Vodafone in Near USD10m Deal for CWC Live Streaming Rights

The exclusive rights for the live streaming of ESPN Star Sports’ coverage of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup 2011 have been awared to telecom services provider Vodafone Essar.

As part of this deal, Vodafone’s customers will be able to watch ball-by-ball live coverage of all 49 ODI’s on their mobile phones via ESPN Mobile TV. Vodafone has been named co-presenting broadcast sponsor for ESPN Star Sports’ coverage of ICC CWC 2011, making the company one of the biggest sponsors of India’s most popular sport this season. It is also the co-presenting sponsor of IPL besides being one of the on-ground sponsors.

Having secured the on-air broadcast sponsorship rights of ESPN Star Sports’ coverage of the ICC CWC 2011, Vodafone has created on-air advertising campaign  for this event after reportedly paying US$9.85m for the co-sponsorship rights.

Vodafone released a statement, reading: “Vodafone’s interest in the cricket season in 2011 is a continuation of this same belief to capitalize on large cricketing events like the World Cup, thereby reaching out to a very large cross section of audiences, cutting across diverse geographies.”

Kumar Ramanathan, Vodafone Essar CMO, added: “The 2011 cricket season in India coincides with an exciting time in the telecom industry when MNP and 3G are buzz words and the entire consumer base is being wooed afresh by incumbent and new competitors alike. Through this association with ESPN Star Sports to provide live streaming of its ICC CWC 2011 coverage, we continue to engage our customers in a more meaningful and relevant manner, that enriches the service experience.”