ISL football match between East Bengal FC and Mohammedan Sporting Club (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: Dream11-owned FanCode and Genius Sports have emerged as the two bidders for commercial rights of the Indian Super League (ISL) and Federation Cup on a 15+5 year model that was floated earlier this month. Capri Sports, subsidiary of Capri Global, is the only party interested in rights for the Indian Women’s League (IWL) and IWL 2.After a long day where the tender document was presented to the 14 ISL clubs for the first time and the three bids were evaluated on the basis of their technical and financial aspects, it was back to the drawing board for all involved. Genius Sports, the official data feed provider for the English Premier League, the Championship, and the Scottish league, made a bid of Rs 2129 crore over 20 years. Beyond being a data provider, Genius Sports’ technology is also used for real-time betting odds. This could prove a hurdle at a later stage as betting is illegal in India.FanCode, meanwhile, went with a more pragmatic approach of Rs 36 crore each year with 5 percent increments, amounting to approximately Rs 1190 crore, nearly half of what Genius Sports bid. The AIFF and the ISL clubs will now reconvene over the next couple of days to mull over the specifics of the tender document and the bids. One club that Timesofindia.com spoke to said the decision would take a few days.Capri Sports are the only contenders for the IWL and IWL 2 having made a bid of Rs 150 crore over 20 years. GMR Sports, which had attended the pre-bid meeting, didn’t make a bid in the end. It is understood that the entity behind multiple sporting ventures, including IPL’s Delhi Capitals, had asked for more time but that was not agreed to by the AIFF. The Indian football federation had already pushed the bid due date from March 20 to March 26. As far as the tender is concerned, it would go beyong the media rights. It would entail sponsorship, advertising, digital and data initiatives, merchandising, and event-linked commercial opportunities — creating a long-term deal that consolidates the full commercial ecosystem of Indian club football.During the initial stages, AIFF had introduced a strict eligibility requirement: companies had to purchase the Request for Proposal (RFP) for Rs 2.5 lakh, and only those entities were allowed to submit bids.

Mercedes driver George Russell won the opening Australian Grand Prix Circuit of the Formula 1 2026 season as local hero Oscar Piastri suffered a disastrous start, crashing during the warm-up lap. Piastri sent the home fans into a shock as the 24-year-old, who finished third in the 2025 F1 drivers’ standings, lost control of his McLaren car while coming out of Turn 4 at the circuit in Melbourne.

Turn 4 at the Albert Park is one of the fastest parts of the track. And this is where Piastri lost control of his car as it spun and hit the barriers, suffering severe impact and ruling the driver out of the race.

Russell wins Melbourne GP, Piastri crashes 

Thankfully, Piastri did not suffer any physical damage, but he would certainly have been bitterly disappointed at not finishing the home race.

His partner and 2025 world champion, Lando Norris, finished the Melbourne Grand Prix in fifth position, missing out on the podium in the first race of the season.

Oscar Piastri has crashed and is OUT of the Australian Grand Prix before it begins 😮#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/5prGby7dNC

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 8, 2026

It was double delight for Mercedes as youngster Kimi Antonelli came second on Sunday, while Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was third. Lewis Hamilton would be somewhat happy that he finished fourth.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen finished sixth in the Red Bull.

George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were also at the top in the qualifying as they made it a Mercedes 1-2.

F1 live streaming: The F1 2026 races in India are being streamed live on the FanCode app and website.

More to follow…

FanCode co-founder Yannick Colaco (L) and Sony Pictures Network India’s Chief Revenue Officer and Business Head (Sports and International) Rajesh Kaul (R).

New Delhi: Hours before the truncated Indian Super League (ISL) season gets underway on Saturday, it became official that FanCode had sub-licensed the linear TV rights to Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI). Under the agreement, as reported by TimesofIndia.com, Sony Sports Network will hold exclusive TV broadcast rights for India and non-exclusive rights for Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The position on international broadcast, however, is still in the works.All 91-matches will be telecast on Sony Ten 2 and pushed to other channels too if there is a double header at the same time.

This is not the first time Sony Sports Network and FanCode will work together. Both platforms carried tennis’ French Open in 2025 with Sony retaining the primary broadcast and sub-licensing the streaming aspect of all courts to Dream Sports-owned FanCode.Last year, a similar ploy was employed between Sony Sports and JioHotstar for cricket’s India tour of England. Under those terms, Sony kept the television broadcast rights while JioHotstar was responsible for the digital streaming.“The macro observation on this is (that) there’s so much opportunity (in the sports industry). (It) is so large that honestly there’s just so much to be done in the industry that collaboration is probably more apt at this moment than competition because there’s so much opportunity,” explained FanCode co-founder Yannick Colaco of the sub-licensing strategy to TimesofIndia.com.“And the way we look at it is very clear. We are a digital-first platform. So the two things that are unique about Fancode is (that) we are digital first and we are sports only.“Our product, our approach has always been focused on technology, focused on experience, focused on how we are available across 11 operating systems, focused on innovation on the digital side. And we neither have, nor (a) desire, to have any focus on building a linear TV business. “So when you look at those two unique pieces, there is tremendous opportunity to collaborate with other large media companies, which have a much bigger mandate and ambit. Very politely, we are a much smaller player in this overall media landscape. “And I think that’s the way we look at it in the sense that while younger audiences are all digital first, and even some of the older audiences are migrating to digital, there is still a large audience which consumes sports content on linear television. “So when we’re working with partners like the AIFF (All India Football Federation) and the ISL, we’re very conscious of the fact that to help the sport grow, help the event be successful, give it maximum amount of distribution, we need to be collaborating with partners who have the linear TV presence so that we are able to reach out and basically able to reach out to all sports fans and all ISL fans across the country,” he continued.Less than two weeks ago, FanCode acquired the broadcast rights — linear TV and digital — for the ISL at Rs 8.62 crore. Even though the company has presence only in digital streaming space, it consciously bid for both aspects knowing there were few, if any, players interested in just the linear TV rights.

During conversations between FanCode, AIFF and the ISL interim committee, the provider made it clear they wanted to help ensure the top-division football was showcased to as many viewers as possible.After officially bagging the rights, the company entered into conversations with multiple national providers and even some regional ones.“We immediately started speaking to a bunch of people about this, including regional broadcasters, and we took a bunch of proposals that we got, we put them all together. We shared them with the AIFF and the interim committee. We got on a call with them. I shared the pros and cons of each one with them. And on that basis, a decision was made to accept Sony’s proposal,” said Colaco.While that was happening, FanCode also spoke to ISL club representatives to understand their expectations on how to improve the product. It was at this stage that the concept of each club’s ‘superfan’ recording visuals behind the scenes came into being.

FC Goa manager Manolo Marquez in training ahead of ISL season start. (Image: AIFF)

ISL will have commentary in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Bengali and Tamil (only for Chennaiyin matches).Doing all this, why give away market share to a competitor like Sony Sports?“I’m making it easier for people who prefer to watch the game on linear television to watch it. And yes, (if it comes) at the cost of us also, that’s okay. I think it’s important to think consumer first. So I believe that eventually our product is what will give users the choice and deliver a great experience. And if it’s good enough, which I hope it is, and I believe it is, consumers will come,” reasoned Colaco.“I don’t think it should be forced and that’s always what we (have) believed. And I also think that you know a partner like Sony will help in raising the promotion levels and contribute (to the) marketing. (As the saying goes) A rising tide lifts all boats,” he added.Sony add to their growing portfolio

Logo of the Indian Super League.

On their part, Sony Sports Network, who had attended the pre-bid conference for the broadcast rights but chose not to make a final bid, sees this as an opportunity to add to their football portfolio which is largely led by European competitions.“While we were keen to add ISL to our sports portfolio, back then, we needed more time to evaluate the property before putting in our financial offer,” said Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer and Business Head – Sports and International, SPNI, to TimesofIndia.com.Yet this won’t be their first foray into Indian football having previously showcased the I-League and Durand Cup.“Our aim is to cater to football fans and expand the football ecosystem in India. Sony Pictures Networks India is the Home of Football in India and we have a diverse and expansive portfolio of both International and Indian football properties that includes UEFA EURO 2028, the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Nations League, Bundesliga, FA Cup along with India’s very own legacy tournament Durand Cup. Last year, we were also the official broadcasters of I-League which is also homegrown football league,” he stated.