Sony Six to telecast FIFA 2014

The channel recently bagged the telecast rights of European qualifiers to UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup across the Indian sub-continent.

Sony Six, the sports channel of Multi Screen Media (MSM), has acquired the exclusive telecast rights for FIFA till 2018. The deal includes FIFA World Cup 2014 and FIFA World Cup 2018. The 2014 edition will be held in Brazil between June, 12 and July, 13, 2014. FIFA World Cup 2018 will be held in Russia from June, 8 to July, 8, 2018. The deal also includes the rights to broadcast FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 to be hosted by India.

In June 2013, the channel had announced acquisition of the rights for European qualifiers to UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup across the Indian sub-continent.

This latest acquisition 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 on the channel for the next five years includes FIFA World Cup 2014 Brazil, FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017, FIFA Confederation Cup Russia 2017 and 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.

FIFA World Cup 2014 has 64 matches to be played in 12 cities of Brazil.

N P Singh, CEO, MSM India, says, "Considering the rise of youth interest in the sport, football fans in India can look forward to the best international football experience on Six."

The schedule for FIFA World Cup Brazil has been officially confirmed after the groups were drawn on December 6, 2013. The tournament will be in two stages; the group stage will feature 32 nations and will be played during June 12-26. The knockout stage will run from June 28-July 13. The final match will be played on July 13.

Niclas Ericson, FIFA Director of TV, says, "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, adds, "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."

The channel has exclusive broadcast rights for many other sports events like The Pepsi IPL, UEFA EURO 2016, Qualifiers for UEFA EURO 2016 and the European Qualifiers for 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, TNA, The Australian Open Tennis Championship, The NBA and The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).