MUMBAI: The VIVO IPL continues to hit viewership, attendance and social media numbers out of the park, making the league’s landmark 10th season truly bigger and better than ever before. The latest numbers show TV viewership halfway through the league’s fifth week touched an all-time high, in both urban and rural markets. Stadium attendance so far, too, has grown by 25 per cent from last year.

    Moreover, the IPL continues to make a huge impact digitally, registering nearly 6 million tweets over the first five weeks. The IPL’s other digital properties crossed 750 million page views while the IPL Fantasy League, with participation from 950,000 fans, is well on its way to crossing the as yet unprecedented 1 million mark.

    BCCI CEO Rahul Johri said, “The phenomenal response we’re seeing from fans across various platforms is testimony to the IPL’s enduring and yet still-growing popularity. We have worked extremely hard to ensure the landmark 10th season of the IPL is bigger and better than any before. From the new records being set each week and the trend only set to accelerate heading into the playoffs, I am confident that IPL 10’s success will surpass that of any season that has come before.”

    Appended below are some of the key highlights on TV ratings:

    · The reach of IPL 2017 on television is 386.3 Million (Source: BARC) at the end of Match 43, which has already surpassed the reach IPL 2016 garnered for its entire season
    · Throughout this season, the IPL has remained the most-watched and top-rated product on Indian Television (Source: BARC)
    · As of week five, IPL matches occupied the top seven positions in the top-ten highest-rated TV programs on television (Source: BARC)

    The numbers so far barely scratch the surface of IPL 10’s full potential. With the play-offs just around the corner and the League approaching the ‘business-end’ of its season, viewership, attendance and digital numbers are only set to soar, putting the tenth season of the IPL on course to go down in history as the League’s biggest and best yet.

  • New Discovery India chief joins office; verticals created under two VPs

    New Discovery India chief joins office; verticals created under two VPs

    NEW DELHI: Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, home to iconic brands like TLC, Animal Planet, ID, Discovery channel and Discovery Life, has effected a restructuring in its Indian operations, after its Indian head Rahul Johri quit earlier this year, by creating two verticals under two vice-presidents which will now report to the newly-appointed South Asia Senior Vice President & General Manager Karan Bajaj.

    Bajaj in turn  reports to Discovery Networks Asia Pacific president & managing director Arthur Bastings, who has been charged with the responsibility of scaling up the network’s operations in the region and steering it into the digital ecosystem.

    The Delhi-based heads of the two verticals under Discovery South Asia — Rajiv Bakshi and Richard Pembroke — female & family entertainment product and real world entertainment product, respectively — report to Bajaj who joined duties a couple of days ago. TLC, ID, Kids, and their HD and other language cousins fall under the female, & family entertainment product, while Discovery, Science, Turbo, Animal Planet, and their HD and language versions come under the Real World vertical.

    According to Discovery sources, the changes that came into effect in recent months are aimed at revitalising the Indian operations, which the Asian regional head office located in Singapore felt was necessary after a period of slow growth in Asia’s biggest market, India.

    Discovery, which broadcasts in English and several Indian languages aimed at increasing the reach beyond the English speaking areas, has also been increasing generation of local content for broadcast in South Asia and also on its global network.

    The sources, however, clarified that the changes are interim in nature and as Bajaj settles down in his new assignment more rejigs may be in the offing.

    Discovery, which launched its operations in India in the mid-1990s with former ISRO executive Kiran Karnik at the helm, has been witnessing churn since long-time executive Johri quit the organisation early 2016, which was also part of changes taking place in Discovery after Singapore-based Tom Keaveny, President and MD for Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, was relocated to London in 2013 and Discovery bought over Eurosport subsequently.

    Still, Indian broadcast industry observers said that Johri, a protégé of former India head Deepak Shourie (he was at the helm after Karnik departed in 2001), had navigated Discovery’s India operations quite ably during challenging times in the first decade of 2000.

    In recent times, the whole Discovery group has been focusing on initiatives to keep pace with the changing technological space, including recently announcing a U$100 million investment in a digital JV as a minority stakeholder in Group Nine Media.

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