ESPN Star Sports loses GC to rights company

ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has been left looking for a new associate general counsel after European sports rights company Sportfive poached Ed Floydd to head its legal team.

Floydd left the ESS base in Singapore to move to the Sportfive headquarters in Geneva shortly after completing the media rights deal between ESS and the International Cricket Council.

Herbert Smith senior associate Graham Preston has filled the gap at ESS after moving there on secondment. Preston was previously on secondment to Hutchison Telecom in Indonesia, where he was interim general counsel.

Sportfive recently purchased the exclusive television rights for the Uefa Euro 2008 football tournament.

The company also handles the European rights for Italy's Serie A, the French Football Federation and the Asian broadcasting rights for Spain's Primera Division.