MUMBAI: English GEC Zee Caf? will showcase Miss Universe 2012 live, as 88 women battle it out at Las Vegas in the US.

Zee Caf? will showcase Miss Universe 2012 on 20 December at 6.30 am and a repeat telecast at 9 pm. Miss Universe will additionally be simulcast on Zee Studio and Zee Trendz.

Miss India Universe Shilpa Singh will compete in the event.

The 1952 local "bathing beauty" competition, spearheaded by Catalina Swimwear in Long Beach, transformed into an international annual tradition with countless young women around the world vying to become a part of the Miss Universe history.

The Miss Universe Organisation owns and manages the annual Miss Universe Finals, a competition that has grown into one of the World?s biggest.

This year, apart from the Miss Universe 2012 award, the challenge events includes the following titles: National costume round, Sports, Swimsuit Round, Evening gown round

These participating women are savvy, goal-oriented and aware. Those who become part of the Miss Universe display those characteristics in their everyday lives, both as individuals, who compete with hope of advancing their careers, personal and humanitarian goals, and as women who seek to improve the lives of others. The Indian winners in the past have been Sushmita Sen and Lara Dutta.

Zee Network business head niche channels Anurag Bedi said, "After the immense response received from last year, Zee Caf? is proud to be associated with Miss Universe this year as well. Apart from showcasing the latest and the best of English shows, Zee Caf? gets to you live and exclusive telecasts of the biggest world events. For Miss Universe this year, we have Amway on board as the presenting sponsor and Microsoft, Tata Nano, Hitachi, and Quikr.com as the associate sponsors to celebrate this much awaited event."

MUMBAI: Zee Network-owned Ten Network, South Asia?s leading sports content provider, has secured live and exclusive rights to broadcast The Football League and The League Cup from 2012-15 for the South Asian market.

As part of the agreement with MP & Silva, a leading international sports rights agency, Ten Network will be showcasing approximately 145 matches live and exclusive throughout the year through Ten Action and Ten HD.

ZEEL CEO Sports Business Atul Pande said, "Acquisition of The Football League and The League Cup till 2015 underlines Ten Network?s commitment to football fans in the region to bring best of football action. This latest acquisition gives us an excellent promotional platform for our advertisers and partners. We have established a strong tradition in building and strengthening top-class football properties on our channels with the reach of our networks, multiple media platforms and world-class match presentation."

The Football League is the world?s oldest league football competition, consisting of the npower Football League Championship, League One and League Two. Each league consists of 24 teams, including Cardiff City, Bolton, Blackburn and Sheffield Wednesday.

The Championship itself is the fourth most-watched league in Europe and the Championship final is the world?s most lucrative football match - with the winner standing to earn an estimated ?90 million from promotion to the Premier League.

The League Cup (known as Capital One Cup for sponsorship reasons) is part of the English football treble and one of the most prestigious titles in England. A knockout competition that features all 20 clubs of the Premier League and 72 clubs of The Football League, the match calendar runs from August to February and it is the first major football title to be crowned during the season.

Ten?s football roster includes Uefa Champions League, Europa League, and French Football League.

MUMBAI: Zee Caf?, the English general entertainment channel (GEC) from Zee Network, has renamed its weekday 7.30 pm slot as ?Half Past 7?. The channel is launching four new weekly shows in this time band.

The channel will air a crime show every Monday, comedy on Tuesdays, Reality on Wednesdays and drama on Thursdays.

Starting today, the channel will air Covert Affairs, followed by Love Bites, Top Chef Masters and A Gifted Man on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

Covert Affairs is a crime show based on a 28-year-old CIA trainee, Annie Walker, who is sent out into the field to work at the Domestic Protection Division (DPD).

Love Bites is a new rom-com anthology series that tells modern stories of love, sex, marriage and dating, more like an anthology of snippets of love struck, dysfunctional people jumping through hoops and doing crazy things, all for love.

Top Chef Masters will see 24 ?world-renowned? chefs competing against each other.

In A Gifted Man, a gifted surgeon played by Patrick Wilson, suddenly has his life changed when his ex-wife dies and goes on to teach him about life from the beyond the grave.

MUMBAI: Zee will simulcast the 61st edition of Miss World across three of its network channels.

Miss World 2011, scheduled to take place in London on 6 November, will air on Zee Caf?, Zee Studio, Zee Trendz at 10 :30 pm.

The event will also air on Zing in Hindi at a later date.

Alexandria Mills of the US will crown her successor at the end of the event. Kanishtha Dhankhar, crowned Miss India World, will represent India at the global pageant.

Apart from the Miss World 2011 award, the various categories of awards to be won include Miss World Top Model, Miss World Beach Beauty, Miss World Talent, Miss World Sports, Beauty With A Purpose (Miss World Scholarship), Best World Dress Designer (Spectacular Evening Wear), Miss Photogenic, Best National Costume (Spectacular National Dress), Miss Personality, Spectacular Swimwear, Miss People?s Choice and Miss Contestants? Choice.

Zee Caf? has sketched out a major marketing campaign to promote Miss World 2011. Heavy on-air promotion is designed across Zee Network and other youth channels. Various off-air media has been tapped to reach out to the target audience. OOH media channels like Theatre Slides, Hoardings, Digital Screens have been employed to promote visibility.

Zee Network business head niche channels Anurag Bedi said, "Zee Cafe will be bringing Miss World, live, to Indian audiences for the fourth consecutive year. We are glad that our association with The Miss World Organization is getting strong every passing year. We recently aired Miss Universe and will be bringing the Billboard Music Awards 2011 later this month. With Miss World, we once again reiterate our commitment towards bringing acclaimed international events to our viewers in India."

The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the UK by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley?s wife, Julia Morley, co-chairs the pageant. Alongside its rival Miss Universe and Miss Earth contests, this pageant is one of the most publicized beauty contests in the world. The winner spends a year traveling to represent the Miss World Organization and its various causes. Traditionally, Miss World lives in London during her reign.

The Miss World Organization owns and manages the annual Miss World Finals, a competition that has grown into one of the World?s biggest.
Miss World is franchised in more than 100 countries.