MUMBAI: The Pro Kabaddi League is looking at the June to October window for its “return to action” after the forced break last year caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
There is of course also the possibility that PKL could well have a new broadcast partner after promoter company Mashal Sports issued a media rights tender late last month. If that does work out, it will certainly be a world first seeing as Star India, which went from being broadcast partner in the inaugural season in 2014, to becoming a 74 per cent majority owner of Mashal Sports in 2015, has effectively been the one to issue said invitation to tender (ITT).
Queried on the ITT by Indian Express, Mashal Sports CEO and PKL commissioner Anupam Goswami said: “We should differentiate between the role of Star as primary investor of Mashal Sports, which owns the League, and Star the erstwhile broadcast partner. It is very clear that PKL has become a great media asset and that it would benefit any media partner. But the role of Star in creating that media asset is not missed by anybody – it’s acknowledged by all stakeholders of PKL, including franchises. We hope Star will come in big and participate in the media rights auction.”
As to the timeline that was under consideration to host this year’s edition of PKL, Goswami told the daily: “The natural window for Pro Kabaddi is the monsoon months – broadly June to October. We want to conduct Season 8 in that window.”
Goswami also confirmed to IE that the new media rights deal tender was for five years, from Season 8 (2021) to 12.
