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.

Is Subhash Chandra going to challenge ICC this time?

In the times when Star has been on a buying spree Zee owned Ten Sports has kept their purses tight. It almost look like a complete knock out by Star. 

But wait, if media reports are to be believed Subhash Chandra is planning a return to the cricket pitch with Lalit Modi.  Reacting to these media reports Lalit Modi tweeted

I wish @_SubhashChandra all the best in this new venture. I have nothing to do with it. But we need a rival body - http://t.co/TShcsySVXX
— Lalit Kumar Modi (@LalitKModi) April 27, 2015

Sony launches LIV sports to stream Sony Six’s content, FIFA World Cup

Multi Screen Media has launched 'LIV Sports', a digital sports site –www.LIVSports.in. This site will give access to sports properties owned by Sony.

LIV Sports is the official mobile and Internet broadcaster for the 2014 FIFA World CupTM starting June 12. LIV Sports will show both live and video-on-demand match content with statistics and analysis.

Liv sports features content for football, cricket and basketball, with plans to add tennis, motor sports and wrestling (TNA) sections shortly. The focus is however currently on FIFA World Cup.

T20 World Cup 2014 to break all cricket broadcast records

Television coverage of the Twenty20 World Cup is all set to break all previous ICC events' broadcast records. Covered, produced and distributed by the ICCs global media rights partner and host broadcaster Star Sports, will have a potential reach of more than 1.8 billion viewers with live pictures shown by 29 broadcasters -- both figures the highest ever for an ICC event.

Though it will be shown in more than 20 languages, with pictures going across Europe via Eurosport and as far as Norway, Nepal, Afghanistan and the Pacific Islands, but only one Indian language; Hindi which will see more viewership than any other language.

The production will be among the most sophisticated ever too, with 28 cameras, including seven ultra-motion cameras, Spidercam as well as graphics with key analytics, all of which will take the viewer right to the heart of the action.

Ten Sports to air Sri Lankan cricket till 2020

Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) and TEN Sports have signed a seven year deal to broadcast SLC’s international cricket matches. The deal will run through till March 2020. This includes multi-platform media and sponsorship rights globally. 

Through its network of international affiliates and other broadcasters worldwide, content will be distributed in over 100 countries.  Apart from English, TEN Sports will also be broadcasting the matches in Hindi and other regional languages.

71 percent viewers watched sports in Hindi

After Hindi, Bangla & Tamil  up next

English was the language of sports commentary when it started in India in the early 1940s on All India Radio. The listenership was limited to the English-speaking class. It was in the late 1950s that cricket commentary in Hindi made a beginning. Commentary in the language of the people took the game of cricket to the hinterlands.

The dominance of sports commentary in Hindi continued till the mid-1980s. Live commentary of India winning the 1975 Hockey World Cup & the 1983 cricket world cup were heard by most cricket fans in India in Hindi.

For the older generation, the names of commentators in Hindi such as Jasdev Singh, Suresh Saraiya, Narottam Puri and Ravi Chaturvedi still bring back memories of the 1970s and early 1980s when words created action happening on the cricket field.

Star Sports unveils hockey game plan, to invest Rs 1500 crore in national game

For Star Sports cricket & football are done, its time to do some hockey scoops. Just 2 days after a deal with International Hockey Federation FIH for all its events, Star Sports has announced ₹15 billion ( ₹1,500 crore) investment in hockey over eight years. With this investment they are all set to become largest hockey broadcaster in the world. 

Star India head of sports business Nitin Kukreja is very clear that the broadcaster is putting its money where its mouth is. “Our aim is to transform the sporting landscape and imbibe a culture of multiple sports in India. Sports broadcasters have traditionally only invested in cricket while shying away from other sports. We are not doing that. There are pockets of passion that still exist for hockey. The question is whether those people are getting a product that matches their expectations. Our investment of ₹15 billion is the biggest in the game globally.”

Star Sports signs 8-year broadcast deal with international hockey federation

Continuing shopping spree, Star Sports  has signed an eight-year broadcast deal with International Hockey Federation (FIH) during which the world sport body will look to host a major event in India each year.
Star Sports, will broadcast key FIH events both in India and throughout the world from January 2015 to December 2022. As of now international hockey federation rights were with Ten Sports & Hockey World Cup 2014 will be shown on TenAction & Ten Sports.

This is what you can watch on Sports TV in 2014

Ten Sports air Asian Games & CWG
& Hockey World Cup

Every next year promises more than the previous year but 2014 is really big. Indian Cricket team will be on two of the toughest & longest tours : England tour with 5 tests & as many ODIs and later in December to Australia which is going to be acid test for 2015 Cricket World Cup. For Indian Football fans IPL-style Indian Super Football league could become a reality; though not all are in favour of ISL.

2014 will also see two quadrennial multi sports events: Commonwealth Games & Asian Games both on Ten Sports in Hindi & English and Hockey World Cup will also be on Ten Sports Network. For these 3 events feeds of selected Indian matches will be shared with Doordarshan.

Star will continue its experiment with Hindi & Indian languages.
Neo Sports is left with Bundesliga only.
Sony Six will be banking on IPL & action sports.

But the event of the year will be FIFA World Cup in June. If reports are to be believed Star Sports has sealed the deal for FIFA World Cup & will air it in Hindi & English.

Wimbledon will be up for grabs so it has not been decided which channel will air it. Hockey India League, Indian Badminton League will be shown on Star Sports & I-League on Ten Sports. This year could see some more leagues coming up, possibly a basketball league & Kabaddi league. EPL, LaLiga, SerieA, UEFA & other big properties haven’t changed hands, so will be on regular channels. Pakistan cricket board rights will be up for sale in next few weeks.  Here is a list of most awaited sporting events of 2014 with their channels & kick off dates. Wishing you a very happy new year !

Happy sporty 2014 on TV:

1.    Australian Open on Star Sports from Jan 13

2.    India tour of NewZealand on Sony Six from Jan 19

3.    Sochi Winter Olympics on Star Sports from Feb 6

4.    Asia Cup Cricket on Star Sports from Feb 24

5.    Formula One season on Star Sports from March 16

6.    ICC T20 World Cup on Star Sports from March 16 (Hindi + English)

7.    Hockey World Cup on TenSports from May 31 (Hindi+English)

8.    FIFA World Cup on Sony Six from June 12 (Hindi+English)

9.    India tour of England on Star Sports from July 9 (Hindi+English)

10. Commonwealth Games on Ten Sports from July 23(Hindi+English)

11.  Asian Games on Ten Sports from September 19 (Hindi+English)

12.India tour of England on Star Sports from December 5 (Hindi+English)

*Star Sports & Ten Sports refers to their network, some of the events will see multi channel broadcast. 

2013: Sports channels begin to challenge the traditional rules

By Peter Hutton : Joint CEO of sports media rights company MP & Silva

Peter Hutton is Joint CEO of sports media rights company MP & Silva)

Read more at: http://www.televisionpost.com/television/2013-sports-channels-begin-to-challenge-the-traditional-rules/ | TelevisionPost.com

Peter Hutton is Joint CEO of sports media rights company MP & Silva)

Read more at: http://www.televisionpost.com/television/2013-sports-channels-begin-to-challenge-the-traditional-rules/ | TelevisionPost.com

Peter Hutton is Joint CEO of sports media rights company MP & Silva)

Read more at: http://www.televisionpost.com/television/2013-sports-channels-begin-to-challenge-the-traditional-rules/ | TelevisionPost.com

Welcome to the Year of the Star cricket series featuring the Star Indian cricket team on Star Sports. Quite a last 12 months for Uday Shankar and Nitin Kukreja’s team at Star—they’ve built on their inherited sports business with dynamism and an intent to be local and relevant. In the last year, a huge spend on the next three years of the English Premier League football and a leap into the darkness of the hockey franchise world has shown a continued determination to challenge the rules of the Indian sports traditions. 

Those rules certainly needed re-writing with all the sports channels dragged into losses by the relentless inflation of cricket rights. Now we wait to see if Star can rewrite the rules on collections of revenues with sports as the battering ram of their whole entertainment business. What can’t be disputed is the way that they’ve used the entertainment channels to help cross-promote and build the bigger event to a wider audience.

Sachin’s last Test was a human interest story that transcended sport, and I’m sure the support of the Star network helped maximise the value of that emotional goodbye. Star also deserves credit for their investment in digital content that makes multiple games or multiple views of a sports event available.

Ten Sports Network’s coverage plan for UEFA Champions League Matchday 6

This year’s UEFA Champions League First Phase will be over with Match day 6 action & then UEFA Champions League action will be back with Round of 16 in February. First Leg of Pre-quarterfinals will be played between Feb 18-26 & Second Leg between March 11-19.

As for match day 6 there will be 6 matches live across the Ten Sports Network. Countdown To Kick Off - Ten Sports' pre match show kicking off at 12:30 am & kick off at 1:15 am. Here I have also compiled repeat telecasts on standard definition channels. Please leave a reply with your permutations & combinations of last 8. Enjoy J

Ten Action to air Junior Hockey World Cup in Hindi

Accepting demands of hockey fans Ten Sports network has decide to air Junior Hockey World Cup in Hindi on Ten Action. All India matches involving team India & play off matches will be in Hindi. All the action will be English on Ten Sports live. All league matches featuring India will be played in prime time slot at 8:00 pm. Hockey is the Ten Sports Network’s second Hindi offering after cricket. 

From 6-15 December, sixteen of the finest junior international teams in the world will fight it out for the Junior Hockey World Cup in the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, with hockey giants such as Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Argentina, Korea,  Pakistan and host nation India  among the challengers.

Ten Sports network's India vs South Africa series coverage plan

Three ODIs and two Test matches India’s tour of South Africa series will be live on Ten Sports in Hindi & Ten Cricket and  Ten HD in English. Ten Sports will also be monetising the Internet rights for the series, as it will be live streaming the matches on its website.

“With the viewer becoming more and more demanding like any other nation, and rightfully so, there is a viewer base that is looking forward to Hindi commentary and then the usual English commentary feed. Thus, we are only trying to reach out and satisfy the needs of our viewers and keep everyone glued to the action being played out on their screens in the language of their preference.” says Rajesh Sethi, CEO of Ten Sports Network.

UEFA Champions League coverage plan for Ten Sports Network

The Champions League makes its comeback this week in the penultimate round of group-stage fixtures, with many qualifying participants yet to find out their fate but so close to making it into the knockout phases.

As usual there will be 16 matches, this time 8 matches will be aired live other matches will be aired delayed on Ten Sports network. Live coverage will start at 12:30 am & kick off at 1:15 am. Enjoy J

Ten Sports to broadcast Junior Hockey World Cup

Ten Sports will broadcast Junior Hockey World Cup  from 6-15 December, sixteen of the finest junior international teams in the world will fight it out for the title in the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, with hockey giants such as Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Argentina, Korea, Pakistan and host nation India among the challengers.

A former sports channel head used to say, ‘There is no doubt, cricket is huge. But it does not mean there is no space for any other sports. Given emotional touch, hockey could be No.2.’ Thanks to cut-throat competition in buying cricket properties & digitalization; finally sports broadcasters have started recognizing commercial potential of Indian hockey. So much so that commercially viable Junior International tournaments are also being aired. Indian Junior team recently won Sultan Johor Cup & they are in top form. This tournament is being held just before FIH World Cup. It will be junior players big chance to display their talent in front of home support & get selected in Indian Senior team. 

Missed any UEFA Champions League match? Here are delayed & repeat broadcast timings

As usual there will be 16 matches among 32 teams in 4^th leg UEFA Champions League action. Out of 16 matches 7 matches will be shown live on three Ten Sports Network channels – Ten Action, Ten HD & Ten Sports and others will be aired delayed. Most of footie fans have only SD (standard definition) connections, they are bound to miss matches which will be aired on Ten HD, especially Barcelona vs AC Milan on Nov 7 at 12:15 am. So here are delayed & repeat broadcast timings of UEFA Champions League 4^th leg on Ten Sports Network. Enjoy the beautiful game & leave a reply if possible!

Ten Sports Network’s UEFA Champions League 4th leg coverage plan

As usual there will be 16 matches among 32 teams in 4^th leg UEFA Champions League action. Out of 16 matches 7 matches will be shown live and others will be aired delayed. Live coverage of UCL matches starts at 12:30 am with Countdown 2 Kick Off except Zenit St Petersburg vs. FC Porto match which will be live at 10:25 pm on Thursday. Also Ten Sports has no plans to broadcast UCL matches on Ten Cricket as of now, as it is busy with Pakistan vs South Africa ODI series. So pick your match and enjoy the beautiful game. 

Ten Sports Network’s Capital One Cup Round 4 coverage plan

Ten Sports Network has live and exclusive rights to broadcast The Football League and The League Cup from  2012-13 to 2014-15  for South Asia market. As part of the agreement with MP & Silva, a leading international sports rights agency, TEN Network will be showcasing approximately 145 matches live and exclusive throughout the year.

Football: India’s Super League all set to kick off

Here is the big news for Indian football fans-the three month football extravaganza, Indian Super League (ISL) is expected to kick off in January 2014 & it will have a total of 8 teams from the cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi, Goa, Pune in its 1st season. The teams will have 22 players including one marquee player, international stars and leading Indian footballers.

Uefa Champions League : 3rd leg delayed & repeat broadcast timings for Ten Sports Network

There will be 16 matches in 3rd leg of Uefa Champions League, but as always, Ten Sports Network will air live action on three channels : Ten Sports, Ten Action and Ten HD. So there will be only 7 live matches, 3 on Tuesday, Oct 22 and 4 on Wednesday, Oct 23.

And most of the viewers have standard definition connection, they are bound to miss UCL action on Ten HD. Here are delayed and repeat broadcast timings of UCL 3rd leg action on Ten Sports Network.