Sports
KKR rolls out pan-India OOH and multilingual branding for IPL 2026
Franchise blends local languages and large-scale outdoor to deepen fan connect
KOLKATA: Kolkata Knight Riders have kicked off an expansive branding campaign for the Indian Premier League 2026 season, combining large-scale outdoor advertising with multilingual outreach to connect with fans across the country.
In their home base, the franchise has turned the city into a sea of purple and gold with a high-visibility outdoor push spanning over 75,000 square feet. The campaign includes 65 billboards across key locations, along with branded pillars, pole kiosks, LED boards and metro integrations, amplifying the team’s presence across Kolkata.
A standout element is a hand-painted mural on a four-storey building at Rashbehari Avenue near Bijan Setu. Inspired by ‘Prothom Bhalobasha KKR’, the artwork celebrates the idea of “first love” in Bengali and features Varun Chakravarthy, Ajinkya Rahane and Rinku Singh alongside the team’s rallying cry, “Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo”. The mural has quickly become a fan hotspot, drawing both footfall and social media buzz.
Taking the campaign beyond Kolkata, KKR has also introduced specially branded team buses in every away city. Each bus carries the franchise slogan translated into the local language of the host city, adding a regional touch to its national presence.
The initiative began in Mumbai ahead of KKR’s first away fixture, with the slogan adapted into Marathi. Over the season, the campaign will travel across seven cities and languages, including Tamil, Gujarati, Hindi, Telugu and Chhattisgarhi, aiming to strike a more personal chord with local audiences.
“This season, we wanted to go beyond visibility and create moments of genuine cultural connection for our fans,” said Knight Riders Sports chief marketing officer Binda Dey. She added that seeing the team’s slogan in regional languages is meant to feel like recognition rather than just advertising.
The campaign is part of a broader push by KKR to deepen fan engagement, alongside initiatives such as Knights Unplugged 3.0 and fan meet-ups across cities.
As the IPL caravan moves from city to city, KKR’s message is travelling with it, speaking not just in one voice, but in many.
Sports
Sony Pictures Networks India strikes broadcast deal with LIV Golf for 2026 season
The agreement gives the rebel golf league television and streaming reach across South Asia and Central Asia, covering 14 events in 10 countries
LIV Golf has found a powerful new ally in India. Sony Pictures Networks India has struck a broadcast partnership with the rebel golf league for its 2026 season, bringing live coverage to audiences across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and the Maldives, a market of staggering scale that the league has been eyeing for years.
Under the deal, Sony will carry comprehensive live coverage of all 14 LIV Golf League events across Sony Sports Network on linear television and Sony LIV on its premium OTT platform. The 2026 season spans 10 countries and five continents, and Sony’s coverage has already begun, having kicked off with LIV Golf South Africa in Saudi Arabia from March 19 to 22. The season culminates with the Aramco LIV Golf Michigan Team Championship from August 27 to 30.
The agreement also sits alongside Sony’s existing 2026 broadcast deal for The International Series, co-sanctioned by LIV Golf and the Asian Tour, which provides a pathway for professional and amateur golfers into the LIV Golf League and the Majors. Taken together, the two deals give Sony and its audiences access to the full LIV Golf ecosystem, from emerging talent to the sport’s biggest names.
That roster is formidable. Subscribers can follow Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann, Dustin Johnson, Sergio García and Tyrrell Hatton, among others, competing across 13 teams over 72-hole, four-round events played with LIV’s signature shotgun start, which sets all players off simultaneously across the course.
Rajesh Kaul, chief revenue officer and business head for sports and international at Sony Pictures Networks India, said the format was a key part of the appeal. “The league’s innovative broadcast approach accelerates pace and enhances both individual and team storylines, delivering a dynamic, action-dense viewing experience with significantly more live action than traditional golf broadcasts, all within a four-to-five-hour window,” he said, adding that the deal reinforced Sony’s commitment to delivering “mass reach and world-class sporting experiences.”
Örjan Olsson, senior vice-president for international media rights at LIV Golf, called Sony “one of India’s largest and most trusted sports broadcasters” and said securing both linear and OTT distribution “materially improves our reach, brand visibility, and long-term positioning in a crucial market.”
The deal also carries personal significance for at least one player. Anirban Lahiri, who competes for Crushers GC, called it “a big moment for golf in India.” For him, the partnership is about more than reach. “It’s also about visibility,” he said, “giving young players in India a chance to see this level of competition up close and believe they can be part of it one day.”
LIV Golf has spent four years trying to establish itself as a genuine rival to the PGA Tour, poaching big names, building team formats and seeking broadcast footholds in major markets. India, with its vast sports-hungry audience and a growing appetite for golf, is exactly the kind of market that can move the needle. Sony, with over 700 million viewers in India alone, is exactly the kind of partner that can make it happen.
The tee is set. Now LIV Golf has to deliver.
