ICC Champions Trophy Live on ESPN & STAR Cricket

Media News

New Delhi, September 17, 2009

ESPN STAR Sports, Asia’s number one sports broadcaster & ICC’s global Broadcast & Production Partner, today announced that the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy will be viewed by as many as 183 territories across the world. The sports broadcaster has lined-up many interesting on air initiatives to make the telecast entertaining and engaging. Sports channels ESPN & STAR Cricket will telecast live all the 15 matches from ICC Champions Trophy to be played in South Africa from September 22 to October 5.

The telecast will feature 13 cricketing legends and commentators from all participating countries. ESPN STAR Sports has made all the arrangements for a world class telecast. The production will involve a 26 camera shoot along with 6 Hawkeyes in order to produce a world class feed. The list of commentators includes Ravi Shastri (India), Wasim Akram (Pakistan), Ian Chappell (Australia), Bob Willis (England), Nick Knight (England), Shaun Pollock (South Africa), Ian Bishop (West Indies), Kepler Wessels (South Africa), Simon Doull (New Zealand), Harsha Bhogle (India), Sanjay Manjrekar (India), Ranil Abenayeke (Sri Lanka) and Alan Wilkins (UK).

Speaking on the occasion, RC Venkateish, Managing Director, ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd, said, "The ICC Champions Trophy is a true test of cricketing excellence in One Day Internationals with only the top eight cricket playing teams taking on each other in head-to-head matches. None of the teams can therefore afford to lose their grip as a couple of losses would mean a swift return home. This tightly contested 15 day event will therefore set pulses racing across cricket fans world wide. I hope that Team India continue its victory march and give all fans across the country a special victory to celebrate the upcoming festive season. The response from advertisers has been quite encouraging. We have signed seven clients as sponsors and an additional eight corporates for spot-buys on live as well as pre/post programming."

ICC General Manager – Commercial Campbell Jamieson said: "We are all looking forward to the prestigious eight-team ICC Champions Trophy which gets under way in South Africa on 22 September. It’s a short, sharp event with just the top eight-ranked teams in the world taking part so there will be no room for mistakes and it is great that for those people not lucky enough to make it over to South Africa to view the tournament in person, our broadcast partner and its licensees will make sure you don’t have to miss a minute of the action."

"The influence of ESPN STAR Sports is enormous. We truly appreciate the extra efforts that ESS goes to in order to produce an innovative package that captivates millions of viewers all over the world."

For further information, please contact:

ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd,

Sameer Bajaj

Tel: 95124-4147777

Email: sameerb@espnstar.co.in