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Tag: Ten Sports Network

  • Ten Sports Network renews I-League broadcasting contract

    Ten Sports Network renews I-League broadcasting contract

    MUMBAI: Ten Sports Network has renewed the broadcasting contract of I-League for an additional one year. The broadcaster had the rights for 10 years since the inception of the league. The entire rights of India football is with IMG Reliance and the broadcaster’s deal is with the company.   

     

    The league was officially launched today in Kolkata in the presence of players from all nine competing clubs, along with All India Football Federation (AIFF) general secretary Kushal Das and representative from Hero Motocorp.

     

    This season will have two debutants in the I-League namely DSK Shivajians FC and Aizawl FC. With the addition of these two clubs, the battle for the ultimate glory in Indian football will be fought between nine clubs. The Hero I-League 2015-16 kicks off on the back of some solid showing by the Indian players in the recently concluded SAFF Championship 2015-16 and the Hero Indian Super League 2015.

     

    The first match of the Hero I-League 2015-16 season will see defending champions Mohun Bagan take on Aizawl FC in Kolkata on 9 January, 2016.

     

    Touting this Hero I-League season as the most competitive and promising, Das said, “We’ve witnessed an enthralling Hero I-League last season, which kept us captivated till the final whistle on 31 May, 2015. Definitely the teams will try to push their limits this season too and strive hard to win the silverware. Champions Mohun Bagan can’t show any signs of complacency as all eight teams will play out of their skins to dethrone them.”

     

    Hero MotoCorp chairman MD and CEO Pawal Munjal added, “This will be the second year of our association with the I-League and after the exemplary show last season, we are all eagerly looking forward to the upcoming season which kicks off in three days. Over the years we have continued to support various sporting events in the country and it gives us immense pleasure to be associated with both the Hero ISL as well as the Hero I-League. Football is fast emerging as one of the most popular sports among youngsters in the country and we are indeed happy to support the game. After the grand conclusion of the Hero ISL season 2, it is now time for Hero I-League to take centre stage.”

     

    Over the next five months, fans will get to witness 72 high-octane matches across six cities in the country. Traditional rivals Mohan Bagan and East Bengal will lock horns on 23 January, 2016 amidst the ever-so-passionate Kolkata fans. The return leg between these two Indian Football power houses will be played on 2 April, 2016.

     

    The Hero I-League 2015-16 champions will receive a whopping prize amount of Rs 1 crore. It may be recalled that the previous season’s champions pocketed Rs 70 lakh in prize money. The teams finishing second and third will win Rs 60 lakh and Rs 40 lakh respectively. Additionally, winners of every game will win Rs 50,000. As if this was not enough, travel subsidy has been raised to Rs 45 lakh with the match day subsidy hiked to Rs 1 lakh.

     

    The Hero I-League 2015-16 will be telecast live across the Ten Sports Network.

  • Essel Group to enter global sports biz; focus on cricket

    Essel Group to enter global sports biz; focus on cricket

    MUMBAI: Essel Group has rubbished media reports stating that the Subhash Chandra owned company was registering entity with names that appear to be rival national cricket boards.

     

    It may be recalled that way back in 2007, Essel Group had launched the Indian Cricket League, which did not meet with success.

     

    In an official statement, Essel Group pooh-poohed reports, which said that Ten Sports Network was registering certain entities pertaining to cricket as a sport.

     

    “We would like to clarify that the same is not true, since Ten Sports Network has no connection to this initiative, it being a sports network owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., a publicly listed company on Indian stock exchanges. Ten Sports Network holds the broadcast rights for five major cricketing boards namely South Africa (CSA), Zimbabwe (ZC), West Indies (WICB), Sri Lanka (SLC) and Pakistan (PCB) and many other premier sporting events like UEFA Champions League, US Open and WWE. It is a dominant player in the cricket broadcasting and production arena,” the company said.

     

    That said, Essel Group, however has been analysing the sports market and is looking at entering the sports business at a global level, with a focus on cricket.

     

    “The reports reflect an extremely positive trend, indicating our nation as a sports-loving nation, than just a cricket-loving nation. Our nation has produced several sports heroes in the realm of badminton, tennis, wrestling, golf, air rifle, etc. that have earned significant reputation not only for themselves but also for India. In order to enhance the overall sports business, we look forward to the entry of other Indian business houses as well. Essel Group is now geared up to enter the sports business at a global level, focusing on cricket, since it has been limited to Commonwealth countries. Our research reflects that there is an immense opportunity to make it a global sport,” the company said.

     

    The official statement also clarified that Lalit Modi had no linkage whatsoever with Essel Group in this initiative. “Essel Group is independently taking up this initiative on its own accord,” it added.

     

    The statement further read, “Essel Group takes immense pride in being the pioneer to grow and develop the domestic cricket market in India, with the launch of Indian Cricket League way back in 2007. Indian Premier League followed the footsteps of Indian Cricket League. Essel Group also owns the Mumbai Football Club for the last seven years.” 

  • Ten Sports extends broadcast rights for UEFA Champions League till 2018

    Ten Sports extends broadcast rights for UEFA Champions League till 2018

    MUMBAI: Ten Sports, one of the sports broadcasters in South Asia, has extended the broadcast rights for the premium football competitions: UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League for the next cycle of three seasons starting 2015-16.

     

    Ten Sports is also the current broadcast rights holder for the properties and has been airing these premier football competitions since 2006-07. “UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League rights had become the most key football property up for acquisition and Ten Sports Network reaffirms its commitment to promoting quality football through this major acquisition after beating other rival broadcasters to secure these rights,” the channel said through a statement.

     

    The new deal between UEFA and Ten Sports beginning from the 2015-16 season covers exclusive broadcast rights for the Indian subcontinent which includes India, Pakistan, Sri-Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Afghanistan. Ten Sports will broadcast these properties across all its platforms including premium HD offerings and live streaming of matches on tensports.com.

     

    The channel will broadcast 145 matches of UEFA Champions League and 205 matches of UEFA Europa League every season. Apart from these matches, it will also broadcast the annual UEFA Super Cup, the curtain raiser at the beginning of the European season played between the winners of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.  

     

    “We are delighted to extend our partnership with UEFA and have the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League on the Ten Sports Network. Over the last decade, the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League have found a home in the Indian subcontinent at Ten Sports. We thank UEFA and team for all their support and hope to continue and build on the strong and mutually beneficial relationship we have with them. Over the next four seasons we will continue to build on the quality programming we offer around these marquee properties and strive to innovate to increase viewership and audience interest and engagement around these properties,” said Ten Sports CEO Rajesh Sethi.

     

    Widely considered as the toughest and most competitive football competition in the world, only the best teams from the top European Leagues make it to the UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid is the most successful team in this competition with 10 titles, the most recent being the current final in May 2014 where the team achieved the unprecedented ‘La Decima’. Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Manchester United, Ajax, AC Milan, Liverpool are some of the other teams who have enjoyed success in this competition. 

     

    TEN Sports Network reaches over 140 million households across the Indian sub-continent. The network has a bouquet of premium football properties from across the globe including UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, Copa Del Rey, French League, A-League, Capital One Cup, German Cup, Copa Italia, Skybet Championship and Club TV programming of leading European Clubs.