ESS will broadcast La Liga from 2012-13 to the 2014-15 season in 18 countries across the continent, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan and Philippines.
“This acquisition underlines our commitment to football fans in the region as we continue providing the most compelling content to our viewers, and an excellent promotional platform for our business partners,” ESS Asia Managing Director Manu Sawhney said in a statement.
ESS will provide coverage through its channels — ESPN, STAR Sports — and on mobile platform — Mobile ESPN. The tournament would also be broadcast on a separate high definition channel ESPN HD, to be launched within this year.
The deal also includes the option to showcase select games from the La Liga in 3D.
Commenting on the development Mediapro Managing Director Gerard Romy said, “We are pleased with their (ESS) commitment to showcase La Liga across new media platforms in order to extend the profile of this great football league.” Mediapro holds the broadcasting rights for La Liga.
Together with the telecast of the Barclays Premier League, the network will now bring over 600 odd matches from the two most popular soccer leagues in the world.
Many of the best football players in the world play in La Liga, including FIFA Ballon d’Or winners Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, FIFA World Cup winners Xavi Hernez and Andres Iniesta, the statement added.