MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports, the exclusive Asian rights holder for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) domestic and home international matches, has entered into an agreement with Al Jazeera Sport for the television broadcast rights of the Friends Life Twenty20 2012.

The deal marks a significant landmark for cricket broadcasting in the Middle East and North Africa with Al Jazeera Sport televising cricket for the first time ever with live coverage of 25 matches from ECB?s domestic Twenty20 league scheduled to take place from 12 June to 25 August.

Covering terrestrial, cable and satellite television rights, the collaboration between Asian sports content provider and the biggest sport broadcaster in the Pan-Arab & Mena region will bring the exciting action from the Friends Life Twenty20 available to numerous cricket fans in the region.

ESS SVP corporate development & cricket rights Anurag Dahiya said, ?We are very pleased with the strong interest shown by Al Jazeera Sports in cricket. These arrangements promise to extend the popularity and reach of ECB?s events with the aim of raising the profile of the sport in the region, building on from last year?s highly successful ICC Cricket World Cup.?

ESPN Star Sports licenses ECB broadcast rights throughout North Africa and the Middle East along with various other parts of Asia. In addition, ESS? international cricket syndication business includes global distribution of marquee properties such as International Cricket Council events & Champions League T20 as well as Cricket Australia?s events (in Asia and North Africa).

ESS had recently renewed its media rights deal with ECB for Asian market after committing to pay a premium of $200 million for the seven year deal that runs till 2019.