Global Chess League 2023: Full List of Global Broadcasters, Where to Watch on TV and Live Streaming In India

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Dubai, June 22: The Global Chess League, the franchise-based chess tournament, kicked off on Wednesday (June 21) with the opening ceremony in association with the Dubai Sports Council at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

The glittery opening ceremony marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter for chess, as the Global Chess League aims to revolutionise the game and expand its reach globally.

The Global Chess League - which is a joint venture between Tech Mahindra and FIDE - will see top chess players from across the globe participate in a mixed-team format to emerge champions of the inaugural season.

The 36 Grandmasters taking part in the event are among the best in the world and include former World Champions Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand, two-time challenger for the title of World Champion Ian Nepomniachtchi, former Blitz world champions Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and others.

On the day of the opening ceremony, Global Chess League announced the list of global broadcasters who will join the league's broadcast footprint for the inaugural edition. Read more: Global Chess League 2023: Complete List of Fixtures, Scoring Format, Timings in IST, Results and Points Table

Tasking, Protocol Sports Marketing with the exclusive worldwide distribution mandate, Global Chess League has agreed on media rights deals with some of the biggest names in global sports broadcasting to make chess a truly global sport, reaching hundreds of millions of potential households across 225 countries and territories.

Global Chess League 2023: Full List of Broadcasters

Notable names in sports broadcasting who have signed on for Global Chess League include Eurosport, DAZN, Saudi Sports Channel, Shahid, StarTimes, Fox Sports and Kayo Sports, Verdens Gang, WELT, Sportklub, TAPDMV, The Gaming Channel, S Sport, and more.

With a wide-ranging broadcast footprint encompassing almost every territory worldwide on OTT and over 140 linear broadcast markets, Global Chess League will be the most widely distributed chess tournament of all time.

Discussing the first major broadcast footprint for the sport of chess, Jagdish Mitra, Chairperson of the Global Chess League Board said, "Global Chess League is meant to be a global phenomenon, and we intend to bring about a new way of viewing chess and fan engagement.

"In such a scenario, it is of utmost importance that the league reaches a diverse cohort of audiences across the world, and we are glad that such reputed names in the world of sports broadcast and streaming have decided to partner with us. We are confident that with a seamless broadcast and streaming experience, we will activate a new set of chess fans worldwide by the end of the league."

For India, JioCinema has been roped in as the OTT partner for the inaugural edition. Speaking about the association, Hursh Shrivastava, Head of Strategy, Partnerships & Acquisitions, Viacom18 - Sports, said, "We are excited to be a part of the chess revolution that the Global Chess League will bring about.

"Through JioCinema, we will provide a one-of-a-kind experience for chess fans while also helping the sport grow its fan base. We are looking forward to a successful partnership with the league."

The annual league will feature a unique mixed-team format wherein, each of the six franchises will play a total of 10 matches in a double round-robin format, with the winner of each match being decided in a best-of-six board scoring system played simultaneously. The top two teams will compete for the Global Chess League Championship title on July 2nd, 2023.

Where to Watch Global Chess League in India?

Jio Cinema will be live-streaming Global Chess League matches in India for free. The viewers can live stream the tournament either on mobile phones or on their televisions using the Jio Cinema application.

The first match in the tournament starts as early as 3:30 PM (IST) while the last game will start at 8:20 PM in the league stages. On days there are two teams in action, the match will start at 7 PM IST, while on days when four teams are playing, the action starts at 3:30 PM IST.