NEW DELHI: India’s first official amateur boxing League is set to increase its broadcast reach and coverage significantly. With potential Olympic medallists at Tokyo 2020 and several stars have emerged from the sport, boxing’s popularity and fan following in India is at an all-time high. This has prompted SportzLive, the rights holder and organizers of the Big Bout – Indian Boxing League, to announce the auction plan for the live digital streaming rights for the initial three seasons of the IBL, through a separate tender process.
Held under the aegis of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), Big Bout’s first season will have six teams and will take place from 20th October to 9th November. There will be a total of 90 bouts of 3 rounds each, spread over 18 days across three venues.
MC Mary Kom, Amit Panghal IBL’s top Indian draws
With five bouts across different weight categories between two teams, each day and leading Boxers like Mary Kom, Amit Pangal, Gaurav Bidhuri, and Sonia Lather and over 50 leading international boxers participating, Big Bout aims to establish boxing as one of the most popular sports in India.
Boxing has dedicated followers who tune in to platforms like YouTube to catch the very best of action on-the-go worldwide.
Emphasizing on this, Atul Pande, MD of Sportzlive said: “Boxing is a made for mobile sport with fast-paced action. Indians love speed and power and the Big Bout-Indian Boxing League will provide nearly 50 hours of power-packed entertainment. We believe that OTT & mobile will be a key consumption destination for this sport.”
The auction rights will be for the first 3 seasons for both India rights as well as global rights (including India). The league has set a base price of Rs 40 million for India Rights and Rs 45 million for the global rights per season.
BFI president Ajay Singh also expects the league to make waves. “With Indian boxers doing exceptionally well in all major international tournaments and continental events, Big Bout will be another feather in the cap of Indian boxing as the first amateur boxing league in the world. It definitely has the potential to take the sport to the next level and this OTT bid, a first of its kind for any Olympic Sports in India will set an example for others to follow.”
SportzLive, the long-term rights holder of the Big Bout Indian Boxing League and the Premier Badminton League (PBL), has roped in Trojan Horse Media as the official media and content consultant to guide and evaluate the auction process. The bid documents would be available from the Sportzlive office in the capital. The bids are slated to be opened on August 16th.
