ITV

Tag: renews

  • ESS renews contract with Dish TV

     BANGALORE: ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has renewed the subscription contract to distribute the channels on the Dish TV DTH platform. The deal is for two years starting from 1 February, 2006.

    ESPN India VP, sales and marketing, Sricharan Iyengar said, “India’s well developed cable industry has enjoyed the popularity of sports for pushing its growth. We expect that sports will have a similar effect on building the popularity of the DTH platform as well. We are extremely bullish about the growth of DTH platform in India in the coming years and expect to earn more than 100 crores as subscription revenue over the next two years.”

    Dish TV CEO Sunil Khanna said, “It is our endeavour to bring the best of programmes to the homes of our customers. We have recently crossed the three million viewership mark, and presence of ESPN Star Sports has been one of the important driving factors in Dish TV’s penetration across India.”

    Iyengar adds, “ESPN and Star Sports have been on the Dish TV platform for over two years. The growth of Dish TV in last one year has been very impressive and we believe that the popularity of our channels has contributed in accelerating the growth of Dish TV. ESPN Star Sports’ exciting sports content like Premier Hockey League, Fifa World Cup 2006 and so on will continue to benefit Dish TV in increasing its sales further.”

  • HBO renews the epic drama series ‘Rome’

    MUMBAI: HBO US has renewed its epic drama series Rome for a second season. The show which is a co-production beween HBO and The BBC looks at the rise of the ancient Roman empire through the eyes of two foot-soldiers.
     
     

    Production of the 12-episode second season will begin next March, with the debut set for 2007. HBO Entertainment president Carolyn Strauss says, “Although the first season of Rome is just underway, we’re affirming our support for this exciting and ambitious series by preparing for a second season now. I am delighted that critics and subscribers share our enthusiasm for the show.”
     
     

    Production is based at Rome’s Cinecitta Studios. Additional location footage has been shot throughout Europe and North Africa. The lead writer is English screen-writer Bruno Heller, who is also an executive producer on the drama. Rome is an intimate drama of love and betrayal, masters and slaves, and husbands and wives. It chronicles epic times that saw the fall of a republic and the creation of an empire.

  • ESS renews rights for Augusta Masters Golf

    MUMBAI: One of Golf’s most prestigious tournaments The Augusta Masters will continue to enjoy a high profile in Asia. ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has renewed the rights for ‘The Masters Championship,’ which is played every year in Augusta, Georgia, USA.
     

    ESS states that this latest acquisition reinforces its position as Asia’s number one sports broadcaster. ESS’ other golf properties include The Open Championships and the US Open.

    ESS MD RC Venkateish said, “We are delighted to have renewed our agreement to deliver the year’s first and most prestigious golf major to viewers in Asia. ESPN Star Sports showcases the biggest Golf events in the world like the PGA Championships, the US Open and has always brought the best from the world of sports across disciplines, to its audience in every nook and corner of the country.”
     
     

    The battle for the coveted ‘green jacket’, to be held in the first half of April this year, is one followed by millions in the region and once again fans can expect to see world-class coverage of the Masters. The agreement will allow ESPN Star Sports to take full advantage of packaging and producing programming in its own style and will include daily highlights, analysis as well as profiles of top competitors and Asian golfers.”

    Under the terms of the new agreement, fans will enjoy daily live coverage of the tournament supported by a package of additional programming including previews and highlights. In addition, ESS will have access to archived Masters official film footage featuring highlights from past tournaments.

    The agreement represents the continuation of a successful partnership between ESS and Augusta National – the distributor of the Masters that has seen trends in golf viewing increase in most of the network’s people-metered markets.

    The Masters Championship at Augusta continues to increase in popularity. During last year’s coverage of the Masters, ESS and its satellite partners in Asia saw viewership grow by six per cent from the previous year. Overall interest in the sport is also showing signs of strong growth with an estimated 46 million viewers tuning into ESS golf programming including the Masters.

    This reflects an upward trend in golf’s appeal in Asia attributed in part to the growing number of Asian players performing strongly on the international golf circuit. Among the Asian players making their mark in the big leagues are Arjun Atwal (India), Jyoti Randhawa (India), Shigeiki Maruyama (Japan), Tongchai Jaidee (Thailand) and Kiyoshi Miyazato (Japan).

    ESS’ coverage of the 2005 Masters and the battle for the coveted green jacket will begin on 8 April, 2005.