By: Yohan P Chawla
Sony Pictures Sports Network has partnered with Bollywood actor, Farhan Akhtar, who is UEFA’s official guest from India for a promotional campaign leading to the UEFA Champions League finals.
Farhan will be present at the stadium, giving a new dimension to the event for the fans in India. Farhan Akhtar will be heading to watch the finals of the tournament at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Spain on 1st June 2019.
The second leg of the UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals and the Finals,will be live and exclusive on SONY TEN 2 and SONY TEN 2 HD channels.
Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution and Head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India said,“As the premier destination for football we are curating an immersive fan experience for one of the grandest sports finales of 2019. The UEFA Champions League is not just a football tournament; it is a culmination of the top European clubs vying for the coveted title. The tournament experienced a considerable jump in viewership and we have seen a 79% growth over the previous season which is a testament to its popularity. We are delighted to associate with UEFA’s official guest from India, Farhan Akhtar, whose passion for sports has inspired millions.”
On the importance of broadcasting sports in multiple languages Kaul said, “Our motive is to reach as many number of people possible so we don’t want language to be a barrier for a person to not watch a sport. In order to do that, all marque content, whether it was last year’s FIFA World Cup or before that the EURO League in 2016 or the IPL for so many years, we have brought them in vernacular languages which has provided huge traction and incremental growth in viewership. Once we did WWE in Hindi, we saw huge growth which then motivated us to go one step further and try it out in two south Indian languages, Telegu and Tamil.”
Sony Pictures Sports Network launched the ‘My Reasons to Watch UEFA Champions League’ campaign. The campaign captures the enthusiasm and passion of various kinds of fans, ranging from fanboys to peripheral football viewers who profess their reasons for watching the most prestigious club competition in the world, the UEFA Champions League.
Commenting on the Champions League schedule, Kaul said, “The Champions league has made a special effort to have 12 games telecast at Indian Prime Time which is at 10:30 PM, earlier the games used to happen around 12:30 AM; which has really helped us get more viewers combined with our marketing initiatives.”
Sony Pictures Sports Network in association with PVR Cinemas, will be screening the UEFA Champions League finals LIVE on the big screen, across five cities in India. Football fans from Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai can enjoy game at a PVR theatre near them.
Bollywood actor, Farhan Akhtar said, “I have grown up watching and playing football and I am thrilled to be UEFA’s official guest from India. The UEFA Champions League, telecast on SONY TEN 2 channels, is the most prestigious international club tournament in the world. Getting the opportunity to watch the UEFA Champions League Final match live at the stadium, surrounded by thousands of passionate fans and soaking in the electrifying atmosphere is going to be an unforgettable experience. I will be posting all about it on Twitter and Instagram so that fans can follow all the action with me.”
Sony Pictures Sports Network has broadcasting rights for major football leagues including UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Nations League, Serie A, LaLiga, FA Cup and UEFA Euro 2020.
The network boasts of having the broadcasting rights of over 800 live football matches and over 300 days of live cricket including rights to eight international cricket boards such as Cricket Australia, England & Wales Cricket Board, Cricket South Africa, Sri Lanka Cricket, Pakistan Cricket Board, Cricket West Indies, Zimbabwe Cricket Board and Cricket Ireland.
Apart from cricket and football the network also has rights for WWE, UFC, NBA, ATP World Tour, Formula E, MotoGP and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Here’s the schedule for the UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals and the Finals live and exclusive on SONY TEN 2 & SONY TEN 2 HD channels.
| Sr. No. | Match | Date | Time |
| Leg 2 | |||
| 1 | Liverpool FC vs FC Barcelona | 8th May 2019 | 12:30AM |
| 2 | AFC Ajax vsTottenham Hotspur FC | 9th May 2019 | 12:30AM |
| Final | |||
| 3 | TBA vs TBA | 2nd June 2019 | 12:30AM |
Experience the UEFA Champions League finals on the big screen at your nearest PVR:
| City | Theatre |
| Mumbai | PVR ECX Citimall Andheri |
| PVR Phoenix Kurla | |
| PVR Oberoi Goregaon | |
| New Delhi | PVR, Select City Saket |
| PVR Ambience Gurugram | |
| Pune | PVR Phoenix Marketcity |
| PVR Pavillion | |
| Kolkata | PVR Manisquare |
| PVR Jessore Rd (Diamond Plaza) | |
| Chennai | PVR Ampa |
