iWorld
15-20% of total WC viewership for SonyLiv was female
MUMBAI: FIFA World Cup (WC) 2018 has surpassed the expectation of Sony Pictures Networks India’s digital arm, SonyLiv, by miles in terms of viewership numbers and brand associations. It had just 15 brands on board in the first week but completed the event with a total of 36.
The matches falling into India’s primetime slot may have worked well in its favour giving it 70 million online viewers. Surprisingly, 15-20 per cent of viewership was contributed by female fans and the remaining by male supporters.
SPN head-digital business Uday Sodhi noticed some interesting things in this WC. “Firstly, India has become a big football nation globally on digital. Secondly, in the first couple of days of the tournament, we crossed the numbers of entire Euro 16. We have seen a huge growth in terms of advertiser and the approach of brands to digital advertising.” In Euro 16, Sony had just five to seven brands.
Sodhi believes that football has finally arrived in India. The second big event after Olympics garnered eyeballs from Kerala, Bengal, Pune, Ahemdabad and Lucknow apart from the metro cities. “In terms of traffic and concurrency, we are among the top two platforms in Asia Pacific and Japan, according to Akamai,” he added.
“The overall complexity that we were handling was very high because of six language feeds, two streams, paid and free feed (with five minutes delay). On an average, a viewer spent close to 15-16 minutes per match and the finals registered 1.5-2 million concurrent users on the digital platform.”
There were a few hiccoughs. The first match of the WC didn’t go as planned. Instead of a five-minute delay on the ad-supported feed, there was a slightly longer delay of 10-15 minutes. But it picked and surged forward.
Gaming
Nodwin Gaming partners with Runestone for esports data and integrity solutions
South Asian esports leader joins forces with Czech tech firm to enhance tournament operations.
MUMBAI: Nodwin Gaming has just levelled up its game by bringing in a specialist to keep the scoreboard honest and the fans fully engaged. The leading South Asian esports and gaming company has announced a strategic partnership with Runestone, a Prague-headquartered esports technology firm specialising in real-time data and engagement solutions for tournament organisers and publishers.
The collaboration aims to strengthen competitive integrity, improve operational oversight, and deliver more interactive viewing experiences across Nodwin’s properties. It will initially focus on the Nodwin Clutch Series for Counter-Strike 2, a Tier 2 tournament that provides emerging teams with consistent competitive opportunities and helps build the talent pipeline.
The latest edition of the series recently concluded with Big defeating ECSTATIC 2–1 in the grand final of the $50,000 online event.
Nodwin Gaming chief business officer at MENA and global head of data monetization Teemu Koski said, “Integrity and transparency are fundamental to sustainable esports ecosystems, especially in Tier 2 competition where the next generation of talent emerges. Runestone’s expertise complements our experience in building scalable esports IPs.”
Runestone head of partnerships Michael Schwartz added, “Nodwin Gaming has built one of the most dynamic esports ecosystems across emerging markets. We’re thrilled to collaborate on supporting tournaments with greater transparency, deeper fan interaction, and scalable tools.”
Both companies are exploring opportunities to extend the partnership across additional titles, including mobile-first competitive ecosystems, and to develop new products for publishers, tournament operators, and event promoters.
In the rapidly growing world of esports, where fair play and fan excitement are equally crucial, Nodwin Gaming and Runestone are teaming up to ensure every match is not only competitive but also transparent and engaging. This alliance could well become a game-changer for Tier 2 tournaments across South Asia and beyond.
