Bangkok--Jan 23--124 Communications
Exclusive multi-year rights to UEFA Champions League, including full broadcast rights in China and HK reinforces network’s position as ‘The Home of Football’
ESPN STAR Sports, Asia's number one sports broadcaster continues its winning streak, successfully renewing its rights to Europe’s premier football league, the UEFA Champions League for several of its major territories in Asia. The new three-year agreement ensures that both ESPN and STAR Sports will continue to televise the property through to the 2008/9 season. It also represents the continuation of a successful 13-year partnership between ESPN STAR Sports and UEFA that has seen viewership for the League on the Asian sports network maintain a healthy upward trend year after year.
Under the terms of the new deal, ESPN STAR Sports will enjoy exclusive LIVE broadcast rights of the UEFA Champions League in two of Asia’s biggest football markets, Hong Kong and China in addition to retaining exclusive cable and satellite rights across the network’s South East and North Asian territories. This landmark agreement has also been expanded to include LIVE internet and broadband rights in a reflection of the evolving trends in sport viewing.
This latest acquisition completes an already stellar list of the world's biggest football properties on the ESPN STAR Sports network, which includes comprehensive coverage of the English Premier League, FA Cup, England Team home matches as well as the 2006 World Cup for the Indian sub-continent.
Announcing the conclusion of the agreement, ESPN STAR Sports Managing Director Jamie Davis said, “The renewal of our partnership with UEFA is of vital strategic importance as we continue to offer unparalled sports programming to viewers across Asia through traditional and new media platforms. This new multi-year commitment will insure that ESPN STAR Sports can invest more resources to further develop the UEFA Champions League’s brand and promote it to the fans across Asia. Our plans to enhance the broadcast and interactivity of the matches will provide the audience with coverage like they have never seen before.”
ESPN STAR Sports will provide unparalleled, season-long coverage from the early group stages through to the Final which along with a range of support programming covering news, previews, player interviews and highlights shows, will make it the most comprehensive coverage of the UEFA Champions League on Asian television.
Factors such as the clubs’ unpredictable domestic performances coupled with colourful on and off the pitch drama have driven ratings, capturing larger audience shares in several markets with each passing season.
In some metered markets, ratings have surpassed even the top cable programmes on other news, documentaries and action channels (Peoplemeter). At the close of the 2004/2005 season, viewership for the UEFA Champions League on ESPN STAR Sports had shown an increase of 3.4% from the previous year, taking the total number of viewers in Asia well over the 100 million mark.
For more information please contact:
Chaiwat Simawattana, 124 Communications
Tel: (66) 2662 2266 or email: chaiwat@124co
Stephenie Vasko, ESPN STAR Sports
Tel: (65) 6488 6126 or email: [email protected]
Himanshu Verma, ESPN STAR Sports
Tel : (65) 64886 181 or email : [email protected]
Cheryl Sim, ESPN STAR Sports
Tel: (65) 6488 6134 or email: [email protected] End.