Indian sports and entertainment pay-television channel Sony Six has acquired the exclusive broadcast rights to the 2014 and 2018 Fifa World Cups under a five-year deal with world football’s governing body.
Along with the showpiece World Cup tournaments in Brazil and Russia, Sony Six’s deal includes 15 other Fifa events through the duration of the contract. These tournaments include the 2017 U-17 World Cup, which India will host as its first major Fifa event.
The latest acquisition by Sony Six comes on the back of the channel broadcasting the 2014 World Cup qualifying games in the Uefa and Conmebol regions, the two organisations being the governing bodies of European and South American football respectively. Sony Six has also acquired the rights for qualifiers for Uefa Euro 2016, along with the finals of the tournament in France.
Prasana Krishnan, executive vice-president and business head of Sony Six, said: “The popularity of football is growing in the country and with India bagging the rights to host the Fifa U-17 World Cup 2017 the interest levels are only going to go up. We have focused extensively on top international football and we are now proud to bring the best in the world to Indian viewers.”