The battle for India’s TV viewership for sporting events has intensified with Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) bagging the exclusive media rights to broadcast Roland Garros between 2022-24.

The deal spanning over three years provides SPN with exclusive TV and digital rights of Roland-Garros. The broadcaster will televise Roland-Garros on its sports channels across India and the subcontinent, including, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives, and will also be available to live-stream on their premium OTT platform, SonyLIV.

This comes even as Reliance Industries-backed Viacom18 recently announced the launch of Sports18, the network’s dedicated sports broadcasting channel. Sports18 will be the new home to the premium sports properties, including FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, NBA, LaLiga, Ligue 1, Serie A, Abu Dhabi T10, and top ATP and BWF events.

Sony Sports Network, meanwhile, has scaled up its presence in sports coverage, including the Australian Open. Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution, and Head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks, India, said: “Following the successful broadcast of the Australian Open over the past years on our network, we are delighted to acquire the media rights of the prestigious RolandGarros. The pedigree of the French Open will help us cater to the steadily growing tennis fanbase in India. With this acquisition, we reiterate our goal to position Sony Sports Network as the home to marquee global sports events.”

IPL media rights

All eyes are now on the bidding war for the Indian Premier League. Disney-Hotstar has the broadcasting rights at present, but the upcoming bidding is expected to see interest from the likes of Amazon, Viacom18, Sony Pictures, and even smaller broadcasters may vie for the non-exclusive rights to broadcast select games.

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