ESS plans host of innovations around EPL coverage

ESS plans host of innovations around EPL coverage

MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports (ESS) is pulling out all the stops to make sure that viewers are tuned to its coverage of the English Premier League (EPL) 2004-05 season.

Keeping in mind the Olympics on Doordarshan it is important that the channel does a 360 degree programme package which it has. ESS' coverage kicks off tomorrow 14 August when Tottenham Hotspur take on Liverpool.

Special features that have been created include:

Football Crazy - The alternative football-based programme is aimed at the Asian youth. Every Thursday, this show will look at the lighter side of the game and give Asian fans their chance to voice an opinion. Regular phone-ins, emails and interviews with Asian EPL will be featured. The new show will be hosted by Andy Penders and Colette Wong.

Football Up Close - This will cover a series of in-depth profile type interviews with a past or present player from the English Premier League. The show will focus primarily on the players career in the game, embellished with brief highlights from the archives and statistics. It has been shot on location in the UK.

Here We Go - Andrew Leci will present this Friday night studio-based preview show. It will have the latest team news, predictions and analysis ahead of the weekends action.

Tiger First Edition - ESS presenter John Dykes will host this weekly wrap-up every Friday on what the newspapers are saying on the English games - the latest news, transfers, speculations and gossip. Primarily based on the news from English newspapers, the programme will also look at how the Asian newspapers are reporting the English soccer scene.

Football Forecast - This would be a studio-based preview programme. The show features highlights, comments, predictions and discussions ahead of the weekends EPL matches.

Premiership Saturday - This is the flagship pre-show to live coverage of the matches played on Saturday. It will contain extensive previews, interviews, analysis, studio discussions, latest team news and statistics ahead of the live matches.

This will be followed by Final Score, a complete post-show wrap up on all of the results from Saturdays matches including highlights, interviews and studio analysis. John Dykes will front both shows.