MUMBAI: Taj TV Ltd, owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, has retained the television broadcast rights for West Indies cricket for a period of seven years from January 2013.

With this, Taj TV will have rights for telecast of cricket matches from three cricket boards. While it has successfully retained the South Africa, Zimbabwe and West Indies cricket boards, the remaining two are Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Taj TV said Friday it has acquired global television broadcast rights except for the terrestrial broadcast rights within the Caribbean along with production rights.

As part of the deal Taj TV Limited will be providing the television production for free-to-air stations throughout the Caribbean for the benefit of West Indies cricket fans. Taj TV will be showcasing 253 days of international cricket as part of the new rights deal.

?We are extremely delighted to continue our long standing association with Taj TV Limited who has been our media rights partner previously and with whom we have had a solid and mutually beneficial relationship,? West Indies Cricket Board president Dr. Julian Hunte said.

?The West Indies Team has just won the ICC World Twenty20 and the diverse cricket world who hold our team in high esteem will have added demand to see them play in the ensuing years. We are therefore pleased that we have secured this arrangement with this globally reputable company to distribute the media rights to allow fans around the world to see our champion team live and in living colour as they make further strides in world cricket,? Dr. Hunte added.

Ten Sports CEO Atul Pande said, ?We are extremely delighted to extend our association with the West Indies Cricket Board. This deal underscores our commitment to building our cricket business in the subcontinent and globally. The recent upsurge in the West Indies Team quality further reinforces our view about our relationship with West Indies cricket going forward.?

The parties have agreed, on account of confidentiality clauses, not to publicly disclose the monetary value of the contract.

MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports, the media rights holder for all International Cricket Council events till 2015, has closed a significant broadcast rights deal in Australia with Fox Sports and Channel Nine. The two Australian broadcasters will provide live coverage of every major ICC event from 2012 to 2015, including the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Fox Sports will provide live coverage of each tournament during the three-year agreement, including every match of the 2012 and 2014 ICC World T20 events, plus every match in the 2013 Champions Trophy and ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

Channel Nine will bring free-to-air viewers the action from all the big games in the 2012 and 2014 World T20 tournaments and again for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 on home soil.

The agreement covers 2012 and 2014 ICC World Twenty20, 2013 ICC Champions Trophy and, world cricket‘s premier event, the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Fox Sports CEO Patrick Delany said, "We are delighted to be partnering with Channel Nine and the ICC and are looking forward to delivering live and high definition coverage of all major international cricket tournaments to complement our exclusive coverage of Australia‘s international tours and national competitions including the KFC T20 Big Bash League.

"Last year we delivered an immersive Rugby World Cup experience, going beyond the live match coverage to tell the entire story of the tournament through our presence in and around the venues, fans, and Wallabies camp in New Zealand. The 2015 Cricket World Cup will be the biggest cricket event to hit our shores in over 20 years and we plan to offer fans the complete package."

Channel Nine MD Jeffrey Browne, said: "Nine‘s Wide World of Sports and big-time cricket are synonymous and to ultimately have the 2015 ICC World Cup played at home in Australia as part of this new deal is both a challenge and celebration we very much look forward to."

ESPN Star Sports Managing Director Peter Hutton, "We are delighted that we are able to extend our long term relationship with Fox Sports in Australia as we ensure that the ICC events are seen by cricket fans throughout the world. We look forward to the next ICC Cricket World Cup being the most watched cricket event in the history of the sport, and thank Fox for their support."

ICC General Manager - Commercial Campbell Jamieson said, "The ICC is delighted to have the continued support of major Australian broadcasters Fox Sports and the Nine Network for its events. These partnerships will ensure that fans in Australia continue to enjoy top quality broadcast coverage from premier cricket events, including the ICC Cricket World Cup, which will take place in Australia and New Zealand."

MUMBAI: Cricket fans in the United States will have a chance to watch the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 at no additional cost for the first time in September, after ESPN3 was confirmed by ESPN STAR Sports, ICC?s global broadcast partner, as the network in the US for the tournament.

And as a part of the build-up to the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012, India legend Anil Kumble will travel to the United States this weekend for a series of events promoting the tournament being held in Sri Lanka between 18 September and 7 October 2012.

Kumble will ring the Nasdaq closing bell on Friday in New York City. On Sunday hundreds of thousands of people will take the streets for the annual India Day Parade through the city, where fans will have a chance to see the Indian legend with the ICC World Twenty20 2012 trophies on the ESPN3 float.

The annual India Day Parade, which will be held in New York by Federation of Indian Associations (FIA), is a big celebration for the India community in the United States and also includes other prominent Indian celebrities like actor Saif Ali Khan.

Kumble was thrilled to be leading the efforts to promote the sport to cricket fans in the US ahead of the ICC World Twenty20.

"Twenty20 has for long been considered a product fit for an American audience. I am therefore thrilled to be part of the first major celebration of cricket in the USA for ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012. I am also particularly excited about getting an opportunity to ring the closing bell at NASDAQ and to be part of the India Day Parade on the iconic Madison Avenue," said Kumble.

Kumble also believes live coverage of the tournament at no additional cost to fans will help spread the game to a bigger audience.

"Cricket has also always been a huge draw among the expat Indian population in the USA. So the live coverage of ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 on ESPN3 in the US will help us get our great game to a bigger and wider audience,? added Kumble.

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson too was delighted at the exciting new opportunity offered by ESPN3 telecasting ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 in the United States.

"The fact that cricket fans in the United States will be able to get free-to-air coverage on ESPN3 is a significant development for the growth of cricket in this important market. There can be no one better to spread the word about the excitement and energy of cricket ? and Twenty20 cricket in particular ? than Anil Kumble. I am sure that he and all those attending the annual India Day Parade on Madison Avenue ? one of the most famous streets in New York ? will have a memorable time."