shawl_who
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No Al Jazeera or Reliance, familiar players will be in race for the global cricket rights.
Al Jazeera, the popular media house in the Middle East, had created quite a buzz in the sports broadcasting circles, with its professed show of interest in the global cricket rights but the news apparently was only a false alert.
The Qatar-based media network has categorically denied harbouring plans to bid for the rights of the International Cricket Council (ICC). "Al Jazeera English is not talks with the ICC for broadcast rights. We're a news channel with focus on news," a spokesman for the satellite channel told Mirror.
Similarly, the word also got spread that Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) would go vigorously after the property. The recent acquisition of TV 18 Network by Reliance fuelled the speculation further as the takeover gives the premier Indian business house the needed qualification to be in the race. However, the news may not be entirely accurate.
An RIL spokesman has neither confirmed nor denied the talk but market sources have indicated to this paper that the RIL is unlikely to go for the bid. The presence of Reliance would have changed the complexion of the race completely but then it is likely that the competition would be among the familiar channels, particularly Indian sports channels.
According to conservative estimates, the winning bid could be over $ 1.8 billion while experts predict it might even cross the $ 2 billion mark.
Star had acquired the rights for eight years in 2007 for a whopping $ 1.1 billion.
It is given that Star Sports, the current holders of the rights, would put up a global bid but the surprise package could be Neo. The Nimbus-owned channel has apparently brought on board a few American investors and a company spokesman has confirmed to this paper that it will bid for the worldwide rights.
Sony is another major player but sources say Multi Screen Media (MSM) will go for the exclusive India rights.
Among other players, Star Hub will go for West Asian market, while Fox Sports will confine itself to Australia. British Telecom will be a serious contender for the UK market but there is no talk of bidders for the markets in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Just as in India, Ten Sports has a large presence in those countries but the channel officials have refused to comment on their plans.
Meanwhile, the last date for the submission of the bids has been deferred up to October 3 from September 29 and the venue will be London, not Dubai. It might take a couple of months for the ICC to analyse the bids and finalise the winner.
Ten retains wrestle mania
WWE and Ten Sports have extended their television distribution agreement for five more years through 2019 while growing their partnership beyond WWE's weekly programming to include localized content, more languages and live events. In addition to flagship programs Raw, SmackDown, NXT, the channel will introduce a new one-hour fully customized version of Raw tailored specifically for the Indian audience.
Business as usual - Mumbai Mirror
Al Jazeera, the popular media house in the Middle East, had created quite a buzz in the sports broadcasting circles, with its professed show of interest in the global cricket rights but the news apparently was only a false alert.
The Qatar-based media network has categorically denied harbouring plans to bid for the rights of the International Cricket Council (ICC). "Al Jazeera English is not talks with the ICC for broadcast rights. We're a news channel with focus on news," a spokesman for the satellite channel told Mirror.
Similarly, the word also got spread that Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) would go vigorously after the property. The recent acquisition of TV 18 Network by Reliance fuelled the speculation further as the takeover gives the premier Indian business house the needed qualification to be in the race. However, the news may not be entirely accurate.
An RIL spokesman has neither confirmed nor denied the talk but market sources have indicated to this paper that the RIL is unlikely to go for the bid. The presence of Reliance would have changed the complexion of the race completely but then it is likely that the competition would be among the familiar channels, particularly Indian sports channels.
According to conservative estimates, the winning bid could be over $ 1.8 billion while experts predict it might even cross the $ 2 billion mark.
Star had acquired the rights for eight years in 2007 for a whopping $ 1.1 billion.
It is given that Star Sports, the current holders of the rights, would put up a global bid but the surprise package could be Neo. The Nimbus-owned channel has apparently brought on board a few American investors and a company spokesman has confirmed to this paper that it will bid for the worldwide rights.
Sony is another major player but sources say Multi Screen Media (MSM) will go for the exclusive India rights.
Among other players, Star Hub will go for West Asian market, while Fox Sports will confine itself to Australia. British Telecom will be a serious contender for the UK market but there is no talk of bidders for the markets in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Just as in India, Ten Sports has a large presence in those countries but the channel officials have refused to comment on their plans.
Meanwhile, the last date for the submission of the bids has been deferred up to October 3 from September 29 and the venue will be London, not Dubai. It might take a couple of months for the ICC to analyse the bids and finalise the winner.
Ten retains wrestle mania
WWE and Ten Sports have extended their television distribution agreement for five more years through 2019 while growing their partnership beyond WWE's weekly programming to include localized content, more languages and live events. In addition to flagship programs Raw, SmackDown, NXT, the channel will introduce a new one-hour fully customized version of Raw tailored specifically for the Indian audience.
Business as usual - Mumbai Mirror