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Tag: DD Sports

  • DD Sports to telecast the World University Games

    DD Sports to telecast the World University Games

    NEW DELHI: The World University Games – Gwangju Summer Universiade – in South Korea are being covered live and extensively by the country’s only free-to-air sports channel, DD Sports.

     

    DD Sports will cover the Games, held every second year, for more than 180 hours of coverage starting from 3 – 14 July. 

     

    The event is a multi-sport event with international participation from University students, is the largest sporting event after the Olympics.

     

    The telecast will commence at 6 am and will continue till 9:30 pm, which will include live action from ground zero, commentary from the scene of action and analyses and discussion on the game by panel of experts. The channel’s social media team will complement the coverage of the games with latest updates on Twitter, Facebook and analysis by experts in the blog space.

     

    The Gwangju Summer Universiade will see the participation of more than 25,000 athletes from leading 170 universities of the world. Importantly, 48 per cent of Olympic medalists are also Universiade medalists and its records in most sports, including track and field and swimming, surpass those of the Asian Games. In most countries, university athletes are nurtured as the next-generation leaders in sports.

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, DD Sports deputy director Rafeeq Masoodi said that though sportspersons earned their laurels in the biggest sporting platforms like the Olympics and Asian Games, they took their first decisive steps in this direction at the School, University and the National games.

     

    He said DD Sports had in the recent months initiated the process of enrichment of its content to present holistic coverage of global sports for the sports lovers of the country. The channel had lined up exciting and meaningful sporting action in the coming months.

     

    After the Asian Racing Championship, the World University Games is the second major big-ticket event lined up for its viewers.

     

    Many more national and international sporting properties are being lined up in the coming months. This ranges from National Sports Quiz show to the Tribal, Indigenous and innovative Games, for the genuine sports lovers spread all across the country.

  • DAS: Kolkata cable TV rates rise; consumers resist

    DAS: Kolkata cable TV rates rise; consumers resist

    KOLKATA: At a time when some cable television viewers in Kolkata are worried about their TV sets going blank for not filling up consumer application forms (CAF) from 24 August, some are worried as they have been rudely presented with a hike in subscription prices of between 30 per cent and 50 per cent, for watching their preferred TV channels.

    Hitherto, the monthly tab for cable TV subscribers was between Rs 150-Rs 180 but with digital DAS, the sticker prices are slated to escalate for the same number of channels as earlier, disclosed Cable Operators Digitalisation committee of the Association of Cable Operators convener Swapan Chowdhury said: “It can go high up to Rs 325 plus service tax which is 12.36 per cent at present,” he said.

    “Now customers will have to pay extra,” he agreed.

    City based cable operators said the basic package would start at Rs 180 and then with the choice of the channel and packages, it would be Rs180, Rs 230, Rs 280 and Rs 325 respectively exclusive of service tax, going forward.

    Apart from the increased monthly subscription fee, the consumers will have to bear another Rs 10 as amusement tax charged by the state government.

    Explaining the various packages, the operators said in the basic DAS packages, the consumer might just be offered one sports channel like DD Sports but on upgrading to the second package he might have access to Star Cricket and Sony Six apart from DD Sports. “But now if the person is interested to watch Ten Sports, ESPN among others, he will have to pay more and go for the higher package,” the operators added. Cable TV subscribers are already experiencing sticker price shock and have expressed their ire against it.

    City based cable operators said the basic package would start at Rs 180 and then with the choice of the channel and packages, it would be Rs180, Rs 230, Rs 280 and Rs 325 respectively exclusive of service tax, going forward.

    Apart from the increased monthly subscription fee, the consumers will have to bear another 10 per cent as amusement tax charged by the state government.

    Explaining the various packages, the operators said in the basic DAS packages, the consumer might just be offered one sports channel like DD Sports but on upgrading to the second package he might have access to Star Cricket and Sony Six apart from DD Sports. “But now if the person is interested to watch Ten Sports, ESPN among others, he will have to pay more and go for the higher package,” the operators added. Cable TV subscribers are already experiencing sticker price shock and have expressed their ire against it.

    A cable operator on the condition of anonymity said in Barrack pore subscribers not only protested the hike in rental but informed the local police authorities that they were being cheated and especially after the Saradha scam. Citing his meeting with the authorities as a ‘peculiar meeting’ he said he was ordered by the police not to charge a penny more than Rs 180 a month.

    While cable TV operators in Shyam Bazaar and north Kolkata vicinity said the customers who are paying Rs 120 every month at present, when asked to pay Rs 150, raised a hue and cry. “We really do not know how to explain things and convince people,” they said.

    “All new emerging delivery platforms like DTH use CAS. Which is going to happen in the case of cable TV too with the spread of digitisation and addressable systems. Subscribers will pay for only the channels they want to watch,” explains a cable operator.

    On the other hand, Manthan Broadband Services director Sudip Ghosh feels that with the implementation of the DAS package, the monthly tariffs are likely to be rationalised. “These have been streamlined in a way that the consumer will pay according to his channel consumption.”

  • Five DD channels licensed to ATN for Canadian diaspora

    Five DD channels licensed to ATN for Canadian diaspora

    MUMBAI: Indian state-owned pubcaster Doordarshan is headed to Canada, the land of the maple leaf. And partnering it on its journey
    there is Asian Television Network (ATN), Canada‘s largest south Asian broadcaster. ATN announced a short while ago that it would be launching five channels under a license agreement with DD in Canada.

    The deal has ATN getting exclusive rights to the five television services, namely DD India, DD News, DD Bharati, DD Urdu and DD Sports. The channels will have the tag ATN added before them, according to a release issued by it.

    Says DD director general Tipurari Sharan, “In Canada, Indians form one of the most respected and professionally accomplished communities who have kept their cultural roots intact while adapting to Canada and we have been striving to connect with the international audience rapidly. It gives me immense pleasure to announce our relationship with ATN for meeting this objective by distributing five of our main channels in Canada. Both ATN and DD have walked the extra mile in making this happen and I hope that this effort will help strengthen the feeling of togetherness through Doordarshan channels which are rich in cultural values, art, music, dance, entertainment and depict the crucible of culture, India has been for millennia.”

    ATN president & CEO Shan Chandrasekar adds, “India is the world‘s largest democracy and has a population of over a billion People. We are delighted to be associated with the launch of India‘s official national broadcaster Doordarshan which is similar to the BBC in the UK and CBC in Canada. We have aggressive plans to add substantial value to our diaspora and enhance our strong customer base on cable, satellite and credible distributors across Canada.”

    In addition to the existing subscriber base, with the launch of these new channels, ATN expects to gain new subscribers through cable, satellite and IPTV platforms across Canada.

  • ‘Why would BCCI want its biggest new property on a new channel?’

    ‘Why would BCCI want its biggest new property on a new channel?’

    Looking at the larger perspective, what have been the big challenges the broadcast sector faced and will face, going forward?
    The pathetically slow pace of digital rollout (Cas) has been the biggest challenge for existing players. Though I do believe digital distribution will come into play from 2008 onwards.

    Combating all these new players will be the big upcoming challenge. The (leadership) pecking order will have to be reestablished. Star is not complacent in its position of number 1. Even Zee as a challenger is not complacent. Everybody will face challenge. The whole media business will face challenge.

    The industry is seeing huge churn now. The channel explosion is going to further fragment audiences. We will soon have 9/10 channels in each of the genres – news, sports and movies.

    You say pathetically slow digital rollout on the cable front is the biggest challenge for the new players as well as the existing players. But if we look at 9X, the numbers they are drawing are not due to cannibalization, but due to new viewers.
    It’s not cannibalization of GEC but other genres like music.

    So you don’t believe that people have an inherent desire to consume entertainment content but may have been tuned off by the lack of variety presently on offer so they are trying out channels like 9X?
    Its not just 9X. Even Bindass is getting new viewers. 9X is making a lot of noise but give me a name of one show that stands out. On NDTV Imagine also, nothing will stand out.

    What do we have in 2008. BCCI’s Indian Premiere League will take off and what else?
    I don’t know on which channel it will take off. I hope it is on ours.

    But as you yourself said, there will be new sports channels launching and we should expect bids from new players.
    They can of course bid but why would BCCI want its biggest new property on a new channel? Its not just money, they (the cricket board) have to make it successful.

    New players should enter digital distribution in the cable front. More people are required, more funding is required

    We do have an example of Ten Sports, which launched with World Cup Soccer in 2002.
    There were only two channels – ESPN and Star Sports – then. Today there are seven channels (DD Sports, Ten Sports, Zee Sports, ESPN, Star Sports, Star Cricket, Neo Sports). Additionally, Max is half a sports channel.

    Each time you launch a new channel, the space will get further fragmented. There is too much out there. There is going be a blood bath.

    What about a platform proposition, like in the case of Sky in the UK? For a rights holder, could IPL potentially become as critical as EPL was to Sky?
    Firstly, in India no exclusivity is being allowed. Secondly, the new guys bidding for the rights are channels which are not yet launched. If platforms like Dish TV or Reliance were to buy the rights, then I would understand but the guys buying are unknown people. They are all startups. They are doing it for their business valuations. They are not bothered whether IPL succeeds or not. Whereas BCCI wants IPL to succeed. IPL will collapse with new players.

    Coming back to the year ahead, how do you see 2008 for your network and the industry?
    As far as the industry is concerned, we would want to see the Reliance launches happening. It’s a very big thing. Then IPL should succeed. New players should enter digital distribution in the cable front. More people are required, more funding is required.

    As for ourselves, we will take some other new initiatives and continue to build our business. We need one hit show. Saat Phere was the starting point for Zee. I need one hit show from Monday to Thursday. That is my perspective. I have no problem in any other area of my business except that. We need to build up, which is not happening.

    Each channel is doing its own thing and so are we. In the meantime, I am doing syndication and international distribution. I am doing everything right except getting that one hit show.