The domestic telecast rights for the second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will remain with Multi Screen Media (earlier known as Sony Entertainment Television). In a press release issued last Wednesday, IPL announced that MSM and World Sports Group (WSG), the global rights holder, were now the official broadcast partners for the league.

Wednesday’s deal, worth a staggering Rs 8,200 crore—almost double of last year’s ten-year agreement—is valid for the next nine years through 2017 and provides MSM with the exclusive audio-visual rights for all 59 matches of the upcoming season, which is scheduled to start on April 18 in South Africa, the release said.
Telecast rights for the hugely-popular cricket tournament have been in the news ever since Sony sued the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), owners of IPL, over the sudden termination of its agreement on March 15. The cricket board signed a fresh contract for global broadcast rights with WSG Mauritius.

Sony then petitioned the Bombay High Court for an injunction as it felt it had been given very little notice of termination. However, the court lifted the injunction on BCCI to negotiate fresh rights with broadcasters.
The upcoming IPL tournament has been mired in controversy this year. The central government had raised security concerns about holding the event as it clashed with dates of the general elections in the country in April-May. Last Tuesday, IPL announced that it had decided to hold the tournament in South Africa.
Speaking after the latest broadcast agreement was signed, IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi said, “We are absolutely delighted with the new deal inked with WSG and Multi Screen Media. We have what we believe to be the best deal for the DLF Indian Premier League and Indian cricket fans alike. I am certain that Multi Screen Media will pull out all the stops in ensuring that the best technology is utilised to deliver excellent content.”

The IPL management will now work closely with Cricket South Africa to ensure that all the necessary logistics and technicalities are completed before the league kicks off, the release added. Season 2 of the IPL will provide broadcasters and in-stadia spectators with 177 hours of live “family entertainment”.
A significant international audience will now also view the matches, it said. Matches will be broadcast at 4 pm and 8 pm IST.

Vinod Kambli, Urvashi Dholakia face The Moment Of Truth
Ex-cricketer Vinod Kambli and television actress Urvashi Dholakia have shot for the pilot episode of the Indian version of The Moment Of Truth. The show to be aired on STAR Plus is to be hosted by Rajiv Khandelwal. Produced and directed by Siddhartha Basu, the episode was shot in Madrid, Spain. Though Basu is not willing to reveal how Kambli and Dholakia fared in the tests, he informs that they are looking for people who are honest and courageous to be a part of a revealing, dramatic and probing show. “Celebrities from different walks of life and commoners can be a part of the show. Whoever wins will be rewarded handsomely,” says Basu.

Unlike other game-shows in which participants are unaware of the questions that will be put to them, in TheMoment Of Truth the contestants are in the loop about the questions. “This is one show in which the participants will know everything that will be asked. The only thing is that they will be polygraphed two or three times. It is a lie-detector test, which tracks the physical changes in the body when they are answering. A participant is even allowed to change the answer in the course of the show. A mind-boggling show, it will reveal what makes us tick as individuals,” says Basu.

Except for the pilot episode that was shot in Spain, the show will be shot in India. The last schedule of the show’s Spanish version was being shot in Spain and STAR was keen on doing a test episode there. The international version has the host asking personal and intimate questions besides social and professional ones. For the desi version Basu has taken “the essence of the format in terms of attitude but made it distinct from the original.”
Source – screenindia.com