• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Port Info

• Ships in Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• Business Line
• The Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Our Bureau

New Delhi , June 9

THE sports channel genre has just seen a new addition with Zee Telefilms formally launching Zee Sports.

Pitched as a channel "by, for and of the Indians", the broadcaster aims to grab a share of the Rs 500-crore advertising pie garnered by sports channels.

Speaking to newspersons, Mr Punit Goenka, CEO, said, "The sports programming genre is growing at a fast pace. What we felt missing was, content relevant to the average Indian apart from cricket. With that in mind, we aim to bridge the gap by providing a programming mix that is entertaining, relevant and catering to our core viewer base."

He added that the channel is designed as a true sports viewing destination encompassing the latest sports content with live sports action, entertainment from the world of sports, interviews and news, all with a focus on India.

The channel will air news and shows on sports targeted at the youth. It will show live cricket, football, tennis, motor sports, boxing, beach volleyball and snooker. An investment of over Rs 150 crore is being earmarked for the channel.

However, cricket is crucial for any sports broadcaster in India and Zee Telefilms has recently had a setback by losing the four-year telecast rights of matches organised by the BCCI.

On the rights controversy, Mr Himanshu Mody, Executive Vice-President, Zee Sports, said, "As an operational strategy, it (the telecast controversy) has had a positive effect. We had to think a lot harder." He added that various cricket rights would be renewed in the next few months and the channel would bid for them "reasonably without going overboard".

Till then, the channel is planning to create sporting properties and work closely with various (Indian) sports federations.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Polaris says it with apples, promotes banking product

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line