Star Cricket to launch in June
The India tour of England will the be first on its agenda
Cricinfo staff
24-Apr-2007
The launch of Star Cricket, the dedicated cricket channel for the Indian sub-continent, by ESPN Star has meant that there is another player in the crowded cricket broadcast scene in India. Star Cricket will be on air from June, just in time for India's tour of England where they are scheduled to play four Tests and seven ODIs. The channel will be the 15th network launched by EPSN Star Sports in the Asia Pacific region. This could mean shifting of cricket content from the sub-continent feeds of ESPN and Star Sports to the new channel.
Star Cricket is helped by the fact that ESPN Star hold the ICC Telecast rights for the next eight years which includes the World Cups in 2011 and 2015 and the ICC Champions Trophy. ESPN Star have also acquired telecast rights for matches held in England and Australia for the sub-continental viewership.The channel will telecast 24 Test Matches and 42 ODIs in 2007 , and the ICC Twenty20 World Cup to be held later this year with 27 matches.