ESPN STAR Sports Hits Home Run with Renewal of Major League Baseball Broadcast Rights through 2013 Season
8 June 2010, Singapore: ESPN STAR Sports boosted its broadcast of Major League Baseball across the region with the renewal of its television broadcast rights agreement, a deal which will see Asia’s biggest sports content provider showing MLB games daily across key Asian markets through the 2013 season.
Baseball fans can look forward to more of the best MLB action with at least one MLB game every day on ESPN STAR Sports: fans in Taiwan will be able to catch up to 10 regular season games live each week, while viewers in Hong Kong and South-east Asia will be able to watch up to seven live games per week on its networks from 21 June. The deal also includes the MLB All-Star Game, State Farm Home Run Derby and XM All-Star Futures Game – highlights of Major League Baseball All-Star Week festivities – as well as postseason coverage, including all four best-of-five Division Series, the two best-of-seven League Championship Series, and the crown jewel of the MLB Championship Season, the World Series.
Said Manu Sawhney, Managing Director, ESPN STAR Sports: “This renewal reinforces our longstanding relationship with MLB since its first broadcast on our networks in 1995. Highlighted by the growing passion for this sport in Asia, we are pleased to showcase more MLB games than ever before on our networks through the 2013 season, especially at a time when Asian players are enjoying unprecedented success with some of the best teams in MLB. As Asia’s biggest sports broadcaster, this is another step in our commitment to deliver the best sporting action from around the world to our viewers.”
Said Paul Archey, Senior Vice President, International Business Operations, Major League Baseball: “We have enjoyed a long relationship with ESPN STAR Sports and we are delighted to extend this partnership through the 2013 MLB season. We have seen the popularity of Major League Baseball increase in Asia over the past decade and we are proud to be working with an organization that is committed to the growing interest in baseball. ESPN STAR Sports’ strong presence in the region has proven invaluable and they continue to be the ideal broadcast partner for MLB games across Asia.”
ESPN STAR Sports will broadcast live games in English across the region, as well as produce games with Mandarin and Cantonese commentary for broadcasts in Taiwan and Hong Kong, respectively. Baseball fans in Hong Kong and South-east Asia can also catch daily highlights rounding up the MLB action on “Baseball Tonight”. In Taiwan, viewers can enjoy ESPN STAR Sports’ studio presentation of live MLB games as well as ”Baseball Tonight” in Mandarin, providing comprehensive analysis of MLB games for baseball fans every weekday.
Nearly 30 percent of all players on MLB rosters are born outside of the United States and baseball is more popular around the world than ever before. Asian players continue to star in the Major Leagues, including Japan’s Daisuke Matsuzaka (Boston Red Sox), Hideki Matsui (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) and Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle Mariners); South Korea’s Chan Ho Park (New York Yankees) and Shin Soo Choo (Cleveland Indians); and Taiwan’s Chien-Ming Wang (Washington Nationals) and Hong-Chi Kuo (Los Angeles Dodgers).