Sony Sports Network is all geared up to Live broadcast the XXII Commonwealth Games starting from July 28, 2022 at 11:00 pm IST.
The marquee event will mark the return of Sony Sports Network’s Live wraparound studio show SPORTS EXTRAAA featuring eminent panelists and guests. The global event which will see participation from over 200 Indian athletes, will be telecast LIVE across SONY SIX, SONY TEN 1, SONY TEN 2, SONY TEN 3 & SONY TEN 4 channels, as well as live-streamed on its on-demand OTT platform SonyLIV.
Anticipating the enthusiasm of the nation around the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and to reiterate the success of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Sony Sports Network has launched it’s ‘Birmingham mein Jitega! Hindustan Hamara’ campaign to rally support for the Indian contingent.
The film features the Honourable Prime Minister of the country Shri Narendra Modi and Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Honourable Union Minister of Youth Affair and Sports, and Minister of Information and Broadcasting along with several Indian athletes with a rallying call to win medals at the games and celebrate our 75th Year of Independence in England.
Sony Sports Network will live telecast the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games with two-language feeds across its channels. In addition to this, they will also have their Live studio show, SPORTS EXTRAAA, return for the games. Legendary Indian athletes like Viren Rasquinha, Somdev Devvarman, Trupti Murgunde, and Veda Krishnamurthy along with sports journalists Ayaz Memon and Siddharth Pandey will be part of the star-studded panel for the show and will be seen sharing their insights around the happenings throughout the games.
SPORTS EXTRAAA will also host eminent guests from the sports fraternity like Vijender Singh, Anju Bobby George, Satish Shivalingam, Kripashankar Bishnoi and more who will weigh in and analyse the performances of athletes from across the participating Commonwealth nations. SPORTS EXTRAAA will be hosted by Sony Sports Network’s multi-sport specialists Arpit Sharma and Sagarika Chhetri.
As part of the build-up, Sony Sports Network also launched an eight-episode show titled ‘The Torchbearers’. The first episode of the show featured the Honourable Union Minister of Youth Affair and Sports, and Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur along with Olympians Lovlina Borgohain, Nikhat Zareen, Hima Das, Lakshya Sen, Dutee Chand, Noah Nirmal Tom, Srabani Nanda, and Lakshya Sen, among others. And three episodes of the show will be telecast again on 28th July leading up to the Opening Ceremony which will witness the proud Indian contingent of over 200 athletes.
The grand ceremony will have a live audience of more than 30,000 at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.
The quadrennial event will mark the debut of the Indian Women’s cricket team led by Harmanpreet Kaur for the Women’s Cricket T20 event. Banking on the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, and Jemimah Rodrigues, team India will play against Pakistan, Australia, and Barbados to qualify for the play-offs.
While Indian women cricketers will look to exert their dominance in Birmingham, the heroes of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – Lovlina Borgohain, PV Sindhu, Ravi Kumar Dahiya, Bajrang Punia, Mirabai Chanu, and the Indian hockey team will enter the marquee event with high expectations from the nation. After impressing viewers with their brilliant performances across various events, new athletes like DP Manu, Annu Rani, and Manpreet Kaur, among others will also look to increase the medal count of India.
Commenting on the showpiece event, Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution and Head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India said: “After the huge success of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, it gives us immense pleasure to broadcast the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. The broadcast rights for the Birmingham 2022 positions Sony Sports Network as the home for international multi-sporting events in India. Armed with a single goal to put our country on the global sporting map, our athletes have been training incessantly and it is our endeavor to showcase the stories of these national heroes.”
“Keeping this goal in mind and to rally our support for the Indian contingent, we have also launched the ‘BIRMINGHAM MEIN JEETEGA HINDUSTAN HAMARA’ campaign. In addition to this, to provide a holistic viewing experience, our studio show, SPORTS EXTRAAA will feature stellar panelists who will provide real-time insights into various games,” he added.