News
ESPN Star Sports renews cricket broadcast contract
07 June 2012
ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has renewed its Asian broadcast contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
The seven year deal means ESS has the exclusive multi-platform rights to broadcast the ECB’s domestic and international matches in major cricket markets including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and other territories across Asia and North Africa.
ESS will broadcast more than 300 days of live international cricket including 47 test matches, 63 one day internationals and 15 twenty-twenty games. The network will also show 60 days of ECB’s domestic cricket every year including the Friends Life f20 competition, the CB40 tournament and the LV= County Championship.
“We are delighted to further extend our partnership with ECB with whom we have shared a very strong relationship over the past 2 decades,” says ESS managing director, Manu Sawhney. “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.”
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is set to take full control of ESS. Previously, the Asian sports network was a 50-50 joint venture between ESPN-owner Disney and Murdoch’s media empire. ESPN has announced its intentions
to pull out of its less profitable international markets.
David Hing, London