| MUMBAI:
ESPN Star Sports (ESS) and Imagine OmniMedia have announced the signing of an
agreement that will see the companies work together to develop, produce and broadcast
the first reality-based football entertainment series in Asia.
Currently
titled SportStar Football, the series will be a global
hunt for the next football superstar. Under the terms of the
agreement, Imagine OmniMedia will produce the upcoming original
series while ESS will provide creative inputs, market and
broadcast the series across its entire footprint in Asia.
In addition, ESS intends to use its line-up of popular talent
and original programming to build the series among fans in
Asia.
ESS
MD Manu Sawhney says, "We are committed to serving our fans by providing
them unique opportunities to engage with their favorite sports across platforms.
With this interactive and entertaining initiative, football fans will have a lot
more to look forward to in days to come. "We
are delighted to be exploring this relationship with Imagine OmniMedia and with
our Asia-wide reach, strong brand strong equity and strength of our new media
platforms, we are confident millions of fans across Asia will greatly enjoy this
new series."
Imagine
OmniMedia CEO Riaz Mehta says, "We are proud to be partnering
with ESPN Star Sports on this great new show. With our expertise
in producing compelling reality-based TV entertainment, such
as the recent hit series, The Contender Asia and ESPN
Star Sports' Asia wide reach across multiple platforms, this
unique concept will broaden football's appeal across more
markets and audiences. 'Sport*Star Football' is the brainchild
of David Edwards who is also the executive producer and creator
of Rock Star:INXS. I am confident that with our combined
industry experience, the show is bound to be a huge success
in Asia."
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