The 24/7 entertainment sports network, ESPN Classic Sport, has scooped up ‘Best Sports Channel’ of the year award at the HOT BIRD TV Awards ceremony, held in Turin, Italy on Monday, 12 December.
Since its European debut in 2002, ESPN Classic Sport has rolled out in over 40 European countries and attracted more than 16 million subscribers, making it one of the fastest growing networks in Europe. During the last 12 months, the channel has signed a host of new carriage deals including platforms in Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Monaco and Bulgaria. The latest deals to be signed are with CLIX Smart TV in Portugal, CYFRA + in Poland and DCM in Croatia.
The channel offers a unique concept, showcasing the greatest moments in sport 24 hours a day seven days a week. Viewers are able to watch an entertaining mix of full-length matches, highlights, documentaries, magazine programmes and movies, all of which complement live local and international sports events.
Winning the HOT BIRD TV Awards is a coup, because they are the only pan-European awards to recognise the quality and diversity of thematic satellite television channels. The Awards were created in 1998 as joint initiative by Eutelsat, one of the world’s leading satellite operators, and Eurovisioni, a leading organiser of audiovisual events.
For more information, please contact:
ESPN Classic Sport
Mike McKibbin, Director of Marketing, ESPN Classic Sport, London, tel: +44 20 8233 66 31,
e-mail: mmckibbin@espn-cs.com
or
Sarah Horner, PR for ESPN Classic Sport, Madrid, Tel: + 34 91 622 16 93 or + 34 69 66 52 146
e-mail: mediavision@dial.pipex.com
or
Chris Bellitti, ESPN Corporate Communications, Tel: +212 456 02 65
E-mail: chris.bellitti@espn.com
or
visit: http://www.espnclassicsport.com/
PHOTOS & PROGRAMME INFORMATION:
Programme Highlights and a selection of sports photos are available as jpegs via lwilliams@espn-cs.com
Visit: http://www.espnclassicsport.com/
Editors’ Notes:
· ESPN, Inc. is the world’s leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company, featuring a portfolio of over 50 multimedia sports assets. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.
· ESPN Classic Sport is 100 % owned by ESPN Inc
· In the United States, ESPN Classic is the leader in presenting classic moments in sport, and now reaches over 55 million households. ESPN also has an equity interest in ESPN Classic Canada.
· The company is comprised of seven domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU , ESPN Today). ESPN, the flagship network, reaches more than 89 million US households.
· ESPN Classic sport launched in Europe in 2002, with a 24/7 local service in France and Italy. In December 2003 a pan-European English language channel was launched in Europe, which is now available in 40 countries, reaching over 16 million subscribers.