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  • Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 returns after two years: What has changed?

    Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 returns after two years: What has changed?

    Mumbai: Pro Kabaddi League, one of the fastest-growing sports franchises in terms of viewership is all set to return on 22 December, after a two-year hiatus, imposed by the pandemic.

    Like sporting events, the league has also undergone format changes owing to Covid-19 protocols. This time, all matches will be played in Bengaluru, sans any LIVE audience to cheer their favourite teams. But, this may not mar the enthusiasm of the fans who have been waiting for the sporting event, say agency experts. The official broadcaster Star Sports Network too has upped its ante and pushed its marketing efforts to regain the viewership that the series enjoyed pre-pandemic.

    Will PKL see a similar resurgence in viewership like the IPL?

    According to the Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc), the sports genre had 2.4 per cent share in the overall TV viewership before Covid struck. This decreased to 0.7 per cent during the first lockdown, then increased marginally to 0.8 per cent during Unlock period, and grew once again to 4.1 per cent by the end of the year. The Indian Premier League (13th season) that was aired between week 38 and week 45 increased sports viewership by six times compared to previous weeks (week 34-37). (BARC Yearbook 2020)

    “IPL in 2020 had a format shift due to Covid-19, however TV ratings saw an increase by about 50 per cent. One of the major reasons was high TV viewership during pandemic and lockdown. But, the viewership went back to 2019 levels in 2021,” said MediaCom managing partner Vishal Shah.

    It is also significant to note that IPL was the only major sports event that was aired in the pandemic year 2020. Since people were confined to their homes and starved of LIVE sports action, TV viewership increased across genres. While, PKL may not have that advantage, because 2021 has turned out to be a tremendous year for LIVE sports with a packed sporting event calendar, especially in the second half.

    “Looking at the ratings trend this year, the numbers might be slightly lower than what the last season did, as the overall numbers have changed in the past two years,” said dentsu Amplifi India group trading director Sujata Dwibedy. “But, good marketing from the (Star Sports) network, across media is expected. This should pull more viewers.”

    Campaign in full swing

    Star Sports has already kicked off the promotions for the eighth season of PKL roping in M S Dhoni for their ad campaign. More recently, the broadcaster released a regional ad film playing up the opening match of PKL between Telugu Titans and Tamil Thalaivas on 22 December. The promo featured movie star Naga Chaitanya, indicating that the marketing efforts are in full swing.

    “In 2019, PKL witnessed 50-55 per cent growth in viewership from the previous season across different audiences and markets,” observed MediaCom managing partner Vishal Shah.

    Kabaddi being a homegrown sport, the league has enormous support and viewership from the Tier II and III towns. PKL viewership base largely comes from markets like Andhra Pradesh/Telangana (32 per cent) followed by Maharashtra/Goa (24 per cent), Karnataka (12 per cent) and Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu Kashmir (seven per cent) and Kerala (five per cent), as per the BARC data.

    The viewership for PKL is much more evenly spread out according to dentsu’s Dwibedy. “It is not necessary that only people from the hinterland and Tier II towns have been viewing it (PKL), it has its loyal fans across demographics and across audiences but is skewed towards males,” she added.

    No LIVE audience at this year’s spectacle

    This year PKL will be missing LIVE audiences and will shed the caravan style format. Instead, all teams will play at a single location in Bengaluru. Looking back at IPL last year, media planners suggest that format changes will have little to no impact on the viewership of the tournament. Mashal Sports has also announced that triple headers will be played on all Saturdays which may have a positive impact on the viewership over weekends.

    New categories of advertisers likely

    Ad rates and sponsorship for PKL are likely to see a premium in proportion to the growth in audiences that the event saw in 2019.

    According to dentsu’s Dwibedy, brands who found cricket very expensive but want to still associate with some impactful property will be looking to partner with PKL, along with brands who genuinely see a fit with PKL and want to amplify their presence through the series. “We could also see some new categories of advertisers emerging as sponsors,” she added.

    “The other opportunity is also to do with the season and timing, IPL has always been a popular choice for summer brands whereas PKL is happening in a period that will attract winter seasonal brands,” said Mediacom’s Shah.

    Categories such as e-sports, e-pharmacy, auto, telecom, beverages, mobile handsets, paan masala, deodorants, paints, and cement have consistently been associated with the tournament and are expected to do the same this year.

  • SonyLIV announces six sponsors for ‘Shark Tank India’

    SonyLIV announces six sponsors for ‘Shark Tank India’

    Mumbai: SonyLIV has signed six sponsors for “Shark Tank India,” which is set to premiere on 20 December. The streaming platform has partnered with upGrad, Acko General Insurance, Black Dog Drinking Soda as the ‘co-presenting’ sponsors, Cashfree Payments as ‘payments’ partner, Flipkart as ‘digital’ partner and Dell Technologies as ‘technology’ partner.

    SonyLIV has sold out almost 75 per cent of its ad inventory two months before the show goes on-air. It has generated the maximum interest from categories like BFSI, e-commerce, ed-tech, digital payments, consumer durables, and technology brands. “With the launch of the India edition of Shark Tank, we will be adding to our library of diverse, engaging content,” said Sony Pictures Networks India senior vice president and head of ad revenue Ranjana Mangla. “The show has a unique proposition that has attracted brands from across categories such as e-commerce, ed-tech, beverages, consumer durables, handset, auto and BFSI. Currently, we have managed to sell over 75 per cent of our ad inventory and onboarded six sponsors for the show.”

    Based on the business reality show “Shark Tank,” the show will provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas, business prototypes or active businesses to business experts aka ‘The Sharks.’ The show will be telecasted on Sony Entertainment Television channel.

    The ‘Sharks’ that will appear on the show include Ashneer Grover (BharatPe founder and managing director), Vineeta Singh (Sugar Cosmetics CEO and co-founder), Peyush Bansal (Lenskart founder and CEO), Namita Thapar (Emcure Pharmaceuticals executive director), Anupam Mittal (Shaadi.com – People Group founder and CEO), Ghazal Alagh ( Mamaearth co-founder and chief mama) and Aman Gupta (boAt co-founder and chief marketing officer). The show will be hosted by Rannvijay Singha who will act as a guide for the pitchers on the show and the audience alike.

    “We at Acko definitely understand what it takes to turn a dream into a successful venture. So, we are excited to be associating with the first-ever season of Shark Tank India, a show that we believe can help boost India’s start-up ecosystem and encourage entrepreneurship across India,” said Acko executive vice president marketing Ashish Mishra.

    “At upGrad, it is our aim to support professionals in their lifelong learning journey and equip them with evolving skills required to venture out into the professional world, which shall also help them survive the market roller-coaster,” said upGrad chief executive officer Arjun Mohan. “This is similar to what Shark Tank India aims to do with the aspiring entrepreneurs who are looking forward to creating successful businesses for a better future of our country.”

    “We are elated to associate with Shark Tank India, in their bid to support budding entrepreneurs and the rapidly-growing Indian start-up ecosystem,” said Cashfree Payments co-founder and chief executive officer Akash Sinha. “We look forward to nurturing this partnership, which will help us contribute towards the development of a favorable business environment to foster innovation in the startup space.”

  • upGrad, Flipkart & Kia Motors come onboard as sponsors for ‘Shark Tank India’

    upGrad, Flipkart & Kia Motors come onboard as sponsors for ‘Shark Tank India’

    Mumbai: Sony Entertainment Television is set to telecast “Shark Tank India” starting 20 December every Monday to Friday at 9 p.m. Produced by Studio Next, the show will see upGrad as ‘presenting’ sponsor, Flipkart as ‘co-powered by’ sponsor and Kia Motors as ‘associate’ sponsor, announced the channel in a statement.

    The first edition of “Shark Tank India” will feature seven ‘Sharks’ including Ashneer Grover (BharatPe founder and managing director), Vineeta Singh (Sugar Cosmetics CEO and co-founder), Peyush Bansal (Lenskart founder and CEO), Namita Thapar (Emcure Pharmaceuticals executive director), Anupam Mittal (Shaadi.com – People Group founder and CEO), Ghazal Alagh ( Mamaearth co-founder and chief mama) and Aman Gupta (boAt co-founder and chief marketing officer). The show will be hosted by Rannvijay Singha who will act as a guide for the pitchers on the show and the audience alike.

    The selected applicants or the ‘Pitchers’ will find themselves face-to-face with the ‘Sharks’ or the investors who will understand, assess and make an offer based on the applicant’s final ‘pitch.’

    “This revolutionary show that celebrates entrepreneurship perfectly aligns with the current sentiments across the country and we feel that there couldn’t have been a better time to launch this show,” said head content – Sony Entertainment Television and digital business Ashish Golwalkar. “Shark Tank India is an extremely relevant show for us and I believe that it has the potential to connect with the Indian audience as well.”

    “At Studio Next, it’s our endeavour to present to our viewers ‘entertainment with a purpose’ and shows like KBC, Scam 1992, Dhadkan Zindaggi Kii or soon to be released Whistleblower are a testament to our efforts,” said head – Studio Next Indranil Chakraborty. “In line with this thought, we are excited to bring a show like Shark Tank India that offers a unique viewing experience to the audience not only educating them but entertaining them at the same time.”

    Sony Pictures Networks India has acquired the rights for the Indian adaptation of the globally successful business reality format – “Shark Tank,” which will be aired on Sony Entertainment Television. The format has reinvigorated businesses in over 40 countries since its first launch in 2001. With over 180 seasons; winning over 30 awards globally, “Shark Tank” is the world’s top business reality show. Since its first launch in 2001, as “Tigers of Money” in Japan, created by Nippon TV the format was later adapted as “Dragon’s Den” in 2005 in the UK and the show premiered in the US as “Shark Tank” in the year 2009. The format is distributed internationally by Sony Pictures Television.

  • Sony Sports ropes in five sponsors for ‘The Ashes 2021’

    Sony Sports ropes in five sponsors for ‘The Ashes 2021’

    Mumbai: Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) is set to telecast ‘The Ashes 2021’ live from 8 December. The broadcaster has roped in BYJU’s, Policy Bazaar, Siggnature Elaichi, Bosch Appliances, Dafa News as sponsors.

    The series will be aired on Sony Six (English), Sony Ten 3 (Hindi), and Sony Ten 4 (Tamil and Telugu) channels and livestreamed on its on-demand OTT platform, SonyLIV.

    “The Ashes is the platinum standard of Test cricket and has raised the bar of Test cricket over the years. Sony Sports channels will broadcast the series in four languages for the first time, English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, so that cricket enthusiasts all over the country can enjoy the matches in their language of choice,” said Sony Pictures Networks India chief revenue officer of distribution and head sports business Rajesh Kaul. “With a galaxy of superstars on both test teams, the much-anticipated series promises to be a tight-knit contest and has garnered a brilliant response from the advertisers as well.”

    The Hindi commentary panel will feature prominent names like Vivek Razdan, Saba Karim, Atish Thukral, Raman Bhanot, Snehal Pradhan, and Reetinder Singh Sodhi. The Tamil commentary panel will have former cricketers and legends Laxman Sivaramakrishnan and Woorkeri Raman along with Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, T Arasu, S Seshadri, Arun Venugopal, Aarti Sankaran, and Sunil Viswanthan in presence while the Telugu commentary panel will feature Keerthi Viswanadha, Prem Sagar, Vijay Mahavadi, Sudheer Mahavadi, RJ Hemant, Venkatapathy Raju, C Venkatesh, Vijay Mahavadi and Sandeep Kumar.

    The first test match will start on 8 December at 5.30 a.m (IST) at The Gabba, Brisbane. The next test match will be held at Adelaide Oval starting at 9:30 a.m (IST) followed by the third test match on 26 December at the Melbourne Cricket Ground starting at 5 a.m (IST). The fourth test match will be played at Sydney Cricket Ground starting on 5 January 2022 at 5 a.m (IST) followed by the last test match on 14 January at Perth Stadium starting at 8 a.m (IST).

  • Viacom18 launches marketing blitz to build fandom for Abu Dhabi T10

    Viacom18 launches marketing blitz to build fandom for Abu Dhabi T10

    Mumbai: Viacom18 will begin airing the Abu Dhabi T10 league on 19 November starting at 7 p.m. The network has started a marketing blitz to build a fandom for the league amongst cricketing fans in India. The Abu Dhabi T10 league is co-presented by Dream11 and has onboarded Fairplay as a digital sponsor on Voot.

    “The Abu Dhabi T10 tournament has emerged as one of the most entertaining spectacle events in the sporting calendar since its launch,” Viacom18 head of marketing and digital – Hindi mass entertainment Sapangeet Rajwant. “Our aim will be to enhance the overall experience of viewers and reach out to the mass, cricket-crazy audience in India to increase the fan base and popularise the event in the country.”

    Abu Dhabi T10 league will premiere from 7 p.m on 19 November, live on Colors Cineplex, Rishtey Cineplex, and Voot. The six teams that will be a part of this series represent 20 nations and include cricketing legends like Yusuf Pathan, Eoin Morgan, David Wiese, Faf Du Plessis, Chris Gayle, Babar Azam, Wahab Riaz, Imran Tahir and many more.

    Viacom18 has initiated a 360-degree mix of marketing initiatives starting from 15 November to build up the excitement for the tournament. The network is driving communications on TV for the league across 50 channels in the movies, music, regional GECs, and news genre along with a promotional plan for cable across Maharashtra and Gujarat markets as well as collaboration with several DTH providers. Along with OOH hoardings across Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai markets, there is also a robust print ad plan underway.

    Moreover, the network is driving instream inventory and interstitial ads across social media, gaming apps, and short video platforms and placing GDN banners on cricket-focussed websites. While on radio, RJ mentions, spots, and score updates have been planned with leading stations across Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Nashik, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat, Rajkot markets.

    Leveraging the digital outreach, carousel ads and push notifications will be driven across Jio platforms. On social media, push across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube are targeted towards reaching out to cricket and sports fans, as well as engagement, which will be driven through hashtag challenges. Digital impact amplification will also be done through channels/platforms with Google products and a host of cricket websites.

  • Star Sports ropes in nine sponsors for IND vs NZ series

    Star Sports ropes in nine sponsors for IND vs NZ series

    Mumbai: Sports broadcaster Star Sports has roped in nine sponsors for PayTM India vs New Zealand 2021 series that will begin on 17 November. As part of the series, both teams will play three T20s and two test matches.

    The broadcaster has signed BYJU’s, Dream11, Maruti Suzuki, Kamala Pasand, and Dhani as “co-presenting” sponsors, and Aakash (BYJU’s), MakeMyTrip, WhiteHat Jr, and Great Learning as “associate” sponsors.

    The sponsors were revealed after the network kicked off its #Believeinblue campaign. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad line-up for the series. The Indian cricket team will be sending Ajinkya Rahane (captain), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Md Siraj and Prasidh Krishna to play against New Zealand in Jaipur. Virat Kohli will join the squad for the second test match and will lead the team.

  • Star Sports ropes in 18 sponsors for Ind-Pak match on 24 Oct

    Star Sports ropes in 18 sponsors for Ind-Pak match on 24 Oct

    Mumbai: Star India has unveiled the sponsors for the ICC T20 World Cup India vs Pakistan match to be held on 24 October starting at 7:30 p.m. The broadcast sponsors include ‘co-presenting’ partner Dream11, BYJU’s, PhonePe, Thums Up, Vimal Paan Masala, Havells, JioMart, Netmeds.com and ‘associate’ partner Aakash (BYJU’s), Skoda, White Hat Jr, Great Learning, Royal Stag, CoinDCX, Trends, Cred, Upstox, and Cadbury Dairy Milk.

    The match will be broadcasted on Star Sports channels and Star Gold as well as streamed on Disney+ Hotstar. Star Sports has launched a hilarious ad campaign ‘Buy 1 Break 1 Free Offer’ that has gone live on the broadcasters’ YouTube channels. The film has been conceptualised by Star Sports in-house team and continues with the concept of the Indian and Pakistani fans trying to get the better of each other.

    The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup held in 2019 saw 273 million unique viewers tuning into linear TV to watch the India vs Pakistan match. Additionally, 50 million digital-only viewers saw the match on streaming platforms. The game became the most-watched match in World Cup history, according to ICC.

    “The India-Pakistan clash is one of the biggest matchups in the world of sports,” said Star and Disney India head of sports Sanjog Gupta. “The clash at an ICC event attracts core and casual Cricket fans as well as viewers who don’t watch any other Cricket. The historic on-field rivalry between both teams is unparalleled and we believe that the iconic ‘Mauka Mauka’ campaign captures the spirit of this rivalry, blending competitiveness, banter, and sportsmanship.”

    India and Pakistan renew their on-field rivalry. The ‘Men in Blue’ have never lost to Pakistan in either 50-over World Cup games or T20 World Cup games.  Team India has gotten the better of team Pakistan in five consecutive ICC T20 World Cup encounters – twice in the 2007 T20 World Cup, followed by victories in 2012, 2014, and 2016. 

    The group stage of the T20 World Cup begins on 17 October.

  • Discovery set to premiere ‘Into The Wild with Bear Grylls and Ajay Devgn’

    Discovery set to premiere ‘Into The Wild with Bear Grylls and Ajay Devgn’

    Mumbai: Discovery India is all set to premiere “Into The Wild with Bear Grylls and Ajay Devgn” on 25 October on Discovery channels and digitally on 22 October via streaming platform discovery+.

    The broadcast premiere of the show is scheduled at 8 p.m IST on 14 linear channels including Discovery Channel, Discovery HD, Discovery Tamil, Animal Planet, Animal Planet HD, TLC, TLC HD, Discovery ID, Discovery ID HD, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, Discovery Kids, Eurosport, and Eurosport HD. 

    The broadcaster has also released a trailer giving a sneak peek into the episode.

    “This is my first ever expedition into the wild and I can tell you it wasn’t child’s play!” said Devgn. “My father was an action director and in my career span of 30 years in the Indian industry, I have had the fortune to play several roles including some dangerous action ones too. And, this was one of those times when I had to put those learnings to the test again.”

    The special episode has attracted marquee advertisers including Vini Cosmetics and Citroen as ‘co-powered by’ sponsors. While Dell, Omron Healthcare, Spotify, and Amazon Alexa have come on board as ‘associate’ sponsors, LIC is the ‘partner’ sponsor for the title.

    “Into the Wild with Bear Grylls is one of our most acclaimed and loved series and with the new episode, the motive was clear – to make it bigger, better and widen our audience base. The show has been appreciated worldwide and we expect to land big with this special season,” said Discovery Inc managing director – South Asia Megha Tata.

    Produced by The Natural Studios and Banijay Asia, the show will be available in seven languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bangla, Malayalam, and Kannada. The episode will exclusively premiere on discovery+ India and the Philippines followed by other EMEA regions, including the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. It will also be showcased on Discovery’s network of channels in over 140 countries.

    “To get to take the legendary Ajay into the wild and have an adventure with him was a privilege,” said Bear Grylls. “Desert islands are always tough to survive on and Ajay showed total commitment to do what we needed to get out in one piece. He was also incredibly honest, sharing so many insights into his life and career and I value that honesty so much.”

    “Into The Wild with Bear Grylls” has featured many recognised faces in the Indian film industry including Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar, and also featured India’s prime minister Narendra Modi.

  • ‘Mayaadweepam’ returns on Zee Telugu starting 3 October

    ‘Mayaadweepam’ returns on Zee Telugu starting 3 October

    Mumbai: Zee Telugu has revived its kids reality show “Mayaadweepam” after seven years. The show will be led by Ohmkar as host along with fictional characters Pillamarriraju and Ontu Kannu Rakshasudu starting from 3 October at 9 p.m on Zee Telugu and Zee Telugu HD.

    This season’s sponsors include Close Up, Dazller Eterna and Triplex detergent.

    “Mayaadweepam” is an adventure game show that unearths the skills of young contestants including their physical, intellectual, satirical and educational ability. The intricately designed sets created for the show are one of the most composite setups in Telugu television. A crew of 100 members worked over 50 days to bring alive the setting, blending India’s rich mythic structures to give viewers a grand viewing experience, said the channel in a statement.

    This year Zee Telugu announced digital auditions for the show. Participants between the age of 6-12 years were invited to participate in the virtual auditions and this helped the channel receive over 12,000 entries in a short period of time. The selected participants will be part of the game show where every episode will witness four different contestants. Each episode will end with a ‘Showdown’ in which the contestants will be undergoing various levels of challenges.

    “Mayaadweepam is my dream project,” said producer and host of the show, Ohmkar. “It marks my foray into the fantasy genre and empowers me to explore further variants of content. As we march onwards, we bring together not only the show’s original characters such as Pillamarriraju and Onti Kannu Rakshasudu but also the uniquely monumental set that is one-of-a-kind in the history of Telugu television. Besides, I’m happy to see the promo receive tremendous praises and I am certain that it makes for an unforgettable viewing experience.”

  • Colors set to bring ‘Bigg Boss 15’ on 2 October

    Colors set to bring ‘Bigg Boss 15’ on 2 October

    Mumbai: Colors, the Hindi general entertainment channel by Viacom18, has announced the return of  “Bigg Boss” for its 15th season starting on 2 October at 9:30 p.m.

    The show has introduced fresh elements and concepts to increase the excitement for the new season and will see the return of Salman Khan as its host. This includes a new jungle-themed “Bigg Boss” house and an animated mascot who will enthrall the digital audience. “Like the past successful seasons, the new season of the show will be even more exciting, as the contestants get ready for a wild ride in the jungle with VishwasunTREE accompanying them in their journey,” said Khan on the new season.

    “We, at Colors, always believe in delivering innovative, engaging, and diverse content to our viewers with our variety of fiction and non-fiction shows,” said Viacom18 head – Hindi mass entertainment and kids TV network Nina Elavia Jaipuria. “In the past few months, we have entertained our audiences with some of our biggest shows like Dance Deewane, Khatron Ke Khiladi and announced our first quiz show – The Big Picture. The momentum will continue in the festive season with the launch of our marquee show Bigg Boss, a show that the nation adores and eagerly looks forward to every year.”

    The channel has planned a robust marketing and digital plan to promote the season. As a part of the marketing campaign on TV, a high-octane promo plan will be carried out across network channels along with innovative print ads in top publications. The digital audience will experience some of the iconic moments from the previous season through memes and reels.

    “With each season of Bigg Boss, we introduce fresh elements and concepts to enhance the excitement and engagement around the show,” said Viacom18 chief content officer of Hindi mass entertainment Manisha Sharma. “This season, we have given a whole new spin to the theme of the show by putting the contestants in a jungle wherein they will be riddled with new challenges and intense moments right from the beginning.”

    “For the first time, the Bigg Boss house will be a jungle wherein the inmates must survive with bare minimum amenities,” said Endemol Shine India chief executive officer Abhishek Rege. “The entire season has been very creatively conceptualised including the design of the jungle that will add a lot of grandeur to the house.”

    Produced by Endemol Shine India, the show has roped in ‘presents’ sponsor TRESemme, ‘powered by’ sponsor Knorr and Dabur Dantrakshak and ‘beauty’ partner Lotus White Glow.

    “We are thrilled to be partnering with Bigg Boss yet again for season 15 as co-sponsors,” said Unilever vice president Harman Dhillon. “TRESemmé promotes the values of independence, self-reliance, and most importantly, the confidence you need to step up and meet the next challenge.”