Tiscali introduces ESPN to Tiscali TV bringing exclusive football coverage to more UK homes

To coincide with the start of the Premier League, Tiscali TV today announced that ESPN and ESPN America would be added to its expanding Tiscali TV service.  Available from today, Tiscali TV customers will be able to sign up to the new channels for just one pence until the end of September, increasing to £9.99 per month thereafter.

ESPN UK will show 46 exclusive live Barclays Premier League matches and 30 Clydesdale Bank matches this season, and Tiscali customers will now be able to follow their favourite teams as they play to win one of the most fiercely fought leagues in the world. Whatever your team, ESPN and Tiscali TV will bring the games direct to your living room.

Customers will also be able to watch a wide range of additional football coverage on ESPN, including Live Serie A, German Bundesliga, Dutch Eredivisie, Portuguese Liga, Russian Premier League and Major League Soccer from the US.  Other sports content includes Ultimate Fighting Championship, Live Top 14 Orange French Rugby Union, Australian Rules Football and additional live and exclusive sports coverage from around the world.

ESPN America has something for all sports fans that follow the major sports in the US. Viewers will be able to tune into ESPN America for all the latest from Major League Baseball (MLB), National Hockey League (NHL), NCAA College Football and NCAA College Basketball.

Hugh Williams, director of programming and content at Tiscali UK, said:  “We’re delighted to have ESPN and ESPN America on board and the channels are an excellent boost to our vast range of movies and popular TV series already available to customers.  We have a great offer and with the Barclays Premier League starting tomorrow the deal comes just in time to make sure that our customers don’t miss a single goal, save or dive this season.”

Lynne Frank, Managing Director for ESPN in Europe, Middle East and Africa said: “We are delighted to team with Tiscali to offer their customers ESPN’s exciting range of Barclays Premier League football, Clydesdale Bank Premier League and the best in international sports on ESPN. We’re also pleased that ESPN America, which brings sports fans great live sporting action from North America, will be available to Tiscali customers for the first time”.

About Tiscali

Tiscali UK, part of the TalkTalk Group, was launched in July, 2001 following the acquisitions of Liberty Surf, World Online and LineOne.  Tiscali UK also acquired Tiny and Gateway ISPs ands more recently Video Networks Limited in 2006 and the Pipex broadband and telephone business in September 2007.

The company provides broadband, dialup, telephone and TV services in the UK.

One of the most comprehensive sites on the web, Tiscali's portal www.tiscali.co.uk provides 25 channels and over 55,000 pages of constantly updated information, resources and entertainment content. The site receives over 6.7 million unique visitors per month, a total of 314 million page views.  The site gives access to online services from shopping to sport and money to entertainment and a Members Area with exclusive content and offers.

Visit the Tiscali Press Centre at www.tiscali.co.uk/press

About ESPN

Based in Bristol, Conn., ESPN, Inc. is the world’s leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of over 50 multimedia sports assets.  ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.  The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN. 

ESPN International has grown to include ownership – in whole or in part – of over 45 television networks outside of the United States, as well as a variety of brand extension businesses, which allow ESPN to reach fans in 200 countries and territories.  In the UK, ESPN now includes a portfolio of television and digital brands including ESPN Classic, ESPN America, ESPNcricinfo.com, ESPNscrum.com, ESPNsoccernet.com, ESPN360,com and Racing-live.com.

On 22 June, ESPN was awarded the exclusive rights to 46 Live Barclays Premier League matches in the 2009-10 Season and 23 matches a season from 2010-2013.  ESPN has also been awarded exclusive live rights to Clydesdale Bank Premier League games for the next five seasons, showing 30 live games each season across the UK and Ireland, starting with the 2009-10 campaign this August and games from the German, Dutch, Russian and Portuguese national football leagues.  ESPN has also secured multiyear UK and Ireland rights to air the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Top 14 Orange (French Rugby Championship) and the Australian Football League (AFL). 

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