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DD bags telecast rights for World Rally Championship
New Delhi, June 13: After telecasting live Formula One, Formula 3000 and the Porsche Super Cup, national broadcaster Doordarshan has gone one step further and bagged the telecast rights for the World Rally Championship.
New Delhi, June 13: After telecasting live Formula One, Formula 3000 and the Porsche Super Cup, national broadcaster Doordarshan has gone one step further and bagged the telecast rights for the World Rally Championship.
"We are pleased to see the growing popularity of motorsports in this country," Vicky Chandhok, the new president of the federation of motor sports clubs of India, said while making the announcement here yesterday.
"A lot of effort and initiative had to be taken to bring motorsports virtually to the lips of 80 million Indians," Chandhok said.
Satish Sonder, director of DD Metro, which will telecast the WRC events, said the government's decision to ask the channel to become self-sustainable was a major factor behind the move to telecast sports programmes.
"Metro is basically an entertainments channel, showing soaps. But now that we had been asked to generate our own revenues, we had to turn to telecasting the best international sporting events like the French Open and Formula One which had large viewership across the country," he said.
Chandhok said the large TRP ratings for F-1 races in India helped clinch the WRC telecast rights.
Chandhok, who took over as the president of FMSCI recently, also scotched rumours that India was a possible venue to a F-1 Grand Prix.
"Let me put all speculations to rest. There has been no visit by any team of Formula One experts in India. And the country is not on F-1 map," he said.
Bureau Report
"We are pleased to see the growing popularity of motorsports in this country," Vicky Chandhok, the new president of the federation of motor sports clubs of India, said while making the announcement here yesterday.
"A lot of effort and initiative had to be taken to bring motorsports virtually to the lips of 80 million Indians," Chandhok said.
Satish Sonder, director of DD Metro, which will telecast the WRC events, said the government's decision to ask the channel to become self-sustainable was a major factor behind the move to telecast sports programmes.
"Metro is basically an entertainments channel, showing soaps. But now that we had been asked to generate our own revenues, we had to turn to telecasting the best international sporting events like the French Open and Formula One which had large viewership across the country," he said.
Chandhok said the large TRP ratings for F-1 races in India helped clinch the WRC telecast rights.
Chandhok, who took over as the president of FMSCI recently, also scotched rumours that India was a possible venue to a F-1 Grand Prix.
"Let me put all speculations to rest. There has been no visit by any team of Formula One experts in India. And the country is not on F-1 map," he said.
Bureau Report