Three Hong Kong television stations have reached a consensus over broadcasting arrangements for the London Olympic Games.

This follows talks between broadcast rights holder iCable, clinic the two free-to-air broadcasters TVB and ATV, denture and government officials. 

The agreement was announced by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, ambulance Greg So. Mr So hailed the outcome, adding that Hong Kong people will now be able to watch the Games on TVB and ATV. 

The International Olympic Committee requires iCable to provide at least 200 hours of free Games broadcasts.

The official ball supplier to the English Football League (EFL), Mitre, has extended its partnership until 2015, with the deal also making the world’s oldest soccer brand the longest serving of the EFL’s commercial partners.  

Mitre has the position as official ball supplier for over a quarter of a century and will now continue to provide match balls to the npower Championship, npower League 1 and npower League 2 as well as the Carling Cup and the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy for a further four years.


This season’s official matchball of The Football League, the Mitre Tensile, will continue to be used for the 2011/12 season. 

Kieron Kilbride, director of Business Development at The Football League, said: “Our relationship with Mitre is one of the longest running in UK Sport and this extension during difficult economic times represents increased value for The League.”

Gary Hibbert, managing director of Mitre, added: “The Football League is one of the most exciting competitions in the world and we’re thrilled to extend the deal to be the official ball supplier. 

“We’re looking forward to a long and successful partnership with The Football League and another four years of unrivalled excitement, drama and goals being scored with our Mitre balls.”

The BBC have retained exclusive rights to the Summer and Winter Olympic Games until 2020 in the UK.

This means that the BBC will broadcast the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia; the 2016 Olympiad in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil; the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang; and the 2020 Olympiad, which has yet to be awarded to a host city.

Despite a recent cut to its sports rights budget, the corporation has ensured that it kept the Olympics in its sporting roster due to the importance of safeguarding free-to-air coverage for British viewers. 

The BBC will be able to broadcast exclusive coverage of the Winter and Summer Games on Free-To-Air televisions in UK homes, as well as offer coverage on other media platforms, such as BBC Online and mobile.

IOC president Jacques Rogge said that the BBC is a “world-renowned media organisation” with a long history of covering the Olympics. 

“As the host of the London 2012 Olympic Games and the birthplace of many Olympic sports, the UK is a very important nation for the Olympic Movement,” he said. 

“The BBC is a world-renowned media organisation with which we are proud to have worked for many decades, including for the upcoming Olympic Games. 

“We are delighted that the BBC will continue as our partner beyond London 2012, providing fantastic free coverage of the Olympic Games to the widest possible audience in the UK across a variety of media platforms.”

IOC Vice President Thomas Bach, who led the negotiations, added: “The BBC consistently does an excellent job of broadcasting the Olympic Games, so this long-term agreement is very good news for sports fans in the UK. 

“From a commercial perspective, we adapted our traditional broadcast rights approach in Europe for the 2014-2016 cycle and beyond, and have negotiated several key European territories directly. 

“This announcement is significant as it completes the IOC’s direct negotiations for the 2014-2016 period in Europe.”

Mark Thompson, whose last major role as director general of the BBC will be to oversee the London 2012 coverage before he steps down in the autumn, said that that was “delighted” the Games will remain on the BBC “into the 2020s”.

“It’s terrific news in the days before BBC Sport begins to cover the London 2012 Games and a tribute to the enduring partnership between the BBC and the Olympic Movement,” he said.

During London 2012, the BBC has agreed to ensure viewers can catch every minute of every Olympic event live on 24 HD streams to be available on digital TV platforms and online. The corporation will deliver 2,500 hours of live sports coverage across various platforms over the Games period. 

FIFA have announced that Tokyo will retain hosting rights of December’s Club World Cup in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami after president Sepp Blatter met with Japan’s prime minister, Naoto Kan, the country’s minister for sports, education, culture, science and technology, Yoshiaki Takaki, and the president of the Japanese Football Association Junji Ogura on Monday, May 23.

Blatter said in a statement: “I am very pleased that we can come back and organise the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.

“More than that, I am pleased that we will contribute to rebuilding the J.League medical centre and football academy in the disaster area and that, together with our partners adidas, we will provide thousands of equipment items for Japanese children.”

Three FIFA Goal projects worth US$500,000 a piece will help fund the necessary construction and the news comes as a further boost to the nation, a day after October’s gymnastics world championships were reaffirmed for the capital.

The Club World Cup is FIFA’s seven-team showcase pitting the host country’s top club against the champions from all six continents. C.F. Monterrey and Auckland City F.C. will head to Tokyo for the December 8-18 finals with representatives from UEFA, CONMEBOL, AFC and CAF still to be crowned.

Prime Minister Kan added: “We are grateful for FIFA’s decision to bring the Club World Cup to Japan, especially because of what it means to the children, and we will make sure that all preparations are in place.”

European football body UEFA has inked a deal with the European Broadcast Union (EBU) for programming for its Eurovision network.

Under the contract, sample ed all audiovisual UEFA programmes will be distributed around the world exclusively on the Eurovision satellite and fibre network. This includes all Champions League and Europa League matches for the 2012 to 2015 seasons, and the national team matches of the European Qualifiers for Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The nine cities that will stage games during the 2016 UEFA European Championships have been announced by the French Football Federation (FFF).

Two minor surprises saw Saint-Etienne and Toulouse lose out after being named as reserve locations. Bordeaux, Lens, Lille, Marseille, Nancy, Nice, Paris and Saint-Denis were selected, as was Lyon, which took a major step forward last week in plans to build a new 60,000-seat stadium in the suburb of Decines-Charpieu when the project was put forward for public consultation.

Lyon’s stadium will be one of four new facilities built for the tournament, with stadia also set to be built in Bordeaux, Lille and Nice. The northern town of Lens was chosen for Euro 2016 matches despite its club being relegated to Ligue 2 this season.

FFF president Fernand Duchaussoy stated: “All the bids were of a very, very high standard, but the choice was very clear and decided at the first round of voting.”

Euro 2016 will be the first edition of the European Championships to feature 24 teams, increasing from 16 after next year’s Championships in Poland and Ukraine.

Jordanian businessman Hasan Ismaik has received approval from German soccer authorities, in principal, for his bid to buy 49 per cent of former Bundesliga club 1860 Munich for US$18.5m.

Ismaik is reportedly willing to invest some $48m to secure the club’s future and could formally take control of the stake later this. The move comes as the club battles serious debts following relegation from the top flight of German soccer in 2004, with larger bills unable to be paid and emergency funds already used up.

Dieter Schneider, the club’s president, has reached agreement with the majority of the club’s creditors over reduced payments, but without Ismaik’s investment, the club’s future remains in serious danger.

1860 Munich were one of the founder members of the Bundesliga before relegation left the club with severe financial difficulties. 1860 Munich sold its 50 per cent stake in the Allianz Arena to Bayern Munich in 2006 for just $15.4m to avoid insolvency, and now pays its fellow Munich club rent.

XOS Digital, viagra order Inc., a global provider of sports video technology, today announced that, on behalf of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), it will stream the 2012 SEC Football Media Days live for SEC fans on the SEC Digital Network.

The SEC Football Media Days take place from Tuesday, July 17 to Thursday, July 19 at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala.

“Football fans across the Southeast know that the SEC Media Days are synonymous with the beginning of the long-awaited football season,” said Ben Godwin, general manager, SEC Digital Network. “We are proud to provide our fans with complete access to live, online coverage of the largest college football media event in the country.”

SEC football fans can access the SEC Football Media Days live stream for free by visiting the SEC Digital Network. Fans can also access the free live stream on the SEC Affiliate Network by checking out the conference’s digital video player (SEC Video Zone) on more than 350 accredited news websites throughout the southeastern region. Plus, the live stream is accessible on Google TV and through the official SEC mobile and tablet applications for iPhone, iPad, Android Tablet and Android Phone.

In addition to complete coverage of the 2012 Football Media Days, fans can access archived footage with top coaches and athletes, extensive photo galleries and exclusive interviews, football previews and behind-the-scenes coverage.

“We are excited to be able to provide our fans with this exclusive inside look at SEC Football Media Days,” said Charles Bloom, SEC Associate Commissioner for Communications and Public Relations. “SEC Media Days provides an ‘unofficial’ kickoff to the start of the football season, and the coverage provided by XOS Digital puts our fans in the middle of the action.”

Fans can stay connected through the SEC’s Facebook which will provide updates and giveaways. In addition, fans can stay updated via the SEC’s official Twitter page, and use the official hash tag “SECKickoff12” to see what others are saying.