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Tag: Sanjay Gupta

  • Uday Shankar stresses lowering dependence on ad rev

    Uday Shankar stresses lowering dependence on ad rev

    NEW DELHI: FICCI Frames, for the first time, conducted a digital virtual conference on the media and entertainment industry. Discussing the role of the creative economy to revitalise economic growth were The Walt Disney Asia Pacific chairman and Star and Disney India president and FICCI senior VP Uday Shankar, Google India country manager and vice president and FICCI committee chairman Sanjay Gupta, ambassador of Italy to India HE Vincenzo De Luca, minister of state for finance and corporate affairs Anurag Thakur and minister of information and broadcasting Prakash Javadekar.

    Shankar touched upon important aspects on how to tackle the challenges due to pandemic and make the industry more vibrant. He said, “When FICCI frame was launched the total size of the media industry at that time was very low across the print, TV, radio but today it is a 20-25-billion-dollar industry. From about 100 channels in the year 2000 today we have 900 channels in the country. The size of the print industry which was about $1 billion is now at $4 billion.  India remains one of the few countries where the print business is reasonably healthy. The emergence of the digital industry has already become the nucleus of the media and entertainment sector.”

    He added, “Despite all the setbacks and hurdles, what we are facing is temporary. We can easily overcome them and make a big leap. As the industry has grown, its dependence on advertising has grown and it has helped all participants. But it has been a source of distraction also. If the industry has to grow to the next level, one thing that must be fixed is our ability and desire to get people to pay for what they consume and the only way the industry can grow."

    Shankar asserted that this year the industry is going to be hurt very badly due to Covid2019 and primarily due to the dependence on advertisers.

    “The content business has gone truly global and the opportunity to scale it up is much bigger. We have not been able to invest in content and take our ambition to the global domain. The industry needs to grow its content ambition. We need to think beyond weekly ratings and aim for Indian content to travel globally,” he said.

    Gupta said, “In 2019, the industry had a revenue of $20 billion and digital media accounted for 20 per cent but in 2020, the sector has shrunk to $15 billion. It is estimated that around 20 per cent may lose their jobs in the M&E industry. We need collective efforts within the industry and from government.”

    He also mentioned a point that despite years of applause for Bollywood, it has still not managed to create a truly global market. Gupta shared, “India gets less than seven per cent revenue from overseas market. Hollywood, in contrast earns more than 70 per cent from the global markets. We can be a $100 billion global industry by 2030 if we adopt significant policies and support to accelerate films and games."

    He gave some ideas to expedite some of the policy decisions which can help in the sector recoveries.

    “We need to possibly resolve some of the critical issues like tax burden on DTH and radio. Theatres can be allowed for multiple activities i.e. showing sports games and educational activities to maximise capital utilisation. The broadcasting sector will benefit by ensuring light-touch regulation to enabling the industry to continue on the recovery path with speed," shared Gupta.

    Thakur shared that in the last three years there has been a sea change in the entertainment industry as far as digital media is concerned. 

    “The creative economy is an interplay between human creative ideas, intellectual property, knowledge and technology. If we look at the global market of the creative goods it has doubled from $208 billion in 2002 to $509 billion in 2015. India needs to have a bigger chunk of this pie. While we create volumes, we also must create value and set our goals higher. From simply made in India, we must also aim to be designed and conceptualised in India," he said.

    Follow Tellychakkar for the consumer facing news & entertainment

  • TV & video people who made an impact in 2019

    TV & video people who made an impact in 2019

    MUMBAI: Even as the curtains have gone down on 2019, Indiantelevision.com is happy to reveal its list of senior executives from the business of TV and video, who were constantly under the arc light throughout the year or made waves on account of something they did. We have put in our best efforts to cover as many of the noteworthy professionals of 2019 as we could, taking into consideration the importance of their roles in the organisation and industry as well as the significant contributions they made in the year. We do not say the list is comprehensive, and any omissions are unintended.  We hope you will find the first part of this list interesting read. More will follow in the coming days.

    Sanjay Gupta

    His departure from Star India – a company which he helped steer along with Uday Shankar for around a decade- came as a shocker for many in industry. But he was leaving for the digital world – that of Alphabet or Google – and he would be heading the India operations for the global juggernaut.

    From close friends and associates, Shankar and Gupta will be on two different sides of the spectrum. There will be many areas that Star Disney-Google will be able to work on together; in some maybe not.  Clearly, the digital and entertainment world is going to be an exciting one with them at the top of their respective companies.

    Uday Shankar

    For long, the boss of Star India has been seen as the mover and shaker of the broadcast industry. But for the last two years, he’s had an additional responsibility: overseeing the merger across Asia-Pacific of Twenty First Century Fox with Disney, including its biggest and most prized territory, India. And he came out with flying colors: the transition was relatively smooth, not too much bad press emerged, and overall the merged company, now looks forward to bearing the fruits of the union.  Morale at the two companies – or should we say the merged company – is high as Shankar continues to organise, shuffle reshuffle, hire, rejig executive portfolios to build an organisation for the future.

    Star India notched up losses, but those were for costs of prized but expensive cricket rights and these were planned. Hotstar continued to set record after viewing record, Star India retained its position as a top Indian TV network and he even managed the departure of his deputy Sanjay Gupta by looking for talent in-house and appointing the successful regional TV boss K Madhavan as his head of all television, while he took on the responsibility for the network’s streaming service. He along with Bob Iger and the Disney Plus team will have to take calls on how they will launch Disney Plus in India in 2020

    K Madhavan

    He is the shy and not-so-used-to-the-public-eye professional with the midas touch who ran and helped built the southern business for the Star India network from nothing over the years. Of course, under the direct steerage of Uday Shankar.

    It began with the acquisition of the Tamil channel Vijay from UTV’s Ronnie Screwvala nearly all of 19 years ago. Madhavan came on board Star India in 2008 when Star India purchased a majority stake in Asianet. He had the credentials – he had helped turn around the struggling Malayalam network after he took over in 1999, and giving it an indomitable position in Kerala very soon thereafter. With it came three Malayalam channels and two Kannada ones. Star completed its southern footprint by acquiring the Telugu service, MAA Television Network in 2015. As head of the southern business of Star India, he grew it further until it contributed a significant sum to its topline business.

    And for that, he has been rewarded now with oversight of the overall TV business of the now Disney owned network. Madhavan’s immediate focus will be on the Hindi GEC business of Star India, which is perceptibly under threat from streamers who are dishing out edgy content, which is appealing to younger mobile audiences.  Additionally, he will have to find ways of monetising the network’s TV cricket rights better. He has the pedigree and 2020 will see his imprint being left on what is now his charge. 

    Punit Goenka & Subhash Chandra

    What do we say about Punit Goenka but that 2019 was the year when he showed what stuff excellent CEOs can be made of. No other executive comes even close to the plaudits that Punit has got for managing the tough situation that the promoter family of Zee Entertainment got itself into. Along with his father, they convinced existing investors to buy equity in the company to pay off lenders. Yes, it meant lowering the promoter family holding to around five per cent. But even that was acceptable to both Goenka and Chandra. The company was above family holding. Zeel for its part is a very well run media outfit with a bunch of excellent senior professionals that Goenka has brought in place and whose respect he has earned courtesy of the fact that he is so approachable. The company is now en route to monetise more than any other broadcaster in the regional language space by launching channels in Kannada, Punjabi etc.

    That aside, along with his brother Amit, and Zee5 CEO Tarun Katiyal, he helped hyper-activate the group’s streaming service Zee5 – launching originals like there was no tomorrow. Today, Zee5 looks like one of the more promising OTT platforms with SVOD, AVOD, and adtech plays.

    Hiren Gada

    When Hiren Gada was nominated as CEO of Shemaroo, he was relatively unknown to most in industry. From being a content rights owner, which licensed its library to everybody, Shemaroo has now become a platform owner in streaming service ShemarooMe, which has an interesting offering. A wide array of content, gamification, special offerings, licensing and merchandising, Gada has transformed Shemaroo by bringing in young professionals and giving them wings to fly. In fact, his singular focus has been to transform the once family-run but now publicly listed Shemaroo into a professional organisation. To that accord, he has hired from mainline entertainment and media firms and upped the ante on distributing his OTT service in as many countries as possible. He has been attentive to monetise the content library as well, by continuing to provide value-added services to other platforms as well.

    NP Singh

    NP Singh was at his customary best: staying out of the limelight. But even behind the scenes, he was hard at work. First, along with his Culver city management, he got into deep conversation with the Zeel promoter family for a buyout. The price Sony Pictures put on the table was chunky, but Chandra and Goenka wanted to retain control, they were okay with investment bankers and institutions reducing their stake to a minority, but not a rival media and entertainment firm. Hence, a deal which was looking hot suddenly became cold.

    Singh played a big role in the parleys with Mukesh Ambani to merge his media assets TV18 with Sony for a large period of the second half of the year. The deal had not materialised at the time of writing, but it well could in the new year.

    The quiet-and-polite-to-a-T  executive had a good year on the TV front with his Sony Entertainment Network, SAB, Max group of channels and kids channel Sony Yay all doing well. Sony Entertainment Network, which was lagging for long, finally got its act right under Danish Khan with a mix of good reality, talent, talk and celebrity stand up offerings in 2019.

    Harit Nagpal

    If there’s one platform that has come out with shining colours in 2019, it is the Harit Nagpal-run Tata Sky. The professional who keeps a razor-sharp eye on consumer experience was quick off the blocks in stitching equitable win-win deals with broadcasters, and then followed that quickly with a campaign educating Tata Sky subscribers on the TRAI mandated New Tariff Order. The DTH platform offered packages and also had its call centre employees well equipped to answer queries. Net result: Tata Sky signed up 3 million active subscribers at a time when other platforms added less than one-third its adds, giving it a 32 per cent market share.   

    Nagpal also came up with new packages serving HD channels then introduced Binge – an Amazon firestick service innovation – delivering OTT apps and special programming to its consumers on one device. It pushed its broadband offering as well, offering competitively priced plans.

    Reed Hastings

    He is not Indian but has big ambitions on Indians. And it’s his pronouncements and actions which have been excited the creative and production community in India, like elsewhere in the world. For long Netflix big boss Reed Hastings has avowed that the next 100 million customers for the streamer are going to come from India. And he has been putting his money where his mouth is, promising to invest Rs 3,000 crore in India in his latest announcement as the year was ending. Continuing with the localisation drive he lured local creative professionals like Monika Shergill and Aashish Singh in early 2019 to lead digital and film originals respectively. And since then Netflix has commissioned filmmakers of the calibre of Karan Johar and Shah Rukh Khan to produce digital series for the streaming service. A host of filmmakers too are being signed on as it battles competition from the likes of Amazon Prime, and a string of local players. Concerned by the sluggish uptake of subscriptions since it launched three years ago in India, Hastings and team Netflix put in place a mobile-only plan priced at Rs 199 a month. Deals have also been struck with almost every platform to make sure Netflix is easily accessible to those interested in it. 

    Attractive pricing and cutting edge content are the two planks Hastings has put in place. 2020 will decide how much that translates into results and his envisioned goal for India.

  • Star India’s Sanjay Gupta: The King maker who is now King

    Star India’s Sanjay Gupta: The King maker who is now King

    MUMBAI: For years, the spotlight has been on former journalist-turned-media executive Uday Shankar at Star India (now Disney Star India). Reams of copy have been written about how Uday has supercharged the formerly Rupert Murdoch-now-Disney owned media organisation with his dash of entrepreneurship. However, much less has been written about his maanging director Sanjay Gupta who has been relatively in the shadows.

    Yes, he has addressed public gatherings such as Ficci Frames, and has represented Star India in forums, but on most occasions, Uday’s larger than life personality has overshadowed Sanjay’s.

    Enough conversations had happened between keen Star India observers on whether something would give in the top management of the company now that Disney was the owner and processes very different from what executives had been used to were being put in place. So when news broke that Sanjay had put in his papers and was joining Google India as country manager and VP, sales and operations – stepping in the big shoes of Rajan Anandan – for most it was surprising and not a rude shock.

    Ten years at the top in an organisation is a long time, and Sanjay rightfully earned his stripes. A former Hindustan Lever and Bharti Airtel professional he brought in a sharp rigour as far as  brand and consumer focus is concerned into a media company. He helped in the transformation of Star India from being just a broadcaster to one which thought consumer – in almost every situation. Similar to what Pradeep Guha did at the The Times of India in the eighties and nineties. 

    Sanjay also showed he has the ability to take an idea, make it a reality and scale it up into a money making machine. He proved the perfect foil to Uday who thought big, bigger than any one in the India media firmament had hitherto done. Uday could do so because Rupert and James had the utmost confidence in him and backed him at every stage.

    No one knows this about Sanjay more than Uday. In an email to the Star India team on his deputy’s announcement to leave the organisation, Uday has labeled him “his friend and partner” saying he helped him build Star India for over a decade.

    He further confesses in the email:  “I have never had to share the news of a departure that would have so much impact on our lives. Sanjay has been the person who has taken charge of my craziest ideas and audacious ambitions of this company and has made them real and successful…every time. He leaves a void in my life that would be impossible to fill.…”

    Theories are manifold why Sanjay chose to part ways. Among them: there is not enough room at the top for two fabulous executives in the new Disney-Star India structure. Yes Uday has a larger remit of all of Asia. And Sanjay was in charge of the India operations. However, India is too close to Uday’s heart, hence it was difficult for him to let Sanjay run the ship independently.

    Both Uday and Sanjay will rubbish this as sheer balderdash. Which it probably is.

    More likely is the conjecture that Sanjay got an opportunity that he could not let go. Leading the Indian operations of one of the world’s largest media and technology companies is something that is extremely appealing to a professional. And that too at Google India – which is part of Alphabet. Google India is a leader in the digital space accounting more than a billion dollars in revenue in the country and its operations encompass almost every part of Indians’ lives. The company has been helping – and has further  plans to help –  in the digitisation of India in every way possible which immediately expands the kind of exciting opportunities and challenges that Sanjay will have to deal with. And being a consumer focused executive who honed his skills at Hindustan Lever, the Google assignment got him smacking his chops.

    If one goes by the praise that Uday has heaped upon Sanjay, then he appears to be perfect for the job. Says he in the email: “…there is no one quite gifted as Sanjay in the entire Indian M&E sector. Based on my experience, I can say that there are few like him in the Indian corporate sector as a whole.”

    For Star India, however, Uday says it is time to step up because  “the great company that Sanjay built must continue to scale greater heights."

    One will have to wait and watch whether Uday will continue to pilot  Star India along with his Asian responsibilities or whether he will bring in another executive to replace Sanjay from outside or promote from within. Whatever direction it takes, Sanjay’s act will be a challenging one to follow.

  • Star and Disney head Sanjay Gupta to join Google as new Country Manager

    Star and Disney head Sanjay Gupta to join Google as new Country Manager

    MUMBAI: Sanjay Gupta, who steered Star and Disney India growth by expanding its digital footprint and acquisition of broadcasting rights for critical sporting events,  has stepped down and is expected to join Google India as its country manager and vice president of sales and operations.

    Gupta, as MD of Star and Disney India, took bold decisions and made Star into one of the country’s largest media company. He was instrumental in expanding Star footprint on digital platform.

    Launched in 2015, Hotstar, Star’s OTT platform, is far ahead than its competitors with over 300 million monthly active users, as per the latest available data, more than double the Netflix’s 150 million global users.

    Gupta, who has joined Star in April 2009 as COO, also built Star’s sports broadcasting business with acquisting of broadcast rights for major sporting events like IPL, Pro-Kabaddi League and football league, Indian Super League.

    In September 2017, Star India trumped Facebook, Reliance Jio, Sony and Bharti Airtel, and won broadcast rights for IPL for whopping Rs 16,347.50 crore for the next five years. That bet has largely paid off. This IPL season, Hotstar topped the 10 million concurrent viewership mark a number of times and in May this year, Hotstar set a new world record when 18.6 million users simultaneously tuned into Hotstar’s website and app to watch the final IPL game.

    Under his stewardship, Star also expanded its footprint in regional content. In June 2017, Star India launched India’s first ever regional language sports channel in Tamil. In 2018, Star broadcasted IPL in 6 languages, including Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bangla. In July 2019, Star launched its Marathi sports channel. Star also operates an array of regional channels like Star Jalsha, Star Vijay, Star Pravah, Asianet, Star Maa TV, Star Suvarna.

    Gupta, who has nearly three decade expirence, is expected to join Google where he succeeds Rajan Anandan, who left Google eight-months-ago to join Sequoia Capital India as its managing director.

  • Star Plus spotlights 26 Changemakers to shape a New India

    Star Plus spotlights 26 Changemakers to shape a New India

    Mumbai: Star Plus announces the second season of “TED Talks India NayiBaat,” a collaboration with TED, the globally celebrated nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. The new season reflects the narrative of a vibrant, fast evolving new India – bolder, brighter, braver.

    A legacy of passivity and acceptance is giving way to a society that is demanding and driving change. Armed with optimism, young millennial minds are leading the way, becoming change makers, because they believe their innovative ideas and spirits are bigger than the odds they face. “TED Talks India NayiBaat” turns the spotlight on ordinary Indians doing extraordinary work. These visionaries and everyday heroes will spark new conversations, infuse movements with energy and inspire a billion imaginations to action.

    The show will be aired over weekends in Hindi, English, Tamil, Bangla and Telugu across Star Plus, Nat Geo, Hotstar and Star World, starting November 2nd.

    Sanjay Gupta, Country Manager, Star & Disney India,said,“With TED Talks India NayiBaat, our goal is to showcase, celebrate and support the unsung visionaries who are working towards making a positive impact on society. I believe that a nation is built on the ideas and values of its people. We hope that the ideas and work of our featured speakers inspire our youth to don the role of a social change agent.”
            
    Shah Rukh Khan said, “On the show, I witnessed so much passion – people with pathbreaking ideas are disrupting the shackles of the impossible and finding solutions. TED Talks India is a mirror of the new face of India. It is all about being future ready and future focused. I am in awe of the diverse spectrum of speakers this season. On one hand, we have a 13-year-old scientist creating amazing inventions; on the other is a woman from Bundelkhand empowering thousands of Indian girls. This kind of television content is time-defining. It is the need of the hour.”

    Chris Anderson, Head of TED, added, “India has a spirit of optimism and continuous evolution that’s beautifully captured in this series. From speakers on the TED stage to hundreds of TEDx events organized across the country, TED has had a longstanding relationship with India. We’re thrilled to continue to collaborate with Star Network to showcase the brilliant ideas that can shape the India of tomorrow.”

    Tuning into the intelligent audience in this new India, aware of its potential and possibilities, Star Plus is committed to developing landmark content that is both entertaining and socially progressive. Over the years, milestone shows like Satyamev Jayate, Rubaru Roshni and the recent live telecast of Chandrayaan 2 have been some of the celebrated initiatives from the network.

    Stay Tuned for TED Talks India NayiBaat, starting November 2rd, 2019 at 9.30 p.m. on Star Plus
     

  • Nitin Bawankule to join as Star India head of ad sales from 1 October

    Nitin Bawankule to join as Star India head of ad sales from 1 October

    MUMBAI: Star India, today announced the appointment of Nitin Bawankule as the head of ad sales. In this role, Bawankule will be responsible for leading ad sales across both linear broadcast and OTT for Star TV network and Hotstar respectively. This appointment is effective 1 October 2019 and will report to Star and Disney India country manager Sanjay Gupta.

    “The media and entertainment industry is poised for rapid growth and our viewership continues to reach newer heights. With Nitin’s proficiency in growing teams and scaling businesses, his prowess in building long-term partnerships, and his mastery of the consumer internet space, I am confident that he will play a pivotal role in shaping and driving our ambitious growth strategy in the years to come,” said Sanjay Gupta.

    “Star is a great brand and has played a lead role in transforming the media and entertainment industry in India. It’s truly an honour to be a part of such an exceptional organization and I look forward to all the great things we will accomplish together,” said Nitin Bawankule.

    Bawankule has over two decades of experience in global sales, building large businesses and expanding into new markets. His expertise includes scaling sales organisations, establishing strategic partnerships and helping build long-lasting relationships with some of the biggest global internet and consumer brands.

    Prior to joining Star, Bawankule worked with Google for over eight years. In his last role, as the Country Director for Google Cloud India, he spearheaded the exponential growth of Cloud adoption in the country. In addition, Bawankule has led the Google Ads business as Industry Director. Prior to joining Google, Bawankule worked with Dell as a Director, where he handled multiple sales and business roles.

    Bawankule holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in Marketing and Finance from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore and Bachelor of Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology.

  • APL Apollo gives “Inner Strength” to team Delhi Capitals

    APL Apollo gives “Inner Strength” to team Delhi Capitals

    MUMBAI: APL Apollo Tubes Limited entered in the brand communication arena by associating the brand with the most popular sport in the country i.e. cricket. APL Apollo announced sponsoring team Delhi Capitals this IPL season. As a part of team association, Delhi Capitals will sport the brand logo on the back of the player’s jersey.

    To leverage the association with Delhi Capitals and IPL event in a big way through a 360-degree brand campaign, APL Apollo has appointed ‘The Crayons Network’.  The brand plans to use all possible communication mediums to get the best out of this tie-up. Right from TV to Print to Digital media and more, APL Apollo is roaring to go this IPL Season. Crayons will be responsible for creative, media and Digital responsibilities.

    APL Apollo Limited Tubes CMD Sanjay Gupta said on associating with IPL and Crayons Communications, “We at APL Apollo are gearing up for the next level of brand communication. The company has come up with the theme – ‘Inner strength’ which relates to the company’s core values and products. The theme also communicates the sporting and fighting spirit of a sportsman. IPL is the heartbeat of the nation and to win you need not just strength but an inner mental resilience too. Akin to infrastructural needs vis steel, the inner strength of players is pertinent to fight back and give their best during the game. In this journey, we wanted to partner with an agency that is aligned to our vision and Crayons Network demonstrated a strong understanding of our product and business and presented fitting ideas. We look forward to a long association with Crayons.”

    The Crayons Network president Ranjan Bargotra said, “It’s not often that you get to work with a category leader whose ambitions don’t just end with number one spot. We are excited to be partnering such a brand and to tell its amazing story. IPL is just the first step in this journey of building Brand APL Apollo and there is a lot more to come.”

  • IBF to intervene in TRAI’s SC petition on 15% discount cap

    IBF to intervene in TRAI’s SC petition on 15% discount cap

    MUMBAI: The TRAI tariff order, which remained a topic of intense debate and discussion in 2017 and 2018, is likely to dominate discourse early on in 2019 too, at least from a legal standpoint as the Supreme Court resumes work after the winter vacations.

    A source close to the development has told Indiantelevision.com that the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) is set to intervene in the matter — a special leave petition (SLP) filed by the regulator seeking clarifications on 15 per cent discount cap — when it gets listed.

    All parties, including Star India, which were part of the Madras High Court proceedings, are involved in TRAI’s petition on the issue of 15 per cent cap on discount on a bouquet price or a la carte price of TV channels to consumers.

    The IBF was not originally a party, but an intervener. Hence it wasn’t incumbent upon the TRAI to make it a party in the fresh SLP. However, the IBF will now implead itself in the petition.

    Currently, the tariff order and regulations are getting implemented without the 15 per cent cap as confusion prevails over its validity, though a section of the industry is of the opinion that the Madras High Court had struck down the discount cap issue. TRAI had not issued any clarification on this while setting a roadmap earlier this year for the new tariff regime’s implementation after the Madras HC order.

    On Monday, Star India’s MD Sanjay Gupta during a media roundtable, responding to a question from Indiantelevision.com on the broadcaster’s position on the 15 per cent discount cap said, “It is up to the court to decide that. Now, as an SLP is in the SC…the courts will decide. I don’t have a view beyond that. In the current ruling, there is no discount cap. It may change going forward depending on the SC ruling.”

    Gupta, however, was confident in adapting to a new pricing structure should the SC uphold the high court’s view on the 15 per cent cap.

    “In case the court has a new ruling that discounts have changed, pricing [too] needs to change, both a-la-carte and bouquet pricing in that case, because the distance between them has to be only 15 per cent. I think we are still awaiting the court’s decision and if we need to adapt to it, then we’ll adapt to it. But there will be a shift again in pricing if that comes through,” he added.

    TRAI’s petition demands that the SC set aside the portion of the high court judgment that frowns on the 15 per cent cap on discounts on bouquet prices of TV channels.   

    The Madras High Court, while upholding most of the TRAI tariff order — issued middle of 2016 and challenged by Star India and Vijay TV later that year on grounds of overstepping of jurisdiction — had struck down as arbitrary almost 18 months later the 15 per cent cap on bouquet prices.

    With the case finally disposed of by the Supreme Court earlier this year, upholding the high court’s views, TRAI had issued a notification stating that India’s broadcast and cable industry stakeholders implement its tariff regime in phases and report on compliance.

  • Star India, Microsoft, Anil Kumble redefine fan engagement with real-time bat stats

    Star India, Microsoft, Anil Kumble redefine fan engagement with real-time bat stats

    MUMBAI: With the support of Star India and Microsoft, Anil Kumble’s technology startup, Spektacom Technologies, introduced the latest cricketing innovation – the power bat on 11 October 2018. The technology is powered by the Microsoft Azure cloud platform using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) services. The technology provides players, coaches, commentators, fans and viewers with a completely new and unique way to engage with the sport and help improve their game.

    The Power Bat is a unique concept whereby a lightweight, Azure Sphere-powered sticker is stuck on the shoulder of the bat — a form factor that is completely unobtrusive.  

    Microsoft has been working closely with Spektacom and its founder Anil Kumble, former Indian captain, to incubate and launch the product, as part of its Scale up program. Star India has used the technology successfully in recent series to provide real-time statistics and insights straight off the oval.

    Microsoft executive VP Peggy Johnson said, “We’re excited to be a part of the work Spektacom and Star India are doing to enhance the cricket experience for fans, players and coaches. We’ve already seen the impact that connected devices have had in other industries, and we believe that with the advancements in our AI and cloud services, this is just the beginning of what’s possible for not only cricket but all sports.” 

    Star India senior vice-president Sanjog Gupta said, “All analytics are tools for storytelling and stories are what we engage fans with, more the stories, deeper the engagement. This technology can be used for other sports like football, kabaddi and maybe even other racket sports or where a bat is involved.

    In a live match, as soon as the batsman hits the ball, data on different parameters (speed on impact, twist on impact and quality of the shot — percentage proximity of the ball’s contact to the sweet spot of the willow) are captured in a new unit of measurement titled Power Speks. Microsoft’s Azure Sphere ensures that the data is securely captured and processed.

    As the stats will be detailed, every fan will get to see the analysis as the feed will not only be restricted to Star Sports Select but will also be on all the Star Sports channels.     

    Star India managing director Sanjay Gupta said, “Star India has always strived to redefine and elevate experiences for sports fans. From multi-language feeds and Select Dugout to VR and Watch n’ Play, the coverage of Vivo IPL demonstrates our commitment toward creating new benchmarks in how technology is deployed to deepen fan engagement. The Power Bat promises to be another step in the same direction, and we look forward to the partnership with Anil Kumble (Spektacom) and Microsoft in bringing it to our broadcasts.”

    Kumble said, “Our vision is to bring sports closer to fans through interesting ways of engagement using real-time sports analytics. At the same time, it is important that the technologies used are seamless and do not disrupt the game or obstruct the players. With Microsoft, we have been able to create a secure and effective solution, and with Star India, we have a partner that can stimulate and excite fan engagement.”

    Microsoft believes in leveraging its technology and its people to help sports teams and organisations solve their toughest challenges. By leveraging the company’s intelligent cloud and productivity solutions, sports organisations worldwide are connecting with fans, optimising team and player performance, and managing their operations in new, innovative ways.

  • Star India, Jio sign landmark 5-year cricket deal

    Star India, Jio sign landmark 5-year cricket deal

    MUMBAI: Star India and Reliance Jio unleashed a new era in sports entertainment by announcing a 5-year deal. The partnership will cover international matches in all three formats (T20s, ODI and test) and also the premier domestic competitions of BCCI.

    Jio and Star will make all televised India-cricket matches available to users of JioTV and Hotstar in India. This will be the first time that a streaming platform and a high-speed data network have come together to deliver the best of cricketing content with connectivity to benefit the Indian consumers.

    Star India MD Sanjay Gupta said, “Over the last five years, we have re-invented the sports experience in India across screens, both television and digital. Indian cricket under BCCI is one of the most compelling properties in the world and we are excited to apply the same lens of innovation and re-invention to the property that we have applied to other sports in the last few years. And, with a new partner in Reliance Jio, we will have even more opportunities to raise the bar for cricket fans.”

    Jio director Akash Ambani said, “Jio continues to bring the most exclusive content to its users, this time around through the JioTV app. Cricket is not just played, its worshipped in India. Every Indian must have access to the best sporting events as well as quality and affordable bandwidth to consume the content. With this partnership, we intend to address both these objectives of providing the best sporting content with the best digital infrastructure to the Jio users. Jio promises to and will continue to bring a superlative customer experience in the areas of sports, AR, VR, immersive viewing and more in the coming days.”

    Jio and Star have been instrumental in leading many such disruptive initiatives, where they have put the consumer in the centre of innovation.