ESPN International has strengthened its online cricket presence by acquiring Cricinfo.com with Wisden.

"Growing our business in the online world is vital for us to serve sports fans," said Russell Wolff, managing director of ESPN International. "Cricinfo is a tremendous property with a great fan base and it will be a strong addition to ESPN."

Explaining the decision, Mark Getty, director of the Wisden Group, said: "Cricinfo has developed into a significant cricket brand in its own right, combining huge global popularity with strong commercial success. ESPN is a major sports broadcaster and international rights holder and will provide the perfect environment for Cricinfo to further realise its enormous potential."

The Wisden Group, Getty said, would continue to focus on its Hawk-Eye sports technology business in cricket, tennis and a growing range of other sports.

"We have had a strong working relationship with ESPN for a number of years," Tom Gleeson, Cricinfo's managing director, said, "and we know how successful they are in providing innovative online sports content. We look forward to drawing on ESPN's expertise in sports marketing and digital media."

CricInfo's Editor Sambit Bal was positive with the acquisition but emphasised the fact the core of the website will remain its content. "We will have access to better technology and design facilities, our multimedia capabilities will be enhanced and, who knows, some day there might even be Cricinfo TV. On the Internet, you are limited only by your imagination. We will continue dreaming."

"But I can tell you with a degree of assurance what will not change. To start with, Cricinfo will not lose its name, nor its voice. And it will remain committed to covering every international cricket match live and with the same journalistic rigour and integrity that you have come to expect from us. Whatever matters to cricket, we will cover it; and whatever threatens cricket, we will raise our voice against it."

In India, ESPN STAR has recently launched a cricket TV channel on the back of huge cricket TV right deals. The channel known as ESPN STAR Cricket launches this month.

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ESPN to launch cricket-only channel in India