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After the success of regional feeds during last year’s FIFA World Cup (on Multi Screen Media network) and the just concluded ICC Cricket World Cup (on Star India), the annual twenty-20 tournament Indian Premier League (IPL) will also be available in multiple languages.
The Bengali feed will be telecast on the network’s Bengali general entertainment channel – Sony Aath.
Aath was the vehicle used to broadcast the Bengali feed of the FIFA World Cup 2014 as well, and the move had borne significant returns for the network. Almost 50 pe3r cent of the total viewership from the tournament had, as a result come from West Bengal. The Bengali feed of the football tournament had also helped rope in football fans from across demographics, including almost 40% females.
The Bengali feed will be telecast on the network’s Bengali general entertainment channel – Sony Aath.
Aath was the vehicle used to broadcast the Bengali feed of the FIFA World Cup 2014 as well, and the move had borne significant returns for the network. Almost 50 pe3r cent of the total viewership from the tournament had, as a result come from West Bengal. The Bengali feed of the football tournament had also helped rope in football fans from across demographics, including almost 40% females.
This will be the first ever broadcast of the Pepsi IPL on the channel and will also be the first such exercise by the MSM group to do a Bengali feed of the tournament. Sony AATH will be covering the opening ceremony and all 60 matches of the 8th edition of Pepsi IPL.
Tushar Shah, Senior Vice President Multi- Screen Media, who also manages the operations of Sony AATH, said, “With an aim to provide the most premium content to our viewers in West Bengal, we are back yet again to enthral them by offering a whole new experience of consuming the largest cricketing extravaganza in their favourite language. We believe this initiative will not only help further expand the popularity of the nation’s most beloved cricketing tournament but also augment a larger fan base for the channel.”
N.P. Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Multi- Screen Media, said, ‘‘West Bengal has always been one of the key markets for Pepsi IPL. We believe that by offering the world’s largest cricketing spectacle in one of the most popular and widely spoken languages in the country will help enthral the viewers. It will create a holistic viewing experience unlike anything else seen before on the channel. Given the tournaments aggressive growth and ability to connect with millions on a national scale, this year we are positioning the event as ‘India ka tyohaar’ which establishes the event as an annual sporting and entertainment festival.”
The tournament will feature a total of 60 matches, including the live telecast of the opening ceremony on April 7th, the home and away matches between the franchises, the qualifying playoffs and the finals. The knockout stage will begin from May 19 to May 22 and conclude with the Final match on May 24.
