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Tag: Sony SIX

  • DTH ops latch onto the FIFA juggernaut

    DTH ops latch onto the FIFA juggernaut

    MUMBAI: The world is in the grip of football fever and India isn’t far behind, though it is traditionally a cricket-crazy country where an Indian Premiere League would score any day higher than a FIFA in terms of fan frenzy.

     

    As aficionados prepare to settle down in front of the idiot box, popcorn and coke in tow, DTH operators are doing all they can to woo customers with special services and what not during the World Cup.

     

    A strategy adopted by almost all DTH operators is to offer Sony Six free for the entire duration of FIFA to all new subscribers taking a connection between June and the FIFA finale. While Tata Sky, Sun Direct and Airtel DTH are offering the channel free-of-charge to all their new subscribers, Dish TV is offering it only to its new subscribers and also to Zing subscribers. “FIFA viewing pockets are West Bengal, Odisha, Kerala and urban cities. So when compared to cricket, it isn’t as big an event in India,” says Dish TV CEO RC Venkateish.

     

    Additionally, Tata Sky and Videocon d2h have timed the launch of two of their services to coincide with the beginning of FIFA. Tata Sky has launched its TV Everywhere application for desktops and laptops, which was hitherto only available on Android and iOS smartphones. Furthermore, Sony Six is the new addition to the list of channels available on the app that would be available to subscribers at the same cost of Rs 60 per month. Tata Sky COO Vikram Mehra says, “The service launch has been timed just before the football World Cup to ensure that the home laptop doubles as the second TV at home, thus allowing youngsters to watch late night football matches on their laptops and headphones without disturbing their entire family.”

     

    Whereas, Videocon d2h has recently launched its earphone service through which, viewers can connect to radio frequency remotes and watch TV. “We have been working on this proposition for our consumers for quite some time. As per extensive research done by us, the typical Indian male consumer likes to watch content late night. Mostly consumption is of sports and movies. Given that in a typical Indian household, television is in the bedroom, volume becomes an issue. With a huge following for the World Cup in India and its late night timing, it coincided well with our plans,” says Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera. Special product offerings will be provided for headphone remote-enabled set top boxes.

     

    Even Sun Direct’s existing customers, who take a recharge of six months or more, can watch Sony Six free during the FIFA period. Those who don’t have Sony Six in their packs can avail the FIFA add-on for a special price of Rs 39 for the duration of the World Cup or buy Sony Six at Rs 30 per month. A mix of above the line (ATL), below the line (BTL), digital and PR activities have been planned close to the beginning of the World Cup. ATL is through radio, TV and focus on Kerala; BTL is through posters, leaflets and wobblers; while other activities are through SMS, OBD and blogs. The operator has already received nearly 40,000 requests for Sony Six.

     

    Dish TV and its second brand Zing are banking not just on Sony Six but also on Sony Aath which will be providing commentary in Bangla. Says Dish TV VP marketing Anjali Malhotra, ”Zing caters to a larger language customer base. Sony Aath is already available in all base packs of Zing as well on Dish TV in the north. With Sony Six available to consumers free of any extra fee during FIFA, it will help people buy Zing and watch it.”

     

    The operator has also rolled out an intense marketing campaign across West Bengal involving print, outdoor and radio mediums.

  • Anthems to raise football fever

    Anthems to raise football fever

    MUMBAI: When an energetic game like football and music collide, it’s a magical treat for fans.

     

    In a country where cricket is a religion, official football songs and anthems have been instrumental in getting the fans together. During the 2010 WC Waving Flag by K’nan and Waka Waka by Shakira saw fans cheering and dancing to the popular chartbusters even before the commencement of the tournament.  A hit at parties and sports gatherings, helped more fans on board.

     

    This year, there are three top anthems generating enough and hype.

     

    The biggest hit has been from international pop icon Shakira who is seen gyrating to the unofficial FIFA anthem La La La (Brazil 2014). The Columbian’s second World Cup anthem features her 27-year-old beau and Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué alongside other players like Radamel Falcao, Cesc Soler, Sergio Aguero, James Rodríguez, Eric Abidal, Neymar and Lionel Messi. But the star of the video is none other than, Shakira and Gerard’s son Milan. The official video on her YouTube channel has so far garnered close to 100 million views.

     

    The video is not just limited towards promoting the game but also has Shakira and Activia coming together to support the World Food Programme (WFP).  According to online reports, Shakira and Activia will be donating funds to support the WFP’s School Meals Programme, which will help deliver around 3,000,000 additional school meals for children in developing countries.

    Meanwhile, the official anthem called We Are One (Ole Ola) of the mega event will see international rapper Pitbull and Jeniffer Lopez coming together, again.

     

    Though the video has famous Brazilian landmarks and footballers, it has not gone down too well with the host country’s citizens. Brazilians are unhappy that the video is devoid of local notes and flavor and the focus in mainly on creating another ‘Waka Waka’.

     

    Not to forget, the Ricky Martin’s Vida which has got close to 15 million views on his official YouTube channel. The video is a mosaic of people coming together to celebrate the spirit of football on the sun kissed beaches of Brazil.

     

    Now with three songs in the fray, it remains to be seen which one succeeds in remaining at the top of the charts till 13 July when the WC culminates.
     

    Click here to watch Pitbull Official FIFA Anthem

    Click here to watch Shakira FIFA Anthem

    Click here to watch Ricky Martin FIFA Anthem

     

  • After IPL, it’s FIFA time for broadcasters, advertisers

    After IPL, it’s FIFA time for broadcasters, advertisers

    MUMBAI: It’s been a busy year so far for broadcasters and advertisers. First came the election campaign of major political parties in the fray followed by that annual extravaganza called the Indian Premiere League (IPL) and now comes the mother of all sports tournaments, the FIFA World Cup 2014.

     

    If Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) Sony Six hit a six with the recently concluded IPL, it will most likely score a goal with FIFA as well.

     

    As MSM president Rohit Gupta says, “FIFA is clearly getting bigger and bigger in the country. In 2010, the tournament attracted almost 65 million viewers while this year, we expect the reach to touch 100 million.” Gupta feels football in India is touching T20 World Cricket levels when it comes to popularity. Even when it comes to revenue, Sony Six sold 10 second ad spots for Rs 4.9 to Rs 5 lakh and the final IPL match for Rs 18 lakh to Rs 20 lakh, for FIFA, it is selling 10-seconders for Rs 2 to Rs 2.50 lakh. (Media planners, however, said that the spot rates for the IPL final were between Rs 14 lakh to Rs 16 lakh).

     

    The channel has already got on board big advertisers, with Hero MotoCorp as the presenting sponsor and Xolo Mobile and Microsoft as powered by sponsors. Sony Six is also in talks with e-commerce sites that bombarded the online space during IPL.

     

    Media planners however are doubtful about how many brands will shell out the kind of money demanded by the channel. “If we compare last year’s IPL with the just concluded one, we can see that there were a lot of new advertisers. Online retailers leveraged the sporting event well. However, the same cannot be said about FIFA. Yes, it is true that the sport is gaining viewership and hence, increase in ad rates but we cannot be sure how many will be ready to shell out so much money,” says one media planner on condition of anonymity.

     

    Another media planner believes that while big advertisers and sports brands for whom, the tournament is a perfect occasion to advertise, may shell out big money for ads, but there won’t be much increase towards the end. “The rates are already too high and with the Indian Super League (ISL) too coming up, I wonder how much brands will be ready to spend with such exorbitant rates,” he says.

     

    Moreover, they feel that football, unlike cricket, is not an advertiser friendly game where a break comes not before half time i.e. 45 minutes into the game. Therefore, there is only so much an advertiser can do on television.

     

    Keeping this in mind, a lot of brands will be taking the virtual route to connect with the audiences.

     

    All ‘out’ on social

     

    In an official statement early last week, FIFA director of communications and public affairs, Walter De Gregorio said, “We aim to provide an all-round digital companion so that billions of fans can join in and share their excitement. Only the World Cup and digital can create this worldwide conversation.”

     

    FIFA officials have launched Global Stadium, a social, online and mobile hub for the event, which will help football fans across the world stay connected and updated. FIFA’s website has also been redesigned in the run-up to the tourney with football fans in mind and this is complemented by a strong presence on social media. The website has been optimized for mobile and the official World Cup app that went live early this month.

     

    In April alone, FIFA’s Facebook page reached over 280 million users, the World Cup page currently has more than 18 million fans, and there are over seven million FIFA followers on Twitter, who frequently re-tweet and engage in conversation across six language accounts. All these efforts have been undertaken after understanding the changing consumption habits and the “second screen” assuming prime importance in viewers’ lives.

     

    Similarly, MSM too has announced the launch of ‘LIV Sports’, a digital sports entertainment destination called www.LIVSports.in. LIV Sports will be the official mobile and internet broadcaster of the tournament. The platform will show both live and video-on-demand match content, with informative statistics and analysis.

     

    In a statement, MSM CEO NP Singh commented, “The idea was to create a premier digital sports entertainment destination where we will offer quality content which is mass inclusive and not designed to cater only to ardent sports fans. We have attempted to redefine the way sporting content is presented and consumed. With LIV Sports we will attempt to keep every cross section of our consumers actively engagement through high quality interactive sports content with informative data and analytics.”

     

    The official beer partner, Budweiser, has revealed ‘Rise As One’, the brand’s global creative campaign, to celebrate the moments that unite and inspire fans of the beautiful game around the world.

     

    “Most football fans come under a certain age group and hence, are very active online. So, it will be good if brands take that route to connect with them,” says a digital creative head of an agency. “And cheaper as well,” he laughs and signs off.

  • Sony Six launches two shows for 2014 FIFA World Cup

    Sony Six launches two shows for 2014 FIFA World Cup

    MUMBAI: Sony Six, a sports and entertainment channel from the Multi Screen Media (MSM) bouquet, on account of the 2014 FIFA World Cup has announced the launch of a flagship prime time football wrap around show ‘Cafe Rio’ and an invigorating live breakfast show ‘Football Extraaa’ on all match days.

    It comes with the promise of encapsulating the most interesting and entertaining aspect of the tournament.

    True to the channel’s philosophy of staying inclusive, the shows will captivate both the football purist and the fringe viewers. The shows will feature some of the most eminent names from national and international football as studio guests including Peter Crouch, Robbie Fowler, Peter Shilton, Mikael Silvestre, Ellyse Perry, Sunil Chhetri along with Bollywood star and football enthusiast John Abraham interacting and analysing the game.

    Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan said, “2014 FIFA World Cup is the biggest and most anticipated football tournament of the world and keeping with the scale of the tournament we are excited to present to our viewers the most renowned and eclectic line up of current and erstwhile football stars as studio guests. I believe John’s presence will render our show a generous dose of glamour and entertainment while the guests will bring in a lot of wisdom and insight, offering our audience an unmatched primetime football viewing experience. The hosts and experts on the shows are sure to keep the audience assimilated and glued to their television sets.”

    Coming on board as a studio guest John Abraham said, “I am really excited to be a part of ‘Cafe Rio’ the prime time wrap around show on Sony Six. It’s a great platform where you can see me interact and analyse matches with some of the greatest legends of football. I am sure with this convenient match timings and great line up of shows, the viewers will be glued to Sony Six to watch their favourite teams sweat it out.”

    The two shows come with their own unique flavours, with ‘Cafe Rio’ a live primetime show at 8 pm leading up to the match kick-off at 9.30pm is a blend of sports and entertainment, the show entails interesting facts about victorious teams, historical venues and stalwart players along with in-depth analysis and discussion about squads, player forms, group standings and strategies.

    The live breakfast show ‘Football Extraaa’ is a daily morning round up show for viewers to relive the excitement and fun of the previous day matches. The breakfast show will be telecast between 8.00 am and 9.00 am and will review and provide in-depth analysis of the earlier matches. This show will also be interactive where audience can dial in and share their perspective or ask questions to our studio guests.

    The set has been designed to replicate the essence and the fervour of Brazil’s animated and lively carnival, simultaneously evoking the sheer magic of the game. The dynamic palate of colours integrated into the set resonate the Brazilian spirit and passion for football. As an endeavour to enable the audience to experience the magic of 2014 FIFA World Cup, the set reflects the football mania with portraits of eminent players and a background that recreates the ambience of a stadium.

  • KKR and e-commerce sites win IPL 7

    KKR and e-commerce sites win IPL 7

    MUMBAI: As fans chanted Korbo Lorbo Jitbo (We will do, we will fight, we will win ), Manish Pandey’s 94 off 50 balls not only ensured Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) putting up a brave fight, it saw them seize the IPL cup from Kings XI Punjab in a nail-biting finish.

     

    However, this IPL not only brought smiles to the Knight Riders but also to broadcasters Multi Screen Media-owned Sony Max and Sony Six that aired the tournament.

     

    Before the seventh edition started, naysayers said not many advertisers would be interested in the property since India was going through the mother of all elections. To make things worse, the first phase of IPL was held outside India. And when Sony Entertainment Television president Rohit Gupta said that the broadcaster would charge Rs 4.9-5 lakh for a 10-second slot, a 20 per cent jump from last year’s Rs 4.25 lakh, eyebrows were raised.

     

    However, the story went in the other direction. Despite the T20 tourney being played in the UAE and the ninth phase of the polls coinciding with the matches back home, the popularity of the tournament wasn’t affected and the broadcaster charged as much as Rs18-20 lakh for a 10 seconder for the final match. “Last year, we had charged around Rs 15 lakh for the final match. So, the ad revenue has only gone up. One must understand that IPL is a mature property and shouldn’t talk about not attracting advertisers,” says Gupta.

     

    He went on to say, “Take a look at the English Premier League (EPL); it has been on for more than 20 years and it still attracts audiences and advertisers. Wonder why in India, people don’t understand that IPL is a yearly phenomenon and is here to stay for a long period.”

     

    The television viewership too went up by five per cent for the first 54 matches, from 175 million during IPL-6 to 184 million this year.

     

    “There is no risk to any advertiser,” said Gupta, while highlighting the fact that a big chunk of broadcasters’ revenues would be contributed by e-commerce companies.

     

    Apart from the big advertisers – Vodafone, Karbonn, Havells, Perfetti and Marico – this year saw many e-commerce companies, especially Amazon, which launched its first TVC during IPL and others like Flipkart, Myntra, Quikr and Snapdeal piggybacked on the tournament.

     

    Says GroupM ESP national director – Entertainment, Sports & Live Events Vinit Karnik, “A lot of e-commerce sites associated themselves with various teams. Also, there were a lot of on ground and on air activations so it won’t be wrong to say that this time one product category did leverage the league.”

     

    The reason behind the phenomenon is the intense competition in the online retail segment. And as every player tries to pitch something different be it in terms of product line or delivery model, the mass media property – IPL – becomes the perfect battle ground.

     

    “The IPL has got the reach and so it has delivered eyeballs to the brands. And the result has been achieved. With sites fighting tooth and nail what will be a better platform than IPL to reach out to as many as people?” says MEC national planning director Zubin Tatna.

     

    Havas Media India MD Mohit Joshi agrees on the fact that with booming online retail sector competition is only going to increase. “IPL as a format doesn’t let one innovate much but the brands always get what they want from it, if used appropriately.”

     

    “E commerce sites did dominate the advertisements this time as well as offline enough buzz was created. So, one shouldn’t be surprised if around 40 per cent of the revenue comes from this category,” he adds.

     

    However, Tatna feels otherwise. “You see a Quikr or an OLX ad on television anyhow so I wouldn’t agree with the fact e-commerce sites dominated only IPL.”

     

    The nerve-wrenching battle

     

    The tourney’s star cricketer this year, Glen Maxwell, along with his Punjab teammates David Miller, Virendar Sehwag and George Bailey managed to score a paltry nine runs between the four in an edge-of-the-seat finale. For KKR, it’s been smooth sailing with the final being their ninth win a row. This puts them in the league of Chennai Super Kings (whom they had defeated in the final two years ago) as multiple IPL winners.

     

    However, to their credit, Punjab were neck and neck with KKR so much so it could have been anyone’s match till the very end. Wriddihan Saha’s innings was a fitting precursor to the well fought finish. 

     

    Apart from Maxwell’s disappointing performance, this season’s highest run scorer Robin Utthappa too did not match expectations as Piyush Chawla was left to win the game for KKR. But Utthappa did win the Orange Cap. Man of the match Pandey said that winning the IPL was like the “icing on the cake” after winning the Ranji trophy, Irani trophy and Vijay Hazare trophy.

     

    KKR captain Gautam Gambhir said they never thought they would win this IPL. He also went on to add that winning at the Chinnaswamy Stadium was what the team fancied, considering the fact that it is a small ground. Incidentally, the stadium also hosted the very first IPL game in 2008. Gambhir told indiatoday.in, “This is a ground where it is very difficult to defend. We wanted to get it down to five overs, 50 or 60 to get. Manish played a fantastic innings.” Finally, Punjab’s late strikes could not dither KKR from taking the trophy home a second time with 200 runs.

     

    As for KKR, Kolkata Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee congratulated the team on Facebook. A post she put up on the social networking site said: “Congratulations…. KKR….Congratulations…Sharukh.” She also congratulated Saha for his “brilliant performance.”

     

    In 2012, the Banerjee government had come under sharp criticism for showering expensive gold chains and gold medals as part of the grand felicitation programme held in honour of KKR’s IPL win. But this time around, as Eden Gardens prepares for another such programme, it will be interesting to see what ‘Didi’ has to offer the boys in purple.

  • 2014 FIFA World Cup commentary to get sweeter in Bengali!

    2014 FIFA World Cup commentary to get sweeter in Bengali!

    MUMBAI: As the countdown for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil begins, Indian fans, especially the ‘bong’ football enthusiasts are in for a special language treat.

     

    While Sony Six is the official broadcast partner for the World Cup, Multi Screen Media (MSM) has also decided to telecast the matches on its Bengali channel Aath. That apart, Aath viewers will be in for a Bengali live commentary treat for the matches telecast on the channel. “This is for the first time that we will be having a Bengali live commentary for a sporting event of this scale,” confirmed MSM India CEO NP Singh to indiantelevision.com.

     

    Singh also informed that a studio will be set up for the same. “56 of the 64 matches will be aired on Aath and have Bengali commentary,” he added.

     

    This eastern most state of India is known to have a mass fan base which is crazy and enthusiastic about football.

     

    According to BPN Lintas Media group Kolkata executive vice president Mahesh Motwani, “This move will definitely help increase viewership numbers for the channel as Bengal is the Mecca of football in India. The kind of domain knowledge about football that exists here is large and not found elsewhere. I feel that having commentary in the local language during the FIFA World Cup will help increase eyeballs to a large extent.”

     

    Of the other major plans around the big game, Sony Six aims at tapping into the prime time slot featuring the live games from the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The channel will exclusively broadcast nearly 38 per cent of the total live games in the prime time slot of 9.30pm across the Indian subcontinent (24 games in the 9.30pm time slot out of the total 64 matches). The telecast which will begin at 8pm with one of a kind studio show, (leading up to the match kick off at 9.30pm) will have popular anchors and guests providing interesting and unique insights about the players and the tournament. The 9:30pm slot will showcase some of the most exciting match-ups of the group stages including Germany vs Portugal. Viewers can also catch some of their favourite teams including Spain, England, Uruguay, Netherlands and few of the most exciting knock out stage games in the same slot.

     

    In a nation where prime time slot is dominated by soap operas, will creating a prime time band for football help increase viewership? Said Singh, “Well, India is a nation where prime time is a slot for entertainment, and that is what we are providing. But, this is entertainment of a different kind. Also the reason for creating a studio show before the match is to get the viewers in the 8:30pm time band on the channel, who then stick to it for the match.” 

     

    The network is setting up a studio for the Bengali live commentary. “The work is in full force. We will announce more details soon,” he added.

     

    Sony Six had recently launched an Indian promo video featuring Bollywood actor John Abraham where he is seen watching the football matches on a large screen with many other football fans and viewers.

  • Sony Six set to redefine prime time viewing with 2014 FIFA World Cup

    Sony Six set to redefine prime time viewing with 2014 FIFA World Cup

    MUMBAI: Beginning 12 June, Sony Six, the official broadcast partner for 2014 FIFA World Cup, will redefine prime time viewing of Indian audiences. Being hosted in Brazil, the event is getting ready to capture the imagination of millions of sports enthusiast and hard-core football lovers. With an estimate of over 65 million viewers in the Indian sub-continent itself, the World Cup hopes to rival even the biggest of sporting events in India.

     

    With the world talking of the big sporting event, Sony Six is all set to tap into the prime time slot featuring the live games from the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The channel will exclusively broadcast nearly 38 per cent of the total live games in the prime time slot of 9.30pm across the Indian subcontinent (24 games in the 9.30pm time slot out of the total 64 matches).

     

    The telecast will begin at 8pm with one of a kind studio show, leading up to the match kick off at 9.30pm, where popular anchors and guests will provide the most interesting and unique insights about the players and the tournament.

     

     The 9:30pm slot will showcase some of the most exciting match-ups of the group stages including Germany vs Portugal. Viewers can also catch some of their favourite teams including Spain, England, Uruguay, Netherlands and few of the most exciting knock out stage games in the same slot.

     

    Last time around, of the total viewer demography in India, the tournament had attracted 38 per cent viewership from the 15-34 year audience category presenting a unique opportunity for advertisers and marketers to invest in.

     

    Commenting on the estimated viewership for this year tournament, Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan said, “The projected reach during the tournament is incomparable, given its value as well as time convenience, the viewership numbers account for a wide geographic spread as well as a significant proportion of the world’s population.”

     

    Alliance Advertising, the media buying agency of XOLO, the first official advertiser for 2014 FIFA World Cup on Sony Six, director Arshad Nizam said, “2014 FIFA World Cup is the most anticipated event this year and associating with an event of such magnitude gives XOLO a great opportunity to reach out to the key target audience who will be glued to Sony Six to catch the best footballing action. Considering majority of the matches are slotted for 9.30pm, which is prime time television viewing, gives advertisers a great platform to connect and engage with their audience.”

     

    Not limiting the reach through in-home viewing, the channel feels there will be a continued increase in viewership through out-of-home set up’s including pubs, bars, restaurants, clubs, hotels and official FIFA Fan Fests etc. from metros as well as other emerging markets across the country.

     

    Oxygen Entertainment & Media Solutions director Sajjad Meherally said, “2014 FIFA World Cup has created a huge stir across India with everyone cheering for their favourite team – planning parties and getting geared for the biggest sporting extravaganza. Clients are planning Brazilian themed viewing parties with international performances for their guests. We are getting a lot of inquiries from smaller towns like Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Indore, Nashik and Ludhiana too.”

     

    Besides India, the channel will also broadcast the tournament exclusively to audiences across Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Maldives. 

     

    The tournament will be in two stages; group stage will feature 32 nations and will be played from 12 June-26 June. The knockout stage will start from 28 June and conclude with the FIFA World Cup final match on 13 July.

  • Week 21: Music channels sees a rise

    Week 21: Music channels sees a rise

    MUMBAI: As per Chrome Data Analytics & Media’s opportunity to see (OTS) data, music channels were the highest gainers for the week 21. The genre witnessed a growth of 1.2 per cent in the HSM markets.

     

    In this category, Sony Mix stood at number one position with 88.8 per cent OTS followed by MTV 87.7 per cent OTS, 9XM 82.8 per cent OTS, B4U Music 71.2 per cent OTS and 9X Jalwa 70.8 per cent OTS.

     

    Hindi GECs, this week saw a growth of 0.6 per cent with Star Plus at 96.8 per cent OTS followed by DD National 96.6 per cent OTS, Zee TV 96.4 per cent OTS, Life OK 96.0 per cent OTS and Sony Entertainment also 96.0 per cent OTS at the HSM markets.

     

    With a minor difference, Business News channels in the eight metros saw a gain of 0.4 per cent. Zee Business topped the genre with 80.2 per cent OTS followed by CNBC Awaaz 76.2 per cent OTS, ET Now 69.1 per cent OTS, CNBC TV18 64.3 per cent OTS and NDTV Profit 62.5 per cent OTS.

     

    Lastly, English movies channels gained 0.2 per cent with Movies Now scoring 76.2 per cent OTS followed by PIX 76.0 per cent OTS, Star Movies 68.6 per cent OTS, Zee Studio 64.9 per cent OTS and HBO 63.8 per cent OTS.

     

    As for the genres which saw a drop are Sports channels (All India), Hindi News channels (HSM), Kids (All India) and Hindi Movies (HSM).

  • Sony SIX unveils ‘Live the Magic’

    Sony SIX unveils ‘Live the Magic’

    MUMBAI: The countdown to the world’s biggest sporting event – FIFA World Cup 2014 Brazil – has well and truly begun with official broadcaster of the tourney in India, Sony SIX, announcing its new marketing campaign christened ‘Live the Magic.’

    Actor-football enthusiast John Abraham has been roped in as the face of the campaign which draws upon the global obsession with the game.

    Ask Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan about the idea behind the campaign and he says: “The World Cup is the largest event. When one thinks of Brazil, one gets the image of celebration, glamour and extravaganza. It is about the whole community coming together. From the viewership perspective, it brings non-football viewers and engages them with the entire community. In a single film, it captures all images of football.”

    ‘Live the Magic’ opens with Abraham donning a mask of Brazil’s sensational striker Neymar Jr. and stepping onto the street, where he is joined by other fan boys wearing assorted masks of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Argentina’s Lionel Messi and France’s Ribery. The entourage gets larger as it snakes through the streets, replicating the feel of Brazil’s carnival parade. A riot of colours, the film captures the essence of Brazil through its beaches, narrow streets, colourful houses and music.

    On the choice of Abraham, Krishnan says, “John relates to flair and glamour. It is his versatility that syncs with our channel’s belief of making content inclusive and entertaining for everyone, deeming him the right fit for our campaign. He is also very knowledgeable about football.”

    The creative agency behind ‘Live the Magic’ is Havas Worldwide while it has been directed and filmed by Prashant Issar from Tubelight fims.

    Elaborating on the campaign, Havas Media executive creative director Vivek Rao says, “The paper mache masks bring a distinctive visual element that has all the carnival cues about it. By combining the two, we captured the essence of Brazil and the carnival feel that it would bring to the FIFA world Cup. All this is reflected with the energy, passion, music and crowd participation in the film, urging people to watch the magic unfold on Sony Six.” Interestingly, the scene where football is being played on the beach was shot at Aksa beach in Mumbai and the whole set-up of Brazil’s streets was also re-created within maximum city.

    Coming to the event itself, FIFA World Cup 2014 Brazil will kick off on 12 June and will have two stages, with the group stage featuring 32 nations battling it out from 12 June to 26 June. The knockout stage will start from 28 June and conclude with the FIFA World Cup Final match on 13 July. The matches will be telecast at 9:30 pm in India and the channel hopes to capture the primetime audience. For now, Sony Six is also looking at third party broadcasters. The channel will also roll out a 360 degree campaign across television, print, radio, digital, outdoor, on-ground, mobile, BTL and out-of-home. The entire campaign will last for three weeks and will begin from the last week of the Indian Premiere League. Out-of-home campaigns will be seen in at least 10 cities. TVC’s will be pan-India. The channel will soon announce the brands it has on board but Xolo is confirmed as of now.

    During the last World Cup, the viewership numbers were 65 million, but during this World Cup, Krishnan expects the number to touch 125 million in India, as trends show an increase in football viewership in India. This he says the channel will use to build a strong audience base.

  • Sony Six to air an exclusive run-up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup

    Sony Six to air an exclusive run-up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup

    MUMBAI: Starting 5 May, Sony Six, India’s premier sports and entertainment channel will launchan exclusive line up of content that will feature as an onset to run-up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Brazil. As the international home of football – ‘Brazil’ stands on the horizonto host the biggest football event on the planet; itsexcitementhas already journeyed onto the Indian shores. Thetournament is staged at an all-time high and is ready to capture the imagination of millions of sports enthusiast and hard-core football lovers. Sony Six, that holds the rights for telecasting the event exclusively in India, look to capitalise on this opportunity through high quality and exclusive content to the fans.

    The channel will broadcast the following programmes:

    Sony Six EVP and business head Prasana Krishnan said,“The excitement that stems from every World Cup is huge. We are using this fantastic opportunityto capture the hype of the upcoming2014 FIFA World Cup™. Our holistic line-up of content promises to ignite the fervour as well as the passion that the viewer’s hold for Football. Our comprehensive line up of pre-tournament programmes promises the fact that there’s something for everyone to enjoy as SIX will provide the fans a true taste of the best footballing action before the biggest tournament in the world kicks off.”