MoneyGram partners with CricketFreeq for "Cricket for Peace' initiative

The unique and exclusive "Cricket for Peace' programme of MoneyGram International (NYSE: MGI), a leading global money transfer company, will now be promoted on CricketFreeq.com, India's first Internet radio platform for cricket. As part of the tie-up, CricketFreeq will promote bands from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka that entered into the "Cricket for Peace' contest on CricketFreeq.com during live audio commentary of World Cup matches. In addition, cricket fans from around the world will get a chance to present their analysis of World Cup matches as guest commentators on CricketFreeq.com.

CricketFreeq.com will bring MoneyGram's Cricket for Peace program closer to the global audiences of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup. Cricket fans residing in the Americas, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific can take part in the contest by answering cricket trivia on MoneyGram's "Cricket for Peace' microsite, www.moneygram.com/cricketforpeace. Nine winners, on nine separate matches, will present their match analysis live to CricketFreeq's expert commentators Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Sir Clive Lloyd.

As a part of the Cricket for Peace program, select musicians from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be interviewed live in the pre-match preview by Dev, Gavaskar and Sir Lloyd. The bands' compositions for "Cricket for Peace' will also be played during the interview.

Harsh Lambah, MoneyGram regional director South Asia, commented, "There's nothing better than cricket and music in reaching out to the masses in the Indian subcontinent. What's more, the tie-up with CricketFreeq gives the programme a fantastic global reach among cricket-loving fans living overseas. Aligning "Cricket for Peace' with CricketFreeq Internet radio is a win-win situation."

Recently launched, CricketFreeq aims to create a community of more than 20 million cricket fans spread across the world and focuses on engaging with them by using online and mobile communication channels. It carries live coverage of all ICC tournaments including the ongoing Cricket World Cup.

Amit Tripathi, Director, CricketFreeq said, "CricketFreeq is a social community platform focused purely on bringing together cricket enthusiasts from the world over to enjoy live cricket and engage in a socially-powered activities such as prediction games on FaceBook and mobile networks, virtual cricketing games and trivia. We're happy to bring MoneyGram's "Cricket for Peace' programme to CricketFreeq as it is in line with our philosophy of innovative fun in cricket."

With the "Cricket for Peace' programme, MoneyGram is leveraging its partnership with the ICC for the ICC World Cup 2011 across South Asian markets. The programme is designed as a multi-country, multi-lingual consumer initiative targeting nine cities in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.

Channel 2 Group, the promoter of CricketFreeq, is the exclusive radio broadcast rights owner for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and some of the world's leading sports properties including Barclays English Premier League Football, The Dutch League, World Cup Rugby, Wimbledon and Australian Open Tennis, US Open and major Professional Golf Tours such as the U.S. PGA, Masters and Ryder Cup, among others.