Syndicates broadcast to a record 218 territories; Sourav Ganguly, Sanjay Manjrekar, Nasser Hussain, Wasim Akram, Ramiz Raja and Tony Greig to join 18-member commentary panel.
In cricket, it doesn’t get bigger than this. In keeping with the scale of the event, ESPN Star Sports (ESS), ICC’s global broadcast and production partner, shared its plans around the telecast of the ICC World Twenty20 2012 at a press conference in New Delhi yesterday. Featuring a star-studded panel of 18 commentators for this marquee event, ESS’s presentation will feature experts from almost all major cricket playing countries.
ESS also announced that it has sold the syndication rights of ICC World Twenty20 to 218 territories across the world, a new record in terms of coverage for this blockbuster T20 cricket championship.
In India, Star Cricket and Star Cricket HD will showcase all the 27 matches live starting September 18 till October 7. Anticipating a lot of interest, ESS said it would additionally telecast the India-Pakistan warm-up match scheduled for September 17. The sports broadcaster has also planned a simulcast of all India matches, semi-finals and the final with Hindi commentary on its ESPN channel. All matches of the championship will also be streamed on www.espnstar.com with a five-minute delay.
ESS’s presentation team will include stars like Sourav Ganguly, Sanjay Manjrekar, Nasser Hussain, Wasim Akram, Ramiz Raja, Tony Greig, Ian Chappell, Mark Waugh, Russell Arnold, Ian Bishop, Pommie Mbangwa, Damien Fleming, Simon Doull, David Lloyd, Harsha Bhogle and Alan Wilkins. ESS’s Jatin Sapru will be the in-studio host along with former English cricketer Dermot Reeve playing the role of an analyst.
ESS will also feature, for the first time for an ICC event, a new ‘touch screen’ cricket presentation tool in its analysis shows around the live coverage. This will bring a new dimension to the way the game is analysed and presented, thus giving fans a fresh perspective of the game.