Modern Times Group (MTG), prostate the international entertainment broadcasting group, viagra usa today announced that it has acquired the exclusive TV broadcasting rights to the men’s and women’s 2016 and 2018 EHF European Handball Championships for Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

The rights include, but are not limited to, broadcast coverage on free-TV, pay-TV, mobile devices and the internet. The rights have been bought from Infront Sports & Media.

Matches will be broadcast on MTG’s free-TV and pay-TV channels, as well as on the Viaplay online pay-TV service. As part of the agreement, matches involving the local national teams, the semi-finals and the finals will be shown on MTG’s free-TV channels. In addition, there will be comprehensive studio programmes and daily highlight shows.

The agreement also covers the qualification games for the 2014, 2016 and 2018 championships.

Denmark is the reigning men’s champion and Norway is the reigning women’s champion. The 2016 Women’s EHF European Championship will be hosted by Sweden.

Hans-Holger Albrecht, President and CEO of MTG, commented: “Handball is a very popular sport in Scandinavia with a large and loyal fan base. We are delighted to have secured these rights and will make high quality coverage of the European Championships broadly available to our viewers. This is further evidence of our commitment to provide viewers with the very best sports content on multiple channels and platforms.”

Michael Wiederer, Secretary General of the European Handball Federation, said: “Norway, Sweden and Denmark rank amongst the leading handball nations in Europe, and the EHF European Championships enjoy a huge following in these countries. We are confident that the coverage across the MTG free-TV channels of the Men’s and Women’s EHF EURO events will attract high audience ratings reaching millions of handball fans across Scandinavia.”

Stephan Herth, Executive Director Summer Sports at Infront, added: “MTG is a specialist in sports broadcasting and has helped to boost many other properties in the past. The media company is therefore the right partner to engage the high public interest for handball in Scandinavia and give the EHF’s flagship events superb visibility across its various platforms. Covering three core territories for the sport, the agreement holds significant value for the future development of the sport in Europe.”

Soccer officials in China’s top league, hit by a series of scandals in recent years, have failed to find a new main sponsor and is beginning a new season without one, or a national TV deal.

Tyre maker Pirelli was previously the competitions primary backer but has torn up its contract with the Chinese Super League, while national broadcaster China Central Television is refusing to show the matches, and there are reports of poor ticket sales at some clubs.

The problems stem from the league and its organisers, with a lack of interest and fans in China never being an issue.

Several senior officials from the Chinese Football Association (CFA) have been arrested over match-fixing allegations, while top referees were sacked for taking bribes and even players have been tainted by claims of corruption.

Many of the fans are now preferring to focus their attention on European soccer instead, with the national team not having helped either – years of poor results have seen China drop to 76 in the FIFA world rankings.

ESPN International has entered into a cricket distribution agreement with ESPN Star Sports (ESS) for International Cricket Council (ICC) events and the Champions League Twenty20 for the Caribbean market.

The development comes in the wake of ESPN exiting the Asian market after selling its stake to News Corp in the Asian sports broadcasting joint venture ESPN Star Sports. Post the clearance of the stake sale, anabolics ESPN will be present in Asia through its digital media products.

The ICC agreement is a four-year deal from 2012 to 2015 and covers several ICC events, including the global showpiece of the cricket calendar, the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The distribution agreement covers terrestrial, cable, satellite and new media platform rights. ICC programming will be presented on two ESPN Caribbean television networks–ESPN Caribbean and ESPN 2 Caribbean and on ESPNPlay.com, the region’s recently launched broadband network for live sports programming.

The Champions League Twenty20 agreement extends ESPN’s current three-year deal by three more years covering 2013-2015. The agreement covers all of ESPN Caribbean’s media platforms including the two networks, ESPN Caribbean and ESPN 2 Caribbean, and ESPNPlay.com.

“We are delighted to again showcase talented cricketers from the West Indies who will play in the ICC World Twenty20 and the Champions League Twenty20 later this year, as well as the crown jewel of cricket – the ICC Cricket World Cup – in 2015,” Stewart said. “Cricket is essential to our programming in the West Indies and has a dynamic following there. This long-term agreement reinforces our commitment to providing world-class cricket to Caribbean fans.”

“We have succeeded in securing some very significant long-term broadcast partnerships for the ICC events and we are very pleased to be working with ESPN to showcase an exciting calendar of ICC cricket events in this cricket market,” said ESS SVP corporate development & cricket rights Anurag Dahiya.

English Premier League soccer club Tottenham Hotspur has returned to profit, thanks in no small part to its success in reaching the UEFA Champions League this season, a tournament in which they have reached the quarter finals, facing Spanish giant Real Madrid next week.

During the last six months of 2010 the club made pre-tax profits of £4.2m (US$6.74m), up from a loss of £8.3m ($13.3m) over the same period the previous year while turnover increased 49 per cent to £79m ($126.75m).

Tottenham’s operating expenses rose to £61.5m ($98.7m), up from £48.6m ($78m), due primarily to the costs associated with having a larger squad.

The club’s half-yearly report said this increase had been off-set by the ‘significant increase in revenue’ the club brought in from its campaign in Europe this season.

The report revealed that merchandise sales increased by 22 per cent and sponsorship and corporate hospitality revenue grew from £12.7m ($20.38m) to £16m ($25.7m).

Spurs returned to Europe’s elite competition after 48 years out of the reckoning in the 2010-11 season..

All 12 games of the 2012 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Under-19 World Championship will be streamed live online from Burger Stadium in Austin when the tournament kicks off this weekend.

USA Football’s YouTube channel will air a live webcast of the games, which will also be archived for future viewing at www.YouTube.com/usafootballeducation.

The live webcast will cover the opening games on Saturday, June 30, which begin at 9am CT the second round of games on July 3 and 4 and the July 6 placement games and the July 7 medal games.

Select games also will be telecast in Central Texas on KBVO TV. KBVO will air all three U.S. Under-19 National Games. Additional KBVO game telecasts will be announced during World Championship play.

“We are pleased that American football fans around the world who are eager to see the next generation of top international players compete in Texas will be able to follow the entire tournament online,” said IFAF president Tommy Wiking. “We have four games for them to enjoy on Saturday and no doubt some intriguing and exciting games in midweek when places in the medal rounds are at stake.”

The action kicks off this Saturday, June 30, at www.YouTube.com/usafootballeducation when two newcomers to the world Under-19 stage meet as reigning European junior champion Austria takes on Panama at 9am CT, enabling American football fans in Panama to tune in at 9am local time and in Austria at 4pm Central European Time.

2009 Bronze Medal winner Japan meets France at 11.30am CT (6.30pm in France / 1.30am Sunday in Japan), followed by a clash between 2009 Silver medalist Canada and Sweden at 5pm CT (6pm ET / midnight in Sweden).

When the reigning champion United States faces American Samoa, playing in its first-ever IFAF tournament, at 8pm local time on Saturday, American Samoan fans will be watching at 2pm that afternoon in the South Pacific.

The second round, placement and medal games will all kick off at 5pm and 8pm local time on July 3, 4, 6 and 7, which translate as 11am and 2pm in American Samoa, 6pm and 9pm U.S. Eastern time, midnight and 3am the following day Central European Time, and 7am and 10am the following day in Japan.

Speaking at the Soccerex European Forum, Gavin Laws, the group head of corporate affairs at Standard Chartered, has claimed that their sponsorship with English Premier League soccer club Liverpool was not affected by the team’s failure to reach the UEFA Champions League, stating it was “not that important” to the club’s shirt sponsor.

Having missed out on a top-four finish in the league last season, Liverpool had to settle for the Europa League, and with the team sitting eight points adrift of the final qualifying place with only eight games remaining in the current domestic campaign, the club’s participation in Europe’s top club competition next season is unlikely.

However, speaking alongside Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre, Laws insisted that the Champions League was not an integral part of the partnership, which was sealed with the aim of taking the financial institution’s brand into Asia, a key market for the Premier League.

Laws stated: “They are a top four club in people’s minds and although the on-field performances are nice to have, the Champions League is not that important to us as the games happen when people in Asia are asleep. I don’t think English football has fully realised the potential of the Premier League abroad – it is getting bigger and bigger.”

He added: “The real power for what Liverpool could do for us, and I think for the English Premier League, is if there was a way they could nurture foreign players from Asia … a great Asian player — you see what Park Ji-sung does for Manchester United.

“The markets in Asia and the Middle East are so nationalistic, they are very proud about their countries. (Matches) become huge events. One appearance from a player, say from Dubai in the Premier League, and you’d have the whole of Dubai watching it.”

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.”