Sign up for afaqs! Newsletters
STAR celebrates Sachin
The channel will telecast three TV series around the Master Blaster during November.
STAR India has taken the farewell match of Sachin Tendulkar very seriously and plans to make it a big game for the cricketer as well as for its sports network. The network has launched a marketing initiative which aims for the World Record by creating the biggest cheer for the Master Blaster.
These cheers will be played on broadcast as a tribute for the hero. Stars from Bollywood, cricket and TV have joined the attempt to break the record, and Priyanka Chopra, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Wasim Akram, Rameez Raza and protagonists from the leading serials on STAR Plus like Diya Aur Baati Hum and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai have already recorded their cheers. The broadcaster has also reached out to Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary - regarded by many as the biggest Sachin fan - to record a special cheer for this campaign.
Gayatri Yadav, EVP, marketing and communications, STAR India, says, "Our philosophy has been to take fans closer to their heroes because as the official broadcasters we play the critical role of an enabler. We are extending the invitation to all Sachin fans through this campaign to come out and thank the Little Master. It's time that his fans make this record as a grand tribute."
Along with this, the network will telecast three shows dedicated to the star cricketer during the month of November. Firstly, there will be a live show on Sachin titled 'Sachiiiiiiin ...Sachin' which will be telecast during the series. Second, a 10-part documentary series christened Sachin Ka Safar or The Sachin Journey will be telecast in Hindi and English, respectively.
Another 24-segment series called Sachin Years will showcase the run-up to the historic series. A segment will be dedicated to each of Sachin's 24 years of international cricket.
The Cheer for Sachin campaign will run across the STAR Sports network as well as STAR India network channels. There will be huge focus on the digital media as well to aggregate all fans for the campaign. The campaign invites fans to dial a number and cheer for Sachin. STAR India will donate its share of proceeds from the incoming call revenues to an NGO for sports development amongst youth.
The broadcaster will also use a special FanCam enabling fans to say 'I was there' as they enjoy the historic moment. The FanCam is capable of generating 360 degree extremely high resolution photographs of the stadium, enabling the viewers present in the stadium to zoom into the picture.