Hotstar, India’s largest premium streaming platform, is all set to reimagine VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 by making India’s greatest sporting spectacle more engaging and bringing it closer to U.S. cricket fans. As the official digital streaming partner for VIVO IPL 2018, Hotstar will live stream matches across North America beginning this April.
To celebrate this, Hotstar hosted the VIVO IPL Hotstar CricFest, a cricketing extravaganza at MatchPoint NYC in Brooklyn on Saturday, February 24th, in association with event partner, CricClubs. Cricket legends Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh graced the occasion and interacted with fans, as they experienced cricket first-hand through live simulations, activities and entertainment zones. Ipsita Dasgupta, President – Strategy and Incubation and Hotstar International at Star India presented content and features of the Hotstar platform that make the experience unique, immersive and engaging for North American cricket fans.
Earlier this year, Hotstar live-streamed the much-awaited and much-watched player auction event. Going forward, Hotstar will deliver the following unique content and features in VIVO IPL 2018:
Regionalized and expert commentary in six languages- English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali.
Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) experience enabling fans to come closer to the game within the comfort of their homes. Unique fan-graph feature that allows the audience to track the number of simultaneous viewers and relive key moments during any game. Exclusive pre and post-match shows and analysis—all available via live stream. Snackable content, including highlights and complete replays available as Video-On-Demand.
“Hotstar aims to become a platform that connects and celebrates the South Asian diaspora by bringing rich and diverse entertainment across Indian movies, TV shows and live sports. It gives us great pleasure to bring VIVO IPL 2018 on Hotstar for cricket fans in North America,” said Ipsita Dasgupta, President – Strategy and Incubation, and Hotstar International at Star India. “Leveraging our technology, consumer insight and expertise in cricket coverage, Hotstar will deliver an immersive and engaging experience combined with greater convenience to our North American audience.”
“VIVO IPL is, undoubtedly, the most exciting cricket property in our country and brings together the best of cricket talent from across the world in an intense league,” said Anil Kumble, former Team India player, captain and coach. “Cricket fans in the U.S. deserve to watch the sport on a platform that understands their love for the game and is powered by technology that focuses on delivering a great consumer experience. I’m truly excited that Hotstar is the official digital streaming partner of VIVO IPL 2018 in the U.S.”
“It’s incredible to see such passion for cricket halfway across the world,” said Harbhajan Singh, former captain of Mumbai Indians and current member of Chennai Super Kings. “VIVO IPL 2018 will be an exciting season for all cricket fans and enthusiasts, including those in America, who can now participate in the same experience as millions of Indians back home do through Hotstar.”
