New Delhi: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) has signed an exclusive multi-year TV and digital broadcast deal with the country's first professional kho kho league - Ultimate Kho Kho, which is all set to kickstart this year.
SPNI’s sports channels will play host to the homegrown sport in its new avatar backed by sports technology and innovations, which hope to guarantee high-octane games for the sports enthusiasts. The newest franchise based league will also be available on its dedicated OTT platform SonyLIV, allowing viewers to watch the Ultimate Kho Kho ‘on the go’.
“Ultimate Kho Kho will bring back the oldest sport packaged in a modern avatar coupled with a new format and a dazzling television product that has the potential to not only revolutionise the sport but also create a unique experience for the audience—something that no one has ever witnessed before,” said Dabur Group chairman and promoter of the Ultimate Kho Kho Amit Burman.
The traditional Indian sport of kho kho enjoys massive popularity across the country owing to its easy to play rule and high-speed format. Burman has acquired long-term commercial rights from the Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) to shape the future of competitive kho kho to make the sport bigger and better.
“At Sony Pictures Networks, our focus has always been to promote a multi-sport culture in India and Ultimate Kho Kho is a great addition to our sports portfolio. Kho kho is an extremely popular traditional Indian sport popular across India and we are happy to be on-board and showcase Ultimate Kho Kho to our viewers,” SPNI chief revenue officer distribution and head - sports business Rajesh Kaul said in a statement.
The teams will consist of men and under-18 from all states across India registered under Kho Kho Federation of India. Player drafts are scheduled for mid-year this year and franchise-owners will be offered a bank of over 150 Indian players based on their performance and score in the national and recently concluded high performance training camp in February 2021.
Ultimate Kho Kho CEO Tenzing Niyogi said the event will witness an intersection of the passion for a popular home-grown sport with new age technologies and state of the art formats. “For a sport to be packaged as a brand, it needs to have ‘an edge of the seat’ format, where every minute is a spectacle. With Sony Pictures Networks India as our partner, our endeavour is to deliver a compelling product that will attract not only the fancy of the viewers but become a platform for the brands to connect with consumers,” he added.
Ultimate Kho Kho will be telecast in English as well as Hindi with regional language commentary on the cards.
