Dr. Shan Chandrasekar reports

ATN ACQUIRES EXCLUSIVE BROADCAST RIGHTS FOR FIRST EVER PRO-KABADDI LEAGUE

Asian Television Network International Ltd. (ATN) has acquired exclusive broadcast rights for the first ever Pro-Kabaddi League to be held in India from July 26 to Aug. 31, 2014.

The Pro-Kabaddi League (PKL) is a professional kabaddi league in India, based on the format of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The first edition of the tournament will feature eight franchises consisting of players from around the world. The eight teams will play in a caravan format, travelling together to all eight venues to play a total of 60 league matches. The top scoring four teams at the end of the group stages will play in the semi-finals at Kanteerava stadium in Bengaluru on Aug. 29 and the finals will be held on Aug. 31, 2014. The eight franchise teams competing for the cup are Bengal Warriors, Bengaluru Bulls, Dubang Delhi, Jaipur Pink Panthers (owned by Bollywood superstar Abhishek Bachchan), Patna Pirates, Puneri Paltan, Telugu Titans and U Mumba. Each game will be shot by state-of-the-art equipment with 12 cameras and the broadcast will also feature ultramotion, overhead shots and superslow-motion.

The league has the formal backing of the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF), the Asian Kabaddi Federation (AKF) and the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI), which will be closely associated with this event. ATN will carry all 60 games live on six ATN channels in two different languages. CBN and ATN Cricket Plus will air the games in English language, whereas four other ATN channels will air the games in Hindi/Punjabi.

"We are very excited to bring this first ever Professional Kabaddi League to Canada on six of our channels. We have always tried to give our viewers different programming options from time to time and I am sure this league will be very well received as it is one of the most popular sport in South Asia," said Dr. Shan Chandrasekar, president and chief executive officer of ATN. "We want to promote Kabaddi in Canada and showcase it as a world-class sport," he added

Kabaddi is an ancient Indian sport, in which two teams take turns to send a raider to the other's territory, tag members of the opposing team, and return "home" without being blocked by defenders on the other side. It is the national game of Bangladesh and the state game of Punjab Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh in India and is also popular in Pakistan.