ESPN STAR Sports gets EPL rights extended till 2010

The ESPN STAR Sports agreement with the English Premier League (EPL) for the Indian subcontinent, which was valid until 2007, has now been extended for exclusive broadcast till 2010. ESPN STAR Sports will broadcast 370 matches per season throughout India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Mongolia and the Maldives via television, broadband and mobile technologies.

Jamie Davis, managing director, ESPN STAR Sports, says, “We have built a strong relationship with the English Premier League by committing ourselves to grow it as a brand via 400 live annual hours of football programming. In a cricket crazy nation such as India, we have made localisation efforts with intensive marketing campaigns and the introduction of Hindi commentary to make the EPL a highly watched sports programme. Our commitment is high to delivering sports into the lives of the viewer any time, any place, through our website, www.espnstar.com, and our wireless platform, mobileESPN.”

Sricharan Iyengar, vice-president, new media and marketing, ESPN Software India, says, “Football is a growing rage among the younger generation in the country. We are looking to enhance the EPL offering on mobileESPN, so football fans in India can look forward to getting live scores, match schedules, player statistics and contests from mobileESPN.”

Richard Scudamore, chief executive officer, Premier League, says, “Over 200 million viewers across Asia tune into the EPL matches and packaged programmes each week. ESPN STAR Sports has been crucial in building the EPL brand in India. With the growing technology and new media, we look forward to further strengthening our relationship across all fans in the subcontinent.”

ESPN STAR Sports’ range of support programming for the EPL includes ‘Nokia Football Crazy’, ‘Football Focus’, ‘Goals’, ‘Tiger FC Locker Room’, ‘Here We Go’, ‘Tiger First Edition’ and ‘Football Extra’.

There are 12 other Asian countries which fall under the ESPN STAR Sports’ extended agreement with the FA Premier League, the organisers of Barclay’s English Premier League. These are Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, North Korea, Brunei, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Taiwan and Macau.

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