|
Production values to be given a
boost: Venkateish explains that
to start with, ESS has established
a distinguished and enriched studio
panel of presenters for the World
Cup. Gerry Armstrong, ex-Irish International
and now a soccer expert with ESS;
Steve McMahon, ex- England and Liverpool
player and ESS presenter Harsha Bhogle
for the World Cup. ESS is counting
on the three generations of sports
expert to provide a new dimension
to the telecast of the event to viewers
in India.
The
broadcaster will also have Indian
soccer experts, Novy Kapadia, Noel
Da Kima Leitao, P.K. Bannerjee and
Bhaichung Bhutia from India joining
the above mentioned studio panel as
guests every week during the event.
For coverage from the venues, the
broadcaster will have two dedicated
teams in Germany comprising Anand
Narsimhan, Dave Roberts and Jason
Dasey, who will capture the World
Cup craze live from the host nation.
Additionally, a special Indian ESS
production team will travel across
India to catch the enthusiasm among
the Indian soccer fanatics.
The
sports network will also have a special
Hindi feed for traditional markets
in India during the event. Elaborating
on this initiative, Venkateish said,
"We are looking to reach the
mass Indian market during this World
Cup to build soccer as a sport in
the country and localisation of content
has helped us increase our penetration
in traditional markets of India. The
special Hindi feed will add a lot
of value to our telecast especially
for viewers who find it difficult
to understand the heavily accented
English or for viewers who are not
familiar with English at all."
Venkateish
is confident about the viewership
for the event as the matches have
convenient timings with some matches
starting as early as 6:30 in the evening,.
75 million Indians sampled the telecast
of World Cup 2002, with a cumulative
audience reach of 804 million in India.
He further says that the ratings of
the Fifa World Cup have been higher
than the ratings of an India cricket
test match.
"Soccer
is getting much bigger in India than
it was in 2002; with over 55 million
people watching the European League
this season." he adds
A
strong marketing push: From this
month, the broadcaster will carry
out various marketing initiatives
to promote and build up the popularity
even more.
ESS
will be undertaking a nation wide
search for eight school children to
be chosen as the Fifa fairplay flag
bearers at the World Cup. The contest
will be an opportunity for the school
children to travel to Germany and
stand with their favourite stars during
the pre match ceremony.
McMahon
said, "It feels wonderful to
be on the panel as an expert covering
the World Cup. The Fifa World Cup
is the most anticipated event for
any sports fan and I am looking forward
to covering the mega event from ESPN
Star Sports studios. I have thoroughly
enjoyed being a footballer and being
part of the England squad for Italia
'90. Now I look forward to my new
role as an expert analyst for Germany
2006. I will give my best to the fans
and play my part to help grow the
popularity of this fantastic sport."
Bhogle
said, "I have always been committed
to ESPN Star Sports for programming
and am honoured to be part of this
special India presentation for the
biggest sporting event in the world.
We have got an excellent team and
look forward to maintaining the presenting
standards ESPN Star Sports has set
in India."
A
New Show: To build up hype for
the event, the channel will also have
Fifa programming to generate viewer
interest. From Wednesday 4 April,
the channel will telecast FIFA World
Cup Stories. This will showcase stories
in the World Cup history. Six episodes
of half an hour duration will provide
angles to chapters of the event. The
programmes will feature stories on
the most surprising and shocking results
in the World Cup, Golden Boot winners
of the previous editions, dramatic
penalty shoot outs, young stars of
the sport and rise to top of some
of the underdogs. An extensive programming
will follow the Fifa World Cup Stories
on Fifa till the World Cup starts.
|
