The NBC Sports Group, medicine owned by the Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)  signed a new 10-year agreement for coverage of the Tour de France race.

The race will be aired live for the first time on NBC network next weekend.

The agreement with the Amaury Sport Organisation, shop the race’s owner, begins with the 2014 race and runs through 2023. It includes all U.S. television, digital and mobile rights. Financial terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed by NBC. France Television pays 24 million euros ($30 million) a year to show the Tour de France and other sports events managed by Amaury Sport Organisation, according to a statement by the French public broadcaster.

In addition to cable coverage on NBC Sports Network, two complete live stages of the race will air on U.S. network television for the first time, beginning this year. On July 7 and July 8, the race’s 7th and 8th stages will be carried from 8 a.m. New York time to noon on NBC, Jon Miller, president of programming for NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network, said in a telephone interview.

“We’ve noticed a continuing interest in cycling in the U.S. and the ratings for this event have been strong,” Miller said. “Our sponsors like it. We’re finding a real strong audience for this race and this sport.”

As part of the agreement, NBC Sports Group will continue coverage of Amaury Sport Organisation’s other events, including the Paris Marathon, and cycling events such as Paris-Nice, Criterium du Dauphine and Paris-Roubaix.

Yann le Moenner, managing director of Paris-based Amaury Sport, which runs the Tour, said in an statement: “We are very happy to see the Tour de France exposure growing in the United States.”  

He added Amaury Sport’s other events “will benefit from a large exposure” on NBC Sports Group platforms.

The Bosnia-Herzegovina international and club soccer teams have been suspended from both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice. The men’s national side features English Premier League soccer club Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko, Hoffenheim striker Vedad Ibisevic and captain Emir Spahic amongst its starring ranks.

The sanction has come into place after seeing a row regarding the Bosnian football federation (NSBiH) remain unresolved.

FIFA and UEFA have previously informed the NSBiH that they must replace their three-man presidency with a single leader or face possible suspension which they have failed to do before the deadline set by the governing bodies of March 31.

FIFA and UEFA have demanded that a solitary leader be put in place and believe they have no option but to bar the country from competition until the situation is resolved.

FIFA released a statement reading: “The Football Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FFBH/NSBiH) has been suspended until further notice by FIFA and UEFA as of today, 1 April 2011. This decision was necessary as the General Assembly of the FFBH did not adopt the statutes according to FIFA and UEFA requirements. The Executive Committees of FIFA (on 28 October 2010) and UEFA (on 4 October 2010) had requested the FFBH to adopt the statutes according to FIFA and UEFA minimum requirements by no later than 31 March 2011, otherwise the FFBH would be automatically suspended.

“The FFBH representative and club teams are no longer entitled to take part in international competitions as of 1 April 2011 and until the aforementioned problem is resolved. This also means that, as of 1 April 2011, no FFBH official or representative may participate in any international match or event.”

A joint statement by FIFA and UEFA added: “FIFA and UEFA deeply regret that this decision had to be taken and will meet shortly to discuss the next steps required to try to bring the NSBiH back into the football family as soon as possible.”

Der Ball rollt auch weiterhin in der ProSiebenSat.1 Group: Gemeinsam mit der UEFAwurde eine Vereinbarung mit 15 Live-Spiel-Übertragungen in der Europa League über dreiSpielzeiten von 2012/2013 bis 2014/2015 erzielt.

kabel eins präsentiert jeweils donnerstagsein Spiel pro Spieltag live. Darüber hinaus enthält das Rechtepaket eine umfangreicheVerwertungsmöglichkeit der Highlights der UEFA Europa League im TV, Internet undmobilen Endgeräten. Welche Partie live übertragen wird, kann der Sender frei wählen (firstpick).

Jürgen Hörner, Geschäftsführer der ProSiebenSat.1 TV Deutschland: “Wir bleiben amBall und freuen uns, dass wir auch weiterhin mit der UEFA Europa League internationalenVereinsfußball im Programm haben. Ein Top-Gewinn für kabel eins – bereits in dervergangenen Saison sorgten die Spiele für Rekordquoten bei kabel eins.”

Dutch Eredivisie soccer club Ajax’s board of directors tendered its resignation amid a bitter disagreement with club icon Johan Cruyff about how to return the former European champion to its glory days.

It was confirmed by club chairman Uri Coronel that he and the two other directors of the club will remain in place until replacements can be found, ailment adding that “Cruyff is more important than us.”

Ajax had asked Cruyff, who helped turn the club into a European powerhouse in the 1970s, to form an advisory panel to improve its performance, with club having not won the league title since 2004.

But the club’s chief executive Rik van den Boog refused to carry out all of Cruyff’s recommendations, which reportedly included firing some longtime employees.

Coronel said he backed Van den Boog, and hoped his own resignation would help break the impasse, stating: “This process, especially the continuing unrest around the club, is extraordinarily damaging for Ajax.”

The New Orleans Hornets and FOX Sports have announced that they have reached a long-term television rights agreement that establishes “FOX Sports New Orleans” as the new local television home of the Hornets.

Under the new agreement, FOX Sports New Orleans will televise approximately 75 regular-season Hornets games per season, including any games not selected for exclusive distribution by the NBA’s national TV partners. 

FOX also announced that its regional sports network currently serving the New Orleans market (FOX Sports Southwest) will be re-launched as “FOX Sports New Orleans” in October to coincide with the start of the Hornets’ 2012-13 season.  

“This is great news for our market, for our fans and for our region. This will be tremendous for the New Orleans Hornets and our continued growth.  It’s important that we continue to brand our great city and we see no better way than our partnership with FOX Sports and the creation of FOX Sports New Orleans,” said Tom Benson, Chairman of the New Orleans Hornets. “We will be able to further integrate our assets including with our local affiliate WVUE-TV Fox 8. There are many positive moves happening with the Hornets such as the improvements to the Arena and of course our upcoming selection of the number one overall pick in the NBA Draft and this announcement is just the beginning.”

“We are pleased to welcome the Hornets to the FOX Sports family,” said Jeff Krolik, Executive Vice President of FOX Sports Networks. “This is an exciting time for the Hornets and their fans. The team has generated tremendous buzz with the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. We are delighted to be partners with them and look forward to a long and successful relationship.”

“We’re excited to be the new home for Hornets basketball,” said FOX Sports Southwest Senior Vice President/General Manager Jon Heidtke. “We look forward to showcasing their games in New Orleans and helping the team grow its fan base throughout Louisiana and their television footprint. We’re committed to making FOX Sports New Orleans the premier destination for local sports programming.”

Hornets’ coverage on FOX Sports New Orleans will include HORNETS LIVE pregame and postgame shows and other team shoulder programming.   

FOX Sports New Orleans will become the 21st regional sports network in the FOX Sports Networks family. The network will offer a robust lineup of local sports programming, including SEC football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, Olympic sports and coaches’ shows. Other regional programming on FOX Sports New Orleans will feature Big 12 and Conference USA collegiate events, Texas Rangers baseball, and Dallas Stars hockey. FOX Sports New Orleans will be available to over 1.6 million cable and satellite TV homes throughout the Hornets territory.    

FOX Sports is the nation’s leader in offering hometown NBA coverage through FSN, the largest owned-and-operated regional sports network group in the country.  FSN serves as the local television home to more than half of all NBA teams, producing more than 1,000 live NBA telecasts per season.

Read New Orleans President Hugh Weber’s exclusive iSportconnect interview here>>

Martin Kallen, dosage ed UEFA Euro 2012 director, sick  is confident, online despite admitting that a number of projects for the tournament may not be completed on time, that the tournament will go ahead in Poland and Ukraine as planned.

Speaking to an audience at the Soccerex European Forum in Manchester yesterday, March 30, both Kallen and Poland 2012 president Marcin Herra were upbeat, despite preparations for Euro 2012 having been turbulent from the outset, particularly in Ukraine.

Kallen stated: “Some of the huge numbers of projects may not ultimately be completed but these will not be directly related to football assets. They will be projects which will not directly affect the running of the competition.”

Herra acknowledged Poland’s evident hooliganism problem but said that there were already signs of a change and that the ‘party atmosphere’ and family friendly nature of Euro 2012 would help ensure the potential problem was contained.

He added: “The tournament will have a strong football legacy as well as a legacy for tourism and the infrastructure of our country. For example sky boxes at the stadiums are being bought by corporations. That would not happen if the experience was likely to be ruined by hooliganism.”

Herra told the audience that the soccer legacy would “extend beyond the stadia built for the tournament to the grass roots”.

Ooyala, generic the fastest growing online video technology company, anabolics today announced it is working with The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and The Championships at Wimbledon to broaden distribution of Wimbledon video content.

On each day of The Championships 2012 Ooyala will deliver video-on-demand featuring highlights from each day’s matches, order interviews and special features. Tennis fans around the world will be able to keep up with one of the world’s most popular contests on the official Wimbledon website via their PC, iOS and Android devices.

Wimbledon is leveraging Ooyala’s advanced video monetization tools to promote premiere tournament sponsors, including Rolex and Evian, within the video player. The AELTC is working with Ooyala in part due to the Mountain View company’s market-leading position in delivering analytics, including the ability to track and measure viewer engagement across all devices. Ooyala’s Big Data architecture and video analytics deliver key insights on audience behavior that inform critical decisions for premium video broadcasters.

Caitlin Spaan, vice president of marketing for Ooyala, said: “The lines between broadcast and broadband are blurring as TV evolves into a mobile, multiscreen experience. Ooyala is proud to be part of this historic event, delivering some of the most exciting sports video of the year to a global audience. We’re committed to delivering the most powerful, personalized viewing experience possible, no matter what screen people use to keep up with The Championship.”

The work with Wimbledon and The AELTC builds on Ooyala’s strong momentum as a leading digital video solutions provider for premium video content. In recent months, Ooyala’s robust behavioral analytics and monetization tools have won the company partnerships with some of the world’s most innovative brands and media companies, such as Pac-12 Enterprises and Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications company. Ooyala also powers online video for Tennis Australia and served live video around the world for the Australian Open earlier this year.

In his first television interview since his promotion to CEO, Ian Ayre has revealed that English Premier League soccer club Liverpool are actively seeking a naming partner for a new stadium, were they to relocate from Anfield.

The new owners the Fenway Sports Group, previously known as New England Sports Ventures, have stated a desire to increase capacity at home games and Ayre confirmed: “”We are actively seeking a naming partner if we move to a new stadium.” However he did add that the club were “definitely not consider renaming Anfield.”

In other news, the new CEO of Liverpool, has warned that UEFA’s financial fair play rules will be stifled if they are not applied “hard and fast”.

Ayre, formally the club’s commercial director, was speaking on the first day of the Soccerex European Forum in Manchester, and said that the new regulations, which should preclude a club from spending significantly more than it earned, have to be applied equally across the board.

Fears that a rich benefactor could simply write a cheque to cover the difference between income and expenditure, disguising it in the accounts, were allayed by UEFA’s head of club licensing Andrea Traverso, who claimed that a rigorous system of checks would be applied to prevent a rich benefactor inventing a ‘ghost’ sponsorship deal as a way of pouring money into a club.

Traverso stated: “We will refer any deal with related third parties which appear to be above the market rate to a commission.”

However, Ayre remained sceptical about the ability of outsiders to decide what is market value or not, adding: “This is a concern for us. Who can say what the market price is? After all, we renewed our sponsorship deal for a 200% increase. Would that have been acceptable?”

The Buffalo Bills and Galaxy Communications have announced that WTKW 99.5/WTKV 105.5 will now carry Buffalo Bills radio broadcasts throughout the Syracuse Market. 

The new deal includes a wide array of Buffalo Bills programming including pre and post-game shows, order as well as player and front office programming.

“This is a great opportunity for both the Buffalo Bills Organization and our fans, case ” said Syracuse native and Bills Chief Executive Officer, Russ Brandon. “TK99 is the station fans turn to for local Syracuse sports, adding the Buffalo Bills to their line-up enhances both of our brands.”

“We are proud to be the new home of the Buffalo Bills,” said Ed Levine, Galaxy Communications President and Chief Executive Officer. “We take a lot of pride in bringing our listeners the best live, local and regional programming. The Buffalo Bills radio broadcasts will certainly add another great option for our listeners.” 

Galaxy Communications is locally owned and operated in Syracuse. Galaxy owns 14 radio stations that fill the airwaves in the Syracuse and Utica/Rome markets with formats that include classic rock, new rock, classic hits and sports.  WTKW is also the flagship station for Syracuse Athletics.

Figures have shown that English Premier League soccer club Newcastle United sank £17.1m (US$27.5m) into the red as a result of relegation from the top flight in 2009 for the end of the 08-09 season, compared with a £15.2m ($24.4m) deficit in the season before that.

According to accounts filed with Companies House, turnover reduced 39 per cent to £52.4m ($84.2m), with owner Mike Ashley putting a further £42m ($67.5m) into the club despite an increase in gate receipts.

The latest figures do not reflect Newcastle’s return to the Premier League, with promotion worth anything up to £60m ($96.4m) to successful clubs, nor do the accounts include Andy Carroll’s £35m ($56.2m) sale to Liverpool in January.

Newcastle managing director Derek Llambias said: “Our overriding aim in 2009-10 was to secure promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt. Relegation presented a considerable challenge for us financially.

“With such a marked reduction in turnover, largely due to reduced TV and media revenue, we needed to cut our operating costs accordingly without jeopardising our ability to return to top flight football straight away.

“It has been a significant achievement to keep our overall loss at a level similar to the year before despite the impact of relegation, and our ability to do this has been helped immeasurably by the continued financial support of Mike Ashley, who injected a further £42m ($67.5m) into the club last year interest-free.”

Revenue from television and other media fell 57 per cent to £16m ($25.7m), although new sponsorship deals were struck with Puma and Northern Rock.

Despite a 33 per cent drop, Newcastle’s determination to retain the services of enough Premier League-class players to launch a credible bid for promotion meant the wage bill still amounted £47.5m ($76.3m).