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 andHarbhajan 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.
“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.” Hotstar, India’s largest premium streaming platform for Indian TV shows, movies and live sports, is now also available in the U.S. and Canada. A subsidiary of Star India and 21st Century Fox, Hotstar was launched in India in 2015 and became the fastest app to reach a million downloads within a week of going live.
The platform offers a bouquet of rich and diverse content encompassing the latest movies, popular TV shows, documentaries and live sports. By delivering premium, on-demand content across devices and in multiple languages, Hotstar ensures South Asians across the world are never too far from their favorite entertainment. Hotstar can be accessed through us.hotstar.com, ca.hotstar.com or via iOS AppStore, Google Playstore, Roku, Chromecast, Amazon Fire, and Android TV.otballers like Kathy Carter Kyle Martino and Eric Wynalda, the report said.
The popularity of Hotstar in India can be gauged by the fact that its app got 340 million views for all 49 matches during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, and over 200 million views during the IPL Season 8. Popular sports presenter Gaurav Kapur moderated proceedings during a press conference, and later, for a chat with Kumble and Singh amidst almost 1,000 invited fans, from the tristate area. “We are interested in the casual cricket fans here in the US, and we are constantly innovating to make their experience engaging and immersive,” said Dasgupta.