ESPN Classic Sport and FIFA have reached a new agreement that grants ESPN Classic Sport the exclusive cable and satellite rights to the FIFA World Cup* Official Film collection for France, it was announced today by Roch Pellerin, managing director, ESPN Classic Sport.

The three-year agreement includes all of the FIFA World Cup* Official Films dating from the 1954 tournament held in Switzerland to the 1990 tournament in Italy, in addition to the 1998 FIFA World Cup* hosted by France. The agreement also gives ESPN Classic Sport exclusivity to this material over other archived sport channels in France.

Filmed mostly in Technicolor, the FIFA World Cup* Official Films are full-length features that have been made as a dramatic historical record of FIFA World Cup* play. In certain cases, the high-quality productions include narration by Hollywood stars such as Sean Connery and Michael Caine.

The films have been made available to broadcast television only sparingly over the years.

‘The FIFA World Cup* is the most celebrated soccer event in the world,’ said Pellerin. ‘These films perfectly capture the intensity, excitement, and drama of the tournament. ESPN Classic Sport is proud to make them available to our viewers.’

ESPN Classic Sport, ESPN’s first branded network in Europe, debuted in France on March 4 and is available to more than 3.7 million viewers throughout the country.

Based in London, ESPN Classic Sport is 70 percent owned by ESPN, Inc. and 30 percent owned Sports Capital Partners. TWI, the largest independent producer, packager, and distributor of sports programming in the world, also plays a principal role in ESPN Classic Sport by providing a variety of support services to the venture, including production and facilities.

For further information please contact:

Chris Bellitti
T: +1 (212) 916.9889
E: chris.bellitti@espn.com