BWI: FidelisWorld Launches Wisden India

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: FidelisWorld
Friday, December 02, 2011 10:40 PM IST (05:10 PM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Entertainment, People, Sports; Business: Business services, Media & entertainment, Sports
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FidelisWorld Launches Wisden India
Signs Sourav Ganguly as Editorial Board President

New Delhi, Delhi, India, Friday, December 02, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- -- Wisden India to be the collective voice for cricket in India
-- Aims at partnership across channels, scaling up its product portfolio

Here's a double delight the legions of Indian cricket fans will love to celebrate the New Year with - Wisden in India and cricket legend Sourav Ganguly as the President of its Editorial Board. This was announced at a launch event in the Capital city.

Anand Krishnan, Executive Chairman, FidelisWorld, said: "This is a proud moment in the young history of FidelisWorld, to bring the authority of Cricket to the most passionate fans of the sport. Wisden India will, no doubt, evolve to become the single source for news, views, and entertainment in the field of cricket."

Wisden India represents an evolution of Wisden's traditional positioning by leveraging diverse forms of media to reach the Indian cricket consumer. The key objective for Wisden India will be to build its product presence in the market through an integrated approach to include:

Digital: Web portal, Television, Games, apps and other digital outreach

Legacy and Brand Portfolio: Hall of Fame, Cricket Museum, Wisden Cricketer Dinner and Awards, National competitions and Charity events

Wisden India Publications: Wisden India Cricketers' Almanack - India's own "Blue Edition," and other special and commemorative publications, representing editorial excellence and independence in voice.

Wisden India will be the first integrated platform for the game most loved by the nation, with media partners across channels, in print, digital, television, radio and the Web - A complete Home of Indian Cricket.

The Wisden India digital portfolio will include the Wisden India web portal, mobile apps, and a comprehensive assortment of television and radio programs. Legacy events and activities will comprise the Wisden India Cricketer Awards, as well as India's first cricket Hall of Fame and Museum. India's own version of the Wisden Cricketer's Almanack and other special edition releases will form Wisden India's print activities.

The Almanack promises the Indian cricket fan her/his very own delightful chronicle, charting team and individual performances every year with a special focus on Indian domestic and international cricket. By using match reports, articles, notes, and illustrations, Wisden India will bring the game alive in a way unprecedented in India.

Earlier this year, sports management firm FidelisWorld signed a long-term licensing agreement with Bloomsbury Publishing Plc to give India its very own version of Wisden. The deal also covers Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, and North America. FidelisWorld aims to make Wisden India the collective voice for cricket by leveraging Wisden's nearly 150-year-old reputation of objectivity, independence, and credibility and infusing it with today's latest technology to deliver excellent content to the Indian cricket lover.

On a high note, Richard Charkin, Executive Director, Bloomsbury, said: "I was first involved as a non-executive director of John Wisden & Co in 1995 and resolved to bring Wisden to the Indian subcontinent. I am pleased to say we have now found the perfect partner in FidelisWorld to build the best and most independent voice of cricket in the most important cricketing region in the world. I look forward to working with FidelisWorld and the Wisden India editorial team in the months ahead to make Wisden India the Home of Indian Cricket."

The Wisden India team will comprise well-known names from the cricket world, including Dileep Premachandran (Editor-in-Chief), Suresh Menon (Almanack Editor), and Joy Bhattacharjya (Media Director), apart from a vast pool of experts, which is expected to include some great Indian players as well as respected journalists.

Wisden India is aimed at the ever-expanding Indian market and will focus on all forms of the game -- Test matches, One-Day Internationals, the Indian Premier League and domestic cricket - while maintaining the high standards set by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

On his part, Sourav Ganguly said, "It's indeed an honour and pleasure to be associated with FidelisWorld, Wisden India, that too as the President of its Editorial Board. Along with an excellent editorial team and the support of FidelisWorld management, I look forward to making it real big. We will honestly try to give everyone the real picture and an absolute new vision about enjoying cricket from the sidelines. Cricket lovers over the years have regarded Wisden to be a Bible of Cricket and our new venture will not be any less to live up to. We promise to give you the best insight to the world of cricket."

About FidelisWorld:

FidelisWorld is a dynamic entrant to the sports, entertainment, media, and arts sectors with a focus on the Indian Subcontinent, South East Asia, and Middle East. FidelisWorld aims to unify the fragmented sectors into a consolidated whole in the target market, thereby achieving synergies and creating value.

FidelisWorld has a hybrid structure; operating companies while taking stakes in key assets. FidelisWorld aims to be the pre-eminent player in the space by giving customers, clients, and investors a clear path to build value.

FidelisWorld's portfolio also includes the United Sikkim Football Club and the World Squash Federation World Squash Challenge.

About Wisden India:

Wisden India is building India's first integrated platform for cricket comprising print, digital, television, and web to become the Home of Indian Cricket.
Wisden India's portfolio will comprise the annual Wisden India Almanack and other publications, the Wisden India Cricketer Awards, the Wisden India Hall of Fame and Museum, the Wisden India web portal, and a portfolio of television and radio programs.

The underlying content for all the above activities will be tailor-made by the Wisden India editorial team, comprising the best editors in the industry. The editorial board, providing direction to the voice of Wisden India, includes members from Wisden UK as well as a prominent cricketing personality from India in leadership roles. Expert technical teams are guiding the development of the web portal and television portfolio.

Wisden is cricket's superbrand, and India is cricket's most vibrant market. Wisden India will create value for the Indian cricket consumer by building a truly Indian edifice on the strong foundation of Wisden's reputation as an independent, unbiased, and authoritative source on all things cricket.

To view the photographs, please click on the links given below:

From Left to Right- Suresh Menon, Almanack Editor, Dileep Premachandran, Editor-in-Chief, Wisden India, Anand Krishnan, Executive Chairman, FidelisWorld, Navneet Sharma, CEO FedilisWorld, Ravindra Krishnappa, Director, Wisden India

From Left to Right- Suresh Menon, Almanack Editor, Dileep Premachandran, Editor-in-Chief, Wisden India, Anand Krishnan, Executive Chairman, FidelisWorld, Navneet Sharma, CEO FedilisWorld
For picture(s)/data to illustrate this release click below:

http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/Pic_1(518).JPG
From Left to Right- Suresh Menon, Almanack Editor, Dileep Premachandran, Editor-in-Chief, Wisden India, Anand Krishnan, Executive Chairman, FidelisWorld, Navneet Sharma, CEO FedilisWorld, Ravindra Krishnappa, Director, Wisden India
http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/Pic_2(212).JPG
From Left to Right- Suresh Menon, Almanack Editor, Dileep Premachandran, Editor-in-Chief, Wisden India, Anand Krishnan, Executive Chairman, FidelisWorld, Navneet Sharma, CEO FedilisWorld


CONTACT DETAILS
Navneet Sharma, FidelisWorld, +971 50 451 4688, navneet@fidelisworld.com
Sukriti Kalra, IPAN H&K, +91 9910393262, skalra@ipanhillandknowlton.com
Ankita Lal, IPAN H&K, +91 9910880112, alal@ipanhillandknowlton.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ENTERTAINMENT, PEOPLE, SPORTS, BUSINESS SERVICES, MEDIA

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