Bangkok--14 Dec--Total Quality PR ESPN STAR Sports (ESS, Ch.39,65 True Visions), ICC’s global Broadcast & Production Partner, is inviting interested parties (including broadcasters, broadcasting unions, sports rights agencies, cable operators and affiliates as well as media companies across the globe) to participate in the tender process for the TV broadcast rights for the high-profile ICC events from 2008 to 2011. The invitation to tender for various rights outside India is to be released shortly to participating parties. Late last year, ESPN STAR Sports’ affiliate, EML, was awarded the exclusive global telecast rights from the International Cricket Council (ICC) for all of their events from 2007 to 2015. The ICC cricket calendar over the next four years is filled with a number of key events every year, including the ICC Champions’ Trophy in Pakistan (2008), the 2nd edition of the ICC World Twenty 20 in England (2009), ICC Champions’ Trophy in West Indies (2010) and the ICC Cricket World Cup in the Indian subcontinent scheduled to be held in 2011. In addition, a number of other exciting events such as the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup (2008 and 2010), the ICC Women’s World Cup (2009), ICC World Cup Qualifier (2009), and the World Cricket League (2011) are also included in the package of rights on offer. Said Mr Manu Sawhney, Managing Director of ESPN STAR Sports, “As the global ICC Broadcast & Production Partner, we are heartened by the success of the recent ICC World Twenty20. The television coverage of the recent event was widely acknowledged as being of a very high quality and ESPN STAR Sports will continue to raise the bar in producing coverage for the various upcoming ICC events. We are keen to build on this successful beginning and to help grow the popularity of cricket across the globe. We believe that the package of rights till 2011 offers broadcasters unparalleled cricket programming, with one major ICC event each year, as well as a number of other high-quality international competitions. ” Mr Malcolm Speed, ICC Chief Executive Officer, said, “ESPN STAR Sports has proven to be a strong and committed partner by consistently delivering quality cricket coverage with the highest production value to fans. We are extremely pleased with their achievements from the ICC World Twenty20 and we are confident they will build successful broadcast partnerships across the globe to ensure the sport grows even stronger with the number of major ICC events till 2011.” ESPN STAR Sports started its partnership with the ICC on an extremely successful note with the inaugural edition of the ICC World Twenty20 held in September 2007 in South Africa, which set new viewership records for cricket around the world. ESPN STAR Sports, through its networks and distribution partners showcased the tournament in over 110 countries spanning North America, Caribbean, Africa, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Greece, Cyprus, Mauritius, South Asia, the Indian subcontinent and North Asia - including China for the first time. In addition, ESPN STAR Sports produced the global feed for the tournament and introduced a slew of presentation and on-air innovations making this new format of the game even more enjoyable to millions across the globe. The tournament registered phenomenal success with new viewership benchmarks being created in the form of record-breaking ratings, expanding the demographic of cricket viewers to new audiences and developing new markets. For more information on the ICC calendar of events and details on the tender process, interested parties may contact [email protected] . For more information, please contact: Tom Van Blarcom / Ruthaiwan Tanwongwan Total Quality PR (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Tel: +66 (0) 2260 5820 Email: [email protected]