Only five days old, the launch of the first regional sports channel, Star Sports 1 Tamil by the Star India Group, has delighted the Tamil speaking viewers across India. Former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who has been hired as an expert commentator for the ICC Champions Trophy said: “It’s a fantastic initiative to start a first regional (Tamil) channel exclusively for sports. As a Tamilian I am proud of it. The Chennai crowd is known for being a cricket-loving, knowledgeable and sporting crowd. People of Tamil Nadu enjoy sports in general... kabaddi has become very popular, then we have football in which Chennaiyin FC has been a champion club. Chennai has had super stars in tennis and chess.’’
Why did Srikkanth take up the new role? “My mother tongue is Tamil, I can read and write Tamil. I thought this was one way of giving it back to the people of Tamil Nadu. I have done Tamil shows in the past, including cricket shows. TNPL was a big hit last year because Star Sports broadcast the league live and people in the rural areas got the opportunity to watch matches, listen to commentary and understand the game and importantly established connect with the people.’’
Srikkanth said he would like to be as casual as possible: “I don’t speak pure Tamil, I speak casual Tamil. End of the day there will be little bit of words in English used... a cover drive can only be a cover drive. In life all of us want to be casual, happy and nice. When you converse in colloquial Tamil, you actually connect with the viewers. One of the promos for the new channel is “MachiAreYouReady’’. Machi is a typical local lingo.’’
Star Sports 1Tamil has engaged, Srikkanth, L. Sivaramakrishnan, S. Badrinath, S.. Sriram, S. Ramesh and Hemang Badani for the ICC Champions Trophy. The channel has also roped in popular radio jockey Balaji for the cricket shows.
After the Champions Trophy, the broadcaster will telecast live the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2.0, Pro Kabaddi Season 5 and Hero ISL. A Star India spokesperson said: “The inaugural TNPL last year was a pilot project. Tamil Nadu has a rich sports culture and a big audience. The feedback has been very encouraging. As of now we are focused on Tamil Nadu.’’
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