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FIFS announces 4th edition of the GamePlan conference
Mumbai: Fantasy sports self-regulatory industry body, the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), has announced the fourth edition of its Annual Conference – GamePlan 2021, to be held virtually on 25 August. The event will witness the launch of an industry report on online fantasy sports (OFS), ‘Online Fantasy Sports: Creating a Virtuous Cycle of Sports Development’ along with in-depth discussions on the growth, impact, and potential of the industry.
GamePlan 2021 will include keynotes by UP Law Commission, chairman, justice AN Mittal; Government of Telangana, Industries and Commerce (IandC) and Information Technology, principal secretary, Jayesh Ranjan; Invest India, MD & CEO, Deepak Bagla and justice (retd) Arjan Sikri.
The conference will host a ‘CEO Roundtable on leadership Lessons from Founders’ with Dream11 and Dream Sports, co-founder & CEO, Harsh Jain; MPL, co-founder & CEO, Sai Srinivas; Games 24×7, co-founder & CEO, Bhavin Pandya, and MyTeam11, co-founder & CEO, Vinit Godara.
Besides the report launch and keynotes, there will also be three panel discussions on ‘The Economic Impact of OFS in India’, ‘Fantasy Sports: Fuelling Sports Consumption and Fan Engagement’, and ‘The Evolving Legal Landscape of Fantasy Sports in India’.
Among the eminent dignitaries speaking at the event are Dream11 and Dream Sports, COO & co-founder, Bhavit Sheth; Indian quizzer, orator, writer, sports producer and VP at Baseline Ventures India Pvt Ltd, Joy Bhattacharya; ITW Mediaworx, managing partner & CEO, Nikhil Vyas; NBA India, AVP-global partnerships, Siddharth Chury; Gameplan Sports, MD, Jeet Banerjee; enJogo, co-founder & CEO, Kishore Taid; Supreme Court of India, senior advocate, Gopal Jain, and Saraf & Partners, partner, Vaibhav Kakkar.
The panel discussions will be moderated by Ninanand Mathew, founding partner, Santosh Mathew; TMT Consulting, Deloitte, partner, Prashant Rao; Deal Advisory, partner and KPMG India, head – media and entertainment, Girish Menon; IndiaTech.org, president and CEO, Rameesh Kailasam, and LawNK, principal lawyer, Nandan Kamath.
Commenting on the announcement of the new edition, FIFS and FSRA, and former CIC, Govt of India, chairman, Bimal Julka said, “We are delighted to be back with the fourth edition of GamePlan where, together, we will deliberate on the impact and potential of the Online Fantasy Sports industry. With the right guidance and regulations, the Indian OFS industry will certainly have a far more positive impact on the Indian economy and sports ecosystem.”
The 2020 edition of virtual GamePlan was attended by over 1500 delegates from technology platforms, game developers, fantasy sports operators, financial institutions, payment gateways, consulting firms, media agencies, sports leagues, and legal advisory firms.
MUMBAI: If cricket were a binge-worthy series, this one just dropped its most explosive pilot yet. The opening weekend of the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League has come out swinging, smashing records across both television and digital platforms and reaffirming the tournament’s unmatched pull in India’s sporting and media landscape.
Backed by two high-octane matches featuring 200-plus run chases, the tournament delivered a combined reach of over 515 million viewers across linear TV and digital platforms via JioStar’s broadcast ecosystem, including Star Sports and JioHotstar. More tellingly, engagement surged alongside reach, with total watch-time hitting 32.6 billion minutes, a sharp 26 per cent jump over the opening weekend of the previous season.
The numbers reveal a deeper shift in how India watches cricket. Connected TV (CTV) consumption rose by 30 per cent, while peak concurrency on digital platforms jumped 61 per cent, signalling a growing appetite for shared, big-screen streaming experiences. On traditional television, the momentum held strong, with TV ratings (TVR) climbing 24 per cent compared to earlier seasons’ opening matches.
A key driver of this spike has been the evolution of the viewing experience itself. This season introduced differentiated feeds, most notably a Hindi CTV broadcast featuring cricketing voices such as Ravichandran Ashwin, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan. Blending expert analysis with a watch-along format, the feed has added a conversational, almost second-screen feel without requiring viewers to leave their screens.
According to JioStar CEO for Sports Ishan Chatterjee, at the opening weekend underscores not just scale but also the depth of engagement that live cricket continues to command. He noted that the combination of large-screen viewing and digital interactivity is creating a more immersive and personalised experience, while also delivering tangible outcomes for brand partners.
From the league’s perspective, the early numbers point to a tournament that continues to reinvent itself. Arun Singh Dhumal, Chairman of the IPL, said the strong start reflects how high-quality cricket paired with enhanced viewing formats is resonating with audiences nationwide, while Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Devajit Saikia highlighted the “quality of engagement” as a key takeaway, not just the scale.
Commercially too, the opening weekend signals robust advertiser confidence. The broadcast is led by co-presenting sponsors including Google (Search AI Mode), Campa Energy, and Havells & Lloyd, alongside co-powered partners such as Birla Opus, Hero Motocorp and Amazon. A long tail of associate sponsors from OpenAI and Asian Paints to Flipkart and Amul further reflects the league’s unmatched ability to aggregate advertiser interest at scale.
Taken together, the opening weekend numbers are less a spike and more a statement. With 515 million viewers, 32.6 billion minutes of watch-time, and double-digit growth across formats, IPL 2026 has not just started strong, it has set the tone for a season that looks poised to push the boundaries of both sport and spectacle.
