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 A
new sports channel, Ten Sports, commenced telecast in India from
April 1. The launch was announced at a press conference on March
25, in Mumbai. Taj Television Limited, a UAE-based television services
and content provider, is the force behind the channel, which is
being touted as “an exclusive 24 hours sports entertainment
channel for the Indian sub-continent.” The channel will telecast
events and shows that are made keeping in mind the tastes of sports
lovers.
Ten Sports
will be telecast in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
and Maldives initially. The first live sport event to be telecast
will be the popular Sharjah Tournament, which begins from April
8. Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand will be participating in
the Triangular Series this year. Besides cricket, Ten Sports will
also show other popular sporting events like the WWF, The English
FA Cup, Manchester United Football and the WTA Championship to name
some.
With the existence
of three sports channels ESPN, STAR Sports and Doordarshan Sports,
Ten Sports is being promoted as an “all-rounder,” though
like the other two channels, it will focus on cricket to cater to
the cricket-crazy Indians. Speaking on the occasion, Chris McDonald,
CEO, Taj Television Ltd, said, “Ten Sports will provide world-class
sports entertainment to viewers in the sub-continent. Cricket, the
number one sport in India, will be our foundation. We will heighten
the passion for cricket amongst Indian viewers by providing superior
production values and going behind-the-scenes with the players.
Other popular sports like hockey, tennis football and golf will
also be covered. We will be finding new ways to entertain our audience
through the medium of sports.”
McDonald has
12 years of television experience in Asia, and was the erstwhile
Senior VP at ESPN STAR Sports, and was acting as the MD of Sports
Corporation, ESPN STAR’s event management subsidiary. Peter
Hutton is the VP, programming and events for Taj Television.
Ten Sports
has been conceived by Abdulrahman Bukhatir, the one-man force behind
the Sharjah CBFS tournament. He established Taj Television Ltd.
in January 2001, which has its headquarters in Dubai.
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