DD SPORTS GETS SPORTING

Prasar Bharati chief executive Rajiv Ratna Shah has plans to take DD into overdrive. Shah told a local financial daily that DD Sports will be making its entry into the US market on the Echostar dish platform early next year and as a pay per view service. He revealed that DD Sports may also hop on to the BSkyB platform for the UK apart, apart from converting into a pay television service for the Indian market.

Shah added that he was scouting around for programming related to golf, polo and chess to make DD Sports a more wholesome sports channel. DD Sports has the telecast rights to 48 days of international cricket played in India, apart from rights to domestic hockey and football. He added that he was interested in procuring telecast rights for international cricket played in other countries, which it does not have. He was also open to the option of bartering the domestic rights he has with the international cricket rights that other broadcasters have pocketed from the various country cricket boards. He showed no opposition to a suggestion that a private company distribute DD Sports in India. His belief is that DD Sports will become profitable in the third year itself.