BWI: ESPN STAR Sports Extends 5-year MotoGP Deal for Asia

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: ESPN STAR Sports
Wednesday, July 13, 2011 01:38 PM IST (08:08 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Entertainment, People, Sports; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Information technology, Media & entertainment, Sports, Telecommunications; Technology
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ESPN STAR Sports Extends 5-year MotoGP Deal for Asia
Asia's biggest sports content provider to bolster coverage of the premier motorcycle championship on its broadcast networks

New Delhi, Delhi, India, Wednesday, July 13, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) announced today its five-year partnership with Dorna Sports S.L. to broadcast the MotoGP World Championship on multiple distribution platforms in 24 countries across its footprint in Asia*, continuing its coverage of the premier motorcycle road racing Championship to 2016.

ESS has been broadcasting the MotoGP World Championship for 16 years, and the new deal includes exclusive Pay-TV rights across all its Southeast Asia territories and non-exclusive Pay-TV rights for its South Asia markets.

The new deal sees Asia's biggest sports content provider looking to heighten its coverage of the sport in addition to the LIVE broadcast of all Qualifying Practices and Grand Prix races across multiple platforms through its broadcast channels on television (ESPN, STAR Sports and ESPN HD), online (ESPN Player), and mobile (Mobile ESPN). MotoGP fans can look forward to ESPN STAR Sports' additional programming next year around the LIVE races such as pre and post-race presentation, on-site reports and a weekly show focusing on developments in the MotoGP world. ESS' coverage of MotoGP will be augmented by its weekly motorsport show Engine Block as well as news coverage on SportsCenter, Score Tonight and on the 24-hour sports news channel, ESPNEWS.

The new MotoGP partnership affirms ESS' position as the "Home of Motorsport" across Asia, with a premium list of content including long term deals for the best four-wheel racing in Formula One, in addition to the Indycar Series, the Le Mans Series and highlights from the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Said Manu Sawhney, ESPN STAR Sports' Managing Director, "Over the years, we have been focused on growing our motor sports content, and this acquisition underlines our commitment to motor sports fans across the region. Our continued partnership with MotoGP represents the strong relationship with the rights holder, Dorna Sports, and with our on-going efforts to build and strengthen the sport on our networks, we have witnessed a growth in traction for the Championship. Leveraging on the reach of our networks and multiple media platforms, we aim to keep building the MotoGP's profile, while offering an excellent promotional platform for our business partners".

Manel Arroyo, Dorna Sports S.L. Media Managing Director, stated that: "ESPN STAR Sports is a long standing partner of MotoGP in the region and we are happy to be extending our agreement with them. It is encouraging to have a dedicated partner in ESPN STAR Sports who shares our ambition to bring the best of motorcycle racing to viewers throughout the whole of Asia. Fans that have followed the evolution of the sport on ESPN STAR Sports will have many more great moments to catch in the coming seasons with their world-class coverage and commitment to take the sport to even greater heights. ESS will also be focusing on producing features around riders, teams and different MotoGP projects from the region, to give their coverage more local flavour and with coverage across all the ESS platforms - TV, Internet, mobile - and fans will have even more ways to keep up to date with MotoGP."

The MotoGP is the premier competition in the motorcycle racing calendar, highlighted by blaring motorbike engines, masterful and swift overtaking manoeuvres, colourful riders and of course the irresistible speed of the motorcycles that make the sport so attractive for television viewing. This season the Championship covers 18 races held over four continents and features the best riders in the world including current champion Jorge Lorenzo, the young up-and-coming Dani Pedrosa and the most successful rider today, Valentino Rossi, who has won six MotoGP titles.

* Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia. Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, The Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam

About ESPN STAR Sports

ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world's leading cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia's biggest sports content provider, ESPN STAR Sports combines the strengths and resources of its parent companies - Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation Limited (STAR) - to deliver a diverse array of international and regional sports to fans across multiple platforms.

ESPN STAR Sports features a comprehensive portfolio of multimedia assets including its television networks (ESPN, STAR Sports, STAR Cricket, ESPNEWS, ESPN HD), broadband network (ESPN Player), digital content services (espnstar.com, mobileESPN), and its on-ground Event Management Group with the aim to engage and entertain sports fans anytime, anyplace.

ESPN STAR Sports showcases an unparalleled variety of premier sports from around the globe featuring some of the most iconic sports events to a cumulative reach of over 300 million viewers in Asia through its 21 television networks and 2 broadband network, each localized to deliver differentiated programming to meet diverse needs of Asian sports fans.




CONTACT DETAILS
Sameer Bajaj, Associate Director - Corporate Communications, ESPN STAR Sports, +91 9811222700, sameerb@espnstar.co.in
Ankita Lal, IPAN, +91 9910880112, alal@ipanhillandknowlton.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ENTERTAINMENT, PEOPLE, SPORTS, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, IT, MEDIA, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TECHNOLOGY

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