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Monday, November 9 - 2009

ESPN Star Sports announces major Middle East syndication deal for ICC events

ESPN Star Sports (ESS), announced an eight-year broadcast partnership with Arab Digital Distribution (ADD) for all International Cricket Council (ICC) events from 2008 to 2015 - including the global showpiece event of the cricket calendar, the ICC Cricket World Cup due to take place in 2011 in Asia and 2015 in Australia.

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Covering all television and new media platforms including internet and mobile, this distribution partnership will make ICC events available to cricket fans across the Middle East and North Africa.

These arrangements promise to extend the popularity and reach of ICC events, heightening the international game of cricket to the region and promising unmatched coverage to audiences, while continuing to strengthen its popularity in core cricket territories.

The deal covers the Middle East and North Africa, including Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia and Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Mr Manu Sawhney, Managing Director, ESPN Star Sports said:

"We have succeeded in securing some very significant long-term broadcast partnerships for the ICC events and we are thrilled to be working with ADD and look forward to serving fans with these showcase ICC cricket events in this growing market."


"This exciting partnership underscores our commitment to cricket fans in the Middle East as the sport continues to grow at an immense rate across the globe. In addition to this, we are currently in discussions with more broadcasters across other markets and we expect to soon be in a position to share details on them with you," added Mr. Sawhney.

Said Mr. Vinod D'Mello, Executive Vice-President, Group Strategy and Planning, ADD, said:

"The exclusive opportunity to watch top tier ICC Cricket for all cricket lovers in the Middle East is a fantastic prospect. Cricket is a big driver of audiences for our business and has a dynamic following which cuts across all segments irrespective of age, gender or background. This long term partnership with ESPN Star Sports underlines our commitment of providing world-class sports entertainment to our viewers."


Mr Haroon Lorgat , ICC Chief Executive Officer, said, "The ICC is heartened to have such a strong and committed partner in ESPN Star Sports. This reflects the commitment ESPN Star Sports brings to this partnership. 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."

Earlier this year, ESPN Star Sports had announced the invitation to tender for the ICC broadcast rights and received an overwhelming response from a diverse pool of media including various leading broadcast and telecommunication organizations, such as Supersport in Southern Africa, PMG in Australia, Sky NZ in New Zealand and CMC in the Caribbean. ESPN Star Sports' affiliate, EML, was awarded the exclusive global telecast and marketing rights from the ICC in 2006 for all of their events from 2007 to 2015.
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Notes and media contacts

About ESPN Star Sports:
ESPN Star Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world's leading cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia's definitive and complete sports broadcaster and content provider, ESPN Star Sports combines the strengths and resources of its ultimate parent companies - Walt Disney and News Corporation Limited (STAR) - to deliver a diverse array of international and regional sports to viewers via its encrypted pay and free-to-air services.

ESPN Star Sports showcases an unparalleled variety of premier live sports from around the globe 24 hours a day to a cumulative reach of more than 310 million viewers in Asia. ESPN Star Sports has 17 networks covering 24 countries, each localised to deliver differentiated world-class premier sports programming to Asian viewers. This includes ESPN Asia, ESPN China, ESPN Hong Kong, ESPN India, ESPN Malaysia, ESPN Philippines, ESPN Singapore, ESPN Taiwan, MBC-ESPN (Korea), STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports Hong Kong, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Malaysia, STAR Sports Singapore, STAR Sports Southeast Asia, STAR Sports Taiwan, and STAR Cricket.

On the ground, the ESPN Star Sports Event Management Group manages and promotes premier sporting events around Asia. ESPN Star Sports aims to reach consumers at any time, any place and through all new media platforms, both internet and mobile. The multi-lingual, online platforms, espnstar.com, espnstar.com.cn and espnstar.com.tw and footballcrazy.tv interact with millions of users providing them with in-depth sports news, results and competitions.

Developed for the sports fan that is constantly on the move, mobileESPN and STAR Sports Mobile delivers differentiated mobile content targeted at its various audiences. mobileESPN enables the serious sports fan to follow their favourite sports more closely than ever before with a combination of specially produced video news clips, in-depth news coverage and analysis. STAR Sports Mobile aims to provide interactive and entertaining opportunities to engage with sports, delivering exclusive video excerpts from leading football clubs Arsenal and Liverpool as well as highlights from STAR Sports original programmes covering opinions, instructional tips and the latest online game reviews.

Arab Digital Distribution:
Arab Digital Distribution (ADD) is the largest pay TV platform management company in the Middle East and North Africa. ADD currently offers ART- Premium Arabic Entertainment, Pehla - Premium Asian Entertainment, First Net - Premium International Entertainment. ADD offers the best in programming content targeting local market requirements by customizing the subscription options and extending the greatest degree of choice and flexibility.

For more information, please contact:
Paras Sharma (ESPN Star Sports)
DID: +65 6216 6031

Shaheen Fonseca
Account Executive
Percept Profile Gulf
PO Box:74245
Dubai UAE
Tel: 04 3446373
Fax: 04 3429158

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