ESPN grants cricket rights to Al Jazeera
June 13, 2012
ESPN Star Sports, the exclusive Asian rights holder for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) domestic and home international matches, has announced an agreement with Al Jazeera Sport for the television broadcast rights of the Friends Life Twenty20 2012.
The deal marks a significant landmark for cricket broadcasting in the Middle East and North Africa with Al Jazeera Sport televising cricket for the first time ever with live coverage of 25 matches from ECB’s domestic Twenty20 league.
Anurag Dahiya, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development & Cricket Rights, commented: “We are very pleased with the strong interest shown by Al Jazeera Sports in cricket. These arrangements promise to extend the popularity and reach of ECB’s events with the aim of raising the profile of the sport in the region, building on from last year’s highly successful ICC Cricket World Cup.”