Channel Ten have announced that from the second quarter next year it will launch Australia’s first 24/7 sports only Free-To-Air digital multichannel, avaliable to all viewers with a set-top box or digital TV.
This channel is sure to spark an uptake in digital TV by consumers, hopefully ensuring the digital switchover occurs by 2013. Also the new channel should provide some healthy competition to pay-tv’s Fox Sports.
The announcement has been reported by both Fairfax and News Limited.
According to the Network Ten press release One HD will have coverage of the following sports:
- AFL
- Netball
- Commonwealth Games – 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games
- Cricket – Indian Premier League Cricket, the world’s premier annual Twenty20 cricket competition
- Formula 1
- Moto GP
- NASCAR – live coverage of the Daytona 500 and other major Sprint Cup races, live coverage of the Nationwide Series, as well as Sprint Cup qualifying
- Australian Rally Championship – exclusive coverage of every round
- National Football League (NFL) – including Superbowl
- Major League Baseball (MLB) – including World Series
- National Basketball Association (NBA) – three games per week live
- Golf – around 24 events including the US Masters and US Open
- U.S. College sports – American football and basketball
- Tennis – 11 ATP and WTA tournaments
The biggest coup for One HD and Network Ten is that Ten have announced that from 2009 it will be the exclusive broadcaster for Swimming Australia.
This includes coverage of:
- the Australian Swimming Championships
- Pan Pacific Championships
- Australian Short Course Championships, FINA World Short Course
- Swimmer of the Year
- A minimum 109 hours per year for the next eight years
This is an interesting move by Ten and must be a blow to Nine, as Nine has covered the swimming for a long time, with the voice of swimming Ray Warren. However, with debt problems PBL Media and Nine having recently acquired the broadcast rights to the Rugby Union World Cup and the Olympics it may enough sports to fill its schedule.
for more information go to www.onehd.com.au