Tag: ARY acquires rights for La Liga

KARACHI: ARY ZAP, Pakistan’s leading and popular mobile app, has been awarded live-streaming rights for the Pakistan region for the upcoming series of the Pakistan women’s cricket team against South Africa, as well as for domestic cricket events, including the National T20, Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and Pakistan Cup following its successful bid in an open and transparent public tender process conducted by the PCB.

By being granted these rights, ARY ZAP will live-stream three T20Is and three ODIs (part of ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25) between Pakistan and South Africa women’s teams at the National Bank Stadium, Karachi from 1 to 14 September.

ARY ZAP’s live streaming partnership with PCB began in the 2022-23 season when ARY successfully acquired rights for Pakistan’s bilateral series against West Indies, England, and New Zealand.

PCB Management Committee Chairman Zaka Ashraf: “The PCB is excited about the response it has received for its live-streaming media rights in the Pakistan region, covering the bilateral women’s cricket series between Pakistan and South Africa, along with the domestic events in three different formats.

“The keen interest shown by valued partners like ARY ZAP is indeed a significant and encouraging step. Their commitment, evident through our open tender process, is a testament to the evolving landscape of cricket.

“We hope to further build upon this and ensure better engagement and content offerings for not only our TV audiences but also our online viewers.”

ARY Digital Founder and CEO, Salman Iqbal: “ARY has always supported and promoted Pakistan cricket and I hope that this partnership will continue to grow from strength to strength.

“South Africa’s tour of Pakistan is a historic event for women’s cricket in Pakistan that will be streamed live on ARY Zap. We will continue to work with PCB to bring our fans exciting cricket action.

“These PCB events now form part of a stellar ARY content portfolio. The ARY group has successfully showcased the HBL Pakistan Super League, bilateral matches featuring the Pakistan Men’s team, ICC Men’s and Women’s T20 World Cups, 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, SA20, Lanka Premier League, Major League Cricket, Canada Global T20, Fair Break Invitational T20, Formula 1, and La Liga.”

READ: New Zealand give Kane Williamson two weeks to prove World Cup fitness

VILLARREAL: Defending champions Barcelona came back from behind to steal the victory from home team Villarreal in a thrilling clash in the ongoing La Liga season at El Madrigal on Sunday.

The team Villarreal began the game strong, but Barcelona quickly turned the tables with two goals in just three minutes, scored by Gavi and Frenkie de Jong, putting the hosts under immense pressure early on.

Villarreal, however, pulled one back at the 25-minute mark as Juan Foyth rose highest at a corner and headed past a helpless Ter Stegen. They did not stop there and Alexander Sørloth scored an equalizer in the 39th minute to close the first half at 2-2.

Just five minutes into the second half Villarreal’s Alex Baena stunned Barcelona with a right-footed shot from the left side of the box to give the home side an advantage over the defending champions.

Barcelona’s 16-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal hit a right-footed shot from the centre of the box to equalize but it hit the bar to deny a lead to the Catalans.

However, Ferran Torres, who came off the bench to replace Oriol Romeu, scored an equalizer for Barcelona in the 68th minute. Meanwhile, they went ahead of Villarreal in the 71^st minute as Polish striker Robert Lewandowski finally got his name on the scoresheet with the winning goal, after failing to net the ball in the previous two matches against Getafe and Cadiz.

Barcelona’s Ansu Fati made two attempts in the last few minutes, however, the hosts denied any other goal to finish the game at a deficit of one goal.

In another La Liga fixture played at San Mames, home side Atheltic Club thumped Real Betis 4-2 to register their second consecutive victory in the season.

The visitors started the game tremendously with Willian José scoring at the two-minute mark into the game. They doubled the lead with a goal eight minutes later as Aitor Ruibal assisted Isco to lead by 2-0.

However, Nico Williams’ foul allowed a penalty to the home side, and Mikel Vesga converted the penalty to reduce the difference for Athletic Club. Mikel Vesga scored off another penalty to level the scores.

Just before the final whistle for the first half, Gorka Guruzeta netted the ball to give the lead to the home side.

Real Betis made several attempts in the second half but Athletic Club did not allow them to get past and dominated the game, and scored another goal in the 84^th minute to close the match at 4-2.

Meanwhile, Osasuna defeated Valencia (2-1) at their home ground Mestalla Stadium to deny them second spot in the La Liga points table.

READ: New Zealand give Kane Williamson two weeks to prove World Cup fitness

SEVILLE: Girona rocketed to the second position in the La Liga 2023-24 points table, after thumping home-side Sevilla 2-1 to register their second win in the ongoing La Liga season at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium on Saturday.

The home side started the game on high with an early missed attempt by Lucas Ocampos, however, Girona quickly took things under control with a right-footed shot from the centre of the box by Yangel Herrera in the 15th minute.

Sevilla, however, kept challenging Girona’s defence and made several attempts but all in vain until Nemanja Gudelj finally hit the centre of the net minutes before half-time to level the scores.

Girona did not wait too long, as Arnau Martínez assisted Aleix García to give visitors the match-winning advantage in the 55th minute.

Sevilla’s Ivan Rakitic scored an equalizer four minutes later, however, it was ruled out after a VAR review further adding to the frustrations of the home side.

Sevilla fought hard till the end looking to equalize but Girona held their ground to deny any goal, keeping their lead intact to finish the game at 2-1.

In another match played at Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes, Granada edged Mallorca 3-2 to register their first win in the ongoing La Liga season.

Both teams kicked off this match looking for their first win in the season, however, home-side Gernada quickly gained the lead in the eleventh minute as Miguel Ángel Rubio scored thanks to a cross by José Callejón.

The visitors scored the equalizer in the 37th minute courtesy of Abdón Prats to close the first half at 1-1. The home side, however, made a resounding comeback in the first minute of the second half to get the lead back.

They further extended their lead with a penalty by Myrto Uzuni in the 69th minute after Cyle Larin was shown a yellow card for handball.

Mallorca made several attempts and consequently scored their second goal by Samú Costa in the 87th minute before the final whistle announced victory for the home side.

Meanwhile, in another La Liga fixture, Almeria scored a late equalizer in the extra-time over Cadiz to settle for a 1-1 stalemate.

READ: Pakistan triumph over India to become World Blind Games champion

Pedri and Ferran Torres scored late goals to help defending champions Barcelona register their first victory in the 2023-24 La Liga season, as they edged Cadiz 2-0 on Sunday.

After a controversial drawn game against Getafe in their season-opener, Barcelona stepped into Montjuic -Barcelona’s new home as Camp Nou undergoes renovation-, looking for their first win in the ongoing season of La Liga, without their star winger Raphinha and coach Xavi.

Barcelona coach Xavi was banned for two games after being handed a red card for his touchline behaviour against Getafe, while Raphinha also received a red card for elbowing an opponent in the first half.

Cadiz, on the other hand, entered the match with the momentum gained from their 1-0 win over Alaves in their season-opener. However, they also missed their midfielder Gonzalo Escalante, who received a red card in the previous game.

Barcelona dominated the game from the first whistle and had a chance in the 28th minute when 16-year-old Lamine Yamal’s attempt was denied by a brilliant save by the Cadiz goalkeeper. The first half ended in a stalemate.

Barcelona made several attempts in the second half but to no avail, until Pedri finally gave the home side a much-needed lead at the 81-minute mark. Ferran Torres then replaced Lamine Yamal in the 85^th minute and scored in the extra time to close the match at 2-0.

In another La Liga fixture, Girona defeated Getafe 3-0 to jump to the third position in the points table with a superior goal difference.

Girona started the game strongly with a goal in the 12^th minute as Yangel Herrera scored off a header to give the advantage to the home side.

The first half closed at 1-0, however, Girona riding high on the momentum gained in the first half, came stronger in the second half.

Girona forward, Cristhian Stuani showed his brilliance and scored a brace in ten minutes to give Girona a decisive 3-0 lead, which remained intact until the final whistle.

Girona will now face Sevilla on August 27, while defending champions Barcelona will face Villarreal on the same day.

READ: India’s squad for Asia Cup 2023 unveiled

Real Madrid kicked off their La Liga campaign on a high as they handed Atheltic Bilbao a solid 2-0 defeat, in their opening game on Saturday.

Real Madrid started off the game strongly, as they gained an early advantage with a goal in the 28th minute thanks to Rodrygo, assisted by Dani Carvajal. A mere eight minutes later, Jude Bellingham scored his first goal for the club in his La Liga debut giving them a formidable lead of 2-0.

Notably, the 19-year-old English midfielder Bellingham joined Real Madrid this summer from Borussia Dortmund at a base transfer fee of €103 million.

A clean sheet for Andriy Lunin, who was standing in for the injured goal-keeper Thibaut Courtois kept Athletic Bilbao in their tracks as they failed to score, and Real Madrid’s 2-0 advantage remained intact until the final whistle.

In another La Liga fixture, Raíllo Arenas’s 70th-minute equalizer lifted Real Mallorca to hold Las Palmas for a 1-1 stalemate.

Las Palmas gained an early advantage after Jonathan Viera scored a goal off a penalty in the 29^th minute after Copete was given a yellow card.

Both teams made desperate efforts to fire in the tie-breaker but ultimately settled for a draw.

In another La Liga fixture, Real Sociedad were pulled back for a stalemate by Girona, courtesy of Artem Dovbyk’s second-half header.

Real Sociedad got off to a flying start, thanks to an early goal by Takefusa Kubo in the fifth minute.

Sociedad were flying high on their lead and appeared to be in a position to win their La Liga clash. However, Artem Dovbyk pulled them back with a brilliant header in the 72nd minute.

Sociedad made several attempts to gain a late advantage, but all in vain as the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

It is worth mentioning here that defending champions Barcelona will kick off their campaign against Getafe on Sunday.

READ: Rayo Vallecano crush Almeria in La Liga opener as Valencia prevail

KARACHI: ARY Digital Network has once again announced an exciting update for sports lovers in Pakistan as the La Liga season 2023-24 will be broadcasted live on Pakistan’s first HD sports channel A Sports HD and ARY ZAP.

After successfully broadcasting the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and the previous edition of La Liga, A Sports HD and ARY ZAP will air the next edition of the Spanish league.

Notably, ARY Digital Network successfully secured the rights to the next two La Liga seasons in August last year.

Viewers in Pakistan can watch the event live on A Sports or stream it through the ARY ZAP application.

Administered by the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, it is contested by 20 teams, with the three lowest-placed teams at the end of each season being relegated to the Segunda División and replaced by the top two teams and a play-off winner in that division.

La Liga has been the top league in Europe in each of the seven years from 2013 to 2019 (calculated using accumulated figures from five preceding seasons) and has led Europe for 22 of the 60 ranked years up to 2019, more than any other country.

La Liga Season 2023-24 will commence on August 12.

La Liga will embark with the home side Almeria taking on Rayo Vallecano in the curtain raiser at Power Horse Stadium on August 11. Whereas, Barcelona will be competing in the event to defend their title.

Known for promoting sports in the country, Mr Salman Iqbal- who also owns Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Karachi Kings- has the honour of launching Pakistan’s first HD sports channel A-Sports in October 2021.

A-Sports has previously aired ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 and 2022, PSL Season 2022 and 2023, major bilateral series of the Pakistan cricket team, Formula 1 Grand Prix Season 2022-23, SA20, Major League Cricket, FairBreak Invitational, Karachi Open Squash Championship among other major sports events.

Pakistan’s first HD Sports channel also airs the ongoing Lanka Premier League (LPL).

ARY ZAP, the popular app owned by ARY Digital Network, recently, live-streamed the five-match ODI and T20I series between Pakistan and New Zealand, earlier in April-May.