SPN bags TV & digital rights for Copa America Centenario in Indian sub-continent

Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has acquired the exclusive broadcast and digital rights to telecast the 2016 edition of Copa América Centenario in India and the Indian Sub-Continent (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka). This year’s tournament, being held in the US from June 3 to June 26, will be telecast live and exclusive on Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD channels.

As part of the rights package, the network will air all 32 matches of the tournament played across 10 venues in the US. In addition to the live coverage, Sony ESPN channels will also broadcast the highlights of matches during the tournament. On the digital front, consumers will be able to livestream all the matches on Sony Liv.

Prasana Krishnan, Executive Vice President and Business Head, Sony Sports Cluster, commented, “This summer promises sports history in the making with the Copa América Centenario, a once in a lifetime event which sports fans will not want to miss. The acquisition of the exclusive broadcast and digital rights to telecast the 2016 edition of Copa América Centenario in India and the Indian Sub-continent re-validates the Sony Sports cluster’s leadership in being the destination for football fans.”

He added, “Copa América Centenario, South America’s most prestigious international competition, alongside UEFA EURO 2016, Europe’s biggest tournament on our network, will undoubtedly capture the interest of every football fan. During the event, viewers will see the currently ranked top ten international teams with some of the world’s greatest football players in an amazing line-up of matches from both Copa America Centenario and UEFA EURO 2016 on the Sony sports cluster.”

The Copa América Centenario is a historical once-in-a-lifetime event celebrating 100 years of the Copa América and is a special edition between the usual four-year cycles of the Copa América tournaments. For the first time since its inception, the tournament will be held outside of South America and feature the top star players from North, South and Central America, as well as the Caribbean like Lionel Messi (Argentina), Luis Suarez (Uruguay) Javier Hernandez (Mexico) and James Rodriguez (Colombia) to name a few. Top international teams like Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Columbia, and more will face off each other on the field, all playing for the coveted trophy specially designed for the tournament.