MUMBAI: It?s official. The Home Ministry has finally given clearance to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to invite Pakistan for a series, thereby setting the stage for cricket?s biggest rivalry to unfold in December.

For Star India, this could be a bonanza it had been waiting for as a rivalry between the two countries has high revenue value. The Rupert Murdoch company, which has secured the media rights for international cricket played in India, needs to shell out Rs 322.5 million per match for the five match series which includes three ODIs and two T20s. As per contract with BCCI, Star will pay Rs 322.5 million per match for the first two years till 2014 while for the next four years it will pay a whopping Rs 432 million till 2018.

With government clearance in hand, the BCCI will now be assured of increased earnings from broadcast rights as the series was not part of the Future Tours Programme finalised by the International Cricket Council.

The event will be broadcast on ESPN Star Sports which is a sister concern of Star India after parent company decided to take control of sports broadcasting joint-venture by acquiring Disney-owned ESPN?s 50 per cent stake.

For ESS, it will be three back-to-back blockbuster cricket properties which includes India-England, India-Pakistan and India-Australia next year.

The series is likely to be played between 25 December-7 January at Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bangalore, New Delhi and Kolkata. The series will be scheduled between the split tour of India and England involving four Tests, five ODIs and two T20 internationals.

The English team will play the Tests and T20s from 15 November-22 December before going on a Christmas break only to return for a five match ODI series beginning 11 January.

The clearance from Home Ministry will mark the resumption of cricketing ties which have been on a standstill ever since the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. The two countries last played a series in 2007-08 when Pakistan toured India for three match Test matches and five ODIs.

The two teams have faced each other only in multi-team tournmanents which includes the 2011 ICC World Cup and the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup.

MUMBAI: The Asian Le Mans Series has signed ESPN Star Sports and Eurosport Asia Pacific as broadcast partners for the Asian sports car racing endurance series created by the Automobile Club de l‘Ouest (ACO).

ESS will broadcast highlights of the events across its networks covering television, internet and mobile platforms after each race. The deal includes VOD rights and covers ESPN STAR Sports‘ footprint of 24 countries in Asia.

The division of Eurosport called Eurosport Asia-Pacific, which has a particularly developed network on the Asian continent, will show the 2013 Asian Le Mans Series in 17 countries: South Korea, Taiwan, Mongolia, Hong-Kong, The Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Australia.

Not only will Eurosport broadcast six 26-minute magazines after each of the six events on the calendar, but it is also studying the possibility of broadcasting some of the races live or slightly delayed. The full programme of live broadcasts will be announced shortly.

S2M Executive Director and promoter of the Asian Le Mans Series Mark Thomas said, "All motor racing fans will be able to follow this rapidly expanding championship, and our teams and partners will benefit from fallout in keeping with their investments. It will also enable the Automobile Club de l‘Ouest to pass on the message to the greatest number of people in Asia about Le Mans-type races, the high level of involvement they require and the technical and sporting values on which they‘re based."

In the near future other agreements with additional television networks will also be announced.

In 2013, the Asian Le Mans Championship will consist of six three-hour events open to the following categories: LM P2, Formula Le Mans, LM GTE, FIA GT3/Super GT 300 and GTC.

Three rounds will be held in China (Zhuhai, Shanghai, Ordos) and the other three in South Korea (Autopia, 4 August), Japan (Mount Fuji, 21 September) and Indonesia (Sentul, 8 December).

The full Asian Le Mans Series calendar will be announced at the FIA World Endurance Championship round in China (25-28 October) of which the Automobile Club de l‘Ouest is the promoter and organiser.

MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports has launched its first ever round the clock 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‘s first IPTV service HyppTV Channel 173, which is available exclusively on UniFi, giving football fans a comprehensive mix of live matches, highlights and magazine shows and football news updates around the games.

ESPN Star Sports MD Peter Hutton said, "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 channel will feature live Spanish La Liga BBVA matches, weekly coverage of top games from Argentina‘s Primera Divisi?n, 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.

MUMBAI: ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) has announced that former Australian spin bowler Shane Warne has signed on as a part of its commentary, presentation and analysis team for a period of three years.

Known for his forthright and honest opinions and a superb cricket brain, cricket fans can look forward to Warne?s analysis of the game starting with the England tour of India later this year in addition to Australia?s upcoming tour of India. The broadcaster says that having mastered the art of all formats of the game at the highest level, and his experience playing with and against some of the biggest names in modern day cricket, Warne?s unique insights will add immense value to ESS?s presentation of cricket.

Warne will also be actively involved in promoting Cricket related broadcast on ESPN Star Sports.

Warne for Australia has claimed over 1,000 wickets in Tests and One-day Internationals. In the new Twenty20 format of the game, Warne showed his ability as a strategist and as an inspiring leader when he led Rajasthan Royals to victory in the first edition of Indian Premier League.

ESS MD Peter Hutton said, "We?re delighted to add one of the legends of the game to our commentary team. Following on from the work with Kevin Pietersen it shows our intention to add the best international commentators to Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and the rest of our regular Indian team."

ESS senior VP production Huw Bevan said, "Warne?s unique experience and no-holds-barred insights will add immense value to ESS?s presentation of cricket. Fans in India would indeed be familiar with his achievements at the international level as well as his heroics for Rajasthan Royals, and we?re delighted to have him as part of our comprehensive cricket coverage."

MUMBAI: Rhiti Sports has roped in former ESPN Star Sports director finance and operations Sanjay Agrawal as the chief operating officer of the sports management agency as it seeks to become the clear cut leader in the space through aggressive growth.

Rhiti Sports has consolidated its fast growing verticals under a centralised structure under Agrawal.

Prior to Rhiti Sports, Agarwal held senior operations and finance roles in ESPN Star Sports for 11 years. Post his ESS stint, he served as the Regional Business Controller for telecom giant Nokia till September 2012.

Sanjay?s entry into Rhiti Sports coincides with the company?s growth into different verticals within sports such as Superbike Racing and Fitness Centres among others.

The core talent management business is also growing with the addition of Saina Nehwal to the portfolio which has Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the biggest client.

Rhiti had signed Nehwal for a three-year deal valued at Rs 400 million. A year before, it had its biggest catch in Dhoni who signed a three-year deal with the company for Rs 2.1 billion.