Star India, the official broadcaster of the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL) for the next five years is banking on technology to expand the scale of the league's viewership on digital. This year, the IPL will be available in virtual reality (VR) via Hotstar, the network's video streaming platform. "In India, between 600 and 700 million people follow cricket. However, of these, not more than 30 million would have seen a live cricket match in a stadium. We want to enhance the experience for those who can't make it to the stadiums. Through Hotstar, using technology, we have made the virtual reality option available this year," says Sanjay Gupta, MD, Star India. There are two ways to use VR to view IPL on Hotstar. The first is through the VR glasses available in the market. Hotstar's backend technology will now include compatibility with VR devices. Another option within the app will be to pause the match at any given time, and swipe/tilt the phone to get a 360 degree view of the ground. .
Also, there would not be a five-minute gap in telecast on Hotstar as Star has the broadcast rights for both platforms
The Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL) player retention event had 8.1 million people tuning into the STAR network on television and digital. The event, which had never been televised/streamed online over the decade-long history of IPL, was available on the Star Sports network on TV, and on Hotstar on digital. According to data from STAR India, 4.1 million TV viewers watched the event across the network on January 4 and four million witnessed it on Hotstar. The TV viewership is according to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data for viewers above the age of two years in the urban and rural territories. The event saw representation from all the franchises and was the first event to flag off this year's tournament. Selected fans from each team were invited to the proceedings, and could ask questions on team-building strategy and player-retention tactics. Rahul Johri, chief executive officer, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said, "The discovery and nurturing of ...
Star India has big plans for Vivo Indian Premier League as it prepares to host the annual twenty-20 extravaganza for the first time, including blocking a six month calendar for the tournament, dedicating 10 channels on its sports network and innovating with technology to attract digital viewership and engagement. "The IPL is the biggest property in India and the challenge we had in front of us was to reimagine it and more importantly scale it up. From two languages in 2017, we'll be taking it to 6 languages in 2018 across 10 channels. And when I say 6 languages, I mean six different feeds, each with localised packaging, commentary and pre/post programming," says Star India MD Sanjay Gupta. Gupta says that the investment scaling up the property is huge, "but nothing compared to Rs 55 crore a match (in rights fee)." Star India won the global media rights to the IPL earlier this year for Rs 16384 for 5 years. As of 2017, the IPL was seen by 410 million people on TV and another 130 ...