ITV

Tag: Roberto Carlos

  • Ten Sports to telecast Ronaldo XI vs Zidane XI charity match

    Ten Sports to telecast Ronaldo XI vs Zidane XI charity match

    MUMBAI: A year after a similar event held last year in Switzerland, Real Madrid’s Barnabeu Stadium is set to stage an all-star “Match against Poverty” on Tuesday organised by two of the teams superstars Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane.

    The game, to fund United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) projects, will kick off at 9:30 pm local time (Wednesday, 1:30 am IST) and will be telecast live on Ten Sports.

    The Match Against Povertyas it has been billed pits Ronaldo and Friends against Zinedine Zidane & Friends and is sanctioned by world governing body, FIFA, and supported by Real Madrid.

    Zidane and Friends would be looking to avenge their 4-3 loss in the inaugural edition, which was played at St Jacobs Park Stadium in Basel, Switzerland, and raised in excess of $ 1.3 million for various UNDP projects in Asia, Africa and Latin America. A full-house 70,000 spectators are expected to watch the match, while television telecast will reach an additional 1.2 billion homes. Entry to the game will be free but organisers are asking spectators to make a donation to charity at the turnstiles.

    Ten Sports is proud to be associated with this noble cause. Often, we regard sports purely as entertainment, but this match highlights the immense social contribution it makes to our lives, said Taj Television Ltd (owners of Ten Sports) CEO Chris McDonald.

    Ronaldo and Zidane, who are goodwill ambassadors of UNDP, have invited some of the best names in the game for the match, including England skipper David Beckham, their teammate with Real Madrid. Also expected to take part are Luis Figo, Cesar, Roberto Carlos, Ivan Helguera, Raul, Paul Gascoigne, Alan Shearer and Patrick Kluivert, among others. Formula 1 superstar Michael Schumacher is also expected to take the field for some time and display his soccer skills.

    Brazilian international Roque Junior, who was subjected to racist chanting when he played for German team Bayer Leverkusen against Real Madrid at the same venue earlier this year, has also accepted an invitation to play the match, thus underlining the importance of the cause. Acclaimed referee Pierluigi Collina, who officiated in the last international match of his career earlier this year during Euro 2004, will also come out of his retirement for the match.

  • ESPN to air Spanish Soccer in Latin America, Pacific Rim

    LOS ANGELES: Sports broadcaster ESPN has reached a new multi-year agreement for telecast rights to the Spanish Football League throughout Latin America and the Pacific Rim.
    The new agreement means that ESPN, which has broadcast Spanish Football matches in Latin America since 1998, will continue to televise the property through the 2005-06 season. As part of the deal, ESPN also acquires extensive telecast rights for the Copa del Rey for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons.
    An official release informs that the terms of the new agreement call for ESPN to have exclusive cable and satellite rights for Spanish Football for up to eight matches per round for the remainder of the current season. For the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, ESPN will have exclusive cable and satellite rights to all matches played in each round. ESPN will offer live telecasts of Spanish Football on all its networks in Latin America including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+, and ESPN Brasil, as well as on its network serving Australia and New Zealand in the Pacific Rim adds the release.
    In addition ESPN will produce a new studio show for Latin America viewers. Goles de Espa?a will debut on 3 November and will feature analysis and match highlights from La Liga. Goles de Espa?a.
    La Liga features an array of Latin American stars such as Brazilians Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid), Argentines Javier Saviola (Barcelona) and Pablo Aimar (Valencia), and Mexican Rafael Marquez (Barcelona). Defending champions Real Madrid have added English pop icon David Beckham to its star studded lineup this season. Six of the last seven World Players of the Year now play with Real Madrid.

  • Nick obtains kids’ media rights for MU Premier Cup

    Nick obtains kids’ media rights for MU Premier Cup

    LONDON: Nickelodeon has received exclusive kids’ media rights to the Manchester United Premier Cup tournament in Beaverton, Oregon.
     

    An official release informs that Nickelodeon channels around the world will premiere a 30-minute special this August offering viewers highlights from the largest and most prestigious football tournament in the world for kids under 15 years old.

    In addition, 33 newly produced vignettes shot around the world featuring professional players, as well as kids competing for a place in the youth tournament finals, will premiere on-air this month.

    UK production company TWI is producing the new vignettes that will debut on Nick globally. These will feature both kid and professional players, each spotlighting a unique, inspiring story reflecting the different cultures that are united when it comes to playing and enjoying the game.

    Parts of the programming will comprise a half-hour highlight special that will premiere on Nick channels globally in August, along with new footage from the event itself featuring kid and professional players.

    Professional players confirmed to appear in the vignettes or special include Roberto Carlos (Brazil), Brett Emerton (Australia), Freddie Ljungberg (Sweden), Fernando Torres (Spain), Landon Donovan (US – men) and Mia Hamm (US – women).

    The channels are also running a contest to send kids to the tournament, enabling them to participate in a Football Clinic with professional Manchester United players, among other activities. Viewers can enter the contest via local Nick web sites, as well as by telephone and post.

    At the tournament, kids and their families will be able to watch the Manchester United first team train, participate in the Football Clinic training sessions with professional football players, and watch all of the matches including the finals.

    The release informs that 20 youth football teams from across the globe will gather in Beaverton from 15-18 July to compete for the chance to become the Manchester United Premier Cup champions for the year. With more than 107,000 players across five continents and 40 countries participating in qualification matches over the last year, the Premier Cup showcases some of the brightest football stars of the future.

    Senior director programming, acquisitions and content development, Nickelodeon Europe Jules Borkent said, “We’re excited that Nickelodeon has received the exclusive kids’ media rights to the Manchester United Premier Cup. Football is by far the most popular sport worldwide, and our programming and contest dedicated to the Manchester United Premier Cup will inspire kids to play, watch and learn in a creative environment that only Nickelodeon can offer.”

    The release states that the Premier Cup was developed by Nike a decade ago with the aim of providing junior players at grassroots level with the opportunity to compete in a high quality international tournament and test their skills against the best in the world.

    For the first time this year, the Premier Cup will be jointly organised by NIKE and Manchester United, as part of the commitment both have made to invest in a grassroots football programme that will focus on youth participation and skills development.

    According to a press note, Nickelodeon is seen in 279.1 million households and 156 countries, with channels and branded blocks in Africa, Asia and the Pacific Rim, Latin America, Europe, CIS/Baltic Republics and the US.