Mumbai: Star Sports is pushing boundaries to make a diverse range of sports aspirational for today’s youth. The latest initiative of Star Sports in association with Ministry of Youth and Sports affairs, Khelo India School Games(KISG), drew a remarkable viewership for the inaugural edition of the tournament by attracting 102 million* viewers on television.
With an aim to foster a comprehensive, multi- sports ecosystem in India,Star Sports took on the mantle of producing and broadcasting KISG. They are also the first private broadcaster to do so.
The state of the art broadcasting capabilities contributing to quality coverage for the school games, have helped amplify the reach of KISG which in turn will play a catalyst’s role to garner the much-needed parent’s attention and aspire young minds and to go out and play and join the movement
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, said, “I am delighted with the kind of response Khelo India School Games has evoked from sports fans all over India. The quality broadcast and the viewership that we have garnered for the inaugural edition is a proof to the kind of potential that we see in sports to shape India’s future champions. The broadcaster is working hand-in-hand with the team to help us realise the dream of India becoming a global sporting powerhouse. The athletes have tremendous potential and are already behaving like true champions whilst celebrating their triumphs on television. With this support, encouragement and partnership, I am confident that in about four-five years, these KISG athletes will be world-class.”
Sanjay Gupta, MD, Star India said, “It is an honour for us to produce Khelo India School Games and reach out to millions via world class broadcast that inspires parents and teachers to encourage their kids to emulate the feats of future sporting stars. I believe with the inaugural edition of KISG, we have traversed a large part of that journey. The spectacular viewership we have received for KISG is a testament to the support and intent that India has shown towards embracing sports. The tremendous response we have received for the inaugural edition of the tournament has further motivated us to realize a vision of making 30 crore children actively participate in sporting activities for an hour, every day.”
Earlier in January, Star Sports, launched an exclusive film for KISG – Kheloge, kudoge, tohbanogelajawab, which is a call for youngsters to pursue sports alongside education followed by the launch of the Khelo India Anthem, a spirited composition which resonated with the vision of the programme, of nurturing a rich sporting culture in the country.
The anthem was followed by the launch of the Khelo India Pledge, which has been undertaken by more than 1.5 million people in the country so far.
A crew of over 100 specialists spread over multiple arenas covering over 70 events delivered 8 hours of live coverage each day across 3 channels- Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1HD, Star Sports First as well as Hotstar. The highlights of the games were aired across Star India’s bouquet of channels in Asia Pacific, UK & continental Europe as well as the Middle-East to drive international exposure and recognition for India’s future sporting stars.
*As per BARC data, of the total of 102 million viewers, 81 million viewed it exclusively on the Star Sports network.
* On Hotstar the total number of video viewers was 1.5 million with a total watch time of 4.8 million mins and 1.8 million unique visitors.
