Neo Sports inks deal with Tata Sky

Sports broadcaster Neo Sports and direct-to-home (DTH) service provider Tata Sky have announced a long term agreement.

According to the deal, the two channels Neo Sports and Neo Sports Plus will be available on the Tata Sky platform with immediate effect.


Neo Sports CEO Shashi Kalathil said, "Neo Sports' carriage on India's premier DTH Platform, Tata Sky, is a major and propitious announcement that we are making as an independently distributed bouquet. There are several customer interactive innovations possible around cricket and we shall be working closely with Tata Sky to bring to our viewers an unmatched viewing experience during the upcoming India Australia series."

Tata Sky MD and CEO Vikram Kaushik said, "We are delighted that Neo Sports with their unparalleled depth of India cricket rights will now be available to our viewers on Tata Sky."


Two months back, Neo Sports decided to independently distribute its TV channels after terminating their distribution arrangement with Star India.
On the cable front, Neo Sports is on an aggressive distribution ramp up for the forthcoming October India-Australia ODI series.

Kalathil said that Neo Sports had already signed cable distribution deals in major cities in North, Central and parts of West India. These include Delhi, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Camper, Jaipur, Bhopal, Indore, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Baroda.

Kalathil said, "Traditionally broadcasters have been very advertising focused and have played for high stakes in the metros such as Delhi and Mumbai and advertising critical centres such as Gurgaon, where most of the media agencies have offices. Our approach has been different. In Phase-1 we went to the traditionally less penetrated states such as MP, UP and Rajasthan. It is incidental that while doing so we are now 100 per cent lit in Gurgaon and the large cities of Gujarat too. This is Phase-1 of our rollout strategy."

Kalathil went on to further clarify that in phase-two of the rollout by the end of the first week of September, Neo would cover platforms such as DTH and some of the major MSOs.

The third phase of the rollout by mid September would cover much of the South, another traditionally less focussed region for national broadcasters. "This is critical to our multi language cricket broadcast strategy" he added.

The final part of the roll out would be in the large metros and would be complete by middle of September, in time to catch the October India - Australia ODI series.


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Google Earth now scans the heavens

A new function in Google Earth has opened up the cosmos to Internet viewers. The new “sky” portion of the software allows users to view the starry skies, navigating through the galaxies with the click of a mouse, says Google spokesman Stefan Keuchel from the company’s Hamburg offices. Constellations, planets, and nebulae are all offered alongside information about their position, size and orbits.

The highest resolution images of space come from scientific installations such as the Baltimore’s Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). Views normally reserved just for astronauts are provided through 129 images of NASA/ESA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Animations illustrate the course of the moon’s phases and the position of planets two months ahead of time. The various stages of the life of a star are also depicted.

ESPN to share Twenty20 World Cup feed with DD

Millions of cricket lovers in non-cable households will be able to watch ICC’s Twenty20 World Cup kick off in South Africa on September 11. After weeks of dragging its feet over the issue, ESPN-Star Sports has conceded to Prasar Bharati’s demand to share its feed with Doordarshan for all the matches India plays, the semi-finals and the final, irrespective of whether India reaches the final stages.

While ESPN-Star Sports officials declined to comment, a source at Prasar Bharati confirmed the development. A top Prasar Bharati official told ET: “Doordarshan had sent a communication to ESPN-Star Sports requesting share of live feed of all matches India plays, including semi-finals and finals.

ESPN-Star Sports has not responded to our communication yet, but we have been given to understand that they have agreed to share the feed with us. A formal communication from ESPN-Star Sports is, however, awaited.”

Sharing feed of the Twenty20 format is not mandatory for the private broadcaster, unlike one-day matches and Tests telecasts. However, officials in the I&B ministry and Prasar Bharati had insisted that since the event was of national importance, the feed of the Twenty20 series too should be shared with Doordarshan.

Anticipating huge viewership, Prasar Bharati had demanded that sharing of the feed be made mandatory on the grounds that Twenty20 matches fall in the same category as one-day internationals. As per the law on mandatory feed sharing, the revenue sharing model is 75:25 in favour of the broadcaster.

Meanwhile, ESPN-Star Sports has sold the series at rates about 100% higher than even the 2007 World Cup, with rates averaging Rs 2.75-Rs 3 lakh per 10 seconds. “The format is new, and India’s performance has been encouraging, so advertisers are keen on the series,” a media source said.

WPP’s Group M, for example, has bought out 60% of the series inventory for $15 million on behalf of all its clients, including presenting sponsors Nokia, Havells, Hero Honda and associate sponsor PepsiCo. The deal also includes spot buys, which will be priced according to the performance of the Indian team across various stages.

Related Post
ICC announces partners for Twenty20 WC in South Africa
Twenty20 World Cup to be aired in 105 countries
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ESPN to share Twenty20 World Cup feed with DD

Millions of cricket lovers in non-cable households will be able to watch ICC’s Twenty20 World Cup kick off in South Africa on September 11. After weeks of dragging its feet over the issue, ESPN-Star Sports has conceded to Prasar Bharati’s demand to share its feed with Doordarshan for all the matches India plays, the semi-finals and the final, irrespective of whether India reaches the final stages.

While ESPN-Star Sports officials declined to comment, a source at Prasar Bharati confirmed the development. A top Prasar Bharati official told ET: “Doordarshan had sent a communication to ESPN-Star Sports requesting share of live feed of all matches India plays, including semi-finals and finals.

ESPN-Star Sports has not responded to our communication yet, but we have been given to understand that they have agreed to share the feed with us. A formal communication from ESPN-Star Sports is, however, awaited.”

Sharing feed of the Twenty20 format is not mandatory for the private broadcaster, unlike one-day matches and Tests telecasts. However, officials in the I&B ministry and Prasar Bharati had insisted that since the event was of national importance, the feed of the Twenty20 series too should be shared with Doordarshan.

Anticipating huge viewership, Prasar Bharati had demanded that sharing of the feed be made mandatory on the grounds that Twenty20 matches fall in the same category as one-day internationals. As per the law on mandatory feed sharing, the revenue sharing model is 75:25 in favour of the broadcaster.

Meanwhile, ESPN-Star Sports has sold the series at rates about 100% higher than even the 2007 World Cup, with rates averaging Rs 2.75-Rs 3 lakh per 10 seconds. “The format is new, and India’s performance has been encouraging, so advertisers are keen on the series,” a media source said.

WPP’s Group M, for example, has bought out 60% of the series inventory for $15 million on behalf of all its clients, including presenting sponsors Nokia, Havells, Hero Honda and associate sponsor PepsiCo. The deal also includes spot buys, which will be priced according to the performance of the Indian team across various stages.

Related Post
ICC announces partners for Twenty20 WC in South Africa
Twenty20 World Cup to be aired in 105 countries
ESPN STAR SPORTS signs broadcast deals in 105 countries for ICC World Twenty20