| MUMBAI:
ESPN Star Sports (ESS) will be bringing the first football reality show to India.
ESS will be showing
Super Soccer Star during the Fifa World Cup. It has tied up with Media Star Global,
the India license holder, for this purpose. Under
the terms of the deal, ESS will broadcast the show on Saturdays and Sundays over
five weekends during the World Cup tournament. Says
ESPN Software India MD RC Venkateish, “We are delighted to partner Galleon
Holdings PLC and Media Star Global for this new football offering. We believe
that Super Soccer Star will further extend our comprehensive football offering
to our viewers and help uncover the budding football talent in India. It will
certainly provide an ideal opportunity for young enthusiasts of the sport to showcase
their skills on a world famous platform.” ESS
is the official broadcast partner of 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa and has
been showcasing the Barclays Premier League for more than a decade. Super
Soccer Star, a multi-platform entertainment property and reality show, is owned
by Galleon Holdings, an AIM-listed company that develops and produces properties
with a focus on emerging markets. Super Soccer Star aims to discover young football
talent in association with the Chelsea Football Club.
As
per the format of the show, 20 contestants aged 13-16-years will be chosen after
trials and live events across the country. They will enter an academy where, over
a period of weeks, four finalists will be shortlisted. The
finalists come to London and are evaluated by Chelsea FC. The winner is titled
the ‘Super Soccer Star’ for the territory of India and wins a training
programme at Chelsea’s academy in Cobham. Galleon
Holdings CEO Stephen Green adds: “Super Soccer Star is a global entertainment
brand and we are proud to be working with ESPN Star Sports and Media Star Global
to discover young talent in a market the size of India.” Media
Star Global CEO Wasim Haq adds, “Super Soccer Star is India’s first
football reality show. It is a family-oriented programme that will appeal to sports
fans as well as reality TV junkies. Importantly it is a great platform for young
talented footballers with prowess, personality and star quality to get noticed
and train with the best! We expect the program to attract strong viewership on
ESPN, especially as it will air over weekends, during the Fifa World Cup.”
Galleon
Holdings has aired such programmes in China and Malaysia and format sales have
been made for many territories including Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, North Africa,
the Middle East and Vietnam. | 
