World's biggest hockey events on Ten Sports

Ten Sports, the world's number one sports channel for South Asians, will be the home for the biggest hockey events in the world after signing a comprehensive contract with FIH.

With this agreement, Ten Sports has secured the rights in the Indian Sub-Continent, the Middle East and Hong Kong for both the Men's and Women's World Cup, to be held in Monchengladbach, Germany, and Madrid, Spain, in September 2006, as well as the Men's and Women's Champions Trophy through year 2008.

Announcing this, Chris McDonald, CEO, Taj Television Limited, owners of Ten Sports, said: ÔÇ£Hockey has a massive following in the Sub-Continent and is easily the most popular sport after cricket. With our acquisition of the cream of the FIH events, Ten Sports remains the premier sports channel for hockey fans.ÔÇØ

Peter Hutton, Vice-President (Programming), Taj Television Limited, said: ÔÇ£It is great news for us to be able to show the men's and women's hockey World Cups for the first time, and to be able to say with confidence that we have all the best hockey events for years to come.ÔÇØ

Els van Breda Vriesman, FIH President commented, ÔÇ£Ten Sports has shown loyalty and commitment to FIH and our major international hockey events since our first partnership with them that began three years ago. I'm delighted that we are able to continue our partnership.

Steven Morris, FIH Marketing Manager, said: ÔÇ£This is FIH's first television distribution deal since we took control of our rights earlier this year. Financially it is the highest value ever for FIH and it also carries with it significant minimum broadcast commitments from Ten Sports to guarantee extensive exposure of our sport in the territories. Its increased value reflects the investment that FIH has made in its television production and standard of major events in recent years.ÔÇØ

The Sahara Hockey Champions Trophy for Men will be played in Chennai, India, this year from December 10-18, while the Women's Samsung Hockey Champions Trophy is scheduled for November 26-December 4 in Canberra, Australia. In August 2005, Ten Sports will also telecast the much anticipated eight-nation Invitational tournament from Amstelveen, Netherlands.

Ten Sports has been a major supporter of hockey ever since its launch in April 2002. Ten Sports acquired the rights of the Champions Trophy that year and also telecast the four-nation tournament from the Netherlands in 2004.

Schedule of Major Events on Ten Sports
Aug 14-21, 2005: 8-Nations Invitational, Amstelveen (NED)
26 Nov-4 Dec, 2005: Women's Samsung Hockey Champions Trophy, Canberra (AUS)
Dec 10-18, 2005: Men's Sahara Hockey Champions Trophy, Chennai (IND)
Sep 6-17, 2006: Men's BDO Hockey World Cup, Monchengladbach (GER)
Sep 27-Oct 7, 2006: Women's Rabobank Hockey World Cup, Madrid (ESP)

About Ten Sports: Only launched in April 2002, Ten Sports is watched by more viewers than any other sports channel in the Sub-continent. Ten Sports is available in over 30 million households via cable and satellite networks in India, almost half of the total TV households. In just a short span of three years, Ten Sports has also become the world's biggest producer of cricket. The Channel broadcasts cricket from Sharjah, the West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Morocco throughout the Indian sub-continent and Asia, as well as in Europe and the Middle East (except Pakistan cricket). Also, Ten Sports has broadcast cricket from India, the World Cup 2003 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2004 in certain territories.