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

The ILeagues 18th edition kicked off as scheduled on Friday following a lastminute resolution to a broadcast impasse that had sparked a revolt by the participating clubsIn the opening days fixtures Gokulam Kerala FC secured a 32 away win over Sreenidi Deccan in Hyderabad while Inter Kashi emerged 10 winners over newly promoted SC Bengaluru after a 72ndminute strike by Edmund Lalrindika at Kalyani West BengalMartin Chaves 60 Ignacio Abelado 84 and Tharpuia 905 helped Gokulam Kerala rally past Sreenidi Deccan who scored thorugh Lalromawia 40 and David Castenada Munoz 906 in a fivegoal thrillerBudging 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 roundAll arrangements have been made to telecast in Sony from second round a source told PTIAlso Read 137 goals zero bidsThe 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 feeHowever 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 rightsNegotiations will now be underway between Sony and Shrachi Group to finalise a production arrangement for live telecastsUnder the banner of ILeague 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 leagueThe standoff began in June 2024 when the clubs reportedly with the AIFFs approval had engaged Sony Network to broadcast the league with a 62 camera setup and later upgraded to 82 camerasCollectively the ILeague 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 occasionsHowever AIFF later awarded the broadcast rights to Shrachi Sports and the clubs described it as a hurried tender processAlso Read Crowd was rooting for us so that helped ICL coach Bimal GhoshIt was communicated that the ILeague matches would be shown on Shrachi Sports Network which then did not have an Android appHow can they be entrusted with streaming of ILeague matches on an untested app that has not previously hosted or streamed any live sports content the clubs questionedThis led to widespread discontent and the clubs said the sponsors were backing out due to the absence of a major broadcasterThe clubs warned the AIFF they would not play in the league unless Sony Network was confirmed as the broadcasterTheir demands were finally met hours before the kickoff allowing the league to begin after much dramaWith agency inputs