Meta is collaborating with over 250 content creators, partnering with Star Sports, and teaming up with specific cricket teams to elevate the fan experience during the IPL 2024 season, aiming to bring the excitement alive on Instagram and Threads.
Through engaging initiatives such as ‘Ask Star’ and ‘Ajab Gajab T20 Challenge,’ Meta endeavors to provide immersive experiences for cricket enthusiasts across platforms.
The company has once again joined forces with Star Sports, as it did during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, to craft engaging experiences for fans throughout the tournament. This endeavor involves consistent interventions at various touchpoints to ensure a memorable experience for all cricket aficionados.
Paras Sharma, Director, Content and Community Partnerships, Meta, India, said, “The current cricket fever is all about intense rivalries, passionate involvement and strong fan following. With platforms like Threads that enable fans and experts to voice their opinions and Instagram that allows fans and athletes to share moments and create unique content related to the games, we are dedicated to heighten this excitement through our partnerships and collaborations with creators from all over India. We’re thankful to our partners like Star Sports as well, to join in this journey.”
Vikram Passi, Marketing Head, Star Sports, said, “At Star Sports, our mission is to enhance the cricketing experience for fans across every platform.
“We are thrilled to bring the cricket extravaganza to life through our Creator Network program, joining hands with top creators and influencers to deliver an immersive experience by dialing up fan engagement, with initiatives like ‘Ask Star’ (Give fans a chance to ask questions to their favorite cricketing expert), ‘Dream Job’ (A chance to become an anchor on Star Sports) and the ‘Ajab Gajab T20 Challenge’ (A mixed team match between cricketing heroes & fans).
“Together with Meta, we’re redefining fan engagement and are committed to creating unforgettable money can’t buy experiences for every cricket enthusiast, uniting fans in the spirit of the game,” Passi said.
Collaborating with 250+ content creators
The enthusiasm displayed by people in India for their interests is unparalleled. According to the 2024 GenZ Trend Talk report, over 90% of teenagers identify themselves as part of a fandom, with cricket being one of their primary interests.
This passion was evident during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, which garnered over 16.9 billion views on ICC’s platforms hosted on Meta, and it is currently witnessing a continuation of this trend.
In line with this fervor, Meta is collaborating with more than 250 content creators to amplify discussions on Threads during the ongoing tournament.
Some of these accounts include:
- Teams – Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
- Experts – ex cricketer Akash Chopra, sports presenter Ridhima Pathak and analyst Mufaddal Vohra.
- Creators – Naveen Singh aka bihariladka, Shreyas Mendiratta and Deepika Venkatachalam aka deepika_v__
Partnering with Star Sports to enhance fan experiences
- ‘Ask Star’ – During a live match, fans can submit their questions to the commentary team at Star Sports on Threads, who will then select some of them to answer.
- ‘Ajab Gajab T20 Challenge’ – Star Sports developed a one-of-a-kind concept where former cricketers and a group of content creators played a game of box cricket before the start of the tournament. The participants included cricketers such as Harbhajan Singh, Irfaan Pathan, and Steve Smith, as well as content creators like Naveen Singh, Dharna Durga and Rishabh Shukla. This event was broadcasted on Star Sports and also available on reels for fans to watch.
- ‘Shor Squad’ – A group of selected creators will have the opportunity to have their reels broadcasted live during the matches.
Partnering with teams
Meta has also partnered with Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders to host creator days, providing content creators with an opportunity to interact and collaborate with the teams and players.