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  • DD can share World Cup signals with cable operators: Supreme Court

    DD can share World Cup signals with cable operators: Supreme Court

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has stayed the order of the Delhi High Court barring Doordarshan from sharing the signals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 with cable operators.

     

    The leave petition will meanwhile be heard on 17 February by when ESPN and Star Sports will submit their replies.

     

    In its judgment, the High Court had refused to strike down the must carry clause under which cable operators have to carry signals of Doordarshan nor the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act 2007.

     

    A bench of Justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva passed the order on the plea of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), ESPN and Star who had contended that cable TV operators were getting live feeds through DD channels free of cost, resulting in loss of revenue for them.

     

    In its order, the Court refused to strike down a 2000 notification issued by Prasar Bharati, which made it mandatory for cable operators to carry DD National and DD News channels. Simultaneously, the court also rejected the additional prayers by ESPN Star to strike down Section 3 of the Sports Act, which makes it mandatory for them to share with Prasar Bharati the live feed of sporting events of national importance.

     

    DD officials said the Mandatory Sharing Act was clear that matches would have to be shared with DD on its terrestrial network and via its direct-to-home Freedish. An official said the directive by the Court appeared to be a precautionary measure aimed at warning cable operators who pirate the signals and not Doordarshan.

     

    In the order, the High Court had said, “The appeal as well as writ petition (civil) 8458/2007 are allowed to the extent that the live broadcasting signal shared by ESPN/Star by virtue of the Sports Act with Prasar Bharati, shall not be carried in the designated Doordarshan channels under the must carry obligation cast by the Cable TV Network Act on cable operators. This shall operate prospectively.”

     

    In its directive, the Court had also observed that while the advertisement revenue received by DD in respect of the shared content of the sports channels was to be shared in the ratio of not less than 75:25, “it still does not cater to the loss of subscription revenue” by ESPN and Star.

     

    BCCI, Nimbus Communications Ltd and the two sports channels (ESPN and Star) had challenged the High Court’s single judge November 2007 order rejecting their pleas that no cable television network, Direct-to-Home (DTH) Network, multi-system network or local cable operator could broadcast such sports events without a licence from the content owners.

  • Prasar Bharati moves SC against Delhi HC judgment on World Cup telecasts

    Prasar Bharati moves SC against Delhi HC judgment on World Cup telecasts

    NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati today filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court (SC) to appeal against the judgment of the Delhi High Court (HC) barring it from sharing signals of the ICC World Cup Cricket 2015 with cable operators.

     

    The leave petition presented by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi is expected to come up for hearing on 10 February.

     

    In its judgment, the HC had refused to strike down the must carry clause under which cable operators have to carry signals of Doordarshan.

     

    A bench of Justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva passed the order on the plea of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), ESPN and Star who had contended that cable TV operators were getting live feeds through DD channels free of cost, resulting in loss of revenue for them.

     

    In its order, the Court refused to strike down a 2000 notification issued by Prasar Bharati, which made it mandatory for cable operators to carry DD National and DD News channels. Simultaneously, the court also rejected the additional prayers by ESPN Star to strike down Section 3 of the Sports Act, which makes it mandatory for them to share with Prasar Bharati the live feed of sporting events of national importance.

     

    DD officials said the Mandatory Sharing Act was clear that matches would have to be shared with DD on its terrestrial network and via its direct-to-home Freedish. An official said the directive by the Court appeared to be a precautionary measure aimed at warning cable operators who pirate the signals and not Doordarshan.

     

    In the order, the Court had said, “The appeal as well as writ petition (civil) 8458/2007 are allowed to the extent that the live broadcasting signal shared by ESPN/Star by virtue of the Sports Act with Prasar Bharati, shall not be carried in the designated Doordarshan channels under the must carry obligation cast by the Cable TV Network Act on cable operators. This shall operate prospectively.”

     

    In its directive, the Court had observed that while the advertisement revenue received by DD in respect of the shared content of the sports channels was to be shared in the ratio of not less than 75:25, “it still does not cater to the loss of subscription revenue” by ESPN and Star.

     

    BCCI, Nimbus Communications and the two sports channels (ESPN and Star) had challenged the high court’s single judge November 2007 order rejecting their pleas that no cable television network, Direct-to-Home (DTH) Network, multi-system network or local cable operator could broadcast such sports events without a licence from the content owners.

  • DD to appeal against Delhi HC’s order barring sharing of 2015 WC feed with cable ops

    DD to appeal against Delhi HC’s order barring sharing of 2015 WC feed with cable ops

    NEW DELHI: The countdown to the 2015 Cricket World Cup has begun, and even as teams gear to battle it out on ground, back home, public broadcaster Doordarshan is up for another challenge. This, after the Delhi High Court on 4 February came out with its order which barred Doordarshan from sharing the live feed of the 2015 Cricket World Cup, of which ESPN and Star have the exclusive broadcasting rights, with cable operators.

     

    While this seems like a good news for broadcaster Star India, which could now be hoping for renewing all its distribution deals with multi system operators (MSOs) for its sports channels after its decision of moving to Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) deals; the pubcaster is all set to appeal against this order in the Supreme Court.

     

    As per DD legal experts, an appeal will be filed in the Supreme Court since the directive of the High Court militates against the must-carry clause and the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act 2007.

     

    A Prasar Bharati official confirmed that the matter had been discussed with the legal consultant Rajeev Sharma this morning and the appeal would be filed shortly.  

     

    Several MSOs in the capital also confirmed to indiantelevision.com that they were planning to either file an independent appeal or intervene in the appeal to be filed by Doordarshan or Prasar Bharati.    

     

    A MSO on condition of anonymity said, “The order has come out only yesterday, we are yet to get a copy of the order. Once that happens, we will read it thoroughly and decide on our next move.”

     

    He further added, “As per the law, we have to carry 24 Doordarshan channels, but we do not control the content that is being aired on its channels. We will meet the Ministry to get a clear understanding of what the next move should be.”

     

    A bench of Justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva passed the order on the plea of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), ESPN and Star who had contended that cable TV operators were getting live feeds through DD channels free of cost, resulting in loss of revenue for them.

     

    Another MSO said, “Since we are under a mandatory obligation of must- carry of DD channels, it is surprising that the Information and Broadcasting Ministry did not intervene in the matter in the Delhi High Court.”

     

    MSOs and LCOs said that this also violated their fundamental right to do business. MSO and LCO representatives told indiantelevision.com that they feared that they may be forced to shut DD channels at the time of the matches on the ground of technical fault as had often been done previously.

     

    In its order, the Court refused to strike down a 2000 notification issued by Prasar Bharati which made it mandatory for cable operators to carry DD National and DD News channels. Simultaneously, the court also rejected the additional prayers by ESPN Star to strike down section 3 of the Sports Act, which makes it mandatory for them to share with Prasar Bharati the live feed of sporting events of national importance.

     

    DD officials said the Mandatory Sharing Act was clear that matches would have to be shared with DD on its terrestrial network and via its direct-to-home Freedish. An official said the directive by the Court appeared to be a precautionary measure aimed at warning cable operators who pirate the signals and not Doordarshan.

     

    In the order, the Court had said, “The appeal as well as writ petition (civil) 8458/2007 are allowed to the extent that the live broadcasting signal shared by ESPN/STAR by virtue of the Sports Act with Prasar Bharati, shall not be carried in the designated Doordarshan channels under the must carry obligation cast by the Cable TV Network Act on cable operators. This shall operate prospectively.”

     

    In its directive, the Court had observed that while the advertisement revenue received by DD in respect of the shared content of the sports channels was to be shared in the ratio of not less than 75:25, “it still does not cater to the loss of subscription revenue” by ESPN and Star.

     

    BCCI, Nimbus Communications and the two sports channels (ESPN and Star) had challenged the High Court’s single judge November 2007 order rejecting their pleas that no cable television network, Direct-to-Home (DTH) Network, multi-system network or local cable operator could broadcast such sports events without a licence from the content owners.

     

    Broadcaster Star on its part is currently reading the judgment in detail and internal discussions are on. “We need to understand the nuances of the High Court order and then come up with a strategy which is both under law and our business practices,” said a source from Star.

  • Delhi HC bars DD from sharing 2015 World Cup feed with cable ops

    Delhi HC bars DD from sharing 2015 World Cup feed with cable ops

    NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court has barred public broadcaster Doordarshan from sharing the live feed of the 2015 Cricket World Cup, of which ESPN and Star have the exclusive broadcasting rights, with cable operators.

     

    A bench of Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva passed the order on the plea of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), ESPN and Star who had contended that cable TV operators were getting live feeds through DD channels free of cost, resulting in loss of revenue for them.

     

    The Court however refused to grant relief of striking down a 2000 notification issued by Prasar Bharati which made it mandatory for cable operators to carry DD National and DD News channels. Simultaneously, the Court also rejected the additional prayers by ESPN Star to strike down section 3 of the Sports Act, which makes it mandatory for them to share with Prasar Bharati the live feed of sporting events of national importance.

     

    A DD official who did not want to be named told indiantelevision.com that under the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act 2007, DD could show the matches only on its terrestrial network and via its direct-to-home platform, Freedish. “The directive by the Court appeared to be a precautionary measure aimed at warning cable operators who pirate the signals and not Doordarshan,” the official said.

     

    A legal expert dealing with broadcasting laws told indiantelevision.com that since the ‘must-carry clause’ had not been struck down, it would be very difficult to prevent the local cable operators from showing the matches. The expert indicated that DD may need to approach the Court to seek clarity on the order.

     

    In the order, the Court said: “The appeal as well as writ petition (civil) 8458/2007 are allowed to the extent that the live broadcasting signal shared by ESPN/STAR by virtue of the Sports Act with Prasar Bharati, shall not be carried in the designated Doordarshan channels under the must carry obligation cast by the Cable TV Network Act on cable operators. This shall operate prospectively.”

     

    In its directive, the Court observed that while the advertisement revenue received by DD in respect of the shared content of the sports channels was to be shared in the ratio of not less than 75:25, “it still does not cater to the loss of subscription revenue” by ESPN and Star.

    BCCI, Nimbus Communications and the two sports channels (ESPN and Star) had challenged the High Court’s single judge November 2007 order rejecting their pleas that no cable television network, Direct-to-Home (DTH) Network, multi-system network or local cable operator could broadcast such sports events without a licence from the content owners.

  • College Football Playoff semifinal brings in New Year cheer to ESPN

    College Football Playoff semifinal brings in New Year cheer to ESPN

    MUMBAI: While it has been just a few days since the year has reigned in, it has already brought in cheer to sportscaster ESPN. The sportscaster’s move to pay $7.3 billion over 12 years including a reported $610 million annual commitment this year has paid off if the TV ratings are taken into account. The two games of the inaugural College Football Playoff semifinals on ESPN on 1 January 2015, delivered the largest two audiences in cable television history claims the channel.

    The Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at 5 pm. ET –  wherein Oregon defeated previously unbeaten Florida State 59-20, the largest margin of victory in the Rose Bowl Game since 1948 – averaged 28,164,000 viewers (P2+), based on a 14.8 rating, according to Nielsen. On the other hand, the Allstate Sugar Bowl at 9 pm ET – Ohio State 42-35 over top-seeded Alabama – averaged 28,271,000 viewers, based on a 15.2 rating.

    Speaking about the spurt in the TV ratings, ESPN executive vice president, programming and production John Wildhack said, “These record-setting numbers illustrate the enormous fan interest in college football and the wide-ranging appeal of the new college football playoff format,” He went on to add that the channel was excited to further build on the success when it showcases the first ever college football layoff national championship on 12 January.

    Both games generated an increase over the ESPN bowl games in the respective 1 January time slots a year ago: a 51 per cent increase in viewership for the Rose Bowl Game (vs. 18,636,000) and 150 per cent increase for the Sugar Bowl (vs. 11,304,000). The ratings rose 45 percent (from 10.2) and 130 percent (from 6.6), respectively.

     

    The average New Year’s Six game live on WatchESPN attracted 5,05,000 unique viewers, 26.2 million minutes viewed and an average minute audience of 118,000 – up by 229 percent, 214 percent and 198 percent, respectively, compared to the same dates last year, says the channel.

    On social media, four million tweets were sent about the New Year’s Six Bowl games across the two days comprising 70 per cent of all tweets about TV programming in those 48 hours. Additionally, despite the score of the matchup between Florida State and Oregon in the Rose Bowl, it was the most tweeted about game of the New Year’s Six with 2.6 million tweets and ranks as the most tweeted about football game (NFL or college) of the 2014-15 season.

    The New Year’s Day semifinal winners – Oregon and Ohio State (both 13-1) – will play in the inaugural championship presented by AT&T at 8 30 pm. on ESPN, WatchESPN and ESPN Radio. In addition, ESPN Deportes will provide exclusive Spanish-language coverage of the championship. ESPN Deportes Radio also will carry game, marking the first-ever national Spanish-language radio broadcast of a college football title game. As part of the deal to telecast the games, the sports caster will telecast seven games a year; four major bowl games, two semifinal bowl games and the national championship game.

     

  • ESPN’s SportsCentre anchor Stuart Scott passes away

    ESPN’s SportsCentre anchor Stuart Scott passes away

    MUMBAI: Stuart Scott, one of ESPN’s signature SportsCenter anchors, died after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He was 49.

     

    Scott is survived by his two daughters, Taelor, and Sydni; his parents, O. Ray and Jacqueline Scott; and his three siblings Stephen Scott, Synthia Kearney, Susan Scott and their families.  His girlfriend, Kristin Spodobalski, along with support from his loving family, close friends and colleagues, were with him as he underwent through several surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation and clinical trials.

     

     ESPN president John Skipper said, “ESPN and everyone in the sports world have lost a true friend and a uniquely inspirational figure in Stuart Scott.” Providing a few anecdotes about the man, he added, “Who engages in mixed martial arts training in the midst of chemotherapy treatments?   Who leaves a hospital procedure to return to the set?” Skipper went on to add that the passing away of Scott had “left a void that can never be replaced.”

     

    On 16 July 2014, Scott accepted the Jimmy V Perseverance Award at the ESPYs.  During his speech, he shared his approach to fighting cancer. “I said, I’m not losing. I’m still here. I’m fighting. I’m not losing.  But I’ve got to amend that.  When you die, that does not mean that you lose to cancer.  You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you live.  So live.  Live.  Fight like hell,” he said as he provided his mantra to live long.

     

    For 21 years, he was arguably the most recognizable and quotable personalities and one of the most popular sportscasters around the world. His catchphrases, including his most famous “Boo-ya” and “As cool as the other side of the pillow,” have become an integral part of pop culture.  

     

    After joining the network in 1993 for the launch of ESPN2, Scott became a leading voice on ESPN’s SportsCenter, where he anchored the 11pm show. During his career with ESPN, Scott covered a slew of major events, including the NBA Finals, Super Bowl, Major League Baseball playoffs and World Series, the NCAA Final Four and more.

     

    From 2007-2011 Scott was the host of ABC Sports’ weekly NBA Sunday studio show, ESPN’s NBA studio show, and served as a host during the NBA Finals Trophy presentation each year. Scott also hosted numerous ESPN and ABC series and specials, including Dream Job, Stump The Schwab, ESPN’s 25th Anniversary Special, and The ESPY Red Carpet Show. In addition to this busy TV schedule, he had also worked as a regular contributor to ESPN: The Magazine, ESPN Radio, and ESPN.com.

     

    Most recently, Scott was in the anchor chair alongside his longtime partner, Steve Levy, when ESPN re-launched SportsCenter on a new set. He not only interviewed most of the world’s top athletes, but also interviewed top celebrities, newsmakers, and politicians. Scott interviewed and played a televised game of one-on-one basketball with President Barack Obama, one of his two interviews with the President, and conducted numerous one-on-one interviews with the likes of Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Denzel Washington and President Bill Clinton.

    At North Carolina he played wide receiver and defensive back for a club football team.
    He was diagnosed with cancer in November 2007, and dealt with recurring bouts of the disease

     

  • Flo Rida gets down with NBA on ESPN

    Flo Rida gets down with NBA on ESPN

    MUMBAI: IMG/Poe Boy/Atlantic recording artist Flo Rida has announced an array of activity surrounding his hot new single, G.D.F.R. (feat. Sage the Gemini and Lookas) is available now at all DSP’s. Currently standing at number one atop the iTune’s stores Top Hip-Hop/Rap Songs chart, G.D.F.R. (feat. Sage the Gemini and Lookas) is featured in the latest ad from the new NBA on ESPN campaign titled, This Is Your Game. The track will be the baseline soundtrack for ESPN’s coverage of the entire 2014-15 NBA season, with spots and other digital/social elements slated to run across all ESPN platforms.

     

    G.D.F.R (feat. Sage the Gemini and Lookas) has also received online appreciation, with critical acclaim coming from national outlets as The Source, which noted the track is “likely to be a club favourite.” In addition, the track’s official lyric video was premiered on Flo Rida’s official YouTube channel.

     

    Flo Rida who is a recognizable hip hop hero, burst out of the gate in 2007 with the RIAA 7x platinum certified hit, Low (feat. T-Pain) and spent 10 consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. The Miami-based rapper has a string of record-breaking, multi-platinum certified singles, including the worldwide favourite, Right Round (Feat. Ke$ha), In the Ayer (feat. will.i.am) and Club Can’t Handle Me (feat. David Guetta). In addition, Flo has made guest appearances on tracks such as David Guetta’s platinum certified Where Them Girls At, Troublemaker and Taio Cruz’s chart-topper, Hangover.

  • NBA to receive $ 24 billion over 9 years from Walt Disney, Time Warner

    NBA to receive $ 24 billion over 9 years from Walt Disney, Time Warner

    BENGALURU: The National Basketball Association, USA (NBA) is likely to receive $ 24 billion (about Rs 1,47,000 crore) from Time Warner’s TNT and Disney’s ESPN and APC Networks in a renewed contract over 9 years according to a Bloomberg report. The channels will carry NBA games through 2024-25, paying almost triple the amount for the contract that is set to expire in 2015-16. According to Bloomberg, the channels pay a combined USD 930 million (approximately Rs 5700 crore) a year to the NBA.

     

    According to an NBA press release, the agreements were announced on 6 October, by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver; Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, chairman of the NBA’s Media Committee; Turner Broadcasting System President David Levy; and ESPN President and Disney Media Networks Co-Chairman John Skipper. The NBA’s current eight-year deals with ABC/ESPN and TNT expire at the end of the 2015-16 season.

     

    “The Walt Disney Company and Turner Broadcasting share responsibility for the growing popularity and interest the NBA enjoys, and we are thrilled to extend our partnerships,” said Silver. “With these new agreements, our fans will continue to benefit from the outstanding NBA coverage and programming provided by ABC, ESPN, TNT, NBA TV and their digital platforms.”

     

    “These nine-year extensions with Disney and Turner recognise the extraordinary value of live premium sports,” said Leonsis. “On behalf of our Media Committee and the other team owners, we thank Disney and Turner for their commitment to the NBA and its fans.”

     

    “This is a significant deal for our company and we are pleased to continue our long-standing partnership with the NBA, its fans, owners and players,” said Levy. “The agreement locks in some of the most valuable, original, premium live sports programming that we’ll continue to monetise across TNT and all other platforms within our extensive portfolio and will help further grow our businesses into the next decade.”

     

    “The NBA has never been more popular globally and it continues to grow under Adam’s leadership,” said Skipper. “By acquiring significantly more NBA content on both existing and yet-to-be created platforms, we will establish a vibrant year-round relationship with the NBA and bolster what is already the sports industry’s most impressive and impactful collection of media rights.”

     

    Under the agreements, the partners will televise more national regular-season games (ABC/ESPN: 100; Turner: 64) and will continue to do so generally on Wednesdays (ESPN), Thursdays (TNT), Fridays (ESPN), and Sundays (ABC/ESPN). By the end of these new agreements, the NBA’s partnership will reach 41 years with Turner, while the league’s relationship with ABC/ESPN will extend to 23 years. Additionally, NBA TV’s Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Saturday game telecasts will continue to fill out the schedule, ensuring a full week of nationally televised games. The NBA’s 24-hour network will present over 100 regular-season games each year.

     

    The NBA release says further that the NBA and Turner will also continue their groundbreaking partnership to manage jointly the NBA’s digital assets including NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA Mobile, NBA LEAGUE PASS, and WNBA.com, which Turner operates out of its Atlanta production facility. TNT will also debut the first-ever NBA Awards Show, an annual event which will air at the end of the season, and will have expanded activation opportunities surrounding key NBA pillars such as Opening Night and NBA All-Star Week.

     

    Under the agreement, ESPN will be granted enhanced digital rights to provide NBA content for multiple ESPN platforms, including ESPN.com and WatchESPN.

     

    The parties have also established a framework for ESPN and the NBA to negotiate the launch of a new over-the-top offering in which the league would receive an equity interest. Details for the new offering will be announced at a future date.

     

    Under a new deal with the WNBA, games will continue to be televised on ABC and ESPN/ESPN2 through the 2025 season. ESPN also will have enhanced in-progress highlight rights for the WNBA on digital and linear platforms.

     

    Beginning with the 2016-17 season, for the first time, at least 20 NBA Development League games and NBA Summer League games will be seen on the ESPN television networks.

     

    Turner Sports will have enhanced content/digital rights to NBA content for multiple TNT platforms including Bleacher Report; interactive online elements such as selected camera angles, statistic feeds and video to complement TNT’s telecasts; and broadband and other content for digital platforms, including highlights and studio shows. This includes the opportunity to develop and distribute new NBA content and programming for Bleacher Report, as well as rights to highlights for incorporation into the brand’s popular team and topic-centric Team Stream Now video offerings.

  • MIB gives licence to 12 new channels

    MIB gives licence to 12 new channels

    MUMBAI: 12 new channels have been added to the list of permitted private satellite TV channels in India after they received licence clearances from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). As of 31 August 2014, there are 810 channels in all as compared to 798 till 28 August 2014.

     

    Of the 12 additions, one is a news channel and the rest are non-news. The total news and current affairs channels in the country are now 398 and non-news and current affairs are 412.

     

    The new channels that have received clearances include Blue, ESPN, ESPN HD, Star Sports Highlights, Star Cricket Asia, Janam and Green TV.

     

    Meanwhile, existing channels Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2, Star Sports 3 and Star Sports 4 have got permission for languages English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and any other language as permitted under the Constitution of India.

     

    Star Sports HD1 and Star Sports HD2 have got permission for languages English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Bodo and Dogri. New channels under Star India that got permission- ESPN, ESPN HD, Star Sports Highlights and Star Cricket Asia also have permission for all the above languages.

     

    The number of TV channels permitted for uplink from and downlink to India has increased from 671 to 682 with 376 (earlier 375) news and 306 (earlier 296) non-news channels. The number of channels permitted for uplink from India has increased from 34 to 35 with six news and 29 (earlier 28) non-news channels.

     

    TV channels that can only downlink in India stayed constant at 93 with 16 news and 77 non-news channels.

  • Metallica releases new song

    Metallica releases new song

    MUMBAI: It was in March, this year, that Metallica first debuted the song at a concert in Bogotá, Colombia.

     

    The new recording dubbed ‘First Pass Version’ clocks in eight minutes and 20 seconds and recalls the group’s 80s offerings, with a fiery solo from lead guitarist Kirk Hammett.

     

    Drummer Lars Ulrich told Rolling Stone that the song is “fairly representative of where our creative headspace is at right now.” 

     

    Whether the track makes the final cut of Metallica’s next album remains to be seen, but it will by synching with all ESPN’s programming in the US on 21 June 2014.

     

    The band is currently on their ‘Metallica By Request’ run of dates, and are due to headline the main stages at Glastonbury Festival on 28 June, and Sonisphere Festival on 6 July.

     

    They recently took time out to play the MusiCares MAP Fund gala in California where they paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, whilst frontman James Hetfield joined forces with former Van Hale frontman Sammy Hagar at a benefit concert Acoustic-4-a-Cure.