China gets a taste of Twenty20

National - ESPN STAR Sports will show the first round of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) hugely successful World Twenty20 competition live on ESPN China when the event kicks off in South Africa next month.

ESPN STAR Sports affiliate, EML acquired the global telecast rights from the ICC for all of their events as part of its eight year agreement from 2007 to 2015 late last year.

Additionally, ESPN STAR launched a 24-hour cricket channel called STAR Cricket recently.

The broadcast rights partnerships will cover TV and new media platforms including internet and mobile.

"In addition to these partnerships, we are currently in discussions with more broadcasters across markets and we would soon be sharing the details on them," Manu Sawhney, executive vice president, programming & marketing for ESPN STAR Sports, said.

"This would further extend the reach of this tournament thus setting new standards in global distribution of cricket.

"And now, with these broadcast partnerships covering more than 105 countries, including the United States of America and, for the first time, China, the first ever ICC World Twenty20 has the potential to reach new heights of viewership thus ensuring the best possible coverage we could hope for, something that should help ensure our strong sport grows even stronger," Malcolm Speed, CEO for ICC said.

ESPN STAR Sports and its affiliate secured global coverage for the tournament with over 105 countries, which will be available on ESPN, STAR Sports, STAR Cricket and their affiliated television channels. In Hong Kong the event will be aired on Cricket Channel.