Sony Six Bags TV Rights for 'World Kabaddi League'

The league will be played by 10 teams every weekend in 15 cities across the world.

Sony Six, the sports entertainment channel from Multi Screen Media stable, has bought the broadcast rights for the first edition of World Kabaddi League (WKL) in India. WKL is the world's first professional Kabaddi League that has been conceptualised in India and will be played globally.

The league is loosely based on the Formula 1 style traveling Global Sports Property wherein all the participating teams compete with each other in a double round robin format. The league will be played by 10 teams every weekend across 15 cities.

Pargat Singh, commissioner - World Kabaddi League says, "By and large, a rural sport, Kabaddi is going through a transformation, as seen in the last four successful seasons of the World Cup with participation from over 21 countries. In our endeavor to professionalise the sport we intend to take Kabaddi to the next level through our partnership with Sony SIX as the official broadcaster of WKL in India."

Raman Raheja, CEO, World Kabaddi League opines, ''For a debutant sporting property the broadcaster becomes a very crucial associate in determining the economic success of a league. We were in talks with various broadcasters for each region and out of them all Sony SIX had the most promising line up of premier sporting properties this year."

Prasana Krishnan, MSM EVP and business head Sony SIX adds, "We feel it is time to revive Kabaddi's legacy and make it an exciting venture for all those involved. It will be interesting to take this sport to the swanky stadiums in India and abroad. It's our endeavour to popularise Indian sports and through this association we aim to create visibility and generate interest for the game."

The tournament will kick-off on August 9 and will be played in the UK, the US, Canada, the UAE and India.