Ten Action and Ten HD to simulcast The Football League and League Cup

The network has renewed the rights for the two leagues till 2014-15. The deal for the two leagues is signed on an exclusivity clause for South Asia and involves 145 matches per year.

Ten, the sports network from the Zee stable, has further strengthened the programming for its football channel, Ten Action by renewing the exclusive rights for live broadcast of The Football League and the League Cup till 2014-15. The two leagues will be simulcast on Ten Action and Ten HD.

The network already has the broadcast rights of UEFA Champions League, Europa League, French Football League and I-League, among others. For the recent deal including The Football League and the League Cup, the network will telecast live matches across the South Asian market.

As part of the agreement with M P & Silva (a leading international sports rights agency), the network will telecast about 145 matches every year. The network claims to be reinforcing its position as the 'Home Of Football' with this new acquisition.

Atul Pande, CEO, sports business, ZEEL, says, "This latest acquisition gives us another promotional platform for our advertisers and partners. We have established a strong tradition in building and strengthening top-class football properties on our channels with the reach of our networks, multiple media platforms and world class match presentation."

The Football League is one of the oldest leagues across the globe, consisting of League One and League Two. Each league consists of 24 teams, including Cardiff City, Bolton, Blackburn and Sheffield Wednesday. The winner stands to win an estimated £90 million from promotion to the Premier League.

The League Cup (known as Capital One Cup for sponsorship reasons) is part of the English football treble. It includes a competition featuring 20 clubs from the Premier League as well as 72 clubs from The Football League. The matches run from August till February.