Big brands bet on World Cup fever in India, where cricket is ‘religion’

Agencies
June 28, 2019

Bengaluru, Jun 28: Indian advertisers are on track to spend more than USD 400 million during this year’s ICC Cricket World Cup, looking to cash in on a mania that is smashing viewing records in the world’s biggest market for the sport.

About 1.5 billion people are expected to watch the tournament worldwide, more than 15 times the audience for the Super Bowl of American football.

From ride-hailing firm Uber to tech giant Samsung Electronics and snacks maker Mondelez, companies are banking on television, radio and online campaigns, as well as live fan events, to woo cricket-mad consumers.

“We might have different religions, but cricket is the biggest one,” said Shashi Kumar, a 34-year-old in the technology hub of Bengaluru, who said the game unites the country and brings people together.

The surge in advertisement spending during the six-week tournament that runs until July 14 could boost consumer demand and help India’s economy run out its slowest period of growth in four years, analysts say.

“Brands would not like to lose the opportunity to capitalise on this frenzy,” said Vinita Pachisia, senior vice-president at media agency Carat India, part of the Dentsu Aegis Network.

Although a niche sport with just 10 participating countries, versus 79 in the FIFA soccer championship, cricket’s popularity in the Indian subcontinent means companies allot about half of their marketing budget to the World Cup. Sponsors and media buyers say they expect more than 800 million Indians to watch this year, but there are no official projections. Four years ago, 635 million watched, mainly on television, as online streaming was in its infancy in India.

The much-anticipated match between arch rivals India and Pakistan on June 16 prompted 206 million fans to tune in to official broadcaster Star network, a unit of Walt Disney Co, to watch India win.

Star’s streaming platform, Hotstar, said the 15.6 million concurrent users for the match was its highest tally for a one-day international game.

‘World cup mania’

The matches start later in India’s day and run through prime time, while the return to a round-robin format cuts the chances of an early knockout of favorites Australia, India and New Zealand.

They are also being broadcast in six more Indian languages this year, as well as Hindi and English.

Greater television and internet access and India’s success under captain Virat Kohli have helped push spot advertising rates up by 40 per cent to 60 per cent from four years ago, media buyers say.

They estimate this year’s advertising spend of more than USD 400 million will be nearly double of 2015.

Smartphone maker Samsung Electronics Co, which is giving away Amazon Echo devices with high-end TV sets, said it doubled sales of big-screen TV sets in the month before the tournament began on May 30, versus last year.

Uber Technologies Inc, which operates in eight World Cup countries, ran a contest offering tickets to the games in Britain as prizes, while Mondelez International Inc, maker of Cadbury’s chocolates, launched a special variety.

The “World Cup Mania” sale of Amazon.Com Inc’s rival Flipkart, a unit of Walmart, offers discounts on televisions, and its digital payments unit Phone Pe is running promotions online.

“We want to reach the next 250 million Indians who are on the internet, but not using digital payments yet,” said the unit’s chief executive, Sameer Nigam.

Spot TV advertising slots for the June 16 match cost up to 2.5 million rupees (USD 36,000), versus a package for all games ranging between 1 million and 1.5 million rupees, media buyers say.

Some companies are also sponsoring fanzones.

A thousand fans watched the India-Pakistan match at a brew pub in Bengaluru, in an event sponsored by Bira 91, a recent entrant to the beer market, backed by US-based Sequoia Capital.

“We wanted to pick up a sport which had very very wide appeal to Indian consumers and there is nothing comparable to cricket,” said Chief Executive Ankur Jain.

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News Network
November 19,2024

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The Karnataka Police’s Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) achieved a major breakthrough on Monday night by eliminating Vikram Gowda, one of Karnataka’s most wanted Naxal leaders for over two decades. The encounter occurred in the dense Kabbinale forest of Udupi district, marking a significant victory against Naxal insurgency in the region.

Who Was Vikram Gowda?

Hailing from Hebri in Udupi, Vikram Gowda, 44, was a prominent figure in the Naxal movement. He went underground in 2002, initially serving as a courier and fund collector before rising to lead a breakaway Naxal group. Despite having only a fourth-grade education, he was a staunch advocate for tribal rights and a key player in the movement’s survival in Karnataka.

Bounty: ₹3 lakh from Karnataka and ₹50,000 from Kerala.

Legacy: The last major Naxal leader in Karnataka after the 2021 arrest of B G Krishnamurthy.

The Encounter

Police revealed that Gowda and his team visited Kabbinale village to collect groceries on Monday night. Acting on a tip-off, ANF ambushed the group. When the Naxals opened fire, ANF responded, leading to Gowda's death.

Escapees: Three Naxals fled, including prominent members Latha (aka Mundgaru Latha) and Raju.

Significance: This was the first Naxal casualty in Karnataka in over two decades.

Home Minister G. Parameshwara confirmed the operation, stating, “Gowda was elusive for 20 years, escaping multiple encounters. His death is a critical step in dismantling Naxal operations in the region.”

The Decline of Naxal Activity in Karnataka

Karnataka's Naxal movement has been dwindling, with members seeking refuge in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The group’s strength had reduced to just 19 members by 2018, but recent sightings indicate attempts at revival:

2023 Activity: Reports of Gowda-led movements in the Kodagu and Hassan districts reignited concerns.

Political Heat: The BJP criticised the Congress government, alleging it created a “safe haven” for Naxals.

A Glimpse into Gowda’s Past

Personal Life: Gowda’s ex-wife, Savitri (alias Rajita), was arrested in 2021. She was a senior Naxal commander involved in insurgency since 2004.
Rehabilitation Efforts: Since 2013, Karnataka’s rehabilitation policy has seen 14 Naxals surrender and reintegrate into mainstream society.

A Milestone in Karnataka’s Fight Against Insurgency

The operation signifies a decisive blow to Naxal resurgence in the Western Ghats. While the ANF continues its search for escapees, the Karnataka government reaffirmed its commitment to offering rehabilitation to those willing to surrender.

As Karnataka celebrates this triumph, the message is clear: there is no room for insurgency in the state.

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News Network
November 13,2024

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Beirut: The Israeli army on Tuesday continued to launch attacks against civilians in Lebanon, targeting them in several areas without prior evacuation warnings.

However, 13 airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs in the space of only three hours were preceded by evacuation warnings.

The attacks caused no injuries but resulted in widespread destruction of residential buildings and commercial, medical and educational centers.

The airstrikes in southern Lebanon and Bekaa region, reaching Akkar in Lebanon’s far north, erased any hope of a near-term ceasefire settlement.

The strikes were accompanied by an announcement on Israel’s Channel 14 that “the Israeli army has expanded its operations in southern Lebanon to areas it had not reached since the beginning of the ground operation.”

About 50 days have passed since Israel intensified its hostile operations in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah. The death toll from these confrontations and attacks has passed 3,200, with more than 14,000 wounded.

For the first time, an airstrike targeted a mountainous area between Baalchmay and Aabadiyeh on the road leading to Aley, destroying a building housing displaced people.

The mayor of Baalchmay, Adham Al-Danaf, confirmed that “the airstrike targeted a residential building in the Dhour Aabadiyeh area.”

The initial toll from the Ministry of Health showed “five people killed and two injured.”

The raids that targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs for the first time in the morning, unlike nightly raids before, caused huge destruction. Those who evacuated their homes after Israeli warnings, used their phones to record the collapse of empty buildings in Sfeir, Haret Hreik, Bir Al-Abed, Mrayjeh, Laylaki and Hadath.

Israeli warplanes also targeted Tyre, where a strike on a building killed three people and injured many others, while a raid on Tefahta killed a man identified as Kifah Khalil and his family.

Attacks were widespread, with Yater and Zebqine subject to artillery shelling, a civilian being killed in Hermel, and further attacks on Bouday and an area between the towns of Srifa and Arsoun.

A raid on the town of Siddiqin killed two people and injured several others, while an attack on the Mechref farm led to one fatality and multiple injuries.

The search for those missing after an Israeli raid on the town of Ain Yaacoub in Akkar, in the northernmost part of Lebanon, continued until dawn.

During the operation, 14 bodies were retrieved, identified as those of residents displaced from the town of Arabsalim in the Iqlim Al-Tuffah area of the south, along with members of a Syrian family, a mother and three of her children. Additionally, there were 10 people in critical condition.

The targeted residence belongs to a Lebanese citizen, Hussein Hashim, who is reported to be a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.

An airstrike on the town of Saksakiyeh in the Sidon region on Monday night resulted in yet another tragedy.

It appeared that the intended target was the Shoumer family, who just days before lost Hussein Amin Shoumer and his two sisters in a drone strike near Al-Awali River.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued additional evacuation warnings for towns in the southern region along the Litani River, which, according to estimates from the mayors, are currently 90 percent uninhabited.

In the meantime, Hezbollah announced its continued efforts to “combat the intrusions of Israeli forces and to strike military installations and towns in the north.”

Hezbollah said in a statement that it confronted “an Israeli Hermes 450 drone in the airspace of Nabatieh and forced it to leave Lebanese airspace.”

The party also announced that it targeted “Kfar Blum settlement with a rocket salvo.”

On the Israeli side, air raid sirens sounded in areas of Upper and Western Galilee and in the town of Kiryat Shmona and its surroundings.

The Israeli army confirmed that “a drone exploded in Nesher, east of Haifa, without activating the air raid sirens,” and that “a drone launched from Lebanon crashed into a school in Gesher HaZiv, north of Nahariya.”

Israel’s Channel 13 reported the Israeli military’s assessment regarding Hezbollah’s military strength, claiming that the group currently possesses approximately 100 precision missiles, thousands of artillery shells, and hundreds of rockets. Additionally, it was highlighted that “there are around 200 Lebanese towns that remain unvisited.”

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News Network
November 25,2024

Udupi: Six junior artists from the prequel of Kannada blockbuster film ‘Kantara’ were injured, when the bus they were travelling in overturned in the district, police said on Monday.

According to police, the accident occurred near Jadkal on Sunday night when the mini-bus carrying the crew of the film overturned.

“The incident happened while they were returning to Kollur after completing the shoot at Mudoor in Jadkal. The mini-bus was carrying 20 junior artistes when it met with the accident,” a police officer said.

The injured were rushed to hospitals in Jadkal and Kundapur for treatment, they said.

The Kollur police are investigating the matter.

"The news making rounds is completely false. The Kantara: Chapter 1 team began shooting at 06:00 AM today, and everything is proceeding as normal. A minor accident occurred 20 kilometres away from the shooting location, involving a local bus carrying some members of the Kantara team. However, no injuries were reported," a source close to the production said.

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