ESPN STAR Sports Secures Broadcast Deals for Inaugural Cricket Tournament

SINGAPORE,
August 17: ESPN STAR Sports, along with affiliate EML, has secured a number of
broadcast deals for the first edition of the International Cricket Council
(ICC) World Twenty20 tournament in September, with more than 105 countries
slated to air the event.

Scheduled
to take place in September in South Africa, the rights for the inaugural ICC
World Twenty20 are being handled by ESPN STAR Sports as a part of its
eight-year agreement with ICC. Last year, ESPN STAR Sports’ affiliate EML was
granted the global telecast rights from the International Cricket Council (ICC)
for all of its events from 2007 to 2015. To support its cricket coverage, ESPN
STAR Sports recently launched a dedicated 24/7 cricket channel, STAR Cricket.

Coverage
of the inaugural edition of ICC World Twenty20 will be available on ESPN, STAR
Sports, STAR Cricket and their affiliated television channels in various Asian
countries including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives,
Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand and China. In addition,
ESPN STAR Sports has secured broadcast partnerships with DIRECTV and ATN in
North America, Caribbean Media Corporation in the Caribbean, SABC and Super
Sports in Africa, Taj TV (TEN Sports) in the Middle East, Sky Television
Network in New Zealand, Premier Media Group in Australia and SuperSport in
Greece, Cyprus and Mauritius.

Jamie
Davis, the managing director of ESPN STAR Sports, commented: “We are delighted
to begin our partnership with ICC with the 2007 ICC World Twenty20. Through our
own platforms in Asia and with our partners across the globe, we have been able
to set new benchmarks in distribution which will pave the way for a record
number of fans to witness the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 South Africa 2007
action in all its glory.”