Sachin Tendulkar has signed a contract with London-based television network ESPN-Star Sports to become a TV presenter, ESPN said. Though the contract fee was a "commercial secret," India's Hindustan Times, quoting unidentified sources, said the deal was worth 120 million rupees (2.5 million dollars). Tendulkar's exclusive contract to "front the television channel" is comparable to the multi-million dollar tie-up between the golfer Tiger Woods and Disney, the Times of India said.

Manu Sawhney, managing director of ESPN Software India, told the Times of India that Tendulkar would launch his career as TV presenter within a year. His TV debut would be seen in nearly 50 countries, including throughout South Asia and the Gulf region, Sawhney said. ESPN-Star currently reaches around 28 million Indian households.

The ESPN-Star Sports website quoted Tendulkar as saying that he was "looking forward" to his partnership with the sports channel. Tendulkar, who renewed a five-year contract with WorldTel last year which was worth approximately 20 million dollars, currently endorses Adidas, Visa, Pepsi, Fiat and a number of Indian brands.

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