The Hindu Business Line : Discovery to air documentaries on football

IN a move that may well be a pointer to similar offerings in the days ahead, Discovery Channel has announced plans to air exclusive documentaries on football till the final match of the World Cup 2002 slated to be held in Japan on June 30.

An amount of $6.5 million has been earmarked for sourcing content for the football season initiative, according to Mr Deepak Shourie, Managing Director of Discovery Communications India Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of Discovery Networks International.

Speaking to newspersons here, Mr Shourie said the programmes that would be telecast were titled: History of Football, Planet Soccer, Football Dreams, The Ultimate Goal and Football: Business & Passion. Each of these programmes would focus on different aspects of the game as it has evolved over the years.

According to Mr Shourie, Discovery Channel was open to the idea of telecasting similar programmes on "only universally acceptable sports" in the months ahead. He, however, clarified that there were no immediate plants to launch any programme on cricket. There were no plans either to get into live telecasting of sporting events.

Mr Shourie refrained from providing turnover details of the Indian company except saying that the channel was already making money. Launched in India in 1995, Discovery airs 24-hour programming in Hindi and English and reaches out to over 21 million households across India.

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