MUMBAI: Taj Television has acquired the media rights for Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games for Indian subcontinent which includes markets like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Maldives.

The media rights package includes both free-to-air and subscription television rights, along with internet, mobile and radio rights. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

As part of the deal, Taj TV will promote the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games across all of its network channels and carry extensive live coverage on Ten Sports.

Taj TV will also work with the national free-to-air broadcasters in each country enabling them to broadcast highlights of the 17 sports on show across the 11 days of competition at Glasgow 2014.

Taj TV is the company under which Zeel?s sports broadcasting business operates which includes Ten Sports, Ten Cricket, Ten Action+, Ten Golf and Ten HD.

Zeel Sports Business CEO Atul Pande said, ?This acquisition is testament to our commitment to reach out to a wide audience base across the Indian sub-continent with the most interesting and compelling programming. We are delighted that our viewers can now be part of the Commonwealth excitement as they watch, share and celebrate the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games."

Glasgow 2014 will be the biggest multi-sport event Scotland has ever hosted and around 4,500 athletes from 71 nations will take part in the Games.

?The arrangement we have reached with Taj Television to become one of our broadcast rights holders is a strong indicator of the success of our commercial programme in this sector. Through Taj?s efforts, we look forward to sharing Scotland?s biggest sporting spectacle with audiences across the continent," said Glasgow 2014 chief executive David Grevemberg.
The sale of broadcast right packages around the globe is a key part of Glasgow 2014?s commercial programme which aims to raise ?100million in revenue through licensing, merchandise and ticketing.

"A key aim of Glasgow 2014 is to ensure as many people as possible across the world can share the experience of an outstanding Commonwealth Games in Scotland and the sporting achievements of thousands of great athletes from across the world," he added.

A milestone of 20 years is a defining moment in any organisation‘s life span. It is a reason to celebrate, when the dream we envisioned two decades ago has blossomed. We are now at an inflection point, a position from where we have to leapfrog and move to the next growth trajectory.

In 1992, Zee was established with strong values, focusing on Customer, Excellence, Creativity, Integrity, and to this day we still espouse these values. It is my belief that the key attributes that we have adopted since inception are Vision and Innovation; not just in thought, but in action. This has helped us to achieve domain expertise and consistent growth levels, emerging as industry leaders with a single-minded focus on realising aspirations.

We have a proven track record, which provides us with an enviable 30-channel network, reaching 650 million viewers across 168 countries. With a financially robust business model and a professional team, we are one of the largest content producers and aggregators globally.

The business of entertaining people is a good one to be in and there has never been a better time than now, especially in countries, where discretionary incomes are rising and people are seeking quality family entertainment.

Our offerings span varied genres, General Entertainment, Movies, Music, Sports, Lifestyle covering most languages across the world. For 20 years we are dedicated to creating and showcasing engaging content that can be enjoyed by people anywhere.

Our shareholders‘ value has grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30% since listing on the stock exchanges. The result of thought leadership, execution excellence, robust value system, capable talent pool, and most importantly an all-encompassing insight into viewer pulse, along with a natural flair for innovation.

In an age of fast-evolving preferences, brand loyalty is the last thing that can be taken for granted by marketers. Translated into actionable units, this tells us to strive even harder in order to maintain our leadership and sustain the momentum that we have created for ourselves.

It is with a sense of pride that I enumerate some of the significant developments in the last fiscal. Zee TV became the first Indian channel to be granted the landing rights in China. This will enable us to cater to the large audience base in China, and will open the doors to Indian entertainment.

Our distribution joint venture, Mediapro Enterprises, in a short span of time, has been successful in creating efficiencies in the entire value chain. Zee also launched one more niche channel, Ten Golf in FY‘12.

During the year, we were ranked at an impressive 217th position in the ET Top 500 Companies Report, which was higher than many multinationals in India and chosen as the no. 1 media company by the Fortune Magazine.

2011 was challenging for the global economy, as well as the entertainment industry. Against this backdrop, we have had a sterling collective performance that deserves special mention.

India‘s Television industry is poised for a quantum leap, riding on the digitisation wave. From mere aspiration, digitisation is now going to become a reality over the next few quarters. As per the latest FICCI KpMG report, the Indian Television industry will grow from Rs 329 billion to around Rs 735 billion in the next five years. This provides us with a huge opportunity to grow in the coming years.

I strongly believe that, with the digitisation drive and consolidation in the cable industry, the ability to control the market share in terms of quality, technology and service will rest with few dozen players, rather than the 60,000 cable operators prevailing today. The market for pay services will have to develop and evolve over the next three to four years, as the current ARPU levels are extremely low.Consolidation is expected in the DTH market as well, since it is not at a profitable level at this stage. Only with increase in the ARPU levels, broadcasters will be able to invest in better quality programming, otherwise it remains an unviable proposition for many players.

On the other hand, the production industry also needs to be more organised. This will bring in correction in programming costs, which have escalated drastically and unduly. In addition, the industry needs a better and comprehensive rating system, crisscrossing the entire length and breadth of the country. This will help the industry to recover the enormous losses that currently prevail. I am sure that with the elimination of anomalies, the industry is poised for an attractive growth in the coming five to seven years.

Over the years, our employees have demonstrated remarkable loyalty, and take great pride in using their talents and experience to build our global brand and businesses. With a strong emphasis on building organisational excellence through ‘Samwad‘, an HR initiative, we are on our way to create an even greater workplace environment.

Finally, I thank our board of directors for their support and exemplary guidance. I also take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all our stakeholders, who continue to repose faith and trust in us over the years.

As a dedicated team focused on delivering exceptional service, that add real value to all stakeholders, we are ready to drive the business forward for the next 20 years and beyond.

MUMBAI: Ten Golf, India?s first golf dedicated channel, has entered into a licensing agreement with NBCUniversal International Television Distribution for the exclusive basic cable rights in India to a slate of original programming from the Golf Channel in the U.S.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ten Golf will be showcasing 400 hours of golf programming, including series and news, showcased as a Golf Channel branded block. The channel will offer golf-related titles across a range of genres: Entertainment, News & Analysis, Instruction and Travel.

In addition to the Golf Channel branded block of programming from NBCUniversal, Ten Golf will also air a collection of popular golf events, including PGA Championship, Senior PGA Championship, Ryder Cup, European Tour, and WGC HSBC Champions Tournament.

Commenting on the deal, Ten Sports CEO Atul Pande said, "We are proud to announce this landmark content deal with NBCUniversal. This deal underscores our commitment to deliver high quality golf programming for our viewers in India and sub continent. It will offer unmatched and pioneering golf entertainment to audiences in India and across Indian subcontinent."

Pande also said that the channel was in talks with golf rights holders to bring further quality golf properties for viewers and was working with different stakeholders to create a strong platform.

"We are entering into content deals with leading golf rights holders in the near term, providing the viewers with the very best of top quality Golf Content and a viewing experience like never before. Ten Golf is working with all the major stakeholders in golf, including events partners, sponsors and golf courses and golf clubs across the sub-continent to create a formidable golf platform," Pande added.

Ten Golf had entered into a three-year partnership with PGTI to televise the Indian Tour. It also has the rights for Asian Tour, European Tour, US PGA Championship, Ryder Cup and LET, among others.

MUMBAI: Close on the heels of acquiring the PGTI and LPGA broadcast rights, Taj Television?s soon-to-be-launched golf channel Ten Golf has acquired the broadcast rights for Asian Tour while renewing European Tour rights both for the period of six years from 2013-18.

ESPN Star Sports earlier had the broadcast rights for the Asian Tour.

As part of the deal, Taj TV will have rights to air live and exclusive coverage of European Tour and Asian Tour events. Ten Golf will telecast around 20 live events of Asian Tour and 30 live events of the European Tour in 2013, which will add up to 200 days of live golf between these two tours.

Taj Television CEO Atul Pande said, ?As we continue to expand our content, we?re delighted to add two of the most prestigious tours to our impressive line-up of golf properties. Our acquisition of the long term rights is an indication of our interest and commitment in bringing high quality golf to Indian audiences.?

From the Asian Tour, all tournaments from the Asian Tour including the tournaments which are co-sanctioned between the Asian Tour and the European Tour, the WGC-HSBC Championship, the Asian Tour Golf Show and event highlights will be televised.

Asian Tour Senior Director of Commercial and TV Eric Lynge said, ?The Asian Tour is thrilled with this new partnership with Ten Sports. The appeal of the Asian Tour has grown tremendously in India especially with the success of Order of Merit winners Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa over the years and many other young and exciting Indian golfers such as Gaganjeet Bhullar, Himmat Rai and Anirban Lahiri have also won on the Asian Tour in recent times."

Ten will telecast all European Tour tournaments live besides the highlights. Additionally, it will also showcase ?European Tour Weekly? a magazine show. Highlight programmes of the European Seniors Tour, European Challenge Tour events and ?The Challenge? magazine show will be televised.

"With India?s depth in the game and the Tour?s cosmopolitan appeal where our membership ranges from over 30 countries, we are confident viewers of Ten Golf will be treated to the very best of Asian golf over the coming years,? European Tour Director of Broadcasting and New Media Mark Lichtenhein said.

?We?re delighted to extend our relationship with Ten Sports for a further 6 years and we are excited to be central to the development of Ten Golf, India?s first golf channel. We believe that there is enormous potential for golf in India particularly following its reintroduction as an Olympic sport in 2016.?