Mumbai: SONY SIX, India’s premier sports and entertainment channel has won the exclusive broadcast rights to 2014 FIFA World Cup™ and 2018 FIFA World Cup™. The 2014 edition will be held in Brazil from 12th June to 13th July 2014. 2018 FIFA World Cup™ will be held in Russia from 8th June to 8th July 2018. The deal also includes rights to broadcast FIFA U- 17 World Cup 2017 to be hosted by India.
This latest acquisition by Sony SIX comes on the back of broadcasting the UEFA and CONMEBOL matches from the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying rounds, in addition to acquiring the rights for qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2016 and UEFA Euro 2016. The line-up makes Sony SIX the home of International Football for the next 5 years with 17 landmark FIFA events including:
NP Singh, CEO, MSM India, said “We are extremely happy to build on our partnership with FIFA. It has been our constant endeavour to bring high quality sports content to our viewers. This acquisition is a testament to our commitment of popularising the sport of football in this country. Considering the rise of youth interest in the sport, football fans in India can look forward to the best International football experience on SIX”
Niclas Ericson, FIFA Director of TV, said “FIFA’s mission is to develop the game everywhere for all, by staging international football tournaments on all continents, and supporting football development projects and our 209 member associations across the world. FIFA believes that Sony SIX and its commitment to high quality sport entertainment will deliver first-class coverage of FIFA U-17 World Cups, the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the 2018 FIFA World Cup and other FIFA competitions to this crucial audience. India already has a great passion for football and with the support of Sony SIX, FIFA looks forward to inspiring more fans of football and young players in India for the years ahead.”
Prasana Krishnan, EVP and Business head, Sony SIX said: “We are thrilled to have acquired the broadcasting rights of the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and 2018. 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 focussed extensively on top international football and we are now proud to bring the best in the world to Indian viewers”
The 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil schedule has been officially confirmed after the groups were drawn on 6th December, 2013. The tournament will be in two stages; group stage will feature 32 nations and will be played from the 12th June to 26th June. The knockout stage will start from 28th June and conclude with the FIFA World Cup Final match on 13th July.
