ESPN has reached a new multi-year agreement to televise Italian Serie A Football in Latin America, it was jointly announced today by ESPN International and SPORTFIVE, holders of the television rights for the league.

Serie A is the top division in Italy and one of the most competitive in all of Europe. Serie A features such world-class clubs as Inter Milan, Lazio, and Roma, as well as AC Milan and Juventus, the two finalists for last season’s UEFA Champions League title. Serie A also showcases some of the best players in the world such as Italians Christian Vieri and Francesco Totti, as well as a selection of Latin America stars including Hernán Crespo (Argentina), Rivaldo (Brazil), and Alvaro Recoba (Uruguay).

Under terms of the new agreement, ESPN will be the exclusive cable and satellite broadcaster of Italian Serie A matches throughout Latin America. ESPN will also have an additional two matches per round which will be exclusive to all means of television in the region. Live telecasts will be offered each weekend on all ESPN networks in Latin America including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+, and ESPN Brasil. In total, ESPN networks will offer as much as 300 original hours of Serie A programming for the upcoming season.

‘Italian Serie A is one of the strongest and most prestigious football properties in the world,’ said Tim Bunnell, vice president of programming, ESPN International. ‘Following closely on the heels of our UEFA Champions League renewal, this agreement is part of our ongoing strategy to offer our viewers a variety of the best football programming possible.’

‘We are very glad that we have signed this agreement with ESPN’, adds Philip Cordes, COO International TV Rights of SPORTFIVE. ‘It secures the broadcast of highly attractive Serie A matches in the great market of Latin American for football enthusiasts’.

In addition to Italian Serie A football, ESPN is also the exclusive cable and satellite broadcaster in Latin America for UEFA Champions League, Dutch First Division, and Major League Soccer.

ESPN’s telecasts of the 2003-04 Italian Serie A season begin on Sunday, August 31 with coverage of first round of matches. Please check local listings for telecast times.

ESPN networks reach more than 40 countries and territories throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and transmit in Spanish, Portuguese, and English.

For more details contact:

Chris Bellitti @ +1.212.456.0265 or chris.bellitti@espn.com