Sports
Sportel serves an ace in Singapore
The global sports media circus pitched its tent in Asia-Pacific — and the numbers stacked up
SINGAPORE: Sportel’s much-trumpeted return to Singapore didn’t disappoint. The two-day shindig at Orchard Hotel Singapore drew 370 participants from 220-odd companies across 35 countries — proof, if any were needed, that the Asia-Pacific sports media market is no longer a sideshow but very much the main event.
Held on 24-25 March, Sportel Asia brought the usual glorious scrum of broadcasters, rights holders, tech merchants and media types under one roof. The turnout skewed usefully commercial: roughly a third of attendees were content buyers, another third rights holders — the sort of ratio that keeps deal-makers in the room and lawyers busy afterwards.
The geographic split told its own story. Some 55 per cent of participants flew in from Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, with the remaining 45 per cent making the journey from Europe and the Americas. Singapore, sitting neatly at the crossroads of both worlds, did exactly what it says on the tin.
The buyers’ roster read like a who’s who of regional broadcasting muscle — Astro, beIN Sports APAC, Bilibili, Coupang Play, DAZN Japan, Fox Sports Australia, Stan Sport and a clutch of telcos among them. Whether they left with deals signed or merely appetites whetted, the conditions were ripe.
Off the exhibition floor, the conference programme chewed over the big questions: how European leagues crack the APAC market, the march of generative AI and cloud production, the thorny business of streaming piracy, and the quietly booming world of women’s sport in Singapore. Meaty stuff, served without too much waffle.
The event’s Pitch Perfect innovation contest handed five plucky startups — Phygital International, Bimovin, S.O. Casual Creative, Appear and Layer Cake — their moment in the spotlight. Layer Cake’s Padraig O’Donovan walked away with the prize: a full-access pass to Sportel Monaco in October, where the real heavy hitters gather.
Agnès Marsan, executive director of Sportel Asia, called Singapore “a strategic gateway” — which is diplomat-speak for: it worked rather well.
The flagship Sportel Monaco follows on 19-21 October. The warm-up act has concluded. Now for the main match.
Sports
Zee to broadcast ILT20 Season 5 from November 22
34 match Gulf league runs till 20 December, streamed on Zee5.
MUMBAI: Cricket is packing its bags for a winter getaway and this time, the desert’s calling the shots. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited has locked in the live broadcast of Season 5 of the DP World International League T20, setting the stage for a month-long cricket spectacle from November 22 to December 20, 2026. The six-team tournament will feature 34 matches, culminating in the final at the Dubai International Stadium. The league, already positioned as the second-most watched T20 competition globally, continues its December window shift, a move introduced in Season 4 after its earlier January-February scheduling.
That shift appears to have paid off. Season 4 drew 397 million unique viewers across television and OTT platforms, marking a 7.49 per cent increase over Season 3. The final, held on January 4, 2026, played out to a packed stadium as the Desert Vipers clinched their maiden title with a 46-run win over the MI Emirates.
Zee will air the matches across its linear television network and stream them on Zee5, while also exploring distribution via its upcoming dedicated sports channels. The broadcaster is clearly betting big on cricket to deepen engagement and expand its sports footprint.
Season 4’s on-field fireworks were matched by star power. Sam Curran walked away as Player of the Tournament and Best Batter, while Waqar Salamkheil claimed Best Bowler honours, and Muhammad Waseem emerged as the Best UAE Player. The squads also featured global names such as Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Moeen Ali and Sunil Narine, reinforcing the league’s international appeal.
Beyond the boundary ropes, the league is also expanding its footprint. Partnerships with the Saudi Arabia Cricket Federation and Kuwait Cricket are expected to feed into development tournaments ahead of Season 5, signalling ambitions that stretch beyond just a broadcast window.
For Zee, the message is clear, as cricket chases newer geographies and audiences, the broadcaster is determined not just to air the game but to own a bigger slice of its growing global narrative.
