MUMBAI: Russell Wolff has been promoted to ESPN International executive VP and MD.

The announcement was made by ESPN and ABC Sports president George Bodenheimer.

Wolff will continue to oversee all of ESPN's businesses outside the US. These include television, radio, print, internet, wireless, consumer products, and event management. He and his team from ESPN International will work closely with ESPN's domestic groups to grow the ESPN brand abroad by launching new businesses and expanding existing franchises.

Under Wolff's stewardship, ESPN International has evolved to include ownership, in whole or in part, of 30 television networks, as well as radio and internet businesses, which together extend the ESPN brand to more than 190 countries and territories. In addition, ESPN's flagship programme SportsCenter has been developed into a franchise that now includes local editions for viewers in India, Canada, Brazil among other countries.

Recently, Wolff oversaw the launch of a variety of ancillary international businesses including ESPN The Magazine in China, ESPN and X Games-branded consumer products in Japan, and X Games events in Latin America and Asia