New Delhi, Oct 30: ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) has secured the exclusive broadcast rights for all Football Association (FA) Cup matches, the FA Community Shield and all Senior and Under-21 England team home matches for the next six years until 2018 for the South Asia Region including India.

The multimedia platform deal, which allows the content to be made available across television, internet and mobile, was made with international media rights company MP & Silva.

Starting from Nov 3, ESS will begin broadcast of the first round of matches all the way up to the Final in May next year. Chelsea are currently the holders of the FA Cup but are likely to be challenged for the prestigious title by the other Premier League teams including Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City, among others.

This latest agreement further strengthens ESS' network as truly being the 'Home of Football' for the South Asia region including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal, with an unbeatable list of the biggest football properties including the Barclays Premier League, the Spanish Liga BBVA as well as the Italian Serie A, whose exclusive broadcast rights were recently secured from MP & Silva.

"Having a season round offering of football is at the heart of our dominance of the Indian sports market and the unique stories that the FA Cup creates every year is a very welcome part of our line-up. The FA Cup was seen in India long before the Premier League and the other European leagues, and we're very proud to be able to continue the tradition," said Peter Hutton, Managing Director, ESPN STAR Sports.

"ESPN STAR Sports has a stellar track record for growing the popularity of English football in Asia and we look forward to extending this strong relationship in the coming years," said Stuart Turner, The FA's Group Commercial Director.

Andrea Radrizzani, Group CEO, MP & Silva, added, "The FA Cup is another eagerly awaited football event on every football fan's calendar, and we're glad to see that it's being broadcast by ESPN STAR Sports, as part of the network's comprehensive stable of key football properties."

PTI