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Tag: SPSN

  • SPSN rakes in 61 million impressions in India for Euro 2020

    SPSN rakes in 61 million impressions in India for Euro 2020

    Mumbai: A total of 61 million viewers tuned into Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) to watch the entire coverage of UEFA Euro 2020 from 11 June to 12 July. (TG: CS 2+, All India U+R, the cumulative reach of LIVE matches + wraparound shows + highlights + repeats on SPSN), according to Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI).

    All the matches were well received by the Indian audience, with UEFA Euro 2020 attracting more than three times the viewers of UEFA Euro 2016. The live telecast of the Final of Euro 2020 between Italy and England was watched by 4.7 million viewers (TG: CS 2+, All India U+R), the official broadcaster said in a statement on Wednesday.

    Most of the matches in the tournament were simulcast across eight channels Sony Ten 2 SD, Sony Ten 2 HD, Sony Ten 3 SD, Sony Ten 3 HD, Sony Ten 4 SD, and Sony Ten 4 HD. On average, 4.3 million viewers tuned in to watch each match during Euro 2020 – close to 70 per cent growth compared to Euro 2016 (TG: CS 2+, All India U+R).

    The Hindi feed for live matches was watched by 16.6 million viewers across the country (TG: CS 2+, All India U+R), while the Malayalam and Bengali feeds on Sony SIX were watched by 8.7 million viewers across Kerala and West Bengal (TG: CS 2+, Kerala and WB U+R). The Tamil and Telugu feeds on the recently launched Sony Ten 4 contributed 43 per cent of the ratings for the semi-finals and finals in TN/Pondicherry and AP/Telangana (TG: CS 2+, All India U+R).

    Commenting on the setting of a new benchmark, SPNI chief revenue officer, distribution and head – sports business, Rajesh Kaul said, “We at Sony Pictures Sports Network are delighted with the reception UEFA Euro 2020 has received in the Indian subcontinent. For the past three weeks, the country has enjoyed the international football extravaganza presented by the Sony Sports networks, making our channels among the top watched in the sports genre. Our aim is to provide our viewers with the best multi-sport events and the viewership numbers for this tournament prove that there is a demand for quality international sporting content in India. With the ongoing Olympics Games and upcoming India tour of England 2021, sports fans have a lot to look forward to on our network.”

  • Over 48 million viewers tuned into SPSN to watch UEFA EURO 2020

    Over 48 million viewers tuned into SPSN to watch UEFA EURO 2020

    New Delhi: The UEFA EURO 2020 continues to captivate sports fans across the country. The sporting extravaganza has been watched by as many as 48 million viewers on its official broadcaster Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN), the network announced on Friday.

    The viewership figures are for the network’s entire coverage of the first 36 matches of the tournament from 11 to 25 June.

    According to the data (Source: TG: CS 2+, All India U+R) shared by the network, Portugal vs Germany on 19 June (Saturday) was the most watched match of the week in the tournament with ten million viewers. The defending champion Portugal led by Cristiano Ronaldo was defeated by 4-2 in the match in the group stage despite the ace player’s goal and an assist. This group was also touted by fans as ‘Group of death’ with current world champion France in it.

    The second most watched match this week was Italy vs Wales on 20 June (Sunday) which clocked 8.1 million viewers. Italy completed their Group A fixtures defeating Wales by 1-0, continuing its winning streak in the tournament.

    The regional feed of the network was also watched by fans with equal enthusiasm. The Hindi feed for Live matches was been watched by 14 million viewers across the country (TG: CS 2+, All India U+R). While the Malayalam and Bengali feed on SONY SIX channels were watched by seven million viewers across Kerala and West Bengal (TG: CS 2+, Kerala and WB U+R).

    The UEFA EURO 2020 is being telecast by SPSN in six languages across India: English, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. The tournament is LIVE on Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 3, Sony Six and Sony Ten 4 channels and is also being livestreamed on SonyLIV.

     

  • SPSN launches ‘Hum Honge Kamyab’ ahead of 2020 Tokyo Olympics

    SPSN launches ‘Hum Honge Kamyab’ ahead of 2020 Tokyo Olympics

    Mumbai: As the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 gathers momentum with only 20 days to the start, Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN), along with many luminaries from diverse fields, undertakes a ‘Best Wishes Initiative’ to rally the support of the nation for the Indian contingent. 

    As a part of its ‘Hum Honge Kamyab’ campaign, SPSN has put together a series of videos on-air and on their social media platforms led by many eminent personalities sending their best wishes to the Indian contingent for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The campaign has been conceptualised and created in-house by the SPSN team.

    The broadcaster has collaborated with the ministry of youth affairs and sports as well as many other eminent personalities. Joining the brigade are minister of state (I/C) youth affairs and sports Kiren Rijiju, chief of Defence Staff and chairman chief of Staff Committee General Bipin Rawat, and Sony Pictures Networks India MD & CEO N.P. Singh, along with Rana Daggubati, Anupam Kher, Yuvraj Singh, Boman Irani, Farhan Akhtar, Sonakshi Sinha, Johnny Lever, Ali Fazal, Adille Sumariwala, Arshad Warsi, Pullela Gopichand, Vijender Singh, Anjali Bhagwat, Parth Jindal, Harsha Bhogle, Sudha Murthy, Shankar Mahadevan, Anurag Basu, and many more to catalyse the Olympics momentum in the nation for the landmark event.

    SPSN will launch ‘India’s Quest for Gold with Kiren Rijiju’, a special interview with the MoS (I/C) Youth Affairs and Sports, starting 3 July at 6.30 pm (IST) on SONY SIX and SONY TEN 3 channels. Hosted by anchor, Ridhima Pathak, the minister will talk about the impact of the pandemic, athletes preparing through online training in the past year, TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) with Junior TOPS and the Indian sporting, the viability of hosting the Olympic Games in the future, the 2026 Youth Olympics, his favorite Olympic moment, the role of Sony Pictures Networks in supporting the Olympic movement and much more.

     
    SPSN has also produced a seven-episode series titled “The Torchbearers” which showcases the known and unknown stories of our Olympians. The series will feature athletes like Neeraj Chopra, Bhavani Devi, Manu Bhaker, Abhishek Verma, Tejinder Toor, and many more. The series will be available to watch every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday starting 9 July from 12.30 pm (IST) on SONY SIX, SONY TEN 1 and SONY TEN 3 channels.

    SPSN will also launch a mega contest ‘Sony Ten Medal of Glory’ starting 3 July. The contest will be launched Kiren Rijiju and it will feature 20 questions across 20 days, leading to the start of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. It aims to generate conversations among the Olympics fan community as well as to gratify the select few winners.

    Speaking about the campaign, Kiren Rijiju said, “I am very happy that as official broadcasters of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Sony Pictures Networks India, has created specialized programming to support and motivate Indian athletes. ‘The Hum Honge Kamyab’ campaign is a wonderful initiative to galvanize icons from all walks of life to rally behind the Indian contingent. The Government of India has also launched the #Cheer4India campaign envisioned by PM Narendra Modi, through which we are conducting various activities across the country to create awareness about our athletes and to garner support for them. With the combined effort of all stakeholders, I am sure that as a nation we will be able to create an atmosphere of enthusiasm that will truly energise our athletes to give their best at Tokyo.”

    N.P. Singh said, “The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is one of the biggest sporting events across the globe and while every Indian knows about the stature of the tournament, few are aware about the athletes who represent our country. We are delighted that our campaign, ‘Hum Honge Kamyab’ has received such an overwhelming response. Our attempt is to convey our best wishes to the Indian contingent and are looking forward to a splendid performance at Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.”

    Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will be telecast LIVE on SONY TEN 1, SONY TEN 2, SONY TEN 3, SONY TEN 4, and SONY SIX channels, between 23 July and 8 August.

  • SPSN eyes strong subscriber growth, as football season approaches

    KOLKATA: Football fans across the world are brimming with excitement, as the countdown to one of the biggest sporting events has begun. The delayed UEFA Euro 2020 is all set to enthral fans starting 11 June. To add to the fervour, is the return of Copa America 2021 around the same time.

    With the two sporting events all set to capture the fans’ imagination, the official broadcaster, Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) is leaving no stone unturned to make the best of the moment. The network has even launched a new regional channel amid the pandemic for its Tamil and Telugu viewers.

    The lockdowns induced by the second wave of the pandemic has walloped the economy, and the sentiment among advertisers remains low. Yet, the broadcaster is witnessing huge interest from advertisers, thanks to the marquee international football events that attract premium audiences, said Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), chief revenue officer and distribution and head-sports business, Rajesh Kaul.

    A wide category of advertisers like automobiles, mobile handsets, telecom, e-commerce, gaming & finance are showing interest for the tournaments. The sports broadcaster is charging Rs 2.5-3 lakh per 10-second spot.

    “Meri Doosri Country was a huge success during FIFA World Cup and that is why we have decided to make this our signature campaign for international marquee football tournaments, where India is not represented. For the EUROs, the same thought has evolved to ‘Iss baar konsi hogi tumhari doosri country’ and we have boldly showcased the rivalry between fans using protagonists across age groups and geographies,” Kaul added.

    SPSN is executing a 360-degree marketing plan involving ATL and BTL platforms to reach out not only to football fans, but also the larger group of sport fans. In addition to that, the broadcaster is also exploring a range of media platforms that will enable it to reach viewers across demographics in the country. Besides, SPSN will be identifying partnerships and associations that can be leveraged to reach out target audience as well as engage with them.

    Kaul is optimistic about the Football calendar driving subscription for the network. “The whole world was under lockdown. Once live sports started again, sports saw a huge growth since it was a means of escapism for people staying at home. Football is the second to cricket in India and there is a strong community who follow this sport on daily basis,” he said.

    With the start of football festival on Sony Sports, the subscription for the sports channels will follow an upward trajectory.

    Apart from the Euro 2020 and Copa America 2021, the line-up of sports properties in the next five to six months include India tour of England in cricket, Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 with various WWE and UFC LIVE main events. For this year, the network is expecting at least a 25 per cent increase in the sports subscription revenue of linear TV.

    “The whole country today needs events like EURO 2020, Copa America and Olympics to cheer up the mood. It couldn’t have come at a better time for us to launch the channel. The huge line up of content provides us an opportunity to bring cheers to the people in India and also relieve a lot of stress and tension along with diverting the whole attention from pandemic to far better and positive things,” he signed off.

  • Sony lines up 15 top-bill sponsors for India vs Australia series

    Sony lines up 15 top-bill sponsors for India vs Australia series

    KOLKATA: Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) is all set to broadcast the highly anticipated India tour of Australia 2020 series starting 27 November, which will feature 3 T20Is, 3 ODIs and 4 Tests. The matches will be aired live on Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten 3 and Sony Six channels in India from 8.00 am IST and will be livestreamed on its on-demand OTT platform SonyLIV.

    SPSN will broadcast the series on Sony Ten 1 channels in English, Sony Ten 3 channels in Hindi and Sony Six channels in English, Tamil and Telugu. The ODIs and T20Is will be telecast across all three channels, while the Test matches will be aired on Sony Six & Sony Ten 3.

    To further enhance the fan experience, SPSN will return with its flagship studio show Extraaa Innings. The programme will feature a star-studded line-up of legends and former cricketers like Glenn McGrath, Sanjay Manjrekar, Ajay Jadeja, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Nick Knight, Mohammad Kaif, Murali Karthik, Vivek Razdan, Ajit Agarkar and Vijay Dahiya, who will share their insights with viewers through the course of the series. Harsha Bhogle and Arjun Pandit have been roped in as English and Hindi presenters respectively along with Erin Holland who will be the on-ground presenter for the series.

    Viewers in India will get to experience both world feed commentary from Australia with Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist as well as customised English and Hindi commentary from SPSN’s band of panellists. SPSN has also tied up with Fox Sports Australia and will feature their eminent panellists like Allan Border, Isa Guha and Brendan Julian on Extraaa Innings and viewers in Australia will also get to enjoy SPSN’s Hindi commentary on Fox Sport Australia’s digital platform. The commentators for the Tamil feed will feature Arasu, Sheshadri Srinivasan, Vidhyut Sivaramakrishnan, R Sathish and Naveen Shauri while the commentators for the Telugu feed will feature RJ Hemant, Vijay Mahavadi, Gnaneshwar Rao, C Venkatesh and Illendula Ramprasad.

    The network has brought on board sponsors and co-presenters like Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, My11Circle, Byju’s, Payments on Amazon.in and Vimal Pan Masala, while the associate sponsors include Mondelez, Pernod Ricard, MRF, SBI Mutual Fund, Netflix, Car24, MP Birla Cement, PharmEasy and Ather Energy. In addition to this, Dettol has been roped in as the presenting sponsor for the studio show, Dettol Extraaa Innings. The broadcaster is in the process of closing more sponsors in the next few days.

     “Cricket in India is not just a sport; it is an emotion and Sony Sports is excited to showcase all live action from Team India’s first endeavour after nine months against Indian cricket’s biggest rival, Australia. This will also be the first time that fans will be allowed to attend an international match as all the recent international series since March were played behind closed doors. We know how significant this series is for Indian fans and will be airing the series with four language feeds -English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu to reach out to a wider set of viewers, ” Sony Pictures Networks India chief revenue officer, sports business distribution and head Rajesh Kaul said.

    With the aim of maximising engagement from Indian cricket fans, SPSN has launched the #CricketKaAsliRang campaign that pays an ode to the undying true-blue love for the game of cricket. The campaign is a clarion call to all the Indian cricket fans, across the globe, invoking them to show support and cheer for their home team. The campaign is based on a simple insight that for every Indian cricket fan, no matter who the opponent or the player, the heart beats only for Team India, the voice cheers only for Team India and the true colour of cricket for India is BLUE.

  • SPSN’s campaign ignites the discourse of real and fake cricket fans

    SPSN’s campaign ignites the discourse of real and fake cricket fans

    Sony Pictures Sports Networks (SPSN) is running a campaign to promote the ongoing Australia tour of England. The campaign “Asli Fans ke Liye” (for real fans) sparks the age-old funny debate of real fans versus fake fans.

    As the cricket frenzy nation missed the action for the last four to five months, SPSN is embracing the excitement of the live sports not only through the campaign but with a contest. The ‘ Asli cricket fan’ contest is a fun banter between “Asli cricket fan” and “Naklicricket fan”. Sony Pictures Networks India sports channels marketing and on-air promotions head Neville Bastawalla elaborates more on the campaign.

    Talking about the ideation of the campaign, he reminds us of the cliched truth that observation is the key to any creative process. According to him, SPSN’s marketing team relies heavily on a combination of observations and deep-rooted consumer insights.

    He spoke about a commonplace incident which also helped to form this campaign. While there are discussions on sport in almost every office each morning, many of the group members do not actually watch the matches. Rather, they check online updates in the fear of missing out. This sharp insight has been married with SPSN’s old conviction “love for cricket knows no boundaries.”

    “If you scan an office environment, you will see there are die-hard fans of every sport especially cricket fans in India who watch ball-by-ball play of every match. We wanted to create a provocative communication which would hit the heart of cricket fans, especially the fake fans who don’t watch but only follow updates on non-India cricket,” Bastawalla says.

    The campaign’s core bull’s eye is 25-40 age group which is consuming content across Sony Picture Network India’s channels and digital platforms. While one of the films has been shot during this crisis period, he adds that they had taken additional steps along with implementing the SOPs.

    He also notes that it is very rare for any broadcaster to go for Hindi commentary on international non-India cricket, SPSN is doing so for this series. He also adds that twelve brands have already come on board including Dream 11, My 11 circles, HDFC Life, Maruti Suzuki, Skoda, Dafa News.

    “To be honest, I am not seeing any change. We are just being true to the consumers. As a marketeer, my job is to get consumers to watch my content. Everybody is trying to win the heart of consumers,” he comments on post-Covid communication.

  • SPSN launches campaign for the upcoming Australia tour of England

    SPSN launches campaign for the upcoming Australia tour of England

    KOLKATA: Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) is all set to honour the ‘Real Fans’ of cricket with their new campaign for upcoming Australia tour of England. It has launched two campaign films that feature Real fans vs Fake fans in real-life situations only to realise that in order to be a Real Fan it is important to watch and follow great cricket and cricketers no matter which team is playing.

    The series will be aired live and exclusive on SONY SIX and SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) channels from 4 September 2020.

    Cricket fans are already excited for the faceoff between Australia and England. This will be Australia’s first series in a new era of cricket during the pandemic.

    “Asli Fans Ke Liye is our in-house campaign for the upcoming Australia tour of England that honors Real Fans, who are passionate about great cricket and cricketers no matter which team they play for and follow ball-by-ball play purely for the love of the sport. The campaign is a shout-out to all the Real Fans of cricket whose die-hard love for cricket knows no boundaries. They not only support their own country but also go beyond boundaries to genuinely embrace the sport. The upcoming Australia tour of England features two great cricketing nations who share one of the fiercest rivalries in cricket today and a Real Fan will definitely not miss watching this high-octane series,” SPN sports business head-marketing and on-air promotions Neville Bastawalla said.

    The first film showcases Fake Fans following Jonny Bairstow’s cooking and David Warners’ foot-tapping videos that are garnering maximum views on their social media platform while Real Fans are actually following their heroes especially when they are playing their innings and making history on the pitch.

    The second film is a shoot-based film set in an office where a group of colleagues are watching a LIVE match in play. The film opens with a Fake Fan, giving his pseudo expert advice, which is factually incorrect and leads to his colleague, a Real Fan, correcting him on the match playing out on TV between England and Australia. The film ends with the Real Fan educating the fake fan on one of the fiercest rivalries in cricket today and the real drama that unfolds when England and Australia play against each other.

    India is a cricket-frenzy nation and “Asli Fans Ke Liye” is a light-hearted perspective on the emotions of Real Cricket Fans who follow the sport for the love of the game. The campaign films have been rolled out in English and Hindi languages, encouraging Indian fans across the country to tune-in to SONY
    SIX channels in English and SONY TEN 3 channels in Hindi, for the high octane drama between England and Australia on the field.

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

    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.”

  • Sony Pictures Sports Network announces a stellar line-up of panelists for the upcoming India tour of West Indies

    Sony Pictures Sports Network announces a stellar line-up of panelists for the upcoming India tour of West Indies

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN), the official broadcaster of the India tour of West Indies, announces their exciting programming initiatives to increase engagement with audiences across India. The series, comprising 3 T20Is, 3 ODIs and 2 Test matches spanning from August 3 to September 3, 2019 will feature the Indian cricket team for the first time after their appearance at the Cricket World Cup Semi-Finals. The India tour of West Indies will also mark the start of the ICC World Test Championship for both teams.

    SPSN’s celebrated live wrap-around show, Extraaa Innings, will return for the India tour of West Indies featuring a host of renowned expert panelists. Sir Vivian Richards, Sunil Gavaskar, Graeme Swann, Murali Kartik, Darren Ganga and Ian Bishop will present comprehensive pre, mid and post-match expert analyses in English, while Ashish Nehra, Ajay Jadeja, Mohammad Kaif and Vivek Razdan along with presenters Gaurav Kapur and Arjun Pandit will be presenting in Hindi. Extraaa Innings will also make an appearance in the breakfast segment with the post-match analysis for the ODI and Test series. In addition to this, SPSN will be airing ‘Cricket Talk’, a show that will provide previews for the Test format and reviews after the T20I and ODI formats.

    The matches, being played across five scenic venues in the Caribbean and in Florida, USA, will be telecast in English on SONY TEN 1 channels and in Hindi on SONY TEN 3 channels. Viewers can expect fast bowling, furious batting and an exceptional viewing experience from the highly anticipated series only on Sony Pictures Sports Network.

  • Broadcasters express displeasure over BCCI’s match rates: Report

    Broadcasters express displeasure over BCCI’s match rates: Report

    MUMBAI: With the BCCI rights up for grabs after being postponed to 3 April 2018, Star India and Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) are expected to slug it out to win the bid. Both broadcasters have, however, written to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) making their displeasure known in regards to the upcoming India rights as reported by CricketNext. The main reason, report says, is that the BCCI wants the media rights winner to pay the same amount for matches involving two visiting teams playing on Indian soil.

    Star India, in its letter, which CricketNext claims to have possession of, has written, “The average viewership on Indian matches is significantly higher than on non-India matches (as surveyed during the Asia Cup in 2016). Even an India match with a non-Test playing nation generates more viewership than two major Test nations playing each other. The bidder is expected to attribute the same per match value to any such match without any realistic possibility of recovering such value. Paying the same per-match value for India matches and non-India matches is not commercially viable. We request the BCCI and the CoA to reconsider their position.”

    SPSN has also expressed similar sentiments in its letter, says the report. “These last-minute changes on the bid documentation and the online bid is making it difficult for us to prepare for the bid on 3rd April. As you know, there are a lot of calculations and modelling that goes into a bid preparation and these last minute changes create so much uncertainty. One issue that is particularly of concern is regarding tri-series in India organised by the BCCI. The clarification says all matches will be valued the same. This means an India-Afghanistan-Bangladesh or an India-Bangladesh-Zimbabwe will be valued equally with an India-Australia-South Africa. This quite frankly is illogical. Advertisers and even the viewing public do not value these matches equally and for the BCCI to consider all of them as having the same value does injustice to bidders. We would earnest request BCCI to reconsider,” SPSN’s letter to the BCCI reportedly said.

    Star India paid Rs 3851 crore for the India rights to broadcast the matches from July 2012 to March 2018 leaving behind the closest bid of Rs 3700 crore by Sony Pictures Networks (SPN). SPN also lost out to Star India for the Indian Premier League after televising the cash-rich league from 2008 till 2017. SPN, however, has bolstered its cricket pipeline after bagging the broadcasting rights from Cricket Australian and the English Cricket Board in the subcontinent, taking its tally to seven Test-playing nations.

    “The whole idea was to strengthen our overall leadership position,” Rajesh Kaul, the president of SPN’s Sports and Distribution Business, had said last month. “ECB was a very important and integral part of the strategy. While Australian cricket happens during the winter here, cricket in England is during the summer. There is a very encouraging trend of other sports also getting traction in this part of the world but cricket is still the largest. And to have that dominant leadership position in cricket was very, very critical for us.”

    Also read:

    BCCI sweetens the pot for bidders of India rights

    BCCI invites bids for e-auction of India rights

    BCCI invites brands to acquire third-party rights for IPL