Nodwin Gaming Partners With Star Sports to Televise BGMI Tournaments in India

Nodwin Gaming announced its partnership with Star Sports, one of the leading sports broadcasters in India, to televise Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) events in India. The first tournament that will be broadcast by Star Sports as a result of this deal is the upcoming BGMI Masters Series tournament which runs from 24th June to 11th July. The tournament will be broadcast in English, Tamil and Hindi in the prime time spot of 08:30 PM to 11:30 PM. The event will be aired on Star Sports 2 and fans will witness the top BGMI teams in the country competing for a massive prize pool of INR 1.5 crore ($192K USD).

Esports is Headed to Mainstream Media in India

Esports is slowly breaking into mainstream media thanks to its inclusion in the Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. Nodwin Gaming who has previously partnered with PVR Cinemas to broadcast BGMI events at theaters across India, is also diversifying into television.

Disney Star’s Head of Sports Sanjog Gupta said in the official press release, “Esports in India is a fast-growing segment which has seen accelerated adoption over the last two years. It has immense headroom for growth in India when compared with its status in evolved markets around the world. It is also gaining prominence in the ecosystem as a competitive sport. Esports competitions have already developed a niche following on digital platforms.”

According to a release, 24 teams will be competing in the upcoming event and with thousands of fans tuning into livestreams of recent BGMI events, being able to view the event on TV might boost the audience numbers even higher.

“Through this collaboration with a mainstream sports channel, we hope to break that mold," said Akshat Rathee, Managing Director and Co-founder of Nodwin Gaming. "Satellite television does have its advantages, like its unrivaled reach across every nook and corner of the country, uninterrupted and timely broadcast that is not dependent on internet connectivity, and speed as well as affordability for the masses living in far-out areas.”

This is not the first time that esports has been broadcast on Indian television. In 2018, Ucypher broadcasted an esports competition on MTV where Indian players from various titles including Dota 2, CS:GO, Tekken competed against each other in a reality tv show for a prize pool of INR 51 lakhs ($65.31K USD). Prior to this, Nodwin Gaming had tied up with Discovery Communications sports channel DSPORT in 2017, to broadcast its then marquee event— The ESL India Premiership.

Nodwin Gaming is making all the big moves at the moment. This broadcasting partnership allows the company an inroad into what is arguably one of the biggest untapped esports viewer bases in the world. Considering that Star Sports claims to have 60% of the market share in sports, this could potentially introduce the world of esports to viewers who haven’t experienced it yet and potentially convert them into esports enthusiasts.

Fans can catch up on all of the BGMI Masters Series action on Star Sports 2 from 24th June 2022 at 8.30 PM to 11.30 PM IST. The broadcast will be available in English, Tamil and Hindi.

Note: Nodwin Gaming is an investor in and a client of AFK Gaming