Taj TV India launches Ten Golf

Priced at Rs 200, the channel will be offered as a standalone property wherein the target is to attain an estimated 5,00,000 subscribers in the next three years.

After much delay, Taj Television India has finally launched its fourth offering, Ten Golf, a dedicated 24-hour golf channel. The other channels in the bouquet include Ten Sports, Ten Cricket and Ten Action+.

On the programming front, the channel will air a mix of live, non-live and feature programming.

Atul Pande, CEO, sports business, ZEE, says, "Along with live golf action, Ten Golf will also showcase feature programming on golf, including magazine shows and archival programming, making Ten Golf the most comprehensive Golf Channel in the broadcast space."

To begin with, the channel will be available on Dish TV, Hathway Cable and Datacom's digital set top boxes (STBs). Priced at Rs 200, it will be offered as a standalone property wherein the target is to attain about 5,00,000 subscribers in the next three years.

When quizzed on the need to launch a specialist channel, Pande says, "India as a sporting nation is fast transforming from a single sport to a multi-sport nation. The sports consumption pattern of the Indian viewer raises the need for specialised differentiated sport channels." Apart from targeting the urban up markets, the channel also expects to generate eyeballs in non-metros such as Pune and Punjab.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has gone all out to gather the right kind of content for Ten Golf.

The channel had signed a three year exclusive partnership deal with Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), the official sanctioning body of professional golf in India. The deal provides Ten Golf with the broadcasting rights for all PGTI-sanctioned tournaments within and outside the country during 2012/03-14.

Ten Golf entered into a licensing agreement with NBC Universal International Television Distribution, wherein it will showcase 400 hours of golf programming from the Golf Channel in the US. The content will include series and news and will be telecast under the branded block called Golf Channel.

Meanwhile, the channel acquired the broadcasting rights for the European Tour and the Asian Tour for a period of five years, beginning 2013. As part of the deal, Taj TV, the banner under which Ten Golf will operate, will have rights to air live and exclusive coverage of European Tour and Asian Tour events on Ten Golf.

The channel will telecast approximately 20 live events of the Asian Tour and 30 live events of the European Tour in 2013, which will add up to 200 days of live golf between these two tours.

For the Asian Tour, all tournaments of the game, including the tournaments which are co-sanctioned between the Asian Tour and the European Tour, the WGC-HSBC Championship, the Asian Tour Golf Show and event highlights will be televised.

For the European Tour, all tournaments will be televised, along with European Tour Weekly, a magazine show and programme highlights.