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[ESPN Media Release]
Two four-year agreements to bring Champions League Twenty20 and major ICC events exclusively across TV, online and mobile
Furthering its commitment to cricket, ESPN today announced it has
reached two multi-year rights agreements for exclusive live coverage of
matches from Champions League Twenty20 and International Cricket Council (ICC) events, including the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup,
one of the most watched sporting events globally. The deals, signed
with global rights holder ESPN Star Sports, will dedicate more than
1,000 additional hours of exclusive live cricket in the U.S. to ESPN3.com’s programming lineup.
“It’s a big day for cricket fans in the U.S., and we’re thrilled to
be the network offering this passionate and underserved audience more
cricket coverage than ever before,” said Damon Phillips, Vice
President, ESPN3.com. “We’re removing the traditional pay per view
barrier and making these world class events available to millions of
fans.”
Manu Sawhney, Managing Director, ESPN STAR Sports, said, “We are
very pleased to enter in this agreement with ESPN. It continues to be
our endeavor to further grow the game of cricket across the globe and
we believe that this collaboration will give a big thrust to the
development of the game in the U.S. Fans in the U.S. can look forward
to an exciting calendar of top quality cricket including the iconic ICC
cricket events and CLT20, the world championship of top T20 teams.”
“The ICC is delighted that ESPN has acquired the rights to ICC
events for the period 2012 to 2015. The U.S. is a region of real
growth and potential for cricket and for us to have a world-class
broadcaster like ESPN as a collaborator in the U.S. is a great boost
for our sport. This deal signals a real sea change in the mainstream
exposure of cricket to American viewers. Hopefully, this will be a
catalyst for huge growth for cricket in this critical market.”
The deals include exclusive rights across television, online and
mobile platforms for Championship League Twenty20 matches from
2012-2015 as well as the following ICC events:
- Jun-Jul 2012: ICC U19 Cricket World Cup (Australia)
- Sep-Oct 2012: ICC World Twenty20 (Sri Lanka)
- Mar 2013: ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup (India)
- Jun 2013: ICC Champion’s Trophy (England)
- May 2013: ICC World Cup Qualifier (Scotland)
- Feb 2014: ICC World Twenty20 (South Asia)
- Feb-Mar 2014: ICC U19 Cricket world Cup (UAE)
- TBD 2014: ICC World Cricket League – Division 1 (Location TBD)
- Feb- Mar 2015: ICC Cricket World Cup (Australia/New Zealand)
Champions League Twenty20 features the world’s top national teams,
including clubs from the Indian Premier League and others from
Australia, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and West
Indies. ESPN International signed a similar deal for rights in the Caribbean, where all 23 cricket matches were presented live in September.
Events from the ICC represent some of the most prestigious cricket
matches in the world, sanctioned by the international governing body of
cricket. The deal marks the first time the Cricket World Cup will be
made available at no additional cost to fans who receive their
high-speed Internet connection or cable TV video subscription from an
affiliated service provider.
In 2010 alone, ESPN3.com carried a total of 368 hours of cricket
that included Bangladesh home matches against top-tier national teams
such as India, England and others, USA Cricket between New Zealand vs.
Sri Lanka from Lauderhill, FL, the 2010 Asia Cup and the Caribbean
Regional Twenty20 Tournament. With today’s announcement, ESPN3.com is
currently slated to carry close to 1,500 total hours of exclusive live
cricket programming over the next four years in the U.S.
About ESPN3.com
ESPN3.com is ESPN’s live sports broadband network, a 24/7 online
destination that delivers thousands of live, global sports
events annually. It is currently available in more than 65 million
homes at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed
Internet connection or cable TV video subscription from an affiliated
service provider. It is also available at no cost to approximately 21
million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via
computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base
military networks.