10 February 2010 (Singapore): Celebrate the Chinese New Year festive season with ESPN STAR Sports, as Asia’s no. 1 sports content provider kicks off the biggest Winter Sports extravaganza in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, starting with the Opening Ceremony this Saturday 13 February 2010 at 10.00am on ESPN. 

The Vancouver Games will showcase some of the best winter sport athletes in the world performing extraordinary herculean feats and achieving sporting glory over the next two weeks. Across Asia, sport fans will be keenly following the performance of Asian athletes, who are expected to make a big impact in Vancouver and much will be expected from South Korea, China and Japan in the speed skating, short-track speed skating, figure skating and freestyle skiing events. In the Torino Winter Olympic Games in 2006, the three Asian countries brought back nine gold medals, seven silvers and seven bronzes.  

ESPN STAR Sports, IOC’s exclusive pay TV broadcast partner in Asia for the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic Games across 22 countries, will showcase the LIVE coverage from 13 February to 1 March 2010 on ESPN, and sports fans can visit www.espnstar.com for programme highlights and broadcast details. 

The women’s figure skating will feature a trio of World Figure Skating Champions from Asia who have won the last three world titles – Japan’s Miki Ando (2007), Mao Asada (2008) and the current world champion Kim Yu-Na of South Korea. The much-anticipated rivalry between 19-year-old Kim and Mao is set to spice up the competition, where they will be competing in their first Olympic Games after missing the 2006 Torino Games because they were too young to be eligible. 

China’s women speed skaters are touted as the rising Asian power to watch at this Olympic Winter Games led by Olympic and World Short Track Speed Skating women’s defending champion Wang Meng. She secured three medals in Torino 2006, has stood on 21 world championship podiums, and has nine World Cup victories in five competitions this season so far. 

History will also be made when China’s women’s curling team makes its first appearance at an Olympic Winter Games, and as the reigning world champions, the team has set an ambitious gold medal target having won the title in last year’s World Women’s Curling Championship. Another team making its debut is South Korea’s bobsled team, after the four-man squad qualified for the Olympic Games for the first time. 

The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will feature seven sports and 86 medal events: Biathlon, Bobsleigh and Skeleton, Curling, Ice Hockey, Luge, Skating (Figure Skating, Short Track Speed Skating, Speed Skating), Skiing (Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Freestyle Skiing, Nordic Combined, Ski Jumping, Snowboard). 

Please refer to the attached programme schedule for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games on ESPN.

 
The following Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games programming will be aired on ESPN. Please note that the programme schedule is subject to change. 

 * Same day telecast/repeat

ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world’s leading cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia’s definitive and complete sports broadcaster and content provider, ESPN STAR Sports combines the strengths and resources of its ultimate parent companies – Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation Limited (STAR) – to deliver a diverse array of international and regional sports to viewers via its encrypted pay-TV services. 

ESPN STAR Sports showcases an unparalleled variety of premier live sports from around the globe 24 hours a day to a cumulative reach of more than 310 million viewers in Asia. ESPN STAR Sports has 19 networks covering 24 countries, each localised to deliver differentiated world-class premier sports programming to Asian viewers. This includes ESPN SEA, ESPN China, ESPN Hong Kong, ESPN India, ESPN Malaysia, ESPN Philippines, ESPN SEA 2, ESPN Taiwan, MBC-ESPN (Korea), STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports Hong Kong, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Malaysia, STAR Sports SEA, STAR Sports SEA 2, STAR Sports Taiwan, STAR Cricket, ESPNEWS and ESPN HD. 

On the ground, the ESPN STAR Sports Event Management Group manages and promotes premier sporting events around Asia. ESPN STAR Sports aims to reach consumers at any time, any place and through all new media platforms, both internet and mobile. The multi-lingual, online platforms, espnstar.com, espnstar.com.cn and espnstar.com.tw interact with millions of users providing them with in-depth sports news, results and competitions. Developed for the sports fan that is constantly on the move, mobileESPN enables the serious sports fan to follow their favourite sports more closely than ever before with a combination of specially produced video news clips, in-depth news coverage and analysis.

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22 October 2009, Singapore – Asia’s biggest sports content provider ESPN STAR Sports announced today its three-year multi-platform partnership with Youthstream, FIM’s Motocross World Championship commercial rights holder and promoter, to showcase the FIM Motocross and SuperMoto World Championship on its various platforms, across Asia, from 2009 to 2011.

The FIM Motocross World Championship is the premier worldwide motocross racing championship series, and features distinct and thrilling classes, such as the MX1 (450cc), MX2 (250cc), MX3 (650cc) and the WMX (Women’s World Motocross Championship). The SuperMoto World Championship involves S1 (450cc) and S2 (more than 500cc) motocross bikes classes, which races on off-road and road track conditions.

ESPN STAR Sports will kick-off the broadcast with the highlight programmes of the FIM Motocross and the SuperMoto events in the lead up to next year’s season. For the upcoming 2010 season ESPN STAR Sports will broadcast the full FIM Motocross and SuperMoto Championships live and delayed, as well as all highlight programs of both series.

Manu Sawhney, Managing Director, ESPN STAR Sports

Mr. Manu Sawhney, Managing Director, ESPN STAR Sports, said: “We are delighted to flag off our partnership with Youthstream and the FIM. ESPN STAR Sports is the home for motorsports fans in Asia with our stellar line-up of leading motor sports events. These two exciting championships showcased across our various platforms will further build this genre and enrich fans’ experience.”

Mr. Giuseppe Luongo, the President of Youthstream, said: “This is an outstanding partnership with ESPN STAR Sports as the biggest sport content provider in Asia. It is another important step to bring the FIM Motocross and SuperMoto World Championships to a truly global audience, and it is perfect for the evolution of our sport as this covers all the territories where we intend to bring the Grand Prix events in the future.  This will give all the teams, riders and organizers another opportunity to find international sponsors. Youthstream is very proud to have a partner such as ESPN STAR Sports and we look forward to an exciting working relationship.”

Dr. Wolfgang Srb, the FIM/CMS President, added: “This is possibly the most important TV deal in the history of Motocross and SuperMoto. With ESPN STAR Sports, we will reach new horizons and cover one of the most important and fastest growing regions in the world. Millions of fans will have the chance to watch the best off-road series in the world, the FIM Motocross and SuperMoto World Championship. I am very happy that this deal was signed; congratulations to ESPN STAR Sports and Youthstream.” 

ESPN STAR Sports continues to showcase the best and most exciting properties across its networks in Asia, including the Formula One till 2015, the World Rally Championships, the GP2 and GP2 Asia Series, MotoGP, Superbike World Championship, and the Le Mans Series.

ESPN STAR Sports produces the largest quantum of top-quality original in-house productions in Asia with over 3650 hours of top class original programmes televised every year including over 100 hours of original F1 and motorsport content. This includes the popular motorsport magazine show Engine Block on STAR Sports, which showcases a comprehensive coverage of worldwide motorsport news, features and loads of race highlights and footage from the world’s best motor racing events.

 About ESPN STAR Sports

ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world’s leading cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia’s definitive and complete sports broadcaster and content provider, ESPN STAR Sports combines the strengths and resources of its ultimate parent companies – Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation Limited (STAR) – to deliver a diverse array of international and regional sports to viewers via its encrypted pay and free-to-air services.

ESPN STAR Sports showcases an unparalleled variety of premier live sports from around the globe 24 hours a day to a cumulative reach of more than 310 million viewers in Asia. ESPN STAR Sports has 17 networks covering 24 countries, each localised to deliver differentiated world-class premier sports programming to Asian viewers. This includes ESPN SEA, ESPN China, ESPN Hong Kong, ESPN India, ESPN Malaysia, ESPN Philippines, ESPN SEA 2, ESPN Taiwan, MBC-ESPN (Korea), STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports Hong Kong, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Malaysia, STAR Sports SEA, STAR Sports SEA 2, STAR Sports Taiwan, and STAR Cricket.

On the ground, the ESPN STAR Sports Event Management Group manages and promotes premier sporting events around Asia. ESPN STAR Sports aims to reach consumers at any time, any place and through all new media platforms, both internet and mobile. The multi-lingual, online platforms, espnstar.com, espnstar.com.cn and espnstar.com.tw and footballcrazy.tv interact with millions of users providing them with in-depth sports news, results and competitions. Developed for the sports fan that is constantly on the move, mobileESPN and STAR Sports Mobile delivers differentiated mobile content targeted at its various audiences. mobileESPN enables the serious sports fan to follow their favourite sports more closely than ever before with a combination of specially produced video news clips, in-depth news coverage and analysis. STAR Sports Mobile aims to provide interactive and entertaining opportunities to engage with sports, delivering exclusive video excerpts from leading football clubs Arsenal and Liverpool as well as highlights from STAR Sports original programmes covering opinions, instructional tips and the latest online game reviews.

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The MARTIAL COMBAT will feature a grand total of twelve events comprising 60 action-packed fights per year, featuring some of the most popular and celebrated Asian fighters and many ranked fighters from around the world. It will receive an unprecedented amount of television coverage from ESS in excess of 60 hours, making it the largest MMA broadcast in Asia.  The first leg of events, scheduled on 14-15 May 2010, promises to be a star-studded event showcasing non-stop action inside a ring, from some of the biggest fighters in the region and from around the world. This will be the first-ever MMA event till date to receive television coverage in 24 different countries in Asia, extensive online support through www.espnstar.com and mobile initiatives through mobileESPN. 

Manu Sawhney, Managing Director, ESPN STAR Sports, said, “We are very pleased to join hands with Resorts World Sentosa to kick start a great sports entertainment initiative which we believe has a lot of potential in becoming a signature sporting event in Asia. I am confident that with our event management expertise coupled with the strength of our television networks and digital platforms, sports fans at the resort and across the region can look forward to a highly engaging and entertaining experience.”

Miss Andrea Teo, Vice President of Entertainment for Resorts World Sentosa said: “We believe that through the MARTIAL COMBAT – Asia’s Ultimate Mixed Martial Arts Fight Championship, this professional sport will scale new heights and groom talented fighters into household names. Having a mega tourism destination like Resorts World Sentosa as a venue, will definitely lend buzz to the fights.’’

As Singapore’s only island-integrated resort, Resorts World Sentosa is set to woo tourists with its collection of attractions and hotel offerings. There will also be world-class entertainment to engage visitors, ranging from musical and theatrical to sporting events. The MARTIAL COMBAT – Asia’s Ultimate Mixed Martial Arts Fight Championship will be held at the resort’s Compass Ballroom. The wide array of event facilities and the professional expertise available at the resort are valuable assets in being able to produce high-quality and attention-grabbing events.

This partnership brings together the strengths of ESPN STAR Sports Event Management as Asia’s #1 sports event organizer and the brand new venue and facilities of Resorts World Sentosa.  Resorts World Sentosa is scheduled to open in early 2010 and is owned by Genting Singapore.  The S$6.59-billion venture will include South-east Asia’s first and only Universal Studios theme park, the world’s largest marine life park, six hotels, a casino, and a host of retail, dining and entertainment options. ESS’s Events Management has managed and promoted more than 1,000 high-profile sporting events around Asia, such as the KIA X Games Asia, KL World 5s, 9 Ball Tour, the FEI Endurance Race, the Standard Chartered FIH Men’s Junior World Cup & Aviva Ironman 2009.

MMA is already one of the world’s fastest growing sports and has dominated the North American pay-per-view scene as the most watched sport since 2006.  Its unique combination of a full contact combat sport which also allows a wide variety of fighting techniques, leads to a mass appeal amongst different types of martial arts.  In addition to MARTIAL COMBAT – Asia’s Ultimate Mixed Martial Arts Fight Championship, ESS will broadcast a select number of programming from other MMA events from around the world in 2010.

Photos & Captions

As Singapore’s only island-integrated resort, Resorts World Sentosa is set to woo tourists with its collection of attractions and hotel offerings.

Once it opens its doors in early 2010, Resorts World Sentosa will offer world-class entertainment to engage visitors, ranging from musical and theatrical to sporting events.

(Please attribute all photos to: ©2009 Resorts World at Sentosa; images of higher resolution are available.)

About ESPN STAR Sports

ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world’s leading cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia’s definitive and complete sports broadcaster and content provider, ESPN STAR Sports combines the strengths and resources of its ultimate parent companies – Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation Limited (STAR) – to deliver a diverse array of international and regional sports to viewers via its encrypted pay and free-to-air services.

ESPN STAR Sports showcases an unparalleled variety of premier live sports from around the globe 24 hours a day to a cumulative reach of more than 310 million viewers in Asia. ESPN STAR Sports has 17 networks covering 24 countries, each localised to deliver differentiated world-class premier sports programming to Asian viewers. This includes ESPN SEA, ESPN China, ESPN Hong Kong, ESPN India, ESPN Malaysia, ESPN Philippines, ESPN SEA 2, ESPN Taiwan, MBC-ESPN (Korea), STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports Hong Kong, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Malaysia, STAR Sports SEA 2, STAR Sports Southeast Asia, STAR Sports Taiwan, and STAR Cricket.

On the ground, the ESPN STAR Sports Event Management Group manages and promotes premier sporting events around Asia. ESPN STAR Sports aims to reach consumers at any time, any place and through all new media platforms, both internet and mobile. The multi-lingual, online platforms, espnstar.com, espnstar.com.cn and espnstar.com.tw and footballcrazy.tv interact with millions of users providing them with in-depth sports news, results and competitions. Developed for the sports fan that is constantly on the move, mobileESPN and STAR Sports Mobile delivers differentiated mobile content targeted at its various audiences. mobileESPN enables the serious sports fan to follow their favourite sports more closely than ever before with a combination of specially produced video news clips, in-depth news coverage and analysis. STAR Sports Mobile aims to provide interactive and entertaining opportunities to engage with sports, delivering exclusive video excerpts from leading football clubs Arsenal and Liverpool as well as highlights from STAR Sports original programmes covering opinions, instructional tips and the latest online game reviews.

About Resorts World Sentosa

Slated to be one of the world’s most exciting family destinations, Resorts World Sentosa is a collection of resorts and attractions with fun-filled offerings for the entire family.

Taking pride of place on Singapore’s resort island of Sentosa and spanning 49 hectares of lush greenery, this S$6.59 billion (US$4.2 billion) destination will be home to Southeast Asia’s first and only Universal Studios theme park, the world’s largest Marine Life Park, and a destination spa – ESPA.

Besides attractions, Resorts World Sentosa offers six hotels and full conference and meeting amenities. Entertainment performances include the Crane Dance – the world’s largest animatronic performance – set out at the Resort waterfront. Guests to the Resort can also choose from dozens of shopping and dining options at the Resort’s bustling Strip, FestiveWalk.

Resorts World Sentosa will have its soft opening in early 2010.

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