MUMBAI: Taj TV Ltd, owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, has retained the television broadcast rights for West Indies cricket for a period of seven years from January 2013.

With this, Taj TV will have rights for telecast of cricket matches from three cricket boards. While it has successfully retained the South Africa, Zimbabwe and West Indies cricket boards, the remaining two are Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Taj TV said Friday it has acquired global television broadcast rights except for the terrestrial broadcast rights within the Caribbean along with production rights.

As part of the deal Taj TV Limited will be providing the television production for free-to-air stations throughout the Caribbean for the benefit of West Indies cricket fans. Taj TV will be showcasing 253 days of international cricket as part of the new rights deal.

?We are extremely delighted to continue our long standing association with Taj TV Limited who has been our media rights partner previously and with whom we have had a solid and mutually beneficial relationship,? West Indies Cricket Board president Dr. Julian Hunte said.

?The West Indies Team has just won the ICC World Twenty20 and the diverse cricket world who hold our team in high esteem will have added demand to see them play in the ensuing years. We are therefore pleased that we have secured this arrangement with this globally reputable company to distribute the media rights to allow fans around the world to see our champion team live and in living colour as they make further strides in world cricket,? Dr. Hunte added.

Ten Sports CEO Atul Pande said, ?We are extremely delighted to extend our association with the West Indies Cricket Board. This deal underscores our commitment to building our cricket business in the subcontinent and globally. The recent upsurge in the West Indies Team quality further reinforces our view about our relationship with West Indies cricket going forward.?

The parties have agreed, on account of confidentiality clauses, not to publicly disclose the monetary value of the contract.

MUMBAI: IMG-Reliance, the commercial partner of All India Football Federation (AIFF), has secured a three-year contract with Ten Sports to broadcast I-League and Federation Cup competitions across various platforms, such as Television, IPTV, DTH, HITS, Internet TV and Mobile. The deal has been struck with just a few days left for I-League to begin.

IMGR, a sports marketing joint venture between IMG and Reliance Industries, has been under pressure from I-League clubs to find a broadcaster for the two competitions. IMGR is now looking for regional broadcasters.

As part of the deal, Ten Sports will broadcast the I-League competition through its football channel Ten Action, for three consecutive seasons starting 2012 through to 2015.

With the I-League competition kicking off on 6 October, Ten Action will telecast 75 live and delayed matches throughout the season. Football fans across the country can catch the inaugural day action between Pailan Arrow Vs Mumbai FC to be played at Kolkata at 2.30 pm and Dempo SC Vs Churchill Brothers to be played at Goa at 5.30 pm.

Ten Action also has the mandate for telecasting the Federation Cup competition for the next two seasons starting 2013.

AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das said, ?The fiercely contested Federation Cup, concluded recently, has set the ball rolling for the 2012-13 football calendar year. The I-League competition brings in even more enthusiasm and excitement, as the clubs are eager to renew their rivalry and fight it out from Round One.?

Ten Sports CEO Atul Pande said, ?We are delighted to partner with IMG-Reliance to telecast I-League and Federation Cup, two of India?s premier football tournaments. Ten Sports has always supported Indian football and we continue committed to our vision of enhancing and adding value to the sport.?

An IMG-Reliance spokesperson said, ?We are happy to bring Ten Sports on board as a broadcast partner in football. Having a long-term partnership with the broadcaster is an important step in ensuring quality and continuous coverage of the two competitions. This is one of many initiatives IMG-Reliance has undertaken and we remain committed to the development of Indian football.?

MUMBAI: Zeel-owned sports broadcaster Ten Sports has said that it was close to signing a deal with IMG Reliance for the broadcast rights of India?s premier club competition I League and Federation Cup, an annual knockout style football tournament.

"Ten Sports has been supporting I league for the last 6 years and will continue to do so if given the opportunity. We are close to coming to an agreement with IMGR," Essel Group sports business CEO Atul Pande told Indiantelevision.com.

He also refuted claims by senior All India Football Federation officials that Ten Sports backed out of the Federation Cup deal at the last moment thereby leaving the football governing body and the commercial rights holder IMG Reliance in lurch.

"The claim made by some AIFF functionaries that we walked out of the deal is baseless and without merit," Pande asserts.

To the contrary, Pande said that the sports broadcaster will put the property on-air as soon as it gets the feed from IMGR. The production of the property is being taken care of by IMGR.

"IMGR has to share feeds so that we can put it on-air," said Pande.

According to industry sources, IMG Reliance is out in the market for a three year deal for both Federation Cup and I League. The negotiation with Ten Sports is stuck because IMGR feels the value it is being offered doesn?t even cover its production cost.

It is talking to other national and regional broadcaster.
Earlier, the lack to live telecast had irked clubs who were promised by AIFF that its commercial partner IMGR was close to clinching a three-year deal with Ten Sports which would have guaranteed live telecast of atleast 15 games of Federation Cup and 75 games of I League.

Doordarshan had come to the rescue of AIFF agreeing to provide live coverage of the semi-final and final matches of the Federation Cup, which began 19 September.

In the previous edition of the Federation Cup, IMGR had roped in News Time as regional broadcast partner for West Bengal and Assam.

Pune FC head operations and I-League Professional Football Clubs Association? (IPFCA) general secretary Chirag Tanna is extremely disappointed with IMGR?s lack of vision for the sport.

"IMGR has not been able to fulfill the commitments that they made to the clubs whether its marketing of I League or the broadcast part of it, they haven?t delivered anything," Tanna lamented.

MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprise Limited?s sports broadcasting network Ten Sports has inked a five-year broadcast rights agreement with Elite Football League of India (EFLI) till 2016 that will see the sportscaster televising approximately 370 matches.

Ten has acquired broadcast rights across cable & satellite, terrestrial, IPTV, HITS, DTH, Mobile, Internet and other distribution platforms.

The broadcaster has acquired rights for India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Europe, US, Caribbean, Australia & New Zealand, South Africa, Middle East, Asia including South East Asia and will try and distribute the EFLI games in all of these Markets.

Zee Sports Business CEO Atul Pande said, "We are delighted to partner with Elite Football League of India, the first professional American football league in India. We are looking forward for high decibel games with loads of excitement and passion."

Ten will televise four matches per week on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday through its broadcast channels Ten Sports and Ten Action.

In late 2012, there will be ten teams located in various cities across India, one in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and one in an unannounced city in Bangladesh, the EFLI said.

The first season of EFLI will kick start in September with eight teams including five from India, two from Sri Lanka and one from Pakistan. They will compete in American-style football.

MUMBAI: Ten Sports, South Asia?s leading sports content provider, has secured exclusive rights from Total Sports Asia to broadcast Brazilian League for the 2012 season to 2014 season on multiple distribution platforms in South Asia.

As part of the agreement, Ten Sports will be showcasing two leagues from Brazilian League - The S?o Paulo State Championship (PAULISTA) and The Brazilian National Championship (BRASILEIR?O Serie A). TEN Sports will be telecasting 82 matches live and exclusive.

The Brazilian League will be telecast through its broadcast channels Ten Action and Ten HD. Ten Sports will be telecasting 28 matches from The S?o Paulo State Championship (PAULISTA).

It will also telecast 54 matches from Brazilian National Championship (BRASILEIR?O Serie A). In addition, Ten Sports will be telecasting "FOOTBRAZIL HIGHLIGHT" AND "FOOTBRAZIL MAGAZINE SHOW" from Brazilian League.

Zeel Sports Business CEO Atul Pande said, "Acquisition of Brazilian League underlines our commitment to football fans in the region as we continue providing the most entertaining content to our viewers, and an excellent promotional platform for our advertisers. We have established a strong tradition in building and strengthening top-class football properties on our channels with the reach of our networks, multiple media platforms and world-class match presentation."

Together with the broadcast of Uefa Champions League and Europa League, Ten Sports reinforces its position as the ?Home of Football? for fans in the Indian subcontinent.

Recently, Ten had inked a multi-platform rights deal to broadcast the French Football League for three years from 2012-15. It had also secured exclusive rights to broadcast The Football League and The League Cup from 2012-15 for the South Asian market.

MUMBAI: Olympics takes first priority over cricket as pubcaster Doordarshan decides to give the upcoming India-Sri Lanka series a miss.

DD declined to telecast the bilateral series which coincides with the London Olympics that will see the largest ever Indian contingent taking part in the world?s biggest sporting event.
?We approached Doordarshan with a bid for the India-Sri Lanka series but they have refused since they will be focusing on the London Olympics,? Zeel chief sales officer Ashish Sehgal tells Indiantelevision.com. The Sri Lanka cricket series falls under the mandatory sharing of telecast rights provision under which private sports broadcasters will have to give the live feed to DD.

With DD out of the fray, the bilateral series involving five ODIs and lone Twenty20 match will be televised exclusively by Ten Cricket, the cricket dedicated channel from Zee.

The India-Sri Lanka series, which will be played from 21 July to 7 August, will clash with the London Olympics starting from 27 July and closing on 12 August.

Zee is looking at an advertising revenue of Rs 800 million from the series. Ten Cricket, the official broadcast rights holder for cricket in Sri Lanka, has roped in five broadcast sponsors. Hero MotoCorp is the presenting sponsor while talks are on with a telecom operator to take the other presenting sponsorship slot.

The broadcaster has roped in Royal Seagram, Lenovo, Reliance Netconnect, and Manipal University as associate sponsors. Besides the official sponsors, there are 20 other advertisers who have bought airtime on the property.

?We have got good response from advertisers. The fact that it?s a short series involving ODI and T20 format of the game and will be telecast only on Ten Cricket is working in our favour,? Sehgal says.

Hindi general entertainment channels like Star Plus and Colors have also shown interest in buying airtime to promote their shows, Sehgal adds.

The channel has got three more on-ground associate sponsors in addition to Royal Stag Cricket Gear which includes Hero MotoCorp, Zuari Cement and Renault. Handset manufacturer Micromax is the title sponsor of the series. Sources say Micromax has paid Rs 50-60 million to take the title sponsorship.

One India. One Jersey. marketing campaign

Ten Cricket?s overall marketing spends on promoting the series will be around Rs 55-60 million, including promotions on network channels.

The sportscaster is giving the series an aggressive marketing push through its One India. One Jersey. marketing campaign.

The campaign celebrates the fact that the India team is coming together after a long gap through a series of four TVC based on real life experiences.

The creative idea showcases how cricket unites people from various walks of life despite all the differences that exist. It will be driven primarily through television promos and digital initiatives.

?The campaign is based on various contradictions in life and how we as a society are divided on various things but when it comes to cricket we are all one so it could be politicians from two opposition political parties with different views but they have same views when it comes to cricket (Indian team),? Ten Sports CEO Atul Pande says.

Pande believes that the campaign needed to have a strong theme since there was lot of negativity around the Indian team due to back-to-back defeats against England and Australia.

?We are primarily focusing on television particularly News channels because this property has got a male skew. We are also looking to reach out to female viewers through channels like TLC and lifestyle channels. Then we have our network channels to drive it we are topping this with a digital campaign,? he avers.