Anil Yadav
Newbie
MUMBAI:Italy’s premier football championship Serie A,which was jointly aired by Star India’s Star Sports and Zee Entertainment Enterprises’ Ten Sports so far,is all set to change airwaves in India.Sources close to the development tell Indiantelevision.com
that the asset is no longer associated with Star Sports and Ten Sports and will most definitely be on another network. Pertinent to note here is that while Star acquired the broadcasting rights of German
Bundesliga earlier this year, it also
has the English Premier League,
Football Association Cup and La Liga (Spain) in its plump kitty. Besides the international assets, Star also owns the broadcasting rights of the burgeoning home-made Indian Super League (ISL).
On the other hand, Ten Sports has the rights to UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, which are both continental based football championship featuring top ranked teams of leagues across Europe.
It may be recalled that Multi Screen
Media (MSM) recently launched Sony
Kix - a paid sports channel and has
been looking to acquire quality
content. While the company has the
broadcasting rights of the FIFA World
Cup and Euro Qualifiers, it is
currently relaying Copa America.
Moreover, in the recent past, the
broadcaster also aired the Africa Cup
of Nations. The missing feather in
MSM’s kitty is quality club football.
During a recent interaction with this
website, MSM CEO NP Singh had said,
“Football is garnering huge viewership
in India. Whenever and wherever there
are opportunities to acquire any other
football properties, we will
aggressively go for it. We are
working to settle a deal, which we will
be able to announce in a couple of
months.”
Given the scenario, it is most likely
that Serie A will soon be reaching
viewers through MSM’s sports
channels. However, when contacted to
confirm the news, MSM officials
refrained from giving a statement.
Sony Six registered high viewership
last year courtesy to FIFA World Cup,
India’s tour of New Zealand. What’s
more, 2015 has also been action
packed so far. Serie A has many
renowned players and league champion
Juventus made substantial mark in
European Level too as they played the
final in Berlin against Spanish La Liga
champion Barcelona. The league did
not manage to garner high viewership
in the past, since no serious coverage
was done and it was often suppressed
by other leagues. However, if the
league is telecast by Sony Six and Kix,
it will get special treatment as the
tourney will be the only club league is
MSM’s kitty.
Football in India is opening avenues
for advertisers and there are huge
revenue generating possibilities that
the sport offers broadcasters. A
senior sports media planner opines,
“We have seen pop-up banners in the
bottom of the screen during EPL
matches, so this can be one mode of
advertising for broadcasters to look
out for. Italian SerieA won’t be as
popular as EPL but a Milan Derby or a
match involving Juventus is certain to
get eyeballs. Viewership also depends
on the treatment given by
broadcaster. If planned properly, it
can be beneficial for the broadcaster
that pockets the rights.”
It now remains to be seen if indeed
MSM seals the deal and whether Sony
Six and Kix become the new screens
for Serie A lovers in India.
Indian Television Dot Com | MSM to acquire telecast rights of Italian Serie A?
that the asset is no longer associated with Star Sports and Ten Sports and will most definitely be on another network. Pertinent to note here is that while Star acquired the broadcasting rights of German
Bundesliga earlier this year, it also
has the English Premier League,
Football Association Cup and La Liga (Spain) in its plump kitty. Besides the international assets, Star also owns the broadcasting rights of the burgeoning home-made Indian Super League (ISL).
On the other hand, Ten Sports has the rights to UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, which are both continental based football championship featuring top ranked teams of leagues across Europe.
It may be recalled that Multi Screen
Media (MSM) recently launched Sony
Kix - a paid sports channel and has
been looking to acquire quality
content. While the company has the
broadcasting rights of the FIFA World
Cup and Euro Qualifiers, it is
currently relaying Copa America.
Moreover, in the recent past, the
broadcaster also aired the Africa Cup
of Nations. The missing feather in
MSM’s kitty is quality club football.
During a recent interaction with this
website, MSM CEO NP Singh had said,
“Football is garnering huge viewership
in India. Whenever and wherever there
are opportunities to acquire any other
football properties, we will
aggressively go for it. We are
working to settle a deal, which we will
be able to announce in a couple of
months.”
Given the scenario, it is most likely
that Serie A will soon be reaching
viewers through MSM’s sports
channels. However, when contacted to
confirm the news, MSM officials
refrained from giving a statement.
Sony Six registered high viewership
last year courtesy to FIFA World Cup,
India’s tour of New Zealand. What’s
more, 2015 has also been action
packed so far. Serie A has many
renowned players and league champion
Juventus made substantial mark in
European Level too as they played the
final in Berlin against Spanish La Liga
champion Barcelona. The league did
not manage to garner high viewership
in the past, since no serious coverage
was done and it was often suppressed
by other leagues. However, if the
league is telecast by Sony Six and Kix,
it will get special treatment as the
tourney will be the only club league is
MSM’s kitty.
Football in India is opening avenues
for advertisers and there are huge
revenue generating possibilities that
the sport offers broadcasters. A
senior sports media planner opines,
“We have seen pop-up banners in the
bottom of the screen during EPL
matches, so this can be one mode of
advertising for broadcasters to look
out for. Italian SerieA won’t be as
popular as EPL but a Milan Derby or a
match involving Juventus is certain to
get eyeballs. Viewership also depends
on the treatment given by
broadcaster. If planned properly, it
can be beneficial for the broadcaster
that pockets the rights.”
It now remains to be seen if indeed
MSM seals the deal and whether Sony
Six and Kix become the new screens
for Serie A lovers in India.
Indian Television Dot Com | MSM to acquire telecast rights of Italian Serie A?
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