MUMBAI: Ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2022, India host broadcaster Viacom18 Sports Monday announced an expansive content line-up offering viewers storytelling around famous rivalries, revered heroes, seminal moments of football’s biggest spectacle.
The 2022 edition of the World Cup kicks off in Qatar on November 20th, running through to December 18th.
The programming on Sports18 – 1 and JioCinema kicked off with ‘FIFA World Cup 2022 Road To Qatar’, a 16-episode show profiling the 32 teams qualified for the World Cup.
The build-up programming includes on-field and off-field exploits of World Cup superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr., Kylian Mbappe and many more through shows like ‘Football Goal’D Super 16’ and ‘The Fantastic Lives of Footballers’.
JioCinema, which is now available to download for all telecom services subscribers, will live-stream all the matches and offer curated content around Qatar 2022. The world’s biggest single sports event will be available to all viewers on pay-TV channels Sports18 – 1 SD & HD.
Viacom18 Sports will provide hard-core football fans a platform through original content pieces. ‘Flavours of Football in India’ will take viewers through unheard and extraordinary fan stories from football hotbeds of the country. ‘Football Adda’, a Bengali chat show around the FIFA World Cup, will give fans from the state a voice to back their favourite teams and players.
“The FIFA World Cup is a total communal experience, and we want to offer content that brings everyone across the country together to enjoy the world’s greatest show,” said Viacom18 Sports head of Content Siddharth Sharma. “Our programming across five languages will cater to a wider audience and complement the never-seen-before extensive live coverage of the event on JioCinema which is now available to download for all telecom subscribers.”
Original programming on Viacom18 Sports network will also include pre-game and post-game show offering a comprehensive preview and review of all 64 games with prominent World Cup heroes. The global marquee competition from 20th November through 18th December will be available to all viewers on JioCinema. The TV broadcast schedule will include Sports18 – 1 SD & HD, and Sports18 Khel.
JioCinema app will be available to download for all telecom services subscribers and across devices including on iOS and Android soon with access to Viacom18 Sports’ portfolio of live and non-live programming including the quadrennial showpiece. The FIFA World Cup presentation will be headlined by live streaming in 4K, a first for FIFA World Cup presentation in India, and multiple language feeds, including English, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, and Bengali on JioCinema.
