ITV

Tag: Bukhatir broadcaster

  • Indo-Pak series ODI opener gets Ten Sports the ratings

    Indo-Pak series ODI opener gets Ten Sports the ratings

    MUMBAI: The first ratings numbers for the ongoing Indo-Pakistan cricket carnival are in, and maybe not so surprisingly, they are certainly not looking bad for broadcast rights holder Ten Sports.

    The latest Tam ratings show that the Bukhatir broadcaster’s coverage of the first one day international between India and Pakistan on 13 March got it higher ratings than DD among cable and satellite homes.

    That would in itself be hardly surprising in normal circumstances but in the light of the cable blackout that the channel is confronting in certain parts of the country (Mumbai in particular), the strong ratings showing points to one thing.

    Sure, Ten was hit in Mumbai thanks to Coda (Cable Operators and Distributors Association), Pune, parts of Delhi, etc and in areas where the Star-India backed Hathway Cable and Datacom has a strong presence. However the rest of the country got the channel which ensured that distribution was not impacted as severely as has has been perceived by the media. Even RPG in Kolkata which distributes Star and Sony signed a carriage agreement with Ten.

    In fact, among the big MSOs, it is only Hathway that has not reached agreement with Ten Sports. Even Hinduja Group cable arm InCableNet has reached an understanding with Ten Sports, RK Singh, advisor to Ten Sports distributor Modi Entertainment Network, told indiantelevision.com.

    A look at the ratings data is revealing. For C&S, 4+, all homes, Ten’s broadcast of the evening session of the day/night game from 2:10 pm – 6:23 pm got a TVR of 8.5 putting it in the 14th position. The morning broadcast too did well at number 17 with a TVR of 7.8. This is staggering when you consider that the broadcast is for a ten hour period. The data is for the week 7-13 March.

    And what of national broadcaster Doordarshan, which was using Ten’s feed? DD comes in at number 24 with a TVR of 6.4 for the evening telecast. The morning broadcast got it a TVR of 6.3.

    Meanwhile, even Ten’s post-match studio show Straight Drive was did well coming in at number 39 with a TVR of 4.5. The pre-match episode of Straight Drive had a 2.8 TVR putting it at Number 73. DD’s post match show Fourth Umpire was at 92 with 2.6 TVRs.

    In the end it looks like all the talk about Ten Sports being blacked out throughout the country due to the failure to successfully negotiate with the cable operators was a tad exaggerated. The immediate question of course is what spot on the ratings chart would Ten have got if there had not been a blackout, Number 1?

  • Ten Sports gets its press drive going on Indo-Pak series, uncertainty notwithstanding

    Ten Sports gets its press drive going on Indo-Pak series, uncertainty notwithstanding

    MUMBAI: It is shaping up to be the cricket series of the year and could be even bigger than last year’s World Cup. The schedule of India’s face off with Pakistan on the cricket grounds in March may not have been finalised, but Ten Sports has initiated the publicity campaign around the event.

    On Sunday it released it put ads in major publications. The ad highlights the fact that the broadcaster has live and exclusive coverage of the event. The distribution contact details have been given.

    There have been concerns expressed some of which are justified. The players are keen on the tour to be delayed by a week. That is because they will suffer fatigue after a gruelling tour of Australia. While that is fine the personal security concerns raised by some senior players in some media pub lications, none of which has been attributed directly to any player, has raised some questions as to the motives behind the “whisper campaign”.

    Meanwhile, a report in Pakistan’s The Daily Times stated that in order to put fears to rest the Indian cricket board would send a team of security experts to Pakistan next month to review arrangements. The Pakistan Cricket Board has already guaranteed tight security for Indias tour in light of last week’s bomb blast near an Anglican cathedral in Karachi. If the Indian board is satisfied then the tour should proceed as scheduled.

    A possible change in the itinerary could be that the the tour will start from Lahore. India will play three Tests and five one-day internationals between early March and mid-April. The last time we visited our neighbours was way back in 1989-1990. The Bukhatir broadcaster is firming up marketing and promotional plans.

    Another report in Sify has stated that India, Pakistan and world champions Australia are expected to play a triangular series in Holland in August. This will act as a prelude to the Champions Trophy in England in September. Max will have live coverage of the Champions Trophy. If the Holland event proceeds as scheduled expect a round of fierce bidding from rival broadcasters.

  • TV rights for Sri Lankan cricket open from next year

    TV rights for Sri Lankan cricket open from next year

    MUMBAI: The confusion over who holds the rights for cricket played in Sri Lanka has been resolved.

    The country’s cricket board, Sri Lanka Cricket, has decided to honour the agreement with Taj Television but only as far as England’s tour of the island in November is concerned. Taj’s subsidiary Ten Sports will air the matches in Asia and Europe.

    There was a three way tussle involving Sri Lanka’s cricket board, Taj Television and World Sport Nimbus (WSN) and a hearing to this effect was going on in Singapore.

    After the England tour, however, the board, which earlier this month underwent a name change to Sri Lanka Cricket (from Broad of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka), has taken the decision to start a three year agreement bidding process. This will run from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2006.

    In tandem with the change in name, a commercial arm called Sri Lanka Cricket Incorporated, was also set up to look after the business interests of the game.

    An official release issued by Sri Lanka Cricket informs that applications together with the credentials should reach its marketing director on or before 29 September. Sri Lanka Cricket intends to make the bid document available for potential bidders before 1 November.

    Taj TV’s contract was supposed to run till August 2004. Now the Bukhatir broadcaster will have to bid all over again if it wants to show the likes of South Africa and Australia, both of which have scheduled tours to the island next year.

    The broadcast rights to Sri Lankan cricket has been a bone of contention for a while now. The rights originally rested with World Sport Nimbus (WSN), in a deal that was brokered when BCCSL was headed by Thilanga Sumathipala.

    When Sumathipala was ousted from his post as BCCSL president in 2001, an interim committee under Vijaya Malalasekera terminated WSN’s contract in October 2001 citing delays in payment of dues on the part of the sports marketing company.

    The rights subsequently went to Taj TV but WSN then retaliated by filing a $ 11 million damages claim against BCCSL before a Singapore tribunal.

    Matters came to a head after Sumathipala won the presidentship of the BCCSL in elections in June this year following the board’s re-instatement and reopened negotiations with WSN.

    As regards the $11 million claim that the Singapore court was to rule on, last heard WSN had come down to $4 million, but Sumathipala was asking it be further reduced to $2.75 million. As a sop, he was reportedly offering WSN the television rights for England’s tour in November as also priority in any future television contracts with Sri Lanka Cricket.

    How the latest deal was brokered is still to be ascertained but as a result of the compromise reached with Taj TV, Sri Lanka is likely to resume their twice-a-year Sharjah tours.

    Apart from England’s tour of Sri Lanka, Taj TV owns the rights to cricket played in Pakistan, West Indies, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Sharjah and Morocco. The last two are organised by Bukhatir’s Cricketers’ Benefit Fund Series.