generic helvetica, decease sans-serif;”>The Premier League has awarded the live audio visual broadcast rights to Cable Thai Holdings for seasons 2013-16 in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.

Premier League Chief Executive, Richard Scudamore, said: “We are extremely pleased to have a new partner in Cable Thai Holdings (CTH) in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. CTH has an excellent reputation as a high quality broadcaster and we look forward to working with them as they deliver a premium offering that will showcase the Barclays Premier League to our fans in all three countries.”

CTH Chairman Wichai Tongtang said, “Our win of the Barclays Premier League rights is a win for CTH and also all the people of Thailand all over the Kingdom. With our proposed delivery model and technology we aim to make the BPL accessible to all walks of life in Thailand in an affordable and engaging manner. The Barclays Premier League is the most exciting, popular and fervently supported football league in the world today and we are thus proud to be partners with the BPL.”

Blackpool’s chairman Karl Oyston has attempted to defend paying £11m to his father Owen Oyston, allergist who is also the club’s majority shareholder, for being a director in the season Blackpool were relegated from the Premier League.

The story was first reported by the Mail on Sunday and has led to almost unanimous criticism of the Oystons by fans of the club, politicians, supporters’ organisations and, privately or via associates, by players.

The £11m sum equates to earnings of £211,538 a week and as such put Owen Oyston among the highest earners in world football in 2010-11, a season that ended with Blackpool’s return to the Championship.

The £11m – paid to Zabaxe Ltd, one of many companies owned by Owen Oyston – was not for the repayment of any specific loan or investment in Blackpool, a club he has owned since 1987. It was a straight cash payment for being a director for a year.

An interview with Karl Oyston in The Gazette newspaper in Blackpool has been published today. For now it is only available in full to those who buy the paper, although it will be online in full later. Extracts and summaries are already appearing on message boards.

The paper suggests Karl Oyston arguing his dad is a genuine fan who saved the club in 1987, who has lent money to keep it running, and who doesn’t deserve criticism now.

Karl Oyston said: “Any negatives about the management [of the club], the prudent stance, the slow pace of change, whatever, should be aimed at me and not my dad.”

Oyston Jnr gives no details of his family’s net financial contribution to the club, and intimates that the £11m is better off in the hands of his father than being spent on players and agents.

He says the £11m “isn’t gone like it would be in the pockets of a player or an agent.”

A minority of fans have argued in the past 24 hours that as Owen Oyston owns the club and has helped to sustain it since the late 1980s, he is entitled to do what he pleases with record earnings amassed from the Premier League season.

Without detailed access to every transaction in the past 25 years, it is impossible to know what the Oystons net contribution has been in that time.

However, taking reported figures relating to transfer dealings over that period, early estimations are that the club has made a net profit from transfers of around £6.5m between 1987 and now.

And looking at headline club profits and losses each year – which have tended to be mostly losses in the hundreds of thousands per year, and occasional profits – the club lost around £8m in normal trading in the Oyston era up to 2008-09.

In other words, factoring in trading losses and transfer profits, it doesn’t appear there has been net investment of many millions over the period, and perhaps none at all, net.

The accounts for Blackpool’s parent company Segesta for 2010-11 show details of grants given to the club to improve facilities, including £2,450,000 from the Football Stadia Improvement Fund, which is being amortised over a long period from 2002.

In the year 2009-10, Blackpool posted a loss of £6.7m in the promotion season (mostly bonuses, paid on the basis of the Premier League bonanza ahead), and then posted £20.9m profits for the 2010-11 season, even after the £11m payment to Owen Oyston.

On top of the £11m in 2010-11, it seems that Owen Oyston has also been paid £6.5m by Blackpool FC for some land he bought from the club for £650,000 some years ago.

Of this £6.5m, a sum of £4,899,000 was paid by the club to Oyston in the 2010-11 financial year, and the balance by 30 August 2011.

Crudely, and not taking into account any management or development costs, it seems Oyston has made just shy of £6m profit from Blackpool FC on that land deal. Together with his £11m, that makes £17m from the relegation year to Oyston.

A wide range of other Oyston companies do business with Blackpool and the club’s parent company, Segesta, and a variety of payments pass back and forwards between them.

Karl Oyston tells The Gazette that he is used to criticism of himself and can handle it but that criticism of his father is “completely misplaced.”

by Ismail Uddin

ESPN has agreed a 12-year deal to broadcast the Orange Bowl.

The Atlantic Coast Conference and the Orange Bowl Committee also revealed that the Discover Orange Bowl will annually feature the ACC Champion against an opponent from the Big Ten Conference, Southeastern Conference or University of Notre Dame for the same period that begins following the 2014 season.

The historic bowl game will either be played in an exclusive prime-time window New Year’s Eve or on New Year’s Day, pending the schedule of the new collegiate postseason playoff games.

The selection of the opponent will be based on the guiding principle of securing the highest-ranked team in the final standings available from the Big Ten, SEC or Notre Dame, but will also utilize criteria that shares the minimum appearance standards as agreed upon by all parties. The standards include at least three guaranteed appearances over the 12 years for both the Big Ten and the SEC and a maximum of two with no minimum for Notre Dame.

“We are pleased to have finalized our long-term partnership which brings tremendous exposure and value to the ACC and our member institutions,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “The Discover Orange Bowl has a rich history of prestige and featuring our teams against opponents from the Big Ten, SEC and potentially Notre Dame provides attractive matchups year in and year out. The opportunity to partner with ESPN to showcase the game on either New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day provides us with a terrific way for fans to ring in the New Year in South Florida.”

“The Orange Bowl Committee is truly excited about the completion of our bowl matchup with the ACC Champion by solidifying that their opponent will be from either the Big Ten, SEC or Notre Dame, at a special time of year in beautiful South Florida. Undoubtedly this arrangement will provide tremendous national visibility and generate significant economic impact to the South Florida Community,” said O. Ford Gibson, Orange Bowl Committee president and chair. “The Orange Bowl values our special partnership with the Atlantic Coast Conference, as we are looking forward to strengthening our already deep relationships with the Big Ten, SEC and Notre Dame.”

“Our continued media partnership with ESPN is of great importance to the Discover Orange Bowl property,” said Eric Poms, Orange Bowl Committee chief executive officer. “The worldwide leader in sports brings the optimal platform to annually showcase one of college football’s great traditions.”

“A game pitting the ACC champion against the SEC, Big Ten or Notre Dame ensures a great match up for sports fans,” said John Skipper, ESPN President. “The Orange Bowl has a great history and we are very proud to be part of extending that into the next decade.”

“We are very excited to reach agreement with the ACC to provide a highly regarded football opponent at the Orange Bowl following select seasons from 2014-2026,” said Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany.  “The ACC plays great college football and our fans have a deep respect for the historic Orange Bowl tradition.  If previous Orange Bowl appearances are any indicator, I am confident that our fans will travel in great numbers to South Florida; and that those who can’t be there in person, will tune in to ESPN to watch these exciting postseason contests.”

“The tradition of the SEC playing in the Orange Bowl began over 75 years ago and since that time we have played in 39 Orange Bowls,” said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. “We are pleased to renew this long standing relationship with the Orange Bowl and appreciate having the opportunity to compete in front of a national audience on ESPN against the ACC.”

The Discover Orange Bowl has been the home of the ACC Champion since 2006 and in the first seven years of partnership, five different ACC teams have competed. Throughout the 78-year history, nine of the current ACC institutions have played in at least one Orange Bowl.

Die Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH erhält ab dem 1. September 2012 eine neue Organisationsstruktur und gründet in diesem Zusammenhang eine Tochterfirma zur Produktion von Medien-Inhalten.

Mit Gründung des neuen Unternehmens trägt die DFL den zunehmenden technischen und gestalterischen Anforderungen mit Blick auf die Erstellung von Medien-Inhalten insbesondere für internationale Medienpartner, allergy aber auch für ligaeigene Plattformen Rechnung. Die neue 100-prozentige DFL-Tochter mit Sitz in Köln wird im Auftrag der DFL die redaktionelle Erstellung medialer Inhalte sowie deren Ausspielung über unterschiedliche Technologien operativ umsetzen. Auch die technische Realisierung der ligaeigenen Plattformen wie bundesliga.de und der zur neuen Saison startenden Website bundesliga.com sowie der Betrieb des Deutschen Fußball-Archivs gehören zu den Aufgaben der neuen Einheit.

Die Geschäftsführung übernimmt Tom Bender, recipe der mit Wirkung zum 1. September 2012 von der DFL an die Spitze der neuen Einheit wechselt und damit seine Tätigkeit in der DFL-Geschäftsführung sowie im Ligavorstand beendet.

Die Struktur der DFL sieht künftig nur noch zwei statt wie bisher drei Geschäftsbereiche vor. Der Verantwortungsbereich des Vorsitzenden der Geschäftsführung umfasst neben den Direktionen „Finanzen”, „Recht” und „Kommunikation und Werbung” auch die neuen Aufgabenfelder „Produktmanagement und Strategisches Marketing” sowie „Public Affairs und Regulierung”. Die Neuschaffung dieser beiden Direktionen resultiert aus den sowohl national als auch international steigenden Anforderungen an die Medienvermarktung sowie den zunehmenden Aufgaben in Bezug auf politische und regulatorische Rahmenbedingungen.

Der Geschäftsführungsbereich Spielbetrieb umfasst wie bisher die Direktionen „Spielbetrieb” und „Lizenzierung” sowie die Aufgabenbereiche Spielplanung und Fan-Angelegenheiten.

„Die Liga setzt damit weiter auf Professionalisierung und Spezialisierung. Während sich die DFL künftig verstärkt auf die Organisation des Spielbetriebes und die strategische Positionierung und Vermarktung der Liga konzentrieren kann, wird mit der Gründung einer neuen Tochter-Gesellschaft der Fokus auf mediale Themenfelder gelegt, die für die Zukunft der Bundesliga von Bedeutung sind. Ich freue mich, dass Tom Bender die Geschäftsführung dieser neuen Einheit übernimmt”, erklärt Liga-Präsident Dr. Reinhard Rauball in seiner Funktion als Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender der DFL.

„Neben der Produktion des Basissignals sowie der weltweiten Vermarktung der zur Verfügung stehenden Rechte werden künftig auch die Erstellung und technische Bereitstellung medialer Inhalte in einer eigens dafür geschaffenen Struktur stattfinden. Wie schon bei Sportcast und DFL Sports Enterprises schaffen wir dadurch zusätzliche Synergien und Knowhow. Von den künftigen Kompetenzen der neuen Einheit profitiert die Liga ebenso wie die Clubs, die auf das Leistungsportfolio natürlich ebenso zugreifen können”, sagt Christian Seifert, Vorsitzender der DFL-Geschäftsführung. 

ESPN has secured a deal with the Southeastern and Big 12 conferences for the rights to air the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans across multiple platforms through 2026.

The agreement begins in January 2015 with the inaugural game between the SEC and Big 12 champions. Each year, the Sugar Bowl, previously referred to as the Champions Bowl, will be played Jan. 1 in prime time.

The TV partnership was announced Wednesday by ESPN president John Skipper, SEC commissioner Mike Slive and Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby. ESPN had previously announced a new 12-year agreement for the Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio, also beginning in 2015.

ESPN will have the rights to the Sugar Bowl each year no matter what is determined to be the exact postseason bowl rotation as part of the future playoff format. These rights include television, ESPN Radio, ESPN Mobile TV and on smartphones, tablets, online and on Xbox LIVE via WatchESPN. Additionally, ESPN has secured rights to distribute the Sugar Bowl on ESPN 3D and around the world via ESPN International.

“Given the history of excellence by teams in the SEC and Big 12, we recognized the value in securing long-term rights to the Sugar Bowl,” Skipper said in a joint statement with Slive and Bowlsby, adding, “the matchup will provide college football fans with a memorable way to start the New Year on ESPN’s many platforms.”

The SEC and Big 12 recently picked the Sugar Bowl as the site of their new marquee game. Their champions will play in the game, unless those teams are selected for the four-team playoff that also starts in the 2014 season. The Sugar Bowl will be one of six sites in the playoff rotation.

ESPN’s Brett McMurphy cited sources on Nov. 6 as saying that ESPN will pay $80 million a year to televise the Sugar Bowl, the same amount the network will pay annually for the Rose Bowl. The Orange Bowl is expected to cost $55 million, sources told McMurphy.

First team players at Glasgow Rangers Football club have walked out on the club after administrators rejected a proposal by the squad to have wages deferred.

Gregg Wylde and Mervan Celik have become the first players to leave the financially stricken Scottish champions. Midfielders Wylde, 20, and Celik, 21, had their offers for voluntary redundancy with no pay-off accepted.

Administrators Duff and Phelps were meeting Rangers players at the club’s Murray Park training ground on Tuesday in a final bid to reach agreement on wage cuts, with the club reported to be needing monthly savings of £1 million ($1.5 million).

“I volunteered to walk with no redundancy package today to help the other people in the club who have families, like the kitchen staff,” Wylde told BBC Scotland on Tuesday.

“I offered to walk away yesterday (Monday) and the club told me today (Tuesday) that they would accept that offer.

“At the moment I have nowhere to go and I don’t have another club.

“I don’t know what is going to happen next but I thought it was important to play my part in saving Rangers.”

Celik is a Sweden Under-21 midfielder who moved to Ibrox from Gothenburg club GAIS on a three-and-a-half year deal in January.

Charlie Mulgrew, a defender with Rangers’ arch Glasgow rivals Celtic, said of Wylde: “I know him and I know his family well so I have a lot of sympathy towards him and I just hope things can get better over there.

“It just shows how good a character he is (to give up his salary).

“Somebody was saying he came through here (at Celtic) when he was 11,” added Mulgrew, who celebrated his 26th birthday on Tuesday by being named the Scottish Premier League (SPL) player of the month for February.

“I am sure he will do okay and go on and get another club because he has done very well at Rangers and he is a very good player,” said Mulgrew, who won his first Scotland cap in last week’s 1-1 friendly draw away to Slovenia.

In a statement released late on Monday, Paul Clark, a joint administrator of Rangers, said: “Everyone involved in the administration process has been attempting to reach a consensual solution in regard to job losses within the playing squad.

“The prime reason for this has been to achieve essential cost savings while preserving the fabric of the first team.

“Regrettably, it has not been possible thus far to reach a consensus where players could accept the necessary level of wage cuts to prevent job losses within the squad.

“We do not for a moment criticise the players for this as the wage reductions that would be required are very substantial and would have a significant impact on each individual.

“For clarity, we cannot enforce wage cuts. The players have to agree to this course of action.”

Rangers were placed in administration last month after British tax authorities went to court to see payment of an unpaid bill of £9 million ($14m) built up since Whyte took control at Ibrox in May.

They are also awaiting the verdict of a tax tribunal that could leave Rangers with a bill of up to £75m, according to Whyte.

The 140-year-old club were docked 10 points for entering administration, a penalty which effectively handed the SPL title to Celtic, now 21 points clear of Rangers.

by Ismail Uddin

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Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd’s has won the broadcast rights to air Barclays Premier League (BPL) matches for the next three seasons.

The satellite pay-TV operator yesterday announced it has once again won the exclusive rights to the English Premier League, for three seasons starting from 2013/14 to 2015/2016 in Malaysia.

Under the arrangement, all 380 matches of BPL will be available to be shown live on the Astro service.

The BPL bid amount was not disclosed, but it was previously reported that Astro had paid over US$250 million for the rights to broadcast the 2010/2013 seasons.

In a statement yesterday, Astro Malaysia CEO Datuk Rohana Rozhan said Astro has been showcasing BPL action since 1997.

“We are excited to further strengthen our association with the most popular football league by bringing three more seasons of football action from the BPL,” she added.

“We are extremely pleased Astro have chosen to invest in our broadcast rights for Seasons 2013/14 – 015/16. They are a long term partner of the Premier League and renowned for quality sports broadcasting,” said Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore.

“We know that they will continue to broadcast the BPL to Malaysian football fans in an exciting and innovative manner.”

Football Association chairman David Bernstein believes FIFA is on the right path to reform after talks with the world governing body’s president Sepp Blatter.

Bernstein spent two hours with Blatter over the weekend for discussions that were convivial considering it is less than a year since the FA chairman stood up at the FIFA Congress and called for Blatter’s unopposed election to be postponed.

The FA chairman raised concerns about third-party ownership of players and regulation of agents, and Blatter detailed the progress of FIFA’s reform plans.

Bernstein said: “I am quite encouraged from what I hear from Mr Blatter about governance changes at FIFA, and I really do think they mean it this time at this time and quite a lot is happening which sounded very positive.

“The proof of the pudding will be in the eating but they seem to be moving in the right direction. I was able to raise quite a lot of issues with him which I think influenced the FIFA position on some things which are quite important to us.

“I made the point last year after the FIFA Congress that we needed to make our position clear at the time and take an independent position, but I also said that we have to work within the tent and although we find some things about FIFA difficult, it was important to work with them.”

by Ismail Uddin

Several international news agencies may suspend coverage of the India-England series after the Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI) barred coverage by photo agencies.

The News Media Coalition (NMC) has encouraged BCCI to lift the restrictions on the local and international picture agencies.

NMC Executive Director, Andrew Moger, said: “In our view, the BCCI’s move will hit fans and cricket sponsors alike. The BCCI has offered to make its own photographs available, but this is no substitute for independent and objective press photography.”

NMC members include Reuters, AFP, AP, Getty Images and the PA. Several members said they would suspend text and photo coverage if the restrictions are not lifted.{jcomments on}

 

The Scottish Football Association (SFA) and Scottish Premier League are looking into payments made by Rangers to its players.

The SFA are currently conducting an independent inquiry into Craig Whyte’s takeover of the Glasgow club.

But SFA chief executive Stewart Regan revealed other matters have been uncovered during the course of their investigation, with allegations the Light Blues gave players two contracts.

That is in contravention of the governing body’s articles of association and Regan admitted Rangers face serious sanctions, including possible exclusion from Scottish football, if the allegations against them are proved .

The double contracts are understood to have been in place between 2001 and 2009, although former Gers director Hugh Adam claims specialist payments were being made in the mid-1990s.

“What will happen is that the matter will go to the Scottish FA main board and will then pass through to the judicial panel,” Regan told the Evening Times.

“There’s a whole range of things from suspension to termination of membership to fines and ejection from the Scottish Cup or other such penalties the panel deem appropriate.

“The inquiry covers primarily the Craig Whyte era, but in digging into facts it has taken us into other areas.

“The board will consider the facts and if the board feels the facts are compelling they will pass that to the compliance officer and it will go through the normal disciplinary process.”

The SPL has also confirmed its board has instigated an investigation into the alleged non-disclosure of certain payments made to players from July 1998.

In a statement on its official website, the governing body said its rules give the SPL board ‘wide powers of investigation into potential breaches of the SPL rules’.

The statement read: “The SPL board has instructed an investigation into the alleged non-disclosure to the SPL of payments made by or on behalf of Rangers FC to players since 1 July 1998.”

by Ismail Uddin