ESPN Cricinfo appoints Gaurav Kalra as senior editor

Kalra was earlier with CNN-IBN. He will report to Sambit Bal, editor, ESPN Cricinfo.

Digital cricket brand ESPN Cricinfo has announced that television journalist Gaurav Kalra has joined it as senior editor for the emerging video editorial and content development group. Kalra, who joins from CNN-IBN, will work with ESPN Cricinfo's in-house digital video production teams and editorial team to continue to grow and develop the brand's use of high-quality video in journalism and storytelling, as well as analysis and programming.

Kalra will report to Sambit Bal, editor, ESPN Cricinfo and will be based in ESPN's Bengaluru office, where ESPN Cricinfo also unveiled a new studio and control room built to enhance the production capabilities and quality for the site.

The new digital video production studio is designed with four different 'pocket sets' that can be purposed for four entirely different programming uses, including a main set, smaller and more casual 'discussion' space, a video wall and a 'pitch' demonstration set. Each can be customised for different shows and sponsor elements. The studio features multiple HD camera positions, digital switcher and recorder equipment, an 8-line Telos audio system, professional grade talk back system and a live streaming encoder - allowing it to produce full TV-quality programme production.

In an official communiqué, Kalra adds, "ESPN Cricinfo has enjoyed enviable brand loyalty from cricket fans thus far, and I look forward to enhancing the offering by looking at new series and video programming to take story-telling to the next level."

The statement issued by the company mentions that globally, ESPN's online sites logged more than 2.3 billion video views in 2013. Non-US markets saw online video views increase 80 per cent compared to 2012. ESPN Cricinfo saw total online video starts increase by +80 per cent in 2013 compared to 2012. In India, ESPN Cricinfo ranked as the #1 site for online cricket video according to comScore, reaching more unique visitors than the next seven competitive properties combined.