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Tag: Star Sports

  • Viacom18 to launch two sports channels on 15 April

    Viacom18 to launch two sports channels on 15 April

    Viacom18 will be launching its two English sports channels Sports18 1 SD and Sports18 1 HD on 15 April, said the company’s distribution arm IndiaCast in a public notice recently.

    The SD and HD channels will be available at a reasonable price. 

    The company has reduced the price of its sports channel from Rs 12 to Rs 8. The charges will be applicable excluding taxes, levies and cess.

    According to the media reports, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had granted fresh licenses to Viacom18 and Star India in June 2021. Four licenses were granted to both networks separately. Viacom18 is launching its new sports channel with these licenses.

    The launch of these two sports channels is backed up by Reliance as its own stake in Viacom18. 

    In addition, a one-month promotional offer for distribution platform operators (DPOs) is available where both the sports channels will not be charged any costs. The scheme will commence on 15 April and will expire on 14 May.

    Moreover, Viacom18 also has acquired media rights to properties like La Liga, FIFA World Cup, Serie A, NBA, Ligue1, and Abu Dhabi T10 series. 

    The new sports channels of the network will be competing with both Star sports and Sony Sports.

  • Premier League: Disney Star renews broadcast rights for next three seasons

    Premier League: Disney Star renews broadcast rights for next three seasons

    Mumbai: Disney Star has renewed its exclusive broadcast rights for the Premier League for the next three seasons until 2025 for the Indian sub-continent. With this, the broadcaster’s association with one of the world’s biggest football leagues will span over two decades now.

    “Disney Star will continue to grow the viewership of the Premier League across the Indian sub-continent by broadcasting all 380 matches across the Star Sports Network and on Disney+ Hotstar,” said the broadcaster in a statement on Monday.

    “We are delighted to continue our association with the Premier League and look forward to the collaboration over the next three seasons. Our joint efforts have seen viewership for the league grow manifold and we remain committed to widening its popularity as well as deepening the affiliation for its clubs,” said Disney Star head – sports Sanjog Gupta. “With Premier League and the Indian Super League, we are home to the two most popular football leagues in India and will continue our e

    endeavour to grow football fandom in the country.”

    Disney Star claims to have grown the viewership for Premier League over 10 times in the past six years. From making the content available in additional regional feeds — Malayalam and Bangla, to creating country-specific campaigns over the years and organising on-ground activations like Select FC Screenings and Trophy Tours, it has undertaken various initiatives to increase the League’s fan base.

    “The Premier League is delighted to announce an extension of our exciting association with Disney Star,” commented Premier League chief media officer Paul Molnar. “They will be an outstanding home for the Premier League over the next three seasons and we look forward to working together to showcase the League to new and existing fans throughout the Indian sub-continent.”

  • Star Sports celebrates Tata IPL’s return to summer window in new campaign

    Star Sports celebrates Tata IPL’s return to summer window in new campaign

    Mumbai: Star Sports, the official broadcaster of IPL has launched #YehAbNormalHai campaign featuring MS Dhoni to celebrate the return of the League to its original summer window. With a brand-new title sponsor and the addition of two new teams, the Tata IPL 2022 is all set to hit the Indian shores on 26 March.

    Directed by Vasan Bala, the campaign features MS Dhoni as a bus driver who has parked the bus in the middle of a busy road. The traffic policeman arrives at the scene and questions Dhoni’s actions, to which he responds by saying that he is watching an intense IPL game. The cop treats this as a usual occurrence, and drives away reinstating the fact that such fandom is normal for IPL matches. 

    Star Sports will release the campaign film in seven languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and Gujarati.

    Disney Star head – sports Sanjog Gupta said, “The Tata IPL 2022 campaign seeks to recruit millions of TV viewers and digital users across the country. Structured in four phases, the campaign turns the spotlight on fan frenzy and unique situations typically associated with the tournament as well as the distinct proposition of this year’s edition. #YeAbNormalHai adequately represents this, tying it with the social context of people discovering a “new normal” in their lives. The launch phase of the campaign strives to create a sense of excitement for the start of the 15th season, which promises to be the biggest ever.”

    Tata IPL 2022 will begin on 26 March, 2022.The 10 teams have been divided into two groups and will play a total of 14 league matches (seven home matches and seven away matches) totaling 70 league matches, followed by the playoffs and finals.

  • Star Sports unveils #HamaraBlueBandhan campaign to support women’s cricket team

    Star Sports unveils #HamaraBlueBandhan campaign to support women’s cricket team

    Mumbai: Star Sports has unveiled a new campaign called #HamaraBlueBandhan to rally the nation behind the Indian Women’s cricket team. The first campaign film of the series is dedicated to the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 that will begin airing from 4 March.

    India’s journey in the tournament will begin on 6 March at 6:30 a.m against arch-rivals Pakistan. “The campaign aims to epitomize the spirit of cricket and bring to life the bond that cricketing fans across India have with the Women in Blue,” said the statement.  

    The film picks up from India’s heart-breaking loss in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 finals against England and highlights how close the team has come to becoming world champions. “The fandom and support for the Women in Blue has increased many folds since the 2017 finals and the sport has given rise to many new heroes making them household names. The upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 will be India’s chance to go one step further and become world champions,” said the statement.

    “We are delighted to host the Women’s World Cup across Star Sports & Disney+ Hotstar, showcasing the premier event to millions of cricket fans across the country,” said Disney Star head – sports Sanjog Gupta. “The exemplary performance of the Indian team coupled with our continued efforts to popularise Women’s Cricket had seen the T20 World Cup in 2020 shatter viewership records. The growing popularity of women’s cricketers serves as an inspiration for everyone, but especially for young girls to enter the field of sports. The #HamaraBlueBandhan campaign seeks to bind Cricket fans together to rally behind the Indian team as it embarks on a 12-month journey of conquering world Cricket starting with the WWC 2022. We wish the women in blue the very best and are sure they will continue to inspire us with their journeys.”

    The team India ODI captain Mithali Raj, along with the experience of Jhulan Goswami, Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur among others will look to lead India to its maiden Women’s World Cup triumph on 6 March at the Bay Oval, Tauranga in New Zealand.

  • Avik Chatterjee appointed as director-emerging sports at Star Sports

    Avik Chatterjee appointed as director-emerging sports at Star Sports

    Mumbai: Disney Star India has appointed Avik Chatterjee as director-emerging sports at Star Sports, according to his LinkedIn profile.

    “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new innings in my career as director – marketing at Star Sports (The Walt Disney Company)!” Chatterjee said in a LinkedIn post. “Armed with my enthusiasm for sports and my cross-sectoral marketing experience, I look forward to driving the consumer strategy for emerging sports and catalyse India’s transformation into a multi-sport nation.”

    Chatterjee was previously associated with Visa as its director of consumer marketing for India and South Asia. He has had stints at telecom company Vodafone India, American MNC Mars, and began his 18-year long career at Capgemini.

    He has completed his Bachelor of Technology (Information Technology) from the University of Kalyani and his MBA from Nanyang Business School, Singapore.

  • Mashal Sports releases schedule for second part of PKL 8

    Mashal Sports releases schedule for second part of PKL 8

    Mumbai: Mashal Sports has announced the second part of the ongoing vivo Pro Kabaddi League with next 33 matches to be played from 20 January to 4 February. The event will be broadcast live every day from 7:30 p.m onwards on Star Sports network and Disney+ Hotstar.

    Out of 132 matches, PKL season 8 has already witnessed 66 matches between 12 teams and the next 33 matches will include ‘rivalry week’ where playing teams are selected for popular sentiments and folklore between respective geographies. The ‘rivalry week’ of PKL season 8 will be played from 31 January to 4 February.

    “A notable feature of Pro Kabaddi is that it offers the highest number of matches among front-ranking Indian sports leagues,” said Mashal Sports CEO and PKL league commissioner Anupam Goswami. “This is a unique value proposition for its 12 Teams, its athlete pool, as well as sports fans and sponsors in our country’s sports ecosystem.  The completion of 66 matches of the first half of season 8, as well as the release of the next 33 matches, is proof of our commitment to this intrinsic value of Pro Kabaddi.”   

    “We are proud to be associated with Pro Kabaddi, which has undertaken the massive task of conducting its eighth season in the given challenging circumstances,” said vivo India director brand strategy Yogendra Sriramula.

  • Dwijendra Parashar joins Star Sports as marketing manager-cricket

    Dwijendra Parashar joins Star Sports as marketing manager-cricket

    Mumbai: Dwijendra Parashar has joined Star Sports as marketing manager for cricket, as per his LinkedIn profile.

    Parashar is a marketing professional, who was previously associated with Pidilite Industries Ltd for over six years. He joined Pidilite as branch manager in 2016 and scaled his way up to the position of head of field marketing in 2017. He moved on from the company as brand manager (Fevistik).

    “Today, as I identify myself as something other than a Pidilitian, as I step out of the organisation that has nurtured me over the last 6.5 years, I can express nothing but gratitude for my leaders who have gone above and beyond to aid my development and teach me all I know today,” Parashar said in a LinkedIn post.

    He is an alumnus of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies.

  • Ravi Shastri features in Star Sports promo ahead of Ind-SA test series

    Ravi Shastri features in Star Sports promo ahead of Ind-SA test series

    Mumbai: Star Sports has launched a promo featuring Ravi Shastri ahead of the three-match test series between India and South Africa starting on 26 December at 1.30 p.m.

    Titled #FirstKaThirst, the campaign film is created and conceptualised by the in-house team at Star India. It highlights the many firsts that team India has achieved in the Rainbow Nation. The broadcaster is driving the narrative that team India is prepared to go one step further and achieve the best test series result yet in South Africa.

    In 1992, India played its first-ever test match against South Africa in Durban, while under Rahul Dravid, now head coach, the team won its first test in 2006. In the last India tour, the visiting team had secured their first ODI series win in over 25 years since India started touring from 1992 onwards.

    “The Indian Cricket team has had a remarkable run in test cricket, remaining dominant at home and registering wins all over the world,” said Star and Disney India head – sports Sanjog Gupta. “However, a first-ever series win in South Africa has remained elusive. #FirstKaThirst is a call to action for Indian fans, who desire to see this Indian team create history by triumphing in South Africa and is a continuing chapter of our #BelieveinBlue narrative. The series also assumes historic significance as it marks 30 years of Cricket between India and South Africa adding to the sense of occasion for this marquee series.”

    “There couldn’t have been a better time for team India to prove their mettle,” said former Team India coach Ravi Shastri. “Virat has been an impeccable leader and has got a talented team to go along with it. South Africa remains an unconquered bastion. Remember, the Proteas are no pushovers in their own backyard, but we have got the firepower and the arsenal to match that. As always, Team India will always have my backing.”

  • Star Sports ropes in eight sponsors ahead of PKL Season 8

    Star Sports ropes in eight sponsors ahead of PKL Season 8

    Mumbai: Star Sports, the official media rights partner for vivo Pro Kabaddi League, has roped in eight sponsors and many more key advertisers ahead of the commencement of the league.

    The eight on-boarded sponsors include vivo, Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles, A23, Dream11, Mfine, Byju’s, Officer’s Choice, and Parimatch News. New advertisers like Mfine, A23, Parimatch News, Winzo, GSK, and Luminous among others have also partnered with the broadcaster.

    Season 8 of vivo Pro Kabaddi League is all set to begin from 22 December, and for the first time will be played at a single venue, Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel and Convention Center.

    “We are delighted with the response that we have received from brands across categories,” said a Star Sports spokesperson. “The recently launched campaign- ‘Jo Bhidega Woh Badega’ has created a stir of excitement amongst fans and advertisers alike for the return of PKL after two years. The overall reception from advertisers is a testament to the brand value of India’s homegrown sport. We have solidified our position as a broadcaster that provides advertisers with customized creative solutions to drive high engagement and are confident that the interest among advertisers will only continue to grow with each passing year.”

    The new format will feature triple headers) on the first four days in the opening week. Bengaluru Bulls will square off with U Mumba in the opening match. The ‘Southern Derby’ between Tamil Thalaivas and Telugu Titans will be the second match followed by UP Yoddha squaring off with defending champions Bengal Warriors in the final match of the day.

  • With no LIVE audience, PKL teams opt for digital innovation to connect with fans

    With no LIVE audience, PKL teams opt for digital innovation to connect with fans

    Mumbai: With a week left for the launch of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season eight, the excitement is palpable among fans as well as the playing teams. For UP Yoddha, the latest edition offers another opportunity to level up their game from the play-offs and clinch the coveted trophy for the first time.

    The team has consistently made it to the playoffs in every season since its inception in 2017, but has yet to win the title. “We are very excited to have the PKL return after a hiatus of almost two years. The players cannot wait to be back in the competitive environment. And, this time we are more focused and energised to reach the final step and lift the trophy,” says GMR League Games and UP Yoddha CEO Vinod Bisht in an exclusive chat with Indiantelevision.com. 

    The team is all set to begin its campaign with a first match against defending champions Bengal Warriors on the opening day – 22 December. Unlike before, the latest edition of the league will be played without any LIVE audience due to Covid protocols, and with all teams integrated into a bio-bubble. But, that has not deterred the enthusiasm among the teams, says Bisht.

    “The players’ will to win and competitiveness will only get fiercer. But, they are mindful of the changing scenarios, the absence of fans, and a testing bubble life,” says the CEO.

    Bisht, a former commanding officer (CO) in the Indian Army started his Sports journey as a business mentor for Patna pirates in PKL, before teaming up with the UP Yoddha Franchise. Based in Greater Noida, the GMR Group-owned UP Yoddha franchise was introduced into the league in the fifth season and has been part of the league ever since.

    Talking about the post-pandemic impact on the overall experience of the game, Bisht says, “We would have loved to have a full-house cheering for us on home ground, but we need to be cautious of the situation we are in. The safety of our fans is our top priority. With everything that’s happening around, everyone needs to adapt. We just want our players to play passionately, and our fans to enjoy the game even if it’s from the comfort of their home.”

    All matches will be aired LIVE on Star Sports Network, the official broadcast network, and streamed on Disney+ Hotstar, which has already unveiled its mega campaign, #JoBhidegaWohBadhega, featuring former Indian cricket team skipper MS Dhoni.

    Elaborating on how the franchise plans to elevate the experience for their fans who will be watching from home, Bisht says, “We are doing series of online activations involving our fans who we call the ‘Yoddha Toli’ and this Yodhha Toli will interact with our players and other fans through various innovative digital innovations.” The franchise will also focus more on social media interfaces, being mindful of the ongoing pandemic. “But, we definitely intend to meet all our fans at our state-of-the-art UP Yoddha BK Kabaddi Academy in Meerut once the season is over,” he adds.

    ABP News has come on board as the principal sponsor of the UP Yoddha for the 2021-22 season, and the channel logo will feature prominently on the players’ jerseys. “We are the only kabaddi team from Uttar Pradesh, the largest state in India population-wise and given the ongoing situation it was physically impossible to reach all corners of the state, and that’s where ABP News comes in,” says Bisht on association with the news channel. “Considering the popularity of the league, the partnership will help ABP News connect with a wider audience by capturing the interest of sports consumers across both rural and urban markets in the Hindi speaking states.”

    The partnership also comes at a time when the state of Uttar Pradesh is heading into polls, which creates its own buzz around activities associated with the state.

    This season, the team has also upped its game with the addition of star player Pradeep Narwal for a whopping ₹1.65 crore, becoming one of the most expensive players auctioned at a league outside of cricket.

    Talking about the growth in viewership of the sports event, Bisht says, “Kabaddi is one of those childhood games that you played with your friends, a sport that’s close to every Indian’s heart. It has been one of the most played sports in our country, and PKL has allowed teams to represent different parts of our country which shows how much the sport has grown over the years.”