ITV

Category: Sports

  • ESPN Star Sports wins broadcast rights to Uefa Euro 2008

    ESPN Star Sports wins broadcast rights to Uefa Euro 2008

    MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports has won exclusive broadcast and internet rights for the Indian subcontinent for the 2008 European Football Championship (Uefa Euro 2008).

    The territories that are covered in the deal are India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Maldives. With this acquisition, ESPN Star Sports will be broadcasting all 31 matches from the tournament live and exclusive.

    Uefa Euro 2008 is the most prestigious tournament in the football calendar after the World Cup. The competition will feature the top 16 national teams from Europe and will be held in Austria and Switzerland in June, 2008. In addition to its live coverage of matches, ESPN Star Sports will be producing exclusive pre-game, post-game, and halftime shows around Uefa Euro 2008 as well as other localised content designed to broaden the base of football viewers in the Indian subcontinent. This commitment to broadcast Uefa Euro 2008 continues the 14-year association between ESS and Uefa which goes back to the inaugural season of the Uefa Champions League in 1992/3.

    Commenting on the acquisition, ESS managing director Jamie Davis said: “I am delighted that the Uefa European Championship is returning to our networks in 2008. The fact that we are working directly with Uefa for the first time affirms their confidence in our efforts to deliver the best football programming to South Asian fans.”

    “We have expanded the football-watching audience in India through concentrated marketing efforts and programming initiatives such as the introduction of Hindi commentary. Viewers can expect an exciting presentation and fresh innovations for Uefa Euro 2008.” Davis added.

    Uefa director of marketing and media rights Philippe Le Floc’h said: “ESPN Star Sports is one of the most experienced sports broadcasters in the Indian subcontinent. We are excited to work again with ESPN Star Sports whose expertise and market position will further enhance the Uefa European Championship brand in the Indian subcontinent.”

    This latest acquisition follows the recent three-year extension of rights for the English Premier League for the Indian subcontinent. ESS football coverage also includes the Spanish Primera Liga and the English FA Cup. ESS also annually produces over 1,000 hours of original football programming, including Nokia Football Crazy, Football Focus, Goals, Tiger FC Locker Room, Here We Go, First Edition and Football Extra.

  • Fifa announces online initiatives for Club World Cup Japan 2006

    Fifa announces online initiatives for Club World Cup Japan 2006

    MUMBAI: Football’s governing body Fifa has announced that its site is providing a host of features for the Fifa Club World Cup Japan 2006, which kicks off on Sunday 10 December 2006.

    All matches will be covered live on the site: goals, cards, substitutions and additional statistics will be available in real time through the site’s ScoreCard service.

    Breaking news, post-match quotes and analysis, interviews and features will be produced direct from the venues. Team profiles and squad lists, referees and venues profiles, profiles of the previous clubs who won the former Intercontinental / Toyota Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup since 1961 will be present.

    A full Japanese language version of the tournament to offer local football lovers the same level of coverage as enjoyed in the four official languages the site operates in (English, Spanish, French and German). This Japanese version is available on www.FIFA.com/jp

    The site will also offer a worldwide video highlights service for the tournament. Two minute video summaries will be made available free of charge shortly after the final whistle of each game (except Japan and Spain, where there is a 24 hour delay).

    Fifa director of marketing and TV division Jérôme Valcke says, “Fifa is happy to be able to showcase world-class club football on its official Website and to offer fans a comprehensive coverage of this major Tournament. With the support of our friends at Dentsu, Fifa.com will feature video highlights of each match.”

  • ICC issues ban on ‘live’ web coverage of World Cup

    ICC issues ban on ‘live’ web coverage of World Cup

    MUMBAI: International cricket governing body ICC is tightening the screws as regards its control over the rights to next year’s World Cup in the West Indies.

    In a move similar to that already applied by the International Olympic Committee since 2000, the ICC is looking to ban over-by-over internet coverage of the game’s premiere one day tournament.

    The website of UK’s Sports Journalists Association (SJA) reports that news organisations offering over-by-over coverage could lose ther press accreditations altogether.

    The SJA quotes the ICC rules as stating: “For the avoidance of doubt, ball-by-ball and over-by-over updates for transmission via the radio, the internet or via any form of mobile device (including mobile telephones) or other related devices from within the ground are strictly prohibited.”

    “These are draconian restrictions on press freedom and the ability of publishers and editors to inform their readers,” Steve Oram, the director of the Newspaper Publishers Association, and chairman of the sports rights working group at the World Association of Newspapers, was quoted in the report as telling the Guardian.

    “It is dangerous in terms of precedent but perhaps more sinister is that increasing controls interfere with press freedom by controlling what newspapers can or can’t say,” Oram said.

  • Investors In Cricket joins forces with DD, Zee, Miditech for cricket based reality show

    Investors In Cricket joins forces with DD, Zee, Miditech for cricket based reality show

    MUMBAI: With new sports channels coming in it is inevitable that new formats will also come in. One such format is a cricket based reality show called Cricket Star.

    This is an initiative to find a budding cricket star who has been bypassed by the system. The idea is the brainchild of Investors In Cricket (IIC) a firm that looks at sports rights relevant to the Asian subcontinent. This will be in the form of a reality hunt and will air as a television event for 11 weeks from 14 January 2007 on DD and Zee. DD and Zee Sports will each week simulcast three episodes. Zee TV will air an episode each week.Miditech has been roped in to produce the show. Airtel and HLL are the presenting sponsors. Aspiring cricketers can apply by calling 5052727 from GSM mobiles, 1277777 from MTNL landlines or 1255527 from MTNL and BSNL. One can also send an SMS CSTAR to 7575.

    Eight selection centres are open and one has to showcase one’s skills there, whether it is batting, bowling or wicket keeping. From there the chosen ones go to a pre academy phase. Finally 23 contestants will go to the Academy. There will be a countdown and thus an elimination process to find the winner.

    The channel has roped in Kapil Dev and Saurav Ganguly as judges. The flamboyant Ajay Jadeja will be the expert analyst. IIC chairman Manoj Badale points out that after the event in India is finished it will travel abroad to the UK and Pakistan among other countries. “This marks the first time a cricket based reality show is launching in India. This marks the first time a reality show that has originated from India travels abroad. Normally it is the other way around.

    This idea has taken a while to put together. We wanted the best possible reach, which is why we approached DD and Zee. DD as the national broadcaster can reach the small towns. Zee with its multi lingual channels will also help get the message across.”

    The winner gets an all expenses paid contract with Leicestershire County Cricket Club and cash. The final 11 contestants will also get a chance to participate in the rollout of Cricket Star in the UK next Summer and in Pakistan. Also, Cricket Star aspirants will play a series of 20:20 matches.These will air on Zee Sports.

    When the 23 chosen contestants enter the cricket Star Academy each week the judges will nominate the four bottom performers out of whom two will be evicted by the participants., When it is down to the final 11 viewers will be able to vote by phone or through SMS. The final episode airs at the end of March 2007.

    Miditech CEO Nikhil Alva points out that the challenge begins from today as the lines are now open. Whether or not it is as big as Indian Idol will depend on the response. “We are confident that with our previous experience we will be able to handle the logistics of the event. There will certainly be drama as viewers get to know the human side of the candidates in addition to their cricketing abilities.

    Zee Sports business head Himanshu Mody says that this is the first time a format has brought cricket and television together in an entertaining manner. “We aim to find the hidden wonders in India’s villages and towns And showcase them to the country along with their travails and struggles. At Zee Sports it has always been about showcasing sports and sportspersons from India. As they say may the best man or woman win.”

    Jadeja says that more than just a show this will also be a coaching platform for aspirants. Kapil Dev and Ganguly will offer advice to aspirants on how to improve their skills.

    Ganguly sees this endeavour as a way to give back to the game for the opportunities it has given him. Dev says that every youngster who is passionate about the game should at least be given an opportunity. It should not be that a youngster feels that he/she could have made it but an opportunity was not given.

    Airtel marketing director Gopal Vittal says, “In India cricket and Bollywood share a passion that cuts across geographies, cultures and religions. Today every street, nukkad or galli in this country has an enthusiastic budding cricketer waiting for an opportunity to perform on a bigger stage. Cricket Star offers them an opportunity to perform at the highest level.”

    HLL is involved through its product Faior And Lovely Mens Active. HLL VP Skin Care Ashok Venkatramani says, ” Our product has already changed the story of male gooming in India. This association will catch the fancy of every male in India who aspires to get that opportunity to see themselves as the next Cricket Star.

    This is our contribution to Indian cricket and we are certain that this will help discover the Sachin’s Dhoni’s, Pathan’s Sehwags etc. Our support is a sure way of changing the story of Indian cricket and taking it to greater heights of glory.

  • Nimbus signs TV deal with Kenya Cricket

    Nimbus signs TV deal with Kenya Cricket

    MUMBAI: Nimbus Sport has signed a six-year TV rights deal with Kenya Cricket for the management of commercial and television rights.

    In addition to the huge one India Nimbus also has the rights to Bangladesh cricket. Media reports indicate that the deal is worth around $150,000 per year.

    The news comes after the board had spent months trying to persuade people to invest in the national game. The current Cricket Kenya board, which took office in May 2005, had struggled to cast off the legacy of the old regime, but this deal could open the door to more sponsorships and take Kenyan cricket forward after three or four years in the doldrums.

    Nimbus have the rights to the Afro-Asia Cup as well. It managed sponsorship sales for Zimbabwe Cricket for the Zimbabwe-Bangladesh series in 2006.

    Nimbus Sport CEO Digvijay Singh was quoted in reports saying that the firm believes that Kenya has the potential for being an ideal and active cricketing destination. “The combination of picturesque grounds, relaxed ambience and quality cricket along with extremely attractive tourism destinations presents immense marketing potential and opportunities.”

  • ESS wins South Asia broadcast, mobile & internet rights to EPL soccer

    ESS wins South Asia broadcast, mobile & internet rights to EPL soccer

    MUMBAI: In a bidding battle that finally became a three-horse race, ESPN Star Sports has won exclusive broadcast rights for the Barclays English Premier League (EPL) for the Indian subcontinent for the next three seasons through to 2010.

    Incumbent ESS beat back bids by Zee Sports and Nimbus Sport to secure the EPL rights. Yes TV, which is owned by Malysian firm Astro and had made a pan-Asian bid, withdrew from the bid process in the last round.

    The agreement grants ESS the right to broadcast 370 matches per season throughout India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Mongolia and the Maldives via television, broadband and mobile technologies.

    Commenting on the acquisition, ESS managing director Jamie Davis said: “Our Company has been the catalyst for increasing the popularity of the EPL in India, ordinarily a cricket crazy nation. Our world class studio shows, intensive marketing campaigns, and localisation efforts including the introduction of Hindi commentary have made the EPL a highly watched sports property. We are very excited to continue our efforts to deliver the best of English football to the growing breed of football fans across India and the subcontinent. Our strong relationship with the FA Premier League has been built on our commitment to grow the EPL brand via live matches and over 400 hours annually of original, football programming.”

    Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said: “ESPN Star Sports has indeed played a key role in growing the EPL brand in India. Their commitment to sports and to the EPL specifically gives us the confidence that this is the right partnership for the Premier League. As we move into an age of new media and all the flexibility and possibilities that come with this new technology, we are certain that this relationship will continue to flourish to the benefit of fans across the subcontinent.”

    ESS’ array of original support programming for the EPL includes Nokia Football Crazy, Football Focus, Goals, Tiger FC Locker Room, Here We Go, Tiger First Edition and Football Extra. Over 200 million viewers across Asia tune into the EPL matches and packaged programmes each week. This season’s addition of Club EPL, Paula’s Perfect Ten and Jamie’s Greatest Hits further expands the overall football demographic to target women and youth.

    “Keeping the young fans in mind we plan to enhance our EPL offering on mobileESPN substantially. Football fans can look forward to getting live scores, match schedules, player statistics, contests and much more from mobileESPN going forward,” said Sricharan Iyengar, vice-president, New Media and Marketing, ESPN Software India.

    ESS has also extended its agreement with the FA Premier League to 12 other countries; Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, North Korea, Brunei, The Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Taiwan and Macau. These rights also include television, mobile and internet platforms.

    The lucrative territories where ESS has lost out include Singapore, where pay TV operator Starhub won and Hong Kong which went to PCCW. ESS has also not managed to retain the rights for China and Thailand, which went to Guangdong Soccer channel and UBC respectively.

  • FIH announces enhanced TV exposure for hockey World Cups

    FIH announces enhanced TV exposure for hockey World Cups

    MUMBAI: Hockey’s governing body FIH has announced that the recently held hockey World Cups generates strong TV exposure.

    The BDO Hockey World Cup Men, played in Monchengladbach, Germany early September, generated a television audience of 645 million viewers worldwide. This FIH states is a record for hockey and an increase of 50 per cent compared to the Samsung Champions Trophy for men. In India the events aired on Ten Sports.

    The German based company IFM International Sportanalysen recently presented these figures to the FIH.
    The men’s hockey World Cup saw 3,512 broadcasts across 77 TV channels globally. There were 266 live broadcasts and 645 million cumulated audience. There was a sponsoring value of EUR 2,416,573 from 233 hours of screen time for BDO as title sponsor (calculated at 10 per cent of advertising spot rate)

    For the women’s World Cup which took place from 27 September – 8 October 2006 there were 2,597 broadcasts across 78 TV channels worldwide. There were 225 live broadcasts and a 380 million cumulated audience. The sponsoring value of EUR 1,330,935 from 96 hours of screen time for Samsung as title sponsor (calculated at 10 per cent of advertising spot rate).

  • EPL rights for India territory expected to be decided Tuesday; ESS loses ground in Asia

    EPL rights for India territory expected to be decided Tuesday; ESS loses ground in Asia

    MUMBAI: The rights for a key sports property English Premier League (EPL) are in the process of being decided.

    While the decision for India is expected tomorrow, the rights for some other key Asian countries have been announced. With a new entrant coming in this year (Nimbus’ channel Neo Sports Plus) and Zee Sports pushing soccer through its tie-up with the All India Football Federation (AIFF), one can expect the process to be competitive for India.

    Nimbus Sport, Ten Sports and Zee Sports have all made bids for the Indian subcontinent. Geo TV has bid for Pakistan. ESPN Star Sports (ESS) had made a pan Asian bid. Yes TV which is owned by Malysian firm Astro, had also made a pan Asian bid.

    Meanwhile, ESS which is the incumbent in India, is having a difficult time of it as far as Asia is concerned. Singapore pay TV operator Starhub has announced that it has won the exclusive rights to air EPL matches in the state.

    Arch rival Singtel had also bid for the rights. Earlier it had been announced that Hong Kong’s PCCW had won the EPL rights for that city. The matches will air on PCCW’s internet and pay-television unit Now Broadband, which outbid i-Cable Communications to get the rights.

    Information available with Indiantelevision.com indicates in addition to Singapore, ESS has also not managed to retain the rights for China and Thailand. They had to raise their bid quite a bit to retain the rights for Malaysia and Indonesia. An industry source believes that ESS will particularly feel the loss in Thailand but Singapore, with its substantial expat population that keenly follows soccer might also hurt.

    Thailand had at least five bidders with UBC winning, ESS had to outbid eight parties to retain the rights for Malaysia. In Japan, Yes TV won. In China Guangdong Soccer channel won and there were reportedly six bids, Sources indicate that ESS has managed to get the rights for smaller territories like Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei.

    Meanwhile, media reports indicate that sports fans are hoping for better programming and moderate price increases from StarHub. It has EPL rights for the next three seasons starting from next year. This will help StarHub maintain its vice like grip on the pay TV market in Singapore.

    In a statement, StarHub says that it also has the rights to distribute EPL through broadband Internet and cellphone networks in Singapore. StarHub is now looking at delivering a more enhanced experience for socer fans.

  • Campion School, Mumbai takes home ‘Mattel National School Scrabble Championship’ laurels

    Campion School, Mumbai takes home ‘Mattel National School Scrabble Championship’ laurels

    MUMBAI: From among 50 wordsmiths from five cities competed at the Grand Finals of the second Mattel National School Scrabble Championship 2006, while the contestants from Mumbai’s Campion School bagged the top three positions.

    Last years reigning champion Pranav Damani, representing Campion School held fort bagging with the first prize – a trip to Malayasia with his parents. The second place was awarded to Purav Shah and third to Warren Remedios also from Campion school.

    This year the brain-teasing word game championship reached out to more than 200 schools across India, with a total of over 1000 students participating at Zonal Championships held in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Pune. Of these, the top 10 from each of the five cities participated in the mega-battle at Mumbai at the National Finals, states an official release.

    The event was organised by Mattel Toys India Ltd. in association with Birla Sun Life Insurance Ltd under the aegis of the Scrabble Association of India.

    Mattel introduced the School Scrabble Championship two years back to reinforce the vocabulary and analytical skills of children through fun with words, and simultaneously provide a platform for students across the country to test these skills against each other at a competitive level.

  • WWE returns to Iraq this Christmas

    WWE returns to Iraq this Christmas

    MUMBAI: Armed Forces Entertainment has once again invited World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) to bring holiday cheer and perform a series of wrestling matches for US troops based in Iraq.

    On Christmas night, 25 December 2006 the WWE will present WWE Tribute to the Troops: Christmas in Baghdad. In India WWE airs on Ten Sports. This television special will highlight military personnel telling their stories, interacting with WWE Superstars, and enjoying a presentation of WWE action.

    This year, the WWE will be teaming up with America Supports You, A Million Thanks, and Microsoft to show support for our uniformed personnel.

    Fans can submit Holiday greetings to the troops electronically by going to WWE.com. The emails will be printed on holiday cards and distributed to the troops by the WWE Superstars and Divas when they are in Iraq. Links to the cards can also be found on USA.com, Xbox.com, americasupportsyou.com, and amillionthanks.org.

    UAS broadcaster USA Network will be running a public service announcement in support of the campaign.