MxMIndia

Tag: Sambit Bal

  • Ramesh Kumar and Sambit Bal are taking on expanded roles in the ESPN's business in India and beyond

    Ramesh Kumar, Sambit Bal take on expanded roles for ESPN in India

    By A Correspondent

     

    As ESPN expands its presence in India through the recently announced collaboration with SONY for co-branded SONY ESPN channels and digital media, Ramesh Kumar and Sambit Bal are taking on expanded roles in the ESPN’s business in India and beyond.

     

    Kumar will take on the new role of Vice President, Head of ESPN India and South Asia. In his new role Kumar will oversee all day-to-day operation of ESPN’s multimedia future in India and help drive the strategic growth of ESPN in India and the subcontinent. That includes oversight of ESPN’s leading digital properties including ESPNcricinfo, ESPN FC and the forthcoming local edition of multisport ESPN site and app in India. He will report to Russell Wolff, Executive Vice President, ESPN International and will continue to be part of ESPN’s regional Asia Pacific leadership team, working for Mike Morrison, Vice President, ESPN Asia Pacific.

     

    “Ramesh has been a strong business leader who understands the richness and complexity of India and the competitive marketplace and product dynamics across the subcontinent,” said Wolff. “Under Ramesh’s leadership, our business in India has continued to evolve and grow, serving Indian fans in new ways, while also becoming an important part of ESPN’s business regionally and globally.”

     

    Kumar, who joined ESPNcricinfo 15 years ago, has most recently been Head of ESPNcricinfo and ESPN India, overseeing the ESPNcricinfo.  In that role he oversaw the operation of ESPNcricinfo, the world’s leading digital cricket destination, globally – collaborating with ESPN teams in multiple regions and business units. Kumar also played an important role in developing ESPN’s agreement with SONY.

     

    Sambit Bal has been, arguably, the leading cricket journalist in the world for years, serving as Editor of ESPNcricinfo since 2003. In his new, broader role, Bal will now serve as Editor-in-Chief, ESPN India/South Asia. In the role, he will continue to be responsible for all ESPNcricinfo editorial content (written, video and audio) while also overseeing all editorial content for the new India multisport ESPN.com site and app (launching June 2016). Bal will also take a leading role in growing ESPN’s global coverage of tennis.  He will report to both Kumar and Patrick Stiegman, Vice President and Editorial Director, Digital and Print Media.

     

    “Sambit’s strong editorial background, voice and journalistic distinction, combined with an acute eye for great talent and content, make him a perfect fit for this role,” said Stiegman. “He has been instrumental in establishing ESPNcricinfo as the most trusted and comprehensive source for news, commentary and information around cricket, and will now be instrumental in delivering the same level of excellence to our coverage of multiple sports for fans in India and beyond.”

  • As ESPNcricinfo celebrates 20 years, Editor Sambit Bal says it’s incorrect to say his site is about statistics and scores.

    Committed to quality journalism: Sambit Bal

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sambit Bal may have started in the profession as a sports journalist but he spent a fair bit of time in mainstream media is an Indian journalist. First as a correspondent with the now-defunct The Daily and The Independent and later with Deccan Herald. He was editor with Gentlemen magazine for five-odd years before joining Mark Mascarenhas’s total-cricket.com as editor. Later, he joined Wisden Asia as editor and he has been editor of ESPNcricinfo.com since August 2003.

     

    As the premier cricket website completes 20 years, Mr Bal takes our questions on cricket, journalism and specifically how Cricinfo (or ESPNcricinfo as it’s called now) is beyond scores and statistics, as it is perceived to be. In cricketing terms, we tried to bowl him some short-pitched deliveries, but he hit them back with much ease.

     

    Read on…

     

    Despite playing host to some good cricket journalism and cricketing greats writing for you, Cricinfo is still essentially known and referred to for its scores, stats and ball-by-ball commentary. As you celebrate 20 years of the site, is this an image that you are happy with or do you consciously try and work towards being a well-rounded cricketing site?

    That’s an incorrect perception. Apart from being the ultimate resource in cricket in terms of live match coverage and cricket statistics, ESPNcricinfo is also recognized, by fans, players and administrators, as the most authoritative and credible global voice in the game. We employ some of the finest cricket journalists and writers around the world and we follow the highest journalistic practices. Our credibility is based on editorial independence and the fact that we are the only media organisation in the world that can provide a global perspective on the game.

     

    Our next question follows this: if scores and stats and commentary are what people look for, then is there any point paying for expensive journalists and content? In fact over a period of time one has seen that you don’t have too many ”celeb” writers?

    If scores and commentary were all that people wanted, ESPNcrinfo wouldn’t have the position it occupies in the cricket world. We do provide the most reliable scoring service and the best quality of running commentary narrative, but our competitive edge comes from the editorial package we provide, the voice we have, the influence we wield in the game. And it’s a voice we have acquired by investing in and staying committed to high-quality journalism. A scoring and data service can be easily provided, the editorial reputation we have built is not so easily replicable. That’s the reason no other website has managed to come anywhere near us.

     

    As for the second part of the question, I don’t like the word “celeb”. We choose our writers and contributors on the basis of the quality they offer, not how well known their names are. We don’t believe in ghosted columns; we want contributors to add genuine value, and form our cricketer-contributors we want intelligent analysis and true insight. We have plenty of well-known former cricketers on our roster. In India we use Rahul Dravid, Sanjay Manjrekar and Aakash Chopra. Globally, we have Geoff Boycott, Ian Chappell, Ian Bishop, Martin Crowe, Ed Smith, Mark Nicholas and Mahela Jayawerdene to name a few. And of course, we have the finest stable of professional cricket writers in the world.

     

    Would it be right to say that you have moved from being community-driven to commerce-driven? Did the change of ownership impact the editorial direction of the site?

    Completely wrong. We have moved from a community-driven site to an editorially-driven site. Our journalists enjoy the kind of editorial freedom that will be unthinkable in the majority of the Indian media. The best thing about ESPN is that it is a content-driven business that believes in building value, not in shortcuts to drive pageviews. Our editorial mission is to serve cricket and the needs of the cricket fan. If anything, the change of ownership has given us the stability, resources and access to world-class technology to enhance our editorial coverage.

     

    How does the ownership by Disney and ESPN impact you?

    I have answered that somewhat already. ESPN is among the world largest sports- media businesses, which believes in serving the sports fan. It’s a company that invests in quality content. Being part of ESPN gives us the perfect environment for growth.

     

    In the recent IPL spot-fixing controversy and the controversies that have followed them, you had blocked off the comments feature. The web is all about freedom to contribute and discuss and argue. While we appreciate the legal implications, do you think there needs to be a different approach that affords interactivity?

    Freedom must come with responsibility. We are fully committed to integrating the voice of the fans, but we are also a responsible media organisation. When passions are inflamed, it leads to irresponsible and intemperate comments that are not only libelous but contribute little to an intelligent debate. We moderate user comments and occasionally take the extreme step of disabling comments.

     

    Sports coverage is a rights-based business. As the digital media becomes more important than conventional media, do you think you’ll have problems in the years to come doing the coverage?

    We have built a website based on editorial values – that’s our real strength. That’s something that can’t be bought. Not having rights has never been an issue for us; we don’t infringe on any rights and we are open to acquiring some. What we have is far more important: we have the trust of our readers to tell the story as it is.

     

    As a senior journalist and cricket writer, how would you rate Cricinfo vis-a-vis scores of publications with well-known sports journalists writing for them?

    I wouldn’t want to compare, but our numbers tell the story. We are the world’s favourite, most-read cricket website. We are known for credibility and integrity, so we must be doing some things right. But we have a unique advantage over most newspapers, which are constrained by the demands of the local markets. We follow the game from a wider angle, our writers are trained to see the game from a global, not parochial, point of view.

     

     

    Aside: do your commentators and scorers cover matches from the stadium or off TV? Is there any time lag?

    We do it off TV.

     

    What do you expect Cricinfo to grow into 20 years from now? And the next 5-10 years?

    The internet is an ever-changing medium and websites need to evolve continuously. The biggest opportunity lies in handheld devices, and for a content-rich site like ours, the major challenge is to provide an in-depth experience on mobiles and tablets.

     

    Video will become a bigger part of our package, and this need not be only match clips. Video can be used for storytelling and analysis. We have grown our video content steadily over the years, and that process will be accelerated in the coming years.

     

    But one thing is unlikely to change: ESPNcricinfo will stay committed to quality journalism and to covering cricket in the best way possible.

     

  • As the master turns 40, a cross-section of cricket writers reminsce their most memorable moments with No 10

    Recall: My favourite Sachin moment

     

    We had published this feature on April 24, 2013 on the occasion of Sachin Tendulkar’s 40th birthday.  Still makes for great reading -Editor

    By Johnson Napier

     

    On the field, he has often let his bat do the talking while off it his humility towards people and causes is what has made him dear to his followers. Not new to milestones, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar adds another one to his kitty as he embraces a new figure in his life – 40! While his current form and interest in pursuing the last stretch of his international career is debatable, he sure has given his fans countless experiences to cherish.

     

    MxMIndia spoke to a few well-known cricket writers and columnists who’ve tracked the master blaster ever since he made the glorious 664 for the past 24 years since he made his international debut for India and got them to share their most cherished experience of the man all hail as the God of cricket.

     

    Ayaz Memon, editor, veteral cricket writer & commentator

    I’d like to share my earliest experience with Sachin Tendulkar, even before he got into the international team and which showed his commitment and passion for the game. In 1989, when the selectors were picking the team to tour West Indies they had decided not to include Sachin Tendulkar in the squad. Not that he wasn’t good, but the selectors thought that he was too young to face the West Indies bowlers who were too fast and terrifying at the time. They felt he was too young to face them at a raw age of 15. Subsequently when we interviewed him from Sportsweek magazine, he sounded very distraught at being left out. When we told him that the selectors were being considerate that you may get hit or injured by the pace attack and therefore left you out, his response to us was amazing: If I would’ve got hit I would’ve learnt faster. That is something that has stayed with me as it shows the intensity and passion of the man for the game.

     

    There’s a line from Shakespeare’s ‘Merchant of Venice’ that I am reminded of for him: With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.”

     

    Clayton Murzello, Sports editor, Mid-day

    My most memorable memory of Sachin would have to be the interview he gave me in his car after his arrival from the 1996 tour of England. He said – on the record – that he was ready for the captaincy. Not many players come out in the open and express their captaincy intentions like that and certainly not Tendulkar. But I guess I was lucky.

     

    My message to him as he celebrates his 40th birthday is: follow your heart.

     

    Boria Majumdar, sports commentator and Sr. Research Fellow at the Univ. of Central Lancashire & Adjunct Professor Monash University Melbourne

    I’ve had the opportunity and privilege of meeting Sachin Tendulkar on numerous occasions. While there are many memorable instances to share the one that I cherish the most was in Melbourne. I was waiting and watching the Indian team practice in sweltering heat at about 44-45 degrees. After the practice when all the players were drenched and were leaving the venue, there were a lot of fans shouting out and wanting to meet Sachin. While other players had gotten in the team bus Sachin Tendulkar went and obliged a few fans by signing autographs for them. When I asked him about his decision to hang on for some time he said: what would you rather do? Would you rather not be in my position and have people come up to you requesting an autograph. If one autograph of mine brings smiles to their faces I would much rather have that. That for me is modesty and humility personified. Though he is big icon, at that point in time he cared for his supporters. More than a cricketer his humility is what stands apart for me. The lesson I learnt is whoever you are or whatever you become you should not forget your roots.

     

    I hope he enjoys his game as he has done in the past 24 years and will do so again probably when India tour South Africa later this year. The message and wish is that while he plays his 200th Test match, Sachin would stand and play a good innings against the best bowing attack that one would remember for a long time.

     

    Sambit Bal, editor, ESPNcricinfo

    I remember an incident in 2005 when I was scheduled to do a 15-minute interview with Sachin Tendulkar at one of his promotional events. When I landed at that place, it was thronging with journalists who were trying to speak to him and I said it wouldn’t be possible for me to do an interview here. I recommended to him as to why don’t we do the interview in your car? He agreed immediately and the interview went on for well over two hours. In fact I wasn’t done with him when we reached his home and I said to him that I wasn’t done as yet. He requested me to come home and finish the interview. I sat for an hour more in his house and that is easily one of the better interviews that I have done of him.

     

    What was striking about the interview was that a lot of people at that time were predicting that he had just 2-3 years of cricket left in him and when I asked him what is it that he cherished the most in his 15-year-long career he said: there is still one thing left to cherish and that is to win the World Cup and experience what it feels like to achieve the feat. But we all know how India fared in the 2007 World Cup and I thought that Sachin would never get another chance for a shot at the World Cup. But then I remembered what he said in 2005 and when in 2011 India went on to win the World Cup, it was an unbelievable experience. So I was part of a personal history that he shared with me.

     

    As for now, all I wish is that he goes out on a flourish as he hasn’t got a lot of cricket left. I hope he gets the end that he deserves.

     

    Hemant Kenkre, cricket writer and commentator, VP – LinOpinion

    The most endearing fact about Sachin Tendulkar is that he has always batted for his friends. I remember that just a year after he started playing international cricket, he obliged to do an ad for one of my family members for free. That was a brilliant gesture on his part that he extended towards our family, especially since he was very young and at that stage of your career you wouldn’t want to do things for free. That is the best personal experience that I can share of the man.

     

    Another professional experience that comes to mind is when he first started playing among the men, if I may state it that way, in the then famous Kanga League. He was very young and I remember that the first ball he faced from the Ranji Trophy bowler, he hit him straight behind for a huge six. That was the arrival of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. It just showed how much confidence he had in his own ability. A star had already been born at that time.

     

    And what can one wish for somebody who has everything in life today – I just wish that he keeps on batting for India as long as he can. The thing about his career is that you get to remember some moments in your life every year, thanks to his landmarks.”