iWorld
NBL signs five-year deal with VEQTA
MUMBAI: The National Basketball League (NBL) has signed a five-year deal with the Indian digital sports network VEQTA to increase its international footprint.
VEQTA is a digital platform dedicated to streaming live sport and providing video-on-demand sports content on smartphones. The long-term agreement sees VEQTA gain exclusive rights to stream all NBL games in India up until the 2020-21 season.
NBL general manager Jeremy Loeliger said, “They are a young ambitious digital company that is taking an innovative approach to digital sports broadcasting. They also have a pedigree of amazing success in this space.”
“Just like Australia, India is a sports mad country and by partnering with VEQTA we have a fantastic opportunity to take the NBL to yet another one of the biggest sports markets in the world.”
Loeliger also said that in addition to loving their sport, Indians love their technology. “There are currently in excess of 300 million smartphone users in India and, by 2020, this figure is set to grow a staggering 260 per cent to 800 million users. The opportunity to engage with India’s large, knowledgeable sports loving public is something the NBL is very excited about,” he said.
VEQTA co-founder and director, Gaurav Gill, is similarly enthusiastic about how digital technologies can foster a better viewing experience and allow sports like the NBL to grow a substantial following in India.
“Basketball is the number one school sport in tier 1 & 2 cities in India and has a very strong following in the young urban audience. National Basketball League (NBL) is one of the most popular and well known brands in the world of basketball and we are delighted to be partnering with them to bring NBL action to the growing base of basketball fans in India,” he said.
“Indian sports fans have a growing appetite for high quality global sports content and VEQTA is committed to bringing them the best content from around the world.”
iWorld
Anirudh Ravichander and Universal Music India join forces to take South India’s sound to the world
The composer behind 13 billion streams launches Albuquerque Records with UMI as its exclusive global partner
MUMBAI: Universal Music India has struck an exclusive partnership with Albuquerque Records, the freshly minted independent label of singer-composer Anirudh Ravichander, in a deal that bets big on South India’s booming pop and hip-hop scene going global.
The arrangement, announced on 17 March, will see Universal Music India handle future pop and hip-hop releases by Anirudh himself, as well as artists signed to the new label. A first release is already in the pipeline for April, featuring Anirudh.
The numbers behind the man are hard to ignore. Debuting in 2012 with the viral sensation “Why This Kolaveri Di”, Anirudh has since clocked over 13 billion audio streams across more than 770 tracks, cementing his position as the No.1 South Indian artist on Spotify by total streams. His fingerprints are all over some of the Tamil film industry’s biggest musical moments, from Hukum and Vaathi Coming to Arabic Kuthu and the A23 Theme.
But Albuquerque Records is a different beast. Built for the non-film space, it is designed to nurture independent talent and champion the next wave of Indian pop voices. “Universal Music India’s leadership in pop and hip-hop made them the natural partner,” said Anirudh. “I’m excited to take independent voices to audiences around the world.”
Universal Music India’s chairman and CEO Devraj Sanyal was equally effusive. “Anirudh represents the future of Indian music, bold, original, and with enormous potential,” he said. “Identifying transformative talent is our superpower, and this partnership reflects that belief.”
Sanujeet Bhujabal, managing director of Universal Music India, framed the deal as more than a distribution play. “Albuquerque Records represents Anirudh’s bold artistic vision in the world of pop and hip-hop,” he said. “True to his legacy of innovation, this partnership is set to establish yet another landmark creative space, this time for the emerging world of iPop and beyond.”
For Universal Music India, the deal deepens a long-running push into South India’s four key language markets: Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu. The label already has regional imprints, film partnerships with Maddock Films and Excel Entertainment, and a growing non-film roster. Landing Anirudh, arguably the south’s most bankable music brand, is a statement of intent. South Indian music has the streams. Now it is coming for the world.
