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Tag: Sony ESPN

  • Sony Pictures Networks’ sports cluster’s year in review, road ahead

    Sony Pictures Networks’ sports cluster’s year in review, road ahead

    MUMBAI: In the tough two-horse race of Indian sports broadcasting, Sony Pictures Networks has had a slight edge over Star India when it comes to football events, while the latter holds the sway in Indian cricket. Currently, the NP Singh-led network is in charge of premier football properties like La Liga, Serie A, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, FA Cup and UEFA Super Cup. 

    SPN India has also invested in domestic leagues, firmly believing that such products are not only gaining prominence but are bound to witness a formidable growth in the future. One such success story is the Pro Wrestling League (PWL), which will return to SPN for its fourth edition. Besides this, the network will also broadcast the inaugural edition of the Pro Volleyball League that has gained considerable steam of late.

    Multi-sporting destination

    2018 was a successful year for the broadcaster in terms of multi-sporting properties, with big-ticket events like Commonwealth Games, FIFA World Cup, NBA and Asian Games helping it differentiate itself from others.

    “Multi-sports viewing is on the uptake and we will continue to provide our viewers diverse content across different sports categories along with innovative programming initiatives to increase our penetration in both urban and rural markets,” SPN India chief revenue officer and head – sports business Rajesh Kaul said.

    SPN has been the home of La Liga for the past four seasons in India. However, last year Facebook won the media rights for the top tier of Spanish football for the Indian subcontinent for three seasons starting 2018-19. The deal with the social media giant was the first of its kind for La Liga.

    While the 380 matches were to be available for free to people on Facebook in eight countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Facebook and SPN reached an agreement wherein the broadcaster earned the right to air over 100 games via its sports cluster.

    The deal will allow SPN to broadcast key clashes including the El Clasico and Madrid Derby across its sports channels as well as SonyLIV.

    Record-breaking show

    The headline act for SPN in 2018 was the FIFA World Cup. There was a humungous buzz around the tournament this time as it aired during primetime in India after almost two editions. The broadcaster had four language feeds for the showpiece event, which was telecast on Sony Ten 2 in English, Sony Ten 3 in Hindi and Bengali and Malayalam audio feeds on Sony ESPN.

    A total of 110.5 million viewers in India watched the quadrennial event, according to the broadcaster. The tournament had 64 live matches aired across Sony TEN 2, Sony TEN 3, Sony ESPN channels and their HD versions.

    The broadcaster, which had managed to attract more than 40 advertisers on television, is estimated to have pocketed close to Rs 200 crore in advertising revenue. The 2014 edition had fetched the network Rs 100 crore in ad revenue.

    70 million viewers across India tuned in to watch the World Cup on SPN’s OTT SonyLIV. The average time spent per viewer was 15-16 minutes per match.

    “Sports’ viewing as a trend is becoming participative and we saw an opportunity to launch interactive engagement for our viewers in both entertainment and sports. Second screen engagement and interactivity is moving to the forefront and we will continue with his trend as it gives viewers deeper insights and a more immersive experience. While TV is still the preferred choice for sports viewing, we have observed trends of a growing user base on digital platforms for sports viewing in 2018 and we see it strengthening its position further in 2019,” Kaul added.

    Cricket rights play

    When it comes to cricket, SPN currently holds the broadcast rights for eight boards – Cricket Australia, England and Wales Cricket Board, Pakistan Cricket Board, Sri Lanka Cricket, Cricket South Africa, Cricket West Indies, Cricket Ireland and Zimbabwe Cricket Board. 

    It had acquired exclusive media rights from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for the Indian subcontinent for a period of five years from 2018 through 2022. This agreement with ECB gives SPN the rights to both televise and digitally broadcast within the Indian subcontinent, men’s and women’s international matches, including Test matches, T20 Internationals and ODIs, played in England.

    SPNI also acquired the media rights for T10 Cricket League for three years (2018-20) for the Indian sub-continent and Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The broadcaster also had the rights for T10 Cricket League in 2017.

    The broadcaster currently has 10 channels in its sports bouquet after the network pulled the plug on Sony Ten Golf HD in the wake of TRAI’s new tariff order.

    The Prasar Bharati problem

    In October, MIB proposed to amend the Sports Act 2007 to offer ‘sports events of national importance’ on Prasar Bharati-owned free-to-air Doordarshan Network, an extended reach via private direct to home and cable TV Networks.

    The move to amend the Sports Act 2007 has been necessitated due to a Supreme Court verdict which held that the public broadcaster Doordarshan cannot air events of national importance on private distribution platforms.

    In the same month, MIB issued a notice for receiving feedback/comments from general public/stakeholders on the draft bill, 2018. The deadline for submitting the feedback was 15 January 2019, but there is no update on the date extension. The earlier deadline was 31 December 2018.

    This may result in a preference change of the consumer, thereby pushing them to unsubscribe private sports network channels. This will also give the distribution platforms an opportunity to negotiate harder with the sports broadcasters.

    A move of this nature could adversely impact the revenues of sports broadcasters, throwing the entire ecosystem into a tizzy.

    Challenges in 2019

    India’s historic win over Australia ensured that SPN kicked off 2019 to a rather glorious start. With the immensely popular Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni delivering match-winning knocks, SPN is likely to have posted big viewership numbers on its channels as well as OTT. However, the remainder of the year isn’t going to produce a lot of fireworks for the broadcaster especially when it comes to Indian cricket. Barring India’s tour to the West Indies, SPN does not have a lot to offer to Indian fans. Rival Star India, with the rights to the IPL and the World Cup, is bound to be the home of India’s cricket-crazy public in 2019.

  • FIFA WC 2018 creates record of 250 mn Indian viewers

    FIFA WC 2018 creates record of 250 mn Indian viewers

    MUMBAI: The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia has broken viewership barriers with over 250 million viewers tuning in to the tournament in India. Telecast on Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 3 and Sony ESPN channels and live streamed on SonyLIV app and website, it garnered over 250 million viewers across 64 matches played until the end of the tournament.

    According to the broadcaster’s report, repeats, surround programming, highlights and wrap around shows of FIFA World Cup 2018 have reached out to 254 million viewers this year.

    The 64 live matches of the FIFA WC 2018 have been watched by 110.5 million viewers across India on the Sony Pictures Networks. The top markets for the live matches were West Bengal with 22.2 million viwers, Kerala with 17.8 million, Maharashtra and Goa with 12.8 million and lastly Assam/North East and Sikkim with 11.4 million.

    The 2018 FIFA World Cup final match was watched by 51.2 million viewers, one of the highest for any FIFA World Cup match till date. Coming to the local language feeds which include Hindi, Malayalam, Bengali,Tamil and Telugu, they have reached out to 70.7 million viewers which is nearly 66 per cent of the overall tournament reach.

    The regional commentary also received viewership of 9.7 million in Kerala while West Bengal reached out to 10.7 million. There were 40.7 million viewers across India for regional commentary.  

    The 2018 FIFA World Cup also received 47 per fent of viewership from females, the highest till date.

  • Pro Wrestling League rallies on North India viewership

    Pro Wrestling League rallies on North India viewership

    MUMBAI: The third edition of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) proved to be a hit among the younger viewers while attracting audiences of all age groups. Moreover, 77 per cent of the viewership came from North India for the season.  

    The season saw top wrestlers from 17 countries participate in the league. It also provided a great platform for India’s young and talented players to compete, and learn from, in close quarters with Olympic and world champions. The league was on air from 9 January till 26 January 2018.

    According to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) all India data, the league garnered a total of 66,444 impressions (000s) sum, out of which 30 per cent of the viewership, or 20,125 impressions (000s) sum, was contributed by Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. North India contributed to 77 per cent of the total viewership. Viewers under 30 made up 55 per cent of the viewership.

    Speaking about the impressive television numbers, ProSportify founder and promoter Kartikeya Sharma said, “Sports like wrestling have not got the attention that mainstream sports get in India. The latest BARC India ratings are proof that there is huge viewership for such sports, especially wrestling, if they are packaged properly.”

    The league was watched by 45 per cent female fans. The age group of 15-21 years contributed to 20 per cent of the total viewership.

    All the Sony Pictures Network channels, which telecast the 18-day league, featuring over 24 Olympians, 10 Rio Olympic medallists, 14 world champions and six continental champions, witnessed exponential growth in viewership during the tournament. Sony Wah, Sony ESPN and ESPN HD aired the league live.

    “Even more heartening for us sports lovers is that people are enthusiastically watching other sports, too, like wrestling, kabaddi, badminton and football. It is not just about cricket any longer in the country and that is very significant as it will eventually help India become a multi-sport viewing nation,” said Sharma.

    “This is a welcome change and we feel proud to be a part of the revolution to create space for sports other than cricket. We are particularly delighted to see a surge of interest among urban and new viewers, adding substantially to the rural and existing fans,” he added.

    India is making the transition from being a single-sport nation to a multi-sport-viewing nation as domestic leagues of sports such as wrestling, kabaddi, badminton and football are creating their own fan base.

    Also read:

    Biopics & sports-based films help popularise sporting culture in India

    IPL 2018: Team sponsorship deals may see an uptick

    IPL 2018 gets a makeover with Star India

  • Sony to rebrand Ten Sports channels next month

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Network India is all set to rebrand five Ten sports channels acquired from Zee last year.

    Confirming the news to Indiantelevision.com, SPNI CEO NP Singh said that channels will be rebranded next month.

    In February, the network completed the first phase of a two-phase acquisition of the Ten Sports Network from Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL).

    Singh had remarked, “SPN is now equipped, better than ever, to offer its viewers premium sporting content with a sports portfolio that includes every major sport and many international as well as domestic leagues. We are now stepping into the integration process to facilitate a seamless transition.” And, ZEEL MD Punit Goenka had said, “I am confident that the TEN Sports Network will reach new levels of consumer engagement under the nurturing guidance of SPN. I wish them the best. I’ll be tuning in regularly.”

    Now, the SPN’s cluster of nine sports channels includes: Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony ESPN, Sony ESPN HD, Ten 1, Ten 1 HD, Ten 2, Ten 3, and Ten Golf HD

    In August 2016, the network announced a deal to acquire Ten Sports Network from ZEEL for US$ 385 million. The acquisition added South Asia’s leading sports network to SPN’s portfolio.

    Also Read :

    SPN India to feature in SPE growth in 2018

    Ten Sports: Sony Pictures Networks completes first phase of acquisition

    Sony Pictures-Ten Sports deal cleared by CCI

    Sony to add 10 channels in 2017

     

     

  • SPN India cranks up IPL 10 campaign with fan frenzy films

    MUMBAI: How do you celebrate a tenth birthday? Well, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) India, which has been airing the edge-of-the-seat action filled Indian Premier League for the past 10 years, has chosen to do with a campaign “10 saal aap ke naam”.

    “SPN and Vivo IPL have had a great journey, so far. Over the last nine years, we have seen the tournament grow in terms of stature, viewership and the buzz that it creates, and, hence it was only logical to make the tenth year a grand celebration. The marketing campaign borrows from real life insights on how viewers of Vivo IPL engage and involve themselves with the game. We believe that the fans are instrumental in making this tournament the mega blockbuster that it is, and that is why this year’s campaign is an ode to the Vivo IPL Fa. This campaign is the way of saying thank you to millions of people who made IPL what it is,” says Sony Max cluster senior EVP and business head Neeraj Vyas.

    This year’s matches are to be telecast on Sony Max, Sony Six, and Sony ESPN.

    Thus, a series of six films have been filmed and created encapsulating the fervor and madness of fans across gender, generations and geographies. The films celebrate various types of fans, be it the ‘Antaryami Fan’ who, year after year, makes predictions with confidence and even though all his predictions do not come true, he does not deter from making them again and again; the ‘Vehemi fan’ who fears that if he watches the match his team will lose so every time his team plays he is seen standing outside the door, be it a restaurant, a store or even his own house and the ‘Under Pressure fan’ who will postpone even nature’s call and be uncomfortable but will not budge from the television screen till the last ball is delivered.

    The campaign will run in 4-5 languages — English, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Telugu. “The Tamil feed grew enormously last year. Twenty per cent of numbers came from Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry which is very encouraging,” informs Vyas.

    SPN India has brought in top drawer talent for its final innings with the IPL (Its rights deal with the BCCI is ending this year and a fierce bidding exercise between Star, SPN, Dsports, and Amazon is expected to take the price up to stratospheric levels.)

    DDB Mudra was behind the creative of the campaign, while the films were helmed by noted ad film director Hemant Bhandari of Chrome Pictures Media. The anthem was composed under the baton of music composer duo, Salim- Sulaiman, and singer, Benny Dayal belted out the vocals.

    With phrases like “Mahaul sajatey, Haal batatey, Halla machatey”, the Vivo IPL anthem salutes the passion of the zealot who passionately follows the game and cheers every four and six and fall of wicket

    The campaign will roll out on other media outlets too. News and regional channels are expected to be tapped into more. But most importantly is the swathe of channels that the network boast of today, reveals Vyas. “Last year when we started the campaign for season 9, the network had 17 channels and now we have 30 channels under Sony umbrella. We have popular channels. But, we will buy some (slots on the) regional (channels) for sure.”

    The good news for the SPN India is that it has managed to lock in 13 sponsor for IPL season 10. Among these figure: Vivo, Amazon and Vodafone as the co-presenters, CEAT Tyre, wire maker Polycab, Make My Trip, Vimal Paan Masala, Yamaha, Frooti, Voltas, Havells, Parle- products and Yes Bank. And, it looks to be on target to rake in Rs 1,300 crore through sponsorships.

    Vyas says that there was fear that prime minister Narendra Modi demonetisation drive might impact advertisers enthusiasm to put in top dollar. “But, the IPL has such a high recall value that you can’t go wrong is what advertisers have told us and that is why the 13 sponsors,” he expresses.

    A media veteran says that the creative peg that SPN India has taken is clearly going to connect with cricket fans in India and worldwide.

    “Already the player auction saw some high-ticket prices being coughed up by the teams for certain players,” says she. “And, if Sony is going to stoke up the fan frenzy by airing the fan films showing stereotypes with high frequency and reach, one can expect the temperature and viewership for the IPL to only go up this year. Now if only the teams on the field work well to have close finishes, and Sony will be laughing all the way to the bank.”

  • Sony Six: NBA preparing for Hindi commentary in three months

    MUMBAI: NBA and Sony Six, the former’s broadcast partner in India, will soon introduce Hindi language commentary to the games.

    Speaking at the CASBAA OTT summit in Mumbai, NBA India executive Yannick Colaco said that, since audio was very important for sports content, they were actively looking at going regional. “We are already having the audio for 600 games in Chinese,” he stressed, adding that, in three months, NBA planned to have its games commentary in Hindi as well.

    It was earlier reported by www.indiantelevision.com that the Sony sports network grew majestically in 2016. From Sony Six, Six HD, Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD to a bouquet of nine sports channels (Ten Network) prove Sony is looking to be serious player.

    About the most viewed sporting event on SPN in 2016, Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) sports and distribution president Rajesh Kaul had said, “2016 was a strong year for the sports cluster of SPN and we enjoyed an excellent response to a plethora of our properties in cricket, football, fight sports and basketball / NBA. Both our marquee sports events IPL 2016 and UEFA Euro 2016 got an unprecedented level of viewership. In addition to this, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and NBA in our breakfast viewing category have also seen a substantial growth in viewership this year. Over 100 million viewers sampled UFC this year and more than 140 million viewers sampled NBA season 2015-16.”

    NBA has a wide following among Indian fans last season NBA 2015-16 being watched by more than 140 million viewers and we are expecting a strong season showing for the 2016-17 season.

    Popularity of NBA events is gaining ground in India. One of India’s leading video streaming OTT player Hotstar is making its coverage of sports in 3D Virtual Reality(VR) is known. A Silicon Valley based company called VOKE has helped stream the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, the CBS Morning Show and live streams of concerts, NBA, NFL and college football games, courtesy its live TrueVR technology.

    Netflix had earlier picked up for streaming the  documentary of Satnam Singh Bhamra, first India-born basketball player to be drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA). Netflix acquired streaming rights to telecast the documentary, which also features NBA commissioner Adam Silver, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and NBA’s senior director of international basketball operations Troy Justice.

    Also Read:

    Sony Networks looking to change face of Indian football in ’17

    How VOKE is helping Hotstar to bring 3D VR to Kabaddi

    Netflix content offering includes Satnam Singh doc

  • 2017 UFC action begins on NYE, tune in SonyLiv & ESPN

    2017 UFC action begins on NYE, tune in SonyLiv & ESPN

    MUMBAI: The beginning of 2017 rings well for MMA fans as they keenly await the return of Ronda Rousey in the Octagon after over an year. The return would be marked on New Year eve, with Rousey getting a dynamic fight card. The match is set to take place at Las Vegas, Nevada on 31 December starting at 830am IST and will broadcast on Sony ESPN and its HD channel. The fight will also stream live on Sony Liv and the website. The fight has been headlined as the Batmanweight championship.

    2016 has been an extremely exciting year for MMA fans with some explosive action in the Octagon with fight cards like UFC 200 and UFC 205 amongst others. UFC 207 promises a historic end to 2016 with one of the most awaited fights since the beginning of the year. In a recent exclusive with indiantelevision.com, SPNI Sports and distribution president Rajesh Kaul had said that UFC has seen a substantial growth in 2016, adding, “Over 100 million viewers sampled UFC this year.”

    MMA fans are set to have an exciting year ahead, with a plethora of excitement already on the table. Ronda Rousey vs Amanda Nunes, Dominick Cruz vs Cody Garbrandt, TJ Dillashaw vs John Linekar and Dong Hyun Kim vs Tarec Saffiedine in other fights.

  • 2017 UFC action begins on NYE, tune in SonyLiv & ESPN

    2017 UFC action begins on NYE, tune in SonyLiv & ESPN

    MUMBAI: The beginning of 2017 rings well for MMA fans as they keenly await the return of Ronda Rousey in the Octagon after over an year. The return would be marked on New Year eve, with Rousey getting a dynamic fight card. The match is set to take place at Las Vegas, Nevada on 31 December starting at 830am IST and will broadcast on Sony ESPN and its HD channel. The fight will also stream live on Sony Liv and the website. The fight has been headlined as the Batmanweight championship.

    2016 has been an extremely exciting year for MMA fans with some explosive action in the Octagon with fight cards like UFC 200 and UFC 205 amongst others. UFC 207 promises a historic end to 2016 with one of the most awaited fights since the beginning of the year. In a recent exclusive with indiantelevision.com, SPNI Sports and distribution president Rajesh Kaul had said that UFC has seen a substantial growth in 2016, adding, “Over 100 million viewers sampled UFC this year.”

    MMA fans are set to have an exciting year ahead, with a plethora of excitement already on the table. Ronda Rousey vs Amanda Nunes, Dominick Cruz vs Cody Garbrandt, TJ Dillashaw vs John Linekar and Dong Hyun Kim vs Tarec Saffiedine in other fights.

  • Sony Networks looking to change face of Indian football in ’17

    Sony Networks looking to change face of Indian football in ’17

    MUMBAI: The year 2016 saw quite a bit of shake-up in the realm of Indian sports broadcasting. Zee signed a proposal with Sony to sell its sports channels, marketed under Ten Sports brand, to the latter; the Indian cricket broad’s fight with the Supreme Court putting a question mark on IPL and its broadcast and the arrival of some professional sports leagues in India that garnered viewers as well as on-ground audience. The developments also saw sports broadcasting turn primarily into a two-horse race Star India on one side and Sony-ESPN combine on the other, while Nimbus Sports remains a comparatively small player.

    Talking to indiantelevision.com on the changing sports broadcast dynamics, Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) sports and distribution president Rajesh Kaul said, “2016 was a spectacular year for the sports cluster of Sony in terms of the growth. In January 2016, we launched the Sony ESPN channels, which scaled us up to a four-channel sports network. IPL 2016 exceeded expectations with a record viewership of 361.6 million viewers.

    “In addition to this, we also had the on-air and digital telecast of UEFA Euro 2016 on our network, one of the biggest and most watched international football tournaments in 2016. To amplify the viewing experience of the tournament, we continued our pioneering initiative of multi-language feeds and for the first time in India, there was a multi-language feed for an international football tournament with the telecast of Euro 2016 in English, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam languages.”

    Acquisition of Ten Network by SPN, subject to regulatory approvals, in a deal worth US$385 million does add fire-power as the channels operate in several countries, including the Indian sub-continent, Maldives, Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East and Caribbean.

    The Sony sports network grew majestically in 2016. From Sony Six, Six HD, Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD to a bouquet of nine sports channels (Ten Network) prove Sony is looking to be serious player.

    Asked about the most viewed sporting event on SPN in 2016, Kaul said, “2016 was a strong year for the sports cluster of SPN and we enjoyed an excellent response to a plethora of our properties in cricket, football, fight sports and basketball / NBA. Both our marquee sports events IPL 2016 and UEFA Euro 2016 got an unprecedented level of viewership. In addition to this, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and NBA in our breakfast viewing category have also seen a substantial growth in viewership this year. Over 100 million viewers sampled UFC this year and more than 140 million viewers sampled NBA season 2015-16.”

    To cash in on the growing popularity of football in India and give a contest to cricket viewership and English Premier League (still the most followed footlball league in the world), the network tried to change the Spanish La Liga playing timings for the Indian audience who are ardent followers of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Real Madrid and Barcelona. The matches were scheduled to start at 4.30 pm local time in Spain (8 PM IST). This added a huge chunk of viewership to the Spanish League and with a new La Liga office in Delhi, the league and the region’s broadcaster is surely looking to tap into the South-Asian audience.

    Talking about viewership of foreign leagues in India, Kaul opined, “The sports cluster of SPN caters to a diverse spectrum of viewers with a wide range of sports. The variety of foreign sport on SPNI is widely followed by Indian viewers.

    La Liga made a blockbuster start to the 2016-17 season by trebling its reach compared to last season. El Clasico match between Barcelona & Real Madrid is the most watched international football league match of the year (4.1 million viewers).

    UFC has seen exponential growth in ratings in 2016 with over 100 million viewers this entire year. TNA is immensely popular in India with the property being sampled by over 185 million viewers this year.

    NBA is another sport which has a wide following among Indian fans last season NBA 2015-16 being watched by more than 140 million viewers and we are expecting a strong season showing for the 2016-17 season.”

    With the television rights of La Liga in India, SPNI also has the digital rights for the Spanish League. Showcasing important matches on Sony LIV, its digital platform, SPNI has been able to get its share of sports’ digital audience. Knowing its huge potential in the Indian market, the digital platform, beamed the El Clasico live on its website and garnered huge numbers.

    “Sport is one of our key focus areas and we have the best football action available with us. We have showcased big ticketing football events like Euro 2016, Copa America Centenario as well as the El Clasico,” SPNI EVP and digital business head Uday Sodhi said, adding with a strong event line-up that includes La Liga Santandar, Sony was “truly the (Indian) home of football.”

    The network also recently showcased Bangladesh Premier League 2016 and, according to Sodhi’s claims, it turned out to be most watched cricketing event so far on Sony Liv. “In all our marketing and brand communications, we have sports as a prime genre. We have done a 360-degree campaign for promoting Sony Liv as the one-stop for the best of sporting action,” he added, highlighting the digital platform’s attempts to ride the sports bandwagon.

    With the Internet’s reach increasing in India, which also ups the potential of products riding it, dwelling on digital platforms’ strategies in general, Sodhi said, “With 350 million internet users in India (65 per cent users being mobile only) and projections of crossing 700 million internet users by 2020, there is huge potential in India that’s yet to be tapped. Online video is thriving and 50 per cent of total mobile data traffic is video. Youth is driving the mobile data usage and sports is one of the top online video genres.”

    So, what’s in store for 2017? “For the sports cluster of SPN, 2017 would be one of the biggest years and epic too as IPL would have its 10th edition. In addition, Kaul elaborated, adding there will also be two major FIFA events (2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup). Since the juniors’ championship will be the first FIFA even to be hosted in India, there is lot of anticipation and it could, according to him, change the whole landscape of football as a sport in India.

  • Sony Networks looking to change face of Indian football in ’17

    Sony Networks looking to change face of Indian football in ’17

    MUMBAI: The year 2016 saw quite a bit of shake-up in the realm of Indian sports broadcasting. Zee signed a proposal with Sony to sell its sports channels, marketed under Ten Sports brand, to the latter; the Indian cricket broad’s fight with the Supreme Court putting a question mark on IPL and its broadcast and the arrival of some professional sports leagues in India that garnered viewers as well as on-ground audience. The developments also saw sports broadcasting turn primarily into a two-horse race Star India on one side and Sony-ESPN combine on the other, while Nimbus Sports remains a comparatively small player.

    Talking to indiantelevision.com on the changing sports broadcast dynamics, Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) sports and distribution president Rajesh Kaul said, “2016 was a spectacular year for the sports cluster of Sony in terms of the growth. In January 2016, we launched the Sony ESPN channels, which scaled us up to a four-channel sports network. IPL 2016 exceeded expectations with a record viewership of 361.6 million viewers.

    “In addition to this, we also had the on-air and digital telecast of UEFA Euro 2016 on our network, one of the biggest and most watched international football tournaments in 2016. To amplify the viewing experience of the tournament, we continued our pioneering initiative of multi-language feeds and for the first time in India, there was a multi-language feed for an international football tournament with the telecast of Euro 2016 in English, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam languages.”

    Acquisition of Ten Network by SPN, subject to regulatory approvals, in a deal worth US$385 million does add fire-power as the channels operate in several countries, including the Indian sub-continent, Maldives, Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East and Caribbean.

    The Sony sports network grew majestically in 2016. From Sony Six, Six HD, Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD to a bouquet of nine sports channels (Ten Network) prove Sony is looking to be serious player.

    Asked about the most viewed sporting event on SPN in 2016, Kaul said, “2016 was a strong year for the sports cluster of SPN and we enjoyed an excellent response to a plethora of our properties in cricket, football, fight sports and basketball / NBA. Both our marquee sports events IPL 2016 and UEFA Euro 2016 got an unprecedented level of viewership. In addition to this, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and NBA in our breakfast viewing category have also seen a substantial growth in viewership this year. Over 100 million viewers sampled UFC this year and more than 140 million viewers sampled NBA season 2015-16.”

    To cash in on the growing popularity of football in India and give a contest to cricket viewership and English Premier League (still the most followed footlball league in the world), the network tried to change the Spanish La Liga playing timings for the Indian audience who are ardent followers of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Real Madrid and Barcelona. The matches were scheduled to start at 4.30 pm local time in Spain (8 PM IST). This added a huge chunk of viewership to the Spanish League and with a new La Liga office in Delhi, the league and the region’s broadcaster is surely looking to tap into the South-Asian audience.

    Talking about viewership of foreign leagues in India, Kaul opined, “The sports cluster of SPN caters to a diverse spectrum of viewers with a wide range of sports. The variety of foreign sport on SPNI is widely followed by Indian viewers.

    La Liga made a blockbuster start to the 2016-17 season by trebling its reach compared to last season. El Clasico match between Barcelona & Real Madrid is the most watched international football league match of the year (4.1 million viewers).

    UFC has seen exponential growth in ratings in 2016 with over 100 million viewers this entire year. TNA is immensely popular in India with the property being sampled by over 185 million viewers this year.

    NBA is another sport which has a wide following among Indian fans last season NBA 2015-16 being watched by more than 140 million viewers and we are expecting a strong season showing for the 2016-17 season.”

    With the television rights of La Liga in India, SPNI also has the digital rights for the Spanish League. Showcasing important matches on Sony LIV, its digital platform, SPNI has been able to get its share of sports’ digital audience. Knowing its huge potential in the Indian market, the digital platform, beamed the El Clasico live on its website and garnered huge numbers.

    “Sport is one of our key focus areas and we have the best football action available with us. We have showcased big ticketing football events like Euro 2016, Copa America Centenario as well as the El Clasico,” SPNI EVP and digital business head Uday Sodhi said, adding with a strong event line-up that includes La Liga Santandar, Sony was “truly the (Indian) home of football.”

    The network also recently showcased Bangladesh Premier League 2016 and, according to Sodhi’s claims, it turned out to be most watched cricketing event so far on Sony Liv. “In all our marketing and brand communications, we have sports as a prime genre. We have done a 360-degree campaign for promoting Sony Liv as the one-stop for the best of sporting action,” he added, highlighting the digital platform’s attempts to ride the sports bandwagon.

    With the Internet’s reach increasing in India, which also ups the potential of products riding it, dwelling on digital platforms’ strategies in general, Sodhi said, “With 350 million internet users in India (65 per cent users being mobile only) and projections of crossing 700 million internet users by 2020, there is huge potential in India that’s yet to be tapped. Online video is thriving and 50 per cent of total mobile data traffic is video. Youth is driving the mobile data usage and sports is one of the top online video genres.”

    So, what’s in store for 2017? “For the sports cluster of SPN, 2017 would be one of the biggest years and epic too as IPL would have its 10th edition. In addition, Kaul elaborated, adding there will also be two major FIFA events (2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup). Since the juniors’ championship will be the first FIFA even to be hosted in India, there is lot of anticipation and it could, according to him, change the whole landscape of football as a sport in India.