LancsTV launches dedicated channel in India across Jio platforms
Lancashire Cricket is delighted to announce that it is extending its relationship with JioTV – one of the largest content aggregators in India - after launching a dedicated 24/7 channel on their platform.
The JioTV mobile app – which has over 1,000 channels in 16 plus languages and 12 genres from over 200 broadcasters, including seven days catch up, reaches millions of Jio subscribers across the country – has been streaming Lancashire and Thunder fixtures for the last four years.
The new LancsTV channel will be available in India on the JioTV mobile app and on connected TVs through JioTV Plus.
The launch of the channel this weekend will see the Club broadcast five days of pre-season action in Bangalore, starting on Sunday with a Thunder and Lightning T20 double header taking on local opposition, hosted at the Alur KSCA Stadium.
Following that, Thunder will play a 50 over game on Monday, before Lancashire face Karnataka in a three-day friendly match starting on Tuesday 19 March at the Alur KCSA Stadium. This will be an historic fixture as an English First-Class County faces an Indian State team that competes in the Ranji Trophy for – what the Club believes - the first time.
The Club will be streaming the fixtures with a dedicated commentary team – featuring Paul Allott and David Lloyd - based at Emirates Old Trafford over the course of the five days, as follows:
- Sunday 17 March: Bangalore Representative XI vs Thunder – T20 at Alur KSCA Stadium, Bangalore – LIVE on LancsTV (3:30am UK time start – 9am local time)
- Sunday 17 March: KSCA XI vs Lancashire Lightning – T20 at Alur KSCA Stadium, Bangalore – LIVE on LancsTV (7:30am UK time, 1pm local time)
- Monday 18 March: Bangalore Representative XI vs Thunder – 50 over match at Alur KSCA Stadium, Bangalore – LIVE on LancsTV (4:00am UK time, 9:30am local time)
- Tuesday 19 March – Thursday 21 March: Karnataka vs Lancashire Cricket - Three-day friendly at Alur KSCA Stadium, Bangalore – LIVE on LancsTV (4:00am UK time, 9:30am local time)
Liz Cooper, Partnerships Director at Lancashire Cricket, said: “We are delighted to announce that cricket supporters in India will be able to watch Lancashire on JioTV and JioTV Plus over the course of the year.
“During 2020, we made the ground-breaking move to live stream our matches from LancsTV on JioTV, becoming the first domestic side to do so. We have really enjoyed working with them over the last four years, but to further enhance our relationship by launching a bespoke LancsTV platform on JioTV and JioTV Plus is a very exciting opportunity for us.
“As part of the Club’s India strategy, we want to engage with new audiences across India and having a 24/7 channel on JioTV will help support that objective, as we look to commercialise LancsTV in the future. As part of that, there will be exciting new opportunities for Indian brands to communicate to fans and customers through a shared passion for cricket. We will continue to build strategic relationships that help the Club, and our brand, grow on the subcontinent.
“Over the last four years, the growth and development of LancsTV has enabled the Club to engage with a truly global audience and we see India as a big part of that. We look forward to working with the Jio team during the new season and to see how the platform, and our audiences, continue to grow.”
Lancashire Cricket has shared a long-held connection with India stretching back more than 50 years when Indian International wicketkeeper batter Farokh Engineer joined the County in 1968. He would go on to become a true Lancashire legend and now serves as a Vice-President of the Club. Since Farokh retired, five further Indian Internationals – Murali Kartik, Dinesh Mongia, V.V.S. Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and most recently Washington Sundar – have represented the Red Rose with distinction. Emirates Old Trafford also witnessed the great Sachin Tendulkar’s maiden Test Century against England in August 1990.
The Club has also seen a number of its players feature in the Indian Premier League over the years, which started with Andrew Flintoff in 2009 with Chennai Super Kings. In this year’s competition, Lancashire players Jos Buttler (Rajasthan Royals), Liam Livingstone (Punjab Kings) and Phil Salt (Kolkata Knight Riders) will all feature, whilst Sophie Ecclestone (Up Warriorz) and Kate Cross (Royal Challenges Bangalore) are involved in the Women’s Premier League (WPL). Last year, Thunder bowler Tara Norris became the first player to take a five-for in the WPL for Dehi Capitals.