Champions Trophy 2013 to reach 1.5 billion viewers

Dubai: The live broadcast of the ICC Champions Trophy commencing next week will reach as many as 1.5 billion viewers across 180 territories around the globe.

The ICC Champions Trophy 2013 will showcase the world`s top-eight ODI teams which will compete against each other in the two weeks long tournament. The competition will be held in England and Wales from June 6-23. "For those people around the world who can`t be in England and Wales in person this June, STAR Sports` distribution efforts have ensured that 1.5 billion people across the globe can view every single ODI of the tournament from the comfort of their own home," ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said. The live world feed broadcast will feature 16 commentators including Ramiz Raja, Sanjay Manjrekar, Sourav Ganguly, Sunil Gavaskar, Wasim Akram, and Harsha Bhogle among international commentators. "I`m really looking forward to being part of the Star Sports commentary team for the ICC Champions Trophy for what I`m sure will be top class coverage of the event. It`s great to have the best eight teams in the world here in England and Wales. The atmosphere will be electric," former England skipper Nasser Hussain said. PTI