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Tag: Prasana Krishnan

  • Sony Six acquires rights of Yonex Sunrise India Open 2015

    Sony Six acquires rights of Yonex Sunrise India Open 2015

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) sports and entertainment channel Sony Six has acquired the rights to the Yonex Sunrise India Open 2015.

    The championship will be aired from 24 – 29 March. The tournament will be held at the Siri Fort Indoor Sports Complex in New Delhi and will witness some of India’s finest players including Srikanth Kadambi – the reigning Swiss Open champion, the world number two Saina Nehwal, Padma Shri winner P V Sindhu and the Commonwealth Games gold medallist Parupalli Kashyap take part in the proceedings.

    Apart from the top crop of Indian talent, the tournament will also feature the best of international badminton talent including Jan O Jorgensen, Lin Dan and the All England Open Championships winner Carolina Marin. The Open is set to see a series of nail-biting matches between players, who will battle it out to win the illustrious title and a total prize money of $275,000. 

    With badminton increasingly gaining a strong foothold in India, the current season of the Super Series tournament should add to the ever-growing fan base in the country.

    Sony Six EVP and business head Prasana Krishnan said, “The India Open is undoubtedly the biggest major played in India every year and we are thrilled to come on board as the broadcasting partner for this marque tournament which attracts the best of Indian and international talent year on year. The viewer base for badminton in India has got stronger with every tournament in which our players feature. We expect the viewership to only grow manifold for this tournament considering its iconic status and the conducive telecast hours.”

    The tournament currently boasts of the BWF Super Series status, which was given to it in 2011. Super Series is a series of 12 prestigious tournaments played around the world, which also includes the highly coveted All England Open.

    Sony Six, as a part of its agreement with the Badminton Association of India (BAI), holds the rights to telecast the tournaments, which are played in the country. Earlier this year, the channel also broadcast one of the premier Indian badminton tournaments in the Syed Modi International Grand Prix along with its sister channel, Sony Pal.

    The schedule for the Yonex Sunrise India Open is as follows:

  • Sony Six extends deal with TNA Wrestling till 2022

    Sony Six extends deal with TNA Wrestling till 2022

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) sports TV station Sony Six has signed a long-term deal with Total Nonstop Action (TNA) wrestling, which makes Sony Six the exclusive home for all TNA content until 2022.

     

    The partnership also includes a commitment to the discovery and development of talent from the Indian subcontinent to join the TNA roster, following in the footsteps of Mahabali Shera – who last year became TNA’s first ever Indian-born superstar.

     

    Fans across the Indian subcontinent can watch TNA’s flagship show Impact Wrestling every Monday night at 9 pm on Sony Six, with TNA Wrestling’s Greatest Matches airing every Tuesday at 9 pm and TNA Xplosion each Wednesday at 9 pm. Sony Six also airs TNA’s PPV and One Night Only events.

     

    Since joining the Sony Six line-up in the summer of 2013, TNA has helped Sony Six get popularity amongst sports channel across the Indian subcontinent. Other major sports/events on Sony Six include Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket, FIFA World Cup soccer, NBA basketball and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

     

    A major highlight for 2015 has been the Impact Wrestling debut of Mahabali Shera. Introduced in a blaze of publicity by Olympic Gold Medallist Kurt Angle, Shera has made headlines and led news bulletins across India.

     

    Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan said, “We are extremely thrilled to extend our partnership with TNA. India historically boasts of a rich heritage in wresting and we believe, that through this initiative, we will be taking another step forward in reaching out to our audiences across India. The introduction of Shera and more Indian talents will only bolster our special televised capsule of action sports, which will feature the best of action and combat sports. We at Sony Six look forward to building on this fascinating sport.”

     

    TNA president Dixie Carter added, “India has an incredible cultural heritage with wrestling and we are thrilled to continue this amazing partnership with Sony Six for years to come. As is evident through this long-term deal with Sony Six, the powerful introduction of Mahabali Shera, and our continued pledge to find and develop Indian talent, together we are committed to growing legions of TNA fans across the Indian subcontinent.”

  • Sony Six launches first-ever local NBA wrap-up show

    Sony Six launches first-ever local NBA wrap-up show

    MUMBAI: For the first time in India, Sony Six, Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) sports channel, has launched a locally produced weekly NBA news bulletin titled NBA Weekly. The show, hosted by Manish Anand, is a first of its kind, engaging sports content produced exclusively for the audiences in India. Premiered on 8 February ahead of NBA All-Star 2015, the show will be telecast at 11:30 am every Sunday till the NBA season ends.

     

    NBA Weekly will provide viewers with a complete panorama on the sport, offering fans a unique perspective on the game by highlighting the best headlines of the week gone by as well as an insight into the upcoming action for the week ahead.

     

    The show will present its own local spin off with in-depth reporting of the latest news on the NBA’s biggest stars and most exciting teams, to enthrall Indian sports fans. The weekly show will provide fans an all access look into the best of on-court action, game highlights, top plays, moments of the week, player and team profiling amongst many other exciting stories.

     

    Sony Six EVP and business head Prasana Krishnan said, “The show’s format has been specially produced to connect with Indian audiences by offering comprehensive analyses on all the scheduled games during the NBA season. Through the years, we have seen a phenomenal rise in the viewership for NBA and that has propelled us towards making major investments in the continued development of the game both on-ground and on-air in the country.”

     

    Sony Six is the exclusive television partner of the NBA in India. Six broadcasts 14 games per week during the NBA season as part of its NBA Mornings on Six live package. The channel will broadcast over 300 live regular season games in India, as well as The NBA Playoffs, NBA Finals and the NBA All-Star.

  • Sony Six to broadcast IPL 2015 player auction Live

    Sony Six to broadcast IPL 2015 player auction Live

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) sports channel Sony Six will broadcast the Pepsi IPL 2015 Player Auction live and exclusive from Bangalore this February, ahead of the eighth season of the league. The bidding process will serve as the prelude to the year’s most anticipated sporting extravaganza, the Pepsi IPL 2015. The player auction will be broadcast live on both Sony Six SD and HD on 16 February from 9:30 am onwards.

     

    Ahead of the auction, a total of 122 cricketers including 78 Indians and 44 overseas players have been retained by the franchises for the 2015 season, while six Indian cricketers have been traded during the window for player trade this year.

     

    One of the biggest names to hit the auction table this year is 2014’s most expensive player Yuvraj Singh, who was bought for Rs 14 crore at the event last year. The other marquee players that will be auctioned, apart from Singh, include the Delhi Daredevils captain Kevin Pietersen and the team’s costliest player last year, Dinesh Karthik. Other top flight players who will be up for auction this year include Hashim Amla, Mahela Jayawardene, Eoin Morgan, Kumar Sangakkara, Murali Vijay, Darren Sammy, Angelo Mathews, Aaron Finch and Alex Hales. With a host of marquee names being auctioned this year, the Player Auction for 2015 will be an exciting opportunity for teams looking to rebuild their sides for contention.

     

    Sony Six EVP and business head Prasana Krishnan said, “This year too, we are pleased to bring back the Pepsi IPL 2015 Player Auction live and exclusive to our eager audiences. With a line-up of some of the most renowned names in international cricket up for auction, this year’s edition promises to be an exciting viewing experience. With intriguing rounds of bidding, coupled with high quality and in-depth perspectives from our panelists, we are aiming to keep the audience enthralled throughout the event.”

     

    The auction will be conducted by Richard Madley, a professional auctioneer from England who has been conducting the player auctions since the inaugural season in 2008. Sameer Kochhar and cricket expert Aakash Chopra will be seen sharing their insights on player and team strategies.

     

    This year, the franchises have a salary purse of Rs 63 crore each for the eighth season – a five per cent increase over last season’s purse.

  • Abhishek Bachchan to attend ‘NBA All Star’ as goodwill ambassador

    Abhishek Bachchan to attend ‘NBA All Star’ as goodwill ambassador

    MUMBAI: Bachchan junior has been announced as a goodwill ambassador to National Basketball Association (NBA) league.

     

    NBA India managing director Yannick Colaco while addressing a press conference in Mumbai stated, “Abhishek has been most active in promoting NBA in India and hence we are proud to have him as a goodwill ambassador. He will be attending the ‘NBA All Star 2015’ and meeting NBA legends throughout the weekend.”

     

    Bachchan’s journey can be followed on official NBA India’s social media platform. Colaco also announced that AB junior will be the first Indian to play ‘NBA All Star’ celebrity game on 14 February 2015.

     

    Ecstatic Abhishek said, “I am excited and honoured to be attending the league as the first ever All Star ambassador. I know my trip will show fans in India the excitement, energy and athletic ability of the NBA game and its players. Basketball is my first love, and I look forward to supporting basketball’s continued growth in India.”

     

    Recollecting his first encounter with NBA, Bachchan junior said, “It was my father in the early 80’s who took me for a NBA match and that’s where it started. The interest for the game gradually increased and I became a Los Angeles Lakers fan. In 2011 my wife surprised me by taking me for an ‘All Star’ match and it was a great experience. But, I never imagined of playing in a game. It feels great to be the first ever Indian to play in the ‘All Star Celebrity’ game.”

     

    India’s official NBA broadcaster Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan said, “We will make a documentary focusing Abhishek’s trip and create a programme on it for fans in India. We have been doing a lot of promotional activities to popularize the sport in India. We reached 16 cities last year and we aspire to grow bigger, the viewership is increasing in millions which is an immensely positive aspect.”

     

    While speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Krishnan said, “It’s not just a role of a brand ambassador that he has to play and so if you choose someone who doesn’t know how to play the game then you are in trouble. Abhishek is aware of the sport, he follows it and that’s the reason why he has been chosen. Moreover by associating a celebrity if the game gains popularity in the grassroots level it’s a worthy attempt. Our promotional activity will not be restricted to metros, we will reach villages and smaller towns too.”

     

    The broadcast schedule of Sony Six is

     

    NBA All – Star Celebrity Game February 14 at 5.30 am IST

     

    All Star Saturday Night: February 15 6.30 am IST

     

    64th NBA All Star Game: February 16 6.30 am IST

  • Sony Six to showcase Super Bowl live

    Sony Six to showcase Super Bowl live

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media’s sports broadcaster Sony Six has signed a four year deal to broadcast Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL). 

     

    For the first time the flagship event will be telecast in India on 2 February 2015 when New England Patriots takes on defending champions Seattle Seahawks. 

     

    Speaking about the acquisition, Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan said, “It is the greatest one day event in the world, and I am intriguingly surprised that it has never been telecast in India. It is a diverse country with versatile interest and it was important to bring it for Indians.”

     

    The game was created as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and its then-rival league, the American Football League (AFL). It was agreed that the two leagues’ champion teams would play in the AFL–NFL World Championship Game until the merger was to officially begin in 1970.

     

    But the matter of concern is the timing as the match will start at 4.30 am IST. When questioned about the odd timings, Krishnan said, “We will have prime time repeats and moreover, over last one and half years we developed a habit on breakfast viewership with NBA and other captivating sport. During Super Bowl an ad slot costs more than four and half million dollars and huge stars perform in the intervals. Superstars like Michael Jakson, Maddona performed in previous editions and this year we will see youth sensation Katy Perry performing during the intervals. Hence odd timings cannot be a reason to not go for a event of such magnitude.”  

     

    The day on which the Super Bowl is played, now considered by some an unofficial American national holiday, is called “Super Bowl Sunday”. It is the second-largest day for U.S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day. In addition, the Super Bowl has frequently been the most watched American television broadcast of the year; the four most-watched broadcasts in U.S. television history is Super Bowls.

     

    In 2014, Super Bowl became the most-watched American television programme in history with an average audience of 111.5 million viewers the fourth time in five years the game had set a record, starting with the 2010 Super Bowl, which itself had taken over the number-one spot held for 27 years by the final episode of M*A*S*H. The Super Bowl is also among the most-watched sporting events in the world, almost all audiences being North American, and is third to soccer’s UEFA Champions League final and El Clasico in Spain, as the most watched annual sporting event worldwide.

     

    “40 per cent of America’s population watched the game last year and this year the viewership is expected to increase by a huge margin. The one day event is a festival of commercials we see special ads made by brands to broadcast during the flagship event, also Hollywood uses Super Bowl as platform to launch trailers or teasers of big budget movies” said Krishnan. 

     

    When queried about the commercial interest and expectations of Sony Six while broadcasting this event, he said, “This year we are not concentrating at the commercial aspect, we may make it ad free broadcasting or we will restrict to very limited commercials our main motto this year is to popularize the sport.”

     

    Because of the high viewership, commercial airtime is most expensive during the Super Bowl broadcast and giant companies regularly develop their most expensive advertisements for this broadcast. As a result, watching and discussing the broadcast’s commercials has become a significant aspect of the event.

     

    Sony Six started the year by acquiring rights of Australian Open tennis and Africa Cup of Nations football, and now they roped it Super Bowl.  

     

    Talking about Sony’s plan for the year Krishnan said, “Sony Six is clear with its stand, we want to get in the pinnacle of all sports in our channel. We have football world cup the biggest tournament of the sport, most expensive cricket league in IPL, grand slam tennis, and now the Super Bowl. And moreover though we have Pepsi IPL we are the least dependent in cricket if compared to other sport channels and we still have the highest viewership. So people are accepting the strategy of versatility.”

     

    “We have quality content in our schedule for next three years, but whenever we get opportunity to add any sport of international importance we will try to catch on,” he added.

  • Sony Six’s Prasana Krishnan upbeat about African Cup Of Nations broadcast

    Sony Six’s Prasana Krishnan upbeat about African Cup Of Nations broadcast

    MUMBAI: After generating considerable revenue and viewership with the FIFA World Cup and EURO, Sony Six continues to extend its catalogue of international football and this time it has invaded a new territory.

     

    The channel has added to its kitty the African Cup of Nations, which started in 1957 and comprises 16 nations from the African continent. This will be the first time that the tournament will be aired on Indian television. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan said that he was “quite surprised” that an event filled with numerous stars has never been broadcast in India until now.

     
    The tournament kicks off on 17 January, 2015 with a match between the host Nation Equatorial Guinea and Congo. The tournament clashes with all the major club leagues across the globe and certainly raises a question mark if Indian football lovers will miss their favorite club action in order to catch up with the African Cup.

     

    When asked about this, Krishnan said, “We will always have multiple action going on at the same time but it is up to the viewers to decide what they want to follow. International football is always respected and people love to see their stars playing in country colours for their respective nations.”
     
    Many big club managers have started to blame the African Cup of Nations due to their recent failures as the core of many teams took a blow when strong performers were not available for selection. All other major international football events are played during the June – July calendar gap and there is a long term debate going on if AFCON should also be conducted during such a gap. Krishnan explains, “As a broadcaster, I would have certainly loved a gap but I see this scenario in a very positive way. The viewers are already in a football-watching mood as all the action is on and hence we don’t need to put some special efforts to engage their attention. Moreover, managers were well aware that the players will leave during this period to serve their nations and hence they should have no reasons to be upset. The long going debate about calendar gap is FIFA’s prerogative to solve.”

     

    While traditionally, broadcasters acquire sporting events’ rights for the long-term, in this case Sony Six has picked up the rights only for 2015. This is an experiment for both the hosting organization and the broadcaster. The viewership numbers and popularity of the aired matches will, in turn, determine whether the association will grow further.
     
    With this acquisition Sony Six aims at establishing itself as a home for international football. Krishnan sees this increased football coverage as a positive move towards improvising the sport in basic level. “The final goal is to see India playing in tournaments with international importance and as we broadcast more of the sport in India, we will see kids following them and someday we may have a strong football team. As far as Sony Six is concerned, we will not only restrict ourselves to international football. Whenever we see an opportunity to acquire club action, we will catch on to it.”

     

    No media or marketing campaign to promote the tournament to viewers is on the cards as of now. “We didn’t have too much time to promote the tournament so we are not looking at a specific marketing campaign.”

     

    Though the tournament is filled with established stars, one will have to wait and watch how AFCON establishes itself in the midst of action packed Club football.

     

  • Sony Six to telecast Australian Open live from 19 January

    Sony Six to telecast Australian Open live from 19 January

    MUMBAI: Sony Six is set to telecast the Grand Slam of Asia Pacific region, the Australian Open, in India for duration of five years. The channel will exclusively telecast all the matches of the tournament live from 2015 till 2019.  Having shown ATP tournaments earlier, this will be Six’s first entry into broadcasting a Grand Slam event.

     

    Commenting on the development, MSM CEO NP Singh said, “Over the years, the Australian Open has established itself as one of the most watched tennis grand slams across the world. Going by the strong equity that the sport enjoys, we are committed to expand the distribution of the tournament further and thereby strengthen our position in the market.”

     

    Six EVP and business head Prasana Krishnan commented, “The tournament is seen as a season opener which sets the context for all tennis competitions that follow during the rest of the calendar year. Needless to say, we are proud to have this prestigious event as part of our bouquet of international sports content.”

     

    The Open is held annually over the last fortnight of January in Melbourne Australia. First held in 1905, the tournament is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events of the year. The tournament features men’s and women’s singles; men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles and junior’s championships; as well as wheelchair, legends and exhibition events. Since 1988, the tournament has been played on hard courts at Melbourne Park.

     

    Tennis Australia CEO and Australian Open Tournament director Craig Tiley said, “I’m delighted that we are partnering with MSM in India for the Australian Open. MSM presented a compelling proposition and demonstrated a commitment to promote the event and the sport of tennis in India cementing our position as the Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific.”

  • Sony Six acquires rights for Africa Cup of Nations

    Sony Six acquires rights for Africa Cup of Nations

    MUMBAI: Sony Six has bagged the rights to air the Africa Cup of Nations 2015 live in South Asia. The tournament is the international football championship of Africa held every two years and organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).The upcoming edition of the tournament will be played in Equatorial Guinea from 17 January to 8 February 2015.

     

    This year’s edition will be the first ever to be shown live in India and will feature line-ups of teams such as Ghana, Ivory Coast and South Africa. Some of the stars headlining the Africa Cup of Nations this year include Christian Atsu, Papiss Cisse, Asamoah Gyan (Ghana),Yaya Toure, Kolo Toure, Cheick Tiote, Wilfried Bony (Ivory Coast) and Diafra Sakho (Senegal).

     

    Commenting on the acquisition, Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan said, “The rights for the Africa Cup of Nations are a great addition to our bouquet of live sports programming. This reinforces our position as the home for the top international football tournaments. Furthermore, most of the matches from the tournament are going to be telecast here at prime time, which will boost its viewership in our region.”

     

    This year’s Africa Cup of Nations will guarantee a new champion, as Nigeria, the winners of the last championship did not qualify for the tournament. The opening match will be played between the hosts Equatorial Guinea and Congo at Estadio de Bata and shown live on Six SD and HD on 17 January, 2015 at 9:30pm.
            

     

  • Sony Six’s on-ground activities push NBA’s viewership

    Sony Six’s on-ground activities push NBA’s viewership

    MUMBAI: If numbers are to be believed then basketball has started getting its due in the cricket-crazy country.

     The National Basketball Association (NBA) is seeing its popularity levels scale upwards on television thanks to a wide on-ground marketing push. Sony Six, which broadcasts the NBA action, has seen a 70 per cent increase in its viewership this season, claims the channel. When asked about the reasons behind the same, the channel’s business head Prasana Krishnan says, “One, the overall penetration and popularity of the game is increasing in India.  Two, our on-ground marketing initiatives in 16 cities, which propelled this growth. We have been marketing the brand and product intensively.”

    NBA India and Multi Screen Media (MSM) had signed a three year television agreement beginning 2012.

    NBA India, this year, launched its on ground activity, the NBA JAM in 16 cities. The event which took place from 22 September to 6 December featured a 3 on 3 tournament format, which had more than 3,000 teams participating. The tournament also saw more than 600 colleges participating. The 16 cities included Chennai, Guwahati, Kochi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Nagpur, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Delhi, Indore, Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai. In Mumbai, celebrity Neetu Chandra was roped along with the Sacramento Kings dance team, who were flown in from the US to entertain fans during the event.

    Krishnan says that one of the key learning’s for the channel from this season was that it witnessed a growth in southern markets. “Last year, we visited only Bangalore and Hyderabad. This year, besides these two, we also visited Kochi and Chennai where these markets have improved. So have also interior markets, like Jaipur, Indore, Lucknow, Chandigarh etc.” Krishnan informs.  It was also the core marketing proposition of the channel during the launch this year.

    The business head opines that the potential for continued growth in non-cricket sports properties is very high and the challenge ahead for the channel would be to continue the momentum. He feels that the biggest challenge ahead can be transformed into the biggest opportunity which is to make the sport better entrenched and bigger in the country.

    Speaking on this success of the new found sport, Group M ESP national director- entertainment sports and live events Vinit Karnik says, “After football, if there is a low hanging fruit, it is basketball. This is because most schools in India have had a basket, if not a proper court.  It is one of the most sampled sports at the school level but since for a long time nothing concrete was organised for players in the country, the game never got its dues. But with NBA and its 3 by 3 format, these schools and colleges will bring the sport back in lime light and the potential is set to grow.”