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The sports broadcasting industry saw a major shake-up last month when Sony Pictures Networks India acquired Ten Sports from Zee Enterprises for a deal reportedly worth Rs 2,600 crore.
Sony has been aggressively building up its sports portfolio over the last couple of years and last year tied up with ESPN to launch a website and a sports channel.
Sony Pictures Networks CEO NP Singh is the person heading the network's renewed push into sports broadcasting and he is very bullish about the genre.
"We feel that the Ten Sports brand adds value to our sports broadcasting business and will help us in consolidating our presence in the genre. The properties that we will get access to post this deal will make us the number one destination for sports fans. We are very excited at that prospect but the deal is still subject to regulatory approvals, which should come in about three-six months but there's no exact timeframe we can set on the clearance," he told Economictimes.com in an exclusive chat.
Singh said that they will not be rebranding Ten's bouquet of channels in the near future.
"Ten Sports has a very strong brand identity and we are not thinking of changing it anytime soon. Maybe in the near future, we can align it with the Sony brand."
But isn't this deal going to make sports federations and sports management companies jittery considering that there will be only two active companies (Star and Sony) competing for rights?
"I don't think sports associations and stakeholders should be worried about this. We all are here to work for the benefit and growth of Indian sports and create a culture where sports becomes an integral part of our lives. I also believe that there will be newer entrants in the sports broadcasting in the near future," he added.
Ten Sports channels are based out of Noida and the acquisition also raises questions about relocation of their operations. But Singh said that at the moment, they are not thinking about tinkering with the present arrangement.
"At the moment, we haven't really thought about moving Ten Sports operations to Mumbai. There is an option for us to continue in that building in Noida and we will be Zee's client in that scenario."
Zee Group Chairman Subhash Chandra, in his autobiography, has mentioned that he felt he had overpaid for Ten Sports when he acquired it from Dubai-based Abdul Rahman Bukhatir's Taj Group. When asked whether there's any chance of him feeling the same, Singh was philosophical.
"When we buy a house, we generally feel that we could have bargained a little more.
Sony has been aggressively building up its sports portfolio over the last couple of years and last year tied up with ESPN to launch a website and a sports channel.
Sony Pictures Networks CEO NP Singh is the person heading the network's renewed push into sports broadcasting and he is very bullish about the genre.
"We feel that the Ten Sports brand adds value to our sports broadcasting business and will help us in consolidating our presence in the genre. The properties that we will get access to post this deal will make us the number one destination for sports fans. We are very excited at that prospect but the deal is still subject to regulatory approvals, which should come in about three-six months but there's no exact timeframe we can set on the clearance," he told Economictimes.com in an exclusive chat.
Singh said that they will not be rebranding Ten's bouquet of channels in the near future.
"Ten Sports has a very strong brand identity and we are not thinking of changing it anytime soon. Maybe in the near future, we can align it with the Sony brand."
But isn't this deal going to make sports federations and sports management companies jittery considering that there will be only two active companies (Star and Sony) competing for rights?
"I don't think sports associations and stakeholders should be worried about this. We all are here to work for the benefit and growth of Indian sports and create a culture where sports becomes an integral part of our lives. I also believe that there will be newer entrants in the sports broadcasting in the near future," he added.
Ten Sports channels are based out of Noida and the acquisition also raises questions about relocation of their operations. But Singh said that at the moment, they are not thinking about tinkering with the present arrangement.
"At the moment, we haven't really thought about moving Ten Sports operations to Mumbai. There is an option for us to continue in that building in Noida and we will be Zee's client in that scenario."
Zee Group Chairman Subhash Chandra, in his autobiography, has mentioned that he felt he had overpaid for Ten Sports when he acquired it from Dubai-based Abdul Rahman Bukhatir's Taj Group. When asked whether there's any chance of him feeling the same, Singh was philosophical.
"When we buy a house, we generally feel that we could have bargained a little more.
