Sony eyes 1,140 crore ` revenue from IPL-8

The Sony group will be broadcasting the Indian Premiere League in Telugu and Tamil apart from English, Hindi and Bengali. It is considering Kannada as well.

The combined revenue of three Sony channels broadcasting the Indian Premier league (IPL) is expected to touch `1,140 crores, an increase of 20 per cent from last year’s revenue.

Starting from April 8, the eighth edition of the sporting extravaganza will be broadcasted on three Sony channels — namely Max, Sony Six and the newly launched channel Sony Kix.

Speaking at a press conference, Channel Six EVP and business head Prasana Krishnan said, “We are seeing a posi- tive enthusiasm from advertisers and are expecting a 20 per cent rise from last year’s revenue of `950 crore”.

Among the advertisers, e-commerce has emerged as the most dominant category in terms of ad revenue, this year for the group. Some of the contributing web portals include Amazon, Paytm, Magicbricks, Cardekho etc. With this season, Multi-Screen Media, Sony’s parent company, will also be broadcasting the IPL in Telugu and Tamil apart from English, Hindi and Bengali. The group is also seriously considering Kannada.

“The move is a part of language strategy to improve our viewership,” Mr Krishnan added. The group will also be setting up IPL fan parks in 15 cities across the country. Among the cities identified are Guntur (AP) and Warangal (TS) where it will be setting up giant screens to provide stadium like experiences to cricket lovers free of cost.