It has been reported that English Premier League (EPL) soccer clubs are interested in following the example set by Barcelona, unhealthy of having more than one kit sponsor to increase revenue.

The commercial regulations to allow clubs the opportunity to sell space on their shirts to multiple backers is not currently allowed although initial approaches are thought to have been made to change this ruling, claims the Daily Mail.

The Premier League is examining the proposal, which would need majority support among the 20 clubs though it is believed that the league do not want to follow in the footsteps of the Formula 1 route of multi-sponsorship branding.

Barcelona will become the first test of the new arrange after the club agreed a deal to have both its charity partner UNICEF and its £125m record-breaking sponsors the Qatar Foundation on its shirts.

Tottenham received permission from the Premier League this season to have a league backer in Autonomy and Investec on its cup shirts.

German Bundesliga soccer club and league struggler’s, 1. FC Koln have renewed their kit sponsorship deal with supermarket chain Rewe until the end of the 2011/12 season.

The deal is worth US$4.45m to the club and will offer the sponsor TV-visible advertising hoardings at the Rhein Energie Stadion, the clubs home venue.

Rewe Group board member Josef Sanktjohanser said that the club had great ambition stating: “With the contract extension, we are making a sign that we will stand by the club and its many fans in difficult times. We are confident that with the fighting spirit it has shown in the last few games, the team is on the right track.”

“We will make every effort to return the confidence that Rewe has placed in us by renewing this contract.” added 1. FC Köln president Wolfgang Overath.

English soccer club Blackburn Rovers’ new owners, the Venky’s Group, have refuted claims that the club’s transfer policy is being set by sports agency Kentaro.

Less than a month after the Indian poultry firm had bought the club, the new owners decided to sack manager Sam Allardyce who has since claimed that he no longer controlled transfers. 

Venky’s group chairman Anuradha Desai said: “Kentaro are our main consultants but Sam had the final call. But we didn’t even get as far as discussing any names with him.” 

Desai stated that Allardyce’s dealings in previous transfer markets had not impressed the new owners. 

“My father once told me that out of 10 decisions you must get at least seven right – you can get two or three wrong, we’re not gods,” she continued. 

“But to get nine or 10 wrong is not good and things have been going wrong with transfers – that’s a fact.

“As for Kentaro, they introduced us to the club in August and continue to advise us, but we are talking to a lot of people and we certainly don’t have an exclusive deal with them. All our transfers don’t have to go through them.” 

Kentaro’s role at Ewood Park has been the source of speculation ever since Venky’s emerged as a potential buyer of the Lancashire club.

According to Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasim Bin Jaber Al-Thani, the nation has no plans to issue bonds in order to cover the cost of the 2022 soccer World Cup.

Sheikh Hamad announced at the opening of a courtroom at Qatar Financial Centre, that the government had already covered “70 per cent to 80 per cent” of the costs involved in staging the event. He revealed that most of the plans, in terms of infrastructure, had already been arranged prior to the nation winning the vote on 2 December with the event’s infrastructure as a whole, predicted to take about seven years to build.

Sirius XM Radio and NASCAR announced an agreement to simulcast the programming on the SiriusXM NASCAR Radio channel in its entirety  which includes live broadcasts of every national series race, health plus daily NASCAR talk – online for SiriusXM subscribers nationwide.

Starting with this weekend’s races in Fontana, CA (March 24-25), subscribers who have SiriusXM Internet Radio access can listen to live broadcasts of every NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on the SiriusXM NASCAR radio channel through their computers at siriusxm.com and through the SiriusXM Internet Radio App for smartphone and wireless devices.

SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90, is available to Sirius subscribers, XM Premier (formerly known as “The Best of Sirius”) and SiriusXM Premier subscribers. 

SiriusXM NASCAR Radio is the only radio channel dedicated to NASCAR racing 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  The channel’s daily talk programming will begin simulcasting online on Thursday, March 22.  Throughout the season, NASCAR fans get a daily lineup of call-in talk shows that feature up-to-the-moment news, expert analysis and interviews with the biggest names in the sport, plus specials hosted by three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart.

“Extending our broadcasting agreement with SiriusXM was a big offseason move for the sport,” said Brian France, Chairman and CEO of NASCAR. “A dedicated NASCAR channel is important for our teams, tracks, drivers and sponsors and is crucial for fan engagement and audience growth. Being able to simulcast SiriusXM NASCAR Radio online to subscribers nationwide will allow us additional opportunities to take our product to new fans in new places.”

“SiriusXM NASCAR Radio has become a part of many NASCAR fans’ daily lives and with so many fans now connecting to their sport through handheld devices, we want to give them an easy way to access the sport they love online and in mobile settings,” said Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM’s President and Chief Content Officer.  “NASCAR is an excellent partner and its programming continues to be a key element in the SiriusXM lineup.  We’re very pleased to now deliver to our subscribers live coverage of every race broadcast, plus our unparalleled daily talk and analysis, through their computers and mobile devices in addition to their satellite radios.”

SiriusXM and NASCAR recently agreed to a five-year extension of their satellite broadcasting agreement.  SiriusXM will continue to broadcast every NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race live nationwide through 2016.  Listeners also get daily NASCAR talk and expert analysis 365 days a year on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

by Ismail Uddin

MP & Silva has acquired media rights for all platforms for the VELUX European Handball Federation (EHF) Champions League and the EHF Women’s Champions League in France, check  USA and Canada from the start of the 2012/13 season and for the next five years.

The company’s rights in the three markets will extend to all matches of the men’s competition, generic cheap the VELUX EHF Champions League and the EHF Women’s Champions League, and will include the weekly magazine show “Rewind – The Handball Show” and Match of the Week, produced in HD with full commentary in English.

The worldwide streaming rights for betting companies are also part of the agreement, which will run until the end of the 2016/17 season.

Peter Vargo, Managing Director of EHF Marketing GmbH – marketing arm of EHF, said: “We have been working successfully with MP & Silva on the Asian market. They are a major international media rights agency, and this significant deal underlines just how far we have come with the development of the VELUX EHF Champions League product into a major brand on the international TV market.”

Andrea Radrizzani, Group CEO, MP & Silva, said: “After working with EHF Marketing GmbH for over a year, I’m extremely happy to expand our partnership for prolonged period of time and to include North America and France. We want to encourage the global reach of Europe’s handball to other regions and MP & Silva network of international agents can support the EHF to increase their TV audience.”

by Ismail Uddin

World leader in Human Resources Solutions, ampoule Adecco will return to become the international sponsor of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas, joining Fed Cup by BNP Paribas in the process. The agreement will begin on 4 December and will run through until 2013.

Adecco have previously sponsored the Davis Cup between 2002-2007 and will be reinstated as the Official HR Partner of Davis Cup and Fed Cup. In addition to on-site banners and hospitality, the company will now sponsor the on-court speed serve package for both competitions.

“It is always good news when a top sponsor like Adecco chooses your competition. It is even better news when they decide to come back,” said ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti. “This shows a real vote of confidence for both Davis Cup and Fed Cup and reinforces the current strength of both competitions. We are delighted to welcome Adecco back. They are both friends and colleagues and we know, from experience, that they are a great fit for Davis Cup and Fed Cup.”

Adecco Group CEO, Patrick de Maeseneire commented on the decision to sponsor the Davis Cup: “We are proud to partner with the International Tennis Federation in what is the world’s largest international annual team competition in sport. By also acting as the Official HR Partner, we will be showcasing our top-class abilities in recruiting for large scale international sporting events.”

The British Broadcastin Corporation (BBC) have agreed a new four-year deal with the Rugby Football League (RFL) to remain as the principal broadcaster for the Carnegie Challenge Cup.

The BBC’s current contract was due to expire at the end of this season and the new deal means the Wembley final will continue to be shown by the corporation until the end of 2016.

The BBC will also continue to broadcast live matches from the fourth round onwards.

RFL chairman Richard Lewis said: “The Challenge Cup has a rich heritage and I am delighted that the competition’s long association with the BBC is to continue.”

BBC director of sport Barbara Slater said: “The BBC has been the proud broadcast partner of the Challenge Cup for over half a century so we’re delighted to be continuing our long and successful relationship with the RFL.

“Rugby league forms a key part of the BBC’s rights portfolio and through our new four-year deal we look forward to ensuring this prestigious and fiercely-contested tournament reaches an ever-growing audience.”

by Ismail Uddin

Baton 2010 Ltd., recipe owners of Charlton Athletic soccer club of NPower League One, viagra 100mg have agreed the sale of the club to former chief executive Peter Varney.

Legal and financial due dilligence processes have now begun and the takeover is expected to receive official clearance before the 24th December. Charlton fan Richard Murray is owner of the Baton 2010 Ltd. who took control of the club earlier in the year to restructure the English soccer club. Charlton Athletic PLC had previously announced that it could no longer operate under the weight of its £30m (US$47m) debt. A bid from Sebastien Sainsbury was turned down by Murray in November.

Proposed new owner Peter Varney held his position as chief executive for 11 years between 1997 and 2008.

Die Fans der DTM dürfen sich auch in Zukunft auf einzigartige Bilder der populärsten internationalen Tourenwagenserie freuen. Pünktlich zum Saisonstart vom 15. – 17. Mai auf dem Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg einigten sich der DTM-Rechteinhaber und -Vermarkter ITR e.V. und die WIGE Media AG auf eine Verlängerung der Zusammenarbeit für den Bereich TV-Produktion um weitere drei Jahre bis einschließlich 2011.

Zum Leistungsportfolio gehören auch eine ganze Reihe weiterer Dienstleistungen. So setzt WIGE die internationale Vermarktung der TV-Bilder für die DTM fort und ist auch vor Ort in vielen Bereichen aktiv: Die Redakteure der WIGE produzieren weiterhin das DTM-Fan-TV; Experten der Tochterfirma WIGE Performance werden auch in Zukunft für Zeitnahme und Event-Technik zuständig sein. „Eine langjährige Partnerschaft muss nicht gleichbedeutend mit Stillstand sein, viagra das beweist unser Verhältnis zur WIGE Media AG. Wir sind froh, ailment einen Partner an unserer Seite zu haben, order der unser Tempo und den hohen qualitativen Maßstab, den wir an jede Partnerschaft knüpfen, immer mitgehen konnte“, so Hans Werner Aufrecht, erster Vorsitzender des Vorstands des ITR e.V.

Mit bis zu 36 Kameras und einem Team von über 100 Mitarbeitern rückt die WIGE Media AG in den kommenden Jahren zu den DTM-Rennen aus. Dabei gilt die Serie auch dank der ständigen Weiterentwicklung durch WIGE als eine der spektakulärsten und innovativsten Motorsport-Disziplinen im TV. Drahtlose Kamerasysteme und vielfältige Sonderkameras, die das Geschehen etwa aus der Inboard-, Helikopter- oder Krankamera-Perspektive einfangen, machen die Serie zu einem TV-Leckerbissen.

Verwendet werden die Bilder nicht nur für die Live-Übertragungen der ARD, sondern auch für eine umfassende Weiterverarbeitung. So gehen die Bilder via Satellit live in alle Welt; WIGE-Redakteure produzieren vor Ort Newsedits, Wochenend Zusammenschnitte und viele weitere Formate. Nicht zu vergessen das DTM-Fan-TV, das auch in Zukunft über die Großbildleinwände an der Strecke zu sehen sein wird.

Auch die weltweite Verbreitung der DTM-Bilder gehört zu den Aufgaben von WIGE. Hier konnten die Kölner TV-Experten in den vergangenen Jahren mit kontinuierlich steigenden Zahlen überzeugen. So wurde im Jahr 2008 in 175 Ländern über die Serie berichtet; 58 Sender in 44 Ländern zeigten die DTM live oder zeitversetzt in voller Länge. Und die Tendenz ist weiterhin steigend: 2009 wird die Tourenwagenserie „made in Germany“ in 86 Länder live übertragen.

Ebenfalls verlängert wurde das umfangreiche und für die DTM maßgeschneiderte WIGE-Servicepaket. So gehören zur TV-Produktion auch Grafikleistungen und die Führung des TV-Archivs. Aber auch die Zeitnahme und eine Vielzahl von Event-Technik-Equipment liegt in der Verantwortung von WIGE – vom Zeitnahme-Monitor über Fotokopierer bis zur kompletten Licht- und Beschallungsanlage.