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Tag: World Cup

  • Twitter gets 800 million impressions during World Cup

    Twitter gets 800 million impressions during World Cup

    MUMBAI: In the group stages of the World Cup 2015, Twitter registered 800 million impressions for all the games. Indian captain MS Dhoni (@msdhoni) finished the group stage in style for India against Zimbabwe hitting a six and taking team India to the quarterfinals against Bangladesh. He also became the most mentioned Indian player on Twitter during the group stages of the #CWC15. He is followed by Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) and Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) in the list.

     

    Most mentioned Indian players in the group stages:

     

    Players ranked by number of mentions during #CWC15 Pool B matches

     

    1) MS Dhoni (@msdhoni)

     

    2) Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25)

     

    3) Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45)

     

    4) Virat Kohli (@imVkohli)

     

    5) Ravichandran Ashwin (@ashwinravi99)

     

    6) Suresh Raina (@ImRaina)

     

    While Dhoni rules as the most mentioned player among the Indian players, Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum is the most mentioned among the international bunch. Pakistani captain Misbah ul-Haq and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara have more mentions than Dhoni.

     

    PM Modi ranks highest in the most retweeted list.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    On the other hand, the #INDvPAK match sweeps in the most impressions list among any other match played at the #CWC15.

     

    1. India (@BCCI) v Pakistan (@Official_PCB) on 15 February

     

    2. South Africa (@OfficialCSA)  v India (@BCCI) on 22 February

     

    3. West Indies (@westindies) v India (@BCCI) on 6 March

     

    4. England (@ECB_cricket) v Bangladesh (@BCBtigers) on 9 March

     

    5. South Africa (@OfficialCSA) v Pakistan (@Cricket_PCB) on 7 March

     

    Moreover, India’s opening win in the sequence of the six so far against Pakistan, also ranks top amongst the top Tweet moments per minute.

  • 9XM launches ‘FullToss Bakwass’ to build up World Cup

    9XM launches ‘FullToss Bakwass’ to build up World Cup

    MUMBAI: Music channel 9XM is all set to entertain viewers this cricket season with an array of initiatives and innovative programming. The channel has been airing special shows and initiatives to keep their viewers engrossed for the last few days.

     

    The cricket initiatives include the World cup special ‘Bade-Chote’ show called FullToss Bakwaas, This live action animation show features the characters Bade-Chote with stand-up comics playing different characters inspired by cricketers and some other unique characters often seen at matches.

     

    Commenting on the World Cup special, 9X Media Chief Programming Officer Amar Tidke said, “We at 9XM believe in providing our viewers with music that is well curated and humor that is current and topical. With the whole nation obsessed/fixated on Cricket, we wanted our viewers to have the Cricket experience, but with the 9XM flavor. Hence the channel will also flaunt packaging that is cricket centric and elements that represent the game. We have 9xm Toss-Up, where a coin toss decides the next song from the super-hit playlist and Full Toss Bakwaas our unique offering which integrates our popular characters with the game. We have also repackaged our popular countdown show Top 9 as the 9xm Top 11 World Cup special featuring cricketing themes and songs to match. Just like we love our movies, we love this game, and this is our bit to support our team India!”

     

    9XM will also air 9XM Jugaad with the animated characters Bade Chote, Bheegi Billi and Beetel Nuts featuring cricketing funnies and Chote Ki Kahani where Chote the master entertainer comes up with his selected short stories that promises a fun ride into the witty world of Bade – Chote.

     

    9XM will promote the Cricket World cup programming line-up through a series of initiatives on social media and other digital platforms.

  • Frankly.me ropes in commentator Jatin Sapru

    Frankly.me ropes in commentator Jatin Sapru

    MUMBAI: Frankly.me, a mobile application, which provides a QnA platform to the general public is all set to take the thrill associated with the World Cup experience a notch higher. The app will now host the virtual presence of famed sports presenter – commentator Jatin Sapru, who will take queries from cricket enthusiasts via Frankly.me. 

     

    Star Sports presenter Sapru will be answering public queries during live cricket matches while sharing space with well-known celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan and Shoaib Akhtar. This is for the first time a commentator is connecting to the public directly during commentary intervals. Frankly.me is providing a chance to all the cricket fans out there to come and connect with the cricket fraternity via video selfies.

     

    Frankly.me co-founder Nikunj Jain said, “The team Frankly.me is really proud and happy with the recent advancements in the platform and it’s steadily rising popularity with the empanelment of noted public figures including politicians. With Frankly.me, these personalities intend to understand the masses and their expectations better. This facilitates them with first-hand information directly from the common people and gives them insights which are more perceptive.”

     

  • Ecstatic India is all set for World Cup 2015

    Ecstatic India is all set for World Cup 2015

    MUMBAI: New Zealand Prime Minister John Key declared the World Cup open on 12 February, 2015 in Christchurch. With thousands in attendance and millions watching around the world, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 opened in spectacular fashion with star-laden events in both Christchurch and Melbourne.

    Featuring sporting and entertainment icons, cultural performances and impressive pyrotechnic displays, the opening event has set the right tune for the 2015 World Cup.

    With digital being the theme for 2015, a giant robot lit with LED lights is the mascot for this edition of the World Cup.

    The ceremony did not become a talking point in India and the World Cup enthusiasm was missing the ignition, which finally came from none other than the digital savvy Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. He used Twitter to infuse the World Cup enthusiasm in players and spectators’ mind with his emotional tweet, “As the 2015 Cricket World Cup begins, my best wishes to the Indian Cricket Team. Khelo Dil se World Cup Lao phirse.” The rhythmic Hindi line may give tough competition to Star Sports’ campaign slogan We won’t give it back.

    Modi also used the social media platform to convey his best wishes to each and every member of the team by tweeting individually to them. His tweet to captain Dhoni read, “My best wishes to captain cool @msdhoni. Play hard, lead well & make India proud. Knowing you, I am sure you will.” The humorous tweet dedicated to Ravindra Jadeja said, “Who is not a fan of Sir Jadeja? We all look forward to seeing your all round performances take India to victory! @imjadeja.”   

    Modi also took the opportunity to reach out to the leaders of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region. In a series of tweets the PM mentioned, “Spoke to President @ashrafghani, PM Sheikh Hasina, PM Nawaz Sharif & President Sirisena. Conveyed my best wishes for the Cricket World Cup. 5 SAARC Nations are playing & are excited about the World Cup. Am sure WC will celebrate sportsman spirit & will be a treat for sports lovers. Cricket connects people in our region & promotes goodwill. Hope players from SAARC region play with passion & bring laurels to the region.”

    Not only the Prime Minister but the entire media fraternity is also buoyed by the World Cup. Indiantelevision.com took the opportunity to know media stalwarts’ plan for the flagship tournament.

    When asked about the Word Cup plans NDTV executive vice-chairperson K.V.L. Narayan Rao replied, “I am highly excited about the tournament and I will cheer my heart out for India.  I will rate India as my favourites despite their current poor performances. Star India’s ‘We won’t give it back’ campaign was a positive one, it sends a good message to both players and audiences. The players would be playing in Australia and New Zealand and it is very important for us to support them from here in India. Our loyalties will make them stronger.”

    Multi Screen Media president Rohit Gupta added, “Though I don’t follow 50 overs cricket a lot, I will try to catch as much action as possible. The team that plays good cricket throughout the tournament will win. I want the best team to win.”

    Hats Off productions founder J D Majhetia said, “I am ecstatic about the World Cup. Though my heart is always with India, I am supporting Australia and South Africa. It’s high time South Africa wins a World Cup if not India. I have travelled all across to catch World Cup actions live. World Cup is a celebration and I will celebrate with fans and families.”

    Madison Communications COO Karthik Lakshminarayanan asserted, “I am definitely excited about the tournament and will try to see all the India matches. I will support the team that plays good cricket throughout the tournament. I expect this tournament to be one of the finest in terms of discipline and sportsman spirit.”

  • Govt. puts its weight behind AIFF to host FIFA U-17 World Cup

    Govt. puts its weight behind AIFF to host FIFA U-17 World Cup

    MUMBAI: FICCI’s ‘Goal 2015’, the third International Convention on Football Business, kicked off with All India Football Federation (AIFF) general secretary Kushal Das, describing three monumental events — the strengthening of the I-League, launch of the Indian Super League and planning under way for India to host the FIFA U-17 World Cup – as “game changers” for Indian football.

     

    Ministry of Youth Affairs sports director Vivek Narain said, “On its part, the Government of India pledged full support to supplement the efforts of AIFF in hosting the World Cup for which it has earmarked Rs 95 crore.”

     

    Narain said that the Government was looking for more active participation from the private sector for beefing up the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF), using the vehicle of CSR.

     

    NSDF has been established for mobilising resources from non-government resources, including private/public sector and non-resident Indians for the promotion of sports and games in the country. The funds available under NSDF are mainly used towards supplementing government assistance to the elite sportspersons who are medal prospects at major international events, for meeting their specific coaching/training requirements by way of provision of scientific support and training within the country and abroad, purchase of equipment, participation in international competitions etc. The objectives of the fund also include construction of sports infrastructure, taking up research projects and development studies and promotion of international cooperation. 

     

    FICCI Sports Committee chairman Sanjiv Paul said that Indian football is ushering in a new dawn. The Indian Super League seemed to inject fresh energy into the system and the country is witnessing unearthing of talent like never before. FICCI, he said, salutes this new found fervour for sport in general and football in particular amongst fans whose passion is driving these to new heights.

     

    He said that the corporate sector has shown a lot of confidence by investing incrementally year-on-year. The efforts are visible at the state and district level that has helped increase the number of participants and supporters of the sport within regions.

     

    “As per our estimates, more than 20 lakh players play the game across the country. Thus lot of opportunities for entrepreneurs present in this room to reach out and connect,” he pointed out.

     

    Head of Public Affairs, Premier League Tim Vine said, “There was huge potential for football to grow in India and his organisation was keen to assist in every aspect of the game. The Premier League was conducting a series of workshops on football across India on topics such as governance, youth development, stadium management and media relations, etc. It was crucial that the game develops from grassroots upwards.”

     

    FICCI secretary general A Didar Singh added, “The export of sports goods from India is valued at Rs 1100 crore and the country is today counted among one of the largest football manufacturers and exporters in the world. It could well become the largest exporter with greater effort provided that there is a conducive environment available. ‘Invest India’ for attracting FDI and ‘Make in India’ for making India a global manufacturing hub provide ample opportunities for catapulting the sports goods industry, especially the football business, to another orbit.”

  • E-commerce to be huge spender this World Cup: Experts

    E-commerce to be huge spender this World Cup: Experts

    MUMBAI: As the 10 day countdown to the ICC Cricket World Cup – this year’s biggest sporting marvel – brands are as excited as cricket fans. The ad revenue for this year’s edition of the World Cup is expected to swell up.

     

    The International Cricket Council (ICC) already has on board a set of sponsors namely Castrol, Reliance, LG, Hyundai and MRF amongst others. Castrol came on board in 2011, while MRF is an added sponsor for this year. The deals with the other brands were signed for a period of five years and will come to an end and up for renewal post this edition of the tournament.

     

    Speaking about the brand interest of the World Cup this year, GroupM ESP national director – entertainment, sports and live events Vinit Karnik says, “Apart from the usual suspects and the ICC sponsors, I definitely see the e-commerce segment participating well for this year’s World Cup. In addition to that, automobiles and FMCG will be seen spending well too.”

     

    Some sports experts opine that each of these brands that came on board for the ICC for five years, could be spending close to Rs 25 – 35 crore per year including this season. MRF, which has been signed on board only for this year, could be spending close to Rs 30 – 35 crore for this edition, which will be held in Australia and New Zealand.

     

    With Star Sports signing a slew of deals with brands like Yepme.com, PayTM, Raymonds, Nestle, Pidilite, Marico and Lloyd, media experts are pegging the ad revenue from TV alone to be close to Rs 900 – 1000 crore. A rise in the revenue for this year can be attributed to broadcaster, Star India’s move to broadcast the tournament in six languages and offer special pricing for local and regional brands.

     

    “Star has increased its reach and relevance of the sport by providing local and regional language feeds. Besides just the reach, it will also help garner more viewership numbers and therefore is a brilliant move,” says Karnik.

     

    According to GroupM’s bi-annual report titled ‘This Year Next Year,’ e-commerce is expected to be a huge spender for this year from a relatively smaller base than more established categories. The reason stated for the spending is due to an increased competition in this sector and no dearth of funding. 

     

    Speaking on similar lines is Madison Media COO Karthik Lakshminarayan who is also of the opinion that e-commerce will be a huge spender this World Cup. “Apart from that, the other categories include durables and brands that want to reach out to men will be spending for this year,” he concludes.

     

    With the excitement almost palpable in this cricket crazy nation and no dearth of spending moolah, the World Cup seems all set to lure viewers and advertisers alike.

  • Yepme to fly customers to cheer West Indies for World Cup

    Yepme to fly customers to cheer West Indies for World Cup

    MUMBAI: With the Cricket World Cup just a few days away, Yepme.com, an online fashion brand, has announced the ‘Fly To Australia and cheer for West Indies’ contest. 

     

    This comes on the back of Yepme announcing the sponsorship of the West Indies cricket team for the ICC World Cup ODI 2015, about to get underway in Australia and New Zealand. The West Indies cricket team jerseys will now sport the Yepme logo.

     

    “We are proud and excited to sponsor the West Indies team in the ICC World Cup. Being the third largest sports tournament in the world, which will be seen in more than 182 countries, it’s a huge opportunity for Yepme to strengthen its vision as a global brand! We are also providing an opportunity to cricket lovers across the country to go and watch the action live at Australia. We look forward to a large number of cricket fans participating in the contest even as they browse the fresh fashion at Yepme.com” said Yepme founder and chief operations officer Sandeep Sharma.

     

    Customers can participate by downloading the Yepme app and answering a question on Fresh Fashion. Up to 50 winners will be given tickets to Australia and a chance to watch West Indies team in Australia live, along with three days and two nights’ accommodation in Australia. 

     

    Speaking about the association, West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) commercial manager Nelecia Yeates said, “We welcome Yepme to the West Indies cricket family of sponsors and partners for the world’s premier cricket event – the ICC Cricket World Cup. We look forward to a mutually beneficial association as the West Indies team remains one of the most attractive cricket teams in the world and will be one of the favorite teams in the World Cup.”

     

    The Yepme app is available on Android and customers can interact with the app in Hindi and English.

  • ESPNcricinfo launches new series before World Cup

    ESPNcricinfo launches new series before World Cup

    MUMBAI: With the Cricket World Cup less than a month away, cricket portal ESPNcricinfo has launched a new video series called ‘Contenders’.

     

    The series will have former skippers Rahul Dravid and Greame Smith sharing their observations on strength and weaknesses of the teams participating in ICC World Cup 2015. They will also critically analyse the possibilities of each team and determine the key factors in all the teams. Besides analysis on capabilities, the duo will also scrutinize the statistics and predict their progress in the tournament. 

     

    The 10 episode series starting 20 January, 2015 will be hosted by Gaurav Kalra and is sponsored by Renault.

     

    ESPNcricinfo editor Sambit Bal said, “At ESPNcricinfo, it has been our constant endeavour to produce high-quality original video programming, and Contenders is yet another step in that direction. It brings together two iconic cricketers who have led their teams at the World Cup to examine the prospects of the 14 teams and their leading players in the cricket’s biggest event.”

     

  • ICC Cricket WC 2015 announces opening events

    ICC Cricket WC 2015 announces opening events

    MUMBAI: Melbourne is to host the Australian opening event for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 on 12 February, next year.

     

    Tournament co-hosts New Zealand will stage its opening event on the same evening in Christchurch.

    The Melbourne celebration will involve World Cup players and legends, cultural and music performances, a spectacular fireworks display and a yet to be revealed “special moment”.  It will reflect the diversity and excitement of the 14 competing nations and include some icons in Australian entertainment.

     

    The opening events in both Melbourne and Christchurch will form part of a broadcast package to be televised around the world by Star Sports and its licensees. In Australia it will broadcast by FoxSports and the Nine Network.

     

    Victorian Minister for major events, tourism and sport, John Eren said the privilege of hosting the opening event meant that Melbourne would be the scene for the start of the tournament in Australia and its end, with the final to be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 March.

     

    “We are delighted that Melburnians and visitors from all over the world will have a chance to attend this once in a generation event at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl,” Minister Eren said.

     

    ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 chief executive John Harnden said, “Melbourne will welcome the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 to Australia for the first time in 23 years with this opening event. The Victorian government along with Victorian Major Events Company is giving us great support to put on this show for the tournament in Australia and I’m sure it will get us off to a great start.”

     

    The opening event is produced by George P Johnson with artistic director, Michael Reid whose past credits include the opening ceremony of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

     

    The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Opening Event in Australia is a free event, which will be ticketed.

     

    Tickets will be available to the public on a first come, first served basis.

     
    The event in Christchurch will feature some of New Zealand’s best known performers, cricket legends including Sir Richard Hadlee and Stephen Fleming and a special segment to recognise the rebuilding of the city following the disastrous earthquakes.

     

    Fast Facts:
    •         ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand
    •         14 teams: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, West Indies and Zimbabwe
    •         14 host cities: Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, Canberra, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Hobart, Napier, Nelson, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Wellington
    •         42 pool matches – three in each host city
    •         Every visiting team plays in both countries
    •         Children’s tickets available for every match
    •         Children’s tickets $5 for every pool match
    •         Children’s ticket for quarterfinals are $20, semifinals are $30, and final are $60
    •         Adults tickets from $20
    •         Two-thirds of total tickets $50 or less
    •         Travel Packages are on sale, go to www.icctravel.net
    •         Buy tickets and hospitality at www.cricketworldcup.com

     

  • LIV Sports uses social media beyond advertising during 2014 FIFA World Cup

    LIV Sports uses social media beyond advertising during 2014 FIFA World Cup

    MUMBAI: With football craze gripping the Nation days before the start of the World Cup, LIV Sports, Sony’s online and mobile based VOD platform, anticipated a huge surge in Social communication and engagement from fans. Also, considering the LIVE streaming of the 2014 FIFA World Cup matches was a paid subscription service, LIV Sports decided to service queries from India’s mobile and social first users directly on their platforms. LIV Sports teamed up with Social IQ, a disruptive social media solution from TO THE NEW to set up The Social Command Center – a 24×7 social response solution. The team used social media as a customer support channel that helped in quick, transparent and efficient delivery of responses and updates to its users.

     

    The Social Command Center that consisted of a well-defined service framework of people and processes along with proprietary social customer support software helped LIV Sports with a quick response time of 2 hours over the period of the World Cup; addressed nearly 1000 customer support queries from the users. Additionally, the Social Command Center helped LIV Sports identify query patterns with deep analytics, thus guiding the LIV Sports Product teams to enhance Product improvements and User experience real-time.

     

    Launched in June this year, LIV Sports is the Official Mobile and Internet Broadcaster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

     

    Mr. Nitesh Kripalani, Executive Vice-President – New Media, Business Development and Digital/Syndication at Sony Entertainment Network commented – “Social IQ’s Social Command Center and customer response platform definitely helped us build trust with our fans and followers; it also helped us reduce our support costs. Our goal that both Sony LIV and LIV Sports need to be where the consumers are, was further enhanced by the Social Command Centre’s ability to talk to our consumers on Social platforms.

     

    The personal touch, quick turnaround response and transparency helped achieve our goal of being connected to digital users irrespective of where they are.”

     

    LIV Sports successfully harnessed the power of social media beyond advertising to build brand awareness and become more relevant to the social and mobile first consumer.

     

    “When we were building the software and service frameworks, we knew this would be very new for the Indian market. However, for brands who want to reach out to today’s social and mobile first customer, leveraging social media for customer support can be a key differentiator. The same got validated with our engagement with LIVSports and I believe it is just a matter of time when we will see many more brands having a Social Command Center established”, said Mr. Kesavan Kanchi Kandadai, Business Head, Social IQ and CEO, Tangerine Digital.