Tag: Zee Sports

India-OZ likely to play 3-match ODI series in America in ’07

MUMBAI: After Abu Dhabi (DLF Cup) and Malaysia (tri-series), the next offshore cricket venue for the Indian cricket team will likely be in North America.

Indian cricket board vice-president Lalit Modi told Indiantelevision.com that an in-principle agreement had been reached for a three-match series between India and Australia to be held in North America in June 2007, just ahead of India’s tour of England in July.

Modi offered no other details except to say that he would be flying out to the US next week to finalise things.

If a report filed by Cricket World proves correct, the three matches will be held in Brooklyn, New York.

The report cites the Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, the first municipal airport in the US, as the venue for the three New York games, which has recently undergone a $38 million renovation to house a new sports and entertainment complex.

Zee Sports acquired the global media rights for all matches that India will play in non-ICC member countries with a huge $ 219.15 million bid. As part of the deal 25 matches will be played over a period of 5 years with an average of 5 matches per year. The global media rights comprise television, radio and Internet rights. The rights are for a period of five years from 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2011.

The way the deal breaks up is that for the second year, Zee’s payout commitment to the BCCI is $ 6.03 million per match, which means that Zee Sports would have to generate a little over $ 18 million from the event all told, just to break even on it.

From the North American market at least, Zee would be expecting to extract a significant proportion of its investment from pay-per-view.

October 30, 2006
Zee Sports to telecast AFC U-20 championship live

MUMBAI: Zee Sports, the television partner to the All India Football Federation (AIFF), will produce and telecast the AFC Youth Championship from Kolkata and Bangalore starting 29 October to 12 November 2006.

In Kolkatta the matches will played at the Salt Lake Stadium and in Bangalore the matches will be held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.

Zee Sports is also the host broadcaster for the entire Asian region for the event and the feed will be going out to 25 Asian countries.

The AFC U-20 Championship is held every two years and is open to players under the age of 19. According to an official statement, the future stars of Asian football will be playing in this tournament and most of them will in all likelihood represent their countries in the 2010 Fifa World Cup. This tournament also acts as a qualifying tournament for the Fifa U-20 World Cup.

The top four sides in the AFC Youth Championship will advance to the Fifa U-20 World Cup to be played in Canada from 30 June 2007 to 22 July 2007.

The Korea Republic claimed the AFC Youth Championship crown in 2004 with a 2-0 win over China in Kuala Lumpur.

Countries competing in this edition of championship are Kyrgyzstan, Jordan, China, UAE, Thailand, Australia, Japan, North Korea, Iran, Tajikistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Vietnam and hosts India.

Telecast Schedule of the AFC Youth Championship

Match
Date
Time
Korea Republic vs. Jordan 29 Oct 15:30 onwards
India vs. Kyrgyzthan 29 Oct 18:30 onwards
China PR vs. Australia 30 Oct 15:30 onwards
Thailand vs. UAE 30 Oct 18:30 onwards
Jordan vs. India 31 Oct 15:30 onwards
Kyrgyzthan vs. Korea Rep 31 Oct 18:30 onwards
Saudi Arabia vs Malaysia 1 Nov 15:30 onwards
UAE vs China PR 1 Nov 18:30 onwards
Korea Republic vs India 2 Nov 14:30 onwards
China PR vs Thailand 3 Nov 14:30 onwards
Quarter Finals 6 Nov 15:30 onwards
Quarter Finals 6 Nov 18:30 onwards
Semi Finals 9 Nov 15:30 onwards
Semi Finals 9 Nov 17:00 onwards
Third Place Play Off 12 Nov 15:30 onwards
Finals 12 Nov 17:00 onwards

October 28, 2006
Zee Turner channels switched off in Jaipur city

NEW DELHI: Zee Turner Limited has switched off 19 bouquet channels on a leading multi system operator in Jaipur due to non-signing of agreement with correct numbers of cable homes and non payment of outstanding cable subscription charges.

Interestingly, a day prior to deactivation the MSO had moved broadcast disputes tribunal TDSAT requesting a stay on deactivation of channels. The request was rejected.

Industry sources said that the Jaipur MSO switched off is Bhaskar TV, the television wing of regional media powerhouse Bhaskar Group, which has a joint venture with Zee promoter Subhash Chandra for DNA newspaper.

Zee Turner is a distribution joint venture between the Subhash Chandra-promoted Zee Telefilms Limited and Time Warner company Turner International India.

Latest NRS data confirms that Jaipur city has more than 2,25,000 C&S homes and the MSO controls almost 90 per cent households (2,02,500) in the city.

The households declared by the operator to Zee Turner were 38,782, which has been interpreted by the latter as under declaration.

The operator’s subscription agreement with Zee Turner expired in December
2005 and a fresh agreement had not been signed, Zee Turner said.

On expiry of a 21-day notice period on 11 October, the MSO moved TDSAT seeking a stay on deactivation of channels.

According to Zee Turner Ltd CEO Arun Poddar, “The (Jaipur) operator, taking advantage of its monopoly situation, has been avoiding signing subscription agreement and has also been under declaring subscriber households by 81 per cent. This is not acceptable to us by any means.”

Poddar added his company had been trying to resolve the issue in a “cordial manner” but “non cooperation on part of the operator” has forced them to take a harsh step and resort to deactivation.

“We are really concerned about our viewers and regret the inconvenience caused to them. We are in the process of making alternative arrangements and assure our viewers that Zee Turner channels will reach each and every household in Jaipur city very soon,” he said.

The 19 channels switched off include Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Zee Sports, Zee News, Zee Studio, HBO, Pogo, Awaaz, VH1, Zee Business Zee Bengali, Zee Gujarati, Zee Marathi, Zee Punjabi, Cartoon Network, Reality TV, CNBC, CNN, Zee Trendz and Zee Café

October 13, 2006
Zee Sports to telecast 15 matches of Santosh Trophy

MUMBAI: Zee Sports will telecast the finals rounds of 61st Santosh Trophy comprising of quarterfinals, semi finals and finals from 14 October to 25 October.

In total 32 states and government institutions have taken part in this year’s tournament. The cluster leg of the 61st Santosh Trophy was held over the last month in Gurgaon and Faridabad.

Zee Sports business head Himanshu Mody says, “We are proud to be associated with the telecast of 61st edition of Santosh Trophy. Zee Sports has put in lot of hard work to present the Santosh Trophy in a viewer friendly format at viewer friendly times with in depth analysis. We are also, undertaking a holistic program to develop football from ground level to see India playing in major football tournaments around the world. We are sure that all this along with Zee Sports distribution strength will see football reach a new level.”

Zee Sports will telecast the fifteen matches from the quarterfinals onwards of the 61st Santosh Trophy, live and exclusive from, Gurgaon starting 15 ctober. Zee Sports would be using a 10 camera set up to produce the telecast. The telecast package will include preview and review shows, half time match analysis and various studio programming. The coverage will involve more cameras, more replays, new commentators and a new graphic look. Zee Sports ace anchor Mayanti Langer will present the pre-match and a post match analysis along with football expert Novy Kapadia, informs an official release.

In line with Zee Sports promise to deliver international quality coverage of Indian football, legendary John Helm will be commentator along with Zee Sports anchor Debayan Sen for the Santosh Trophy.

To promote the tournaments a special section on Indian football will be created on Zee Sports website www.zeesports.co.in. This will provide soccer fans with the latest team news, match scores, statistics and player profiles, as well as exclusive player interviews and photo galleries. There will be interactive sections, which will include chat rooms, video clips of matches, online games, wallpapers and ring tones, the release adds.

The Schedule:

Haryana vs West Bengal – 14 October – 4:45 pm
Goa vs Punjab – 14 October – 7:00 pm
Kerala vs Tamil Nadu – 15 October – 4:45 pm
Maharashtra vs Karnataka – 15 October – 7 pm
Haryana vs Punjab – 16 October – 4:45 pm
West Bengal vs Goa – 16 October – 7 pm
Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka – 17 October – 4:45 pm
Maharashtra vs Kerala – 17 October – 7 pm
Haryana vs Goa 18 October – 4:45 pm
West Bengal vs Punjab – 18 October – 7 pm
Kerala vs Karnataka 19 October – 4:45 pm
Maharashtra vs Tamil Nadu 19 October – 7 pm
First Semi Finals – 21 October – 6:30 pm
Second Semi Finals – 22 October – 6:30 pm
Finals – 25 October – 7 pm

October 13, 2006
Zee Sports to telecast India Vs Japan AFC Asian Cup 2007 qualifier

MUMBAI: Zee Sports will telecast the AFC Asian Cup 2007 between India and Japan live from Sree Kanterava Stadium Bangalore on 11 October from 5:30 pm onwards.

Zee Sports anchor Mayanti Langer will present the pre-match and a post match analysis along with football expert Novy Kapadia.

Japan coach Ivica Osim has decided not to make any changes to his squad for next week’s Asian Cup 2007 qualifier in India, naming the same players who were involved in their international friendly against Ghana.

Uncovered be the prospect of taking Japan in their home AFC Asian Cup qualifier match on Wednesday, India bubbling with new found confidence under new coach Bob Houghton, look to make life difficult for their illustrious opponents.

October 10, 2006
TDSAT directs Zee Sports to restore Incable feed

MUMBAI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has directed Zee Turner Ltd to restore the feed of Zee Sports to Incablenet.

Incablenet, on its part, will have to deposit a sum of Rs 2 million with the tribunal. The matter will come up for hearing again on 10 October.

TDSAT has asked Incablenet to, meanwhile, negotiate with Zee Turner and try to conclude the subscription agreement by 10 October. If both the parties fail to conclude a mutually acceptable agreement by then, the tribunal will finally hear the matter and decide the issue.

Zee Turner raised an apprehension that Incablenet may choose not to enter into an agreement after the DLF cricket tri-series which ends on 24 September. The MSO may get away by paying just a month’s subscription. “The TDSAT has asked us to raise the issue on 10 October, depending upon factual matrix,” says a Zee Turner spokesperson.

Following TDSAT’s interim order today, Zee Sports will be available on Incablenet’s network in Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Nashik and Baroda. For Bangalore, Incablenet already has an agreement with the sports channel.

Incablenet had earlier moved the TDSAT, arguing that Zee Turner had not served 21-day notice before blacking out the signals of Zee Sports. Zee Turner, which distributes Zee Sports, had submitted its reply yesterday.

Zee Sports, which has the exclusive rights to the DLF tri-series, has been asking several cable operators to enter into commercial agreements for carrying the pay channel on their networks. The sports channel is priced at Rs 10 a month per subscriber.

September 19, 2006
Ten Sports dominates sports viewing courtesy WWE

MUMBAI: If there is one thing that has generally stayed constant in the sports genre it is that when there is no India cricket Ten Sports has dominated in terms of channel share in the sports genre thanks to World Wresting Entertainment (WWE).

According to Tam data, c&s 15+ male all India from 29 July 2006 to 19 August 2006, Ten Sports has managed to do better than the other players in the sports genre.
In terms of TVR share Ten Sports managed a 61 per cent share. ESPN and Star Sports combined managed 36 per cent. Zee Sports and DD Sports have a share of one per cent each.

In terms of the weekly TVR Ten Sports in the week of 29 July managed an average rating of 0.16. This rose slightly to 0.18 during the week of 5 August. ESPN’s TVR fell slightly from 0.07 to 0.06 for the same weeks. Star Sports rose slightly from 0.04 to 0.05.

Ten Sports’ highest rated show for the period was the WWE special The Great American Bash. It managed a rating of 2.1. The fact that viewer interest in non India cricket is still small can be gauged by the fact that ESPN managed a TVR of 0.4 for an England Pakistan test match. Even for an ODI Star Sports got a TVR of 0.5

Ten Sports has also done an age wise analysis of WWE. This finds that those in the 15-24 age bracket tune in to it the most. That age group shows an average TVR of 2.0 for the WWE special The Great American Bash on 6 August. If one looks at the 15-34 age group the TVR is 1.6. It is 1.7 for males 15+.

For the edition of Raw on 7 August the average TVR is 1.25 among males 15-24. For males 15+ it is 1.11. It is 1.14 for the 15-34 age bracket. Those in the 4-14 age group watch WWE the least among all the age brackets surveyed. Their rating for Raw is below one. By contrast to WWE’s performance TNA which is a wrestling show on ESPN Star Sports fails to find a mention.

September 18, 2006
Zee Sports-MSO tussle to deny cricket to Mumbaikars

MUMBAI: Looks like cricket fans in Mumbai will be unable to watch the India-Australia match on Saturday with Zee Sports and the major Mumbai multi-system operators (MSOs) continuing to take a hard stance.

Even Incablenet’s plea filed in the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) for restoration of signals was rejected today.

“Since Incablenet was unwilling to sign the subscription agreement, TDSAT rejected the operator’s plea for interim relief. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for 19 September by which time if an agreement has not been reached between the two parties, then the court will take a decision,” Zee Turner said in a release.

Incablenet’s argument was that Zee Sports had not served a 21-day notice before blacking out the signals, as required by a regulation prescribed by the Telecom regulatory Authority of India (Trai). The MSO also wanted restoration of the signals as the disconnection was patently illegal.

“Zee Turner also offered a bulk discount to Incablenet but this was also rejected by the MSO,” the company said.

The TDSAT has asked Zee Turner to file its reply on Monday following which the next hearing of the case would be on Tuesday.

“We cannot allow our signals on any of the networks that have not signed the subscription agreement with us, especially since a majority of the country has already signed and is watching the tri-series. Zee Sports has been a pay channel since June 2005 and we have spent a substantial amount of money in acquiring the rights of the DLF Cup tri-series. We have the right to demand subscription fees,” says Zee Turner CEO Arun Poddar.

“The operators that have already signed the agreement will continue to get the signals for Zee Sports,” Poddar adds. The sports channel, for instance, is on Seven Star, which operates in the western suburbs of Mumbai.

Zee Sports was made available to viewers in Mumbai for the India-West Indies cricket match yesterday but was once again blacked out from the major cable networks in the evening.

Sources say the cable operators were willing to sign up for a 10 per cent declaration of Zee Turner’s first bouquet. But this was not acceptable to Zee Turner, the company which distributes a bouquet of channels including Zee Sports.

Zee Sports has the exclusive telecast rights for the DLF Cup between India, Australia and West Indies. The tri-series will last till 24 September.

September 15, 2006
Zee Sports off-air in Mumbai’s major cable networks, signs truce with SCV

MUMBAI: Cricket fans in many pockets of Maharashtra and Tamil Naidu will not be able to watch India play West Indies in the DLF Tri-Series on Thursday. Zee Sports is yet to restore signals to the cable operators who have not signed agreements with the sports channel.

Zee Sports, however, is back on SCV, the dominant multi-system operator (MSO) in Tamil Naidu. Though the MSO had approached TDSAT, the matter got sorted out after today’s hearing. Zee Sports and SCV reached a commercial agreement today.

Says Zee Sports VP marketing Gaurav Seth, “We have closed the deal with SCV. We had switched off signals to many cable networks in Tamil Naidu and Maharashtra with whom we had no commercial agreements. We are in negotiations with them and hope to arrive at a settlement soon.”

In Mumbai, the channel has been off-air on two major networks Hathway Cable & Datacom and Incablenet. Even in Pune, a major chunk of viewers will be deprived of watching the live telecast of the India-West Indies match as the sports channel is not available on Intermedia Cable Communication, a leading MSO in the city.

Meanwhile, the Pune District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, which heard the injunction filed separately by two individuals, today directed Zee Sports to restore the signals till further hearings on 21 September.

“The court order will be respected and the signals will be restored (or may have been restored as it does not take too long). But we will challenge this order in a higher court,” says Seth.

Zee Sports has priced the channel at Rs 10 per subscriber.

September 14, 2006
Zee Sports yet to sign up with Mumbai’s major MSOs

MUMBAI: Zee Sports, which was available to viewers in Mumbai for the India-West Indies cricket match, is once again blacked out from the major cable networks in Mumbai today evening.

“Major operators in Mumbai have still not reached an agreement for continuation of signals for the sports channel. Since the operators are being stubborn and are not agreeing to sign the agreement, we are being compelled to switch off the channel on defaulting networks,” says Zee Turner CEO Arun Poddar.

Counters Cable Operators and Distributors Association (CODA) vice-president Ravi Singh, “If we have not signed the agreement, how can we be turned as defaulters? Zee Sports is asking us to pay for an unreasonable subscriber base.”

Zee Turner had restored the signals of Zee Sports channel early in the day on assurance from MSOs like Hathway Cable & Datacom and Incablenet that they would be signing the pay channel agreement in Mumbai.

In a meeting with major operators held in Mumbai, the operators had to discuss and sign the pay channel subscription agreement and had requested Zee Turner to allow the signals for today’s India-West Indies match. Considering the request from cable operators, Zee Turner had allowed the signals of Zee Sports to these networks in Mumbai, says Poddar. “The operators that have already signed the agreement will continue to get the signals for rest of the matches on Zee Sports,” he adds.

CODA had an internal meeting in the afternoon but could not agree to Zee Sports demand. “The channel does not have telecast rights to any major event after this. If we can withstand the pressure over the next few days, we needn’t yield to their demands,” says a CODA member. The DLF tri-series will last till 24 September.

Zee Sports, which has bought the telecast rights from BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) for cricket matches to be played by India in non cricket playing countries over the next five years, will be showing the India-Australia match on Saturday.

The channel, however, is back on cable networks in Pune after the Pune District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum directed Zee Sports to restore the signals till further hearings on 21 September. “We have restored the signals in Pune following the order. The next hearing comes up on 21 September,” a Zee Turner spokesperson confirms.

Zee Sports is also available in Chennai as SCV signed a commercial agreement with the channel for the conditional access system (CAS) market. The channel, however, is blacked out in other parts of Tamil Nadu where SCV has not signed up.

September 14, 2006