MxMIndia

Tag: Extraaa Innings

  • Cricket legends Sunil Gavaskar and Sir Vivian Richards will share the screen on Extraaa Innings for the #Furious&Fast series

    Sony announces commentators for upcoming India tour of West Indies

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN), the official broadcaster of the India tour of West Indies, has announced programming initiatives to increase engagement with audiences across India. The India tour of West Indies will also mark the start of the ICC World Test Championship for both teams.

     

    SPSN’s live wrap-around show, Extraaa Innings, will return for the India tour of West Indies featuring Sir Vivian Richards, Sunil Gavaskar, Graeme Swann, Murali Kartik, Darren Ganga and Ian Bishop in English, and Ashish Nehra, Ajay Jadeja, Mohammad Kaif and Vivek Razdan along with presenters Gaurav Kapur and Arjun Pandit in Hindi. Extraaa Innings will also make an appearance in the breakfast segment with the post-match analysis for the ODI and Test series. In addition to this, SPSN will be airing ‘Cricket Talk’, a show that will provide previews for the Test format and reviews after the T20I and ODI formats.

     

    Said Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution and Head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India: “This monsoon, Indian viewers can watch #MoreCricket and thrilling action on Sony Pictures Sports Network with The Ashes and India tour of West Indies. A robust programming line-up has been created for the India tour of West Indies along with the legendary Sir Vivian Richards and Sunil Gavaskar reuniting in the studio along with other exceptional panelists. The India tour of West Indies will also mark the start of the ICC World Test Championship for both teams. With brilliant performances expected from both the highly skilled teams, the India tour of West Indies is going to be unmissable for every cricket lover in the nation.”

     

     

  • He talks too much and purists hate him, but IPLs will be unwatchable without the irrepressible Navjot Singh Sidhu

    Why IPLs are no fun without this man

     

    By Biswadeep Ghosh

     

    Think of the Indian Premier League. Forget your favourite cricketers for a while. One, two, three, four… now that you have managed to push the players into the backyard of your mind, who is that one person whose association with the tournament is a fact you just cannot ignore? Rest assured, they aren’t Shibani Dandekar and Archana Vijaya, the two young ladies who do the rounds within the venues, asking unintelligent questions to intelligent cricketers when not busy matching their knowledge of the game with equally informed (or uninformed) celebrities. Despite the presence of so much glamour – which includes one Shah Rukh Khan – the man who is managing to colonise the maximum amount of attention is Navjot Singh Sidhu.

     

    After having been a successful international cricketer for sixteen long years in which he metamorphosed from being a maha-boring batsman to watch – particularly in today’s T20 terms – to someone who could step out and send the ball flying for miles while dealing with the spinners in particular, Sidhu’s second innings as a commentator has been comparably notice-worthy. He has irritated purists with his style of commentating, which is based on a unique formula. He talks very little cricket, and talks too much. As if that is not enough, he showers similes, metaphors, shayaris and proverbs on the viewers, hijacking the time of his colleagues who can do nothing apart from watching him with a partly amused, partly stunned look.

     

    When Sidhu joined the IPL5 commentary team as part of the Sony Max show Extraaa Innings, he had reportedly said that the show beats ‘Vidya Balan in terms of entertainment quotient’, the reference being to the actress’s affirmation that a film is about ‘entertainment’ in The Dirty Picture. Balan’s character Silk had used the word ‘entertainment’ three times, and Sidhu had promised five times more than that.

     

    Somewhat confusing, no doubt about that, since exactly how much entertainment did Silk promise by uttering the word three times? Sidhu may not know that, but he will have an answer to this query for sure. He has an answer for everything.

     

    What kind of rubbish does he talk? How much can he talk? How can he remember so many shayaris, proverbs and god knows what else? How does he misinterpret half the things he knows with so much confidence? As time has flown since the day he became a commentator many turbans ago – he started his career when India toured Sri Lanka in 2001 – what is amply obvious is that he has added a lot of new material to his arsenal, stuff he uses the way only he can.

     

    In the studio of Extraaa Innings, Sidhu, who says ‘gurrru’ whenever presented with an opportunity, came up with an outstanding statement the other day: outstanding since not even George Bush could have given rise to so much unintentional humour. Sachin Tendulkar, he said, is a genius, just as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini were. Hence, the Master Blaster is meant to be admired. Sourav Ganguly, on the contrary, is a man of character. So, he is meant to be trusted.

     

    Presenting, some possible conclusions drawn from what Sidhu said:

    *Tendulkar is characterless, and hence, not supposed to be trusted.

    *Ganguly is not a genius and, therefore, should not be admired.

    *Tendulkar’s genius has parallels in Hitler and Mussolini.

    *A man of character cannot be a genius, and vice-versa.

    *Hitler and Mussolini are meant to be admired.

     

    Poor Harsha Bhogle, who sits right next to the man. Having been reminded of his hair transplant by Sidhu – for the consumption of the entire world, by the garrulous Sardar, who else? – he keeps staring at our protagonist, doing hee-hee-hee, distinctly clumsy and uneasy, acutely aware, one is sure, that he has been condemned to become one part of the ‘Jai and Veeru’ pair in the present edition of Extraaa Innings.

     

    That Harsha and Sidhu have become Jai and Veeru – the legendary characters played by Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan in the curry Western Sholay – tells us two things. Firstly, Extraaa Innings is not meant for the cricket connoisseur: which is fine, since neither is T20. Secondly, a character like Sidhu can only make its TRPs shoot heavenward, many watching the show seek the sort of humour that he has come to epitomize.

     

    That Sidhu’s prattle is not a 24-hour-reality in our lives is what works for the man. In a serious moment, when a batsman has failed to negotiate delivery after delivery, he has been known to irritate the hell out of a listener by comparing the batsman to a ‘one-legged man in a bum-kicking competition’. (He is not doing that in this edition of IPL, having been confined to the studios, but he has made many such comparisons in the past). But the thing is, the ‘idea’ of Sidhu has become an addiction with the passage of time. As his loyal fans will tell you, it is not an addiction which is subversive, like heroin, but a habit which makes one smile even when one gets completely exasperated.

     

    As a person talking cricket, Sidhu, having been a top-level cricketer himself, makes a lot more sense than, say, Mandira Bedi, who possibly believed that the leg stump was tied to a batsman’s leg when she had started out. Unlike serious commentators, however, nobody hears him for his reflections on the game. Sidhu’s USP is the ‘out-of-placeness’ of his thoughts, a carefully manicured image he has developed by insisting that the Indian team ‘without Sachin is like giving a kiss without a squeeze.’

     

    As someone who seesaws between being a purist and a lover of baseball cricket’s entertainment – the former, when I watch test matches and the latter, when T20 hits the mart – I am among many who lose it when he starts burying voices around him, and cracking meandering jokes in the middle of a serious discussion. But, my anger subsides when Sidhu says what he thinks is funny and introspective by combining humour with deep thought. He is at his best when devotedly absurd: an entertainer who puts up a whole-hearted performance. He is what every T20 player on the cricket field ought to be. Now, is that a Sidhuism?

     

     

    Born in Patna but based in Pune, independent writer-journalist Biswadeep Ghosh enjoys writing on films, literature and music. But, yes, cricket is his passion, and he (even) follows matches featuring Canada and Namibia whenever he can.

     

    Photograph: Fotocorp

     

  • It's literally 'aisa mauka aur kahaan milega' as stakeholders go all out to promote IPL 5 starting next week

    Five days to return of IPL mega-carnival

     

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    The annual IPL event is no less than a carnival or a circus and the TVC featuring the two kids with the Eena Meena Deeka song playing in the background aptly sums it. As the countdown begins for the circus to visit our cities or beam in to our TV sets, we take a look at the various marketing activities planned around the IPL.

     

    Once touted as the biggest property for marketers, the game lost some sheen because of the negative coverage it got in its last avatar. Fully aware of the situation, those involved with the IPL have now gone all out to woo audience and it’s no surprise that lately, especially in the last two weeks, one has seen and heard a lot about IPL on various medium.

     

    Eena Meena Deeka- Carnival- Ye IPL Hai Boss
    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2lDDabuGLs[/youtube]

    Rohit Gupta, President, Multi Screen Media (MSM), the official broadcaster of DLF IPL, talking about the inventory sold on MAX said: “We are in the process of closing deals and it’s been a regular sellout process. The start was a bit slow, but once our marketing campaign kicked off we have managed to rope in most of the key brands. In fact, we have not dropped our rate which is Rs5.5 lakh for a 10-second spot.”

     

    Mr Gupta, in fact, is confident that the rates will go up once the game begins and more audience comes in to watch the matches.

     

    Talking about the campaign, Gaurav Seth, Senior VP, Marketing and Communications, MAX, said: “We have reached the end phase of a very long campaign that was kickstarted on February 23 with Aisa Mauka Aur Kaha Milega and April 4 will see the culmination of all the activities we had undertaken as the IPL begins. As for sustenance, we will take a call on the basis of the viewership and address the issue accordingly.”

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXQsIgN_530[/youtube]

    Some of the activities that MAX has undertaken include a partnership with Radio Mirchi for 40 stations across India which will include radio spots, RJ mentions, and IPL contests. For OOH, they have taken over 700 units across 70 towns including billboards, bus shelters and various other innovative OOH panels. The print engagement includes both English and vernacular newspapers. They are also engaging the audience through mobile and FB along with BTL activation. It is learnt that the budget earmarked for IPL 5 is almost Rs30 crore.

     

    Mr Seth said: “We are reaching out to our audience with one million printed schedules which will be distributed through multiple outlets. We have planned flash mobs across 10 IPL towns. The mobs will give info on IPL by disruption and the sequences will be uploaded on YouTube which we hope will go the viral route.”

     

    “This is the 5th year of IPL so people know what it is. The challenge is to create something that is innovative and appeals to the consumers. Aisa Mauka is perfect as it talks about IPL being an opportunity to bond with family and friends. It invites people to enjoy the IPL experience,” he added, on marketing IPL which has definitely been a mega exercise.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkBVlfisg88[/youtube]

    Extraaa Innings T20 2012 on MAX has also come out with a special video featuring its presenters on the theme of Aisa Mauka Aur Kaha Milega.

     

    Here’s a look at some of the marketing initiatives taken by various IPL teams:

     

    Mumbai Indians

    Mumbai Indians has taken the digital route to connect with its close to 2.5 million fans. The unique marketing campaign by O&M is being digitally driven on Facebook’s MI fan page ‘MIPaltan’. The campaign ‘Players become Friends’ is aimed at increasing the interactivity quotient between the players and the fans in the digital space. The fans can get to be friends with Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel and other team players and know about their real lives, practice sessions and much more.

    https://www.facebook.com/mumbaiindians?sk=app_358303457535779

     

    MI has also unveiled its new website www.mumbaiindians.com, which offers a fresh view for the fans to know more about the team. The new website presents dynamic online tools, easy navigation and is rich in its contents. The fresh look and feel of the website, designed in keeping with international standards, echoes the value which best epitomizes the team – ‘Play Like One’.

     

    Mumbai Indians has recently signed a brand alliance with Walt Disney India, which marks the first time Mickey Mouse will be associated with cricket. The Mumbai Indians Disney merchandise is available for sale in India.

     

    Delhi Daredevils

    Delhi Daredevils, in its bid to engage its fans, signed four remarkable flagbearers of daredevilry as Delhi Daredevils Superfans. These include India’s only IronMan athlete, Anuradha Vaidyanathan; the youngest Indian climber to summit three peaks beyond 8000m, including Mount Everest, Arjun Vajpai; India’s only ultramarathon runner Arun Bhardwaj and the only Indian woman to ski her way to South Pole, Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu.

     

    It also launched the team’s Hindi website, making it the first IPL franchise to create an online destination for cricket fans who would like to follow the game in the language. The English website too had been redesigned. Also on anvil is the launch of mobile version of the website. Smartphone users can download a mobile App to get scores and updates. DD also launched its new official song titled ‘Munday Dilli Ke’ to herald the coming season of DLF Indian Premier League.

     

    Chennai Super Kings

    CSK took its ‘Whistle podu’ further by launching a brand new participative cheer video. Titled ‘Chennai Super Kings ku Raise Your Hands’ this video too is a tribute to the unwavering fan support that the team enjoys. The one-minute video captures a fan formation that gathers momentum, with supporters joining in to form a Mexican wave cheering their favourite team. The video was uploaded on YouTube late evening on March 25, and in less than 12 hours it had already generated over 10,000 views.

     

    In another unique initiative, Washington Apple have partnered with CSK as ‘Official Fruit’ for the upcoming IPL season. South India is India’s largest market for Washington Apples and Chennai, in particular, is the key port of entry and distribution hub and also a key market for the company, hence the association.

     

    Kolkata Knight Riders

    Venky Mysore, MD & CEO of KKR on the marketing initiatives said: “KKR recently unveiled its new marketing campaign, ‘New Dawn, New Knights’. The campaign is about the new team that we have formed and its new attitude and intensity. It signifies the new winning spirit that has been brought in by our new players and the new coach. All of these go a long way in ensuring a new beginning.”

     

    He also said that their digital community exceeds 700,000 and before the start of the latest season of IPL, they are confident of reaching a million. The marketing would be mostly done through merchandising on the digital platform as well as through ticketing. “Contrary to public perception, we don’t go out and buy media, because we don’t need to. We have a brand that we constantly work on. Part of how we do that is to ensure the team is doing well, and we also try to be a part of mutually beneficial associations that can be leveraged. Hence, we develop marketing programmes that allow brands associated with us to activate themselves. For instance, we created a lot of content with our sponsors on digital and electronic media last year which they utilized advantageously,” Mr Mysore said.

     

    KKR is working to create new revenue streams like merchandising and licensing. Since various third party reports indicate that KKR is the most valuable brand franchise, they are looking at ways to strike licensing agreements to monetize on the same. As a result of multiple merchandising deals, they have made available a number of branded KKR merchandise like T-shirts, hats, head bands, fridge magnets, pens, ties and so on.

     

    “The market segment that IPL attracts is very different from that of a Test and One Day format of the game. I think it depends on the product. If you look at toothpaste today, you have hundreds of brands, but it all depends on how you package it and how you market it. So the challenge for us is to keep working on the product, its packaging and delivery, and if we do a good job, then we would be successful as a franchise,” he added.

     

    Rajasthan Royals

    Rajasthan Royals has again tied up with Sanskar School for their annual inter-school Kanni Thahryamal Tournament to develop, nurture and motivate young talent at the grassroots level. Various Rajasthan Royals players, including Rahul Dravid, scouted for talent at the tournament and. RR also supported the Ambuja Jaipur Marathon 2012 as Official Fitness Partner.

     

    They recently unveiled the pink-coloured training jersey dedicated to the city of Jaipur, the team’s home. On the digital front, the focus is on interactivity and their fan zone on the website encourages fans to express themselves through content, videos, images, forums or polls. Points are awarded based on interactivity on the website which can be redeemed for exclusive memorabilia and merchandise.

     

    UltraTech Cement Limited is the team’s Principal Sponsor for IPL 5. The cement brand has been associated with the squad since 2008.

     

    Kings XI Punjab

    This IPL team hosts the Kings XI Punjab Cup, a tournament organized to provide a platform for young guns to showcase their talent. Through this annual tournament, KXIP aims to nurture talent at the grass root level by giving them an opportunity to display their talent.

     

    Kings XI Punjab has initiated an activity with Institute of Fashion technology at Punjab University. As a part of the initiative, the aspirants were given an opportunity to design their favourite local team’s merchandise. The chosen designs have been used in the merchandising of Kings XI Punjab.

     

    The team associated with Indraprastha All India Sports Foundation to launch the one-of-a-kind reality show ‘Cricket Champs’. This reality show is being powered by Kings XI Punjab and a number of players from the franchisee are also part of the proceedings. This pan-India initiative is featuring on UTV.

     

    Deccan Chargers

    Emirates International has come on board as the Team Sponsor for Deccan Chargers. DC also kick-started its Blue Campaign in Hyderabad with ‘its gotta be blue’ line celebrating food, music and cricket. Some Tollywood films have also associated with Deccan Chargers for promotional campaigns. DC is also taking the digital route to connect and interact with its fans in a better way.

     

    Royal Challengers Bangalore

    RCB launched its new website earlier this month, which is aimed at making navigation easier for its fans. The site has new collection of photos, videos and other downloads for its followers. Most of the initiatives are on the RCB site.

     

    Pune Warriors

    This IPL team has been focusing on interacting with its fans with its website. In keeping with the name, the site has sections like ‘Our Warriors’ which give information about the players, War news and Warrior Club Updates. The Bhartiya Nrityanganas or the cheer queens with the Indian flavour will be encouraging the team on field. The team has also associated with Bookmyshow for buying tickets for the games.