NEW YORK: EchoStar Communications, through its Dish Network satellite TV service is offering the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup on a Pay-Per-View.

Coverage of the ICC World Cup -- third largest sporting event in the world after the Olympics and World Cup Football -- begins March 5 with four warm-up matches, followed by the opening ceremony on March 11 and the first match on March 13. The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup is available to Dish Network customers for $199.95.

The announcement was made at a crowded press conference organized by Dish Network, at the Barbados Consulate in New York on Thursday Feb 22 -- an almost festive event with the media being welcomed to traditional Caribbean drumbeats and colorfully dressed women offering garlands.

"This year marks Dish Network's tenth anniversary for delivering cricket to our subscribers," stated Michael Kelly, Executive Vice President of Dish Network. "We continue to look for new ways to bring the best of cricket to passionate fans, and we are pleased to be able to offer the most complete coverage of the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup."

This is the fourth time that Dish Network is bringing the Cricket World Cup to cricket enthusiasts in the US. Talking about the coverage, Kelly said that thanks to being hosted in the West Indies, the World Cup matches this year can be viewed live during daytime hours, as it happens in the same time zone. Those unable to watch the matches on TV may watch them live on their computers via broadband.

During the promotional events, Dish Network is also giving away nearly 400 tickets to the World Cup to its subscribers.

Giving an insight into the days when he first introduced cricket to American television viewers, Kelly said, "When we first offered cricket pay-per-view we had only 66 subscribers and Dish Network earned a mere $360 dollars from that after spending nearly $50,000 in licensing the broadcast rights." Today those numbers have grown phenomenally.

Explaining the choice of the venue for the press conference, Kelly said the grand finals of the 2007 World Cup series will be played on April 28 in Barbados, and hence it was only fitting that their announcement for the broadcasts be made from the Barbados Consulate.

A beaming Barbados Consul General, Jessica C. Olde, told the media, "You will forgive any apparent nationalistic bias when I say that EchoStar could not have chosen a better location to make this important announcement. Barbadians have always regarded Barbados as the Mecca of cricket in the Caribbean. This is due to the fact that Kensington Oval has hosted many historic matches over the years including being the first West Indian ground to host an English touring team in 1895. Other historic firsts include being the venue of the first match between a West Indies combined team and a MCC side in the Caribbean in 1911, and the scene of the first Test century by a West Indian (Clifford Roach in 1930)."

Talking about the tourism potential for the Caribbean because of the Cricket World Cup, Olde said that as Caribbean persons who usually lament the fact that the international media is primary concerned with covering tragic events such as natural disasters, coups and social unrest, this (cricketing) event will be profiling the region in a more positive light, "meaning the negative stereotypical views of the Caribbean can be dispensed with".

Television coverage of this mega event for American audiences, Olde said, would provide a useful platform on which to build the expansion of the game of international cricket, which can be achieved with the help of the US, its sporting infrastructure, sports enthusiasts, cutting edge technology and financial resources.

Coverage of the World Cup includes live matches and replays, highlights and news. Additionally, Dish Network's interactive (iTV) application will provide video switching between two match feeds, voting, background information on teams and players, and live scores as well as news and opinions.

Kelly said that Dish Network is already preparing to offer 1000 days more of cricket soon after the World Cup to ensure that its cricket viewing subscribers do not switch to competing service providers.

A hardcore cricket fan himself, Kelly said in future he would love to see the World Cup Cricket being held in the US.