Malaysia Airlines and ESPN STAR Sports Pact

Malaysia Airlines and ESPN STAR Sports Pact

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug. 5 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Malaysia Airlines and ESPN STAR Sports, Asia's number one sports broadcaster, today entered into a two-year broadcast sponsorship agreement. This will give Malaysia's national carrier increased visibility during the 2005/2006 and 2006/2007 seasons of the English Premier League (EPL).

The EPL Asia broadcast sponsorship further strengthens Malaysia Airlines' brand and international presence in key markets in Asia. It is also an extension of the airline's involvement in community development programmes through sports not only in Malaysia but also in countries that it operates into.

This integrated campaign that includes on-air and online entitlements around all 'live' matches and repeats on ESPN STAR Sports. It will also include other must-see football properties -- the FA Cup, FA Community Shield and all Senior and Under-21 England Team home matches.

One of the ESPN STAR Sports popular magazine programmes dedicated to the EPL called the Malaysia Airlines Football Extra, will be aired on Sunday mornings, featuring highlights from the previous day's EPL action as well as phone-ins and email reactions from Asian supporters.

Speaking at the announcement of the deal, Dato' Dr. Munir Abdul Majid, Chairman Malaysia Airlines said, "Today marks an unprecedented move for Malaysia Airlines. It signals our inaugural involvement with Asia's most watched TV sport through ESPN STAR Sports. We are able to deliver the Malaysia Airlines brand experience in fresh and exciting ways through Asia's most favourite sport.

"Reaching out to 190 million households through ESPN STAR Sports, it is in true Malaysia Airlines spirit that we bring the 'best of the world' to the 'rest of the world'. With this association we bring not one, but 20 world- class football clubs in action in 760 matches over two sizzling seasons right up till 2007."

Mr Shawn Galey, Senior Vice President, ESPN STAR Sports said, "We are delighted to welcome Malaysia Airlines on board as a broadcast sponsor of the English Premier League. We have invested a great deal to enhance and strengthen our EPL coverage and programming and this, along with our proven delivery of creative advertising solutions and extensive reach across Asia provides an excellent platform for Malaysia Airlines to take its business strategies to new heights. Not only will this broadcast sponsorship signal Malaysia Airlines's confidence in our ability to add value to their brand, it marks another chapter in an already strong partnership we've enjoyed with Malaysia Airlines over the years."

Apart from on-air 'football fever', the Malaysia Airlines EPL Campaign, themed 'Taking You There', will be launched to bring the English Premier League and football closer to society. To kick-off the start of the EPL season this Sunday, a viewing party of the much-anticipated 'Arsenal vs. Chelsea' match will be held at the Hartamas Square, Kuala Lumpur, where football fans stand to win flight tickets and tickets to a live football match in England.

ESPN STAR Sports' coverage of the EPL has scored its own goals by becoming Asia's most watched sports programming, with viewers being served more football than in England itself. As with the last season, football fans will be able to look forward to ten matches each competition week, most of them live. The rest will be on a quick turnaround and will be accompanied by a line-up of programming which covers predictions, highlights, news and information as well as pre and post-game analysis. Fans can expect up to 380 matches this season, complemented by programmes that will engage and involve viewer participation.

During the 2004/05 season, at least 80% of cable viewers in Asia tuned in each week to experience the drama and excitement of the League with another 60% more enjoying the action out of home. (Source: TNS Infosys Singapore, TAM India, Nielsen Taiwan Telescope, CSM China).

About Malaysia Airlines and Sports & Community Development:

Malaysia Airlines has also been appointed as official airline by world-renowned football clubs such as Real Madrid C.F. and Manchester United FC. Local sponsorships include the Ken Barnes Soccers Skills programme, Le Tour de Langkawi, Asian X Games, KL Equestrian Grand Prix, Formula 1 Power Boat as well as Cobra 10's. Other world-class sports sponsorship include the England Wales Cricket Board for their Test and Natwest series matches.

This year Malaysia Airlines was accorded 5 Star Airline Status and was voted World's Best Cabin Staff from 2001 to 2004.

For media enquires, please contact:

Khairul Syahar Khalid
Malaysia Airlines
Tel: +603-2165-5160
Fax: +603-2161-6007
Email: ksyahar@mas.com.my

Jeninder Gill
Arc Worlwide
Tel: +603-2073-2306
Fax: +603-2031-0995
Email: jeninder.gill@my.arcww.com

About ESPN STAR Sports:

ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world's leading cable and satellite broadcasters, ESPN Inc. and STAR. We are Asia's complete sports provider reaching over 110 million households for ESPN and over 54 million households for STAR Sports (as of July 2004). We have 13 networks -- ESPN Asia, ESPN India, ESPN Taiwan, ESPN Philippines, MBC-ESPN (Korea), ESPN Singapore, ESPN Hong Kong, Xing Kong Sports, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Taiwan, STAR Sports Singapore, STAR Sports S.E.A and STAR Sports Hong Kong. We bring the world's premier live sports and leading regional events to viewers 24 hours a day. On the ground, the ESPN STAR Sports Event Management Group manages and promotes premier sporting events around Asia, including the Asian X Games and the San Miguel Asian 9Ball Tour. On-line, espnstar.com, espnstar.com.cn and espnstar.com.tw interact with millions of users providing them with in-depth sports news, results and competitions. This multilingual, online platform which is closely integrated with ESPN and STAR Sports on air networks, has established the sites as the number one on- line sports destination in their respective markets.

For media queries, please contact:

Stephenie Vasko
ESPN STAR Sports
Tel: +65-6488-6126
Email: vaskos@espnstar.com

Cheryl Sim
ESPN STAR Sports
Tel: +65-6488-6134
Email: simc@espnstar.com

Source: Malaysia Airlines; ESPN STAR Sports

CONTACT: Khairul Syahar Khalid of Malaysia Airlines, +603-2165-5160, or
fax, +603-2161-6007, or ksyahar@mas.com.my, or Jeninder Gill of Arc Worlwide
+603-2073-2306, or fax, +603-2031-0995, or jeninder.gill@my.arcww.com, both
for Malaysia Airlines; Stephenie Vasko, +65-6488-6126, or vaskos@espnstar.com,
or Cheryl Sim, +65-6488-6134, or simc@espnstar.com, both for ESPN STAR Sports

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