MUMBAI: In order to broaden its programming base, Ten Sports has signed a long term deal with Machdar Motorsports for the i1 Super Series. The event, which kicks off in January 2012, will be a motorsports league comprising of eight franchises.

Ten Sports CEO Atul Pande said, "We think that there is place for a domestic racing league. Our programming mix is the best among the sports broadcasters and this property is a significant addition."

He adds that with the kind of capital and marketing dollars chasing it, the event will gain traction.

"Right now there is viewership for motorsports but most of the viewership is for international events. This league though can surpass those numbers and bring in new viewers," Pande said.

He adds that the success of the recently held F1 race in Delhi showed that there is an appetite for motorsports in the country.

NEW DELHI: Although the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has issued 349 letter of intent for setting up community radios in the country, only 115 organisations have operationalised their radio stations.

Thus, the remaining LOI holders will have to apply for necessary clearance from the WPC for frequency allocation and subsequent SACFA clearance to be able to operationalise their stations.

The Ministry considers setting up Community Radio Stations a thrust area and, therefore, wants to help operators.

The Ministry has been informed that there are several communication barriers between LOI holders and WPC, which is preventing many LOI holders to operationalise their community radio stations.

In order to remove these barriers, the Ministry in association with Unicef and WPC Wing of the Department of Telecommunications has organised a Workshop with all those LOI holders who have not been able to make their radio stations operational.

The First Workshop in this direction is being organised on 2 November at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi and there is no fee for attending this workshop.

MUMBAI: Sun TV network, the Maran-owned Southern broadcasting major, saw a steep fall and a rebound in its share price on Monday as the scrip closed 10 per cent up on the BSE.

Triggered by the CBI raids on the Maran family premises in Delhi and Chennai, the shares slumped as much as 16 per cent in the early trade hours. However, the scrip bounced back and ended at Rs 288.15, 10.21 per cent higher to its previous close.

The rebound added Rs 10.52 billion to Sun TV‘s market capitalization. The company‘s market cap stood at Rs 113.55 billion at the end of the day.

On the National Stock Exchange also, Sun TV stock closed at Rs 288, up 9.55 per cent, after seeing an intraday low of Rs 221.20.
 

NEW DELHI: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the largest sports stadium in Delhi, is to be developed as the football hub of the country.

The stadium had been constructed for the Ninth Asian Games in 1982 and was renovated last year for the Commonwealth Games.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI), which maintains the stadium and the All India Football Federation (AIFF), today signed an agreement here in this regard. The agreement will be valid for one year and can be extended further for two years on the basis of review and mutual understanding.

The agreement was signed by SAI Secretary Gopal Krishna and AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das, in presence of Sports Minister Ajay Maken and AIFF President Praful Patel who is also Minister for Heavy Industries.

SAI will enable use of the Stadium by AIFF including the main pitch for a maximum period of 40 days per year. SAI will also provide AIFF the outside practice ground of the stadium free of cost for 50 days in a year along with other necessary facilities available in the stadium for the smooth conduct of national and international football tournaments.

AIFF on its part of obligation will repair/re-lay the turf on the main pitch at JLN Stadium at its own cost. The agreement also mentions that AIFF will provide events-wise calendar to SAI indicating the requirements of other facilities.

AIFF will hold SAFF Football Tournament in December 2011, Nehru Cup Football Tournament 2012, international matches, domestic tournaments and for the remaining period out of the 40 days, it will hold coaching camps and clinics related to football.

Patel described this agreement as an important step in the efforts to improve the standards of the game of football in the country by providing the best sporting infrastructure. He said this agreement will go a long way to improve the ranking of the game, which slipped considerably in the last few years because of lack of availability of good sporting infrastructure at every level.

He also requested Sports Minister to explore the possibility of providing residential accommodation to AIFF so that it can set up a football academy also.

Maken said the National Institute of Sports Science, which is also being set up in the stadium will take up 250,000 sq. ft. to 400,000 sq. ft. of space and it will be the best in the world.