Sony inks content partnerships with Twitter, FB for India's overseas tours of SL, Eng
India will play 3 ODIs and T20Is with Sri Lanka followed by a five-match Test series against England
As part of the partnership with Twitter, people in India will be able to experience cricket video content on their timeline with in-match and powerplay highlights. For the first time, with the sports channels of Sony Pictures Networks’ (@SonySportsIndia) live coverage of the tours on Twitter, cricket fans will be able to consume video highlights and be a part of every moment of every game in real-time.
From fall of wickets, cracking 4’s and boundary-defying 6’s to classic Man of the Match clips, as well as audience-favourites like the best catches of the match. These video highlights, as well as Twitter Moments, will be available for fans across various cricket formats giving them an unparalleled experience.
The partnership with Facebook entails showcasing highlights and videos from the Indian national cricket team’s upcoming tours of Sri Lanka and England. This will kickstart with the first ODI against Sri Lanka on July 18 and will continue till the fifth Test match against England from September 10-14. The partnership includes match highlights and videos across three ODIs, three T20Is, and five Tests, being showcased on Facebook Watch.
Connecting millions of fans with their favourite match moments and sports icons, the wide range of content will include match highlights, in-play moments with best catches, the best wickets, and man of the match amongst others. Being featured on the Facebook page of the sports channels of Sony Pictures Networks India, fans will be able to catch up on action they missed and talk about or share the top moments with their friends and family.
Speaking of the partnership, Amrita Tripathi, who leads global content partnerships for Twitter in India, said, “While the sports experience has changed in recent times, the roar of sports fans on Twitter is louder than ever. Conversations around cricket leagues in 2020 increased by 23% when compared to those in 2019 - which in itself was a record-breaker with 27 million Tweets. We are delighted to partner with Sony to bring in-match premium cricket video content to people on Twitter in India for the very first time, building on a promising content partnership with one of the top sports broadcasters in the region.”
Sports’ most ardent fans turn to Twitter to get the latest sports news, enhance their viewing experience or just stay connected to other fans of the game, turning the service into a virtual stadium. Recent Twitter research found that 69% of all people on Twitter in India classify themselves as cricket fans and 30% of people describe themselves as huge fans. 51% of cricket fans on Twitter read posts about matches, players, news reports; this season, 25% of fans plan to engage with Tweets during the match and 31% of fans plan to watch videos and 25% of fans want to follow the teams on the service.
Publisher partnerships on Twitter provide consumers with premium content and can also be leveraged by brands with Twitter Amplify. This partnership with Sony Pictures Networks will offer brands the chance to align their ads via pre-rolls with this premium content, thus amplifying their ads when audiences on Twitter are the most leaned-in. Learn more about Amplify for publishers and advertisers here. Through the course of this year, Twitter will bring you a range of different cricket content from partners, like the sports channels of Sony Pictures Networks India, including Twitter Spaces and behind the scenes action with the Twitter #BlueRoom for the upcoming World Cup series and India vs. Australia women’s
series.
Facebook Watch is built with the belief that watching video can help people to connect with each other more deeply. Facebook is constantly working towards building and enabling video experiences that connect people, and cricket is an integral part of building the social viewing experience on the platform and bringing the community together.
Speaking on the announcement, Manish Chopra, Director and Head of Partnerships, Facebook India, said, “Sports, including cricket, is an integral part of our efforts towards building and enabling video experiences that connect people and build community on Facebook. And we are delighted to partner with Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) to bring the most exciting moments from the Indian cricket team’s upcoming tours of Sri Lanka and England, to Facebook Watch. We are positive that bringing the action from the matches will further bolster the conversations and engagement amongst cricket fans from across the globe.”
On the partnership with Twitter, Manish Aggarwal, Head – Growth and Monetisation, Digital Business, Sony Pictures Networks India said, “We are excited to partner with Twitter and take our viewer engagement to the next level. It is a pleasure to come together and be able to reach out to cricket enthusiasts with video highlights. Since it is a new and refreshing phenomenon, the viewers will now have one more platform to share/discuss and express their views on the matches.”
Speaking about the Facebook partnership, he added, “We are excited to partner with Facebook to bring highlights and videos from the Indian cricket team’s upcoming tours of Sri Lanka and England. Our association with Facebook will enable us to extend thrilling content to cricket enthusiasts and drive further engagement around what happens on the pitch.”
