I-League kicks off amid broadcast drama, Sony to air matches from round two

Representational Image (Pic: @indianfootball/X)

The I-League's 18th edition kicked off as scheduled on Friday, following a last-minute resolution to a broadcast impasse that had sparked a revolt by the participating clubs.

In the opening day's fixtures, Gokulam Kerala FC secured a 3-2 away win over Sreenidi Deccan in Hyderabad while Inter Kashi emerged 1-0 winners over newly promoted SC Bengaluru after a 72nd-minute strike by Edmund Lalrindika at Kalyani, West Bengal.

Martin Chaves (60'), Ignacio Abelado (84') and Tharpuia (90+5') helped Gokulam Kerala rally past Sreenidi Deccan who scored thorugh Lalromawia (40') and David Castenada Munoz (90+6') in a five-goal thriller.

Budging to the demands of the 12 clubs few hours before the slated kickoff, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said that Sony Network will broadcast the league from the second round.

"All arrangements have been made to telecast in Sony from second round," a source told PTI.

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The clubs have agreed to pay 50 per cent of the broadcasting cost to Sony to cover the broadcast cost, apart from the Rs 7 lakh entry fee.

However, the first three match days will not be televised and will instead stream on SSEN, a newly launched OTT platform by Shrachi Sports, the entity initially awarded the broadcast rights.

Negotiations will now be underway between Sony and Shrachi Group to finalise a production arrangement for live telecasts.

Under the banner of I-League Clubs Association, the 12 clubs on Thursday shot off a letter to the AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, warning that they would not commence the tournament until Sony Network was confirmed as the official broadcaster of the league.

The standoff began in June 2024, when the clubs, reportedly with the AIFF's approval, had engaged Sony Network to broadcast the league with a 6+2 camera setup, and later upgraded to 8+2 cameras.

Collectively, the I-League clubs agreed to fund the production costs for at least 50 per cent of the matches, and this commitment was communicated to the federation on multiple occasions.

However, AIFF later awarded the broadcast rights to Shrachi Sports and the clubs described it as a "hurried" tender process.

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It was communicated that the I-League matches would be shown on Shrachi Sports Network -- which then did not have an Android app.

"How can they be entrusted with streaming of I-League matches on an untested app that has not previously hosted or streamed any live sports content?" the clubs questioned.

This led to widespread discontent, and the clubs said the sponsors were backing out due to the absence of a major broadcaster.

The clubs warned the AIFF they would not play in the league unless Sony Network was confirmed as the broadcaster.

Their demands were finally met hours before the kickoff, allowing the league to begin after much drama.

(With agency inputs)