ESPN Star Sports has agreed a new broadcast deal with the FIM Superbike World Championship across Asia until 2018.

The deal was broquered  Infront Sports & Media.

The broadcast agreement includes pay-TV rights for live and delayed races as well as race highlights, advice in addition to rights for free-to-air broadcast in most markets. The deal also includes rights for online and mobile coverage via ESPN Player and Mobile ESPN. The broadcast rights cover ESPN STAR Sports’ footprint including China, denture Hong Kong, allergy Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, India and Thailand. 

In the future, the World Superbike calendar will feature two new races – India from 2013 and possibly Indonesia from 2014 onwards – that will be sure to bolster interest in Asia. 

Nick Wilkinson, Vice President, Programming at ESPN STAR Sports said: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with World Superbike to continue showcasing the best of motorsport to fans in Asia. ESPN STAR Sports is Asia’s home for motorsports and with our stellar line-up of leading sports events, this new partnership underscores our commitment to serve our viewers with top quality sport programming.” 

Stephan Herth, Infront’s Executive Director Summer Sports, added: “Media rights agreements around the world help to cement the status of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship as a truly global series. With the extension of the ESPN STAR Sports contract until 2018 we ensure that the high visibility level of World Superbike in Asia will be maintained for the long term. The coverage on the continent’s biggest sports channel will further strengthen the series’ positioning in this key market for our teams, manufacturers and commercial partners.” 

The eni FIM Superbike World Championship features amongst ESPN STAR Sports an exciting list of motorsport events on ESPN STAR Sports, including MotoGP, Formula One, GP2, and NASCAR.

According to Egypt Football Association (EFA) vice-president Hany Abou-Reida, Egypt are not interested in replacing Libya as hosts of the 2013 African Cup of Nations.

The news comes as calls for a replacement of the designated hosts strengthen with Libya in turmoil due to the revolt against Muammar Gaddafi’s rule.

South Africa and Algeria have both expressed a desire to step in and stage the 2013 finals of the 16-team tournament.

The secretary general of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Hichal El Amrani told BBC Sport recently that the continental body’s executive committee will meet in Cairo in September and review the situation in Libya.

Speculation has been mounting that Egypt would enter the fray and keep the event in North Africa, but Abou-Reida told Al Ahram newspaper: “Like any Egyptian I hoped to help my country gain that honor but we are effectively out of the competition because we hosted the tournament in 2006.

“South Africa and Algeria have much bigger chances of hosting the 2013 edition.”

CAF has already had experience of moving a tournament from Libya, having been forced to switch the African under-20 event to South Africa earlier this year.

A global survey of sports fans, advice commissioned by multimedia sports provider Perform, showed Chinese people watch the most sport on television.

Chinese sports fans average 11.7 hours per week viewing sports. Brazil and the U.S. are second and third, respectively, with 10.4 hours and 8.1 hours per week.

Australia ranks sixth with 6.3 hours per week, while British viewers watch 6.2 hours weekly. {jcomments on}

The crisis-torn African nation of Libya is still refusing to admit defeat in its efforts to host three major football tournaments, no rx despite coming under pressure to surrender the events due to political instability and widespread violence in the country.

The nation has been advised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) that it would need to make an early decision on whether the country can stage the 2013 African Cup of Nations as well as next year’s African Nations Championship and Futsal Championship.

Fighting between NATO-backed anti-government rebels and forces loyal to Libyan leader Colonel Qaddafi forced CAF to switch an African Under-20 tournament from Libya to South Africa earlier this year and the same fighting has prompted the United Nations Security Council to impose a no-fly zone.

Despite the South Africa Football Association insisting earlier this week that it is ready to step in to stage the African Cup of Nations, there with Egypt also waiting in the wings, Libya has so far refused to withdraw its hosting rights.

CAF secretary general Hicham El Amrani told the BBC: “Of course we are thinking about it as a matter of priority. The CAF executive committee is thinking about plan Bs or plan Cs. We agreed an internal timeline (for the) latest moment at which we should decide on switching the tournament to another venue but as of today the 2013 African Cup of Nations is still in Libya.”

Orange Sport and TVN Turbo in Poland have acquired broadcast rights to Polish Cup football for the next two seasons in a shared package.

The deal offers live rights as well as online and mobile rights and highlights. Each channel will air 13 matches each season, sick with TVN, TVN Turbo and Orange Sport airing the final together.

In PL.2012 Chairman Marcin Herra’s first exclusive monthly column for iSportconnect, accompanying the portal’s new ‘Road to Euro 2012’ feature, Herra explained how the “most important investment projects are in an advanced stage of construction”, just a year before the tournament commences.

In his column, Marcin stressed the importance of “organisational projects and combining them with infrastructure” at the current stage of preparations. He claimed that the organisational aspects of the tournament, including the safety and security projects, medical care and rescue services, transport services and quality of visitor services, were the most “crucial elements” of the preparations at this stage.

After fears with regards to infrastructure of stadiums in the host nations of Poland and, in particular, Ukraine were allied by UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino in recent weeks, Mr Herra was keen to emphasise the enormity of the work that had been implemented in Poland thus far. He stated: “Three years ago, where the newly-built stadium in Gdańsk is located and where the final acceptance procedures are under way, there were just allotments. In Wrocław, where the final works are under way on the stadium with an over 40 thousand people capacity, there was just a field. In Warsaw, where today the facility over 80 per cent completed is situated, there was Europe’s largest open air market place.”

Marcin revealed that the stadium in Gdańsk, where the acceptance procedures are under way, will be put to use by the end of this month, a year ahead of the tournament’s kick-off. He also remained confident that the works on the National Stadium in Warsaw, an iconic design for the nation, will completed by the end of November.

Herra moved on to discuss another topic of high debate and importance to the competitions success and added that “ensuring security and safety is one of the most important elements of the Championships and an organisational priority for PL.2012 and its partners.”

The issue of hooliganism in Polish soccer has been a talking point since UEFA awarded the hosting rights to the 2012 tournament. Marcin insisted that the safety and security of the fans was of paramount importance to the organisers and was being ensured through a number of initiatives.

He said: “The Committee for Safety and Security at EURO 2012 associates over 30 institutions that shall be involved in securing the Tournament. All the tasks have been carefully analysed and allocated accordingly. One of the major achievements in 2010 was to develop an Integrated Safety & Security Concept, which specifies all the areas of individual responsibilities and tasks of the involved institutions. Currently, there are over 120 projects and 3500 tasks being implemented.”

Aside from the organisational aspects of the tournament, Herra claimed that “one of the premium quality elements of UEFA EURO 2012…is the UEFA EURO 2012 Host Cities voluntary service.” The service will entail “helping and supporting visitors and providing them with essential information about the event, means of public transport, and attractions available in the city.”

Marcin revealed that the recruitment of volunteers for the programme will begin in November and be completed in the first quarter of 2012 before the trainings for volunteers will begin. In addition, PL.2012 are launching a project called the Euro Academy to provide training for over 2,500 so-called ‘fan first contact people’, for example workers of the railway system, gastronomy and shopping services, and public transport. Mr Herra claimed that the training will include “English language courses, courses in customer service, cross-cultural differences in terms of customer service and in tourist attractions in particular regions in terms of organization of mass events.”

Herra concluded on a confident note, stating: “There is still almost a year to complete all the works that are already in a very advanced stage,” confirming that in the next few months, Polish preparations will be strongly focused on realising organisational projects, which he claimed will be “the most important for the quality of the Tournament.”

To read Marcin’s complete, first monthly column for iSportconnec, please click here

Hockey India has secured a multi-year broadcast agreement with sports broadcaster ESPN STAR Sports for the telecast of the test matches to be played in the country for the next five years and the soon-to-be-launched Hockey India League (HIL). 

In a multi-year deal, abortion ESPN STAR Sports has been granted global telecast rights for the professional hockey league. 

The FIH approved league will see national as well as international hockey stars showcase their prowess. The first edition of the league is expected to be played in the month of January next year. 

The league will comprise at least six franchise hockey teams and will feature 33 matches to be played across the country. 

All teams will play each other on a home and away basis (30 league matches) followed by the semifinals and the final. 

Hockey India further announced that ESPN STAR Sports will have the global broadcast rights to telecast at least five international hockey test matches every year under Hockey India to be played in India for the next five years. 

The number of matches that India will play against top international opposition could go up depending on the finalisation of the series schedule. 

Hockey India Secretary General and Hockey India League Chairman Dr Narinder Batra said: “We are delighted to have ESPN STAR Sports as our broadcast partners. Hockey India has a clear vision – we want to revive the glory days of hockey in India and drive popularity of the game across the country. This partnership with ESPN STAR Sports will play a key role in our overall plans. 

“The proposed league (HIL) will be the biggest initiative that hockey has ever seen in India. We have been working out the details for months now and I am glad to announce that things are quickly falling into place. I am confident that our partners ESPN STAR Sports will help us deliver a flawless world class product.”

World soccer’s governing body FIFA is to donate US$6m in aid to the Japan Football Association (JFA) following March’s horrific earthquake and tsunami in the nation.

J-League clubs in areas affected by the natural disaster will receive $4.5m of the total fund for repairs to stadiums and training facilities.

In a visit to Japan earlier this year, FIFA president Sepp Blatter pledged to provide the aid, which will see the remaining figure used to repair existing stadiums and build new training centres in the worst hit Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima prefectures.

In partnership with global sportswear supplier Adidas, FIFA will also donate balls, boots, jerseys and other equipment worth $500,000 to children in disaster affected areas.

China Central Television (CCTV) have acquired the broadcast rights to each Olympic Games in the next four-year cycle leading to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games, according to the IOC.

The deal is worth $160 million and represents a 60 percent increase on the current four-year contract tied to the London Olympics.

China’s latest deal, covering all broadcast platforms, includes its home 2014 Summer Youth Olympics being hosted by Nanjing.

It also covers the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway.

IOC President Jacques Rogge said: “The IOC is very pleased to continue its long-term partnership with CCTV. CCTV has been a great ambassador for the Olympic values in China, and we look forward to continuing our work with them to broadcast the Olympic Games to the widest possible Chinese audience. We are also very much looking forward to working with CCTV on the second Youth Olympic Games, which will be held in Nanjing, China in 2014.”

IOC Executive Board member Richard Carrión, who led the negotiations, said: “CCTV has an unparalleled reach within China, and has promoted the Olympic Games, sport and the Olympic values to a Chinese audience for many years. We are delighted that we will be able to count on their support into the future.”

“CCTV is a strong supporter of the Olympic Movement and believes in the Olympic values. We are delighted that we will continue to broadcast the Olympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games in the coming years” said Hu Zhanfan, CCTV President.

Yesterday, medicine June 14, sale the volunteer program for UEFA Euro 2012 was launched with special events to mark the occasion in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and Warsaw in Poland.

The program will see tournament organisers recruit up to 6,000 volunteers and applications are now open until September 30 via UEFA.com, the official website of European soccer’s governing body.

The application form invites people to recommend up to five friends to inform about recruitment via email. As an added incentive, one volunteer from each host city will be offered a one-week internship at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Ukrainian tournament director Markiyan Lubkivskiy stated: “The volunteer programme is one of the biggest and, beyond all doubt, one of the most important Euro 2012 projects. The candidates have to be really motivated, reliable and ready to work in a big team. Volunteers will get an insight into what goes on behind the scenes and become an integral part of the largest sports event ever staged in Poland and Ukraine.”

Poland tournament director Daniel Olkowicz added: “The idea of volunteering is part of every big sporting event. We are inviting people who want to join with us to share the passion and work together on this unique occasion.” Polish volunteers manager Kamila Czerwi?ska insisted that the selectors would not pay attention to the “age or background of the candidates”.