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Tag: ESS

  • Bangla board sets $ 50 million reserve price for cricket rights

    Bangla board sets $ 50 million reserve price for cricket rights

    MUMBAI: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), which has issued a tender to sell marketing rights including those for television and the Internet for six years until 2012, has fixed a reserve price of $ 50 million for bids.

    This is a massive mark-up from the $11.75 million ESPN Star Sports paid last time round when it acquired the rights for a period of five years. Those rights expired in April last year.

    The BCB’s new tender invitation is for the period 1 November 2006 to 31 March 2012.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com earlier, ESPN India MD RC Venkateish had said that his network was certainly interested in renewing the rights.

    Among the rather tough clauses in the tender document the BCB has issued are:

    * Only firms experienced in using similar rights and having an annual turnover of $15 million will be eligible to participate in the tender.

    * All revenues will be shared between BCCB and the successful bidder in a ratio of 80:20 in favour of BCCB.

    $ 2 million deposit to be submitted before bids opened.

    * Production the responsibility of the bidder though there are allowable expenses against the winning bid (subject to the board agreeing) including production costs.

    * As the incumbent broadcaster, ESS will have the right to match any bid from a rival broadcaster if its bid is lower.

    Bangladesh is expected to play around 40 tests and over 100 one-day internationals during this period.

    The big question among more than one industry watcher is this – will any broadcaster bid even the floor price of $ 50 million let alone cross it?

  • Bangladesh Cricket Board to sell six-year rights

    Bangladesh Cricket Board to sell six-year rights

    MUMBAI: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has issued a tender to sell marketing rights including those for television and the Internet for six years until 2012.

    ESPN Star Sports (ESS) is the incumbent. Its rights had expired last year. Speaking to indiantelevision.com this afternoon ESS India MD R.C. Venkateish says that the channel is certainly interested in renewing the rights. 

    The tender is expected to fetch about $40 million adds a Reuters report. Bangladesh is expected to play around 40 tests and over 100 one-day internationals during this period.

  • ESS’ hockey initiative PHL kicks off on 2 January 2007

    ESS’ hockey initiative PHL kicks off on 2 January 2007

    MUMBAI: The third edition of Premier Hockey League (PHL) the grassroots competition to give Indian hockey a push will kick off on 2 January 2007.

    The initiative is being organised by ESPN Star Sports (ESS) and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF).

    This time around the league moves to a single tier firmat. The top seven teams of last year will fight for the title in a two month long event which will be co-hosted by Chennai and Chandigarh.
    In the first two editions there were two tiers with five teams each. This time these seven teams are Sher-e- Jalandhar, Maratha Warriors, Chandigarh Dynamos, Bangalore Lions, Hyderabad Sultans as well as the top two teams from tier II Orissa Steelers and Chennai Veerans.

    The seven teams play each other twice in a total of 42 matches. There will be a best of three playoff in the final. IHF president KPS Gill says, “The PHL has set new benchmarks as the world took notice of a completely new revolutionary league with the third umpire being introduced for the first time in Indian hockey. Keeping in accordance with our innovations to make the league more interesting we have raised the competitiveness in the league. We envisage more cutthroat competition this year that will be good for Indian hockey.”

    ESS India MD R.C. Venkateish says, “We have redefined hockey broadcvast with PHL. The tournament has been a viewing spectacle with comoprehensive match analysis, pre match and post match shows, bi-lingual commentary in English and in Hindi. Hockey lovers acros the country have loved and followed PHL for the first two years of the tournaments novel concepts and innovations.

    “Innovations like coloured jerseys, foreign players in the domestic league the use of a third umpire and now the top seven teams in the Premier Division will revolutionise hockey viewing and make PHL the most viewer friendly league in the country. Maurits Hendricks the incumbent coach of the Spanish Team has been reappointed as the consultant for the PHL.

    “He will provide his valuable inputs to all the participating teams during PHL. He will also be responsible for shortlisting foreign players for the league. We are confident that more foreign players will be seen this year as compared to last year. The initial feedback from the European players has been very heartening.”

    Like last year each game has four quarters of 17 minutes and 30 seconds each. The winner gets three points. If a match goes into extra time the winner gets two points while the loser gets one. Leisure Sports chairman and MD SS Dasgupta, said, “LSM with its in-depth knowledge of and involvement with Indian hockey is very confident that the proposed tournament will be a grand success. We are currently working on a detailed blue-print to ensure that PHL dons the look of a grand carnival. We are committed to offering an international quality experience to hockey fans – they will get the best of hockey, as well a s spectator facilities inside the stadium.”

  • TDSAT declines stay as SET, ESPN and ESS move against CAS pricing

    TDSAT declines stay as SET, ESPN and ESS move against CAS pricing

    MUMBAI: Acting on expected lines, broadcasters have finally taken legal recourse against the Rs 5 tariff that the sector regulator had set as the price for accessing pay channels in a CAS regime.

    Three separate petitions filed against the order of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) by Set Discovery Ltd, ESPN Star Sports (ESS) and ESPN Software India came up for hearing this morning before the apeals tribunal.
    However, the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), which heard the case today, issued no directive to stay Trai’s order.

    A point of note is that of the three petitions that came up for hearing today, two of them were moved commonly by ESS and ESPN Software.

    TDSAT has set the matter for further argument and a possible order on 13 November. The pay broadcasters have challenged the two Trai notifications dated 24 August (on carriage fee) and 31 August (channel pricing).

    The channels have also challenged the revenue sharing model designed for industry stakeholders by Trai. The sector regulator had specified in the notification that the revenue generated from pay channels leaves the broadcaster with 45 per cent, while the multi system operators (MSOs) stays on with 30 per cent and the cable operators get 25 per cent.

    Interestingly, the two major MSOs; Hathway and Hinduja-owned IndusInd Media and Communications have intervened in the appeal in support of Trai’s decision on the CAS pricing.

    For the record, the 24 August notification had mentioned that the carriage fee is to be retained fully by MSOs and can operate throughout a CAS area without any restriction on area of operation.

    Subsequently, SitiCable Networks Ltd (now renamed WWIL) has also filed a petition at the tribunal appealing that the MSO must have a share in the basic tier services fee, which according to Trai notification must be retained fully by local cable operators.

    Earlier this year, a division bench of the Delhi High Court had passed an order directing the implementation of CAS with effect from 31 December in the south zones of the three metros; Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.

  • ESS selects Omneon MediaGrid and Spectrum for tapeless production environment

    ESS selects Omneon MediaGrid and Spectrum for tapeless production environment

    MUMBAI: TOmneon Video Networks has announced that ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has purchased a MediaGrid active storage system and Omneon Spectrum media server systems.

    This will serve as the core of a new production system capable of handling 2,000 hours of media at 50 MB/s. The storage and server implementation, which is being designed and supplied by UK-based systems integrator TSL, will support a new file-based environment and a much more flexible and collaborative production workflow for the network’s live sports and sports news coverage.

    Combining grid storage and grid computing through the use of multiple intelligent, interconnected-yet-independent storage servers, the Omneon MediaGrid system dramatically enhances the efficiency of digital media access for users and applications across the entire broadcast workflow. The MediaGrid system provides centralized shared storage that is scalable in capacity, bandwidth, and media processing power.

    The modular MediaGrid system uses industry-standard components and connectivity to create a highly configurable, reliable, and cost-effective system. Components of the system communicate over standard Ethernet networks and generate massive aggregate bandwidth that is available to external clients of the system, eliminating bottlenecks associated with traditional shared-storage environments. Each storage component is also a media-processing engine, making computational resources available to applications for media-processing functions while content resides within the storage system.

    The Omneon-based storage system will be managed by an OmniBus OPUS News & Sports Logging system and deliver archive content to a new Front Porch Digital DIVArchive system. The initial system build and test of the overall production system at ESS is scheduled for January 2007.

    ESS senior VP, operations and technology Tom McVeigh says, “In the fast-moving world of multiregion, multilanguage live sports, we need technology that allows us to enhance the offerings we provide to our viewers. Omneon’s storage solutions are flexible, scalable, and future-proof systems we can rely on to deliver cost-effective storage for our production environment.

    “The MediaGrid will integrate well with our existing systems and with other new gear to enable a complete overhaul of our production workflows. It is one of the more critical pieces in this puzzle, and it will play a key role in enabling us to achieve our overall project objectives.

    ESS is moving from a totally tape-based production environment to a fully server-based environment, which will allow the network to establish far more rapid turnaround of sports content to its 13 television networks. The project, dubbed Home Run will incorporate the Omneon MediaGrid system and four Omneon Spectrum media servers equipped with 50 I/O ports and linked directly to 25 Apple Creative Studio systems, equipped with Final Cut Pro® nonlinear edit systems, to enable immediate edit-in-place capability at multiple workstations simultaneously. Within this collaborative workflow, production staff will not only gain faster access to media, but also gain the ability to view and work with other packages under production.

    TSL head of sales Russell Grute says, “The timely and accurate production of sports content for 13 channels broadcast in four languages to 26 countries presents an enormous technical challenge. Omneon’s storage systems in conjunction with OmniBus’ Opus will greatly enhance the capacity, flexibility, and speed of operations at ESS, enabling the new Home Run system to offer a faster and more collaborative workflow. A whole new approach to production and media lifecycle management for a busy sports and news broadcaster like ESS.”

  • ESS brings English Premier League & Spanish Football League on weekends

    ESS brings English Premier League & Spanish Football League on weekends

    MUMBAI: Espn Star Sports will telecast live and exclusive top soccer action from the English Premier League and the Spanish Football league this weekend. The network will showcase its proprietary properties Premiership Saturday and Super Sunday showcasing taction from the world’s best football leagues.

    Liverpool will host Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday which will be the match of the weekend with both clubs looking for three points after indifferent starts to the season. Liverpool fresh from mid week victory at home over Newcastle will look at three much needed points this weekend. Londoners Fulham will host Champions Chelsea who thwarted Liverpool’s challenge last weekend. The Blues are third on the table with only Manchester United and surprisingly Portsmouth leading them.

    Manchester United will also be in action on Saturday as they visit the newly promoted Reading who have shown grit and work man ship like qualities to be sixth on the table early in the season. United can not afford slip ups after they were defeated by old rivals Arsenal last weekend. The Gunners also take to field against lowly Sheffield United who are still looking to register their first win in the Premiership. All eyes will be on the return of Thierry Henry and if Arsene Wenger partners him with Adebayor up front.

    In the Primera Liga, Defending Champions Barcelona, host Valencia with the two powerhouses of soccer tied at nine points from three games. Though very early in the season, victory will certainly give the winner a psychological edge in the Spanish league. The Real Madrid Galacticos will tune themselves to face Real Betis late on Saturday.
    English Premiere League

    23 Sep 06 Liverpool Vs Tottenham Hotspur (L) 5:10 ESPN
    23 Sep 06 Fulham Vs Chelsea (L) 7:25 ESPN
    23 Sep 06 Arsenal Vs Sheffield United (L) 7:25 STAR Sports
    23 Sep 06 Reading Vs Manchester United (L) 9:40 STAR Sports
    23 Sep 06 Manchester City Vs West Ham United (S) 10:00 ESPN
    24 Sep 06 Newcastle United Vs Everton (L) 8:25 ESPN
    Spanish Football League
    24 Sep 06 Real Betis Vs Real Madrid (L) 01:25 ESPN
    25 Sep 06 Barcelona Vs Valencia (L) 00:25 ESPN

  • ESS partners with Special Olympics

    ESS partners with Special Olympics

    MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has announced a partnership with the Special Olympics, the international non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the lives of people with intellectual disabilities.

    ESS says that it is well-positioned to deliver the Special Olympics message across Asia, including calling upon the services of sporting legends who have built a relationship with the network over the years.

    Among the media programmes lined up by ESS is the television production and broadcast of the 1st Special Olympics International Cricket Cup which will be held in Mumbai from 6-13 November 2006. 12 men’s and three women’s teams will take part in the inaugural competition, involving 272 athletes and over 600 volunteers, coaches and officials. The countries taking part in this inaugural event are India, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies. Female teams from India and Pakistan will also take part in this event.

    Special Olympics International chairman Timothy P. Shriver said, “We have been expanding and developing many programmes in the Asia Pacific region recently and have always had the goal to reach out to significantly many more people with intellectual disabilities worldwide. We have just reached two million athletes participating in 150 countries. Yet there are nearly 170 million more waiting. In addition, our message has to extend to the mass public in a much more powerful and significant way. ESPN Star Sports can make that happen.”

    Among the sporting stars who have stepped forward to lend their support to ESS’ commitment to Special Olympics are legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar, skipper Rahul Dravid, Irfan Pathan and Mohammad Kaif. Tailor-made public service announcements have been created by ESS featuring these Indian cricket legends.

    Special Olympics Asia Pacific MD Troy Greisen, says, “We are absolutely thrilled about this partnership with ESPN Star Sports as it is a great opportunity for us to spread the word and inspire people throughout Asia to get involved and support Special Olympics. ESPN Star Sports is the most powerful medium for us to achieve this as the premier sports network in Asia. Not only does ESPN Star Sports reach millions of viewers whose lives can be touched by our message and hopefully become supporters, it is also a great platform to showcase the ability of our Special Olympics athletes alongside other world class athletes.”

    ESS Asia MD Jamie Davis said, “Special Olympics is indeed a very special organisation. Its ideals are something we are very attracted to and something we want to fully support. Nothing will be more satisfying than to be able to play a small part in changing the lives of these special athletes.

    “ESPN Star Sports’ commitment will not stop at producing and broadcasting the flagship events of Special Olympics, which will start with the cricket tournament in Mumbai. ESPN and Star Sports will also run public service announcements to increase the awareness of people with intellectual disabilities and it’s staff will actively work with the Special Olympics athletes through volunteer coaching programmes”.

    ESS India MD RC Venkateish said, “Our network has a huge presence in India and we are looking forward to achieving something very important for Special Olympics in Asia. The continent has its own special athletes and through the powerful mediums of sports and television, we can help Asia play a more important role in helping people with intellectual disabilities.”

    Gavaskar said, “As a sportsman, getting involved in a cause as big as this, especially since it is about speaking for a group of athletes and promoting their cause throughout Asia, is perhaps one of main highlights of my career. If I am able to help achieve the goals that Special Olympics are looking for, then, it will perhaps even surpass what I have ever achieved in cricket.”

  • Tata Sky, ESS introduce interactivity in sport with Actve Sports

    Tata Sky, ESS introduce interactivity in sport with Actve Sports

    MUMBAI: Interactive sports content for the Indian audiences! That is what DTH platform Tata Sky has up its sleeve. The service has tied up with ESPN Star Sports (ESS) to launch its Actve Sports service. The first event is the ongoing Natwest tri series between England and Pakistan.

    Basically at any time in the match a viewer if he/she has missed what happened earlier can get highlights at the click of a button. They can also get statistics of the teams, players as well as ball trajectory courtesy a virtual screen. Viewers can also switch the language commentary and get expert analysis. This also applies to channels that have dubbed feeds like Discovery.

    Tata Sky CEO Vikram Kaushik noted that this initiative transforms the viewer from a couch potato to an active participant. This he says is just the start of new interactive services that will be introduced soon.

    Tata Sky is also looking for other sports broadcasters to jump on the bandwagon. While it has started with cricket Kaushik says that the likes of soccer, tennis give a lot of scope. In the future one could see a service where the viewer can see a four or a six being hit from different angles. Of course this requires work on the part of the broadcaster to put up extra cameras in certain locations. Also for the Natwest series Kaushik noted that there is a dedicated team of professionals doing the necessary updates as a match progresses.

    Tata Sky is looking to introduce a pay per view service for films in the coming weeks. For this purpose it is talking to both Indian and Hollywood film producers. This he says is a way for producers to get additional revenue and fight piracy. As far as getting in more channels in addition to the over 50 channels already present Kaushik expressed optimism that Zee would come onboard. He is also looking to rope in Sun TV. As far as bringing in niche channels are concerned he noted that at the moment exclusivity in DTH is not allowed. He hopes that partial exclusivity will allowed in the future so that someone who is interested in niche content like gardening or cooking can watch that kind of content on DTH even if it is not present on cable.

    When asked about targets he said that he would be disappointed if Tata Sky did not reach the one million subscriber mark in the first year of operation. In terms of breakeven the company is looking at a four to five year time frame. Right now the introductory price is Rs. 200 a month in addition to the Rs. 3999 for the dish and installation. In a few months time subscribers can choose from packages.

  • ESS Asia MD Jamie Davis to speak at sports television forum in China

    ESS Asia MD Jamie Davis to speak at sports television forum in China

    MUMBAI: The 2006 China International Sports TV Forum takes place in Beijing on 24 August.

    With technology breaking new ground for sports television decision-makers in sports, technology, branding, sponsorship, government and finance will debate and discuss the opportunities and future of sports television.

    The speakers include ESPN Star Sports (ESS) Asia MD Jamie Davis, Total Sports Asia COO Ian Ayre, Beijing Olympic Broadcasting COO Ma Guo Li and BBC Sport head of major events Dave Gordon.

    The topics for discussion include: Using creativity to attract the sports TV viewer, In Practice – A Case Study, A made-for-TV sports event – How and why it worked, The Future of Sports TV Production, Sports TV on the Move, In the Big League – Global sports media rights, Changing the landscape of sports sponsorship for Beijing and beyond and How China is setting the pace with new media solutions.

  • ESS announces executive appointments; Vijay Rajput made COO

    ESS announces executive appointments; Vijay Rajput made COO

    MUMBAI: ESPN Software India, today announced the appointment of Vijay Rajput as COO, Sricharan Iyengar as vice president and business head of the consumer business group and emerging technologies and Rajesh Kaul as vice president, affiliate sales.

    Commenting on the the executive changes, ESPN managing director RC Venkateish said, “These senior management appointments will help us focus our efforts on key growth areas, both for the present and the future and positions us to effectively evolve our organization to maximize new opportunities.”

    Vijay Rajput joined ESS as director finance in 1997. In his new role Rajput will be responsible for handling the finance, administration, HR and legal divisions at ESPN in addition to playing a pivotal role in the strategic management of the company. Rajput has considerable management expertise as he has an industry experience of nearly two decades.

    Iyengar, associated with ESS since 2000, was earlier overseeing the marketing & distribution functions of ESPN & STAR Sports across South Asia. While continuing to handle consumer marketing and direct to consumer services of DTH/Broadband and IPTV, Iyengar will lead the company’s thrust into the emerging technologies of mobile, wireless and internet.

    “We realise there is a big business opportunity on the emerging technologies. As a leading sports broadcaster, we will have to be omnipresent on all the delivery platforms. We will also have to plan for content on new media. This will require proper focus,” Iyengar says.

    Rajesh Kaul, who was earlier reporting to Iyengar, is given independent charge of affiliate sales. Matters relating to multi-system operators (MSOs) and cable TV operators will, thus, be handled by him.

    ESS recently tied up with mobile phone operator Airtel to offer voice-based update system during the Fifa World Cup. “Wireless can become a big platform. We tied up with Airtel during the football World Cup. We will see how this service evolves. CDMA mobile operators like Reliance Infocomm can offer video clips. We will have to create products for these new media vehicles,” Iyengar says.

    Value-added services on mobile phones is still evolving. “Sports and news will drive the mobile business. When we sort out the bandwidth issue, video-based applications will become popular,” he adds.