• The game with a glorious history
• The game in which India has a realistic chance of beating the best
• The game which generates viewer interest, second only to cricket
• The game in which an India-Pakistan clash generates national fervour

• No Clubs …… No fan base …
• Game exist in few regions
• No significant financial benefits to players
• No zonal affiliates professionally managed
• No systematic coverage in place

• Indian Hockey Federation entrusted Leisure Sports the task of restructuring the game
• Idea of league with city based team was conceived
• Brought in ESPN STAR Sports to jointly promote and telecast this mega event
• Leisure Sports & ESPN STAR Sports undertook detailed market research for over two years
• PREMIER HOCKEY LEAGUE is born

• The Game
• The Teams
• The Frills
• The Telecast
• The Promotion

• Standard length games (70 mins)
• Four quarters instead of two halves –Pacier… Racier! More TV-friendly
• Introducing the concept of time-outs to strategise and generate more excitement
• Two 120 secs time outs during regulation play
  • Four 60 secs time outs during regulation play
  • Only Head Coach is entitled to call for a time out
  • Time out to be called when the ball is in possession between the two 25 yards line
• Reducing Number of players in Extra Time
  • First half - 2 players less from each team
  • Second half – 2 additional players less from each team
• Upto 5 Foreign Players in each team

• Duration of the league – 5 weeks
  No. of Matches for each player – 8
  Ample time to take rest and enjoy great Indian Hospitality
• All foreign players to be provided with full board hospitality during the tenure of this agreement
• All foreign players would be financially benefited by being a part of PHL
• Chance to play with and against other top rank players across the globe
• Chance to acclimatize in the Indian sub-continent making them a more complete player
• Opportunity exists for foreign players to gain additionally by becoming brand ambassador, column writers etc. during their stay in India

• A two-tiered Hockey league with city-specific teams
• Tier Structure
• Tier I :
  • Bangalore
  • Mumbai
  • Chennai
  • Jalandhar
  • Hyderabad
• Tier II :
  • Delhi
  • Chandigarh
  • Imphal
  • Lucknow
  • Kolkata

• Team Identities decided basis extensive research, on the lifestyles & attitude parameters in each city
• Team Names decided by the people in the city
• Team Identity personified thru the look, the anthem & the communication for the team

Now on to specially created
Designer Outfits
of Tier-I Team……

Hyderabad Sultans	Sher-E-Jalandhar
Chennai Veerans	Maratha Warriors
Bangalore Hi Fliers

• Weekend Floodlit games
  –TV friendly time slots
• Glamour Packed evenings
  –Cheerleaders
  –Fan Squads
  –Celebrity Presence
  

The Telecast

• Enhance the viewing experience
  –Viewer education thru commentary
  –Pre & Post show of 1 hour duration
  –Multi camera set-up
  –Innovative Features
  –Hindi & English commentary
  –Highlights
• Ideas being worked at
  –Miking the time outs/ team huddle
  –Virtual-view of the game
  –Involvement of filmstars to support local teams

What we expected to achieve …

• PHL - The talking point amongst youth
• Ardent Team following
• Create a social movement of sorts that goes much beyond the turf and the 70 minutes
• So that even when the League finishes the fight still goes on………

On to
PHL 2005
13th January - 13th February
at
Hyderabad

TEAMS

KEY FEATURES

• Players pool formed comprising of all National players of all age group and upcoming talents
• Teams formed by IHF from the pool keeping regionality in mind and with the purpose of having teams of equal strength
• Based on available team, the requirement of Foreign players sought for
• Foreign players once identified allocated by draw of lots
• Coaches and Managers nominated by IHF in consultation with the State Associations
• A new company in the name and style of Indian Hockey Development Private Limited (IHDPL) formed to exclusively organize and manage PHL
• HDPL consists of Directors from IHF, ESPN and LSM
• Payment to Indian Players on the basis of graded system based on experience of each player
• Payment of Foreign players on case to case basis depending on their overall international standings
• Mr Maurits Hendriks, arguably the best coach in the world, works as Consultant for selection of Foreign players and orientation course with the team coaches.

THE EVENT

• Involvement of 13 Foreign players ensures the right mix of experience and expertise
• State-of-the-art Television Coverage by ESPN-Star Sports adds to the granger of the show
• New look hockey and the presence of top ranked players draws huge crowd to the venue
• Keen contest and attractive prize money inspire the players to perform better than their best
• After battling for over a month Hyderabad Sultans wins the inaugural edition in front of delirious home support
• Highest Prize Money ever given in a National level hockey meet which increase the competitiveness and acts as great incentive for the players

TELEVISION

• Famed cricketers in promos
• Interview of coaches during time-outs
• Prime time live & repeat coverage
• Interactive sessions with Foreign players & celebrities
• Special program highlighting the off field excitements involving players

THE GAINS