Sony Six acquires NFL broadcast rights

The channel will have the rights to air live regular season games, playoff games and the big Super Bowl event, for four years across the Indian subcontinent

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | September 18, 2014

Sony Six, India's premiere sports and entertainment channel, has acquired the broadcasting rights to National Football League (NFL). The announcement follows a multi-year television partnership between NFL and Multi Screen Media (MSM), making Sony Six NFL's broadcast partner across the Indian Subcontinent. The partnership includes television rights to live regular season games, playoff games and most significantly to the tournament's paramount sporting event, the Super Bowl.

Prasana Krishnan

Prasana Krishnan, Business Head, Sony Six, said, “We are extremely thrilled and excited about this partnership, as we look to deliver on providing the audiences an opportunity to experience the best of American football. The raw nature of the sport promises audiences a combination of high-speed action and thrill. This acquisition brings us a step closer in reiterating our efforts in providing quality sports content to our viewers that greatly adds value to our channel, as well as to our existing comprehensive bouquet and line-up of sporting events.”

“We are excited to be working with Sony Six to bring NFL to new and existing fans in India. Their endeavour and focus in delivering fast-paced sports in India, aligns with our long-term goal of popularising NFL in the country. Through live games, marquee events, highlights and league recaps, we will provide Indian viewers with a comprehensive platform to experience NFL like never before,” said Julie Moeller, Vice-President of International Media and Business Development.

The programming will be themed around educational vignettes, highlight shows and NFL's trademark pre-season documentary series 'Hard Knocks'. Sony Six and NFL will work collaboratively on unique initiatives that engage Indian audiences as a means to grow the fan base and increase knowledge and awareness of NFL through media.

The National Football League is a professional American football league that constitutes one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America. It is composed of 32 teams divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The highest professional level of the sport in the world, NFL runs a 17-week regular season from the week after Labour Day to the week after Christmas, with each team playing sixteen games. Out of the league's 32 teams, six (four division winners and two wild-card teams) from each conference compete in the NFL playoffs, a single-elimination tournament culminating into the Super Bowl.

With the sport already garnering great viewership standing overseas, Sony Six will look to capture a sizable share in the India sports viewership market through the acquisition.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com