Ten Sports Secures Deal for UEFA Events

MUMBAI, April 14: Ten
Sports has wrapped up a deal for the broadcast rights for premier UEFA
tournaments, including the UEFA Champions League, until 2012.

The rights cover the
Indian sub-continent and include the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup, along
with the UEFA Champions League.

There will now be 146 live
games spread across 34 separate nights of UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super
Cup football per season, up from 25. The final will also now be played at 8:45
p.m. CET (1:15 a.m. IST) on a Saturday. The channels will also show an extra
number of the 205 UEFA Cup ties available. Many of the kick offs have been
moved to earlier starts, with some matches starting as early as 11:30 p.m. IST.
In total, 352 top international games per season will be available to Ten
Sports and Zee Sports.

Chris McDonald, the CEO of
Taj Television Limited, owners of Ten Sports, said: “With the signing of this long-term deal, Ten
Sports’ football fans can sit back and enjoy the world’s best football for
years to come. The UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup are club football’s
premier competitions and have delivered countless hours of the highest quality
sport to million of fans worldwide.”

“Coupled with our regular
league telecast from France, Holland and Scotland, Ten Sports now has a
formidable array of football action to complement our already strong bouquet of
cricket, hockey, golf, tennis and other leading sports,” continued McDonald.

—By Kristin
Brzoznowski