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ESPN STAR Sports launches new FOX Football Channel in Malaysia
Fans to enjoy global pick of top football leagues including the Spanish La Liga BBVA, Argentina’s Primera División, Eredivisie Dutch League and Russian Premier Liga
8 October 2012 (Kuala Lumpur) – ESPN STAR Sports recently announced the launch of its first ever 24/7 football television channel ‘FOX Football Channel’ in Malaysia, featuring more than 500 league matches from a comprehensive mix of top football leagues around the globe.
FOX Football Channel makes its debut in Malaysia through Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s (TM) IPTV service, HyppTV, on Channel 173, which is available exclusively on UniFi – TM’s high-speed broadband service, giving football fans a comprehensive mix of LIVE matches, highlights and magazine shows and football news updates around the games. The channel will feature live Spanish La Liga BBVA matches, weekly coverage of top games from Argentina’s Primera División, the Eredivisie Dutch League and the Russian Premier Liga, as well as matches featuring Manchester City and Chelsea.
In addition, the channel will also feature weekly highlight shows, as well as in-depth and comprehensive coverage from official club channels Manchester City TV and Chelsea TV. Fans can also stay up-to-date with ‘FOX Football Updates’ aired during the day with the latest football news and highlights from all over the world.
Said Mr Peter Hutton, Managing Director of ESPN STAR Sports, “We’re very happy to be part of the first ever sports pack on HyppTV and are delighted to launch our first Fox branded sports channel in Asia. Round the clock football content from the top international leagues is a great way to begin and we look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with HyppTV.”
The coverage of the La Liga BBVA will feature the world-renowned studio presentation from SKY Sports for key matches from current and former managers such as Wigan Athletic’s manager Roberto Martinez, former Liverpool and Valencia manager Rafa Benitez, ex-Real Madrid manager John Toshack, and ex-Liga BBVA stars Real Madrid’s Michel Salgado and Barcelona’s Albert Ferrer amongst others. FOX Football Channel will also provide expert analysis fans crave for on ‘La Liga Preview’ and ‘La Liga Review’ every Spanish football weekend, as well player features and colour stories on the Spanish football magazine show ‘La Liga World’.
The Dutch Eredivisie, the elite football league from where ‘Total Football’ originated, is home to one of the most exciting brands of attacking football having produced some of the most lethal strikers in the game and the most creative midfielders. FOX Football Channel will continue to enthral football purists with highly-rated talents in Ajax’s Christian Eriksen and PSV’s Kevin Strootman headlining the top player in the Eredivisie.
The Russian Premier Liga has been attracting some of the biggest global names of the sport, such as former Barcelona ace Samuel Eto’o and Real Madrid’s Lassana Diarra having joined Anzhi Makhachkala; and Zenit St Petersburg having poached Givanildo “Hulk” Souza and Axel Witsel from Porto during the transfer window. The league also features Japan’s star midfielder Keisuke Honda for CSKA Moscow and Roman Pavlyuchenko of Lokomotiv Moscow.
The Argentine Primera División is a highly competitive league highlighted by the ‘Superderby’, which is contested between Argentina’s two most popular and successful teams, Buenos Aires rivals River Plate and Boca Juniors. Some of the most recognisable names playing in the league include Juan Sebastián Verón of Estudiantes de La Plata, Juan Manuel Martínez of Corinthians, and Juan Román Riquelme of Boca Juniors.
The launch of Fox Football Channel reinforces ESS’s position as Asia’s No. 1 sports content provider with a comprehensive portfolio of differentiated multi-platform media assets covering diverse audience across 24 Asian countries.
About ESPN STAR Sports
ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world’s leading cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia’s biggest sports content provider, ESPN STAR Sports combines the strengths and resources of its parent companies – Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation Limited (STAR) – to deliver a diverse array of international and regional sports to fans across multiple platforms.
ESPN STAR Sports features a comprehensive portfolio of multimedia assets including its television networks (ESPN, STAR Sports, STAR Cricket, FOX Football Channel, ESPNEWS, ESPN HD, STAR Cricket HD), broadband network (ESPN Player), digital content services (espnstar.com, mobileESPN), and its on-ground Event Management Group with the aim to engage and entertain sports fans anytime, anyplace.
ESPN STAR Sports showcases an unparalleled variety of premier sports from around the globe featuring some of the most iconic sports events to viewers across 24 countries in Asia through its 27 television networks and 3 broadband networks, each localized to deliver differentiated programming to meet diverse needs of Asian sports fans.
