Sports channel Ten Sports is now Ten 1

The Zee Entertainment Enterprises-owned Ten Sports Network has announced a new identity for its bouquet of sports channels. The network will re-brand its channels as Ten 1, Ten 2, Ten 3 and Ten 1 HD.

'Never Stop' will be the network positioning. The new logos and positioning will be officially unveiled on air on April 1.

Commenting on the re-branding of the channel bouquet, Rajesh Sethi, global CEO, Ten Sports Network, says, "Over the years, we have enhanced our sports offerings, starting with the launch of Ten Sports in 2002. This was followed by the launch of Ten Cricket, a 24X7 cricket channel, in August 2010, and then in March 2012, Ten Golf, the only dedicated golf channel in this part of the world, was launched. In April 2012, the premium HD channel Ten HD was launched."

In August 2015, Ten Sports embarked on a new journey with the launch of a consolidated network re-branding. "We called it the Ten Sports Network, and followed it up with the launch of Ten Golf HD. Our re-branding effort signals the start of a new era, a contemporary and energised approach to how the network views its sport sphere," says Sethi.

Elaborating further on the new channel identity, Sethi says, "As we bring across a variety of sports and sportainment for our viewers from across the world, it is a hurdle sometimes to allocate content to a particular sports-specific channel. In order to break free from sports-specific channels, we are taking the numeric route. We strive to bring international-quality sports to our viewers and we want them to watch sports as it is consumed internationally with numeric-based channels. It is our endeavour to 'Never Stop' delivering sporting action to our fans."

According to an official statement, the network's logo and the individual channel logos have been designed keeping in mind the 'elements of action and dynamism, as well as immediacy and the spirit to achieve.'

Post re-branding, the network will spread content equally amongst all channels. Ten 1 will focus on WWE Weekly Shows and specials, Ten 2 on UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Super Cup and other football content, as well as the US Open, Moto GP and Tour de France, while Ten 3's primary focus will be cricket from South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe.

Among the HD channels, Ten 1 HD will broadcast the best of content from across the Ten Sports Network's SD Channels while Ten Golf HD will showcase premium golf content including the European tour, Asian Tour, Rider Cup and the US PGA Championship.

As a part of its re-branding, the network will also roll out a brand new logo for Tensports.com. The platform will showcase extensive live sports content with special focus on Video-On-Demand. The live streaming will have football content from UEFA Champions League and Europa League, including matches that are not broadcast on TV, as well as content from Ligue 1, I-League, cricket from across five boards, tennis, golf and Moto GP multi-angle feeds.

The brand refresh will be accompanied by an extensive new programming rollout which will be developed via insights from new media and fan involvement. The network has already started producing content in Hindi and plans to expand into other regional languages as well.