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Tag: Rajasthan Royals

  • Rajasthan Royals signs TV9 Network as principal sponsor

    Rajasthan Royals signs TV9 Network as principal sponsor

    NEW DELHI: Rajasthan Royals has signed TV9 Bharatvarsh as the principal partner for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League, scheduled to be held in UAE from 19 September to 10 November 2020. The Royals will proudly wear TV9’s logo on the front of the team’s jersey in the IPL.

    TV9 Bharatvarsh replaces EXPO 2020 Dubai as Rajasthan Royals’ front of jersey brand after the much-awaited mega-event was postponed to 2021 owing to the Covid2019 pandemic. 

    Expressing his pleasure at adding another strong brand to the Royals partner family, Rajasthan Royals’ COO Jake Lush McCrum, said: “ We’re happy to have TV9 on board with us at Rajasthan Royals this season. It’s one of the most well-renowned networks across India and presents a fantastic opportunity for us to express the story and the culture of Rajasthan Royals to a wider audience.”

    “Cricket is not just a sport in India. It’s a religion. That’s why the TV9 Network, India’s largest news network, has partnered with Rajasthan Royals for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL),” said TV9 Network CEO, Barun Das.

    “The association with Rajasthan Royals will enable us to offer our viewers exclusive, behind-the-scenes, 360-degree coverage of all the IPL action both on and off the field. Along with TV9Bharatvarsh, other four regional news channels in the network—all of the market leaders–will also, deliver this unique experience to their viewers," added Das.

  • IPL brand valuation hits $6.3 bn in 2018

    IPL brand valuation hits $6.3 bn in 2018

    MUMBAI: The year 2008 was the beginning of a new era for sports in India with the launch of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Statistics show that 93 per cent of all sports viewers in 2018 watched cricket content and a report by Duff & Phelps pegged the brand valuation of IPL in 2018 at $ 6.3 billion.

    The report traces the evolution of each IPL team brand from the year 2014 to 2018. Mumbai Indians has maintained its top spot with its 2018 value at $113 million. It is followed by Kolkata Knight Riders at the second spot with $104 million in brand value. Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings, Sun Risers Hyderabad, Delhi Dare Devils, Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals trailed with $98 million, $98 million, $70 million, $52 million, $52 million and $43 million respectively.

    According to a Broadcast Audience Research Council of India report, the top two most-watched ODI matches between 2016 and 2018 were played between India and Pakistan. It clocked 12.3 billion impressions in 2018 despite the absence of international tournaments in the year. It also stated that cricket programming was up by 79 per cent in 2018 as against the year 2016, with over 89,000 hours. Talking about the ads, it observed a growth of 14 per cent across all cricket content from 2016 to 2018.

    In 2016, viewership was dominated by T20 matches, whereas in 2017, One Day match dominated. Also, sports viewership year-on-year has gone up in the 2016-2018 period. From 43 billion impressions in 2016 the viewership has gone up to 51 billion impressions, growing at a CAGR of nine per cent. Additionally, the last three years have seen a steady increase in cricket content on sports channels.

    Women viewers make up 48 per cent of all cricket viewers, up from 295 million in 2016 to 342 million in 2018. The Women’s World Cup final between India and England had a viewership of 39 million impressions. Considering the overall scenario, 50 per cent of IPL viewers is less than 30 years of age and youth (15-30-year olds) still dominate cricket viewership with 35 per cent of live cricket viewership coming from this audience.

    Furthermore, in 2019, IPL clocked in 1.53 billion impressions minus the final match viewership. According to BARC data, the first three games of IPL 2019 witnessed a 31 per cent surge in viewership as compared to the last year. So when it comes to India, the wave for regional languages is expected to grow. Last year, Star India aired the IPL final in eight languages across 17 channels.

    According to the BARC data analysed by Insidesport.co, 22 per cent of the viewership for IPL has come from regional language feeds.

  • Kansai Nerolac strengthens IPL association with three T20 franchisees

    Kansai Nerolac strengthens IPL association with three T20 franchisees

    MUMBAI: Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd (KNPL), one of the leading paint companies in India and pioneers in ‘Healthy Home Paints’ has announced its association with Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) while continuing its association with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for the ongoing season of Indian Premier League (IPL).

    Nerolac has been associated with cricket leagues and championships for a long time and has been associated with T20 franchisees since 2016, leveraging the sports platform for the visibility and to drive skill building as an agenda amongst unemployed youth and encouraging them to take up painting as a profession.

    This season Nerolac will introduce two more initiatives apart from skill development; a consumer app and curated designs through “walk to wall” which would enhance consumers experience while painting their house.

    Speaking on the association Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd executive director Anuj Jain said, “T20 offers the highest penetration across India that creates a huge opportunity for brands to connect and introduce initiatives.  In addition to our continuous association with the league through skill development initiatives, we are also excited to announce our new offerings – A consumer app & a unique design concept ‘Walk to Wall’, that aims to benefit and create transforming experience for people with our healthy home paints range. We wish the players for this season to continue with their zestful performance.”

    Commenting on the announcement, Sunrisers Hyderabad CEO K Shanmugham said, “We are delighted to have Nerolac as our principal sponsor for the third year in a row. Sunrisers Hyderabad is currently in its best form and we expect an extraordinary IPL season this time. We look forward to renewed support from Nerolac as we bid to win the title after a solid show last season."

    Speaking of the association, Rajasthan Royals executive chairman Ranjit Barthakur said, “We are delighted to associate with Nerolac, the brand that focuses on building long-lasting relationships, a brand value that resonates well with the Royals. We look forward to deepening this relationship in the coming years building a great bond with our fans.”

    Royal Challengers Bangalore chairman Sanjeev Churiwala stated, “We are happy to be associating with Kansai Nerolac Paints. At RCB we always look forward to partnerships that increase value and merit to the brand, and through this association, we wish to add more colors for our fans and players that will enhance our brand presence at one of the most watched leagues in the country.”

  • IPL comes to Snapchat

    IPL comes to Snapchat

    MUMBAI: Snapchat has teamed up with Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders this IPL season. The partnership will bring fans at home and in the stadium behind-the-scenes updates and the chance to show their support for their favourite team on match days through creative Augmented Reality Lenses, Our Stories and more.

    Follow your team

    Follow Mumbai Indians @mi_platan, Rajasthan Royals @rajasthanroyals, Chennai Super Kings @yelloveforever and Kolkata Knight Riders @kkrsnaps on Snapchat where they will be posting updates and behind-the-scenes highlights to their Official Account’s Story and opt-in to receive notifications when they post.

    In addition, from today CricTracker – the first cricket publisher on the platform – and Sportskeeda will launch on Snapchat’s Discover providing up-to-date news on all things IPL through their own Publisher Stories.

    Get creative

    Fans will also be able to celebrate key moments and show their support in creative ways – wearing their teams’ colours with special augmented reality Lenses as well as adding creative touches to their Snaps with a range of custom filters and stickers.

    There will also be Our Stories around the opening weekend games in Chennai, Mumbai, Jaipur and Kolkata celebrating the best submissions from fans across India, with the first going live on March 25th. Our Stories are collections of publicly submitted Snaps from events and locations around the world and curated by editors at Snapchat.

  • INOX becomes the official partner of Rajasthan Royals

    INOX becomes the official partner of Rajasthan Royals

    MUMBAI: India’s fastest growing multiplex operators INOX Leisure Ltd announced that they have become the official partners with Rajasthan Royals. Under the partnership, INOX will have its logo presence on the team attire. INOX has been consistently undertaking exciting initiatives for its viewers to redefine the cinema experience in the country, blending top class luxury, impeccable services and best-in-class technology with its irresistible offers for its viewers. The strategic partnership with Rajasthan Royals will further lend a touch of royalty and offer its patrons an extraordinary experience beyond cinemas.

    INOX has introduced a special offer for its guests across the country enabling them to win a free trip to Jaipur to watch a Rajasthan Royals match during this year’s Indian Premier League. INOX viewers will have to book their movie tickets through INOX’s mobile application or through its website www.inoxmovies.com in the month of March to be eligible to win the all-expenses-paid trip to Jaipur. Those guests buying a Rajasthan Royals Popcorn Tub will also be eligible for winning the coveted trip. Along with free match tickets, INOX will offer free return air tickets from their place of residence, a 2 Nights-3 Days stay and sightseeing at Jaipur to the winning viewers. The eligible viewers also stand a chance to win the Rajasthan Royals jerseys, autographed merchandise and a chance to meet the Rajasthan Royals players.

    Rajasthan Royals have re-launched themselves in its new color Pink with first Royal, Shane Warne as its brand ambassador. Having donned various hats with Rajasthan Royals, Shane Warne, the brand ambassador of Rajasthan Royals said, during a recently held interactive session at INOX Atria at Mumbai, “Thank you INOX for getting on board with the Rajasthan Royals. It’s a terrific family to be a part of. I am privileged to have witnessed such a beautiful cinematic experience today.”

    Alok Tandon, CEO – Inox Leisure Limited adds“With a clear focus on curating the best experience for our patrons, we have continously been working on partnerships, allowing us to take their cinema experience to new levels. The partnership with Rajasthan Royals adds a royal touch to our brand offering. We invite our patrons across the country to come forward and win a chance to experience the royalty of Rajasthan Royals from close quarters. We would also like to thank Shane and the entire Rajasthan Royals leadership for coming on-board with INOX.“

    On his recent visit to INOX Atria at Mumbai, Shane Warne set the partnership rolling as he addressed the top management of INOX Leisure Ltd and shared his life experiences on how teamwork, respect within the team, and leadership matters for any sport or an organisation to be successful. Link of video of Shane Warne’s visit to INOX Atria, Mumbai: https://youtu.be/f7-yA0SHv8M

  • Rajasthan Royals partner with red bull for the eighth edition of red bull campus cricket

    Rajasthan Royals partner with red bull for the eighth edition of red bull campus cricket

    MUMBAI: The Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals has joined hands with the energy drink giant Red Bull in India for the eighth edition of the annual international T20 tournament for college cricket teams – Red Bull Campus Cricket. The cricket tournament has already kicked off in India across 30 cities with city qualifiers having begun from 3rd February to discover and nurture budding cricketers from college campuses.

    Red Bull Campus Cricket 2019 city qualifiers are taking place from 3rd February to 12th March across 30 cities in India – Mumbai, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Indore, Pune, Nagpur and Goa in the West; Jalandhar, Dehradun, Delhi, Jaipur, Jammu, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Meerut and Dharamshala in the North; Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Kochi, Mysore and Vizag in South; and Kolkata, Raipur, Guwahati, Ranchi, Bhubaneshwar, Patna and Jamshedpur in the East. Meerut and Dharamshala are two new cities that have been added for this edition and will be part of the North Zone.

    The unique partnership between Rajasthan Royals and Red Bull will mark the beginning of one of India’s biggest cricket talent hunts as the former will be scouting young talent during the tournament and at the RBCC National Final this year.

    A team from Rajasthan Royals will closely monitor and pick key players who are bound to impress. The few selected players will get a spectacular opportunity to be a part of the trials conducted by the team along with the possibility of getting picked in the next IPL auctions.

    On the association with Red Bull Campus Cricket 2019, Manoj Badale, Lead Owner, Rajasthan Royals said, “Rajasthan Royals is delighted to be associated with Red Bull Campus Cricket. It is undoubtedly a premier cricket tournament giving a platform to the budding cricketers in India and around the world. We have seen immense cricket potential in India through our grassroots initiatives and we want to do everything we can to nurture this ecosystem.”

    Shubham Nagawde, part of MMC College Pune, the National Final winner of last year’s competition said, “In India, the love and passion for cricket is incomparable to any other sport. Red Bull Campus Cricket is a way to discover raw talents while testing them in different matches at the national level and finally pitching them into international games to polish these talented individuals and bringing the best out of them. It has been a proud moment for me to have had experienced this and I would like to thank Red Bull for giving us the much-needed wings. Now, with Rajasthan Royals coming on board, Red Bull Campus Cricket is a platform offering potential player trials to campus cricketers like me and groom India’s raw talent which will eventually help Indian Cricket.”

    The winning college from each city will then proceed to the zonal/regional finals in April. The top two teams from each zone will then compete in the National Finals, where the teams will play in the knockout rounds of quarterfinals, semifinals and finals respectively. The national winner will represent India in the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Series Championship 2019. MMC College from Pune has managed to grab the winning national finals title thrice over the past seven years and have also claimed the runners up trophy in the last world finals edition. Other past winners from India include Rizvi College, Mumbai; DAV College, Chandigarh and Swami Shraddhanand College, Delhi.

    Red Bull Campus Cricket stars like KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shradul Thakur and Niroshan Dickwella have represented their country at the international level. Cricketers like Manan Vohra, Shashank Singh, Siddhesh Lad, Himanshu Rana, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Anukul Roy, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ricky Bhui have also reaped the benefits of Red Bull Campus Cricket by earning IPL contracts. Red Bull athlete KL Rahul was the top scorer in the 2013 edition of the competition and credits RBCC for his success at the domestic and international level.

  • Snapchat partners four IPL teams

    Snapchat partners four IPL teams

    MUMBAI: IPL 2018 fans better get ready as four of your favourite teams are coming to Snapchat. The social media platform has announced its partnership with four IPL teams–the Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils and the Rajasthan Royals. The teams have joined Snapchat for Official Stories on 9 April 2018

    Snapchat has also released new creative tools for fans to support their teams and join the fun, such as custom stickers, filters and lenses. The lenses transform you into a helmeted player, with the team anthem playing in the background, and are available automatically in each team’s state or by scanning a Snapcode in Snapchat.

    “We love finding new ways to make Snapchat a great place for fans,” said Snapchat vice president of partnerships Ben Schwerin. “We are so excited for Snapchatters to be able to catch behind the scenes action by their favourite players, cheer their teams and share in the IPL 2018 frenzy with their friends and family!”

    This is Snapchat’s first partnership with India’s largest sporting event. The company is excited to give every cricket fanatic the opportunity to celebrate and support their teams better, on and off the field, through these new Official Stories. Snaps created by these official team accounts will be featured in the Discover section of Snapchat, and will provide glimpses of the action that you won’t be able to find elsewhere.

    Also Read:

    Star India lines up innovation filled IPL 2018

    Eros Now joins hands with RCB for IPL debut 

    Burger King joins hands with Mumbai Indians for IPL 2018

  • JSW acquires 50% stake in Delhi Daredevils

    JSW acquires 50% stake in Delhi Daredevils

    MUMBAI: Jindal South West (JSW) Group has acquired 50 per cent stake in Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Daredevils (DD) from GMR Group promoters. DD is owned by GMR Sports, which is under ambit of the GMR Group.

    JSW Sports will hold 50 per cent stake in GMR Sports. The sale is subject to approval from BCCI and satisfaction of other customary conditions precedent.

    JSW cement MD Parth Jindal said, “We are very happy to announce this new partnership with GMR. This is something that we, as a group, are excited about and the DD team will add to our existing portfolio of sports investments. We look forward to bring our experience and expertise to take the team to new heights.”

    GMR corporate chairman Kiran Kumar Gandhi said, “This relationship between GMR and JSW opens up powerful synergy going forward for both the groups. It is symbolic of the immense potential for sports and cricket in particular in the region. After having nurtured the franchise for the last 10 years, we believe the time is right for us to take it to newer heights. We believe JSW as a partner will bring significant value to the franchise with their wealth of diverse experience.”

    This is the second major deal in the history of IPL in which an existing franchise has offloaded stake. In 2009, Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty had picked up 11.7 per cent stake in IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals for $16.3 million. Kundra has since exited the IPL franchise after being banned for life from IPL for indulging in betting.

    Also Read:

    Star India bags production rights for IPL 2018

    IPL 2018 gets a makeover with Star India

  • IPL ’18 media rights decision likely in July, player recruitment norms to be tweaked

    NEW DELHI: Even as the Indian cricket board BCCI explores tweaks in new player recruitment norms by franchisees for the next edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2018, decisions on media rights is likely to be taken by next month and the title sponsorship to be decided by month-end.

    This was stated by IPL commissioner Rajeev Shukla yesterday during the India-Bangladesh semi-final match in England where the Champions Trophy is under way.

    According to Shukla, who was in conversation with commentators of All-India Radio (AIR) during the India-Bangladesh cricket match, the media rights would be hawked in a bundled form as well as separately. The media rights for IPL include those for TV, online, digital and overseas (outside Indian geographical region).

    Chinese phone maker Vivo, wanting to make a splash in the Indian market and establish a presence, had picked up the title sponsorship for IPL for two years in 2015. Earlier, such sponsors included Indian real estate company DLF, and PepsiCo. The latter had opted out of sponsorship after betting and match-fixing scandals rocked IPL a few years ago.

    A 2016 news report in the Mint newspaper stated that, for the Indian sub-continent, BCCI will award the television rights for 10 years and digital media rights for five years. The competitive bidding process would close on 25 October 2016.

    At present, IPL’s TV broadcast rights are held by Sony Pictures Networks Pvt. Ltd, which will expire in 2017, and the Internet and mobile rights rest with Novi Digital Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, a unit of Star India, for a period of three years till 2017.

    As to whether IPL is contemplating increasing the number of participating teams from the present eight, Shukla replied in the negative. This would mean that the teams from Gujarat and Pune would have to bow out in 2018 as controversy-tainted Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings are likely to stage a comeback after a two-year suspension.

    Shukla also said during the conversation on AIR that BCCI and IPL are contemplating making changes in various criteria to pick and buy cricketers by various franchisee owners from next year.

    The senior BCCI official elaborated that “some restrictions” would be placed on IPL team owners to desist them from picking a rookie player without any experience of BCCI-supported domestic cricket tourneys as it amounted to discrimination of deserving players who have played in Indian domestic cricket tournaments (Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Irani Trophy, etc).

    About the reason behind BCCI agreeing to participate in Champions Trophy (where India would sometime have to play Pakistan, a country regarded back home as abetting and encouraging terrorism against India), Shukla smartly skirted answering directly, preferring to say that BCCI agreed on participation in CT 2017 as it wanted the national team to retain the trophy.

    India is the current holder of the Champions Trophy and the next edition of the tournament would be held in India.

    Shukla, while admitting that India has become a nerve-centre for global cricket contributing sizably to the revenue kitty of cricket’s international governing body ICC, stated that all outstanding financial issues related to revenue sharing would be sorted out soon and amicably between ICC and BCCI.

  • IPL season 9 remains sponsor heavy despite earlier setbacks: Onspon.com study

    IPL season 9 remains sponsor heavy despite earlier setbacks: Onspon.com study

    Mumbai: IPL season nine has been the subject of many headlines – good and bad. The betting scandal leading to two popular teams  — Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals —   being banned; and its title sponsor Pepsi’s exit from the league didn’t help the tournaments reputation either.  Questions that rose on the tournaments fate and the sponsorship dilemma were soon answered when Chinese smart phone brand Vivo bagged the title sponsorship right for the next two seasons. Vivo plans to spend an additional Rs 200 crore on strengthening the brand association with IPL.

    Now, owing to India’s performance at the T20 World Cup, sentiments around IPL Season 9 are on the positive side. A week prior to the IPL season, sponsors such as FreeCharge  and Maruti Suzuki had confirmed their associations with the league. These central level sponsorships are each estimated around Rs 10 Crore and above as per a study conducted by Onspon.com.

    At a team level too, the teams are seeing an increased interest from brands, where team sponsorships are getting closed faster, whereas last year half the slots were available until about two to three days prior to the IPL. While commercials for team level sponsorship rights were expected to take a dip due to the betting fiasco surrounding IPL, teams have been in a position to bag sponsors at commercials similar to those of last years, the study revealed.

    These team level sponsorship rights range from Rs 1 crore to Rs 20 crores – dependent on the logo spot on the jersey and other rights such as player imagery, merchandise options etc. A number of sponsors have in-fact also continued their association with their respective teams.

    Coming to the two new IPL teams, Pune Super Giants and Gujarat Lions have also been successful in clinching lucrative sponsorship deals with each of these teams managing to rope in about 10 sponsors each. With the Pune franchise boasting of a star studded line-up, including the likes of M.S Dhoni, Faf du Plessis, Ajinkya Rahane, Kevin Pietersen etc – the Pune franchise has emerged as a strong IPL title contender and has managed to bag sponsor’s within the Rs 2 Crore to Rs 16 crore range.

    The Gujarat franchise, owned by smartphone manufacturer Intex has also bagged a number of high value sponsorships ranging from Rs 1.5 Crore to Rs 15 crores.

    As per Onspon.com  the reason for the increased sponsorship interests from brands in this season’s IPL can be attributed to the pre-event cricket warm-up from the multiple cricket series leading to IPL – making the brand continuity easier and effective.

    Faraaz Peerbhai who leads brand partnerships at Onspon.com said, “Additionally, the low event density in the non-sport space – with few high voltage movie releases or any other major music events, making sponsorship routing to IPL more effective. The advent of early summers have also lead to buoyancy in consumption categories such as FMCG, Air-conditioners – thereby leading to pre-allocation of marketing budgets, especially for categories such as drinks, consumer durables etc,” Peerbhai added.

    If one were to look into brand categpries in IPL, a number of FMCG brands such as Haldiram’s, Britannia, Mother Dairy – Deodorant brands such as Sparkle, Kama Sutra have partnered with various IPL teams. Air-conditioner brands such as Daikin, Lloyd and Sansui have also partnered with teams such as Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata respectively.

    The smartphone category as-well has taken to IPL Season 9 in a huge way – Three big smartphone manufactures entering (or re-structuring their entry) in India (Oppo, Vivo and LeEco) have allocated a significant budget to cricket and in particular IPL. They are seeking to leverage IPL to create awareness about their brand and reach out to the young audiences.

    Overall, after the pre-IPL ambiguity, IPL Season 9 is seeing a massive positive upswing from sponsors and audience alike.