MxMIndia

Tag: ESPN

  • Wish you were at the West End, Covent Garden, Piccadilly,Oxford Street,KensingtonGardens,BuckinghamPalace, Tate Modern, instead of wherever you are, says Ranjona Banerji

    The Anchor: 6 things to watch out for in the 2012 London Games

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    I hope everyone interested in having a good laugh has been watching Twenty Twelve on BBC Entertainment, a comedy series which follows “the deliverance committee” involved in making sure the 2012 London Games run smoothly. Everything from bureaucracy to PR to political correctness to politics to jargon to celebrity are satirised brilliantly and it all seems so real.

     

    However, it is also possible that you interested in the Games themselves. In which case, here’s what to watch out for.

     

    1. The Opening ceremony on Friday, that is 1am (Saturday morning technically) for India on ESPN, Star Sports. Directed by Danny Boyle, (yes, he of the Jai Ho and slums are fun fame) it is expected to be a massive extravaganza. He has to compete with the glorious, breathtaking performance put up by the Chinese in Beijing in 2008. I don’t actually quite remember it actually, but it was spectacular. Lots of firework dragons. Or was that the first Lord of the Rings movie? Whatever.

     

    2. The Indian medal chase. This is supposed to be our best chance “ever” (please substitute your own version of an American teenager’s twang here) of winning lots of medals. Boxing, tennis (oh, wait, in India sometimes there’re both the same thing), hockey, badminton, wrestling, shooting… In fact, anything except running and jumping which, of course, are what the Olympics started with in ancient Greece. No one expects us to run and jump, least of all, us.

     

    3. Badminton starts on Saturday (go Saina Nehwal!), which is why badminton players may not be at the Danny Boyle show. Actually, so does boxing, athletics, handball, judo, tennis, volleyball, weightlifting and just about everything else. Football has already started. So maybe no one will be at that opening ceremony, so it’ll be all sparse and minimalist and New Age.

     

    4. London, the best city in the world. Apart of course from New York, Paris, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Dubai, Delhi, well of course, of course, that’s a joke! If you can’t be there, you can watch it, especially that giant red squirly whirly steel thingie made by that famous Indian artist chappie Anish Kapoor (Indian! We are the greatest!). So wish you were at the West End, Covent Garden, Piccadilly,Oxford Street,Kensington Gardens, Buckingham Palace, Tate Modern, instead of wherever you are.

     

    5. Wimbledon! This one is for me. The Championships are over, but tennis is going back to the green (or re-greened) grass. Twice in one year is remarkable and unique. (I wrote Wimbledon! But I meant Roger Federer! Of course.)

     

    6. There’s a special Olympic sport that has been included just for India. It’s called: Where’s That Kalmadi? You can seek him here, seek him there as the former head honcho of sporty stuff and hmm, other stuff, Suresh Kalmadi, weaves and dodges his way around the Games, avoiding the media, the athletes, the police…

     

  • The first edition of this T20 league will be played in August 2012. The multi-year deal includes a minimum of 24 T20 matches per season.

    ESPN Star bags SL Premier League

    By A Correspondent

     

    ESPN Star Sports announced that it has reached a multi-year broadcast rights agreement for exclusive coverage of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) in India. The first edition of this T20 league will be played in August 2012.

     

    The multi-year deal includes a minimum of 24 T20 matches per season. The first edition of the SLPL will see seven provisional teams compete for the trophy as well as a qualifier berth to the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) to be held later this year. The SLPL will feature 42 international players participating from seven countries. Star Cricket, Star Sports and ESPN will broadcast all the matches live and exclusive in India Starting August 11.

     

    ESPN Star Sports’ broadcast rights agreement also includes live coverage of the SLPL in the territories of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Nepal, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand

     

    These rights, in addition to the existing T20 leagues from Australia, England and Bangladesh and along with CLT20 and ICC WT20 make ESS the undisputed leaders in this coveted cricket format.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Peter Hutton, Managing Director, ESPN Star Sports, said: “We are delighted to be able to telecast the live matches of the SLPL in India and throughout the region. It is an excellent addition to Star Cricket’s remarkable catalogue of content in the next year, headlined byIndia’s home series against Pakistan, England and New Zealand, the ICC World T20, the Champions League T20 and the ICC Champions trophy. Sri Lanka cricket becomes the 6th cricket body with whom we are working on the shortest form of the game.”

     

    The SLPL will see all leading international and domestic cricketers from Sri Lanka joining hands with talented U-21 players. The tournament has also attracted players from Australia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and West Indies.

     

  • There has been a mixed response to the announcement that Newscorp will buy ESPN’s equity stake in ESPN Star Sports

    Mixed response to Newscorp’s total control of ESS

    By A Correspondent

     

    The News Corporation and ESPN announcement that the latter would buy ESPN’s 50 per cent equity interest in ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) has been welcomed by the industry.  The transaction will allow News Corporation units to own and operate all of the ESS businesses while providing ESPN more independence and flexibility in future support of The Walt Disney Company’s overall efforts in Asia.

     

    There has been a mixed response to the development. For one, they say it’s an internal matter between the two shareholders and will not impact the bidding or media selling process. ESPN and Star Sports (and the other channels) were being sold as one unit, said one observer. Yes, even though it was a 50:50 jv, the feeling was that it was a little more aligned to Disney than Star, remarked a senior official in a rival network.

     

    Talking about the development, Hemant Kenkre, cricket analyst and a senior communications professional said: “I’m excited about the news as everyone knows that the News Corporation is an innovative organization. For instance, when they bought KBC to India, it changed the whole Indian GEC scenario. Even now they are one of the first organizations to launch fully HD channels. When one thinks of cable TV, News Corporation is the real king in India. Thus, one can say that they think differently so the sporting world too should get ready for a dhamaka. I’m sure even cricket fans will be happy with it because it will bring other sports on the forefront too.”

     

    Commenting on the news, Mahesh Ranka, founder & CEO, Indus Sports and Sponsorship said: “This only means that the war between sports channels in India will intensify. ESPN will now be able to launch new channels and I’m sure they will as they are a major player globally. It will also mean that now a broadcaster might have to dig deeper into his pocket as it might push broadcasting rights in the near future. Having said that, it is good news because it signifies the growth of sport broadcast industry in the country.”

     

    MxMIndia was unable to ascertain whether the terms of ESPN’s exit from ESPN Star Sports stipulates a cool-off period whereby ESPN will not be able to operate any similar channels in the region for a certain period. For instance, when Star pulled out its brand from the MCCS news channels, it was clear that it would not be able to launch Star News for the next 18 months after serving the notice (said to have been in January 2012).

     

    With inputs by Meghna Sharma

     

  • Once the transaction is complete, Rupert Murdoch-owned Star will become the owner of ESPN's India business

    Star to go solo in sports, buy ESPN from JV

    By Nandini Raghavendra & Ratna Bhushan

     

    Broadcast major Star Group’s 16-year-old equal joint venture with sports broadcaster ESPN is being dissolved with Star buying out ESPN’s stake in the JV, three people familiar with the development said.

     

    Once the transaction is complete, Rupert Murdoch-owned Star will become the owner of ESPN’s India business, the people said. Two of them said the companies were finalising details of the deal and an announcement was likely to be made shortly. They declined to disclose details.

     

    ESPN Software India, which operates ESPN Star Sports’ India operations, generates revenues of about Rs2,500 crore through channels that include Star Sports, ESPN and Star Cricket. ESPN Star Sports owns television broadcast rights for the ICC World Cup Cricket and T20 Champions League.

     

    ESPN’s Singapore office said they did not comment on speculation. A spokesperson for ESS said, “We do not comment on speculations and rumours. ESPN Star Sports continues to run the business as usual. Two partner companies frequently discuss business plans and both the companies, ESPN and News Corp, are proud of the success ESS has made since its inception, and the relationship it shares with fans and business partners. They extend complete assurance for delivering value to our partners as committed by ESS.”

     

    Star India Chief Executive Officer Uday Shankar did not respond to an email and text messages sent to his mobile.

     

    “Star wants a bigger play in the sports broadcasting space,” one of the people quoted earlier said.

     

    “Star’s recent Rs4,000-crore acquisition of the rights to Indian cricket from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, beating rival Sony, are indications of its ambitions in this space,” one of the people quoted earlier said.

     

    It is not yet clear how many of the 200 employees of ESPN, who work for the joint venture, would be retained by Star. An ESPN official, requesting not to be quoted, said employees were uncertain about their future after the deal.

     

    A deal between the two companies could potentially be a complex one as they have a bouquet of advertising deals and cross-sponsorships. But senior executives at two leading media-buying companies, who deal closely with both broadcasting networks, said they did not foresee any impact on advertising deals and sponsorships.

     

    ESPN, Star Sports and Star Cricket either sell airtime and sponsorship inventory independently or as bulk package deals, they said. An analyst from one of the big four audit firms said the battle for the rights to various cricket events will now be fought out between Star and Sony, with the latter holding the rights for Indian Premier League, the 20-overs cricket tournament. ESPN Star Sports was formed as a 50:50 JV between two of the world’s leading cable and satellite broadcasters – Walt Disney, the owner of ESPN, and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation – in 1996 for Asia.

     

    It has offices in China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore, and employs more than 650 employees across the region. Star is fast changing gears in India. In the past two months, the broadcaster has launched its second Hindi movie channel under its new brand ‘OK’, called Movies OK. It recently exited its television news business and dissolved its JV with the ABP Group. It also purchased the broadcast rights to Indian cricket for around Rs4,000 crore.

     

    Star seems confident of making money from its cricketing ventures. Speaking to reporters a few days ago, Mr Shankar said the deal for cricket rights would not affect the JV with ESPN. However, the market has been abuzz with the latter’s exit. “Many permutations and combinations of the deal have been worked out, which has taken this long, but ESPN is now fully exiting,” said an official from a firm with knowledge of the deal.

     

    Source: The Economic Times
    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • ESPN Star Sports has announced a five-year contract for the exclusive rights to broadcast Cricket Australia's (CA) domestic and home international matches across various platforms including television, internet, mobile and radio, covering the entire Asian region.

    ESPN acquires Cricket Australia rights

    By A Correspondent

     

    ESPN Star Sports has announced a five-year contract for the exclusive rights to broadcast Cricket Australia’s (CA) domestic and home international matches across various platforms including television, internet, mobile and radio, covering the entire Asian region.

     

    As a part of this deal, the current Future Tours Program (FTP) sees ESPN Star Sports broadcasting more than 191 days of live International cricket action from Australia, which includes 27 test matches, 44 one day internationals and 12 twenty-twenty games.

     

    This is the first time ever that a broadcast deal with Cricket Australia will give ESPN Star Sports rights to showcase two India series. India is slated to play four Test matches and a tri-series with England as the third team in the 2014-2015 season. This tri-series, featuring India, Australia and England and scheduled right before the ICC World Cup in 2015, is positioned as the ‘Clash of the Titans’. India will visit Australia again for seven one-day internationals and two twenty-twenty matches in the year 2015-2016.

     

    Over the next five years, all of the leading teams will be visiting Australia. In addition to the Ashes between arch rivals England and Australia in the year 2013-2014 which, based on the current FTP, will see 5 test matches, five ODIs and three twenty-twenty matches; other top cricket nations including South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and New Zealand will tour Australia to test their mettle in the fiercely competitive environment of cricket down under.

     

    James Sutherland, Chief Executive Officer of Cricket Australia, said, “We are delighted that a telecaster of ESPN Star Sports’ standing and class will be putting Australian cricket in front of many cricket fans.”

     

    Manu Sawhney, Managing Director, ESPN Star Sports, said, “We are very pleased to announce this partnership with Cricket Australia with whom we share a very strong relationship. Australian Cricket has always been exciting and is played with utmost competitiveness in a super charged atmosphere which makes for every fan’s delight. It is therefore not surprising that it is called the ultimate test for any cricket player”. “This partnership with Cricket Australia is a testament to our commitment to serve our fans with more action packed cricket for years to come, he added.

     

    In addition to the cricket action, ESS also plans to broadcast Cricket Australia’s domestic cricket over 280 days. This includes popular tournaments such as the KFC Big Bash T20, the four-day Bupa Sheffield Shield tournament and the Ryobi One Day Cup.