New Delhi, 21st November 2022: Top volleyball players from the country will once again get a chance to showcase their skills in front of thousands of fans as the second edition of RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23, is set to begin from February 4th, 2023. Co-promoted and exclusively marketed by India’s leading sports marketing firm, Baseline Ventures, the Rupay Prime Volleyball League 2023 will be held across three different cities - Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Kochi. All eight franchises - Calicut Heroes, Kochi Blue Spikers, Ahmedabad Defenders, Hyderabad Black Hawks, Chennai Blitz, Bengaluru Torpedoes, Mumbai Meteors, and Kolkata Thunderbolts - will play a round-robin before the top four teams in the league stage qualify for the Semi-Finals. The Final of the RuPay Prime Volleyball League will be played in Kochi.
Season 2 of RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23, which will feature 31 matches, will be broadcast exclusively by Sony Sports Network across Sony Sports Ten 1, Sony Sports Ten 3 & Sony Sports Ten 4, and can be livestreamed on SonyLIV. The commercial arm of the global body of Volleyball (Fédération Internationale de Volley Ball, FIVB), Volleyball World has joined hands with Rupay Prime Volleyball League and come on board as international streaming partner, ensuring that the league also reaches fans around the world. The 2nd edition of the league will be streamed globally on Volleyball World across all countries (except the Indian Subcontinent).
Speaking about the tournament, Joy Bhattacharya, CEO, RuPay Prime Volleyball League said, “We are thrilled to announce the dates and venues for the Season 2 of RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23. After the successful completion of Season 1, we are sure that this year’s competition is going to be even more thrilling and evenly contested. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the partners, franchises, and players for their support. We are grateful that Sony Sports Network has once again shown faith in us and will be our broadcast partner for the second year in running, and we are delighted to join hands with Volleyball World to give our players an opportunity to showcase their talent around the world."
Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer, Distribution and Head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks, Sony Sports Network said, "After the massive success of the first season, we are glad to be onboard with Rupay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23 as the broadcasting partner. We believe that volleyball as a sport is evolving in the country and we are very excited to be a part of driving up this momentum. We are delighted to provide a platform to the top talent participating in this league and are confident that we will exceed all our
benchmarks of the last season.”
The inaugural season of the volleyball league proved to be a huge success, with a cumulative television viewership of 41 million, with a choice of English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam commentary. In addition, the RuPay Prime Volleyball League managed to reach over 84 million fans across India, along with over 5 million engagements from audiences through various digital platforms. A massive regional connection was also established through the contemporary social media platform Share Chat, while substantial viewership was gained on videos through Moj. In total, the videos distributed across social media platforms garnered over 43 million views. RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23, have once again brought in EatFit as Associate Sponsors and Cosco as the Official Partners for the upcoming season.