espn star cricket has won the rights for champions league cricket twenty t20

ESPN Star Sports has secured the ten-year commercial rights for the Champions League Twenty20 with a $975 million bid.

The deal gives ESPN STAR Sports the exclusive Global Commercial Rights for all the matches in the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 season, due to be held from December 3 to 10, 2008, and for all further Champions League Twenty20 seasons until 2017.

"We are absolutely delighted that after a fair and transparent process, we have what we believe to be the best commercial deal for the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 season and for cricket fans across the world.

"All the bids received were of a very high standard and we would like to thank all of the organisations that participated and for their submissions," commissioner of Indian Premier League (IPL) Lalit Modi said in a press release.

The Commercial Rights were won by ESPN STAR Sports with a bid of USD $ 975 million. This makes the Champions League Twenty20 the highest value cricket tournament on a per game basis.

Bids were also received from Abu Dhabi Sports Club and DIC for what is viewed as the most exciting sporting extravaganza for cricket fans all over the world. All the bids were opened in Dubai today. While DIC's bid was US $ 751.3 million, Abu Dhabi Sports Club's bid was disqualified for being a conditional bid


"We're extremely pleased at having won the Global Commercial Rights to the new and exciting Champions League Twenty20. This is a testament to our commitment to the game of cricket and fans as we cement our relationship with the BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa.

"Through our television channels - ESPN, STAR Sports & STAR Cricket, our website www.espnstar.com, and our wireless platforms mobileESPN and STAR Sports Mobile, we are confident of taking the Champions League Twenty20 to new heights by working along with the various partners involved and are committed to setting new benchmarks in the broadcast and distribution, such that fans of this crowd-pulling format can look forward to an exciting time when the league begins this December," Manu Sawhney, MD ESPN STAR Sports, said in the same release.

'With ESPN STAR Sports as our Commercial Rights Partner we are now certain this fantastic new competition will reach discerning cricket fans across the globe. The Champions League Twenty20 will build on the success of domestic Twenty20 leagues in Australia and elsewhere in a manner which accelerates the development of cricket globally.

"Now with ESPN STAR Sports as our global Commercial Rights Partner I think that the benefits of this global event will flow down to the interstate cricket level in Australia and in other participant nations, and greatly enhance cricket at the grass roots level, particularly for state-level players who get the chance to pit their skills against players from around the world," James Sutherland, CEO of Cricket Australia, said.