BWI: ESPN STAR Sports Renews Multi-Year Broadcast Partnership with The England and Wales Cricket Board

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: ESPN STAR Sports
Monday, June 04, 2012 03:49 PM IST (10:19 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Entertainment, People, Sports; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Media & entertainment, Sports
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ESPN STAR Sports Renews Multi-Year Broadcast Partnership with The England and Wales Cricket Board


New Delhi, Delhi, India, Monday, June 04, 2012 -- (Business Wire India) -- ESPN STAR Sports (ESS), Asia's No. 1 sports content provider, and The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced today a new seven year contract for the exclusive multi-platform rights to broadcast its domestic and home international matches.

The deal, which runs from 2013 to 2019, incorporates exclusive rights for television, online, mobile and radio, covering major cricket markets of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh among others across Asia; the broadcast arrangement also includes territories in North Africa.

As a part of this agreement, ESPN STAR Sports will broadcast more than 300 days of live International cricket action, including 47 Test Matches, 63 One Day Internationals and 15 Twenty20 games. Major test playing nations will be competing in England, including New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies and South Africa. Key highlights of this new agreement include India's next two tours to England in 2014 and 2018 as well as three iconic Ashes series in 2013, 2015 and 2019.

In addition, ESS will broadcast 60 days of ECB's top class domestic cricket every year, including the popular Friends Life t20 competition, the CB40 tournament, the LV=County Championship, as well as England Lions, England Under 19s and England Women's cricket. Specifically for the Indian subcontinent, the exciting cricket action will be available during prime time making it a very interesting proposition for fans and advertisers alike.

Said Manu Sawhney, Managing Director, ESPN STAR Sports: "We are delighted to further extend our partnership with ECB with whom we have shared a very strong relationship over the past 2 decades. Over the years, we have continued to showcase the best cricket action from around the world to fans from the India sub-continent, and this acquisition further reaffirms our position as the leader in Cricket broadcasting."

ECB Chief Executive David Collier said: "This new agreement demonstrates the enormous appetite for cricket worldwide and the global pulling power of a successful England team and a vibrant County game.

"In a challenging economic climate with all sports facing tough competition for funding streams, it will also provide an important source of additional revenue for funding the development of our game at all levels.

"TV audiences for cricket are expanding rapidly in Asia and the Middle-East and we look forward to working closely with ESS to give both our international and county teams the widest possible TV exposure over the next seven years."

With this partnership, ESPN STAR Sports continues to be the leading cricket broadcaster with the most comprehensive calendar of premier cricket events covering all formats of the game, including exclusive global telecast rights from the International Cricket Council events, the Champions League Twenty20, as well as major international and domestic events from the Cricket Australia. Adding to this stellar line-up of cricket content is BCCI cricket, which will be showcased in partnership with ESS.

ESS will feature a packed cricket calendar over the next 13 months, showcasing a wide and varied mix of cricket action of over 400 match days starting with the ongoing West Indies' tour of England to all the way to ICC Champions Trophy in England in June 2013. In addition to the exciting line-up of international cricket, cricket broadcast will cover over 200 days of vibrant domestic cricket action from India, Australia and England featuring some of the top domestic leagues.

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, STAR Cricket 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 25 television networks and 3 broadband networks, each localized to deliver differentiated programming to meet diverse needs of Asian sports fans.



CONTACT DETAILS
Sameer Bajaj, ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd, +91 9811222700, sameerb@espnstar.co.in

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ENTERTAINMENT, PEOPLE, SPORTS, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, MEDIA

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