Category: Sports

WORLD’S FAVOURITE FOOTBALL LEAGUE IS BACK! PREMIER LEAGUE RESUMES ACTION EXCLUSIVELY ON THE STAR SPORTS NETWORK STARTING JUNE 17TH

BCCI accepts Rahul Johri’s resignation

KOLKATA: Rahul Johri’s day at Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to end as his resignation as the chief executive officer has been accepted. Reportedly, Johri floated his resignation letter in December and the board accepted it on Thursday, 9 July.

He put his papers after the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) had made way for the Sourav Ganguly-led set-up to run the board. Reportedly, he was given an extension till 30 April. His contract was to end in 2021. He also oversaw the sale of the IPL media rights deal which Star India bagged in 2017 by a record amount during his tenure.

Johri had been appointed as the CEO in 2016. He also served as Discovery Networks Asia Pacific's executive vice-president and general manager for south Asia. Some reports claim that he could not maintain the sanctity of BCCI documents which brought him under scrutiny. Moreover, after Ganguly took over as BCCI president his responsibilities were gradually getting reduced

July 10, 2020
Sony SIX channels to air West Indies Tour of England 2020 from 8 July

KOLKATA: Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) announces the return of LIVE cricket action after 120+ days, with the West Indies Tour of England 2020. As cricket finally makes a comeback with West Indies taking on England, viewers can watch the series unfold live and exclusive on SONY SIX channels from 8 July 2020 at 3:30 pm. The first Test will be played at The Rose Bowl, Southampton on 8 July followed by the second and third Test at Old Trafford, Manchester on 16 July and 24 July 2020.

The cricket fever will be a notch higher among fans as they celebrate the return of LIVE cricket with a nail-biting clash between West Indies and England for the Wisden Trophy. West Indies will look to defend the Wisden Trophy on English soil as the historic series will witness some of the major transformations in cricketing history due to the new regulations within the sport such as empty stands and ban on the use of saliva for shining the ball among others.

As a build up to test series, the sports network hosted cricketing greats such as Nasser Hussain, Michael Atherton and Ian Bishop along with Joe Root, current captain of the England Cricket Team who talked about the resumption of LIVE cricket with the upcoming series, the new normal and more on Sony Ten Pit Stop on the network’s official Facebook page.

The much-anticipated series is seeing a definite upswing in advertiser interest and has attracted brands like My11Circle , Skoda, ITC deodorants as co-presenting sponsors as well as Byju’s, Dafa News, Bharti Airtel, Cars 24, Infiniti Retail (Croma) and Policy Bazaar as associate sponsors. In addition to this, Maruti Suzuki & Mobile Premier League (MPL) have done spot buys on the series.

With India being a cricket frenzy country, the love for the sport transcends all boundaries and fans across the country will be cheering for their favorite cricketers during this exciting contest between the two countries. The series will also witness some of the best international cricketers from both the teams back in action. While England will look to bank on players like Joe Root, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes among others, the young West Indies squad will look to gain motivation from their senior squad members like Jason Holder, Roston Chase and Kemar Roach among others.

Sony Pictures Networks India distribution chief revenue officer and sports business head Rajesh Kaul said :

“After over 120 days of no live cricket in the world, our audiences can celebrate the return of Live Cricket that resumes exclusively on Sony Pictures Sports Network with the West Indies Tour of England test series. Indians have an insatiable appetite for cricket and fans across the country will get to watch some of the top talent in the world of cricket like Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jason Holder and more back in action. We have received a great response from advertisers for the upcoming West Indies Tour of England Test series and have My11Circle, Skoda, ITC deodorants as co-presenting sponsors. Byju’s, Dafa News, Bharti Airtel , Cars 24 , Infiniti Retail (Croma) and Policy Bazaar are on board as associate sponsors and Maruti Suzuki & Mobile Premier League (MPL) have done spot buys on the series.”

July 6, 2020
Sportskeeda to launch an original interview series “Free Hit” with Sourav Ganguly, Kapil Dev, and Yuvraj Singh

Sportskeeda, India’s largest all-sports news website is all set to launch its original interview series “Free Hit”. The first-of-its-kind series FreeHit catches-up with legendary cricketers in their own homes, and listens-in as they narrate their journey of becoming what they are today.

In its first volume, Free Hit gives us an insight into the lives of Sourav Ganguly, Kapil Dev, and Yuvraj Singh, who gets candid in their conversation with the anchor Indranil Basu and open up not only to talk about their cricketing journey but also reveal a lot of unheard stories both on and off the pitch.

The first episode featuring Sourav Ganguly is planned to be released on 8th July 2020 and will be available on Sportskeeda’s website along with its social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube.

Speaking about this, Porush Jain, Founder, and CEO, Sportskeeda shares, that with this show, we have tried to unearth the wow personalities of these legendary cricketers in their own words. He also mentioned that the company is focusing on creating more such video properties.

Indranil Basu, the lead anchor, and thought behind the show, says, “Free Hit is a product of my association with these cricketers as a fellow-cricketer and a sports’ journalist over a span of two decades. They now feel like an extended family to me, which brings a certain warmth and candor to these interactions which our audience will enjoy.

Working with original video creators from across the globe, Sportkeeda in the month of May 2020 has clocked 240+Mn video views on Facebook and is well on its way to achieving 1Bn videos views mark by the end of this year.

July 1, 2020
“Off-The-Field” an Exclusive Weekly Interview Series Launched by SportsTiger

SportsTiger – a multi-sport aggregator application with a user-base of nearly a million users from MyTeam11 announced the launch of an exclusive weekly interview series show “Off-The-Field”. Each episode of “Off-the-Field” will go LIVE on the SportsTiger Mobile Application and its YouTube Channel every Sunday night at IST 8:00 PM.

The series is being launched with the idea of getting the users of SportsTiger up-close and familiar with their favourite stars from the world of sports through a discussion on their illustrious careers and the future of the sports in the country and globally. In order to make the conversations more interesting and candid for the viewers each episode will also feature a Rapid Fire round.

The series is going to feature prominent names like S.Sreesanth, Deep Dasgupta, Faiz Fazal from Indian Cricket and Legendary Former English Captain, Left-hand Batsman and Commentator, David Gower amongst many others.

The first episode of the show went LIVE on June 21, 2020, which featured celebrated Indian cricket commentator Radhakrishnan Sreenivasan. Episode 2 on June 28th, 2020 featured 2007 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup Winner and Indian fast bowler – S. Sreesanth.

SportsTiger – launched in February 2020, has been the India Streaming Partners of the Pakistan Super League 2020, Global Streaming Partners of the recently concluded inaugural Taipei T10 League in Taiwan. In addition, SportsTiger also held the LIVE streaming rights of the Vanuatu Blast T10 League for the Indian audiences in a non-exclusive deal. The application is available both on Google Play Store and App. Store.

Link to the trailer: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w5deTMCKp2Y

June 29, 2020
SportsTiger joins hands with Sri Lankan PDC T10 League as Global Streaming Partners, marks the return of cricket in Sri Lanka

SportsTiger – a multi-sport aggregator application by MyTeam11 – today announced winning the Global Streaming Rights for the Sri Lankan PDC T10 league. A total of eight teams will be seen in action vying for the top honours at the Samadhi Cricket Ground, located at the historic and world heritage site Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. All the matches will be streamed LIVE & Exclusive on SportsTiger Application from 10:00 AM onwards from June 25th, 2020.

The PDC T10 league will see participation from top Sri Lankan International cricketers like Ajantha Mendis, Chamara Silva, Nuwan Kulasekara, Asela Gunarathna, Dhammika Prasad, Sachithra Senanayake, Chamara Kapugedra, Thilan Thushara Mirando and Ishara Amerasinghe with more prominent names to be announced in the days to come.

The 12-day league marks the return of cricket in the island nation since COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to all sporting activities.

Hurricane Blasters, Spartan Heroes, Power Gladiators, Chillow Warriors, Puttlum Stars, Global Riders, Royal Lions and Giant Legends will be divided into two groups with each team playing a total of 9 group games each and one game against a team from the other group, in their quest for the championship win.

The group stage will be played in the round-robin league format which will be followed by the qualifiers and eliminator games before playing the all-important PDC T10 league final. The tournament shall be preceded by a jersey launch event scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka.

Speaking about the partnership Sanjit Sihag, Co-Founder, SportsTiger and MyTeam11 said, “I am extremely delighted as one of the key cricket nations of the world is returning to live-action. It also gives us immense pleasure to be the exclusive global streaming partner of the PDC T10 League and serve the cricket crazy fans of India and the rest of the world with high-intensity action. We are really looking forward to a fruitful partnership with PDC – Sri Lanka and a very successful tournament.”

L.S. Chinthaka, Secretary, Puttalam District Cricket Association (PDC) – Sri Lanka, expressed his views on the association and said, “We are highly delighted to announce PDC T-10 League in Sri Lanka. We needed someone who could think beyond the regular and show the true potential of the tournament to the cricket fans. With SportsTiger, we are ascertained that they not only have a great passion for the sport but also share a similar vision for the tournament. With them on board as the global streaming partner, we are assured that we will be able to create a lasting impact of the league on the viewers.”

This is the third major streaming partnership by SportsTiger who also had the Live streaming rights for the Pakistan Super League 2020. SportsTiger in its short span has been the streaming partners for the Taipei T10 League and Vanuatu Blast T10 League as well.

June 17, 2020
LIVE Football action returns on Sony Pictures Sports Network with Serie A, Italy’s premier football league

Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN), the official broadcasters of Serie A in India and the Indian sub-continent, is all set to broadcast the return of the top-tier Italian football league. As the clubs get back into the competition, football fans are on the edge of their seats as the title race is wide open, UEFA Champions League spots are up for grabs, the relegation battle is going down to the wire and so much more.

SPSN will mark the return of LIVE football action as Serie A resumes, with some of the most awaited matches such as Inter Milan vs SSC Napoli; Juventus vs AS Roma; AC Milan vs AS Roma and Juventus vs Sampdoria amongst others. Bidding for a ninth successive Serie A title, Juventus has a one-point advantage in the league over Lazio while Inter Milan are nine points behind Juventus with one less match played.

Fans can expect nothing less than nail-biting action from all 20 teams from June 20, 2020 LIVE and Exclusive on SONY TEN 2 and SONY SIX channels.

Serie A is one of the premier football leagues in the world, hosting some famous football clubs such as Juventus FC, AS Roma, Inter Milan and AC Milan to name a few. The Italian league is also home to some of the best footballers in the world such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Lorenzo Insigne, Romelu Lukaku, Ciro Immobile and Luis Muriel among many others.

June 17, 2020

Position

Played

Points

Manchester City

Leicester City

Manchester United

Liverpool waiting to wrap up their first league title in 30 years, an interesting battle between Chelsea and Manchester United for the all-important fourth position with just 3 points separating the two giants and an intense fight at the bottom of the table to avoid relegation will be some of the highlights to look forward to when the Premier League makes its way back into the hearts of football fans on June 17th after nearly a three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With Bundesliga resuming LIVE action last month, #PLReturns now takes a step forward towards normalization in a bid to complete its 2019-20 season with LIVE action in India only on Star Sports 1/HD, Star Sports Select 1/HD & Disney+ Hotstar starting 17th June 10.30 PM onwards.

The English top-flight will see a bumper reopening with two games left over from March: Aston Villa vs Sheffield United and Manchester City vs Arsenal. However, all eyes will be on the latter big-ticket encounter as Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal visit the Etihad to face the current champions for their 29th league game of the season. While a bid for the crown is a lost story, Pep Guardiola’s men, at No. 2 in the table, will be looking to set the right rhythm with a win over the Gunners, who have struggled so far. Arsenal desperately need to start converting draws into wins to make a serious push for the European qualification process. Arteta’s troops are currently languishing down in an unfamiliar 9th place in the table with 40 points.

Liverpool FC are all set to seal the deal once LIVE action resumes. Jürgen Klopp’s men have been impeccable this season with 27 unbeaten games since the season’s start. They looked to go all the way without any defeats, but Watford played spoilsport and won 3-0 against the European champions in February. With the top spot almost confirmed by Liverpool, the battle for entering Europe next season continues as Manchester United look to close in on Chelsea who are just 3 points apart with 9 games to play. Wolves & Sheffield United, at positions 6 & 7, will be looking to continue their dream run and try to scrape through to the top 4.

The Premier League is said to be the most exciting football league in the world due to its competitiveness and the battle at the bottom is as exciting as it is at the top of the table. The last 5 teams of the league have a difference of only 8 points between them and with less than 10 matches left in the league, anybody could end up at the bottom 3. The love for Premier League in India has only grown over the last 2 decades. It has had a huge influence on Indian fans more than any other league in the world, with fans of different teams spread across the country.

Building on to the excitement on the return of the Premier League, Star Sports introduces a list of Premier League shows as part of #PLReturns to give fans an opportunity to relive the last season of their favourite teams. PL Daily covering news, training updates and new developments will be aired starting 10th June at 5.30 PM till the LIVE action starts on June 17th, while a special show will be aired daily showcasing the 2019-20 season so far of the top teams of the league starting 11th June at 8.30 PM only on Star Sports Select 1.

Catch all the LIVE action from the Premier League only on Star Sports 1/HD, Star Sports Select 1/HD and Disney+ Hotstar starting 17th June 2020 at 10.30 PM

Time	Sport	Activity	Draws	Channel
17th June, Wednesday
10:30 PM	Football	Premier League	Aston Villa vs Sheffield United	Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD
18th June, Thursday
12:45 AM	Football	Premier League	Manchester City vs Arsenal	Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD
19th June, Friday
10:30 PM	Football	Premier League	Norwich City vs Southampton	Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD
20th June, Saturday
12:45 AM	Football	Premier League	Tottenham vs Manchester United	Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD
5:00 PM	Football	Premier League	Watford vs Leicester City	Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD
7:30 PM	Football	Premier League	Brighton & Hove Albion vs Arsenal	Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD
10:00 PM	Football	Premier League	West Ham United vs Wolves	Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD
21st June, Sunday
12:45 AM	Football	Premier League	Bournemoth vs Crystal Palace	Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD
6:30 PM	Football	Premier League	Newcastle vs Sheffield United	Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD
8:45 PM	Football	Premier League	Aston Villa vs Chelsea	Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD
11:30 PM	Football	Premier League	Everton vs Liverpool	Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD
23rd June, Tuesday
12:30 AM	Football	Premier League	Manchester City vs Burnley	Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD

Top 5 teams of Premier League before restart of LIVE action

June 12, 2020

Live tennis action back on Eurosport

MUMBAI: World-class tennis makes its eagerly awaited return to Eurosport in June with Adria Tour tournaments featuring some of the sport’s biggest names going head-to-head starting June 13-14 and June 20-21 on Eurosport SD and Eurosport HD LIVE at 5:30 PM IST.

The Adria Tour, supported by the Novak Djokovic Foundation, will feature current world number one Novak Djokovic, Austrian Dominic Thiem(week one), Bulgarian star Grigor Dimitrov and Croatian pair Borna Coric and Marin Cilic. Eurosport has committed to showing the opening two rounds of the series from Belgrade, Serbia (13-14 June) and Zadar, Croatia (20-21 June). Each match played at the event will be best of three sets, with four games in each set.

Eurosport and Global Sports Rights & Sports Marketing Solutions president Andrew Georgiou said, “The excitement around live tennis’ return has been building and the coming together of the world’s best tennis talent this weekend is a chance for fans to see how the preparations of best players in the world are faring ahead of the Grand Slams in August and September. We are uniquely placed to amplify this moment by harnessing the scale of our channel and platform portfolio, Coupled with our deep and rich history in telling the stories from tennis that matter, means we are set to continue creating rewarding experiences for fans to enjoy.”

Match schedule for the tournament is still to be confirmed.

June 11, 2020
LIVE Action from PGA Tour Returns on Eurosport with Charles Schwab Challenge starting June 12

Eurosport SD and HD will telecast Charles Schwab Challenge from June 12 marking the return of live action from PGA TOUR. The Charles Schwab Challenge features the top-five ranked players in the world and 17 of the top 20 in the FedExCup Standings, with Feature Groups including Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka; Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas and Jordan Speith; Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose; and Phil Mickelson, defending champion Kevin Na and Gary Woodland. GOLFTV will follow the biggest names on the PGA TOUR live from the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas from 12-14 June at 01:30 hrs IST.

Vijay Rajput, SVP – Affiliate Sales & Head of Sports Business, Discovery – South Asia, said, “We are delighted that live sporting action starts on Eurosport this June with the beloved PGA Tour. The entire sports fraternity in the country will celebrate the return of competitive golf and we look forward to exciting months ahead of the PGA tour.”

With health and safety the number one concern for everyone associated with the Charles Schwab Challenge, the PGA TOUR has partnered with Sanford Health to conduct on-site COVID-19 testing of all players, caddies and essential personnel, which will provide a rapid result within two to four hours of the test being administered. The PGA TOUR will also ensure strict social distancing measures will be accounted for with its return.

June 10, 2020
LIVE Hindi Commentary Returns for WWE® RAW™, SmackDown™, NXT™ and Pay-Per-Views on Sony Ten 3 Channels

Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN), the exclusive broadcast partner for WWE in India, announces the return of LIVE Hindi commentary for WWE’s weekly flagship shows RAW, SmackDown and NXT plus all Pay-Per-View special events starting with Backlash™ airing on Monday, June 15.

WWE fans in India can tune-in to SONY TEN 3 channels to catch their favourite WWE Superstars in action with Hindi commentary, while SONY TEN 1 continues to be the destination for WWE with English commentary.

In addition, SPSN will also live telecast one of WWE’s biggest pay-per-view events, Backlash, in Hindi and English on Monday, June 15. This year’s event will be bigger than ever as viewers will witness Randy Orton™ take on Edge™, reigniting their rivalry in The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever. The event will also see Drew McIntyre™ defend his WWE Championship title against Bobby Lashley™; Braun Strowman™ against The Miz™ and John Morrison™ in a Universal Champion Handicap Match and Raw Women’s Champion Asuka™ defending her title against Nia Jax™ with more matches to be announced.

Since 2018, Raw and SmackDown have been telecast in Hindi and starting next week, for the first time ever, WWE NXT will also be made available with Hindi commentary to viewers in India. WWE RAW, SmackDown and NXT are home to some of the biggest WWE Superstars such as Randy Orton™, Drew McIntyre™, Roman Reigns™, Braun Strowman™, Charlotte Flair™, Finn Bálor™ and many more.

WWE Backlash will be aired in India on Monday, June 15 from 4.30am only on SONY TEN 1 and SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) channels

WWE RAW will be telecast live and exclusive in India every Tuesday only on SONY TEN 1 and SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) channels from 5.30 am.

WWE NXT will be telecast live and exclusive in India every Thursday only on SONY TEN 1 and SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) channels from 5.30 am.

WWE SmackDown will be telecast live and exclusive in India every Saturday only on SONY TEN 1 and SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) channels from 5.30 am.

June 9, 2020