Zee Group to enter sports biz with focus on cricket

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. The company says it is excited to enter the sports business at a global level, focusing on Cricket.

In an official statement released on Monday, the company said according to its research, there was an immense opportunity to make Cricket a global sport.

"Essel Group has been analyzing the sports market and 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," the statement said.

However, ending all speculations, the statement clearly said that Lalit Modi, the founder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) wasn't linked to their new initiative in any manner.

"We would also like to clarify that, Lalit Modi has no linkage whatsoever with Essel Group in this initiative. Essel Group is independently taking up this initiative on its own accord," it 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.

“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.

"A recent media story has reported that Ten Sports Network has been 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.’’ the statement said.