Tech Mania: IPL Live on Youtubeplus 1 more

Posted: 22 Jan 2010 01:11 AM PST

The cash-awash Indian Premier League announced the upcoming 3rd version of the season., but this time Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have announced a two year tie up with Google by which all the 60 matches starting from March 12 could be watched on the internet live on You tube.

Under the terms of agreement Google will have the exclusive online rights for IPL contents and the two bodies would share revenues from the sponsorships and ads on www.youtube.com/ipl , IPL chief Lalit modi announced at a press conference in Mumbai.He also added that there would be a 5 min delay between TV broadcast and live streaming on You tube in India.

Besides the live videos, You Tube users will have the option to see the matches the way they want through features such as the ability to choose one’s own camera positions, freezing or fast forwarding the stream, access to an archive function that allows the replay of past shots and also, a feature called Fan Feed that will give them access to entertainment around the event.

The basic structure of the relationship is that we will place IPL live matches in this season and the next on You Tube,” said Shailesh Rao, managing director, Google India. “We will also make available on-demand broadcast, clipping, videos and so on. We will do all of this on a global basis so that users from around the world can enjoy cricket,” he said in an announcement made in Mumbai today.

In India, IPL has an exclusive 10-year broadcast deal, signed for a whopping $1.26 billion, with Multi Screen Media Pvt Ltd, the network that runs channels such as Sony Entertainment and Max. The matches are shown live on its movies and events channel Max.

Globally, You Tube has 400 million unique viewers and the Indian market comprises only 10 million of this user set. The average global traffic the site gets every day, however, is around 1 billion. In comparison, Max claims to have had 102 million and 125 million unique viewers for IPL’s first and second season, respectively. “Our cumulative reach is around 400 million,” said Sneha Rajani, executive vice president and business head, Max.

Rajani said the deal with Google will not impact Max’s viewership or even the advertising potential because the target universe of both the platforms is mutually exclusive. “In India, the number of people having access to broadband is limited. Also, the service that is available is patchy and may not be able to support three-hours live video streaming. Besides, the number of You Tube users is also small here. So it won’t dent our loyal viewership set.”

To monetize the acquisition, Google is also primarily looking at advertisers and is talking to various advertisers in big cricket markets such as India, Australia, the UK and the US. While exploring global deals, it said it will also look at country-specific advertisers to focus on one particular territory.

Parminder Singh, business head, Google India, said: “We believe that there will be three different categories of advertisers who would look at this. One, who already have IPL as an important part of their brand strategy because with You Tube, they will have access to a new medium. Two, advertisers who have been wanting to associate with IPL but due to several reasons, such as budgets, were not able to do that. And thirdly, the advertisers who are focused on the Internet.”

According to the IPL Chairman and Commissioner, the synergy between the Twenty 20 league and Google will make the tournament a truly global event.No other sporting organization has done this.Consumers will wish to watch the match as they can use any of the multiple feeds to view the on field action unlike on tv they are forced to see the producer viewing angle said Modi.

Apple & Microsoft to Join Hands in War Against Google

Posted: 21 Jan 2010 08:44 AM PST

Inspite of Google’s Nexus one having issues with T mobile and receiving complaints,they have been having a very good share in the smart phone market.Microsoft was the only major player in the smartphone market to lose market share in a recent three-month analysis which concluded in October. Windows 7 Mobile is delayed and some are claiming that it may be 2011 before we see it released in full form.

Amid its slumping smartphone business, Microsoft is reaching out to competitors to try to salvage the key assets of its mobile platform, namely mobile version of its Bing search engine. Microsoft is reportedly in advanced talks with iPhone maker and longtime rival Apple to make Microsoft’s Bing the default search engine for the iPhone.

The talks have reportedly been ongoing for two weeks now.This is all marketing strategy to make Google come down in the Android Arena.And since Apple has no major search business unit of its own, the move makes sense from a purely financial standpoint for both parties.

One of the sources who leaked the news comments, “Apple and Google know the other is their primary enemy. Microsoft is now a pawn in that battle.” The deal would reportedly switch the iPhone’s default search from Google to Bing and would involve a partnerships to serve ads to iPhone users. Currently, only Yahoo and Google are offered as choices for the default search.

Google reportedly pays Apple a flat annual fee to make its search engine the default. Microsoft may be offering a larger bid, or perhaps a cut of advertising revenue to sweeten the deal. Microsoft needs the business — currently Bing sits at a mere 11 percent of November’s smartphone search traffic, with Google controlling 86 percent. As Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey states,

If you have to do a deal with the devil, you might as well deal with the devil that needs you most.

This is not only in the smartphone segment but news is also gearing up on Windows 7 and Mac.This is a corporate strategy to take on the current leader. Lets see who comes the winner.What do you feel ?

Visits

Online

Partners

Blog Archive