Jakarta – NET and ESPN are collaborating to bring Indonesian football fans a local edition of the popular football news and analysis programme ESPN FC. Starting June 2, in time for the World Cup, NET will bring the new 30-minute football-focused programme to free-to-air television at 1pm daily, seven days per week. Presented in Indonesian Bahasa, NET will produce the brand new local edition of one of ESPN’s flagship programmes with consultation from ESPN on the look, feel, pace and style of the show.
Hosted by Ganindra Bimo and Temmy Rahadi, the new show is part of NET’s commitment to bringing the best football analysis and latest news to Indonesian fans along with its full lineup of world-class entertainment and information to Indonesian viewers. The programme will feature a line-up of experts and commentators as well, including Pangeran Siahaan, Muhammad Yusuf Kurniawan, Justin Laksana, Veynard Hutabarat, Sapto Haryo, Jalu Wisnu Wirajati, Imran Nahumarury and Edwin Styadinata.
ESPN FC on NET marks the first time that the show has been launched with a local collaborator, and the first time the show will appear in local language in Asia. It provides viewers a daily destination show that will gives Indonesian football fans the latest news, information and developments from around the world of football. Each day, it will present reviews of the action and results, biggest topics in global football, previews of key matches throughout the calendar, interviews with newsmakers, and timely features and profiles of key personalities in the sport.
Wishnutama, CEO of NET, said “ESPN is a great collaborator for NET given their experience and expertise in delivering quality sports programmes. With NET’s local production capability and ESPN’s unparalleled sports programming expertise, we believe by bringing ESPN FC to free-to-air TV, we will offer Indonesian football fans a refreshing and differentiated way to follow and engage with the sport.”
“We have had success working together before, including delivering the X Games to Indonesia, and we are very excited to continue our relationship with ESPN,” added Wishnutama.
The English-language version of ESPN FC on TV is televised on ESPN networks in the U.S., Caribbean, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as delivering original video clips, features and interviews to millions more fans on computers and mobile devices on ESPNFC.com and the ESPNFC smartphone app. ESPN recently announced that it has plans to launch local editions of the ESPNFC digital site for Indonesia and Singapore/Malaysia later this year.
Mike Morrison, Vice President and General Manager, ESPN Asia Pacific, said “We are thrilled to be working with NET to bring ESPN FC to Indonesian fans. ESPN covers the global game of football like nobody else – with resources from Brazil to the U.S., Europe, Africa and Asia.ESPN FC on NET will tap into that expertise and coverage, while adding local personality and insight. The combination will give Indonesian fans a great way to connect to the sport daily through up to date news and analysis – about everything from the biggest clubs to the most locally relevant developments.”