Poker Sports League (PSL) has announced its partnership with JioCinema as their official streaming partner for season five. The entire tournament will be streamed live, exclusively on Jio Cinema, from 22nd July with the grand finale on 20th August with a prize pool of Rs 1.5 crore.
The league believes that the partnership will change the way viewers experience poker from the comfort of their home and “propelling PSL to new heights of excellence while delivering unparalleled entertainment”.
Mr. Pranav Bagai, CEO and Co-founder of Poker Sports League, expressed his excitement about the partnership, stating, “We are thrilled to partner with JioCinema for the upcoming season of Poker Sports League. Our mission as a company is to provide entertaining experiences for all, and we believe this partnership will help us achieve that goal. With the majority of our audience being tech-savvy and preferring to consume content on OTT platforms, this partnership with JioCinema for streaming is a natural fit. We are confident that we can offer our users the best possible experience when it comes to watching live poker. We are eagerly looking forward to the season ahead.”
JioCinema is one of the major OTT platforms in India. The association also paves way for brand partnerships for PSL 2023, with the promise of high visibility.
Mr. Bagai further added, “Partnering with Poker Sports League is a lucrative opportunity for urban brands who want to generate high brand visibility on an OTT platform without burning a huge hole in their pocket. PSL is 100% legal to play, promote and broadcast on mainline media since our unique team – format eliminates all forms of betting and wagering. Our in-house production team can curate specific brand integrations and content for our partner brands to reach out to the massive poker-playing and viewing community in India.”
In the past few years, India’s OTT market has experienced significant growth, with the widespread availability of high-speed internet access and more affordable subscription prices contributing to a 20% increase. At present, the market boasts over 42 crore viewers, with 12 crore active paid OTT subscriptions.
Meanwhile, PSL recently announced Pocket52, an online poker gaming app, as its title sponsor. The qualifiers on Pocket52 have been designed to award leaderboard points to participants based on their ranking in each tournament. Players ranking in the top 1000 position of this scoreboard stand the chance of winning prizes worth Rs 50 lakh – for free. The top 36 players on the leaderboard will secure a guaranteed place in one of the six teams. The base price for each qualifier will be Rs 50,000 and the top 36 players would also get an additional Rs 50,000 worth of tournament tickets.
The live auction between the six teams will take place in Goa on 8th July followed by virtual matches from 22nd Jul to 10th Aug, which allows players to compete from the comfort of their homes. The league culminates with a grand finale at a live location between 16th and 20th Aug, where the champions of Pocket52 Poker Sports League – Season 5 will be crowned.