ESPN to Offer Multimedia Coverage of 2009 World Baseball Classic

ESPN will present multimedia coverage
of the 2009 World Baseball Classic including coverage across ESPN, ESPN HD,
ESPN2, ESPN2 HD, ESPN Deportes, ESPN International, ESPNEWS, ESPNEWS HD,
ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN360.com, ESPN Mobile
Properties and more.

World Baseball Classic coverage highlights include:

-- Up to 39 games via ESPN International distribution;
-- ESPN and ESPN2 combining to televise 23 games in the U.S. beginning
March 5, 2009;
-- The semifinals - Saturday, March 21, and Sunday, March 22 - and final,
Monday, March 23, from Dodger Stadium;
-- All ESPN and ESPN2 telecasts simulcast via ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile
TV;
-- ESPN Deportes, ESPN's Spanish-language network in the U.S.,
televising 23 games;
-- 23 games (ESPN and ESPN2 telecasts) available in Puerto Rico, Guam and
the U.S. Virgin Islands; 23 games available on ESPN Deportes in Puerto
Rico.
"ESPN looks forward to working with the World Baseball Classic to build
on what we started in 2006," said Len DeLuca, ESPN Senior Vice President,
Programming and Acquisitions. "We have more games for ESPN, a deeper
multimedia offering, and wider international rights. We look forward to
collaborating to make this the best global championship in March."

"ESPN has the proven ability to convey the excitement and national
pride that the World Baseball Classic generates among the players and
fans," said Bob DuPuy, Major League Baseball President and Chief Operating
Officer.

"'Baseball Spoken Here' is our motto, and so we're delighted that once
again we are partnering with ESPN to bring the world the games, and the
thrills, of the second World Baseball Classic," said Gene Orza, MLBPA Chief
Operating Officer. "No one 'speaks baseball' better than ESPN."

Additional World Baseball Classic coverage will include:

-- ESPN Radio broadcasting the semifinals and final, along with three
additional games;
-- Comprehensive highlights within SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight and
ESPNEWS;
-- Extensive ESPN.com content featuring highlights, news and information.
ESPN International will televise up to 39 games in Africa, Australia,
Europe (via NASN, which will become ESPN America on Feb. 1), Latin America,
the Middle East and New Zealand.

About World Baseball Classic, Inc.

World Baseball Classic, Inc. is a company created at the direction of
Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players
Association (MLBPA) to operate the World Baseball Classic tournament. The
tournament, which is sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation
(IBAF), is supported by MLB, the MLBPA, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB),
the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), their respective players
associations and other leagues and players from around the world.

About the World Baseball Classic

The World Baseball Classic is the premier international baseball
tournament, sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, and
features the best players in the world competing for their home countries
and territories. In March 2006, 486 players -- 235 of them from MLB
organizations -- representing 16 teams from across the globe competed in
the inaugural event. More than 740,000 fans from 48 states and 15 countries
attended games -- 16 of which sold out -- and millions more watched on TV
as Team Japan was crowned the first-ever World Baseball Classic Champion.
Broadcast by 48 media outlets in 10 languages to 205 countries and
territories around the world, the inaugural tournament had 50 official
sponsors and 21 official licensees. Media members representing 25 different
nations attended the 39 games in seven host venues across three
countries/territories. The next tournament will be held in March 2009 and
will again feature 16 of the greatest baseball-playing nations in the
world. The tournament will be held every four years thereafter, with plans
in place to expand the participant field beginning in 2013.

ESPN and MLB

ESPN is the home of the Sunday Night Baseball franchise -- the only
exclusive, national game of the week -- along with weekly Monday and
Wednesday Night Baseball telecasts and Baseball Tonight. ESPN Radio
continues to exclusively broadcast Sunday night games, along with select
games throughout the season, MLB All-Star festivities and every post-season
game through the World Series. ESPN Deportes televises all Sunday Night
Baseball games. ESPN networks televised the inaugural World Baseball
Classic in 2006.