News Headline
“LaLiga embrace technology with such a seamless blend”: Viacom18’s Siddharth Sharma
Mumbai: LaLiga, one of the most famous football league, was finally kicked of today!! As many as 20 teams will play a total of 380 matches over nine months in Spain’s top division football league.
Starting from the 2023-24 season, EA Sports, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts, will be the principal sponsor of LaLiga. The league has launched the season with LaLiga ambassador & Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma along with Viacom18, who serves as the broadcasting partner.
An event to launch the new improved Laliga was held today on 10 August 2023 at the Tajmahal Palace Hotel, Colaba where LaLiga India managing director Jose Antonio Cachaza and Viacom18 Sports – content head Siddharth Sharma highlighted the introduction of extensive transformation regarding audio visual innovations, partnership sponsors (India centric data), milestones & upcoming projects (highlights league milestones & Indian centric projects – present & future) and the growth of the league in India.
Indiantelevision.com caught up with Siddharth Sharma where he explained the total transformation of LaLiga, its innovation in technology and much more…
Edited excerpts
On the total transformation of LaLiga
The LaLiga production has that sharp edge of technology, they embrace technology with such a seamless blend, where they tell stories that add more layers, textures and lustre to a sports fans experience. In the presentation which we saw the use of camera angles at which he’s going to attempt that free shot or the speed at which he’s making to the goal, or the distance that he ran. I think this real Time Matrix on some of the key players and some of the set pieces is a much nuanced story that a sports fan wants to know beyond the goals that have been scored in a match.
Those are the kinds of metrics that help us tell a more evolved storytelling and at the frontier of the next step towards the journey of building this deeper engaging bond with the fans is going to be in this LaLiga refresh, also it’s young, and it’s more vibrant. The new graphics and the new metrics are being added, I think it’s going to further help us in our attempt to go deeper, to excite the core football fans. As some of them don’t have access and they yearn for such experiences, and when they see these matrix in real time, there is magic and appreciation for the sport. The surround story telling is also going to evolve.
On JioCinema’s reach and expectation of Laliga in the coming years
I think LaLiga is going to offer us a tremendous opportunity to deepen the engagement and we have a much focused approach. There are certain football catchments that we know and ripe for the picking as they are the low hanging fruit and it’s important to get the core fan because their contribution to watch time is the maximum.
So we want to get those core fans in and LaLiga and its storytelling, the focus is going to be in these core markets to engage deeply with them, Kerala, West Bengal, Northeast, Goa and Maharashtra and how we engage deeply with them through the course of the season is going to be the first impetus. We have tried things like the El Classico we did in four languages. English, Hindi, Malayalam as well as Bangla. There have been some encouraging news for us over there. So I think that is another thing that we are very keenly exploring with LaLiga and how we can really drive the local regional flavour. They come with the passion that they bring to the sport. It offers us access to these fans and fans need to be the fulcrum of the coverage.
Is there a way that we can look to really engage with fans is something that we’re going to explore with LaLiga. LaLiga also has screenings of some of the key matches and the reason that these screenings is because it comes with a huge groundswell. I think there’s a natural synergy that you try and build with them. And if we do that, and the fans are there, we will try and put our broadcast lens on the fans to something that is usually not attempted, but we’d like to do that. I think those are the kinds of things we think will help Indian fans and help us engage deeply with them.
On experimenting with ex footballers at your studios and contests for fans to engage with them
We’ve done that, I think it is part of what our programming was in our show where we had Robinson, here in India, thanks to La Liga. They got him down here for the El Clasico so in our storytelling, I think this is something that we always do. The good thing with the LaLiga is that whenever possible, they’ve always been very reciprocative in getting some of the interactions with some of their biggest stars. It’s an ongoing and a long season. This will be sprinkled throughout the course of the season. So we wait for whenever those clubs agree, as the clubs have their own calendar, the number of matches that they play, the player availability etc. So whenever that’s possible, LaLiga has always been very helpful in facilitating all those conversations.
On the new technology innovations we are going to be seeing this year
The main feed for all Laliga matches are produced in the stadiums in Spain. The technology used is top class and there is a lot of storytelling running through their coverage and the access for us as the rights owner is also to dip into that pool and tell those stories, evolve those stories and bring it to the customers. I think that is something that unfettered access that we have in the media content hub that LaLiga has and I think it helps us to really bring those stories to the forefront to delight fans in India.
NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.
The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.
Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.
The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.
Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.
Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.
Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.
Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.
The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.
Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.
