INDONESIA HOTLINE

Local broadcaster TVOne announced Wednesday it would air next season's Barclays English Premier League soccer matches live, but questions remain over how many big matches are included in the package.

The private station said it would broadcast 53 EPL matches live and 10 delayed, as of August.

The matches between Aston Villa and Wigan Athletic, and between Arsenal and Everton will be TVOne's first EPL offerings to be relayed live on Aug. 15 at 9 p.m. and 11:25 p.m. Jakarta time, respectively.

The following weekend's matches will be Arsenal vs. Portsmouth live at 8:55 p.m. and Wigan vs. Manchester United live at 11 p.m., on Saturday, Aug. 22.

Tottenham Hotspur fans can watch their club take on Birmingham City on Saturday, Aug. 29, at 8:55 p.m.

The TVOne management said the package would include several big matches - featuring defending champion Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal - including an Arsenal vs. United game on Aug. 29 at 11:10 p.m.

"We don't know precisely how many big matches we'll be allowed to broadcast, because we haven't received the schedule yet," TVOne vice president director Anindya Ardiansyah Bakrie said at Wednesday's press conference.

"The dates for a number of matches are not fixed yet, pending the progress of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup.

"Nonetheless, we hold the rights to broadcast live all the 11 p.m. matches. So we hope there'll be some big matches played during that time slot," he said.

Anindya added the station was second in line to the rights to 7-9 p.m. matches.

Games featuring the league's top four clubs of United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal are the most highly anticipated, with the first three topping last season's league table and also making it to the final four of the Champions League, thus justifying the EPL's high standing in Europe.

"From observing past seasons, we've learned that almost every week, one of the top-four EPL clubs plays in the 11 p.m. slot," said TVOne manager Antariksawan Jusuf.

"There's a more than 50 percent chance one of the top four clubs will play in that time slot this season."

Antariksawan added TVOne, which first broadcast EPL matches in 2007, was entitled to the broadcast package of 65 matches, or two matches from the EPL's 10 weekly matches.

In the 2007 season, TVOne broadcast 26 matches live and another 26 delayed, while last year it aired 30 live and 30 delayed matches.

TVOne is still negotiating the broadcast license for the less-prestigious FA Cup.


Source :www.thejakartapost.com