News18 India is taking a step beyond daily headlines with Jazba: Jadon Se Shikhar Tak, a first-of-its-kind national platform designed to celebrate the systems, sacrifices and stories behind Indian sport. The event will be held in Delhi on September 18, bringing together athletes, policymakers, administrators, coaches and industry voices.
The agenda moves away from medal tallies. Announced sessions and speaker names point to a sharper focus on grassroots development, sports infrastructure, Olympic ambitions, sports policy, innovation and the fast-evolving sports economy. The line-up includes Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Labour and Employment and Youth Affairs and Sports, along with Kiren Rijiju, Anurag Thakur, Olympians such as Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Yogeshwar Dutt, former cricketers Ishant Sharma and Aakash Chopra, para-athletes Deepa Malik, Shubham Juyal and Sharmila Dhankar, and hockey leaders Dilip Tirkey and Rani Rampal.
From news coverage to owned sporting IP
For a Hindi news channel, Jazba is more than a conclave. It is an owned media property that can generate original programming, audience engagement, sponsorship value and community goodwill around a subject with broad resonance. News18 India’s managing editor Jyoti Kamal framed the moment as an “important juncture” for Indian sport, noting the need to give young talent better opportunities, wider access and stronger support systems.
Mitul Sangani, CEO of Indian Language Cluster and News18 Digital at Network18, added that Indian sport now has stories that deserve to be heard “beyond the scoreboard.” That positioning matters for brands because it shifts sport from match-day visibility into a deeper, story-led content opportunity.
What marketers can watch
Media-owned sporting platforms are increasingly becoming brand-safe, regional-language entry points for sponsors. Here is where the opportunity lies:
- Owned IPs create recurring inventory: a single-day platform can feed panel clips, athlete interviews, social content and editorial coverage.
- Story-led sport outperforms pure highlights: journeys, setbacks and ecosystem stories build longer attention and emotional recall.
- Regional language matters: a Hindi-first audience can open grassroots and tier-2/3 sponsorship conversations.
- Policy and industry voices attract non-traditional sponsors: education, infrastructure, telecom and institutional brands can find a reason to participate.
The takeaway for marketing teams
When a news network builds a named platform around sport, it signals that the sports economy is being treated as a content category rather than a standalone rights game. Marketing teams should watch how speaker conversations are packaged, distributed and monetised after the event. That will reveal whether Jazba becomes a one-off summit or a repeatable audience asset.
Source: MediaNews4U
