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MUMBAI:
Neo Sports has said it will be the exclusive broadcast partner
for the Nehru Cup football tournament. It is learnt that the
broadcaster has paid between Rs 5-10 million for acquiring
the rights as it grapples with the challenge to feed its channels
with live content.
The
broadcaster, which had recently rebranded its cricket dedicated
channel as an all sports channel Neo Prime, had televised
the Uefa Euro 2012 football tournament and is betting big
on football which has been on upswing in the recent past.
The
biennial international invitational tournament, which has
been organised by the AIFF since 1982, will kick off on 22
August and run till 2 September.
The
event was telecast on Ten Sports last time around in 2010.
Defending
Champions and two-time winners India will be gunning for a
hat-trick of titles and will be up against Maldives, Syria,
Nepal and African powerhouses Cameroon in a 10 match round
robin league followed by the final between the top 2 teams.
All
11 matches will be broadcast live in prime time, with one
match daily kicking off at 7 pm.
Neo
Sports Broadcast COO Prasana Krishnan said, “Neo Sports
has added yet another key event to our extensive football
line up with Nehru Cup. TV ratings for football in India are
growing exponentially, evident with the success of Uefa Euro
2012 on Neo Prime. With Nehru Cup being India’s only
international football tournament, it is sure to garner high
viewership. We look forward to serving Indian football fans
with top class coverage of this celebrated event”
IMG
Reliance COO Ashu Jindal said, “With 2012 being the Platinum
Jubilee of the AIFF (All India Football Federation) and India
returning as defending champions, we are extremely pleased
to partner with Neo Sports for the broadcast of this historic
edition of the Nehru Cup. This is a key tournament in our
vision to radically restructure and popularize football in
India. With double the prize money and an extensive production
plan, the event will be bigger and grander."
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