Directv renews exclusive broadcast rights with Ten Sports for the 24/7 cricket channel 'Cricket Plus'

Programming includes up-to-the-minute international cricket highlights from all games played at the ICC World Cup and Champions Trophy as well as in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Additionally, Cricket Plus will feature original content and the most up-to-date news and events in the world of champions trophy hockey from the world hockey federation, horse racing and golf.

'Our partnership with Ten Sports allows Directv to continue to offer the most robust Cricket and international programming available in the U.S.. International sports fans in the U.S. can turn to Directv exclusively to satisfy their hunger for everything Cricket related in 100% digital image and sound,'

said John de Armas, Vice President, WorldDirect, Inc.

The Cricket Plus will be produced at the Ten Sports headquarters in Dubai. In addition to extensive Cricket coverage across the world, programming will include some of the finest cricket documentaries, including the 'unforgettables' series and some classic matches from the past, including the best of Sharjah cricket.

Cricket Plus is designed to compliment the pay per view sports offerings on Directv as well as provide original documentaries on cricket stories and events. Series such as 'Homes of Cricket' and 'Talking Cricket' will take viewers to the best known cricket grounds and see exclusive one-on-one interviews with some of the sports biggest names, including Geoffrey Boycott, Tony Grieg, Anil Kumble and Kumar Sangakarra.

"It is excellent news that we have extended our relationship with Directv to 2014. We are delighted with the feedback from the North American viewers and the strong working partnership with Directv," said Peter Hutton, chief operating officer, Ten Sports.

Cricket Plus is available on channel 2024 in Directv's HindiDirect I and HindiDirect II programming packages, which are part of the international programming platform and are tailored toward the South Asian community in the United States.

The Directv International platform has launched over 125 channels that deliver a wide variety of new programming in multiple foreign-languages, including Spanish, Russian, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Korean, Polish, Portuguese and Greek, to emerging ethnic markets throughout the United States.