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Tag: Sanjay Gupta

  • Sanjay Gupta has our full and unequivocal support: CNN

    Sanjay Gupta has our full and unequivocal support: CNN

    MUMBAI: Professionalism, humanity and need of the hour can make a human being go beyond the line. But on the other hand, a fraction of inconsistency may dilute the bravery and turn it into a debate. In a recent such occurrence CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr Sanjay Gupta assisted surgeons by performing craniotomy on a young victim at Bir Hospital while reporting from Nepal which was stuck by earthquake.

     

    The natural calamity took many lives. Amidst that, as per Dr Gupta, there was a small kid who needed immediate medical attention and that’s when he volunteered and effectively saved her life.

     

    Post this, CNN went on to showing images of an eight year old girl in Nepal claiming her to be the one medically operated by Dr Gupta. But later on, a flurry of reports came in that questioned the claims of CNN. Reports state that the girl shown in the clip, underwent no surgery, which thus questions the integrity of CNN’s reporting.

     

    Explaining the scenario Dr Gupta asserted, “We want to get these things 100 per cent right. It’s important, obviously, to the viewers. It’s important to the families, you know, who are there undergoing this, suffering through the aftermath of the earthquake.”  

     

    CNN, later released an official statement saying, “Journalism is not brain surgery, but brain surgery is brain surgery. We are proud that Sanjay is one of the few reporters in Nepal to cover the earthquake, and while there, he was asked to help save a young victim’s life. As we reported, he assisted the surgeons at Bir Hospital by performing a craniotomy on a young victim. While some reporting suggests that the girl in the clip wasn’t operated, we at the time of our reporting believed her to be. We will try to verify that. Regardless, Sanjay spent a week in Nepal, helped save a young life in the operating room, and we couldn’t be more proud of him. He has our full and unequivocal support.”   

      

    Gupta is a practicing neurosurgeon as well as a medical correspondent.

  • Star Sports bags telecast rights to Bundesliga for five seasons

    Star Sports bags telecast rights to Bundesliga for five seasons

    MUMBAI: Star India has bagged the exclusive telecast rights of Bundesliga football for the next five seasons 2015-16 to 2019-20.

     

    Star India has teamed up with DFL Sports Enterprises, the sales entity of the DFL (Deutche Football League) to air the tourney in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

     

    Star Sports will broadcast Bundesliga matches on a live or delayed basis across the India subcontinent, as well as provide live streaming of all matches on its digital platform, starsports.com.

     

    “This signing is a reflection of the success we have had in seeing the Bundesliga recognized as a premium product among leading international markets. Star India provides the ideal environment for the Bundesliga to grow and prosper in India, one of our key strategic markets,” said DFL Sports Enterprises managing director Jörg Daubitzer.

     

    Star India COO Sanjay Gupta added, “Our partnership with the Bundesliga is in line with our overall strategy to promote football and build heroes for the millions of sports fans in the country. The German national team won the FIFA World Cup last year and Germany’s in depth grassroots program has bred some of world’s best players and teams, making the Bundesliga one of the most exciting leagues to watch.”

     

    From fan engagement programs to once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch the Bundesliga live, DFL Sports Enterprises is planning a concerted campaign to support Star in growing the Bundesliga brand in India. DFL Sports Enterprises will provide interesting and relevant interviews of some of world’s best footballing talent and customized content packages of a highly competitive league in order to connect with the fans.

  • ‘Bombay Velvet’ exclusive preview unveiled on Hotstar

    ‘Bombay Velvet’ exclusive preview unveiled on Hotstar

    MUMBAI: Stepping up on its film marketing initiatives by setting new precedents, Fox Star India has rolled out its third digital-first initiative on Hotstar in less than a month for its upcoming movie Bombay Velvet.

     

    The studio unveiled an exclusive preview of the film to Hotstar’s 15-million-strong audience base on 10 May.

     

    The Hotstar movie preview of Bombay Velvet comprises four minutes of handpicked scenes from the soon-to-be-released film. The preview was packaged with a specially shot sequence, which had Karan Johar introducing the movie’s stars Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma with their on-screen names of Johnny Balraj and Rosie Noronha, and inviting the audience to watch the exclusive footage that followed. It ended with the trio reminding the audience of the film’s release date, and inviting them to watch it in theatres on 15 May.

     

    Fox Star Studios India CMO Shikha Kapur said, “We are delighted to be the first studio in India to introduce a series of Digital-first initiatives for film marketing on mobile, and that too with a huge multi-starrer like Bombay Velvet. While initially it was all about creating buzz, with the film now getting closer to its release date, we thought the audience would be excited to preview some of Bombay Velvet’s high-quality content, and hence the Movie Preview. This is a part of the build-up strategy which has worked very well so far.  Hotstar is poised as the go to destination for digital content platform on mobile today, and we believe it will help us effectively fill the market gaps for movie promotions on digital, and through the innovations, set a precedent for film marketing not only in our country, but also in other world markets.”

     

    This promotional activity came on the heels of a one-hour talk show featuring Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap, which was shot for and premiered exclusively on Hotstar. This was preceded by yet another world-first initiative, the video premiere on Hotstar of the popular song, Mohabbat Buri Bimari, from Bombay Velvet.

  • “Creating sporting events more important than acquiring expensive rights”: Sanjay Gupta

    “Creating sporting events more important than acquiring expensive rights”: Sanjay Gupta

    MUMBAI: Star India is in major over drive mode. The network has picked up a 74 per cent stake in Mashal Sports, which is the owner of Pro Kabaddi League.

     

    While delivering a keynote at the 2015 edition of Asia Pacific Video Operators Summit (APOS) Star India chief operating officer (COO) Sanjay Gupta spoke about the company’s aim to spawn a multi-sport culture in the country by promoting local content with events like Indian Super League (ISL) and Pro-Kabaddi League.

     

    “People are queuing up to buy an English Premier League (EPL), a LaLiga or a Bundesliga, but the question here is how much engagement do these games actually offer as compared to relevant local content. We tried this with ISL and Kabaddi and the initial response has been very encouraging,” Gupta informed.

     

    “Sports is a long haul business and it takes sustained investment to build something ground up. We need to have a long term commitment to build a sport… a 10 to 20 years approach to build it ground up. Take the example of EPL, which has been around for decades and has built an extremely strong consumer franchise, which advertisers are eager to associate with. The three year view of buying sporting rights has to change, which disallows most of the partners to make money and disincentives anyone trying to build a sport,” he further added.

     

    Talking about lack of innovation in stifling sports business economics, Gupta said, “When there’s a big sporting event, people congregate to watch in huge numbers. The only question is if there are enough of these happening and how much innovation has been happening.”

     

    Speaking about mushrooming ventures like ISL and Pro Kabaddi League, Gupta added, “Better engagement in sports will drive greater consumption. People don’t look happy when they win a sports bid. Practices in the sports business have become quite toxic. Instead of a content creation business this has been run as a rent a cab business. If I am league owner, chances are I’ll squeeze more money from you than you can ever hope to earn. One of the challenges that we are seeing is that almost all of the investment in sports is going into rights cost. We are trying to change that by investing in basic sports infrastructure apart from rights, whether it was grooming the players for an on screen experience in Kabaddi or partnering to get the stadiums ready for ISL.”

     

    Speaking about the stake acquisition in Mashal Sports, Star India CEO Uday Shankar said, “Star has acquired a majority stake in Mashal Sports with a vision to create an even more favourable ecosystem for the great Indian sport of Kabaddi and build on its successful launch. The investment, completely in sync with Star’s aim to spawn a multi-sport culture in the country, will further help in nurturing India’s sporting talent. We are totally committed to abiding with the vision of Mashal management and all stakeholders of Pro-Kabaddi and will further develop the league in the upcoming season 2.”

  • Hotstar notches record 340 million views during WC

    Hotstar notches record 340 million views during WC

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Star India partners Accenture for Hotstar

    Star India partners Accenture for Hotstar

    MUMBAI: Intending to spark a billion imaginations, Star India roped in Accenture to help develop, launch and deliver its over-the-air programming through Hotstar. 

     

    The video on demand (VOD) platform, built on the Accenture Video Solution (AVS) software platform, is funded primarily through advertising, using the platform’s new digital advertising functions. Taking advantage of a fully cloud-based infrastructure, Hotstar is serving the entire country with a catalogue of more than 45,000 movies and television series.

     

    Accenture helped Star India develop and launch the online video service to establish an online entertainment destination by building on a “mobile first” strategy. Leveraging AVS, Star can deliver broadcast-quality content to consumers on a wide variety of devices over Wi-Fi, 4G, 3G and 2G networks, including those with limited bandwidth resources such as 2G feature phones.

     

    “With Hotstar, our ambition is nothing less than the establishment of a whole new model for on demand video consumption in the world,” said Star India COO Sanjay Gupta. 

     

    “We will drive dramatic innovation on this platform with benefits for both users and advertisers. Accenture has been a valuable partner in this effort. They are walking side by side with us in creating this compelling platform, bringing the best of their product and technology expertise to the table. Together, we will establish compelling new benchmarks in the Over the Top space,” he added.

     

    In addition to service delivery, Accenture is managing the Hotstar operations round the clock utilising the client’s on-site team in Hyderabad and Accenture’s Global Video Operations Center in the Philippines. The service supports more than 7,000 different digital devices with its mobile-friendly platform, which delivers video streaming and downloads in any of India’s urban and suburban areas. The powerful AVS analytics engine will also provide Star with the capability to predict and help drive user behaviors with personalized content recommendations.

     

    In February, Hotstar, along with starsports.com, its digital platform counterpart, served more than 25 million video views during an Indian-Pakistan cricket match to make it the most watched sports event online of all time.

     

    “By creating a digital video service available on multiple screens, Star has secured its status as India’s most advanced next-generation content provider,” said Accenture communications, media & technology managing director Ashish Khanna.

     

    “It is one of the first services globally to offer entertainment, movies and sports on a single platform for free while enabling new consumption models. This provides consumers access to a rich catalogue of content delivered online with interactive advertising formats that provide multiple opportunities for content monetization by Star’s advertisers and we’re excited to be Star’s delivery partner,” he added.

  • India vs South Africa match engages 257 million viewers

    India vs South Africa match engages 257 million viewers

    MUMBAI: A whopping 257 million fans (TAM data CS4+ extrapolated to the universe using a standard conversion factor) tuned in to support Team India’s bid to retain cricket’s most coveted prize, as MS Dhoni and his men seized their ‘mauka’ opportunity and scored their first ever victory against South Africa in a World Cup match.

     

    The match rated 12.9 TVR across Star network including DD, with 10.5 TVR on Star network and 2.4 TVR on DD (All TAM data M15+ ABC).

     

    The joy of beating the Proteas was amplified for 76 per cent of the 257 million viewers as they tuned into the India South Africa game in their preferred language feed in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada. The English feed contributed remaining 24 per cent of the total viewers for the game.

     

    Star India COO Sanjay Gupta said, “The viewership for India’s first two games of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 bears testimony to the cricket frenzy sweeping the nation. The fans, with their undiminished support for Team India, have been treated to some quality action and results of choice. The World Cup in regional language articulated by former India players has taken the viewer experience to the next level. Our efforts of bringing the fans closer to the world cup experience through a host of innovations have borne fruit and they continue to rally to Team India’s defence of its title.”

     

    The flagship ODI tournament has remained true to its billing of the most exciting cricket extravaganza drawing 473 million (TAM data CS4+ extrapolated to the universe using a standard conversion factor) fans to tune in to within the first two weeks of the tourney.

     

    The clash between two favorites for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 also sizzled across social media – with 175,000 unique authors driving 254,000 conversations – dominating the trends for the day. Star had extended its popular and disruptive ‘Mauka’ campaign to build anticipation ahead of the South Africa game, releasing a new promo under the fan passion theme, #maukepechauka, which was trending through the day in India.

     

    The viewership numbers for the India – South Africa game build on the record viewership for India’s tie against arch-rivals Pakistan. The blockbuster clash attracted 288 million viewers, making it the most watched television event in India since the finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

  • India Vs Pakistan match creates digital viewership record

    India Vs Pakistan match creates digital viewership record

    MUMBAI: The high voltage ICC Cricket World Cup match between India and Pakistan created global history by recording more than 25 million views on Star’s digital platform Hotstar and Starsports.com. This is the highest ever video views for a single game in any sporting event across the globe in one country.

     

    The number has significantly surpassed online views for any sports event in the world. No other sports event, including the National Football League (NFL) Super Bowl or the Wimbledon, has ever received more than five million unique online views on a single platform on a given day.

     

    Star India COO Sanjay Gupta said, “The opening day of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 registered 6.5 million video views and 5.4 million unique visitors across web, mobile and app on our digital platforms. This was over double the prior record high set last year. Next day, the India Pakistan match created history in online sports viewership with 25 million views for the game on two of our digital platforms — hotstar and starports.com. This has set a new record for the highest number of video views on the digital platform ever for a single match of any sport across the globe.”

     

    The prior record highs in video views were set during India – Sri Lanka game on 13 November, 2014 with 3.6 million video views and the IPL Semi-final on 28 May, 2014 with 3.2 million video views.

     

    Hotstar is the newly launched digital platform with compelling content across sports, TV shows and movies in seven languages. With four million downloads in 15 days, the application has witnessed the fastest adoption of any digital service in the world. Hotstar has been built to adapt to Indian conditions and can work on lower bandwidth. It can operate on speeds as low as 64 Kbps, and ideally on speeds of 128 Kbps.

  • Star upbeat about World Cup

    Star upbeat about World Cup

    MUMBAI: Not long back television was the only source of audio visual entertainment, and for Indians the biggest entertainment was the Cricket World Cup. After the 1983 World Cup victory of Kapil Dev led India in Lords finale, cricket became bigger than a sport; it established itself as a religion. A religion that follows no narrow fragmentation or communal barriers. A six from the bat of Indian batsman was cheered by all, close moments saw prayers to respective God’s in different ways but for one unified reason. Victory got smile, defeat resulted in agony.

     

    Cricket World Cup is indeed a festival of unity in India celebrated throughout the country. With development and growth in the number of television sets in the country, it became a key medium to connect with the mass and World Cup emerged as the biggest event in the second largest populous country of the world.

     

    India is one the largest market and the conversion ratio of advertisements to sale is also maximum in this country and hence during Cricket World Cup creative and captivating advertisements are launched by big brands to enhance their reach. Subsequently the broadcaster charges huge amount for a 10 second slot. 

     

    Reportedly during 2011 Cricket World Cup ad rates reached new heights, India’s tryst with Sri Lanka in the Cricket World Cup final set new record for rates of television ad spots. Official broadcaster ESPN Star Sports (ESS) charged Rs 23-24 lakh for a 10-second slot from last-minute advertisers whereas during league matches it was Rs 3.5 – 4 lakh. The Indo – Pak semi finals cost advertisers Rs 18 lakh for a 10 second slot.

     

    The biggest cricketing extravaganza is knocking at the door and ad inventory is filling fast, but there are a lot of issues to be debated before investing for the event. 

     

    Cricket in India has reached an abysmal low with Supreme Court intervening to restore the integrity of the sport. Several players’ name also came under scrutiny and no clear verdict was sentenced, so the honesty of players is also a matter of concern for the fans. World Cup 2015 will be played in Australia and New Zealand and would be extremely difficult for Indian viewers to restrict themselves to television due to odd timings. Moreover heartthrob of billion Indians and the God of cricket – Sachin Tendulkar – will not be playing this edition of the World Cup. Investors can play safe by investing on IPL, which will start days after World Cup and hence the commercial value of the tournament is ought to be questioned. 

     

    Commenting about the commercial interest of the World Cup, Madison Media COO Karthik Lakshminarayan says, “Various factors like current performance of team India, odd timings, upcoming IPL and the fact that it is the end of a financial year the commercial preparation of the event may take a back step. But World Cup still is an important event and if India performs well things may change dramatically.”

     

    Maxus head of the north and east regions Navin Khemka is of a different opinion. “All I can say is that despite all the challenges World Cup is the marquee event in cricket. This World Cup is also seeing the emergence of new advertisers who are traditionally not big, but are emerging on cricket. Earlier we would have a sense of key categories who will dominate the game. That is changing; it shows the aspirations of a new India taking shape to be a part of the biggest sporting event,” he says. 

     

    Announcing the initiatives, Star India COO Sanjay Gupta had earlier said, “The World Cup is the biggest event for Indian consumers. The last edition was watched by 90 per cent of TV viewers in the country, making it the largest aggregation of consumers possible. With India as the defending champions, the whole country is set to follow the team’s defence of its title in Australia and New Zealand and we, at Star, plan to make this World Cup, a ‘Cup for All’. We will introduce many firsts and innovations in sports broadcasting to take the great game of cricket to the next level and provide an unprecedented viewing experience to the millions of cricket fans in India.”

     

    The broadcaster has already announced Amitabh Bachchan’s entry as a commentator. Moreover this edition of the tournament will be telecast in regional languages, which opens the door for regional advertisers to air their commercials. First time brands like Nestle, Marico,Yepme.com, Paytm, Raymonds, Pidilite, Lloyd have joined the usual cricket partners.

     

    As per sources, Star is selling a 10 second ad slot for more than Rs 4 lakh and the ad inventory consists of over 40 sponsors from various fields.

     

    Ad rates during such marquee event floats with progress, as cricket is a game of uncertainty. And if India starts performing well the ad rates will also reach new heights. It remains to be seen if the tournament manages to retain its charisma and develops as a big thing in cricket crazy nation.     

  • ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 to be broadcast in 4K

    ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 to be broadcast in 4K

    MUMBAI: For sports in India, nothing is bigger than the World Cup and the official broadcaster Star India is set to make the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 even bigger and better by rolling out an ambitious broadcast plan. 

     

    The network will revolutionise sports broadcasting in the country, as it is all set to broadcast certain select matches, including India’s opening match against arch-rivals Pakistan, in the ground breaking 4K format. This will be the first ever global broadcast of cricket in 4K.  

     

    Announcing a slew of initiatives, Star India COO Sanjay Gupta said, “The last edition was watched by 90 per cent of TV viewers in the country, making it the largest aggregation of consumers possible. We will introduce many firsts and innovations in sports broadcasting to take the great game of cricket to the next level and provide an unprecedented viewing experience to the millions of cricket fans in India.” 

     

    Star will broadcast the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in six languages, making it far more inclusive than any other sporting tournament on television. This will be the first time that the WC will be telecast in Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada, apart from English and Hindi. 

     

    With an aim to bring the best of World Cup action through the best of experts, Star Sports’ commentary panel will feature 13 World Cup captains, 20 World Cup winners and 26 World Cup semi-finalists. The likes of Allan Border, Kapil Dev, Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, Mark Waugh, Graeme Smith, Ian Botham, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, Saurav Ganguly among others will add to the viewing experience with their expert insights and analysis during the WC. To take the viewer experience to the next level, it will launch a state-of-the-art studio in Mumbai to present the pre and post-match analysis, expert comments and insights.

     

    Never seen before player analytics across 4000 hours of match footage, ball-by-ball data from 600 matches (ODI data from 2010-till date), 200 players and 14 venues will be analysed in new look graphics, keeping the fans engaged 24×7 during the WC. For the first time ever, technologies mounted on sunglasses and wickets will be used during practice sessions to showcase what the players see while batting and bowling, bringing the viewers closer to the game. Drone cameras to give an aerial perspective of the majestic stadiums will be used for the first ever time for the ICC WC.

     

    Star will also add two new HD channels to its sports portfolio, Star Sports HD 3 and Star Sports HD 4, as a lead up to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Star Sports HD 3 will be an all-Hindi HD channel, a first for sports broadcasting, taking the game closer to the cricket loving audience across the country. 

     

    starsports.com, will offer live streaming and 24×7 video-on-demand accessible through the web, WAP and apps on 200+ devices, all of which will contribute towards making the action from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 easily and readily available.

     

    Star India’s marketing blitz started with the film with Sachin Tendulkar, invoking India to ‘Chase the Dream’ to win the World Cup again, the most coveted prize in international cricket. The broadcaster’s World Cup campaign, #wontgiveitback followed the film, reflecting the young nation’s attitude and mood for the World Cup. The nation’s rallying call to Team India #wontgiveitback has created high buzz and conversations online. On YouTube the video has garnered more than 7,18,050 views and counting.