iWorld
YuppTV bags digital broadcasting rights for IPL 2021
MUMBAI: In a noteworthy win for the South Asian content devoted OTT platform, YuppTV has acquired the digital broadcasting rights for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. With this, the online content provider will enable cricket fans in close to 100 countries to witness and enjoy all the live action of the 60 T20 matches slated for the fourteenth edition of the cricket league.
YuppTV will be airing all the excitement live from the stadia from 9 April to 30 May 2021 across territories – continental Europe, Australia, Sri Lanka, southeast Asia (except Singapore and Malaysia), central and South America, central Asia, Nepal, Bhutan, and Maldives. The OTT service’s subscribers (outside India) will now join Disney+ Hotstar subscribers (within India) in watching IPL 2021 in their homes. YuppTV subscribers in India will not be able to watch IPL 2021 live as the exclusive rights for the premier league are with Hotstar.
"Cricket has been a craze around the world and the IPL has always been a highly anticipated and powerful property for fans across the globe. With the Vivo IPL now back in India, we are sure that fans are going to revel in the on-ground experience. YuppTV is committed to the growth of sports in the country and will continue to be driven by the power of cricket. Our users can enjoy their favourite sporting event in real time from the convenience of their homes," said YuppTV founder & CEO Uday Reddy.
With the IPL now back in India, all matches are set to take place in various venues across the country – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai. The playoff matches and final will be played in the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Fans can stream IPL 2021 on the YuppTV website or download the app on their smartphone or smart TV.
iWorld
Meta introduces new AI tools to boost discovery-to-purchase journey
From shoppable Reels to generative video, platforms get smarter at turning attention into sales.
MUMBAI: Meta is turning “scroll and stop” into “scroll, stop, and shop” and it’s using AI to make the whole journey feel almost effortless. The company has announced several new tools and enhancements designed to help brands guide people from discovery to purchase more effectively, while delivering more relevant and personalised experiences across its platforms.
Creators can now add product links more broadly on Instagram Reels, turning their content into shoppable moments. Businesses in 22 countries, including India, will soon be able to share their product catalogues with creators, opening up a new sales channel for brands and fresh monetisation opportunities for creators.
The Creator Marketplace has also been upgraded with enhanced target audience filtering, integrated with Ads Manager. This helps businesses quickly find creators who are a strong match for their goals. Campaigns using Partnership Ads deliver, on average, 19 per cent lower CPAs, 13 per cent higher click-through rates, and 71 per cent higher median brand lift.
Meta is expanding Reels Trending Ads inventory with new content categories including TV & Movies, Travel, Business, Finance & Investments. According to Meta’s analysis of 59 studies, Reels Trending Ads delivered an incremental 6.6 percentage point Ad Recall lift compared to control groups.
AI-Powered Shopping Enhancements
- Product Set Optimisation is now in testing, allowing retail media networks to promote specific products with detailed reporting. Early results show 17 per cent lower median seller cost per purchase.
- Product Showcase is being expanded so marketers can upload one image or video and let Meta’s AI automatically add relevant products as a carousel when it improves performance.
Meta is expanding its generative AI capabilities with:
- UGC-style videos featuring avatars and voiceovers
- Easier voiceover translation and text overlay translation in a single streamlined flow
- New tools to automatically turn product catalogues into dynamic video ads for Reels
Early testing of the Advantage+ creative video generation tool showed a 10 per cent increase in CTR and 8 per cent increase in CVR on average. Campaigns using catalog product video saw 20 per cent more conversions per dollar, while Reels placements with catalog product video delivered 33 per cent higher incremental conversions.
Industry voices welcomed the updates. Vikas Chawla of Social Beat called Partnership Ads a “flywheel” for authentic content that converts. Niti Kumar of Spark Foundry and Sadhvi Dhawan of Blink Digital highlighted the power of Reels Trending Ads for cultural relevance and guaranteed share of voice. Ramasish Bhowmik of Adbuffs noted that Meta’s GenAI tools are giving teams a clear competitive edge.
In a world where attention is fleeting but shopping intent can spark in seconds, Meta is betting that smarter AI will help brands turn discovery into decisions faster than ever. The message is clear: the future of advertising isn’t just about reaching people, it’s about reaching them at exactly the right moment, with exactly the right product.
