Ever since India locked down on March 25 to battle the Covid-19 pandemic, media streaming platforms have had it good. Now, sports fans are getting their money's worth with the football season having resumed behind closed doors. Disney Plus Hotstar is already streaming most matches, it is no surprise Arsenal TV ventured into India to cash in on the growing soccer fan club in the country.
The English Premier League, European league and the FA Cup are already attracting attention on streaming platforms with Disney Plus Hotstar exclusively streaming games onto our own personal screen. The Bundesliga continued till June 27, while the Premier League started off on June 13, with close to 10 million viewers watching these games.
Now, fans can catch more action via Arsenal TV which would be streaming via Voot Select and Colors Infinity, both destinations owned by Viacom 18 in India. Gooners in India will now have access to full matches, media briefings, player interviews, training videos, match highlights and post-match analysis via Arsenal World and Arsenal 360.
Besides the Arsenal FC matches in the Premier League, European and FA Cup, Indian viewers would also get to watch exclusive programming of Arsenal World and Arsenal 30 as well as memorable moments from previous seasons including the famous one of "The Invincibles."
It would be a mistake to believe that India only has a fanbase for cricket. The fan base for soccer has grown in recent times with most of the league games getting good TRPs during the satellite era. In fact, with the personal screens becoming more popular during these work-from-home times, numbers could be astronomical in the immediate future.
While Arsenal TV would provide training videos, fans can also catch interviews with their favourite stars Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Granit Xhaka and David Luiz, apart from manager Mikel Arteta.
Soccer has its fans in India
Market data reveals that states such as Maharashtra, Bengal, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka are among the top states where football viewing is massive and accounts for more than 55% of Disney Plus Hotstar's total viewership on the sports front. With England about to resume Test cricket, there is every likelihood that more Indian cricket fans would be watching compared to those from the UK and the West Indies. Market research numbers also reveal that the top five most popular Premier League teams are Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Soccer has a following amongst the Indian influencers too with celebrities often endorsing clubs and following them closely, which automatically results in an extended fan base made up of their followers. Even Indian cricket players such as Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly and M S Dhoni own teams in the Indian Super League Football tournament.
Looks like Arsenal TV could well be setting a trend for other television channels from the soccer ecosystem to seek India out as an opportunity.
