Sony Six gears up for primetime bonanza with FIFA World Cup live coverage

The channel will broadcast nearly 38% of the live games in the primetime slot of 9.30 PM across the subcontinent – 24 games in the 9.30 PM time slot out of the total 64 matches

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | May 29, 2014

Starting June 12, 2014, Sony Six will broadcast the year's most highly anticipated footballing spectacle – the 2014 FIFA World Cup. This year, with the tournament being hosted at the home of football – Brazil – the event is ready to capture the imagination of millions of sports enthusiast and hardcore football lovers.

With an estimated 65 million viewers in the Indian subcontinent itself, the World Cup rivals the biggest of sporting events in India. Besides India, the channel will also broadcast the tournament exclusively to audiences across Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Maldives.

Sony Six will tap into the primetime slot featuring the live games from the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The channel will exclusively broadcast nearly 38 per cent of the total live games in the primetime slot of 9.30 PM across the Indian subcontinent (24 games in the 9.30 PM time slot out of the total 64 matches). The telecast will begin at 8 PM with one of a kind studio show leading up to the match kick-off at 9.30 PM, where the channel's popular anchors and guests will provide interesting insights about the players and the tournament.

The 9:30 PM slot will showcase some of the most exciting match-ups in the group stages including Germany vs Portugal. The viewers can also catch some of their favourite teams including Spain, England, Uruguay, Netherlands, and a few of the knock-out stage games in the same slot.

Last time around, out of the total viewer demography in India, the tournament had attracted 38 per cent viewership from the 15-34-year audience category presenting a unique opportunity for advertisers and marketers to invest in.

Prasana Krishnan

Commenting on the estimated viewership for this year tournament, Prasana Krishnan, Business Head, Sony Six, said, “The projected reach during the tournament is incomparable. Given its value as well as time convenience, the viewership numbers account for a wide geographic spread as well as a significant proportion of the world's population.”

Sharing an advertiser's perspective, Arshad Nizam, Director, Alliance Advertising (media buying agency of XOLO, the first official advertiser for 2014 FIFA World Cup on Sony Six, said, “2014 FIFA World Cup is the most anticipated event this year and associating with an event of such magnitude gives XOLO a great opportunity to reach out to the key target audience who will be glued to Sony Six to catch the best footballing action. Considering majority of the matches are slotted for 9.30 PM, which is primetime television viewing, gives advertisers a great platform to connect and engage with their audience.”

Not limiting the reach through in-home viewing, the channel feels there will be a continued increase in viewership through out-of-home setups including pubs, bars, restaurants, clubs, hotels and official FIFA Fan Fests, etc., from metros as well as other emerging markets across the country.

Sajjad Meherally, Director at Oxygen Entertainment & Media Solutions, said, “2014 FIFA World Cup has created a huge stir across India with everyone cheering for their favourite team – planning parties and getting geared for the biggest sporting extravaganza. Clients are planning Brazilian themed viewing parties with international performances for their guests. We are getting a lot of inquiries from smaller towns like Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Indore, Nashik and Ludhiana too.”

The 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil will kick off on June 12. The tournament will be in two stages: group stage will feature 32 nations and will be played from June 12 to June 26. The knockout stage will start from June 28 and conclude with the World Cup Final match on July 13.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com