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Tag: Vijay Rajput

  • 12 Discovery channels now available on Vodafone Play

    MUMBAI: A portfolio of 12 Discovery India channels are now available on Vodafone Play – Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery HD World, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, Discovery Kids, Investigation Discovery (ID), Animal Planet HD World, TLC HD World, Discovery Tamil and a sports channel DSport.

    From science to traveling, Vodafone Play user have a wide choice of viewing channels.

    Facilitating the entertainment needs of the upwardly mobile and always on the move young Indian looking for hyper-personalised, bespoke experiences: Vodafone Play, a one-stop entertainment destination to enjoy streaming of content; be it Live TV, popular shows, latest movies or trending music videos, today announced a strategic partnership with Discovery Communications, expanding its infotainment content portfolio for its subscribers across genres.

    Commenting on the partnership, Vodafone India national head – VAS and content Dipankar Ghoshal said “Vodafone Play is a single window offering content across genres and languages and this association with Discovery strengthens our infotainment category. All consumers, including the Velvet Rope Generation, can now watch what they want, when they want and how they want. Our partnership with Discovery Communications will make their channels now accessible to Vodafone Play users to be viewed at their convenience.”

    Discovery Communications India SVP affiliate sales and product distribution Vijay Rajput said, “As the media ecosystem continues to evolve, we remain focused on delivering more content, across more screens, to more people. We are happy that Vodafone Play subscribers will now have access to Discovery’s rich storytelling at their fingertips.”

  • Star Sports plays hard ball with Siti Cable

    Star Sports plays hard ball with Siti Cable

    MUMBAI: Star Sports has come out with a pan India notice against India’s Multisystem operator Siti Cable. The notice that was issued in select newspapers on 15 November as per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) guidelines has hauled up the multiple system operator (MSO) on several grounds.

     

    “A huge outstanding and non-signing of agreement in both DAS as well as non-DAS markets are the two major reasons for this notice,” says Star Sports India COO Vijay Rajput.  “I would like to point out here that Siti Cable has not submitted subscriber reports for any of the DAS I and DAS II markets.  Also there have been instances of piracy. Earlier in October, we had filed an FIR against Siti Vision Digital, a joint venture unit of Siti Cable Network at Saifabad police station in Hyderabad, for illegal transmission of the Star Sports channels.”

     

     The sports network has come out heavily against Siti Cable for not playing with a straight bat.   “We have been following up with Siti Cable for all these issues but have not received a favorable response from its  officials. Therefore, as per the law of the land we have issued a 21 day public notice. We will avail all options available to us if in case Siti Cable fails to resolve the stated issues within the stipulated period,” adds Rajput.

     

     Star Sports had earlier played hardball with GTPL and yanked its channels off the cable network. Now it’s the turn of Siti Cable. Rajput says that he has been forced to take these steps. “These are the two specific cases that we are trying to address primarily due to non-payment and non-renewal of agreements.”

     

     So what is it that Siti Cable plans to do post this notice? Answers Siti Cable chief operating officer Anil Malhotra, “Well, this is a regular practice adopted by every broadcaster as per the TRAI regulation, when an agreement is about to end or has ended. The notice is a precursor to negotiation.”

     

     Malhotra claims that his cable network is already intalks with the sports channel for the renewal of contract. “We had signed the agreement last year in October-November. So the agreement is due for renewal and, so, this notice. We will amicably resolve the issue.”

    Star Sports says it is ready to revisit the matter if the MSO resolves the issues in the set deadline.

  • India-Australia: Fight to stay on top

    India-Australia: Fight to stay on top

    MUMBAI: All cricket fans now have a one stop solution in the name of ESPN Star Sports. The BCCI’s marketing committee has awarded the rights for telecasting all international matches played in India to ESPN Software India and Star Sports at Rs 2 crore per match.

    The first in line is the eagerly awaited India-Australia series to be played between 10 October and 2 November. In the docks are seven ODIs and one T20 match marking the total telecast value at Rs 16 crore; the last time India faced Australia, the guests were left sour-faced with a 4-0 defeat in a test series.
    MSD and Michael Clarke will be locking horns on the field but locking hands off the field

    India, the leader in ODI currently with 123 points, will fight Australia to retain the top position as the Aussies are second with 115 points. If Australia topples India with a comprehensive win then they will be the new kings while if India wins the series they retain their position.

    With English commentary the series will be seen on ESPN and Star Cricket HD while Hindi commentary will be on Star Cricket. At the same time live streaming will be happening on their website www.starsports.com which will carry replays and highlights as well as content not shown on TV. A vigorous marketing campaign shouting out their theme ‘Fight for No 1’ has already kick-started.

    Analyses of the matches before and after will also be on the lines of ‘Fight for No 1’. “As a broadcaster, we will ensure a world class telecast so that fans enjoy this high intensity contest,” says ESPN Software India COO Vijay Rajput.

    “It is the mother of all series. 7 ODIs and a T20 against Australia during the Diwali season surely make it a really big series for us. India-Australia contests have always generated lots of interest amongst Cricket fans in the country,” adds Rajput. “Moreover, India’s national team has not been in action for close to two months now and fans would be eager to see them in action again.”

    The bids that were made to BCCI were for just two series: India-Australia and India-West Indies but ESPN Software India and Star Sports India ended up bagging the rights for the whole 2013-14 season.
    The Champions League T20 finals are just around the corner. But viewers need not be disappointed as the mega ODI series between the top two countries will begin right after.

  • ESPN Star Sports gives English football league the Hindi touch

    ESPN Star Sports gives English football league the Hindi touch

    MUMBAI:  ESPN Star Sports seems to be scoring well with its viewers with the telecast of Barclays Premier League (BPL) this year. And it’s no plain statement. The broadcaster which is airing the football league in both English and Hindi this season says it has seen a 254 per cent jump in its ratings on the inaugural day. Not only this, it points out that it has recorded a 105 per cent increase in the time spent per viewer on the inaugural day.

     

    The league which went on air from 17 August on Star Sports and Star Cricket has also been made available in Hindi for the first time. “We believe there is a huge potential for growth in football viewership and that Indian fans would love to consume non-cricket sports as well if the product is packaged well, communicated and presented in an interesting manner,” said ESPN Software India COO Vijay Rajput.

    It is important to explain the live action in a language and idiom which is clearly understandable by the viewers expounds Vijay Rajput.

     

    According to the data received by Indiantelevision.com, BPL’s viewership in the 15 plus age group of men in the ABC segment rose from the previous season’s 324 TVTs (esimated) to 760 TVTs. Day 1 of the league saw it record a reported 206 per cent increase in its reach. The stickiness among the football crazy fans has also witnessed a jump in the league this time around. Though last year the inaugural matches of BPL recorded 10 minute TSV (Time Spent viewing), this year it went up to 16 minutes – a rise of 105 per cent.

     

    The launch of BPL in Hindi is in-line with the channel’s strategy of pushing multi-lingual content. “The focus on English commentary/graphics by sports broadcasters till date has been a big deterrent in the growth in viewership. For viewers to understand the nuances of football and the league itself, we feel it is important to explain the live action in a language and idiom which is clearly understandable to one and all,” stated Rajput.

     

    The Hindi commentary is in addition to the English commentary which will also be available for all the televised matches from the full season. Under the dual audio feed system,DTH/digital subscribers can choose the language of their preference.

     

    ESPN Star Sports has decided to select two matches every week and telecast them in Hindi and English. “We are targeting to telecast close to 140 matches live with Hindi commentary in this season. In addition, almost 50 matches with Hindi commentary will have delayed telecast. So, overall about 190 matches would be covered with Hindi commentary,” he informed.

     

    The sportscaster caster has identified UK based commentators of Indian origin who will describe the proceedings on the field in Hindi for BPL. The Hindi commentary is being done from the stadium itself. “For viewers to understand the nuances of soccer and the league itself, we feel it is important to explain the live action in a language and idiom which is clearly understandable to one and all.”

     

    A three-pronged strategy has been put in place to promote the BPL: this includes: appointing MS Dhoni as its brand ambassador, covering select matches with Hindi commentary and have non-live Hindi programming around the tournament to ensure that more and more sports fans sample and understand the league’s nuances, its clubs and its stars.

     

    “We roped in Dhoni as the brand ambassador to excite sports fans who consume a lot of cricket to sample BPL as well with an ultimate objective of expanding the fan base of BPL in the country,” he informed.

     

    ESPN Star Sports has launched a mix of shows based on highlights/goals/review and preview of the latest in BPL which will be showcased week on week through the season.

     

    “We started off with six episodes of a buildup show ‘Superstar Football’ which focuses on multiple facets of the league – famous owners, top clubs and top players in the league etc. We will also showcase highlight shows of BPL in Hindi through the season. This fast paced snapshot of happenings in BPL will make for interesting television,” informed Rajput.

     

    The broadcaster is also looking at magazine shows every week, which will be a review of the season gone-by and a preview of the coming week’s matches. “This show will have colour/ feature stories from BPL.We will also telecast a half an hour show on goals every week. All the Hindi programming around BPL will be produced in India.”

     

    The work done around BPL has helped the broadcaster in not only receiving good ratings, but has also lured in the advertising dollars.   “We have received a very positive advertiser interest for this season. Even before the start of the league, we had monetised close to 85 per cent of the annual available inventory,” he informed. Tata Motors, Pernod Ricard, Adidas, Tata Teleservices, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul) and Nokia India are some of the big names to have come on board as associate sponsors on-air for the live telecast.

     

    ESPN Star Sports tack to go local with Hindi commentary simulcast has found favour with cricket fans by contributing 40 per cent of the overall ratings for the India-Australia test series. The test series delivered an average rating of 2.05 TVR which was the highest average rating for a test series played by India in the past four years. “We also had a very successful inaugural season of the Hero Hockey India League in both Hindi and English, which delivered an impressive reach of 41.4 million.”

     

    With even the on-going IBL which is being showcased in both Hindi and English, the sportscaster is surely eyeing an eyepopping increase in viewership numbers. It clearly is serving (its customers we mean) right.

  • Dhoni named brand ambassador to promote BPL

    Dhoni named brand ambassador to promote BPL

    NEW DELHI: Indian skipper M S Dhoni has been appointed brand ambassador to promote Barclays Premier League football (BPL) in India by Star Sports.

    A keen football enthusiast and a Manchester United fan, Dhoni will invite all sports fans to ‘Join the Game‘ in a clutter breaking integrated marketing campaign which will be launched early next week. The campaign will have a strong on-air and digital media thrust.

    This announcement comes on the back of the sports broadcaster announcing the launch of Hindi commentary for the first time on BPL. The Hindi commentary will be in addition to the English commentary and will be available for over 100 live matches across the season.

    Speaking on the occasion, ESPN Software India COO Vijay Rajput said, “We are delighted to have MS Dhoni come on board as the brand ambassador for BPL in the country. We are targeting to expand the fan base of BPL in India by leveraging the iconic power and fan following of MS Dhoni to attract cricket fans to sample BPL – Duniya ka sabse bada league. We want these fans to sample matches of BPL through the eyes of their biggest hero. The core campaign idea is ‘Join the Game‘. The launch of BPL in Hindi is in line with our overall strategy of pushing multi-lingual content. We believe that if you want people to consume a lot of content, you should offer it to them in their language of comfort.”

    The BPL campaign will build on Dhoni‘s love for football. He will invite sports fans in India to ‘Join the Game‘. The campaign has interesting renditions of how Dhoni is always missing from action and is glued to the TV sets watching BPL every weekend while his family and friends run around looking for him.

    Speaking on the association, Dhoni said, “I am an avid BPL fan and I just played out a real situation in front of the camera. If I am not busy with cricket, I am always busy with BPL during week-ends. Football is extremely exciting and very close to my heart. I was a goal keeper during my school days. Even today, I play football as a warm up game ahead of key cricket matches.”

    “I feel that Indian sports fans should consume different types of sports. I want them to be passionate about Cricket as they are, but at the same time one needs to give healthy respect for other disciplines as well. It is critical to spread the message of overall sports development and promotion in the country. This Star Sports initiative to provide football commentary now in Hindi will go a long way in making football exciting to watch and comprehend for new audiences across the nation. Similar efforts should be done to promote other sports as well,” India‘s captain added.

    Star Sports has aggressive production plans for non-live programming on this season of BPL in Hindi. The support of non-live programming through the season will play a key role in educating consumers about the league. The broadcaster plans to showcase highlight shows, weekly show based on ‘goals‘; and a weekly magazine show which will review and preview the latest developments from BPL. The sports channel has started off non-live programming with a six episode build-up show ‘Superstar Football‘ which focuses on multiple facets of the league – famous owners, top clubs, top players etc.

    In football, Star Sports channels hold broadcast rights for Barclays Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, the English FA Cup and England international matches and AFC Events. Star Sports has recently showcased FIFA Confederations Cup 2013.

  • ESPN attempts to expand viewer base with IBL

    ESPN attempts to expand viewer base with IBL

    MUMBAI: The shuttle is really going to fly around during the Indian Badminton League (IBL) for 18 days from 14 August as players belonging to six franchisees get ready to battle on the courts to wrest the winner’s trophy. All the action will be shown live on ESPN or Star Sports 2.

     

    Although badminton is still a niche sport, the channel says that it wants to build a multi-sport viewership much like what other channels are also aiming to do, such as Sony Six.

     

    “The idea is to create a portfolio of various sporting disciplines with in-depth programming in each of the categories. This will help expand the sports viewing fan base and help in creating habitual viewing amongst sports consumers,” says ESPN Software India CEO Vijay Rajput.

     

    We have all played various sports during school days apart from cricket, badminton being one of them and ESPN wants to build a base for sports that people have grown up with. Its previous stint was with the Hockey India League (HIL) but this venture didn’t seem to leave an impact on viewers. It feels that what is lacking is the manner in which alternative/niche sports are packaged, communicated and presented. The IPL (Indian Premiere League) has a robust marketing strategy every year apart from the fact that it has an existing huge fan following in the country.

     

    The crux of its marketing strategy for IBL is mainly dependent upon highlighting the fact that viewers will get to watch world class badminton players on the two channels. But firstly they need to ensure that new audiences familarise themselves with the players, if they want to lure new viewers . ESPN’s campaign therefore focuses on Indian players in the IBL such as Saina Nehwal, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponappa and Jerry Chopra.

     

    “Our aim is also to build recognisable heroes within IBL,” says Rajput. Promos featuring these players will be on air soon.

     

    Badminton facts that are unknown to the layman will also be provided as part of the campaign, some of them being – a shuttle can leave the racket at a speed of almost 300 km/hour and that a badminton player can cover more than two kilometers in just one match. It is an attempt to get people to know more about the game and thereby tune in to the channel to watch it.

     

    However, it doesn’t seem to match the level that it did to promote HIL by roping in known names such as Prasoon Joshi from McCann Erickson India and ad director Nick Livesey from England.

     

    The matches will be aired during late afternoon and evening. Whether there will be a simulcast on both channels is still being discussed but if one of the host channels is occupied with another sport, the sister channel will telecast the live match. Sources said that Star Sports 2 will probably have commentary in Hindi.

     

    Talks with advertisers have just started and are expected to conclude in a few days. Earlier this month an auction was concluded in which India’s star player Saina Nehwal was bought by Hyderabad for $1,20,000 and the world’s top badminton player Lee Chong Wei went to Mumbai for a whopping $1,35,000.

     

    Matches will be played in the towns of the six franchisees namely Mumbai Masters, Delhi Smashers, Hyderabad Hotshots, Pune Pistons, Awadhe Warriors and Banga Beats. A total of 90 matches will be played in the form of two men’s singles and one women’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles each.

     

    This isn’t the first acquisition for ESPN. It had previously also got hold of the HIL, English Premier League (EPL), Sri Lanka Premiere League (SLPL), Bangladesh Premiere League (BPL) and others. As of now, IBL and ESPN Star Sports have struck a deal only for the first edition of the tournament. How well it manages to garner audience attention will decide the future of the speedy sport. Seems like, ESPN has a thing for leagues, considering that it is a dominant player in its own league.

  • Star extends marketing campaign for Champions Trophy to the digital realm

    Star extends marketing campaign for Champions Trophy to the digital realm

    MUMBAI: Star Sports has launched a digital campaign to engage cricket fans on-line for the on-going ICC Champions Trophy 2013. An extension of the main marketing campaign, this digital initiative is built around the main promotional theme – ‘Zor Lagao, Champions Banao‘. The channel has launched a microsite http://cheercam.starsports.com inviting people to show support for their favourite team and wish them all the best for ICC Champions Trophy 2013. Select cheers or entries with most views or shares online will be aired on-air during the pre/post programming show ‘Cricket Live‘.

    Cricket aficionados can cheer for their favourite team using the CheerCam application which allows them to express their feelings in as expressive a way as possible. The more different one‘s cheer is, the more traction he or she will generate in the digital universe. The CheerCam application aggregates cheers across different social platforms like Facebook Posts, Likes, Shares, Tweets etc.

    Users can also share their cheers on their individual Facebook walls, invite their friends to participate and also tweet about it. The campaign will have extensions of the “Zor Lagao” theme on the Facebook page – www.facebook.com/starsportsindia, where fans can go and record/upload/share/write their cheers for their country. On Twitter, fans can cheer for their teams using the twitter hash-tag #ZorLagao.

    ESPN Software India COO Vijay Rajput said, “The campaign is based on the powerful insight that there is a symbiotic relationship between a spectator/fan & a player and that the spectator is as much part of the game as the player. The idea here is to inspire fans to support their favourite team who further gain strength when millions of fans express their support in the most vociferous way. We believe that fans should do their part – “Zor Lagao” and fervently hope that their favourite team comes back victorious from the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 – “Champions Banao.”

    This campaign will have on-air support on the entire Star network. As had been reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com Star Cricket and Star Cricket HD will showcase all the 15 matches of the event with English commentary while STAR Sports 2 will showcase all matches with Hindi commentary. Besides, the sports broadcaster will also showcase four of the six kick-off matches live before the start of the main tournament. India takes on Sri Lanka on 1 June while India Australia kick-off match is scheduled for 4 June.

  • Hindi commentary simulcast delivers well for ESS

    MUMBAI: Sportscaster ESPN Star Sports‘ strategy of introducing Hindi commentary simulcast has found favour with cricket fans as it contributed 40 per cent of the overall ratings for the recently concluded India-Australia Test series.

    According to Tam data provided by ESS, the television broadcast of the recently concluded India-Australia Test series has delivered average rating of 2.05 TVR, which the broadcaster claims, is the highest average rating for a Test series played by India in the past four years. The test series delivered a reach of 92.8 million.

    The India-Australia series 2013 has delivered almost 50 per cent higher ratings as compared to the previous India-Australia series played in Australia in the year 2011/12 which averaged 1.37 TVR.

    The four test series also delivered 22 per cent higher ratings than the India-England test series played earlier this season which delivered an average of 1.68 TVR. The TV ratings peaked at 3.2 TVR on the eventful third day of the fourth test match when Cheteshwar Pujara made a quick fire 82 in India‘s pursuit for victory.

    ESPN Software India COO Vijay Rajput states, “We are extremely delighted with the results. Our approach to the presentation of Indian cricket has been a game changer in many ways. The introduction of Hindi commentary feed has done well and so has our strong web offering through starsports.com which allows consumers to get in the game online.

    He adds. Our aggressive marketing campaigns through the season which focussed on new and upcoming heroes of team India in transition culminating with the ‘Asli Test Baaki Hai‘ campaign for the India Australia series struck a chord with fans across the country.

    “Our aim is to take the viewership of this game to a completely new level – be it through our compelling campaigns, quality of talent, look and feel of the presentation, multi-platform delivery or through promoting it across the entire Star network.”

  • ESS announces executive appointments; Vijay Rajput made COO

    ESS announces executive appointments; Vijay Rajput made COO

    MUMBAI: ESPN Software India, today announced the appointment of Vijay Rajput as COO, Sricharan Iyengar as vice president and business head of the consumer business group and emerging technologies and Rajesh Kaul as vice president, affiliate sales.

    Commenting on the the executive changes, ESPN managing director RC Venkateish said, “These senior management appointments will help us focus our efforts on key growth areas, both for the present and the future and positions us to effectively evolve our organization to maximize new opportunities.”

    Vijay Rajput joined ESS as director finance in 1997. In his new role Rajput will be responsible for handling the finance, administration, HR and legal divisions at ESPN in addition to playing a pivotal role in the strategic management of the company. Rajput has considerable management expertise as he has an industry experience of nearly two decades.

    Iyengar, associated with ESS since 2000, was earlier overseeing the marketing & distribution functions of ESPN & STAR Sports across South Asia. While continuing to handle consumer marketing and direct to consumer services of DTH/Broadband and IPTV, Iyengar will lead the company’s thrust into the emerging technologies of mobile, wireless and internet.

    “We realise there is a big business opportunity on the emerging technologies. As a leading sports broadcaster, we will have to be omnipresent on all the delivery platforms. We will also have to plan for content on new media. This will require proper focus,” Iyengar says.

    Rajesh Kaul, who was earlier reporting to Iyengar, is given independent charge of affiliate sales. Matters relating to multi-system operators (MSOs) and cable TV operators will, thus, be handled by him.

    ESS recently tied up with mobile phone operator Airtel to offer voice-based update system during the Fifa World Cup. “Wireless can become a big platform. We tied up with Airtel during the football World Cup. We will see how this service evolves. CDMA mobile operators like Reliance Infocomm can offer video clips. We will have to create products for these new media vehicles,” Iyengar says.

    Value-added services on mobile phones is still evolving. “Sports and news will drive the mobile business. When we sort out the bandwidth issue, video-based applications will become popular,” he adds.

  • TDSAT rules in favour of ESPN in dues dispute with ICC

    TDSAT rules in favour of ESPN in dues dispute with ICC

    MUMBAI: ESPN Software India has won its case against Pune’s biggest MSO Intermedia Cable Communication (ICC) for recovery of dues that go back to December 2004.

    In what is being described as a landmark judgment, the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), which was hearing the case on a complaint filed by the sports broadcaster late last month, has directed ICC to clear of its pending dues even in the absence of any written contract.

    The dues under dispute cover the the period 5 December 2004 to 8 June 2005 when the operator was provided signals even though the agreement between the two companies had expired as of 5 December 2003.

    TDSAT has ruled that since the signals were continued beyond the date of termination of the agreement, the subscription fee for the period be kept at the old rate of Rs 32 per subscriber. This amounted to a monthly subscription of Rs 1,272,000 per month that was owed to ESPN for the period under dispute.

    The Tribunal has directed ICC to pay ESPN Rs 7,221,000 in three equal monthly installments payable on 1 June, 1 July and 1 August respectively. In its order, TDSAT indicated that since the MSO had argued that it was facing a a problem of recovery of money from the ground, a point not denied by ESPN, it was giving the operator three months to clear the dues.

    Any further delays would make ICC liable to pay additional interest at 12 per cent per annum, the Tribunal has ruled.

    Commenting on the development, ESPN’s CFO Vijay Rajput said, “This is a landmark judgment. This judgment will act as a precedent wherever the cable operators arm twist broadcasters under the pretext of negotiations.”

    During the course of the hearing, an interesting point that came up was that the relations between the two parties turned sour following the alleged disconnection of signals by ESPN for four days in January 2004 at the time of the India–Australia cricket series followed by another disconnection in June 2004 for two days at the time of the Euro Soccer Football matches. ICC had claimed that the two signal disruptions were done despite excess subscription amounts having been made to ESPN.

    The MSO argued that it paid subscription w.e.f 5 December 2003 at the old rate despite not being able to collect the amounts from the ground. The crux of its argument was however that since no fresh agreement was entered into after the expiry of the contract on 5 December 2003, ESPN was therefore not entitled to make any claim for the period 5 December 2004 to 5 June 2005.

    ICC in its counter affidavit had stated, “The Tribunal has no jurisdiction to entertain this petition; that the service contract dated 5 December 2003 provides for arbitration, and that ESPN even though a company incorporated in India is in reality foreign controlled, as such, it has no right/locus standi to enter into agreement with any of the companies in India without permission from the government of India”.

    Responding to the objections raised by the MSO, the Tribunal stated that it had the jurisdiction to adjudicate on this matter.