Singapore, 11 July 2001: ESPN STAR Sports (ESS), Asia’s leading sports broadcaster and UBC, its Thai pay TV Partner, have reached an agreement to make available full coverage of the English Premier League on cable for the next three seasons.

Announcing the conclusion of the broadcast contract with UBC for the world’s most popular football league, ESS Managing Director Rik Dovey said that it would provide viewers in Thailand with expanded coverage of the EPL including a record 5 LIVE matches a week on ESPN and STAR Sports.

‘We’re thrilled to have arrived at this broadcast agreement with UBC,’ Rik Dovey said. UBC’s CEO, Sompan Charumilinda said, ‘Our goal ultimately was to ensure that Thailand’s football fans did not miss out on the English Premier League.’ Rik Dovey went on to say, ‘There will be a feast of expert and expanded programming – which is a first for the Premier League and for Asia. In all, there will be a total of 165 live games and over 1000 hours of EPL coverage per season. Having this intensity of programming will confirm both the League’s status as the most popular football competition and ESS’ leadership in sports broadcasting in Asia.’

In addition, there will be a never-before-seen line-up of support programming seven days a week, giving football fans a comprehensive menu of pre-and post-game analysis, predictions and information. Beyond the coverage on air, there will be a series of interactive activities on espnstar.com, involving audiences through linking TV and computer screen.

ESS has also agreed to grant limited syndication rights to terrestrial TV to peak the interest of viewers and drive them to the full EPL coverage on UBC.

This August, ESS will also launch its dedicated South-East Asia feed for STAR Sports. The feed, which is based on viewing habits and preferences of viewers from this region, is customised in both programming and presentation to deliver sports popular with Thai audiences. This includes the best of European football (EPL, UEFA Champions’ League, Serie A and Spanish Liga), Formula One motor racing, golf and tennis, as well as bowling, billiards and boxing. ESS will also launch SportsCenter, the region’s only live daily sports news service.

For further information, please contact:

Stephanie Green Chen, ESPN STAR Sports, on (65) 488 6134 or chens@espnstar.com
About UBC: