AFC Asian Cup 2011 Finds Asian, U.S. Slots

DOHA/DALLAS/SINGAPORE: The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 will be available to more than 65 million U.S. TV households through deals from One World Sports, while ESPN STAR Sports brings the football tournament to homes across Asia.

For the U.S., One World Sports acquired the rights through World Sport Group, the AFC’s exclusive marketing and media partner. One World Sports has licensed the full event to iN DEMAND, which will distribute the football tournament to Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Charter, Mediacom and a host of other U.S. affiliates; DISH Network; and Avail/TVN, which includes AT&T and Verizon FiOS among its affiliates. Matches can be purchased on a per-game basis through Pay-Per-View. Broadband coverage will be available live via One World Sports Broadband. Mobile coverage is on Verizon Wireless V CAST Video.

All matches will also be broadcast on TV across ESPN and STAR Sports networks, while ESPN HD offers a high-definition telecast of the event. Online, matches will be available live and on demand on ESPN Player. Daily news and goals from the event are also to be featured on mobileESPN.

The 32-game tournament runs January 7 to 29. The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 brings together the top 16 national teams from across the continent. It is held once every four years.

“The response from the leading cable and satellite providers has been overwhelming,” said Preston Bornman, the COO of One World Sports. “They see the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 as a natural extension of the success they had with last summer’s FIFA World Cup in South Africa, which saw a dramatic rise in viewership.”

“Asia has become increasingly important to the United States economically and culturally. One of the best ways to gain insights on different parts of the world is through sport, and the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 comes at a time of heightened interest in the region,” Bornman added.

“World Sport Group is delighted to have One World Sports as our Broadcast Partner for North America and we are also very excited at the prospect of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 being seen in up to 65 million households there,” commented James Clarke, the senior VP of content for World Sport Group.

“There is huge interest in the event among the Asian communities in North America, particularly among Iranians, Japanese, Koreans and Chinese. For the first time, we have a nation-wide broadcast platform that can serve our North American fans,” Clarke continued.