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ESPN STAR Sports and Asian Tour extend TV agreement

ESPN STAR Sports, Asia’s number one sports broadcaster, and the Asian Tour have extended their partnership agreement till 2009 in a move that will boost the game’s television coverage across Asia.

ESPN STAR Sports began coverage of the Asian Tour in mid-2004 and recently inked a new deal which will extend its involvement as Exclusive Regional Broadcaster with the world’s fastest growing Tour.

Under the agreement, ESPN STAR Sports will provide coverage of a minimum of 10 Asian Tour golf events a year till 2009. Golf enthusiasts will also continue to enjoy the weekly television magazine show, Asian Tour Weekly, which provides event highlights, showcases Asian players making an impact on the game today and features the latest golf news in Asia and around the world.

Jamie Davis, Managing Director, ESPN STAR Sports said : “The popularity of golf in this region has been boosted by the success of Asian players like Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee and Thaworn Wiratchant, India’s Jyoti Randhawa and Shiv Kapur, Singapore's Mardan Mamat and China’s Zhang Lian-wei, all of whom have made a significant impact in the game of golf.

“Our coverage of Asian Tour events is part of an ongoing effort to deliver quality golf programming to golf enthusiasts across Asia. It adds to a stellar list of golf events already airing on ESPN STAR Sports including the US Open Golf Championships, the Masters in Augusta, The Open Championship, the World Golf Championships and PGA Grand Slam of Golf.”

The events on the Asian Tour schedule represent the pinnacle of Asian golf and the exclusive broadcast agreement with ESPN STAR Sports enables the Asian Tour to showcase these events across Asia and work together in fostering the development of Asian golf for the future.

Asian Tour Chief Executive Louis Martin said: “Over the past 18 months, the Asian Tour and ESPN STAR Sports have successfully delivered quality golf programmes to millions of television viewers across the region and we are delighted to extend this arrangement till 2009. Our extended partnership with ESPN STAR Sports to telecast Asian Tour sanctioned events is a significant step in the continued development of the Asian Tour and the careers of our highly talented players.”

Martin added: “ The extensive reach of ESPN STAR Sports to sports fans across Asia and its reputation as Asia’s number one sports broadcaster will help to take the popularity of professional tournament golf in Asia to the next level.”

Overall interest in golf is showing signs of strong growth with an estimated 46 million viewers tuning into ESPN STAR Sports’ golf programming.

March 21, 2006