29, Aug 2024
ZEE Entertainment scales up DP World ILT20 goals, aims to achieve 230 million viewership in Season 3
Mumbai, 29th August 2024: ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited, India’s content and entertainment powerhouse and the official broadcasting partner of the global cricket league, DP World International League T20 (ILT20), has unveiled its plans for an exciting third season, set to take place from 11 January 2025. The 34-match tournament will run for a month and culminate on 9 February 2025. The plans include creating a memorable month-long cricket carnival experience for cricket lovers, especially from India, expanding its viewership base by including South Indian channels and targeting 230 million viewership in the upcoming league. Cricket fans and sports enthusiasts in India and around the world can exclusively watch the LIVE action on ZEE Entertainment’s 15 linear channels as well as stream it for free on its OTT platform ZEE5, every evening.
As the third season approaches, ZEE Entertainment promises to deliver captivating action in an engaging and dynamic fashion across its linear channels and OTT platform, ZEE5. Commenting upon this announcement, Mr. Ashish Sehgal, Chief Growth Officer – Digital & Broadcast Revenue – Zee Entertainment Enterprise Limited, said, “We aim to offer our cricket lovers a sporting carnival experience that combines high-class cricket at a comfortable, luxurious venue. This month-long event will offer an innovative and immersive experience for cricket fans across the globe. We are particularly focused on inviting Indian travelers visiting Dubai, offering them a chance to enjoy cricket in the UAE. This event also serves as an opportunity for advertisers to connect with their premium customers and promote their premium brands.”
Talking about the tournament known to be second-most popular league outside of Indian Premier League (IPL), Mr David White, CEO – DP World ILT20 said, “Firstly, the uniqueness of the DP World ILT20 lies in the fact that we can have nine international players vis-à-vis the standard four. What also sets ILT20 apart from other leagues is that it does not have a home-and-away format. With three venues – Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi every team feels at home. We need to now cultivate a strong team loyalty. The UAE as a destination boasts of fantastic stadiums, ideal weather in the early part of the year and a comfortable environment for players. The Emirati people are renowned for their warm hospitality, welcoming visitors from around the world. The presence of top players from international teams, lends an international flavour to the event. We are working closely with ZEE to establish Dubai as a premier sporting destination and are open to considering an alternative window to make sure that there is no clash in the future.”
DP World ILT20, in its second season, drew an impressive 200,000 attendees across over 30 games. The league is the second most-watched T20 cricket league globally, with a total of 348 million unique viewers from around the world, including a staggering 221 million viewers from India. This success was fueled by ZEE Network’s broadcasting strategy, which leveraged a combination of ZEE’s 10 Linear TV Channels and its OTT Platform ZEE5. With a notable 46% share of female viewership and 55% share of youth viewership, the league’s broad appeal in India underscores its status as household entertainment.
The tournament is aiming for an even larger audience in its third season, targeting 230-million viewers. The strategies being employed to increase its footprints are multifaceted, focusing on the Indian market, which includes cricket lovers, advertisers, and the addition of South Indian channels.
The matches generated a massive response last season from markets like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Maharashtra. In fact, this year the tournament’s on-air promotion will take place across 40 channels. DP World ILT20 Season 3 will also focus on South Indian channels as part of its strategy to expand viewership.
The league plans to announce new signings next month on 15th September. The existing roster continues to be strong with the presence of players like Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, David Warner, Jack Fraser McGurk and Shimron Hetmyer, among others. The league, on the whole, boasts of 60,000 registered cricketers.
The franchise-style tournament DP World IPL T20, comprises six teams and 34 matches that are played across the UAE. The league’s six franchise teams features Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (Kolkata Knight Riders), Desert Vipers (Lancer Capital), Dubai Capitals (GMR), Gulf Giants (Adani Sportsline), MI Emirates (Reliance Industries), and Sharjah Warriors (Capri Global).
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- By Rabindra
7, Nov 2023
ZEE Entertainment’s 10 TV channels & OTT platform ZEE5 to LIVE broadcast DP World ILT20 Season 2
7th November 2023: The second season of DP World International League T20 (ILT20), the second most-watched T20 cricket league globally, is set to begin on 19th January 2024. Cricket fans and sports enthusiasts in India and around the world can exclusively watch the LIVE action on ZEE’s 10 linear TV channels, OTT platform ZEE5, and on its syndicate partners’ TV and digital networks across the world.
The 34-match event will be played at the three iconic UAE venues – Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah – starting from 19 January 2024 to 17 February 2024. Cricket fans can watch this action-packed event on Zee’s most widely distributed and viewed 10 linear TV channels: &Pictures, &Pictures HD, Zee Cinema HD, Zee Anmol Cinema, Zee Zest, Zee Ganga, Zee Cinemalu HD, &Flix, &Flix HD and Zee Zest HD and on one of India’s leading OTT platforms – ZEE5.
The franchise-style tournament with six teams and 34 matches is played across the UAE. The league’s six franchise teams include Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (Kolkata Knight Riders), Desert Vipers (Lancer Capital), Dubai Capitals (GMR), Gulf Giants (Adani Sportsline), MI Emirates (Reliance Industries), and Sharjah Warriors (Capri Global).
Some of the world’s most prominent cricket stars are slated to play in Season 2, including David Warner, Dasun Shanaka, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sam Billings, David Willey, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Alex Hales, Tom Curran, Rovman Powell, Shimron Hetmyer, James Vince, Ambati Rayudu, Corey Anderson, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Trent Boult, Chris Woakes and Martin Guptill.
The deep distribution and disruptive marketing strategy for the 2nd season aims to further enhance the league’s reach and ensure widespread viewership, emphasizing ILT20’s appeal to a broad and diverse audience. In the previous season, the league achieved a remarkable reach of over 250 million across India. The event will be broadcast in Hindi and English commentary. ZEE5 will offer Live free-to-view streaming of the 34 cricket matches, aimed at bolstering cricket viewership in the Indian subcontinent and beyond. This move represents a commitment to making cricket more accessible to a wider audience, thereby democratizing the experience of sports viewing in the region.
Mr. Rahul Johri, President – Business, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), “Zee is delighted to present DP World ILT20 2nd season and promises an electrifying experience to cricket fans in India and around the world. With the world’s finest players, iconic stadiums and infrastructure and six leading sporting franchises, our goal is to build upon the previous year’s success, further solidifying the league’s stature as one of the most widely followed cricket events in the world.”
CEO DP World ILT20 David White: “We are excited to announce the DP World ILT20 Season 2 schedule. Just like the opening season, we are set to deliver 34 action-packed matches at three fantastic cricket venues. The event begins on 19 January and will finish with the final in Dubai on 17 February. Season 2 will be launched with riveting on-field action and entertainment for the entire family on the opening weekend in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai.”
“This year, we have attracted some of the biggest cricket stars from around the world to the DP World ILT20 Season 2. We have three world-class stadiums that have a rich history of hosting some of the biggest cricket events including the T20 World Cup. The weather in UAE is absolutely ideal for cricket in the months of January and February. There is as always, a huge appetite and interest in the game here and we welcome local fans as well as international travellers as they have the greatest cricketing spectacle to enjoy with a number of entertainment opportunities on offer besides the action on the field.”
Following the opener in Sharjah between Sharjah Warriors and Gulf Giants on Friday, 19th January, Dubai Capitals will play MI Emirates at the DIS on Saturday 20 January. Last year’s runner-up Desert Vipers will open their campaign against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders on Saturday at the Dubai International Stadium.
All single header matches will be broadcast Live at 8 PM India prime time, starting with the pre-match presentation at 7:30 PM. The afternoon match on the double-header’s day will start at 4:00 PM.
A total of 15 matches will be played in Dubai, Abu Dhabi will host 11 and Sharjah will stage eight fixtures. Each team will have five home and five away fixtures. The match tickets will be soon launched, the details will be shared in the next few days.
DP World ILT20 Season 2 Schedule:
Match 1: Friday, 19 January – Sharjah Warriors vs Gulf Giants – Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Match 2: Saturday, 20 January – Dubai Capitals vs MI Emirates – Dubai International Stadium
Match 3: Sunday, 21 January – Desert Vipers vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders – Dubai International Stadium
Match 4: Sunday, 21 January – MI Emirates vs Gulf Giants – Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Match 5: Monday, 22 January – Dubai Capitals vs Sharjah Warriors – Dubai International Stadium
Match 6: Tuesday, 23 January – Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs MI Emirates – Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Match 7: Wednesday, 24 January – Gulf Giants vs Desert Vipers – Dubai International Stadium
Match 8: Thursday, 25 January – Dubai Capitals vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders – Dubai International Stadium
Match 9: Friday, 26 January – Sharjah Warriors vs MI Emirates – Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Match 10: Saturday, 27 January – Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs Desert Vipers – Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Match 11: Saturday, 27 January – Gulf Giants vs Dubai Capitals – Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Match 12: Sunday, 28 January – MI Emirates vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders – Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Match 13: Sunday, 28 January – Desert Vipers vs Sharjah Warriors – Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Match 14: Monday, 29 January – Sharjah Warriors vs Dubai Capitals – Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Match 15: Tuesday, 30 January – Desert Vipers vs MI Emirates – Dubai International Stadium
Match 16: Wednesday, 31 January – Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs Gulf Giants – Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Match 17: Thursday, 1 February – Dubai Capitals vs Desert Vipers – Dubai International Stadium
Match 18: Friday, 2 February – MI Emirates vs Sharjah Warriors – Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Match 19: Saturday, 3 February – Desert Vipers vs Gulf Giants – Dubai International Stadium
Match 20: Saturday, 3 February – Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs Dubai Capitals – Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Match 21: Sunday, 4 February – MI Emirates vs Desert Vipers – Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Match 22: Sunday, 4 February – Gulf Giants vs Sharjah Warriors – Dubai International Stadium
Match 23: Monday, 5 February – Sharjah Warriors vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders – Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Match 24: Tuesday, 6 February – Dubai Capitals vs Gulf Giants – Dubai International Stadium
Match 25: Wednesday, 7 February – Abu Dhabi Knight Riders vs Sharjah Warriors – Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Match 26: Thursday, 8 February – Gulf Giants vs MI Emirates – Dubai International Stadium
Match 27: Friday, 9 February – Desert Vipers vs Dubai Capitals – Dubai International Stadium
Match 28: Saturday, 10 February – Gulf Giants vs Abu Dhabi Knight Riders – Dubai International Stadium
Match 29: Saturday, 10 February – MI Emirates vs Dubai Capitals – Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Match 30: Sunday, 11 February – Sharjah Warriors vs Desert Vipers – Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Match 31: Tuesday, 13 February – Qualifier 1 – Dubai International Stadium
Match 32: Wednesday, 14 February – Eliminator – Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Match 33: Thursday, 15 February – Qualifier 2 – Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Match 34: Saturday, 17 February – Final – Dubai International Stadium
*All single-headers (night matches) begin at 8:00 PM India Time | 6:30 PM UAE time.
*Afternoon match on double-headers day begin at 4:00 PM India Time| 2:30 PM UAE time.
