ITV

Tag: Sony ESPN

  • Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD to live telecast UFC 196 in India

    Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD to live telecast UFC 196 in India

    MUMBAI: The latest addition to Sony’s sports cluster Sony ESPN channels will broadcast the highly anticipated UFC 196, live and exclusive, on 6 March 2016, at 0830 Hrs on Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD.

    Witnessing UFC’s consistent viewership in the market, Sony ESPN is taking a step forward in growing the sport’s popularity and has launched an MMA Fan Club called The Octagon. 

    The Octagon was formed for people who simply love MMA and will create unique community experiences for fans. The Octagon’s first fan initiative is hosting a special breakfast screening of UFC 196, live at the Hard Rock Café. Sony ESPN is conducting an on air & social media contest for viewers who can win an exclusive opportunity to be a part of The Octagon experience.

    The fight card will be headlined by Featherweight Champion, Conor McGregor who will take on lightweight contender Nate Diaz in the highly anticipated match-up. McGregor’s popularity grew exponentially after he defeated Jose Aldo in 13 seconds to win the Featherweight title in UFC 194. He had hoped to win the lightweight belt simultaneously before Dos Anjos pulled out, citing an injury. His new opponent for UFC 196, Nate Diaz, whose brash style is expected to make a strong draw, has already grabbed eyeballs from a lot of MMA fans worldwide.

    Women’s Bantamweight Champion, Holly Holm will put her title on the line against No. 2 Miesha Tate in the co-main event. This will be Holly Holm’s first title defence after she dethroned former champion, Ronda Rousey in November. 

    Tate’s recent fight was a one-sided win over Jessica Eye, with her striking technique and is expected to put up a tough show against Holm in the upcoming fight. As a result, UFC 196 could prove to be a colossal of an event.

    The UFC 196 fight card live screening will be taking place on March 6, 2016, at 0800 Hrs at the: Hard Rock Café, near Fun Cinema Lane, Off Veera Desai Road, Andheri West, Mumbai – 400053. The screening is also open to walk in consumers who would like to be a part of the community experience.

  • Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD to live telecast UFC 196 in India

    Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD to live telecast UFC 196 in India

    MUMBAI: The latest addition to Sony’s sports cluster Sony ESPN channels will broadcast the highly anticipated UFC 196, live and exclusive, on 6 March 2016, at 0830 Hrs on Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD.

    Witnessing UFC’s consistent viewership in the market, Sony ESPN is taking a step forward in growing the sport’s popularity and has launched an MMA Fan Club called The Octagon. 

    The Octagon was formed for people who simply love MMA and will create unique community experiences for fans. The Octagon’s first fan initiative is hosting a special breakfast screening of UFC 196, live at the Hard Rock Café. Sony ESPN is conducting an on air & social media contest for viewers who can win an exclusive opportunity to be a part of The Octagon experience.

    The fight card will be headlined by Featherweight Champion, Conor McGregor who will take on lightweight contender Nate Diaz in the highly anticipated match-up. McGregor’s popularity grew exponentially after he defeated Jose Aldo in 13 seconds to win the Featherweight title in UFC 194. He had hoped to win the lightweight belt simultaneously before Dos Anjos pulled out, citing an injury. His new opponent for UFC 196, Nate Diaz, whose brash style is expected to make a strong draw, has already grabbed eyeballs from a lot of MMA fans worldwide.

    Women’s Bantamweight Champion, Holly Holm will put her title on the line against No. 2 Miesha Tate in the co-main event. This will be Holly Holm’s first title defence after she dethroned former champion, Ronda Rousey in November. 

    Tate’s recent fight was a one-sided win over Jessica Eye, with her striking technique and is expected to put up a tough show against Holm in the upcoming fight. As a result, UFC 196 could prove to be a colossal of an event.

    The UFC 196 fight card live screening will be taking place on March 6, 2016, at 0800 Hrs at the: Hard Rock Café, near Fun Cinema Lane, Off Veera Desai Road, Andheri West, Mumbai – 400053. The screening is also open to walk in consumers who would like to be a part of the community experience.

  • DishTV’s HD offering touches 50 with Sony ESPN HD

    DishTV’s HD offering touches 50 with Sony ESPN HD

    MUMBAI: Direct to home (DTH) operator DishTV has taken its High Definition (HD) channels’ offering to 50 with the addition of the newly launched sports channel Sony ESPN HD. Incidentally, this is also the highest HD offering by a DTH player in the country. 

    DishTV India CEO Arun Kapoor said, “DishTV has always taken a lead in enhancing the TV viewing experience for our audience. To further add spruce to the sports lovers this sporting season, Dish TV has added Sony ESPN HD to its bouquet of channels. The company not only has the first mover advantage in the DTH category and also will be accredited with the highest number of HD channels across the industry with a whopping 50 HD channels. Our endeavour is to increase affinity with our audiences by providing them the choice of content they would like to watch. Latest trends suggest that the growth of the High Definition category over the past year together with rising sales of flat panel TV’s (LED/LCD) has added a new dimension to the superior HD viewing experience.”

     

    The Sony ESPN HD channel kicked off its sporting calendar with the live broadcast of the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open. 
     

    DishTV subscribers can watch Sony ESPN HD at channel no 87.

  • Sony Liv bags Australian Open’s digital rights; to livestream for free

    Sony Liv bags Australian Open’s digital rights; to livestream for free

    MUMBAI: Sony Liv has pocketed the exclusive digital rights to the Australian Open for its web and mobile platform. The tournament will be live streamed on Sony Liv for free.

     

    It may be recalled that the satellite rights of the Australian Open vest with Sony Pictures Networks India and ESPN’s joint venture channel – Sony ESPN, which is all set to beam from 17 January.

     

    From 18 – 31 January, the live matches will be available for viewing on the Sony Liv Android and iOS Mobile app as well as on www.sonyliv.com.

     

    For those who miss the match, video on demand capturing key highlights and special moments of every match along with interviews and press conferences will be available on the very same day.

     

    SPN India EVP and head – digital business Uday Sodhi said, “Sony Liv has established itself as the destination of choice for the Indian viewers looking for digital entertainment solutions on the go. As a category, sports are very significant for Sony Liv audiences and hence, we have been increasing our content portfolio to include major sporting events. The Australian Open will be live streamed on Sony Liv since we have the digital rights for the event for its mobile and web platforms.”

     

    The Australian Open is one of the most eminent international tennis tournaments held annually over a fortnight in Melbourne, The year’s first Grand Slam will feature some of the biggest names from the international tennis circuit such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Maria Sharapova, among others as well as Indian players Sania Mirza and Somdev Devvarman. Last season’s winners, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams will also return to the court to defend their respective titles this year.

  • Sony ESPN & Sony ESPN HD to launch on 17 Jan; two more channels in the pipeline

    Sony ESPN & Sony ESPN HD to launch on 17 Jan; two more channels in the pipeline

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) is all set to launch its two sports channels namely Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD in collaboration with ESPN on 17 January. The Sony ESPN channel will replace Sony Kix and hence will be available on all the platforms that the latter was. Sony ESPN HD will launch by marking its presence on all direct to home (DTH) platforms and gradually will roll out on cable TV too.

     

    With this, SPN has extended its sports cluster to four channels namely Sony ESPN, Sony ESPN HD, Sony Six and Sony Six HD.

     

    What’s more, Sony and ESPN will also launch more co-branded channels in the near future. “At least two more channels are there in the pipeline and if the content demands more, we might launch more. But at this stage, we have two channels launching on 17 January and two more in the near future,” reveals ESPN India and South Asia vice president and head Ramesh Kumar.

     

    The Nature of the Association

     

    ESPN had a long time association with one of Sony’s rival broadcaster Star India and the duo operated in the Indian subcontinent till they separated in 2012. The three-years non-compete ended in 2015 and ESPN’s began discussion of a second innings in India. ESPN was clear with its strategy that it wants a long term association with an existing sportscaster and that’s where Sony came in the picture. 

     

    Both Sony and ESPN refused to divulge the commercials or the nature of association between them. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, ESPN Asia Pacific vice president Michael T Morrison said, “We wanted to have a partner in India and Sony turned out to be the best for us and hence we associated with them. We were evaluating various possibilities since the last one and half years and are very happy to be with Sony.”

     

    Reiterating Morrison’s point of view, SPN India CEO NP Singh adds, “ESPN is the leader when it comes to sports broadcasting globally. They have their expertise, which will use to add value to our existing content. We would like to keep the commercials confidential, but yes what we both were looking for, was in alignment and hence we decided to get together. It took close to six months to close the deal.”

     

    Singh further asserts, “As a part of the deal, we will have 1000 hours of original content from ESPN.”

     

    While ESPN did not have an India presence on television, it continued the operation of ESPNCricinfo, which has grown by leaps and bounds in last three years. The portal has an internal team, which creates original content. However, ESPNCricinfo is not a part of the collaboration between the two entities. “The ESPNCricinfo expertise can be used if needed but it will not be a part of the collaboration. There are matrices, which we are working on and we will see how the three can complement each other,” informs Kumar.

     

    Why the Association

     

    “India is too big a sports market to not have a presence. Moreover, our motto is ‘To Serve Sports Fans Anytime Anywhere.’ We have never left India. For us, we were always there and now we feel we need to have a bigger presence and that’s why the association,” says Morrison. Recalling the sportscaster’s association with Star India, Morrison adds, “We had a wonderful time with Star where we worked together not only in India but also in the subcontinent, but now we feel we will have a better time ahead with Sony.”

     

    Sony, in the recent past has made a few big non-cricket acquisitions, but is yet to unfold special pre or post original programming. The feed of a SerieA or an El-Classico match begins with the whistle as there is no studio content available with them. “Now with ESPN coming in, we will have access to their studio shows and we will use the shows, which complement our existing portfolio. Using their expertise we will create new programming too. This Australian Open we will have access to their global studio feed, and hence analysis and opinions will be there for fans. With this association, we will be enhancing the experience,” adds SPN sports cluster EVP and business head Prasana Krishnan. 

     

    Many said that once the Indian Premier League (IPL) goes under the hammer for telecast rights renewal, the price is going to at least double to that of the previous deal. Rumours were rife that Sony and ESPN came together to jointly bid for the renewal and strengthen their possibility. Thwarting any such rumours as well as refraining to give them any credibility, Singh says, “Our association with ESPN is not to have an upper-hand in the renewal bidding procedure.” 

     

    What’s next

     

    In next few months, Sony ESPN will launch a new multi-sport mobile app. “The revenue model of the app is yet to be decided, but whatever we do, we believe in monetising it to the maximum. We will evaluate together the best possible way forward and come to a consensus on revenue model,” says Morrison.

     

    SPN already has a digital presence in Sony Liv, which live streams the network’s existing sports portfolio. So what happens to Liv when the co-branded app launches? “The content of that platform will be available in Sony Liv too. We have done well with Love Bytes and will continue our digital innovations,” informs Singh.

     

    Apart from the two additional channels in the pipeline, which will be launched in the near future, there could be many leagues coming in too. “Pro Wrestling League was an experiment that we did and now I am in a position to say that we are glad that we did it. The numbers in the Hindi Speaking Market were great and I see it growing further with time. So we are exploring and if we see an opportunity we will aggressively forge ahead with more leagues,” says Krishnan.

     

    Marketing Plan and Channel Positioning 

     

    The 360 degree launch campaign will be clubbed with the campaign of the Australian Open, which will make its debut on the new channel. “We have 17 channels of our own through which we will promote and announce the launch of the two co-branded channels. Also we will have our digital and print promotional activities. We are starting with the Australian Open and then we will then go to Euro 2016 and run campaigns around the sport,” informs Krishnan.

     

    Sony ESPN will have a global sports portfolio with football, rugby, basketball, tennis, whereas Sony Six will have the fight sports and other sports that Kix used to telecast. “We will continue to evaluate various permutations and combinations as we go forward and enhance our sports portfolio,” concludes Krishnan.

  • MSM & ESPN collaborate to launch sports channels in India; Sony Kix rebranded

    MSM & ESPN collaborate to launch sports channels in India; Sony Kix rebranded

    MUMBAI: Disney’s sports broadcaster ESPN, which exited the Indian market in 2012, is yet again eyeing the lucrative market here albeit with a different joint venture partner. 

     

    After dissolving its 50:50 joint venture with Star India in 2012, ESPN has now joined hands with Multi Screen Media (MSM). The two companies have entered into a long-term agreement in India and the Indian subcontinent.

     

    Through the collaboration, MSM and ESPN will bring new offerings including new co-branded sports channels and as well as a multi-sport website and app. The companies will also be exploring avenues on developing original sports programs.

     

    As a part of this deal, MSM’s sports channel Sony Kix will be rebranded as Sony ESPN. The two companies will also launch other new channels in the coming months. Along with Sony Six, all the channels will deliver a powerful sports lineup to sports fans.

     

    In collaboration with MSM, ESPN will launch a co-branded localized multisport website and app, which will provide coverage of cricket, football, tennis, the NBA, badminton, field hockey and more.

     

    MSM’s OTT platform Sony Liv will also benefit from the collaboration, increasing its current sports offerings significantly. 

     

    ESPNcricinfo, the digital cricket destination in India and globally, will continue to deliver comprehensive coverage and will complement and cross-promote the new digital properties and sports channels.

     

    Among the new co-branded multisport website, sonyliv.com and espncricinfo.com, sports fan will receive sports content from across categories, geographies and time zones.

     

    There will be a robust social media presence for the new co-branded media platforms and, an online programming guide for television.

     

    Components of the collaboration require regulatory approvals, for which the process is currently underway.

     

    Multi Screen Media CEO NP Singh said, “Our partnership with ESPN is just what the sports aficionado has been waiting for. Stylized, insightful sports content presented by the best sportscasters in the business. For consumers in India and the subcontinent, sports television viewing will change dramatically since they will soon have access not only to more content but also the widest array of sports lineup, ever available.”

     

    He further added, “MSM’s association with ESPN is holistic and embraces both television and digital formats. Not only are we about to set the frontiers in sports content and distribution but we will most likely set the trends as well. Going further, both companies will also explore collaboration on the development of other original sports programs.”

     

    ESPN International executive vice president and managing director Russell Wolff said, “ESPN’s focus around the world is simple: to serve sports fans. This exciting, long-term collaboration between ESPN and MSM will serve Indian sports fans with exceptional products, content and coverage through the combined strengths and expertise of our two companies, which each have a strong heritage of leadership and innovation in India. We are very excited to be working with Sony, one of the leading television channels in India, on the opportunities that lie ahead.”

     

    MSM’s current sports rights portfolio in India includes the UEFA Euro 2016, top European football leagues (including La Liga, The FA Cup and Serie A), the NBA, the NFL, the IRB Rugby World Cup, UFC, TNA Wrestling and NASCAR amongst others.

     

    ESPN will add to that by delivering more than 1000 hours of programming per year from its portfolio of sports rights, original programming and studio programs. Live sports content in the deal includes major US college football (including the College Football Playoff and comprehensive coverage of the college football bowl season); major US college basketball (including the March Madness NCAA Championship Tournaments); NCAA college sport championships from baseball, softball, lacrosse, soccer; Boxing (including Premier Boxing Champions and ESPN’s Big Fights Library); X Games; ESPN Films Emmy-Award Winning 30 For 30 documentaries amongst others.

     

    In its previous 16 year long stint in India via the joint venture with Star India, ESPN Software India operated ESPN Star Sports’ India ops. The channels under it included ESPN, Star Sports and Star Cricket. Over the last few years post the exit of ESPN, Star India’s sports game has been upped by several notches with the launch of multiple sports channels under the Star Sports brand name as well as lucrative leagues for sports  such as Kabbadi, football et al.

     

    With MSM and ESPN’s ambitous plans to launch multiple sports channels as well as original sports properties, the sports broadcasting scenario is likely to receive a major impetus. Moreover, with competition heating up in the space, when the rights for the marquee tournament – Indian Premier League (IPL) come up for bidding again in 2019 the acquisition price is likely to sky rocket.