Ten Sports Acquires Raft of Programming

MUMBAI, March 3: Taj
Television’s Ten Sports channel has acquired the rights to several golf and
motor programs, including the live telecast of the Johnnie Walker Classic, the
European Tour’s golf tournament of Asia Pacific, currently underway at the DLF
Golf & Country Club in Gurgaon, near New Delhi.

The channel has picked up
the rights to the golf tournament for 2008 and 2009. In addition to the
European Tour, Ten Sports also has the exclusive rights in the subcontinent for
the U.S. PGA Tour, the U.S. PGA Championship and the biennial Ryder Cup
match-up between the U.S. and Europe, to be played at Valhalla, Kentucky, in
September.

Furthermore, the channel
has renewed its rights deal with GP2 Series, an F1 racing event. The channel
will also telecast the GP2 Asia Series and the Champ Car series.

India has seen a spike in
interest in both golf and auto sport in recent years. The nation has recruited
its own F1 team, including star driver Karun Chandok, and plans to host a Grand
Prix in 2009. In golf, the country has hosted two European Tour events in a
single month, and has witnessed Indian-native Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia win
the first-ever European Tour event in the country.

Other sporting events the
channel has acquired include the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup finals;
NCAA Basketball Championships; beach cricket from Australia; and the Olympic
qualifiers for field hockey in Santiago, Chile.

Ten Sports already
broadcasts international cricket action from Sharjah, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
South Africa, West Indies and Zimbabwe. It is also the exclusive home in the
subcontinent for all WWE action.

“These are exciting times
for Indian sports fans, and with the recent major developments in golf and
motor sports, we are certain the viewers interest in these sports is going to
increase significantly,” said Chris McDonald, the CEO of Taj Television.

—By Ned Berke