The multi year partnership will offer Indian players an opportunity to showcase their talent to a global audience for the first time.
Digital payments company PhonePe has come on board as investor in the Prime Volleyball League (PVL) and acquired the eighth franchise – the Mumbai Meteors. The former Indian nationalWith an action-packed season in Hyderabad in February 2022, the RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23 gave a major boost to the sport’s popularity across India. Now, as season two of the league approaches, Indian volleyball is set to go global.
The RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23 has signed a multi-year deal with the leading global volleyball streaming website, Volleyball World, as International Streaming Partners. Along with existing host broadcast partners, Sony Sports Network, who will be broadcasting Season 2 of the Prime Volleyball League in the Indian sub-continent, the entire season will also be available on Volleyball World globally to showcase India’s elite volleyball talent. The Prime Volleyball League is co-owned and exclusively marketed by India’s leading sports marketing firm, Baseline Ventures.
Launched in 2021, Volleyball World – a product of a partnership between the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and CVC Capital Partners – is aimed at driving growth, innovation and investment in volleyball around the globe with a key focus on bringing the global volleyball community together. The association with Volleyball World will offer a golden opportunity for Indian volleyball players to showcase their skills and talent across the world. It will also help the Indian fans in getting access to top global volleyball events, which will further help in increasing the sports’ popularity in the country.
Speaking on the partnership, Finn Taylor, CEO Volleyball World said, “We are delighted to associate ourselves with the Prime Volleyball League. The standard of volleyball that we saw in India has made us extremely optimistic about the future of the sport. We believe volleyball fans around the world will be pleasantly surprised to see the passion for the sport in India. We see this as an enduring partnership to build the world’s most popular family sport in one of its largest markets.”
Tuhin Mishra, Managing Director & Co-Founder, Baseline Ventures, added, “We are thrilled with our multi-year partnership with Volleyball World, which has already established itself as the go-to platform for global volleyball fans across the world. We truly believe in our country’s volleyball stars and we cannot wait for the world to appreciate the talent that is present today in the country. The partnership with the global body of volleyball, Volleyball World will help us in accessing the best global practices in the sport, which will help in nurturing and grooming the youngsters in the country.”
Volleyball World was launched in order to drive innovation, growth, and investment in volleyball around the globe. It has grown to become the commercial entity for the sport around the world for FIVB. Volleyball World is already working alongside top volleyball leagues and federations in the world, with the goal of increasing the profile and popularity of the sport, through fresh investment for the benefit of fans, players, and National Federations.
Volleyball is the fourth most popular sport globally, with more than 800 million fans and high participation, across attractive markets, including Italy, Brazil, Japan, Poland, China, and the US. Volleyball was the most watched sport at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, with 2.6 billion viewer hours globally. Even during the Tokyo Olympic 2021, Indoor Volleyball was among the most viewed sports in India.
SOURCE: HINDUSTAN TIMES
