Hotstar ropes in Vivo and Maruti Suzuki for IPL 2017

Hotstar sees itself as the primary screen for IPL 2017 for the 130 million video streamers in the country

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | March 10, 2017

OTT platform Hotstar has announced Vivo and Maruti Suzuki as co-presenting sponsors for the streaming of the 10^th edition of the Vivo Indian Premier League 2017. While numbers have not been publicly disclosed, both the sponsorships are sizable investments from the two companies and indicate their belief in Hotstar's promise of delivering the largest global sporting event on digital this summer.

Ajit Mohan

“We are reinventing the experience of cricket on mobile and India is changing the way it watches its favourite sport,” said Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar. “We believe that Hotstar will be the primary screen for Vivo IPL 2017 for the 130 million video streamers in the country. Marketers are recognizing that these are audiences that are TV light or not present on television at all. We are delighted with the conviction that Hotstar will be the best vehicle this summer to reach this audience.”

Vivek Zhang, CMO, Vivo India, said, “It is exciting to see how the experience of enjoying cricket is changing with the surging demand of watching TV on small screens. Hotstar appeals to the youth and enjoys a tremendous brand recall. Its desire to constantly invest on innovative technology which is in line with Vivo's marketing objectives made it a preferred choice for Vivo. We are truly excited about the delightful cricket experience that the platform is driving and were indeed keen to be a part of this drive.”

Sanjeev Handa

Sanjeev Handa, Head of Marketing at Maruti Suzuki India, said, “Our approach to media at Maruti Suzuki is customer centric. More and more of our target groups are now engaging with us on digital mediums. There is a diffusion of purchase cycle within digital since 50 per cent of users start their research online which makes it imperative for us to be present extensively on these mediums. Hence our approach is integrating offline and online. We wanted to embody the spirit of Play Glamourous for Vitara Brezza across the markets, and found a perfect fit by reaching out to the audiences via their closest screens, i.e., mobiles. An average user is spending over 150 minutes each day on mobile. Our tie-up as Co-Presenting Sponsor on Hotstar will give us the mileage and the engagement with the most glamorous sport in the nation.”

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