Field of Dreams: Edition 7
Greetings dear reader,
This month has been massively eventful for ITW as the Asia Cup, a property we have been symbiotically associated with for the last ten years, has made TV the most attractive spot to be.
According to the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), India, the IPL crossed the 500 million mark on television, growing ODI rates at 63%. Following a similar trend, the Asia Cup is anticipated to hit a 400 million mark, also owing to three potential matches between India and Pakistan!
I am thrilled for the riveting season!
Speaking of all things fascinating, five-time Wimbledon champion Lottie Dod has been enlivened in 2023 owing to advancements in AI.
And while talking about developments- the spirit of cricket has finally come of age in the US of A!
Dive in!
Team Tales
Both for the India Tour of West Indies and now, the India Tour of Ireland, my rockstar team at ITW has knocked it out of the park!
We have onboarded 8 brands for the West Indies series and 3 for the Tour of Ireland!
Kudos to Nishita, Karan, Puneet and Meghna for enabling partnerships with 8 brands, which include Policybazaar.com , Mobile Premier League (MPL) , Lancer and more!
For Mysore Warriors too, we onboarded SPPA, Confirmtkt and bat bricks 7 this season!
Congratulations to Aniket, Abhishek, Karan, Pranav, Venkat and Ved for stitching together these partnerships!
Tech for Thought
Have you met Lottie?
If the name sounds familiar, it’s probably because you’ve heard of Charlotte “Lottie” Dod- five time Wimbledon Champion!
Lottie was created by NTT DATA as an AI golf expert and came as the newest addition to this year’s Open Championship!
Thomas Nomark (Global Head of Innovation at NTT Data) made remarks on how witnessing this technology first-hand at The Open, reigned in potential partners and clients.
Their smart AI lights up as soon as she recognizes an inquisitive human at her kiosk, ready to provide scoring updates, historical information about the sport, rule clarification and even details on different kinds of golf shots.
Quite the swing, Lottie!
More importantly, Lottie possesses the ability to create an emotionally invested user- only the best kind of user to exist!
With the people of today being more receptive to such developments in technology, they receive an engaging experience that is facilitated by Lottie’s intricately built Graphics Processing Unit which allows her to establish an interaction with the user by being reactive.
Lottie is something NTT Data likes to call a “digital human”! With replication of facial expressions, body language, gestures and intonation of voice, she is enabling an immersive experience of being the best of both worlds!
Thanks to her ability to render high quality, photorealistic avatars in real time with a natural, mood-reflecting voice, the delivery of human dialogue feels farther than ever to Deepfake.
While its applications across the sectors of healthcare, retail, tourism and finance are revolutionary, this technology is taking charge of being the maverick in the sporting world!
I can only begin to imagine the possibilities!
领英推荐
Market Mania
The Major League Cricket is one that is here to stay!
The sports market in the US witnessed a new, professional cricket league which took place between the 13th and 30th of July.
Cricket is one of the world’s most popular sports and for a sport-crazy country like the US, its festivities are barely made the best of.
This league was founded deep in the heart of Texas, where a minor league baseball stadium was fading.
It was revamped to create a cricket pitch for 7000 spectators who perceive “bat and ball” as being synonymous with baseball.
What is to note is Justin Geale’s (Tournament Director) vision for what could be done with the sport.
The league received an initial investment of $120 million from investors that include Satya Nadella (CEO, 微软 ) and while we know that money is a key factor in the success of such leagues, the real task at hand is converting people new to the sport into fans.
Giving us a more realistic view, Tom Dunmore (VP Marketing at MLC) told the The Indian Express that while the two sports- baseball and cricket- have their similarities, it can take some time to explain specific terminology and get people accustomed to the game, thus seeing the league not turn profit immediately.
Despite the sport not being as prevalent, the league’s efforts towards building in Texas from the grassroots takes away its dependence on traction from the subcontinent!
Inspired by the Indian Premier League India , the home of the best T20 cricket, the six teams are supported by entities that run some of the best teams across the globe!
Owing to the generations of expats living in the country, there is an existing fanbase which provides the league with a good starting point.
Additionally, with the IPL owning some of the franchises, players like Faf du Plessis, Nicholas Pooran, Rashid Khan, Shubham Ranjane, Milind Kumar and more, add significant value to the game!
With anticipation in the air of the Los Angeles Olympics 2028 featuring cricket for the first time, the MLC remains hopeful of a peaking growth phase!
On that note,
Here’s to businesses being built around sports that provide engaging experiences while staying true to its core of bringing people together!
Until then,
Keep moving…
Bhairav Shanth
"Cricket Analytics Enthusiast | Transforming the Gentleman's Game with Data | Sports Data Analyst | Turning Numbers into Winning Strategies"
1 年Intresting Bhairav Shanth sir
Marketing & Assets / Top Voice @ Innovations
1 年Love this Bhairav Shanth