?STAR Sports has earned big from the last swing of Sachin's bat. Not only has the Master Blaster won the last match of each of the formats (one day, T20 and test match), the last test match of his cricket career, between India and West Indies, has even won big numbers to STAR Sports. The test held during November 14-18 was the most watched test match in the last eight years.
The match garnered 1739 average TVTs (C&S 15+, M, SEC ABC) which was telecast on STAR Sports 1, STAR Sports 2 and STAR Sports HD1 in English, while STAR Sports 3 showcased the match in Hindi. The series was also streamed live on www.starsports.com. STAR Sports network claims that the STAR Sports channels together had the maximum channel share across all genres during six playing days of the test series. On the other hand, www.starsports.com attracted 3.5 million unique visitors during the two matches of the India West Indies test series.
It may be noted that while the number being mentioned is compared to the past eight years, there have been phenomenal changes in the universe size of the viewership measurement system, TAM. The network claims that it has converted the data to TVTs (absolute numbers). The second highest viewed test match was the fourth test match of the India Australia series in 2013.
The sports broadcaster aggressively promoted the farewell test match of Sachin Tendulkar through a 360 degree initiative involving interesting programming, innovative production and disruptive marketing. The broadcaster launched as many as three high quality programmes to engage deeper with the cricket fans immersed in Sachin mania. STAR Sports launched a distinctive 'Cheer for Sachin' campaign featuring stars from Bollywood, cricket and television, invoking Sachin's fans to cheer 'Sachiiin Sachin'.
STAR India's CEO Uday Shankar presented Sachin Tendulkar with the first STAR Sports 'Believe' Trophy during the post presentation ceremony in Mumbai. Sachin Memory Project (launched by starsports.com) is a unique timeline that captures Sachin's 24 years with videos and stories.
In an official communiqué, Nitin Kukreja, head of sports business, STAR India, mentions that the network wanted to give him a befitting farewell. "Our strategic investment in the Hindi language feed over the past year or so is now paying us huge dividends. We will continue in our endeavour to promote sports culture in the country," he adds.
Source: Afaqs.com
