Everton FC: Innovative Toffees look to crack lucrative Indian market

Everton FC have struck a lucrative mobile phone deal in India as the club looks to meet the needs of an emerging fan base across Asia.

Sports marketing specialists Total Sports Asia helped the English Premier League side to secure a mobile content deal with Indiatimes, as the Toffees look to crack the potentially lucrative Indian market.

The new contract with Indiatimes has been agreed via TSA, Everton's licensed mobile content provider in Asia. Indian Blues will now be able to download, via web and WAP sites, Everton ringtones, wallpapers and videos of their favourite players straight to their mobile devices.

Everton is the first Premier League football club to partner with Indiatimes, which is the most popular internet and mobile service in India. However, the Toffees are not the first English club to eye the Indian market - Manchester United last year opened a restaurant in the country, while Tottenham Hotspur sponsored the Indian team at the Homeless World Cup in Milan.

Meanwhile, Everton's popularity across Asia continues to grow thanks to the Toffees' strong links with main partner Chang, who are based in Thailand. "The Everton fanbase is going from strength to strength across Asia and it is vital we reach as many fans as possible using a range of media platforms," said Mark Rowan, head of media and communications at Everton. "Mobile media is just one extension of the services we provide to communicate with our supporters across the world."

Julian Jackson, senior vice president of media at Total Sports Asia, added: "We are very pleased to conclude this deal in India and for Everton, as it gives them the chance to reach out to the millions of English Premier League Fans, that many other clubs have not had yet. Everton's professionalism has once again impressed us and is what made the deal possible."

TSA is licensed to distribute official Everton mobile content throughout Asia with the exception of China.


Source: http://www.leadersinfootball.com/business/707/

My old man's view on the India- Aussie series

My dad is an ardent fan of cricket.There are very few people i have met in my life with his indepth knowledge of the game.Today he asked me to post this on my blog so here goes.

"This is about the ongoing 7 match one day series between india and Australia.First of all why play 7 matches.Australian coach Tim Neilsen and skipper Ponting become wiser after 4 games have been played by stating that it is all for TV & media rights.If they feel so strongly now why did they not give their opinion to Cricket Australia before this tour was finalized and put their foot down.But they won't as if they had Neilsen would not have got his booty and Ponting's place in the KKR team for the IPL 2010 edition would be in doldrums.Even a die hard cricket fan like me finds this series as too long,boring and possibly going the India way 4-3.It is 2-2 now.On 5th Novemeber it will become 3-2 in favour of one team.in the 6th game it might become 3-3.And in the final game in Mumbai India will in all probability will win a "cliffhanger" to "clinch" the series 4-3 and the cricket mad Indian public will burst crackers till beyond midnight and disturb the peace of old and sick people and the poor dogs"