ESPN Caribbean has acquired the rights for International Cricket Council (ICC) events and the Champions League Twenty20 through to 2015 in a deal with ESPN STAR Sports (ESS).
The agreement is a four-year deal from 2012 to 2015 and covers several ICC events, including the global showpiece of the cricket calendar, the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The deal covers terrestrial, cable, satellite and new media platform rights. ICC programming will be presented on two ESPN Caribbean television networks - ESPN Caribbean and ESPN 2 Caribbean - and on ESPNPlay.com, the region’s recently launched broadband network for live sports programming.
“We are delighted to again showcase talented cricketers from the West Indies who will play in the ICC World Twenty20 and the Champions League Twenty20 later this year, as well as the crown jewel of cricket – the ICC Cricket World Cup – in 2015,” said Bernard Stewart, Vice President of ESPN Caribbean and Maritime Media. “Cricket is essential to our programming in the West Indies and has a dynamic following there. This long-term agreement reinforces our commitment to providing world-class cricket to Caribbean fans.”
ESS’ Anurag Dahiya, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Cricket Rights, added: “We have succeeded in securing some very significant long-term broadcast partnerships for the ICC events and we are very pleased to be working with ESPN to showcase an exciting calendar of ICC cricket events in this cricket market. This exciting partnership underscores our commitment to serving cricket fans in the Caribbean.”
ESPN Caribbean’s upcoming cricket coverage includes the ICC World Twenty 20 in Sri Lanka from September 18-October 7 and the Champions League Twenty20 in October (location and exact dates to be announced).
Source: www.sportbusiness.com