ESPN Star Sports has appointed Shah Rukh Khan as the new face for the Nokia Champions League Twenty20 (NCL T20). With Nokia replacing Airtel as the title sponsor for the third edition of the Champions League Twenty20 this year, a new campaign — Nokia Ke Asli Champion — has also been unleashed. Apart from Nokia as the title sponsor, the on-air sponsors include Toshiba, Coca Cola, Ambuja Cements, Next retail and Digiworld.
ESPN STAR Sports will air the tournament in more than 174 countries and in 18 international languages across the world.
In India, all the 29 matches will be broadcast live on STAR Cricket and STAR Cricket HD. ESPN will carry all 23 matches of the main tournament with Hindi commentary.
The 2010 edition was watched by 90 million viewers as compared to 74.6 million in 2009.
Mr Aloke Malik, Managing Director, ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd, said, “Shah Rukh Khan's participation is not limited to being the public face of NCL T20. As a team owner, he will be looking forward to Kolkata Knight Riders qualifying for the main edition of the tournament.”