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National News |
ESPN STAR Sports
renews broadcast partnership with Cricket
Australia and acquires cricket rights for the
next 4 years
Asia’s No. 1 Sports Broadcaster scores yet another winner after the
recent acquisition of England and Wales Cricket Board rights
Lines up more than 550 days of international cricket till 2012
New Delhi, September 06, 2007— ESPN STAR Sports (ESS), Asia’s No. 1
sports broadcaster, announced today a new four- year contract for the
exclusive rights to broadcast Cricket Australia’s (CA) domestic and
home international matches across various platforms including
television, internet, mobile and radio covering the entire Asian
region.
ESPN STAR Sports will broadcast more than 170 days of live
International cricket action from Australia, including 24 “3 mobile”
Test Matches, 48 “Commonwealth Bank” One Day Internationals and 8
“KFC” Twenty20 games. Over the next four years, all leading teams will
be visiting Australia with India slated to play 4 test matches and a 3
nation ODI series in 2011-12. In addition to the pulsating
international cricket action, ESS also plans to broadcast Cricket
Australia ’s top-class domestic cricket, which has been critical in
nurturing Australian cricket talent and future international
champions, and includes popular tournaments such as the Pura Cup, Ford
Ranger One Day Cup and KFC Twenty20 Big Bash.
The renewal of this partnership with Cricket Australia has further
strengthened ESPN STAR Sports’ position as the Number 1 broadcaster in
cricket in Asia with more than 550 days of international cricket now
lined up till 2012. This acquisition comes hot on the heels of ESS’s
announcement of the renewal of the broadcast partnership with the
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for the next five years, with
which it has acquired exclusive rights for more than 200 days of world
class International cricket from England . In addition, late last
year, ESPN STAR Sports was awarded the exclusive global telecast
rights by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for all ICC events
from 2007 to 2015. ESS recently launched a dedicated 24x7 cricket
channel, STAR Cricket, providing world class International cricket
content.
Mr. James Sutherland, Chief Executive Officer of Cricket Australia,
said: “We are delighted to renew our partnership with ESPN STAR
Sports, who over the years, has contributed significantly in the
growth of the game in general and has helped further extend the
popularity of Australian Cricket by continually setting new standards
in cricket presentation and distribution in Asia.”
“Cricket Australia has always valued the high quality of coverage that
ESPN STAR Sports brings to cricket and we are very pleased to continue
our relationship with such a committed partner like ESS.”
Mr Jamie Davis, Managing Director, ESPN STAR Sports, said: “This
partnership with Cricket Australia is a testament to our commitment to
serve our fans and to work along with our associates. Now, with such
an enviable line-up of cricket including Cricket Australia , ECB and
ICC, ESS is firmly positioned as the distinct Number 1 sports
broadcaster in Asia for years to come.”
Added, Mr Manu Sawhney, Executive Vice President, Programming &
Marketing, ESPN STAR Sports, “We have shared a very fruitful
relationship with Cricket Australia for over a decade and are
delighted to continue this partnership. Australian Cricket is
extremely popular across Asia with many of the players being household
names in the region and we are committed to serving the fans with more
action packed cricket from down under for years to come.”
Commenting on the acquisition, RC Venkateish, Managing Director, ESPN
Software India Private Limited, said,” The acquisition of the Cricket
Australia rights has further strengthened our position as the leading
sports broadcaster in Asia . With this, now we have the rights to
broadcast the very best of international cricket for our discerning
sports fan. We will continue in our endeavour to further augment our
portfolio with the best of international cricket the world over.”
Following the ongoing India-England series, ESS will continue to have
a packed cricket calendar with the inaugural ICC World Twenty20
starting from September 11. This will be followed by India ’s tour to
Australia later in the year, Asia Cup and many more International
series lined up over next twelve months.
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