ESPN bolsters Asian team with new appointments

International sports broadcaster ESPN has hired Joyee Biswas as its new head of Southeast Asia, along with expanding Kelly Cooke’s role to take on the position of general manager of ESPN North Asia.

Biswas (pictured) joins ESPN from fellow international sports broadcaster Eleven Sports Network, where he served as managing director in Asia.

Biswas will be based in ESPN’s offices in Singapore and report to Mike Morrison, vice-president and managing director of ESPN APAC, who is based in Shanghai.

Based in Hong Kong, Cooke’s new role will see her help to manage ESPN’s long-term partnership with Chinese internet company Tencent, as well as seeking to grow ESPN’s presence in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The new roles for Biswas and Cooke are part of a number of personnel appointments ESPN has made to aid its Asian growth.

“These moves ensure that we have an outstanding and innovative ESPN leadership team in place to continue our growth in the APAC region,” Morrison said, according to the IndianTelevision website.

“It’s an exciting time for ESPN in the region, with ground-breaking collaborations in China and India, a thriving multimedia business in Australia and New Zealand, further expansion and localisation of the world’s leading digital sports business and continued exploration of new business opportunities in Southeast and North Asia.”