Telugu TV news channels, which are not known to show the least bit of interest in local sports activities, have suddenly woken up to ball badminton sport. Many viewers must have wondered why and how this sudden change of heart occurred among the sports-illiterate Telugu channels.
Many people watching local TV channels must have observed unscheduled coverage of ball badminton-related news and interviews. There is a south zone tournament being organized in Hyderabad, and every channel is covering it as if its life depended on it. Yes indeed, their existence on the cable certainly depends upon their coverage.
Ch Rajasekhar, the Hathway cable operator for the state, has recently become the president of the Ball Badminton Federation of India, which was recently accorded recognition by the Sports Ministry. Rajasekhar is the most powerful person as far as electronic media is concerned. No channel can survive if he doesn’t show it on his cable, which has the largest network in the state.
The TV channels, especially the news channels, have now felt it their bounden duty to give coverage (however haphazardly, since no one seems to know what the game and the tournament is all about). More important is giving a live interview of Rajasekhar.
A channel that failed recently to give the interview of Rajasekhar immediately had to face the axe; the channel was literally pulled off of air. The management had to apologize and telecast his interview the next moment.
So, next time you see an unseasonal and amateurish coverage of ball badminton on live tv in Andhra Pradesh, don’t get confused!
