News Headline
ESS locks in Uefa Champions League rights till 2009
MUMBAI: Sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports (ESS) continues to assert its supremacy in the international football arena. It has renewed the rights to Europe’s premier football league, the Uefa Champions League, for several territories, including India, in Asia.
The new three-year agreement ensures that both ESPN and Star Sports will continue to televise the property through to the 2008-09 season. It also represents the continuation of a 13-year partnership between ESS and Uefa that has seen viewership for the League on the Asian sports network maintain a healthy upward trend year after year.
Under the terms of the new deal, ESS gets exclusive live broadcast rights of the event in Hong Kong and China in addition to retaining cable and satellite rights across the network’s South East, North Asian territories and India. This agreement has also been expanded to include internet and broadband rights in a reflection of the evolving trends in sport viewing.
ESS has a strong football line up which includes the World Cup rights for the Indian subcontinent, English Premier League, FA Cup, England Team home matches.
Says ESS Asia MD Jamie Davis, “The renewal of our partnership with Uefa is of vital strategic importance as we continue to offer unparalleled sports programming to viewers across Asia through traditional and new media platforms. This new multi-year commitment will insure that we can invest more resources to further develop the Uefa Champions League’s brand and promote it to the fans across Asia. Our plans to enhance the broadcast and interactivity of the matches will provide the audience with coverage like they have never seen before.”
ESS will provide season-long coverage from the early group stages through to the final which along with a range of support programming covering news, previews, player interviews and highlights shows. Factors such as the clubs’ unpredictable domestic performances coupled with colourful on and off the pitch drama have driven ratings, capturing larger audience shares in several markets with each passing season. In some metered markets, ratings have surpassed even the top cable programmes on other news, documentaries and action channels.
The broadcaster adds that at the close of the 2004-2005 season, viewership for the Uefa Champions League on ESS had shown an increase of 3.4 per cent from the previous year, taking the total number of viewers in Asia well over the 100 million mark.
NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.
The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.
Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.
The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.
Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.
Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.
Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.
Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.
The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.
Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.
