IPL 2018: Not looking to make money at this stage—Sanjay Gupta, MD Star India
As part of this re-imagined approach Star India will broadcast live matches in six different languages with an aim to target 700 million viewers across TV and Digital.
Ever since Star India bagged the Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights last year, it has been making big investments to drive this sporting platform to its next level.
As part of this re-imagined approach Star India will broadcast live matches in six different languages with an aim to target 700 million viewers across TV and Digital.
Explaining Star India’s approach to the upcoming IPL 2018 season, Sanjay Gupta, MD Star India said, “Our aim is not to make money at this stage but to make it this platform really valuable. In the first year the target is to make it the most exciting tournament. To me that is the only objective that we have at Star India. In the next five years it will be a very profitable platform. We have never invested so much in creating content. We have never taken a game and put six channels behind one tournament. We are investing in virtual reality. So if you look at all the investments that we are making, it is all about making this platform as big as possible for viewers and fans.”
“For brands we are making this platform more democratic by making it available to a larger number of brands because what IPL also needs is more brands to participate. Today it is very limited. Only 30 to 50 brands participate, can we open it and make more brands to participate? Because that will pave way for future monetization”, added Gupta.
Speaking about the re-imagined approach that Star India has for the big ticket platform for the next five years, Gupta stated, “Though people follow IPL, but language has been a big barrier. People this time are very excited about the fact that we are coming in so many languages. Our real focus is on getting 700 million fans, revenues will come but the focus on revenues will happen after first year. This is the biggest investment we are making in terms of technology and build IPL to the next level. This will also be one of the first few leagues in the world to bring live virtual reality from stadium to our homes. This re-imagination is not limited to what we do on TV but this year even Hotstar will go from solo to social with technology drive the fan experience.”
As part of this re-imagined approach Star India will broadcast live matches in six different languages with an aim to target 700 million viewers across TV and Digital.
Explaining Star India’s approach to the upcoming IPL 2018 season, Sanjay Gupta, MD Star India said, “Our aim is not to make money at this stage but to make it this platform really valuable. In the first year the target is to make it the most exciting tournament. To me that is the only objective that we have at Star India. In the next five years it will be a very profitable platform. We have never invested so much in creating content. We have never taken a game and put six channels behind one tournament. We are investing in virtual reality. So if you look at all the investments that we are making, it is all about making this platform as big as possible for viewers and fans.”
“For brands we are making this platform more democratic by making it available to a larger number of brands because what IPL also needs is more brands to participate. Today it is very limited. Only 30 to 50 brands participate, can we open it and make more brands to participate? Because that will pave way for future monetization”, added Gupta.
Speaking about the re-imagined approach that Star India has for the big ticket platform for the next five years, Gupta stated, “Though people follow IPL, but language has been a big barrier. People this time are very excited about the fact that we are coming in so many languages. Our real focus is on getting 700 million fans, revenues will come but the focus on revenues will happen after first year. This is the biggest investment we are making in terms of technology and build IPL to the next level. This will also be one of the first few leagues in the world to bring live virtual reality from stadium to our homes. This re-imagination is not limited to what we do on TV but this year even Hotstar will go from solo to social with technology drive the fan experience.”
