Mumbai: The 50 day countdown to the biggest multi-sport event – the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is here. The games which begin on August 5, 2016 in Brazil will witness the largest ever Olympic contingent from India.

Star will be pulling out no stops in its coverage of the year’s biggest sporting spectacle by dedicating eight channels on a 24x7 basis, broadcasted in two languages- English and Hindi.

Together Star Sports and Hotstar will broadcast 3000+ hours of live content from the Olympics offering the Indian sports fans every opportunity to catch every medal live.

Adding to the excitement of a wider choice, Star Sports has also exclusively empanelled an elite panel of International & Indian Olympians as well as sports experts who will share, analyse and connect with the Indian viewers as live actions unfolds at the Olympics. This select list of eminent sports personalities includes Ian Thorpe, Prakash Padukone, Anjali Bhagwat, Viren Rasquinha and Rehan Poncha. Holding them together would be the credible voice of presenter Paula Malai Ali in English, while in Hindi, Divya Jaitley, the well-known face amongst Indian sports presenters will be engaging the viewers.

At the same time, Star’s video streaming platform Hotstar will be rolling out an unprecedented coverage of the Olympics, with 14 live feeds consistently and up to 36 concurrent seeds at peak on the Olympics video player, available to users on demand through the event. Coverage of Olympics has created new digital benchmarks in the past in North America and Europe, and with Hotstar emerging as a primary screen in affluent metro homes in India, the platform is seeking to break new records on the breadth of coverage and viewership.

Central to Hotstar’s offering to sports fans will be the rollout of an interactive, data rich Olympic player on the web where users will have the option to switch between the 14 live feeds, have access to day wise listing of events and medals tally, and the ability to personalise the experience by following specific countries and sports disciplines.

Nitin Kukreja, CEO, Star Sports said, “Star Sports has been at the forefront of establishing a multi-sport culture in India. While Cricket continues to reach new heights, Indian sports fans have already shown their love for Kabaddi and Football. The Olympics are the pinnacle of a multi-sports event, and as India prepares to send its largest ever contingent, Star Sports is leaving no stone unturned to provide the most comprehensive access to Indian sports fans. We will provide unprecedented coverage by dedicating eight channels on a 24x7 basis across the entire duration of the event. Also for the first time ever, the Olympics will be broadcast (24x7) in two languages, English and Hindi."

Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar said, “While Hotstar is covering Olympics for the first time, we are excited that we are bringing an all-round coverage of the Olympics for the Indian digital user that will be the best in the world. Like in our coverage of other sporting events, our focus will be not just on making every moment of the Olympics available to the fans but also provide them the ability to create personalized, interactive experiences that allow them to follow and watch what is of unique interest to them.”