The Pakistan Super League (PSL) has struck a deal with social media video platform TikTok, creating ‘bespoke content’ to boost fan engagement.

Confirmed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the new partners will work on content linked to the sixth PSL season, due to restart this week following suspension in March as a  result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 20 matches will be staged in the United Arab Emirates – which is also hosting this year’s edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the second consecutive year – due to coronavirus restrictions.

“Pakistan has a big TikTok following and majority of the followers are passionate about cricket,” said Babar Hamid, Commercial Director of the PCB and Head of the PSL.

“The popularity of the HBL PSL can be gauged by the overwhelming response that our HBL PSL 6 anthem Groove Mera received on TikTok.

“We look forward to the start of an exciting journey with TikTok with the start of the Abu Dhabi-leg on 9 June. Our entire staff along with the franchises and all stakeholders have worked really hard, and I am sure the efforts will be rewarded with quality cricket action at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.”

The #GrooveMera hashtag, promoting the official PSL sixth season anthem Groove Mera, has garnered more than 1.7 billion views on TikTok.

TikTok has established itself as a prominent force in the sports business space over the past year, having signed partnerships with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Extreme E, two Major League Soccer (MLS) franchises, the upcoming UEFA 2020 European Championship and Premier League football club Manchester United.

In addition to partnering with the video platform, the PCB will also leverage Facebook’s Paid Online Events feature for coverage of the PSL in markets not covered by its current broadcasting arrangements, offering live streaming at the cost of $4.99.

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