In addition, the media company has secured full media rights for the Women's Indian Premier League (IPL) and Paris Olympics 2024.
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Viacom18 has obtained the broadcast rights to the Indian Premier Handball League’s (PHL) debut season. Matches are expected to be held at prime time on JioCinema, Sports, and Sports 18 Khel as part of the the company’s multi-platform coverage of the PHL. Bluesport Entertainment, Handball Association India, and South Asian Handball Federation have worked together to reach this arrangement. In addition, the media company has secured full media rights for the Women’s Indian Premier League (IPL) for the subsequent five years, from 2023 to 2027. The broadcasting juggernaut contributed 951 crore for its winning bid, implying that the first-ever IPL for women will be worth 7.09 crore each match. Additionally, for the next Olympic Games in Paris, Viacom18 also received exclusive media rights for India and the Asian continent.
The PHL, India’s first professional Handball league, will include six teams in its inaugural season, which is scheduled from June 8 to June 25, 2023. Each squad will have 17 players, 14 from India and three from abroad. The six teams will compete against one another in a round-robin format that consists of 30 games. The winner will then be decided through three knockout games. Each side will play a minimum of 10 games over the 33 contests, which are scheduled to be divided over 18 days. According to international rankings, the Indian Handball Team is among the top 50 teams, and the International Handball Federation has identified India as the sport’s next major growth market.
Read more: Viacom18 granted rights to broadcast the Paris Olympics 2024
The President of Bluesport, Abhinav Banthia, mentioned, “India is growing exponentially as a sporting nation. Handball has a very strong presence in the country, especially at the grassroots level. Our thought behind the Premier Handball League was to help utilize the popularity of the sport by giving it a platform that will amplify sports traction in India. We are glad to onboard Viacom18 as the official broadcast partner, as we believe they will help us package this competition ingeniously so that this unique league becomes relatable for fans. Overall, we believe if you package speed, strength, stamina, agility, technical precision, skill, teamwork and fast-paced action, you come to handball, and a league for handball will turn out to be the leading indoor sports league in this country very soon.”
The Secretary general of the South Asian Handball Federation, Anandeshwar Pandey, remarked on how the league could transform the game of handball in India. He stated, “The Premier Handball League will provide the much-needed push Indian Handball has needed for years. It will also help to direct the spotlight on Handball not only in India, but all of South Asia, which I am sure will help boost participation and popularity of the sport. The Premier Handball League has all the necessary elements to be a highly successful competition, especially now that they have announced Viacom18 as a broadcast partner. I am sure the league will grow rapidly as it is set to produce the star athletes of tomorrow for Indian fans to support.”
