The year was 1982. India was gearing up for the Asian Games and a colourful spectacle was brought in, with the inception of coloured television sets. Exactly 30 years later, YouTube India has come up with another milestone that would magnify the popularity of the Indian contingent at the Olympics. YouTube has partnered with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to bring live coverage of the London 2012 Olympic games to India and 63 other countries across Asia. The company launched the initiative called “It’s Time You Cheer” by flagging off a bus from Talkatora Stadium last week. The bus is expected to go to villages of Punjab and Haryana.
The initiative aims to provide millions of Indians with 10 high definition live-streams of the London games and one dedicated Olympic news channel on their desktop or mobile device free of cost. Users will also be able to watch catch-up content and highlights, divided by event.
The flag-off event began with a series of specially shot ‘know your athletes’ and ‘know your sport’ videos featuring Indian athletes like Sandeep Singh, Mary Kom and Heena Sidhu and went on with speeches from noted guests.
Speaking at the launch, Anjali Bhagwat, the ace Indian shooter said, “It is a great honour to represent your country in the Olympics and I am delighted to lend my support to YouTube and help create more awareness for our athletes. Internet is a powerful and democratic medium which transcends boundaries and appeals to the youth. This initiative will go a long way in creating awareness and appreciation for our athletes in the country.”
Commenting on the initiative, Lalitesh Katragada, Country Head, India Products, Google, said, “As a company, we’re committed to invest in products and initiatives that help us demonstrate the benefits of Internet in everyday lives.”
Subsequently, a special theme song by music composer Shantanu Moitra and lyricist Swanand Kirkire, titled “Aap agar saath hain, to jeet bhi saath hai”, was launched.
“It is a matter of great pride that I was asked to compose the theme song for this initiative. What hit me the most was that most athletes were from back of the beyond kind of places with meagre earnings. With such challenging background, to reach thus far in sports is an Olympian effort,” said Shantanu, speaking about the inspiration and thought behind the theme song.
The event concluded with the guests flagging off the YouTube bus for the Olympics that will travel through Punjab and Haryana and bring live streaming of the games to villages.