Cricket fans rejoice as Sony Pictures Sports Network brings back LIVE action with West Indies Tour of England

~Top international cricketers like , Ben Stokes, , Kemar Roach will be back in action from 8th July 2020 at 3:30 pm only on SONY SIX channels ~

Press Release: Mumbai, July 6, 2020:

Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN), home to some of the best international cricket, announces the return of LIVE cricket action after 120+ days, with the West Indies Tour of England 2020. As cricket finally makes a comeback with West Indies taking on England, viewers can watch the series unfold LIVE and Exclusive on SONY SIX channels from 8th July 2020 at 3:30 pm. The first Test will be played at The Rose Bowl, Southampton on 8th July followed by the second and third Test at Old Trafford, Manchester on 16th July and 24th July 2020.

The cricket fever will be a notch higher among fans as they celebrate the return of LIVE cricket with a nail- biting clash between West Indies and England for the Wisden Trophy. West Indies will look to defend the Wisden Trophy on English soil as the historic series will witness some of the major transformations in cricketing history due to the new regulations within the sport such as empty stands and ban on the use of saliva for shining the ball among others.

As a build up to test series, the sports network hosted cricketing greats such as , and along with Joe Root, current of the England Cricket Team who talked about the resumption of LIVE cricket with the upcoming series, the new normal and more on Sony Ten Pit Stop on the network’s official Facebook page.

The much-anticipated series is seeing a definite upswing in advertiser interest and has attracted brands like My11Circle , Skoda, ITC deodorants as co-presenting sponsors as well as Byju’s, Dafa News, Bharti Airtel, Cars 24, Infiniti Retail (Croma) and Policy Bazaar as associate sponsors. In addition to this, Maruti Suzuki & Mobile Premier League (MPL) have done spot buys on the series.

With India being a cricket frenzy country, the love for the sport transcends all boundaries and fans across the country will be cheering for their favorite cricketers during this exciting contest between the two countries. The series will also witness some of the best international cricketers from both the teams back in action. While England will look to bank on players like Joe Root, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes among others, the young West Indies squad will look to gain motivation from their senior squad members like Jason Holder, and Kemar Roach among others.

Comments:

Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution and Head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India: “After over 120 days of no live cricket in the world, our audiences can celebrate the return of Live Cricket that resumes exclusively on Sony Pictures Sports Network with the West Indies Tour of England test series. Indians have an insatiable appetite for cricket and fans across the country will get to watch some

of the top talent in the world of cricket like Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jason Holder and more back in action. We have received a great response from advertisers for the upcoming West Indies Tour of England Test series and have My11Circle, Skoda, ITC deodorants as co-presenting sponsors. Byju’s, Dafa News, Bharti Airtel , Cars 24 , Infiniti Retail (Croma) and Policy Bazaar are on board as associate sponsors and Maruti Suzuki & Mobile Premier League (MPL) have done spot buys on the series.” Fans watch their favorite cricketers back in action as West Indies Tour of England returns LIVE and Exclusive in India at 3:30 PM on SONY SIX channels from 8th July 2020.

About Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN):

Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation, Japan.

SPN has several channels including Sony Entertainment Television (SET and SET HD), one of India's leading Hindi general entertainment television channels; MAX, India's premium Hindi movies and special events channel; MAX 2, another Hindi movie channel showcasing great India Cinema; MAX HD, a high definition Hindi movie channel airing premium quality films; WAH, the FTA channel for Hindi movies; SAB and SAB HD the family- oriented Hindi comedy entertainment channels; PAL, a genre leader in rural Hindi speaking markets (HSM) showcasing the best of Hindi general entertainment and Hindi movies from SPN’s content library; PIX and PIX HD, Sony BBC Earth and Sony BBC Earth HD, the premium factual entertainment channels, Sony AATH, the Bangla entertainment channel; YAY!, the kids entertainment channel; sports entertainment channels – SONY SIX, SONY SIX HD, SONY TEN 1, SONY TEN 1 HD, SONY TEN 2, SONY TEN 2 HD, SONY TEN 3, SONY TEN 3 HD; Sony मराठी, the Marathi general entertainment channel; SonyLIV - the digital entertainment VOD platform; SPN Productions, the networks’ film production arm and Studio NEXT the independent production venture for original content and IPs for TV and digital media. SPN reaches out to over 700 million viewers in India and is available in 167 countries.

The network is recognized as an employer of choice within and outside the media industry. SPN is a recipient of several awards, including India’s Best Companies to Work For 2020 by the Great Place to Work® Institute, India, ‘Aon Best Employers India’ awards in recognition of SPN’s unique workplace culture and exceptional people practices, consistently ranking amongst India’s Top 10 Companies with Best Health & Wellness Practices by SHRM & CGP Partners and listed by Working Mother & AVTAR as one of the 100 Best Companies for Women in India.

Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited is in its 25th year of operations in India. It has a subsidiary, MSM-Worldwide Factual Media Private Limited and an affiliate, Bangla Entertainment Private Limited in India.

For more information, log onto www.sonypicturesnetworks.com

Media Contacts:

Kaumudi Naithani +91 9833931953 | [email protected]