ITV

Tag: tourney

  • Ten Sports to telecast Hong Kong Sixes tourney

    MUMBAI: It will be raining sixes and fours. Ten Sports will air the eleventh edition of the Hong Kong Sixes tourney. The eevnt takes place at the Kowloon Cricket Club in Hong Kong from 22-23 October 2005.

    Eight top teams, including world champions Australia, England, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa and hosts Hong Kong will feature in the two-day tournament.

    Ten Sports will cover the matches live 22 October at 1 pm and on 23 October at noon. Australia, England, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong are drawn in Pool A, while arch rivals India and Pakistan, and South Africa and the West Indies form the Pool B. The tournament offers a first prize of US$100,000 and total prize-money of US$280,000.

    England are the defending champions, having won the last two editions in 2003 and 2004. They also won the title in 1993 and ’94, and were runner-up thrice. In 2004, England scored a comprehensive five-wicket final victory over surprise finalists Sri Lanka. Pakistan has the second best record in the tournament, having won the inaugural event, followed by three more titles. They were also runners-up in 2003.

    Each game shall be played between two teams of six players. A game consists of a maximum of five six-ball overs bowled by each side, except the finals, which consist of a maximum of five eight-ball overs per side. The top two teams in each pool will progress to the Cup competition knockout stages, while the bottom two teams in each of the pools will compete for the Plate.

  • SAB TV to air 20:20 tourney later this month

    MUMBAI: Sony (India), Sky Sports (UK) and SuperSport (South Africa) have been successful in their bid to win the rights to televise the inaugural International 20:20 cricket Club Championship in the UK.

    The three-day tournament, to be held at Grace Road, Leicester, from 15 – 17 September 2005, will see six club sides, containing some of the world’s leading players, battling it out to win the ?25,000 first prize and the title of International 20:20 Club Champions. In India the event will air on Sony’s recently acquired humour channel SAB TV.
     
     

    Sony will carry over 30 hours coverage to the Indian subcontinent and international subscribers. The broadcaster paid a $ six figure sum to secure these rights. SuperSport in South Africa will also carry the tournament, focusing on the participation of Nashua Titans, winners of the Pro20 Series, South Africa’s domestic 20:20 tournament. Sky Sports in the UK will carry a highlights package, adding to its coverage of the English Twenty20 Cup.
     
     

    Sides from three continents will contest the inaugural International 20:20 Club Championship and these will include each and every champion team from those countries that currently hold 20:20 tournaments. This includes the 2005 Twenty20 Cup champions Somerset Sabres, the reigning Twenty20 Champions from Sri Lanka, the Chilaw Marians, the Pakistani ABN Amro Twenty-20 cup champions Faisalabad Wolves and the 2005 Standard Bank Pro20 Series winners Nashua Titans from South Africa. The hosts, Leicestershire Foxes, were the 2004 Twenty20 Cup champions and the team line-up is completed by the PCA Masters XI who will take the field with a number of current and past test and one-day international players from around the world.

    Teams will be drawn into groups of three and will play two group matches on the Thursday and Friday of the tournament. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the finals day on Saturday which will consist of two semi-finals and a final.

    The event is the brainchild of Investors in Cricket (IIC). The company’s director of strategy for investors in cricket Alex Balfour said, “There is a huge appetite for cricket on the Indian subcontinent and this is reflected in the partnership deal that has been negotiated with Sony. We had a number of very competitive tenders from Indian broadcasters but are certain that by choosing to partner with Sony, we will gain substantial exposure in India and internationally. This is mirrored by the interest shown by our other broadcast partners in the UK and South Africa.”

  • Total Sports Asia to boost coverage of US Open tennis tourney

    MUMBAI: Sports marketing firm Total Sports Asia (TSA) has signed a deal with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) to market and distribute the TV, mobile, home video, broadband and Internet archive rights in Asia (excluding Japan) over the next four years.
     
     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com this evening about the deal, Total Sports Entertainment India MD Navneet Sharma says, “This is a sport that has huge potential for viewership growth across Asia. In India, the sport has received a tremendous boost with Sania Mirza entering the top 50. Earlier this year we signed a deal with Ten Sports for the television rights to the event. Now we have signed the mobile rights to phoneytunes.com with whom we had earlier done a deal for the WWE for ringtones and wallpaper. We have also done a deal with Solar Interactive in the Philippines and iCable Hong Kong.

    “We are working with Speedcast on the different features for the mobile content. “As far as the rest of Asia is concerned, the mobile holds promise especially in the South East region. It has helped that players like Paradorn Srichapan have had made a certain amount of impact. Broadband is another new media delivery platform that is growing in that region. We are in talks with different players regarding deals.”
     
     

    Sharma also says that a unique aspect of the deal is the fact that TSA has done a deal with BT Media and Broadcast for a fully managed broadcast distribution service to Asia, for the US Open tennis championships. The dedicated uplink service and satellite link will enable TSA to deliver a dedicated Asian feed.

    Elaborating on further plans, Sharma says that in the near future TSA is looking to organise local tennis events in India that will be just one rung below an ATP tour event. India already has an ATP event that takes place in Chennai every year. Sharma is encouraged by the fact that more people are taking to the game now.

  • Ten Sports to air Dubai golf tourney

    MUMBAI: Ten Sports has a treat in store for golf enthusiasts. Over the next two weeks the broadcaster will telecast live, the Dubai Desert Classic.
     

    This is the richest golf tournament outside the US and Europe. The broadcaster will also air the Qatar Open, which will be jointly sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours.

    The Dubai Desert Classic kicks off on 3 March at the Emirates Golf Club course. The tournament offers a total prize fund of $-2.2 million. Participants include world number three Ernie Els, the defending champion Mark O’Meara, 2003 British Open winner Ben Curtis and seven-time European Tour Order of Merit winner Colin Montgomerie.
     
     
     

    The four day tournament has two Indians in the fray. Arjun Atwal is an exempt member on European Tour because of two victories. Jyoti Randhawa has been invited after finishing second in the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2004.

    Meanwhile, The Qatar Masters which will be played at the Doha Golf Club from 10 -13 March will feature six Indian players. Apart from Atwal and Randhawa, the others in fray are Jeev Milkha Singh, Amandeep Johl, Rahil Gangjee and Harmeet Kahlon. The total purse of the event, which is being co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour for the first time, is $1.5 million.

    Ten Sports claims to be watched in 35 million homes.

    The schedule is as follows:

    Day Match Time
    3 March Dubai Desert Classic 3 pm
    4 March Dubai Desert Classic 3 pm
    5 March Dubai Desert Classic 2:30 pm
    6 March Dubai Desert Classic 2:30 pm