Espnstar.com breaks India online streaming record

India-South Africa match on espnstar.com emerges as the biggest online streamed Cricket match ever in India. 

The live streaming of the India-South Africa match on espnstar.com has broken India’s online streaming record for events delivered by Akamai Technologies. The live streaming of the match on www.espnstar.com/cwclive exceeded 43 Gbps of video steaming data at its peak in India according to Akamai. Over 3 million streams were delivered to over 1.5 million unique consumers on the match day. 

The live web streaming of ICC Cricket World Cup has been a huge success ever since it started on February 15, 2011 with the warm-up game between India and New Zealand. Through the first 42 matches, ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Free Live Streaming section has received more than 55 million views across the globe, serving 30 million video streams to 17 million unique users – with the quarter finals still to come. The India games so far have accounted for 10.7 million streams peaking at 3 million for the India v/s South Africa game. 

www.espnstar.com has generated more than 175 million page views in the time period Feb 15th 2011 till March 23rd 2011. On the India-South Africa match day, espnstar.com delivered an impressive 12.7 million page views. The site has seen over 20 million unique users in the same time period. 

Speaking on the occasion, Aloke Malik, Managing Director, ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd, said, “ESPN STAR Sports has leveraged the power of broadcast, digital and mobile platforms to deliver India fans the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 – wherever, whenever on the best screen available. The response to live streaming of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 on espnstar.com has been amazing. Consumers have enjoyed high quality online stream which works well even on low bandwidth. We expect the traction to build as we progress further in the tournament.” 

“Akamai and ESPN STAR Sports have been working together to provide sports fans with the best possible live-streaming experience since the start of this very special tournament,” said Sanjay Singh, managing director, India at Akamai. “Being able to watch live events on many different types of devices is becoming increasingly important in India, especially with so many dedicated cricket fans; which is why it’s essential that the experience is fast, reliable and seamless.” 

Akamai's HD Network was designed to allow content owners and publishers the ability to deliver a personalized and interactive consumer experience through advanced features, such as DVR, multi-camera angle switching, and adaptive bitrate streaming technology. 

ESPN launches Premier League highlights app on Ovi

ESPN has launched its Barclays Premier League highlights package as an app on Nokia’s Ovi Store, as it looks to bolster its profile as a UK sports broadcaster.

The free app, ESPN Goals, contains news and live score updates from top-flight football divisions in the UK and on the continent.

Users can also watch video updates, such as goals scored and post-match highlights from Premier League games, by signing up to a subscription package from £1.50 a month.

Tom Gleeson, ESPN International’s VP of digital media, said, “ESPN Goals is another step towards serving sports fans with sports content on multiple devices.”

Both Nokia and ESPN will jointly market the app, which has been available on Android and iOS from the start of the season (nma.co.uk 12 August 2010).

The launch is the latest move in ESPN’s bid to bolster its profile as a sports broadcaster in the UK. Earlier in the year it revealed plans to revamp its cricket site ESPNcricinfo with exclusive video content in the run-up to the current ICC Cricket World Cup (nma.co.uk 11 January 2011).

Cricket World Cup: PVR strikes deal to show India games

Cricket lovers in the city may be able to watch the cricket World Cup on the big screen after all. PVR Cinemas has struck a deal with ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd (ESIPL) for the telecast.

The first match to be screened in a few select auditoriums will be the India vs England match this Sunday.

“We are planning to show a total of eight India-specific World Cup matches,” said Pramod Arora, group president and chief executive officer at PVR. He added that the chain will consider showing the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final if India reaches those stages. “Since it is a cricket-heavy time of the year, it was essential to ensure that we continue to get a steady flow of audiences,” said Arora.

Industry insiders revealed that the multiplex chain had to bargain hard with ESIPL for the telecast rights.

The official broadcaster had asked for a fixed fee of Rs50,000 per screen per match, apart from a share in the overall ticket sales. As a result, other multiplexes had backed out.

Eventually, a 50:50 revenue sharing model was agreed upon by PVR and ESIPL. Trade pundits estimate that the cost will be passed on to the audiences, and there would be a 20-30% hike in ticket prices.

Sources said other multiplexes are reviewing their strategies after the PVR deal. Sunil Punjabi, CEO of Cinemax India, said it will go ahead only if the broadcaster agrees on a revenue sharing model.