MUMBAI: The opening ceremony of the London Olympics set a new viewership record with 26.9 million viewers in UK tuning in, according to public broadcaster BBC.

The average viewing figure for Friday?s four-hour show was 22.4 million thereby becoming UK?s 13th most-watched programme ever.

In contrast, the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games in 2008 averaged at 5 million and peaked at 5.4 million.
The programme also had an 82 per cent share - almost twice that of the previous high for an Olympic opening ceremony, in Barcelona in 1992.

In US, The Nielsen Company said London?s ceremony was the most-watched opening ceremony of any summer or winter Olympics with a record 40.7 million watching it on NBC.

The viewership topped the previous mark of 39.8 million people who watched the 1996 Atlanta Olympics begin, and the 34.9 million who watched the opening ceremony of Beijing games four years ago.

MUMBAI: BBC One has launched its new Original British Drama campaign to the UK nation throughout the Olympic Games period.

Over the next two weeks audiences will get a sneak preview of the new British drama coming up on the channel. including ?Good Cop?, ?Accused?, ?Doctor Who;, ;Merlin? and ?EastEnders?.

BBC One controller Danny Cohen said, "The London 2012 London Olympics provides a rare and unique opportunity to showcase some of BBC One?s very best forthcoming programmes to our audiences. At approximately 8 pm across the 17 days of The London Olympics, we will give viewers the first exclusive look at a range of brand new original British drama coming up on BBC One - in the form of

specially-made feature length trailers. From Hunted to The Paradise, Good Cop and The Secret of Crickley Hall, Shetland to Ripper Street, these new series highlight the exciting and broad range of tones, stories and worlds we want drama on BBC One to encapsulate.

"Plus viewers will get an exclusive look at what?s coming up on Eastenders, Merlin Accused and Dr Who. It?s a fantastically diverse and ambitious combination of fiction coming up on BBC One in the coming months."

MUMBAI: Sahara India Pariwar has announced an award for the Indian sportspersons winning medals in the London Olympics. Sahara will be awarding 5 kg, 3 kg and 2 kg gold medals to athletes who win Gold, Silver and Bronze medals respectively.

For the team sports the 5 kg of gold will be equally distributed amongst all the members of the team winning gold medal, 3 kg of gold amongst the members of the team winning silver medal and 2 kg of gold amongst the members of the team winning bronze medal, in the shape of medals.

Sahara India Pariwar managing worker, chairman Subrata Roy Sahara said, "I strongly believe that there can hardly be any appreciation which can equate the undaunted efforts put in by the players who emerge victorious in the prestigious Olympics and bring the much coveted honour to our motherland. This reward is a small token of appreciation from us to the sportsmen to achieve great success and bring laurels to our beloved nation by procuring such highly acclaimed international distinctions".

Sahara which sponsors various sports teams recently announced its decision to purchase the Lucknow franchise in the Hockey India League.

MUMBAI: Olympics takes first priority over cricket as pubcaster Doordarshan decides to give the upcoming India-Sri Lanka series a miss.

DD declined to telecast the bilateral series which coincides with the London Olympics that will see the largest ever Indian contingent taking part in the world?s biggest sporting event.
?We approached Doordarshan with a bid for the India-Sri Lanka series but they have refused since they will be focusing on the London Olympics,? Zeel chief sales officer Ashish Sehgal tells Indiantelevision.com. The Sri Lanka cricket series falls under the mandatory sharing of telecast rights provision under which private sports broadcasters will have to give the live feed to DD.

With DD out of the fray, the bilateral series involving five ODIs and lone Twenty20 match will be televised exclusively by Ten Cricket, the cricket dedicated channel from Zee.

The India-Sri Lanka series, which will be played from 21 July to 7 August, will clash with the London Olympics starting from 27 July and closing on 12 August.

Zee is looking at an advertising revenue of Rs 800 million from the series. Ten Cricket, the official broadcast rights holder for cricket in Sri Lanka, has roped in five broadcast sponsors. Hero MotoCorp is the presenting sponsor while talks are on with a telecom operator to take the other presenting sponsorship slot.

The broadcaster has roped in Royal Seagram, Lenovo, Reliance Netconnect, and Manipal University as associate sponsors. Besides the official sponsors, there are 20 other advertisers who have bought airtime on the property.

?We have got good response from advertisers. The fact that it?s a short series involving ODI and T20 format of the game and will be telecast only on Ten Cricket is working in our favour,? Sehgal says.

Hindi general entertainment channels like Star Plus and Colors have also shown interest in buying airtime to promote their shows, Sehgal adds.

The channel has got three more on-ground associate sponsors in addition to Royal Stag Cricket Gear which includes Hero MotoCorp, Zuari Cement and Renault. Handset manufacturer Micromax is the title sponsor of the series. Sources say Micromax has paid Rs 50-60 million to take the title sponsorship.

One India. One Jersey. marketing campaign

Ten Cricket?s overall marketing spends on promoting the series will be around Rs 55-60 million, including promotions on network channels.

The sportscaster is giving the series an aggressive marketing push through its One India. One Jersey. marketing campaign.

The campaign celebrates the fact that the India team is coming together after a long gap through a series of four TVC based on real life experiences.

The creative idea showcases how cricket unites people from various walks of life despite all the differences that exist. It will be driven primarily through television promos and digital initiatives.

?The campaign is based on various contradictions in life and how we as a society are divided on various things but when it comes to cricket we are all one so it could be politicians from two opposition political parties with different views but they have same views when it comes to cricket (Indian team),? Ten Sports CEO Atul Pande says.

Pande believes that the campaign needed to have a strong theme since there was lot of negativity around the Indian team due to back-to-back defeats against England and Australia.

?We are primarily focusing on television particularly News channels because this property has got a male skew. We are also looking to reach out to female viewers through channels like TLC and lifestyle channels. Then we have our network channels to drive it we are topping this with a digital campaign,? he avers.

MUMBAI: Gearing up for the London Olympics, leading Asian sports network ESPN Star Sports will offer extensive broadcast of the Olympic Games with more than 3,800 hours of coverage across 15 channels which includes round-the-clock coverage on ESPN, Star Sports, ESPN HD and ESPNEWS during the Games.

The London Olympics will be held from 27 July to 12 August.

The coverage will also comprise 10 dedicated high-definition ESS channels covering the London 2012 Olympic Games live. In addition, key events will be showcased in 3D for the very first time on ESPN Star Sports? 3D channel.

The broadcaster had secured the exclusive non-standard television rights including cable & satellite television from the International Olympic Committee for the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic Games for 22 countries across the Indian subcontinent and South East Asia.

In the lead up to the event the broadcaster will showcase more than 660 hours of comprehensive programming which will showcase stories behind the Olympic milestones, and iconic feats that have left a legacy in the history of sports including historical archive footage chronicling the last two decades, as well as exclusive athlete interviews.

Headlining the list of programmes is ESS? exclusively-produced new documentary series ?Living the Dream? that focuses on the best sporting talents from Asia and their Olympic aspirations, starting 3 June. Hosted by SportsCenter anchor Christy Simson, the extensively researched eight-part programme follows the lives of 24 athletes from Malaysia, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam.

Among the Indian athletes who have been profiled includes Mary Kom, the first female Indian boxer to qualify for the London Olympics, shooter Ronjan Singh Sodhi who is a four-time gold medalist in the World Cup, and boxer Vijender Singh, a bronze medalist at the 2008 Olympics Games.

In addition, ESS will also air Golden Moments which showcase vignettes of the greatest and most inspiring athletes in Olympics history, while Olympic Stars chronicle the biggest and brightest athletes that shined in Sydney, Athens and Beijing.

Contemporary features include rivalries that defined the Olympic Games in Champions and Challengers, game-changing Olympic moments in Olympic Peaks, which details the advances in sports and the science of human performance.

Documentaries that take a historic perspective of the Olympic Games include the IOC Official Films and Olympic Sports, which depict the progression of major sports over the years and delves into the advances in strength, technique and artistry that defy limits and set standards.

Sports fans can also take a closer look at iconic images in Olympic history and the personal stories behind them on The Games Through the Lens that includes Bob Beamon?s spectacular leap of the century in the 1968 long jump, while the Story of Women at the Games traces the evolution of women?s participation at the Games.

ESS will also broadcast a weekly current affairs programme on the Games? preparations on Host City London, as well as a documentary about the evolution of the Games on the Olympic Spirit.

The London 2012 Games will feature over 10,000 athletes from more than 200 countries around the world covering 302 events in 26 sports.