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Tag: Vibhav Sinha

  • Hitwicket partners with Harsha Bhogle for innovative cricket gaming experiences worldwide

    Hitwicket partners with Harsha Bhogle for innovative cricket gaming experiences worldwide

    Mumbai: Strategy-driven cricket gaming startup, Hitwicket partners with iconic cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle to enhance the cricket gaming experience of fans worldwide. Harsha Bhogle will play the role of a strategic investor and infuse his expert insights to craft first-of-its-kind cricket content with Hitwicket, merging his extensive cricketing knowledge with the virtual world of mobile gaming. With over five million downloads globally, Hitwicket is a virtual world where every user plays the role of an owner, coach, and captain of a cricket team, ensuring enduring engagement. Harsha Bhogle’s involvement is expected to enhance Hitwicket’s global outreach to 50 million downloads within the next two years.

    Harsha Bhogle is a renowned figure in the global cricket broadcasting industry with over 40 years of experience as a cricket commentator. His extensive knowledge and passion for the game have solidified his status as “The Voice of Cricket”. Hitwicket’s vision of revolutionizing mobile cricket gaming and its potential to enhance the sport in new markets around the world led to Harsha’s involvement with the brand. Hitwicket aims to leverage Harsha’s unparalleled cricketing expertise to co-create unique gaming experiences for cricket fans around the world.

    Hitwicket has evolved over the years introducing new segments through technology gaining recognition for developing a game that strikes a perfect balance between simplicity and depth. On average an Indian gamer spends 3.4 hours per week on mid-core games, while Hitwicket’s users spend 4.9 hours per week on the app, showcasing its strong appeal to cricket enthusiasts worldwide. 19 per cent of Hitwicket’s user base is women, one of the highest for any sports game, and its interface and gameplay cater to ages 10 to 60 making it simple to play. Hitwicket is played in 109 countries around the world with India, Australia, UK, and USA being the top four markets. Cricket is slowly gaining recognition in the USA with Major League Cricket and the country will also be hosting the upcoming T20 Cricket World Cup in June 2024. Notable franchise owners like Satya Nadella, Shah Rukh Khan, and Mukesh Ambani are among those backing the sport’s growth in the region. Hitwicket has managed to create a gateway for American audiences to understand the sport as they have grown 2X in the last three months in the market, with 40 per cent of the users experiencing cricket for the very first time with Hitwicket.

    Commenting on the investment, Harsha Bhogle stated, “I’m thrilled to join Hitwicket as an investor and contribute to the evolution of mobile cricket gaming. Hitwicket’s innovative approach and commitment to delivering an immersive gaming experience make it a standout player in the industry. Hitwicket’s potential to build a global gaming franchise is truly inspiring. I’m looking forward to Hitwicket’s potential to be the Made in India cricket game that unites India with the rest of the world and elevates the country’s profile in mobile cricket gaming. Its global promise signifies that a game from India can indeed touch the world.”

    Hitwicket co-founders Keerti Singh and Kashyap Reddy, expressed their excitement about Mr. Bhogle’s involvement, stating, “We are thrilled to have Mr. Bhogle on board. His extensive experience, insights into cricket, and passion for the game will be invaluable assets for us. Having met Mr. Bhogle last month and discussed the vision and potential of Hitwicket, we are even more excited to have him join us as an investor. With Mr. Bhogle’s guidance, we are confident that Hitwicket will continue to scale new heights and establish itself as a global leader in the gaming industry.”

    As Hitwicket continues its exciting journey, the company remains committed to shaping the future of mobile gaming as a leading cricket brand from India, engaging users worldwide. In a landscape dominated by international titles, Hitwicket stands out as a unique Indian game, recognized for its innovation and immersive gameplay experience. It is well-positioned to become the first Made in India game for India and the world, captivating sports enthusiasts from both domestic and global markets.

  • VdoCipher Piracy Tracker Engine blocks 60,000 plus video piracy attempts in six months

    VdoCipher Piracy Tracker Engine blocks 60,000 plus video piracy attempts in six months

    Mumbai: VdoCipher, a leading provider of video player and piracy protection solutions for content creators, e-learning, and media platforms, has announced significant success in combating video piracy with its latest innovation, the Piracy Tracker Engine. In the span of just six months, this cutting-edge technology has blocked over 60,000 piracy attempts across 700 plus content platforms, reinforcing VdoCipher’s commitment to safeguarding digital content and revenues.

    For over eight years, VdoCipher has been at the forefront of DRM encryption and dynamic watermark technologies, providing robust security solutions to its clientele. Six months ago, the company introduced the proprietary Piracy Tracker and Hacker Identification Engine, aimed at enhancing security measures and identifying perpetrators attempting piracy. This innovative solution targets various forms of piracy, including attempts to breach DRM, sharing of login credentials, and the creation of clone video applications.

    VdoCipher, with a global footprint across 120 countries, serves over 10,000 content creators and educators across 3,000 platforms. The company estimates annual revenues exceeding Rs 2000 crores and preventing revenue losses of over Rs 300 crores.

    VdoCipher chief technology officer Vibhav Sinha commented, “Every year we try to add an additional layer of technology to our security stack. We provide a very strong encryption based on DRM. Now adding to that, we identify a combination of 12 viewer behaviour patterns using our secure player. Our 8-year experience in tracking hacker behaviours, plus our unique understanding of the browser and app technologies has enabled us to build this piracy tracker. We provide an easy-to-use dashboard for our customers to get all piracy info. Some of India’s largest content and e-learning platforms have already made use of this tool to catch hackers, grow users and enhance their revenues.”

    The proliferation of internet video piracy tools, with over 110 million users across the top 10 platforms, presents a formidable challenge to content creators and platforms alike. Platforms such as Telegram have further exacerbated the issue by facilitating the widespread dissemination of pirated content. With hundreds of Telegram groups each with over 5000 plus users leaking course videos, the need for robust anti-piracy measures has never been more critical.

    In the past six months alone, VdoCipher’s Piracy Tracker Engine has yielded impressive results:

    – 63,210 sessions blocked for potential piracy attempts.

    – 12,330 unique devices/IPs blocked for potential piracy attempts.

    – 1,690 users detected for misusing their accounts by sharing login/password credentials.

    – 788 customer websites/apps where piracy attempts were detected and auto-blocked.

    – 384 user accounts proactively blocked by customers based on piracy data.

    –  Five users against which the customers have also initiated legal actions.

    VdoCipher CEO Siddhant Jain said, “The next decade is going to be very crucial for India and all developing countries to upskill the large population of youth who do not go to college or come out of college but are practically unemployable. A massive number of educators and content creators teaching practical and academic skills are much needed across the globe.  One problem in online education and content creator economy, that no one talks about is video piracy. Video piracy robs creators of revenue but also robs students of learning from good-quality teachers. Teachers fear putting their best content online, due to piracy; so ultimately it also harms the student community.  At VdoCipher, it is our mission to bring more educators and content creators online by ensuring that they do not lose revenues due to online piracy; at the same time viewers have the best viewing experience even if they are sitting in some tier 3 city of a developing country in Asia or Africa.”