MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Sports Network will bring the upcoming season of the most prestigious football club competition in the world, the UEFA Champions League to Indian audiences 17th September 2019 onwards. The matches featuring the best football players in premier clubs from top European leagues, will be telecast only on SONY TEN 2 channels. SPSN also recently launched its campaign for the mega tournament, #SonaManaHai, which captures the sentiments of all Indian football fans and preps them for the upcoming season.
As the world’s biggest football club tournament, UEFA Champions League is contested by the top-division European clubs vying to be crowned the kings of Europe. Last year, fans went through an emotional roller coaster during matches that featured Liverpool FC, Barcelona FC, Manchester City FC, AFC Ajax and Real Madrid CF amongst others and this year will prove to be no less. The biggest footballing rivalries in the world like Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos vs Mohamed Salah and more, along with football greats returning to their former home grounds can be found only in UEFA Champions League on Sony Pictures Sports Network in India.
Among the most followed football club competitions, UEFA Champions League is enjoyed equally by hardcore football fans and fringe viewers. #SonaManaHai is a light-hearted tongue in cheek approach that captures the sentiments of football fans who are excited about the UEFA Champions League but regret missing the matches due to the late-night timings. The campaign has been rolled out in four languages: English, Hindi, Malayalam and Bengali to encourage Indian audiences from across the country to tune-in to SONY TEN 2 channels for the best footballing action in the world.
The #SonaManaHai campaign film opens with Raj Kumar Rastogi (essayed by internet star Gopal Dutt) walking into the office and asking a colleague about the results of the previous night's UEFA Champion's League match. The colleague is amazed that Rastogi didn't watch the match as he went to bed early. The film showcases different characters of society, including a canteen boy and railway announcer amongst others expressing their shock and disappointment on Rastogi sleeping through the matches. Rastogi wakes up in a sweat realizing this was a dream and realizes ‘Sona Mana Hai’ when the world's biggest football club tournament is on!
To engage viewers, SPSN will also have a host of panelists for their live studio show who will provide extensive pre, mid and post-match analyses for every matchday. The guest panelists, who will appear in a rotation, include former football players and now renowned football pundits Ashely Westwood, Mark Seagraves and Terry Phelan for the first three matchdays.
