New Delhi, Feb. 3 -- ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd, the official broadcaster of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, will stream all matches live on www.espnstar.com following a similar successful exercise on YouTube during the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year.
The IPL matches, which were streamed live and available for viewing through archives, got 55 million views and 93,000 subscribers, attracting several sponsors and advertisers. Google India Pvt. Ltd had signed an agreement with IPL to broadcast all the matches live on YouTube.
ESPN is aiming to better its previous record of streaming the ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2010 live online.
According to the broadcaster, over 4.4 million fans visited the channel's site, while the live broadcast of matches got 2.5 million page views with more than four million video streams between 31 April and 13 May.
The World Cup kicks off in Dhaka on 19 February with the inaugural match between India and Bangladesh. There will be 49 matches played in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh, with day matches starting as early as 9.30am India time and day-night matches starting at 2.30pm.
The event will see the most elaborate multi-venue production ever undertaken in India, said Rathindra Basu, director, business development and corporate communications, ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd. Each match will have at least 27 cameras, including special features such as "super-motion cameras, movable slips cameras and new low 45-degree field cameras," Basu said.
All the videos will be accessible free of cost. "We already have seven (sponsors) on board. We are hoping to close with three to four more," Basu said.
According to a spokesperson for the channel, ESPN is already in talks with sponsors from categories such as consumer products, consumer durables, airlines and mobile handsets among others.
Beyond this, the broadcaster has already signed up brands such as Perfetti Van Melle India Pvt. Ltd, Spice Digital Ltd, SpiceJet Ltd, United Spirits Ltd and Hindustan Unilever Ltd, among others. The channel refused to comment on the sponsorship rates.
Prasanth Mohanachandran, co-founder of the Mumbai-based AgencyDigi Communications Pvt. Ltd, pointed there was a difference between ESPN and YouTube. "The crucial thing to remember is that with YouTube, there is a captive audience, which is used to consuming such content on the site," he said. "In the case of ESPN, their site is not generally considered the port of call for the live broadcast of sporting events."
He said, however, that it was time sports bodies looked at this avenue seriously, considering that it was perhaps the "least obstructive way to get into broadcast, considering the fact that regulations for the broadcast of such events online were much simpler."
The live streaming of sports on the Internet has several advantages over television, say experts. It can be watched anywhere, anytime, including from an office cubicle, assuming high-speed connections are available.
"If the matches are during office hours, you can get huge traction," said Debadutta Upadhyaya, vice-president, Vdopia, India, an online and mobile video services company, which is in charge of monetizing the event online. "We have seen an almost 300% year on year increase in user base on sites which have live streaming of such events."
Until now, live sports viewing on the Internet in India has been hampered by slow connections and the reluctance of sporting bodies to cannibalize profits that come from traditional broadcasters.
However, experts said this perception is changing as sports bodies warm up to a medium that can help them reach a much wider audience as well as generate more revenue in the form of online broadcast rights and sponsorships.
Published by HT Syndication with permission from MINT.
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