ESPN STAR bags Olympics rights  ( July '22,2008, Business Standard)

Sports broadcaster ESPN STAR Sports has bagged the telecast rights of the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic Games for cable and satellite television, IPTV and Mobile TV platforms.

ESPN STAR Sports will telecast 200 hours for the London 2012 Olympic Games and over 60 hours for the 2010 Winter Games to be held in Vancouver.

In addition, ESPN STAR Sports will also be broadcasting top-class Olympic games, showcasing golden moments from over 30,000 hours of Olympic games archives covering the history of the games.

However, ESPN Star Sports will be sharing the live coverage of the two Olympic games with state-owned Doordarshan according to the agreement with the International Olympic Committee.

ESPN STAR Sports also holds the telecast rights of all major cricket events to be organised by the International Cricket Council over the next seven years in addition to the recently bagged telecast rights of the next FIFA World Cup to be held in South Africa in 2010 along with several other FIFA fixtures.

In a written statement, Manu Sawhney, managing director, ESPN STAR Sports, said, “This is the first time that IOC has awarded the rights to a pay TV platform across this region and it is a testament to our commitment of reaching out to a wide audience base across Asia with the most interesting and compelling programming.”

IOC Executive Board Member Richard Carrión said in a statement, “We are delighted to welcome ESPN STAR Sports to the Olympic Movement. Their support will enable us to provide high-quality coverage of the Vancouver and London games to the fans.”