Fm Derana wins official rights for ICC World Cup Broadcast

FM Derana announced today that it has been selected as the official radio broadcasting channel for the prestigious ICC World Cup 2011 which will kick off on the 19th of February in the sub continent. This is the first time in Sri Lanka that a private Radio station has won exclusive rights to broadcast a cricket world cup, which was previously dominated by the national broadcasting service of the country. The ICC World Cup is the biggest cricketing event in the world and this year it will be hosted jointly by the subcontinent cricketing giants India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

  “Winning these exclusive rights by competing with other major players in the radio broadcasting market is indeed a proud feat for us as we are one of the youngest channels in Sri Lanka - which makes the achievement even more unique for the station,” stated Madhawa Madawala, Executive Director/COO - Derana. “We are indeed excited about having the opportunity to bring ball-by-ball commentaries on one of the biggest sporting events yet to our loyal listeners in Sri Lanka.”

Under the sole rights, commentaries of all the matches that will be played in Sri Lanka including the quarterfinals, semi finals and grand finals will be broadcasted live from the play grounds. Commentaries in all three languages will be given by a panel of expert commentators – comprising the likes of Premasara Epesinghe, Palitha Perera, Bandula Saman Wathuregama, Kalum Srimal, Ranil Abeynaike, Roshan Abeysinghe, Lucian Wijesinghe, M. M. Raj and Mohammed Rimzi etc. along with special guest speakers who will be featured from time to time during the commentary. Other unique entertainment features during the live broadcasts will also include prizes which will be given away as a result of various on air promotions – all of which promises to deliver an innovative and entertaining radio presentation to all Sri Lankan radio listeners.

Extending the promise of ‘Embracing novelty while upholding values’ to the Sri Lankan radio industry, FM Derana is a Sinhala language FM radio channel which was launched on 29th of March 2009, and is designed to appeal to a broad cross-section of listeners - revolutionising the media landscape with its simple yet highly entertaining format. Already FM Derana has created history within this short period of time – and making no compromises, FM Derana operates a fully digital studio employing the best and latest technology available to broadcasters. The channel is being broadcasted island wide from its very inception - with five strategically situated base stations - Western province on 94.5fm, Southern Province on 102.3fm, Central Province on 99.2fm, Uva Province on 92.4fm, Wayamba & North Central Provinces on 92.4fm and Magal Kanda on 94.7fm - beaming clear and consistent signals across the country. The station will also launch 2 new frequencies in the North, - 89.8fm in Jaffna and 93.3fm in Vavuniya, in time for the World Cup.