ESS Lands Syndication Deals for ICC Events

SINGAPORE, December 11:
ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) has signed deals with three broadcasters to make events
from the International Cricket Council (ICC) available across Pakistan, Canada
and the U.S. from 2009 to 2011.

Pakistan Television
Network (PTN) acquired the terrestrial TV rights for the ICC events, while ATN
in Canada and online streaming portal Willow TV picked up multiplatform rights
to showcase all ICC events. Coverage includes events such as the
ICC Champions Trophy 2009, ICC Women's World Cup 2009, ICC World Twenty20 2009
and 2010, the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup 2010 and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in South Asia.

Manu Sawhney, the managing director of ESPN STAR
Sports, said, "These are some
very significant distribution partnerships for the ICC events and we are
delighted to cement our relationship with PTV, ATN and Willow TV. The sport's
popularity continues to grow at an immense rate across the globe, and we
look forward to working closely with them to serve cricket fans. These
partnerships reinforce our commitment to set new benchmarks in the
distribution of ICC events, and solidify our leadership position in the cricket
broadcast industry."

Haroon Lorgat, ICC's CEO, added, "This is good
news for cricket. The ICC is delighted to have such a strong and committed
partner in ESPN STAR Sports and it's great to know that cricket fans in Canada,
the U.S. and Pakistan will be so well served by these deals. We are confident
that the game will greatly benefit from these partnerships and fans across the
globe will continue to enjoy the highest quality of production and
presentation."

ESS
holds the exclusive global telecast and marketing rights from the ICC for all
of events from 2007 to 2015.

—By
Kristin Brzoznowski