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Tag: Summer Olympics

  • Summer Olympics in Paris heats up mobile advertising opportunities

    Summer Olympics in Paris heats up mobile advertising opportunities

    Mumbai: A global stage beckons later this month with the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Transcending mere sports, the Summer Olympics aren’t just about athletics; they’re a prime time for apps to flex their marketing muscles. With a global audience of 3.05 billion during the last Olympics, the multi-sporting event in Paris this year is anticipated to exceed that number, offering an unparalleled opportunity for mobile apps to expand their reach and engage with a vast audience worldwide; presenting a golden opportunity for brands to enhance their visibility and foster stronger consumer connections during peak audience engagement.

    Leveraging Mobile OEM Advertising: Racing for Olympic Gold

    Brands in India have a golden opportunity to leverage mobile OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) advertising, with players such as Xiaomi, Huawei, OPPO, Vivo, OnePlus, Realme, and Transsion. Connecting with the passionate sports enthusiast demographic, brands can drive user acquisition through targeted app promotions or branding campaigns during the event. Likewise, mobile developers can adopt an open mindset to look beyond traditional advertising methods and reach an updated audience through mobile OEMs and their “alternative” app stores. 

    Mobile Consumption: A Driving Force in Sports Engagement

    Tokyo 2020 was the most digitally watched Olympics in history with a 74 per cent increase in digital viewers and a 139 per cent rise in video viewers compared with Rio 2016. It also attracted almost 200 million unique users to its official website and app.

    Illustrating high mobile consumption in other sports, in India, 32 million people used the JioCinema app to watch the FIFA World Cup 2022 final between Argentina and France. In total, over 110 million viewers watched the event digitally, surpassing television viewership for the first time. This milestone made India one of the top digital viewership markets globally for the FIFA World Cup.

    The Indian Premier League in 2023 stood out as well. Approximately 70 per cent of viewers were actively engaged with their smartphones, from checking match updates to ordering food. Particularly noteworthy was the surge in app downloads for food delivery (63 per cent) and e-commerce apps (54 per cent) during the IPL. This underscores the strong connection between sports enthusiasts and mobile apps for targeted advertising.

    With 1 in 5 global sports fans using mobile apps to follow sports, the 2024 Summer Olympics offers advertisers a massive opportunity to connect with a highly engaged audience. In SEA, many broadcasters have offered the current European Championships as part of a paid package, with mobile-only packages costing significantly less than TV packages. As such, this has encouraged many viewers to opt for the cheaper mobile-only packages, which is sure to significantly increase mobile and digital viewership of the tournament.

    The same mobile-centric consumption of the Olympic Games – from live streaming to news and other media – is expected in the EU, SEA, India, and beyond. This widespread mobile access creates a massive and engaged audience for advertisers. Similar to how brands leveraged specialists in Mobile OEM advertising for targeted ad placement during Champions League football matches on Prime Video, advertisers can utilize similar strategies to connect with viewers during the Olympics.

    Mobile OEMs Deepen Ties with Sports

    Strategic sponsorships by mobile OEMs like Samsung for the Olympics, Vivo for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in addition to the IPL from 2016 to 2021 and Euro 2024,  and OPPO for the Cricket World Cup (2016-2019), UEFA Champions League (2022 -2024), and Wimbledon (2022 & 2023) solidify the connection between sports and mobile. This benefits everyone – mobile OEMs gain exposure, marketers reach captivated audiences, and app developers utilize prominent placements.

    For instance, Vivo’s popularity increased as the Official Smartphone Sponsor of the 2022 FIFA World Cup – and in Q1 of 2024, it became the leading smartphone brand in India, capturing a 19 per cent market share. In terms of integrations, during the ongoing Euro 2024, OEMs like Xiaomi and Oppo are offering real-time customization options with themes tailored to fans’ favorite football teams, enriching the immersive experience for users

    With the numerous options mobile OEMs provide, advertisers can employ diverse strategies for enhanced effectiveness. Full-screen videos, splash ads, and appographic marketing in display ads offer personalized campaigns. Dynamic Preloads utilise mobile OEMs’ app recommendations for effective user acquisition. Leveraging Private Marketplace (PMP) deals and Dynamic Preloads during key sports events provides additional acquisition channels without excessive costs.

    Reach Millions of Engaged Fans with Mobile OEM Advertising

    Brands must partner with new-age global app growth marketing companies specializing in mobile OEM advertising to leverage their expertise in Mobile OEM advertising and achieve a targeted app promotion strategy that scores big during major sporting events like the 2024 Summer Olympics. With access to over 1.5 billion daily active users and exclusive partnerships with mobile OEM inventories such as Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, Realme, and Transsion, some leading players offer unparalleled opportunities for targeted user acquisition.

    This article has been authored by AVOW co-founder and CRO Ashwin Shekhar,

  • discovery+ launches investigative docuseries ‘Dangals of Crime’

    discovery+ launches investigative docuseries ‘Dangals of Crime’

    Mumbai: Streaming app discovery+ has launched an investigative docuseries “Dangals of Crime – The Untold Truth About Indian Wrestling,” which traces the meteoric rise of the Olympic sport of Wrestling in India while exploring in-depth the dark underbelly of crime often associated with it.

    Former wrestlers and coaches, eminent sports journalists, and law enforcement officials weigh in with their experiences, insights and memories, in the two-part series produced by Vice Studios Production and directed by award-winning director Niyantha Shekar.

    Notable former coaches and wrestlers whose views are reflected in the documentary include names such as Satbir Singh, Virender Kumar, Anil Mann and Ramphal Mann.

    Wrestling is by far India’s most successful individual sport (seven medals) in terms of medals won at the Summer Olympics. Its popularity reached a crescendo after iconic wrestlers Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt won three medals collectively across two successive Games (Beijing 2008 and London 2012). “Dangals of Crime” showcases this journey towards success and highlights the deep-rooted akhada culture, strict discipline and the unparalleled devotion that makes a champion wrestler.

    The series explores how the sport, which has been instrumental in bringing sporting laurels for India, has also been witness to some dark moments which overshadow its glorious journey and malign wrestling and its athletes.

    “Dangals of Crime delves deep into the realms of wrestling, a sport that has churned out some of India’s greatest homegrown champions. Reflecting on the sport in the most informative way, the discovery+ Original dissects every aspect of the making of a Pehelwan, coupled with its current realities and the crime related to it. It will surely leave our viewers thinking,” said Discovery Inc MD – South Asia Megha Tata.

  • Hotstar and Akamai renew web streaming partnership

    Hotstar and Akamai renew web streaming partnership

    NEW DELHI: Video streaming platform Hotstar and content delivery network Akamai Technologies Inc. today announced the renewal of their partnership to support Hotstar in delivering live sports content and the expected surge in viewership with the help of Akamai’s Intelligent Platform.

    Hotstar which was launched in February last year claims 65 million downloads and a content portfolio that covers local and international drama, movies and sports. Live sports in particular has seen a huge surge in viewership on Hotstar, especially as audiences turn to mobile as the primary screen for cricket updates and streaming.

    The partnership between Hotstar and Akamai announced in Bangalore plans for an expected surge in viewership over the next 18 months especially in light of the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 tournament in India, which saw a peak of 1.55 million concurrent video streams, and an average concurrency close to 350,000. The peak traffic for this event almost doubled from 655 Gbps in 2015 to 1.3 Tbps this year, highlighting the growing demand for live streaming online, across devices.

    Star and Hotstar delivered more than 23 million hours of live sporting video over the course of the T20 World Cup with the help of Akamai’s Media Delivery Solutions. The two companies are currently working to deliver the 2016 season of the Indian Premier League, which has also seen a surge in viewership over the last 2 years.

    “The Internet has become an important source for accessing global sporting events, and Akamai has consistently helped deliver events of scale around the world. Hotstar is a valued partner for Akamai and one that is consistently setting new benchmarks in video streaming and live sports consumption in particular. We are extremely proud of this successful partnership,” said Akamai Technologies Vice President, Media, APJ Parimal Pandya.

    “Since the launch of Hotstar in February 2015, we have seen a 10x increase in online viewership for sporting events. Planning for concurrency in live sports is a big part of delivering an outstanding uninterrupted experience for our users and Akamai has been an instrumental partner in helping us scale numbers that are very rarely seen online globally,” said Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan.

    As Hotstar continues to develop and bring to market world class events, including movie premieres and live sports such as the ongoing Indian Premier League and the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, the two companies are working together to introduce new features and innovations on the video streaming front.

  • Hotstar and Akamai renew web streaming partnership

    Hotstar and Akamai renew web streaming partnership

    NEW DELHI: Video streaming platform Hotstar and content delivery network Akamai Technologies Inc. today announced the renewal of their partnership to support Hotstar in delivering live sports content and the expected surge in viewership with the help of Akamai’s Intelligent Platform.

    Hotstar which was launched in February last year claims 65 million downloads and a content portfolio that covers local and international drama, movies and sports. Live sports in particular has seen a huge surge in viewership on Hotstar, especially as audiences turn to mobile as the primary screen for cricket updates and streaming.

    The partnership between Hotstar and Akamai announced in Bangalore plans for an expected surge in viewership over the next 18 months especially in light of the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 tournament in India, which saw a peak of 1.55 million concurrent video streams, and an average concurrency close to 350,000. The peak traffic for this event almost doubled from 655 Gbps in 2015 to 1.3 Tbps this year, highlighting the growing demand for live streaming online, across devices.

    Star and Hotstar delivered more than 23 million hours of live sporting video over the course of the T20 World Cup with the help of Akamai’s Media Delivery Solutions. The two companies are currently working to deliver the 2016 season of the Indian Premier League, which has also seen a surge in viewership over the last 2 years.

    “The Internet has become an important source for accessing global sporting events, and Akamai has consistently helped deliver events of scale around the world. Hotstar is a valued partner for Akamai and one that is consistently setting new benchmarks in video streaming and live sports consumption in particular. We are extremely proud of this successful partnership,” said Akamai Technologies Vice President, Media, APJ Parimal Pandya.

    “Since the launch of Hotstar in February 2015, we have seen a 10x increase in online viewership for sporting events. Planning for concurrency in live sports is a big part of delivering an outstanding uninterrupted experience for our users and Akamai has been an instrumental partner in helping us scale numbers that are very rarely seen online globally,” said Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan.

    As Hotstar continues to develop and bring to market world class events, including movie premieres and live sports such as the ongoing Indian Premier League and the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, the two companies are working together to introduce new features and innovations on the video streaming front.