Tag: Star Sports

Star Sports bags New Zealand cricket rights

MUMBAI: Star Sports has acquired the broadcast and digital rights for New Zealand Cricket for all men’s and women’s international matches being organised in New Zealand for the next three years for the Indian subcontinent and South-East Asia.

India is expected to play a total of three Tests, 10 ODIs, and three T20s during this period in that country.

The first tournament to be broadcast under Star Sports’ partnership with New Zealand Cricket will be West Indies’ tour of New Zealand beginning from 1 December 2017. The partnership will see many high-octane international series, including a resurgent Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand and the much-anticipated tri series between Australia, New Zealand, and England in early 2018, being broadcast on Star Sports’ rich bouquet of offerings.

A Star India spokesperson said, “Star Sports is proud to become the home for New Zealand Cricket in India. In recent years, the New Zealand cricket team has delivered a strong performance on the field, taking it to number one in the T20 rankings. With two India tours to New Zealand over the next two years, Indian sports fans are in for very exciting cricket on Star Sports.”

New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said, “We’re delighted to form this partnership with Star, India’s leading sports broadcaster, and a market-leader in the industry. It’s great to be aligned with such go-ahead, progressive broadcasters, well known for their innovative approach, and for putting fans and businesses first.”

November 7, 2017
Star Sports launches new anthem as Vivo PKL Season 5 nears finale

MUMBAI: Star Sports, India’s leading sports broadcaster, launched Doompak Doompak, a new anthem dedicated to Vivo Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) as the season five finale draws close. The anthem is created by Star Sports’ creative team and directed by Amol Patil.

Celebrating the Kabaddi mania that has gripped sports fans across the country, the anthem, released along with a music video, is quirky, vivid and features leading Kabaddi stars.

With a vision to make Kabaddi accessible and engaging for fans across India, Star Sports has built a strong narrative throughout the season, with a host of innovative and appealing marketing campaigns.

The new anthem, Doompak Doompak, is energetic, fast-paced and invites fans to participate in the ongoing excitement for the last few matches of the season. Penned by renowned Bollywood lyricist, Amitabh Bhattacharya, the lyrics takes fans into the journey of season 5 and the preparation for the final battle among the 6 qualified teams. The anthem is composed by leading music composer Ram Sampath.

For season 5 of Vivo PKL, Star Sports moved away from the traditional campaigns to a celebration anthem. The film showcases players, referees, coaches and fans in an all-new avatar, celebrating the spirit of the sport, as the finale of a magnificent season of the game draws closer. The film is scripted in 4 languages – Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali, to ensure that it reaches sports fans across the nation.

Season 5 of Vivo PKL has received an impressive response over 3 months, and now as the Playoffs are approaching – the penultimate phase of the league – the campaign aims to stir more excitement into the mix.

Vivo PKL Season 5 Playoffs begin from 23 October to 26 October, from 7:30 PM onwards and the final takes place on 28 October in Chennai. Fans can catch each match live on the Star Sports network.

Video Link:

October 24, 2017
Star Sports brings out the fun side of kabaddi players

MUMBAI: As the league stage of VIVO Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) 5 is nearing its end, Star Sports has planned an interactive show with top PKL players this season, all dressed in traditional attire. The show is named as ‘Yeh Diwali, Kabaddi wali’.

The hour long show will air on 19 October at 7:30pm. Viewers can watch Kabaddi stars getting candid and reliving their best moments of Diwali. The show will include rapid fire questions – player picks on Phuljadi player of the league, Dhamakedar player of the league etc., questions on their Diwali celebrations at home and with their teammates.

The players will share their childhood memories of spoiling neighbours’ Rangolis and cracker pranks to dreaming big of celebrating Diwali with their role models and favourite stars.

The show host will be VJ Mantra and the players present in the show will be Rohit Kumar (Bengaluru Bulls), Rahul Chaudhari (Telugu Titans), Pardeep Narwal (Patna Pirates), Deepak Nivas Hooda (Puneri Paltan), Suriner Nada (Haryana Steelers), Rishank Devadiga (UP Yoddha).

PKL 5 is promoting the game with many on-ground activations, which includes, ‘Team Up – Lift the Cup’, the mantra for fans, as they took up the Pull Room Challenge, getting first-hand taste of Le Panga. The challenge involved a replica of the Season 5 trophy placed inside a locked chamber which could only be opened when a team of seven individuals, just like in a team, attempt to unlock it.

Taking place at multiple locations across Mumbai and Bangalore, the activation saw scores of kabaddi enthusiasts trying to strategise and come up with innovative ways to accomplish the seemingly difficult task.

October 18, 2017
Star Sports inspires all to ‘Believe’ in Kohli’s mission

MUMBAI: Star India is confident that cricket fans across the country will join to cheer the men in blue as they reach their true potential in the exciting home season.

Star Sports has released a film on Virat Kohli’s mission to take the Indian cricket team to the top spot in all three formats this home season.

The film showcases his determination and perseverance in the pursuit of excellence.

One of the most sought-after global sportspersons, Kohli’s discipline, relentlessness and unmatched drive has made him the leading ODI and T20 batsman in the world and an inspiration for legions of young fans in India.

The film takes the viewers through a day in the life of Kohli, portraying his never-say-die attitude. It begins with Kohli waking up at the crack of dawn, driven by a commitment to his goals. His day begins at the gym, as he works out to stay focussed and fit, and always aiming to better his last best performance.

At the practice pitch, Kohli is seen honing his batting prowess, as the film calls-out his cricketing achievements. “When you’re ready to expend every ounce of your energy, all you need to do is Believe,” says Kohli, as the film concludes.

A Star India spokesperson said, “We, at Star Sports, constantly strive to raise the bar when it comes to showcasing world-class cricket, and bringing fans closer to the sport and its heroes. Virat Kohli embodies a commitment towards sport and fitness. Under his dynamic leadership, Team India is looking to dominate world cricket across all formats.”

The season ahead promises to be full of anticipation and excitement, with Team India playing against Australia currently, followed by New Zealand and Sri Lanka later in the year.

October 13, 2017
Tata Sky customises sports-viewing with Star alliance, in talks with Sony

MUMBAI: Pushing the boundaries of innovation in sports viewing this sports season, Tata Sky and Star Sports launched the ‘Star Sports Select Experience’with the Premier League.

This kind of service, which has been prevalent in the UK, US and Europe, promises to take the fans straight to the heart of their favourite sport in a fully-immersive experience, offering more live matches and the option of multi-camera and stadium view. This service can be accessed via the red button on the Tata Sky remote which will be visible on Star Sports Select 1 and Star Sports Select 1HD, Star Sports 1 (SD & HD), Star Sports 1 Hindi (SD & HD).

Tata Sky has introduced the add-on service, experimenting with Roland Garros – The French Open, followed by Wimbledon. Also exclusive to all Tata Sky subscribers are the options of watching Wimbledon highlights and an “Inside Wimbledon” experience with expert analysis and player interviews. The service has taken the consumer experience to a different level.

The official channel of Wimbledon came to India for the first time through this add-on service.

Talking to Indiantelevision.com, Tata Sky chief content officer Arun Unni said, “The service is customised for each sports differently and improvement is done based on the feedbacks we got from our viewers. The innovation requires a close partnership between the platform and the broadcaster. We have approached Sony (Pictures Network India) as well for the same service.”

For the cricket fans, Tata Sky has introduced its add-on service for India versus Australia matches which started on 17 September, 2017. Beyond viewing the main match, the consumer has two additional choices.

Sports fans in India largely follow the game closely and observe the additional information constantly. Unni stated, “The service is free; the main idea behind launching it was to enhance the consumer experience. We started experimenting with tennis, and the objective was to go to a high viewership sports such as cricket. We believe that the enhancement and the experience can be maximised for the consumer, and ‘sports’ made sense.”

“Tata Sky believes in going beyond the conventional entertainment platform. At no additional cost to Tata Sky subscribers, the feature gives its sports fans wider choices on camera angles, highlights and in-depth information on the sport at their convenience. Tata Sky, in partnership with Star Sports, has been able to empower subscribers by giving them freedom of watching multiple live simulcast matches,” Unni added.

With the new complimentary viewing extravaganza, Tata Sky is surely wowing its Star fans!

Watch video here :

September 25, 2017
Star Sports releases TVC of Kangaroo facing off a Tiger, from 17 Sept

MUMBAI: Star Sports has kicked off its campaign for Paytm India v Australia ODI series with a TVC to depict the two formidable opponents as a Kangaroo facing off a Tiger. The five-match ODI series which will be followed by three T20Is starts on 17 September, 2017. It is claimed that the TVC has been viewed over six million times since its release.

The film, with its “wild” feel and distinctive music, captures the anticipation and excitement around the series, and the Indian fans will hope that the Tiger prevails over the Kangaroo yet again! Earlier this year, a hard fought Test series (Ind 2 – 1 Aus) saw new rivalries being born and friendships being fractured. Both sides are led by aggressive captains and will play to win.

The upcoming ODI & T20 lineup promises to be the most anticipated series of the season. This series will also define the next chapter in the rivalry between these two cricketing powerhouses and possibly settle the Kohli Vs Smith debate as well.

YouTube link –

A Star India Spokesperson said, “This campaign is unique and different from any other sports campaign; and we are pleased with the response it has garnered. We look forward to some exciting cricket between the two powerhouses in the lead up to the festive season.”

Former Australian cricketer Mike Hussey said, “Winning in India has always been a priority for any Australian side & this series is a great opportunity for the Australian team to upset India at home. I am excited & I look forward to witnessing this great cricketing battle between two top sides & also to the Kohli Vs Smith clash!”

This year, Star Sports and Hotstar bring to cricket fans exciting action right from Diwali to Christmas starting with the India v Australia series, followed by New Zealand’s tour to India (3 ODIs and 3 T20Is) and culminating with Sri Lanka’s tour to India (3 ODIs and 3 T20Is).

August 23, 2017
PKL effect: New difference between Star Sports First’s viewership & nearest competitor is 7X

MUMBAI: Star Sports, the official broadcaster of Vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 5, reinforced its stature, by continuing to draw remarkable viewers — for the second time in a row.

Star Sports First in BARC week 30 registered 148506 Impressions (000s) sum and, this week, it recorded 208354 Impressions (000s) sum leaving behind the second best channel this week by 93431 Impressions (000s) sum, according to BARC’s all-India data analysis.

The Star India’s channel which recently became free to air with sports content lead the pack last week. Star Sports First managed to pocket as much as 148506 Impressions (000s) sum in BARC India week 30 beating the second best channel by around 14000 Impressions. Star Sports First had gathered the viewership from Pro-Kabaddi League (PKL) season 5 which has helped it to reach to numero uno position in sports genre.

According to fresh data provided by Star Sports, across Genre: All India (U+R): 2+ Individuals, at the end of 13 games, the gross impressions are 376 million and the cumulative reach stands at 132 million (16.9 per cent).

The Kabaddi tournament has received a stirring response from both urban and rural markets with rural regions generating a reach of 90 million and urban markets contributing with a reach of 42 million. Star Sports First accounted for 28 per cent (36.3 million) of the total viewership generated during week 1 of the tournament.

The Star Sports press release added: Across Genre: All India (U+R): M15+AB, There has been a significant increase across all core markets with Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka registering a 40 per cent, 34 per cent and 52 per cent growth in viewership, respectively.

Riding on the rising popularity of Star Sports 1 Tamil and Star Sports First channels, Tamil Nadu witnessed a six-times increase in viewership while Uttar Pradesh doubled its viewership. Post 13 games, Vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 5 rated 59 per cent higher than the first 13 games average of Pro Kabaddi Season 4.

ALSO READ :

PKL 5 aids Star Sports First top chart in maiden week

Star India’s PKL 5 telecast via 12 channels in five languages starts today

Muthoot associates with PKL Jaipur Pink Panthers

August 10, 2017
Ratings peaked during ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 finals

MUMBAI: Cricket craze in India is probably the higher than in any other country in the world is a cliché. It is normal for Indians to sit eyes glued to the idiot box as their male team players chase or hammer leather. Women’s cricket had not fascinated the average Indian until this year during the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 in which their braveheart lassies’ made it to the finals – winning every match till then. The finals of the World Cup between women from India and England on July 23 saw ratings breach an unprecedented 19.533 million impressions (All India) according to Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) data. More rural impressions were recorded at 9.962 million than urban which were slightly lower at 9.571 million. However, in the case of all the other matches that India featured in saw higher viewership from urban markets than rural markets.38.6 percent more men watched the match than women – to put in numbers – men and women viewership was 11.346 million and 8.187 million impressions respectively.

The breakup of networks was 14.263 million impressions (8.286 million male and 5.977 million impressions female) on the Star Sports Network and 5.27 million impressions (3.06 million male and 2.211 million impressions female) on DD National.

The India-England final witnessed a reach of 13.7 million. Indian women played only one match that they won quite convincingly by 95 runs against India’s arch foe and neighbour – Pakistan. This was match 11 on 2 July 2017. The match scored 2.933 million impressions on an All India basis. Reach-wise, the India-Pakistan match was sampled by more viewers than those during India-Australia semi-final match. The India-Pakistan match witnessed a viewership of 9.2 million whereas the semi-final saw a viewership of 6.5 million.

Please refer to the table below: (TG: All India, 2+)

A press release just after the final match circulated by Hotstar, the OTT platform on which the matches were also beamed, stated that India’s second-ever entry into a Women’s World Cup final had a peak concurrency of 1.9 million simultaneous viewers. And this happened in the tragic forty eighth over with India needing 11 runs to win off 12 balls. UP and Maharashtra contributed to 25 per cent of the total viewership on Hotstar.

From the UK, a record 1.1 million reportedly watched the final played between India and England. It was also reported that this figure was equivalent to the average audience that watched the popular Premier League’s Sunday afternoon matches, according to data from BARC India.

August 8, 2017
Star Sports FTA to be aired on FreeDish from 21 July

MUMBAI: Shortly after its successful regional foray with the launch of Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports in its relentless pursuit of bringing fans closer to sports launches India’s first private free-to-air sports channel, Star Sports First. The channel will go on air on 21 July on DD’s FTA DTH platform Freedish. This will allow sports fans and enthusiasts to watch their favourite sports, in Hindi, without paying any subscription fee.

Besides a very rich funnel of sports content, the channel will also air the much-awaited VIVO Pro Kabaddi League Season 5, which will begin in Hyderabad on 28 July, 2017. In addition, the channel’s programme calendar will also include BCCI domestic cricket tournaments, domestic football tournament etc.

A Star India spokesperson said: “Television penetration in India has grown exponentially. We recognise that there is a very sizeable subset of this universe that is not on conventional pay TV. In the ‘Free-to-air’ content that they have access to, sports content is mostly absent and only sporadically available. It is our belief that there is, however, an eager appetite for it and that is the reason to launch SS First. We believe tens of millions of fans will be created for many different sports offerings through our content bouquet.”

“Kya aapki life se sports action missing hai”, asks former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, in the film ‘Star Sports First, Aana Hai First’, capturing the essence of the launch of the FTA channel. The TVC runs fans through a diverse range of sports that will now be accessible on the Star Sports First channel.

The launch of Star Sports First is supported by a 360-degree marketing campaign, Star Sports First, Aana Hai First, which includes television, radio, OOH and on-ground activations.

July 8, 2017
Ultimate Table Tennis: Ceat is title sponsor

MUMBAI: In what can be termed as a major boost to the inaugural edition of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), India’s leading tyre manufacturing brand Ceat has come on board as title sponsor.

Ceat has been associated with other sports in the past and their latest association with India’s first-ever Professional Table Tennis League comes as a shot in the arm for the sport. Ceat is the flagship company of Rs 22,000-crore RPG Enterprises.

With this new association, the league will be called Ceat UTT. “Table Tennis is a very dynamic sport and we are very happy to come on board as the title sponsor for Ultimate Table Tennis which has the potential to revolutionise the sport in India. We at Ceat believe that the young crop of players have it in them to create greater success stories in the following years. We already have several Olympians in India from Table Tennis and I am sure that with the right kind of backing and exposure which Ceat UTT will provide, their performances in other major international events will be impacted positively. Ceat is committed to the development of the sport in India and are keen to help the sport in its endeavour to achieve glory,” stated Ceat Limited MD Anant Goenka.

The corporate giant further stated that apart from the title sponsorship, they would continue to help the players in different ways like they do with other Indian sports. “CEAT has been actively involved with various other sports in India for a while now and we are very grateful to them for coming on board as title sponsor. This is another boost in our endeavour to bring about a revolution in table tennis and help the sport grow to greater echelons in India,” said Ceat UTT league owner Vita Dani.

Ceat Ultimate Table Tennis will start from 13 July, 2017 in Chennai then will move to Delhi from 21 July and the ultimate culmination, two semifinals and final will be held in Mumbai from July 26, 2017. The league will have 24 of the best Indians as well as 24 world-class international players competing against one another through six clubs. Each club will have eight players—four men and four women with an equal mix of overseas and Indian players, apart from a foreign and an Indian coach. The league will be broadcast live on Star Sports Select 2 HD, Star Sports Select 2, Hotstar and JioTV.

July 4, 2017