Ten Sports is taking the novel route to increasing awareness about the channel in the interiors of the country.

The channel that has secured exclusive rights to telecast the soccer World Cup matches live in India will show certain matches live in select theatres across the country. Says Ten Sports Mumbai marketing head Mohit Mehra, the exercise will supplement the current awareness campaign that has been unleashed in most territories the channel considers its key markets. These include Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Cochin, Coimbatore, Mumbai and Delhi. Apart from hoardings in most citiies, Ten Sports has launched road shows in these cities to create hype around the channel, hoping to cash in on the soccer fever in the country.

It has pressed into service vans decorated with the Ten Sports logo and fitted with television screens which display small demos about the channel and promote the World Cup, since 15 May. The idea, says Mehra, is to hook the cable operator through the common viewer into creating a demand for the product.

Ten Sports has also bought spots on cable television in some areas as well as on AIR FM and private radio stations in Bangalore, Mehra says. The channel has signed on advertisers that include Akai, Coca Cola, Hyundai, Kodak, Onida and Prudential ICICI Mutual Fund. "