New Delhi: The teams have changed, the stakes have changed, but Delhi Daredevil?s and Mumbai Indian?s official radio partner in this IPL season has not changed- it is yet again - Fever 104 FM. Through changing times and constant churn in the world of IPL, the partnership between GMR Sports and Fever 104 FM stays unmoved, unshaken and ?not out?! Fever 104 FM, country?s most sports friendly radio station proudly supports Delhi Daredevils for the 5th consecutive year and Mumbai Indians for the 3rd time in a row.

For this special association, Fever 104 FM has planned an on-air festival of cricket with some innovative programming to help bring the heroes closer to their fans in both the cities. From giving away match tickets every 104th minute, meet and greet with the players to original IPL merchandise, Fever 104 FM promises to enhance the mania and give its listeners experiences that money can?t buy. While in Mumbai one of the campaign talks about ?RJ Sidhu aur Mumbaikars Honge Ek? in which the evening show RJ brings together the city to cheer for their home team; the Delhi station is running a campaign of Daredevils Ke Damaad? where the on air contest winner gets an exceptional treatment in the match and a larger than life experience. Another unique campaign with the Delhi station is the ?Junior Daredevils? which involves an on air battles of parents and the winner?s child gets selected to walk the players till the field.

Fever 104 FM believes the game to be a perfect fit with its brand positioning and beliefs in Delhi & Mumbai. Cricket is a religion across the country & there can be no better opportunity than IPL to leverage this advantage. The radio station has always presented the game in a very distinct manner and intends to take the cricket madness further and amplifying the same on radio with a strong local connect.

Commenting on the tie-up, Mr. Harshad Jain, Business Head- Radio and Entertainment, Fever 104 FM, says, "It is an honour for us to partner with 2 of the best IPL teams - Delhi Daredevil and Mumbai Indians. The format of the game is very entertaining and highly active. Our programming initiatives, too, are equally fun and exciting. We aim to provide a platform for our listeners that will help them engage with the IPL team members in an enjoyable manner".

New Delhi: The Indian Premier League is back in its fifth season with its electric mix of cricket and entertainment and CNN-IBN will be there to give its viewers the most comprehensive coverage of this sporting spectacle with its lineup of special programming called Cricketainment.

The CNN-IBN team of some of India?s most experienced sports journalists will be joined by well-known experts of the game such as Harsha Bhogle, Sanjay Manjrekar, Aakash Chopra, Anil Kumble, Shishir Hattangdi, Maninder Singh to give the viewers the sharpest and most precise analysis of every game in the tournament.

Cricketainment begins its innings on CNN IBN from April 2 and continues till the end of the IPL season on May 27. The coverage will be divided in two stages:

1. PRE-IPL:
The show will feature celebrities and guests and will discuss strengths and weaknesses of all IPL teams and try to predict who will come out on top in IPL 5.
Timings: April 2 @ 7:00 PM & April 3 @ 7:00 PM

2. DURING IPL:
Daily pre & post-match analysis where the experts will discuss & analyze the teams? performance
Timings: April 4 ? May 27, Everyday @ 3:30 PM, 7:30 PM & 11:30 PM Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, CNN-IBN, IBN7 & IBN Lokmat, said, ?The tournament that shook cricket and enthralled fans is back and so is our boundless IPL coverage on and off the field. Cricketainment aims to give viewers multiple perspectives of the tournament with the most pertinent experts and our team of reporters who add the extra spark into the game.?

Mumbai: Cricket in India is a religion that begets utmost excitement and unifies the whole nation. From a school kid to a retired man, men in blue have millions of ardent fans. The charisma of cricket is such that every victory is celebrated with as much zeal as that for any other festival in India. But one never thought that dark days would return to haunt Indian cricket again. Gone are the days when Indian cricket team brought laurels to the country by winning trophies, particularly post the World Cup. In the recent times, the continuous defeat of Indian team has left the fans in dismay leaving the stadiums empty. The 4-0 clean sweep in England was bad enough given the Indian team‘s lofty reputation. And just when one thought it couldn‘t get any worse, comes another disaster down Under. Eight straight away defeats outside sub-continent. It?s a roller coaster ride for the cricket fans!!

Aiming to highlight the concerns associated with Indian cricket, NewsX will hold a panel debate titled ?Hitting The Right Pitch? . The discussion scheduled to be held in Amity College, Noida will seek to explore the possible reasons behind the current state and the measures which could be taken to brighten the future of the game. Ace cricketers like Javagal Srinath and Aakash Chopra along with veteran sports journalist, Ayaz Memon will participate in the discussion. The debate will be moderated by Shamya Dasgupta, Sports Editor, NewsX.

The debate will also dwell on areas like exploring new talents such as fast bowlers, whether playing more county cricket matches as compared to domestic league & IPL would help and the possible reasons behind Indian cricket team?s poor performance outside the Indian sub- continent .

The panel debate will take place on Friday, 17th February,2012 at F2 auditorium, Amity College, Sector-125, Noida.

MUMBAI: Jaipur IPL Cricket Pvt Ltd has appointed Zzebra Sports to manage all communication and public relations activities for its high profile IPL team, Rajasthan Royals, winner of the title in the inaugural season in 2008.

Zzebra Sports, an integrated sports communication entity, will be responsible for developing the communication strategy for the Rajasthan Royals team and brand as well as managing all media relations, content development, media advocacy and on-site media management during the forthcoming Season V of IPL.

Raghu Iyer, CEO, Jaipur IPL Cricket Pvt Ltd, said: ?We are extremely happy to appoint Zzebra Sports to manage the communication activities for our premier brand Rajasthan Royals. During the pitch process we were very impressed with Zzebra?s immense expertise, wide experience in the sports sector, and innovative approach to nurture and grow the brand. We are glad to entrust the brand?s PR activities with Zzebra and look forward to a long-term association with them.?

Sangeeta Kuriakos, Managing Partner, Zzebra Sports said: ?Rajasthan Royals is an iconic brand which has consistently raised the bar on and off the field. We are delighted that Zzebra Sports has been chosen as their communication partner. The Zzebra team?s endeavour will be to provide the right strategies, tactical initiatives, and effective media relations to take the brand to greater heights.?

Zzebra Sports, part of the leading communication company Zzebra Public Relations Ltd, has an unmatched portfolio of work across varied sports disciplines like cricket, football, tennis, rugby, badminton, hockey, distance running, motorsport, mountain biking, golf, yatching, among others. In addition to this, Zzebra is associated with the leading sports management companies (IMG-Reliance, Procam International, Kwan), international and national sports associations (ICC, ATP, IRB), and many national and global tournaments.

Rajasthan Royals, champions of the inaugural IPL in 2008 is the Jaipur franchise cricket team that represents the state of Rajasthan in the Indian Premier League. The Rajasthan Royals team exemplifies the royal elegance, style, valour and class of Rajasthan and Gujarat. The Rajasthan Royals emblem is a reflection on the golden past and a promising future for the team. The Rajasthan Royals emblem, in royal blue and gold, is a reflection on the rich history of the region and their promising future ahead. The team?s mascot is a lion named Moochu Singh.