TEN Sports

TEN Sports is a leading sports network operating five sports channels – TEN 1, TEN 2, TEN 3, TEN Golf HD and TEN 1 HD. It was previously owned by Taj Television, the distribution arm of Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Sony Pictures Networks announced on 31 August 2016 that it had entered into definitive agreement to acquire the Ten Sports network in a deal worth $385 million.^[1]

It also has a Pakistani feed which broadcasts the matches the original TEN Sports headquarters does along with some which are not broadcast by the original one like matches of International Cricket Council, Asian Cricket Council etc.

The TEN Sports network owns long term broadcast rights for six cricket boards – South Africa, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - offering its viewers the best of sports action round the clock.

On 1 April 2016, the TEN Sports network rebranded all its channels except TEN Golf HD, and adopted a new brand positioning: 'Never Stop'. TEN Sports became TEN 1; TEN Action and TEN Cricket became TEN 2 and TEN 3, respectively, while TEN HD was rebranded to TEN 1 HD, which showcases the best of sports across the TEN network.

The Pakistani feed did not change.

Channel brings to sports buffs a continuous dose of varied sports including WWE, US Open, ATP, Pakistan Super League, WTA, Ryder Cup, Moto GP, Euro League, PGA Championship, Asian Tour, European Tour and Tour de France. It also telecasts the world's best football action from the top leagues like the UEFA Champions League, Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Ligue 1, Capital One Cup, German Cup along with major football club television programming thus promising the best in International Football.

Established in April 2002, Ten Sports (TAJ Television) is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises and is available across the world directly and or through partner channels. Through its strong presence worldwide, ZEEL entertains over 670+ million viewers across 169 countries.

The company was launched in the UAE as Taj Television by Emirati promoter Abdul Rehman Bukhatir along with a management team of CEO Mark Denton and Nikhil Diwadkar. Following the acquisition of broadcast rights to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, WWE, Formula 1 and UEFA Champions League , the "Ten Sports" channel operated by Taj Television became established as the most watched sports channel on Indian and Sri Lanka televisions. The business was sold to Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited in 2010 for a reported figure of 100 million USD. Taj TV also operated the Cricket Plus channel in North America, Goal TV in Asia, ASN in Asia, the Football Channel in Singapore and Showtime Sports in the Middle East during the period from 2004 to 2010. On August 31, 2016, Sony Pictures Networks acquired the Ten Sports networks from Zee Entertainment Enterprises for a deal worth $385 million^[2]

TEN 1

TEN 1 broadcasts the US Open, WTA, Chennai Open, Tour de France, World Athletics Championship, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Sukma Games. TEN 1 also telecast ATP, Moto GP, EFLI (American Football), Rallying, Horse Racing and Beach Volleyball events. WWE have extended their broadcasting deal with the TEN Sports Network, in which TEN Sports air WWE Raw (along with the 30-minute Raw pre-show) live, WWE SmackDown live, monthly WWE PPVs/Specials and WWE Main Event.

TEN 2

TEN 2 broadcasts the best of football matches of the most revered leagues from around the world –UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, I-League, Federation Cup, Coppa Italia, French League, Capital One Cup, Sky Bet Championship, German Cup, Campeonato Brasileiro Série A and Major League Soccer all year round. WWE's WrestleMania 32 was broadcast live on TEN 2 as the time slot for TEN 1 was occupied by a sporting event being broadcast live.

Apart from this, well known and experienced Football panelists from across the world share their insights on the upcoming live matches, football updates on the channel on its show "Countdown 2 kick off".

TEN 3

TEN 3 televises action from 5 International Cricketing Boards– West Indies, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and South Africa. It also televises UEFA Champions League matches.

Apart from cricket, Ten 3 also cover all WTA Events. They also broadcast tennis related programs like WTA Magazine, The World Tennis.

TEN 1 HD

TEN 1 HD is a 24x7 HD channel, airing sports & sports-related content in high definition. Some of the sports include Cricket, Football, Tennis and Motor Sports among others. WWE Raw (along with the 30-minute pre-show) is currently broadcast live weekly, along with SmackDown, NXT, Main Event, Raw Sunday Dhamaal and (generally) monthly PPV/Specials. Occasionally, TEN 1 & TEN 1 HD will broadcast a live WWE PPV/Special. As of April 2016, there have been 5 WWE PPVs/Specials that were broadcast live on TEN 1 HD/TEN HD, which were: WrestleMania 31, SummerSlam (2015), Survivor Series (2015) ,WrestleMania 32 and SummerSlam (2016)

TEN Golf HD

TEN Golf HD is India's first 24-hour dedicated Golf channel as well as the TEN Sports Network's second HD channel. It was launched on 7 October 2015, replacing Ten Golf SD, which shut down. TEN Golf has the Broadcasting rights to the European Tour, Asian Tour, Ryder Cup, LPGA Tour, Royal Trophy, US PGA Championship, Senior PGA Championship, Professional Golf Tour of India & Ladies European Tour. TEN Golf brings to India the Golf Channel Block featuring a range of Golf programming content.

Events

Notable events which are broadcast by TEN Sports Network include.

Cricket

• International cricket in South Africa
• International cricket in Pakistan and UAE
• International cricket in Bangladesh
• International cricket in West Indies
• International cricket in Sri Lanka
• International cricket in Zimbabwe

ICC events (Only in Pakistan)

• ICC Cricket World Cup
• ICC Champions Trophy
• ICC T20 World Cup

Football

• UEFA Champions League
• UEFA Europa League
• UEFA Super Cup
• CAF Confederation Cup
• Ligue 1
• German FA Cup
• Italian Cup
• English League Cup
• I-League
• A-League

Golf

• Asian Tour
• PGA European Tour
• Ryder Cup
• Royal Trophy
• US PGA Championship
• LPGA
• Senior PGA Championship
• Professional Golf Tour of India

Professional wrestling

• WWE Raw Tuesday, 5.30 am LIVE, Repeat: 4.00 pm and 9.00 pm and next day 5.00 pm^[3]
• WWE SmackDown Wednesday, 5.30 am LIVE^[3] and Sunday, 11.30 Am in Hindi
• WWE NXT Saturday, 5.30 pm and 9.30 pm^[3]
• WWE pay-per-view events 6.00 pm (occasionally aired live at 4:30 AM)^[3]
• WWE Main Event Thursday, 6.00 pm, 10.00 pm^[3]

LIVE WWE pay-per-views/specials^[4]

• WWE Royal Rumble
• WWE Fastlane
• WWE WrestleMania
• WWE Extreme Rules
• WWE Payback
• WWE Money in the Bank
• WWE Battleground
• WWE SummerSlam
• WWE Clash of Champions
• WWE Hell in a Cell
• WWE Survivor Series
• WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs

Basketball

• UBA Pro Basketball League

References