The European Handball Federation’s marketing arm, capsule EHF Marketing GmbH, unhealthy has announced the signing of a new television deal with Premier Sports TV, price bringing the VELUX EHF Champions League to a British television audience.

Richard Webb, Operations Director of Premier Sports said: “It is great to be able to showcase further a sport that really caught the imagination of UK fans during the summer Olympics. The VELUX EHF Champions League is a superb competition and we are delighted to be able to offer it on a weekly basis throughout the season.”

Premier Sports will show Match of the Week live or delayed with complete English commentary from each round of the competition as well as the highlights magazine, ‘REWIND – the handball show’ on a Monday evening.

The next live match on the channel will be between Pick Szeged and Kadetten Schaffhausen on Saturday 6 October.

Peter Vargo, Managing Director of EHF Marketing GmbH, said: “After the successful presentation of handball at the London 2012 Olympic Games we would like to establish the sport on UK television schedules. This will be a chance to promote the top product of European club handball and we believe that we can gain a solid foothold for the sport in the UK.”

Up until now the handball fans in the UK have been able to watch delayed matches of the VELUX EHF Champions League on Eurosport 2.

Premier Sports TV began broadcasting in April 2010 on the Sky platform, channel 428 in the UK and is available in 10 million homes on the Sky platform. The channel currently focuses on sports that have strong, loyal and passionate followings. Future rollouts will begin shortly on all other platforms.

English Championship side Portsmouth FC are on the verge of announcing new owners, according to administrator Andrew Andronikou.

Pompey owner Vladimir Antonov stepped down in November as the Championship club’s parent company Convers Sport Initiatives entered administration.

But Andronikou, of UHY Hacker Young, has revealed a takeover deal is now close with a mystery consortium.

“We are in the final stages of agreeing terms with one particular party,” Andronikou told told BBC Radio Solent. “I’m hoping that in the next seven to 10 days I will have some news for the outside world.

“We’ve been actively looking for someone suitable to buy the club and we’ve had numerous interest as usual, some more suitable than others.

“They are coming in for the first time and we are checking their credentials to see if they fulfil all the criteria for the Football League.

“We are trying to scope out who they are and if they have the ambition and ability to take the club forward once and for all. We are looking to negotiate a contract and subject to that being okay we will put forward their application to the Football League who can conduct their own fit and proper person test and give us the thumbs up.

“Proof of funds has been done and we are fairly satisfied that they have the finances to take the club forward.”

The All India Football Federation today announced that there commercial partner IMG-Reliance has given broadcast rights to Ten Sports for the I-League from 2012-13 season and Federation Cup for 2013 & 2014. 

The coverage will be based on various platforms, such as Television, IPTV, DTH, HITS, Internet TV and Mobile.

TEN Sports will also broadcast the I-League competition through its football channel TenAction+, for three consecutive seasons starting with the 2012/13 season this weekend.

With the I-League competition kicking off on October 6, 2012, TenAction+ will telecast 75 matches of the league live and delayed throughout the season.

As part of the deal TenAction+ also has the mandate for telecasting the Federation Cup competition for the next two seasons starting 2013.

AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das said: “The fiercely contested Federation Cup, concluded recently, has set the ball rolling for the 2012/13 football calendar year. The I-League competition brings in even more enthusiasm and excitement, as the clubs are eager to renew their rivalry and fight it out from Round One.”

Ten Sports CEO Atul Pande commented: “We are delighted to partner with IMG-Reliance to telecast I-League and Federation Cup, two of India’s premier football tournaments.” He went on to add, “Ten Sports has always supported Indian football and we continue committed to our vision of enhancing and adding value to the sport.”

The spokesperson for IMG-Reliance added: “We are happy to bring Ten Sports on board as a broadcast partner in (Indian) football. Having a long-term partnership with the broadcaster is an important step in ensuring quality and continuous coverage of the two competitions. This is one of many initiatives IMG-Reliance has undertaken and we remain committed to the development of Indian football.”

Chechen-owned club Neuchatel Xamax has been docked four points by the Swiss Football Association (SFV) for failing to prove it paid players’ wages.

It is the second time the club owned by businessman Bulat Chagaev faces such a penalty after it was docked four points for violating its license in December.

The league said in a statement late Tuesday that Xamax failed to provide proof that it had paid players’ salaries and social insurance for the month of October.

Xamax can appeal the decision, clinic as it is already doing with the previous sanction.

Chagaev is at the center of Swiss criminal investigations into suspected fraud regarding bank documents.

Xamax is currently fourth in the Swiss Super League.

This follows the decision to deduct 36 points from FC Sion for fielding illegitimate players.

The Atlantic 10 Conference announced it has signed an extensive set of television broadcast deals with ESPN, CBS and NBC ending in 2020-2021.

They will all start in the 2013-14 season and run through the 2020-2021 season.

Among the highlights is the fact that the men’s and women’s conference tournaments will be broadcast nationally from the quarterfinals on, instead of the semifinals. But there won’t be any more games on over-the-air network television as has been the case in recent years with CBS.

ESPN, will regain the rights to the men’s and women’s basketball tournament championship games. Bristol will get 14 regular-season men’s games and two regular-season women’s games each season to spread across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU.

All of those games will also be streamed online via ESPN’s various digital platforms and apps.

CBS gets 25 regular season men’s basketball games and eight regular season women’s basketball games each year, plus the men’s and women’s basketball tournament semifinals. All of those games will air on the CBS Sports Network.

NBC gets 25 regular season men’s basketball games and six regular season women’s basketball games each year, plus the men’s and women’s basketball tournament quarterfinals. All of those games will air on the NBC Sports Network.

Hearts have been given an ultimatum by the Scottish Premier League, to either pay their players outstanding wages or face a possible points deduction it was announced on Wednesday.

An SPL sub-committee met on Wednesday after players’ union PFA Scotland submitted a formal complaint on behalf of Hearts’ first-team squad on December 16, when wages were not paid on time for a third consecutive month.

December’s pay remains outstanding and the SPL have made a series of demands in order to halt the financial uncertainty surrounding the club.

An SPL statement read on Wednesday: “An SPL board sub-committee today adjudicated in the dispute between 14 players and Heart of Midlothian FC.

“The SPL board sub-committee has ordered December wages to be paid by January 11.

“Interest on all sums overdue from October, November and December wages must also be paid by January 11. January salaries must be paid on time on January 16.

“The club must also pay the claimants’ legal expenses and the SPL’s costs of today’s hearing. Both sides have the right to appeal the decision to the Scottish FA within seven days.”

Should Hearts fail to meet the deadline, fresh disciplinary proceedings would be opened, with unlimited sanctions available to the SPL at that point.

SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster said in a statement: “Today’s decision demonstrates how seriously the SPL take late payments of wages to players.”

Hearts have avoided answering questions on the subject as a result of a media blackout, which has been in place since October 22.

The club this week partially lifted the media blackout by speaking to match broadcasters after their 3-1 Edinburgh derby win at Easter Road.

Manager Paulo Sergio told BBC Scotland he was expecting a difficult month with players expected to depart to reduce the wage bill.

Seven Network has reached an agreement to air Golf’s Emirates Australian Open at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney from 6th – 9th December 2012.

Eight-time major champion Tom Watson joins World Number 6 Adam Scott, defending champion Greg Chalmers and former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy among those in action at The Lakes.

Seven will broadcast all four days of the tournament from 12pm to 5pm AEDT each day, a total of 20 hours.

Seven Head of Sport Saul Shtein said: “Seven has a long and proud tradition of broadcasting golf and live sport. We look forward to once again showcasing the cream of Australian and international golf.”

Golf Australia CEO Stephen Pitt said he was delighted that fans will be able to follow all the action from The Lakes.

“We’re looking forward to an exciting Emirates Australian Open which will be broadcast into millions of homes across Australia on the Seven Network,” Pitt said.

“The Emirates Australian Open holds a special place in the hearts of both Australian golfers and sports fans and we’re very pleased that the Seven Network supports our passion to showcase the best of international golf across the country.”

The NSW Minister for Tourism, Major Events and the Arts, George Souris said “The NSW Government, through Destination NSW, is proud to continue supporting the Emirates Australian Open. The broadcast will not only showcase Sydney as Australia’s global city, the home of Australian golf and the home of the Australian Open, but also promote NSW as a destination worth visiting.”

Brian Thorburn, CEO of the PGA of Australia said: “This announcement is a great result for Australian sports fans. The 2011 Emirates Australian Open was watched by a significant domestic and international television audience, and we look forward to working with Channel Seven to grow the tournament in 2012 and beyond.” 

“This is a wonderful development for the Emirates Australian Open as Seven Network boasts an outstanding television platform that will relay all the action to a huge audience,” said David White, Managing Director – Australia, World Sports Group.

Fulham have submitted a planning application to increase Craven Cottage’s capacity from 25,700 to 30,000.

The ground has been the Barclays Premier League club’s home since 1896 and in October they ended talk of a move away by revealing plans to overhaul the stadium. Fulham plan to develop the Riverside Stand in order to increase capacity up to 30,000, as well as undertaking wider facility improvements at the venue.

In a statement on the club’s official website, www.fulhamfc.com, the club said: “Fulham Football Club today submitted an application to the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, for the redevelopment of the Riverside stand at its Craven Cottage home.

“The application will take the club’s current capacity to 30,000 seats and, further significant funds will be invested to open up the Thames River walk from Hammersmith to Putney for the first time in recent history.”

Fulham will hold exhibitions on January 25 and 28 to showcase the final design submitted and provide feedback from the second consultation.

Teleport operator, pills  SatLink Communications, bronchi has confirmed that the International Judo Federation (IJF) has selected SatLink as its global content distribution partner for all of its competitions, including the World Masters, Grand Slam and Team World Championships, throughout 2012 and beyond.

The live video broadcast of the competitions, which will be distributed to Europe, Asia and Americas via the Eutelsat, AsiaSat and Intelsat satellites, and streaming over the Internet, will be utilising SatLink’s occasional use  capabilities to provide professional service with maximum flexibility and reliability for viewers in all of these regions around the world.

SatLink will turnaround the IJF’s global satellite coverage in Ku-band and C-band on Eutelsat, AsiaSat and IntelSat satellites and deliver the content in both SD and HD to viewers around the globe.

SatLink’s fully managed SD and HD playout services and specialised HD transmission capabilities of up to 12 simultaneous HD streams and 24 SD streams, including encoding, decoding, encrypting and multiplexing were central to the IJF selection of SatLink as its global provider.

Bayern Munich are in discussions with Russian energy giant Gazprom on a possible sponsorship deal.

Munich president Uli Hoeness confirmed that he and Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge met with Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller before Christmas.

Gazprom sponsors Schalke but Hoeness says any possible deal between Bayern and the energy giant would not affect its Bundesliga rival.

Hoeness says “that’s something I have assured my friend (Schalke chairman) Clemens Toennies.”

Bayern is currently sponsored by Deutsche Telekom.