Sony Six aims to build NBA in India

MUMBAI: Sony Six, Multi Screen Media?s sports channel, has inked a three-year deal with National Basketball Association (NBA) to become the sole broadcast partner of the American professional basketball league in India.

The broadcast rights were earlier shared between Sony Pix, the English movie channel from MSM, and Zeel-owned sports broadcaster Ten Sports.

Sony Six, which has Indian Premier League (IPL) and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as its tent pole properties, has identified NBA to attract young audiences towards the sports and entertainment channel.

The sportscaster sees a fit with the property and feels it can develop it in India through aggressive marketing which includes drawing on Bollywood?s popularity to attract new audiences.

"Our study shows that the youth want new sports which are fast paced in nature and Basketball is a fast paced sport. We see huge opportunity to build NBA in India and have big plans to promote it," MSM CEO Man Jit Singh tells Indiantelevision.

The comprehensive partnership with Sony Six will include live NBA games, original programming, and a joint commitment to host grassroots basketball events on the ground.

The two partners will create customised local programming and will focus on engaging Indian youth by bringing together talent from the NBA, Sony Entertainment and Bollywood.
Before Ten Sports and Sony Pix, ESPN Star Sports (ESS) was the long standing broadcast partner for NBA in India but decided not to renew its partnership due to poor viewership. Singh, however, is unfazed.

"NBA was never promoted properly in India. Our plan is to work in tandem with NBA to promote the sport by bringing in NBA players, through college festivals, and 3x3 Basketball that will have NBA players pitted against basketball fans," he added.

Singh feels NBA is a viable sport for the broadcaster in the long run but in the short-term it will invest in the sport. "It is definitely a viable property but we are looking at it from an investment point of view," he asserted.

He did not see any issue with the timing of NBA games which are generally aired early in the morning, "Every sport fan wants to watch a game live. However for those who can?t watch NBA games early in the morning we have repeats in the prime time," he reasoned.

Apart from IPL, UFC and NBA, Six has also identified racquet sports and football to build the channel even as it continues to evaluate cricket boards that are coming up for renewal. MSM has also placed bids for English Premier League rights which are currently held by ESS.

The broadcaster had unsuccessfully bid for England Cricket Board and West Indies Cricket Board rights which were eventually retained by incumbent broadcasters, ESPN Star Sports and Taj Television respectively.

Most of the cricket rights are locked in excluding Sri Lanka Cricket Board, Pakistan Cricket Board, Bangladesh Cricket Board and New Zealand Cricket.

"We will certainly bid for properties as and when they come up. Having said that, we are not going bid crazy amounts," Singh averred.

NBA India Senior Director Business Development & Partnerships said the reason the league decided to partner Sony Six was because of its overall package they offered which includes favourable time slot and other on-air and on-ground initiatives that are critical engaging fans.

"We spoke to different broadcasters but Sony Six was the one who presented the most comprehensive partnership. They were willing to partner not just on the air but on the ground as well," Jain said.

"They are giving us a favourable timeslot on air. Besides matches, they will air magazine shows and highlights. They will also have local content by showcasing the basketball scene in India. They will also have instructional content for coaches and players."

Sony Six will air live NBA games each week on Thursday, Friday and Sunday with replays in prime-time. The Sunday game will be the "Game of the Week" featuring the NBA game airing at noon or 1:00 pm ET in the U.S.

In total, fans in India will have access to 72 NBA regular season games, up to 18 NBA Playoff games, the Eastern and Western Conference Finals, the NBA Finals and NBA All-Star events including the All-Star Game, All-Star Saturday Night, and the Rising Stars competition.

The NBA and Sony Six will also create a weekly NBA lifestyle program and a series of instructional vignettes that will help educate fans on the rules of the game and basketball terminology.

Apart from metros, NBA will also work with Sony Six to viewership in second and third tier cities.

"The aim is to showcase the NBA experience and lifestyle. We will package elements from this and create a platform. We will be doing marketing activities to create awareness about the partnership which includes social media, promos, and contests. Fans will get the chance to go to the US. They will get opportunity to attend games and get Behind The Scenes VIP Access to meet players," Jain added.