Pro Kabaddi League invites tender for new media rights- The upcoming season of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL 8) could see a broadcaster and live streaming partner other than Star Sports and Disney+ Hotstar on the board. After the initiation of PKL franchises, Mashal Sports- the promoter of Pro Kabaddi league has opened up tender for new media rights partnership.
Star India, which also owns a 74% stake in Mashal Sports, has been the official broadcaster of the tournament and has built the property from scratch. But conflict of interest and increased pressure from team franchises for a better pay structure from the broadcaster has pushed Mashal Sports to open the media rights to other companies.
This is the first time the tender process for the media rights of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) have been initiated ever since the inception of the league since 2014. The rights will be awarded for five years, from Seasons 8 to 12, or until 2025, whichever is earlier.The online auction process is slated to be held on 6 April. The PKL media invitation to tender will be issued on 25 February. Interested parties can bid for four packages—television, digital, gaming and consolidated (combination of all three), the company said.
“We are also encouraging bidder consortiums to go for the package deal, under which they will be allowed to sub-licence gaming rights. We will offer flexibility to bidders to work with PKL in accordance with their appetite,” said Anupam Goswami, league commissioner, PKL, and chief executive of Mashal Sports.
The eighth season, which was postponed last year due to covid-19, is expected to be held in June.“We are going to the market in consensus with PKL franchises and we will ensure real-time transparency among all bidders. Star India has been a responsible majority owner of the league and that continues. The network has built PKL into a modern spectacle on TV and other screens and we wish to maintain a similar relationship with our incoming media partners,” Goswami added.