The Hindu Business Line : In a frenzy over football

Soccer is popular in some pockets of India. But the game has potential to become a money-spinner and sports channels are going all out to ensure that viewer interest is kindled.

Go, go, go (Go, go, go)

Ale, ale, ale (Ale, ale, ale)

Go (Go) Go (Go) Go (Go) Go (Go)

Here we go!

This song by Ricky Martin is like an anthem for soccer fans, and when it was released, it became a chartbuster on music countdown shows. Now, sports broadcaster, ESPN-Star Sports wants India to be a part of the football frenzy. Currently, soccer is popular in some pockets of the country such as Goa, Kerala and West Bengal. But the game has potential to become a money-spinner and the sports channel is going all out to ensure that viewer interest is kindled.

The high interest in football first became evident when Dubai-based Taj Television, which owns Ten Sports, secured the rights to the FIFA World Cup soccer held in Japan and Korea for the Indian subcontinent. The tournament reached out to 627 million viewers across the country and received 9.1 television-rating points. This came as an encouragement for sports channels to look at soccer seriously.

ESPN Software, which owns the two channels, aggressively started acquiring properties such as the English Premier League (EPL), The FA Football package, The Asian Football Confederation Package, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Cup and the Spanish Primera Liga, among others. In fact, the European club soccer, like EPL aired last year, reached out to 206.7 million people in the six metros, and was well received in the non-soccer markets of Chandigarh, Kanpur, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. It did exceptionally well in Kolkata and Kochi. The broadcaster had aired 160 live EPL matches in the 2003-04 season and the exclusive telecast rights have been extended till the end of 2006-07 with double coverage of up to 10 matches each weekend. Domestic soccer events such as IFA Shield Award aired on ESPN-Star Sports did well in Kolkata.

The latest offering on the channel is the UEFA Euro 2004 to be played in Portugal and which will be aired between June 12 and July 4. This is being touted as the biggest soccer event of the year, featuring eight of the 10 top countries with stars like Beckham, Zidane, Raul, Figo, Kahn, Nistelrooy and more. Worldwide, the event is going to attract 10 billion viewers with more than 1.1 million tickets having already been sold. It is expected to generate $972 million in terms of revenue, compared to $240 million for Euro 2000, and the total prize money is a whopping $146 million.

According to Sanjay Kailash, Director, Advertising Sales, ESPN Software, "For the first time, the channel will be offering Hindi commentary and we have managed to sell 80 per cent of the advertising time available." Besides this, it is also trying to build a club culture — focusing on popular clubs such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and New Castle, using the Internet, SMS and on-ground promotions. Everything is targeted at the youth.

Industry watchers and rival broadcasters have been claiming that ESPN-Star Sports efforts on soccer is because the channel has not managed to acquire many good cricket rights, but Kailash rubbishes this explanation. "We have rights of seven cricket boards and will aggressively bid for forthcoming cricketing events," he says. Soccer, hockey and Formula One car racing are some other sports the channel is promoting in a big way.

But for now, Indian youth can get seriously involved with the sport, besides jiving to the tunes of Ricky Martin or Anastasia — both of whom have sung songs on soccer.

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