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Tag: Sukhbir Singh Badal

  • Wave World Kabaddi League targets north India

    Wave World Kabaddi League targets north India

    MUMBAI: The ancient sport of Kabaddi has caught the attention of broadcasters in India. However, taking the sport to the world is Greymatter Entertainment’s Wave World Kabaddi League (WKL) that is all set to kick off on 9 August at the O2 arena in London.

     

    Indian sports broadcaster Sony Six which has bagged the telecast rights for the league in India is very enthusiastic about it. Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan says that the channel wants to establish credibility of the sport first on television and then focus on increasing viewership.

     

    Krishnan expects WKL to be popular in the northern belt of India especially in UP and Punjab where the circular styled format of the game is more prevalent. To add to it is the presence of celebrities Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha and Yo Yo Honey Singh as team owners. “This format has never been seen on TV. The style of kabaddi followed in WKL is more physical, contact driven and fast paced,” he informs. According to industry sources the channel may have bagged the broadcast rights for Rs 35 crore to Rs 50 crore.

     

    Pre and post analysis of the games will be recorded in Hinglish, produced at the venue itself. As reported earlier by indiantelevision.com Greymatter Entertainment (which was awarded the contract to produce the league) has put together a crew of 70 seasoned sports television production professionals from Australia, South Africa, Malaysia, and India to create the HD feed for broadcasters in the US, the UK, Canada, and Asia. 10 to 12 cameras will capture the action and relay it live for various broadcasters in Europe, Asia, the US, Canada, Pakistan and Africa.

     

    WKL follows a travelling format similar to Formula 1 and will be played at 15 international venues with 86 matches over a four month long period. The country where the event is being held will have a live telecast during its prime time. Therefore, when it is in the US, it will be the US prime time and since it is early time for India, there will be a repeat during Indian prime time.

     

    Will the duration create a fatigue problem for viewers? Krishnan brushes away the doubt by saying, “International football leagues too have a similar long format and have done well. It will be travelling from city to city and since it will be telecast over the weekends I am hopeful it will do well.”

     

    As part of the promotions, TVCs featuring Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha are being played on MSM network channels including English GECs AXN and Sony Pix as well as on the YouTube channels. Social media is not ignored.

     

    Not surprisingly, the marketing campaign is focused towards the northern belt of India with print ads in both vernacular and English newspapers. Radio spots have been bought on stations such as Radio Mirchi, Big FM and My FM. Outdoor hoardings adorn metros like Mumbai and Delhi which will see an increase once the league enters the India phase.

     

    Sony Six is also playing wait and watch to see how both local and international markets react to television’s new found sport. The broadcaster wants to monetise once the league comes to India after the first two rounds are held abroad. The channel for now has ads from companies such as the Wave group which is the title sponsor. An industry source says that a 10 second slot during prime time can cost anywhere between Rs 15000 to Rs 20000.

     

    Sources peg the title sponsor price to be approximately Rs one crore to Rs two crore. Sonalika International is the official partner and Li Ning Company is the official apparel partner.

     

    As to what Six has learnt from the ongoing Pro Kabaddi League Krishnan says, “The games have definitely been able to receive traction. Though the game is the same, the two can’t be compared as the rules, arena and the format are different”. He further goes on to add that findings have shown that the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi league seems to be a following a pattern wherein it is seen to receive maximum traction from west India as compared to Sony Six’s expectation from WKL to do well in the north.

     

    The WKL is a privately owned company of Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal (he also serves as the president), and has Pargat Singh as commissioner with Raman Raheja serving as the CEO.  It is slated to travel across six countries  beginning in the UK, the US, India, Pakistan, Canada and UAE –  and has eight franchisee teams battling for  a purse of Rs 4 crore. The cities that the league matches will be held in include:  London, Birmingham, Dubai, New York, Sacramento, Stockton, Toronto, Vancouver, Delhi, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Mohali.

  • Greymatter Entertainment: Getting into a different league

    Greymatter Entertainment: Getting into a different league

    MUMBAI: Mumbai-based Greymatter Entertainment’s name comes from that part of the human brain which is involved  in muscle control and sensory perception such as seeing, hearing, memory, emotions, speech, decision making and self-control. Its promoters have been using a lot of that over the past five years as they have steered it into a tour de force in  the Indian subcontinent’s sports television production business. Amongst the major sports events Greymatter has filmed for television include: the Indian Badminton League (IBL), Afghanistan Premiere League, Sri Lanka Premiere League,  as well as the Celebrity Cricket League.
     

    However, what the company is most kicked about these days is a new contract it has been awarded: that of producing the World Kabaddi League (WKL) which is slated to flag off from 9 August at the O2 Arena in London.  With Wave as the title sponsor, WKL will be broadcast not just in India through Sony Six but to nearly 30 other countries over the four months it is slated to run.
     

    “We can now  proudly say, that we have only IMG-Reliance ahead of us in terms of days of sports television production in India,” says Greymatter director Rahul Sarangi. “It is quite an achievement to arguably become the second largest sports TV producer  in the Indian subcontinent.  Leaving IPL and BCCI events out, we have 25 per cent of the live sports television events production pie.”
     

    Promoted by founder and CEO Chandradev Bhagat, Sarangi and director Payal Mathur – who were earlier engaged in various sports and entertainment events – Greymatter bagged the WKL rights following a fierce bidding war that included four or five other major sports TV producers globally.  

     

    The WKL is a privately owned company of Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal (he also serves as the president), and has Pargat Singh as commissioner with Raman Raheja serving as the CEO.  It is slated to travel across six countries – the UK, the US, India, Pakistan, Canada and UAE –  and has eight franchisee teams battling for  a purse of Rs 4 crore.

     

    The cities that the league matches will be held in include:  London, Birmingham, Dubai, New York, Sacramento, Stockton, Toronto, Vancouver, Delhi, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Mohali.

     

    Each Kabaddi match will be played on a circle style Kabaddi ground, 44 metres in diameter, as big as a hockey field. Cheerleaders, celebrities  and performance will – as has become the practice in most sports telecasts –  be there in good measure to spice up the screen. Sarangi, says that the WKL will have a narrative structure just like the IBL.

     

    The country where the event is being held will have a live telecast during its prime time. Therefore, when it is in the US, it will be the US prime time and since it is early time for India, there will be a repeat during prime time.

    “Sony Six has built an early morning prime time with NBA and this will also be at the 8 am slot. We can’t not have ground audience just to give a live evening feed to India,” points out Sarangi. Most of the matches will be held on weekends with very little during weekdays.

     

    For the Indian feed, commentary will be in Hinglish with Anjum Chopra while for the world feed it will be in English. “The WKL will be full of action because it is a contact oriented sport, especially due to its circular format. Contact is the reason why WWE works and we believe this will too,” he adds.  

     

    Greymatter has put together a crew of 70 seasoned sports television production professionals from Australia, South Africa, Malaysia, and India to create the HD feed for broadcasters in the US, the UK, Canada, and Asia. 10 to 12 cameras will capture the action and relay it live for various broadcasters in Europe, Asia, the US, Canada, Pakistan and Africa. Bhagat and veteran sports television producer Keith McKenzie have been roped in as TV directors for the league.

     

    During the four months, the actual shooting days will be about 45 with two matches per day. To keep its life simple Greymatter has tied up with local event and equipment  rental companies. 

     

    Sources estimate the per day TV production cost to be at between Rs 25 lakh and 30 lakh with the budget for the entire league pegged at between Rs 15 crore and Rs 18 crore. That makes it a major win for the Rs 50 crore turnover production house.

     

    “When we do something we spend the most amount of time on planning to get perfect quality work. We also ensure we have a tight and the right kind of people with us,” says Sarangi.

     

    That’s something that is endorsed by a sports broadcasting executive who told indiantelevision.com that “Chandru has been a friend for long. He and his team do a damn good job, hence they have been winning production contracts.”

     

    Greymatter has offices in Mumbai, Dubai and Europe with a team of 30 across verticals in production services, feature films, events, strategic consulting and a creative cell. It plans to open another office soon in Delhi.

     

    Apart from sports production, Greymatter has done well with  its non-fiction  format slate too. Remix – an original music show format – has been licensed to south east Asia broadcasters in Thailand, Vietnam and Philippines and optioned in three European countries. This apart, it has co-produced 52 episodes for French comedy producer Novovision, while two of its travel shows (Sunset to Sunrise and Heads or Tails) are being distributed by Off the Fence globally. Then two of its formats have been licensed to Sparks Eccho Rights for global distribution.

     

    The self funded company is now trying to make the most of the digital medium and fiction content on TV and  films, reveals Sarangi.

     

    Going by its track record in sports TV production and TV formats, it might score well on those fronts too.

  • Going global with the World Kabaddi League

    Going global with the World Kabaddi League

    MUMBAI: Business tycoon Anand Mahindra’s floating the Pro-Kabaddi League has piqued nation-wide interest in the home-grown game apart from spawning similar endeavours.

     

    One such is the recently launched World Kabaddi League (WKL), a venture undertaken by WKL president Sukhbir Singh Badal, which also draws inspiration from four highly successful editions of the circle-style Kabaddi World Cup held in the state from 2010 to 2013 that saw participation from as many as 21 countries.

     

    The inaugural event is slated for June at the Thyagaraj Stadium in New Delhi, with WKL president Sukhbir Singh Badal and WKL commissioner Pargat Singh expected to make a formal announcement. The event promises to be big on star presence and performances.

     

    While seven countries including India, Pakistan, England, Belgium, USA, Canada and Australia will participate in the WKL itself. As of now, 10 teams that are neither state- nor country- specific have been confirmed, and players will be selected by ‘draw of lots’ for the maiden season. Next year onwards, the selection may be through public auction. The prize money for the opening season of the league is Rs 4 crore.

     

    WKL CEO Raman Raheja says that WKL was launched for a variety of reasons, including building a dynamic and sustainable global sports league that would see Kabaddi become a professional sport, and engage fans and business associates with world class sports entertainment, experience and service. WKL hopes to take Kabaddi to the best of venues and provide patrons with great entertainment in a clean, secure and comfortable environment.

     

    WKL has been modelled on the lines of a travelling sports property where all 10 teams will play each other in the same week, similar to the Formula One format. According to Raheja, the target audience is the sports viewing audience which constitutes barely three per cent of total viewership, with cricket lovers forming the majority.

     

    “Our focus in the first season will be to grow the Kabaddi following in various pockets of HSM. The league marketing and communication will be broad based and this will target sports fans. My belief is people will watch as long as there is an excitement to the game and there are enough people here and elsewhere who are tired of watching the same sports over and over again. That audience is mine and I will play it to the field,” said Raheja.

     

    With an exciting league in place, an important marketing strategy seems to be in place too. WKL officials said they were very much excited at the prospect of having top Bollywood personalities, pop artists, international investors, corporate giants and celebrated NRIs as possible franchise owners.

     

    Furthermore, a 360-degree marketing plan deploying conventional and new media will be rolled out to market the league and make it one of the best marketed sports properties to come out of India. The short-term objective is to launch the WKL brand and create top-of-the-mind awareness about it, using the digital medium. The long-term objective is to engage top sports broadcasters in each of the host markets and engage top distribution feed across the world.

     

    WKL officials said they are in touch with Sony Six for India and Geo TV for Pakistan as official broadcasters for the league. While ARY Network is the broadcaster for Dubai and the UAE. Efforts are on to rope in broadcasters from other countries as well.  

     

    WKL will have four associate sponsors and a title sponsor and each of these would conduct program activations across all geographies to ensure they capture the audience’s mind space. The revenue model for WKL is simple, involving minimum guarantee of central revenue share from broadcast and sponsorship sales. Local revenue from sponsorships, merchandising and licensing will be considered. Revenue from ticket sales and concessionaires will also start, although price points of tickets for domestic matches will be well within the reach of an average tier II Kabaddi fan. Corporate boxes will be available for sale to sponsors/guests and will be direct revenue for franchises with 100 per cent share of collection.

     

    Franchisees will additionally gain revenue from the box office collection for matches held on international weekends.

     

    Will having two Kabbadi leagues really give a boost to the sport? Said Zenith Optimedia managing director Naveen Khemka, “A dying sport like Kabaddi needed an uplift. Having two leagues will be good for the game both nationally and internationally. A strong financial backing from corporate and government encouragement was needed.” But when asked if the leagues will be a clash of interest, he said, “In the long run I see only one league sustaining. There will not be two Kabbadi leagues.”

    While the Pro-Kabaddi League will ensure that the sport is promoted across the country, the WKL plans to take the game a notch higher and onto a global platform.