ESPN Star Sports to air first Indian football reality show

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MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports (ESS) will be bringing the first football reality show to India.

ESS will be showing Super Soccer Star during the Fifa World Cup. It has tied up with Media Star Global, the India license holder, for this purpose.

Under the terms of the deal, ESS will broadcast the show on Saturdays and Sundays over five weekends during the World Cup tournament.

Says ESPN Software India MD RC Venkateish, “We are delighted to partner Galleon Holdings PLC and Media Star Global for this new football offering. We believe that Super Soccer Star will further extend our comprehensive football offering to our viewers and help uncover the budding football talent in India. It will certainly provide an ideal opportunity for young enthusiasts of the sport to showcase their skills on a world famous platform.”

ESS is the official broadcast partner of 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa and has been showcasing the Barclays Premier League for more than a decade.

Super Soccer Star, a multi-platform entertainment property and reality show, is owned by Galleon Holdings, an AIM-listed company that develops and produces properties with a focus on emerging markets. Super Soccer Star aims to discover young football talent in association with the Chelsea Football Club.

As per the format of the show, 20 contestants aged 13-16-years will be chosen after trials and live events across the country. They will enter an academy where, over a period of weeks, four finalists will be shortlisted.
The finalists come to London and are evaluated by Chelsea FC. The winner is titled the ‘Super Soccer Star’ for the territory of India and wins a training programme at Chelsea’s academy in Cobham.

Galleon Holdings CEO Stephen Green adds: “Super Soccer Star is a global entertainment brand and we are proud to be working with ESPN Star Sports and Media Star Global to discover young talent in a market the size of India.”

Media Star Global CEO Wasim Haq adds, “Super Soccer Star is India’s first football reality show. It is a family-oriented programme that will appeal to sports fans as well as reality TV junkies. Importantly it is a great platform for young talented footballers with prowess, personality and star quality to get noticed and train with the best! We expect the program to attract strong viewership on ESPN, especially as it will air over weekends, during the Fifa World Cup.”

Galleon Holdings has aired such programmes in China and Malaysia and format sales have been made for many territories including Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Vietnam.


@Indiantelevision.com