The NBC will air the first two races of the America’s Cup, sailing’s marquee regatta which will be staged in San Francisco Bay on September 2013.

According to the Associated Press the deal with the NBC Sports Group also includes three broadcasts on NBC this year from the America’s Cup World Series. The remaining races in the America’s Cup match will be on cable on NBC Sports Network.

The deal is big for regatta organizers who hope to showcase the modernized America’s Cup to mainstream fans. Racing will be on a short course close to shore rather than miles out to sea, and in fast, wing-sailed catamarans rather than plodding sloops.

With the exception of ABC showing Race 1 of the 1992 America’s Cup in San Diego, every other race shown live since the epic Race 7 in 1983 has been on cable.

“It’s fantastic because it’s obviously mainstream TV and a lot of people are going to see the racing as a result,” said Russell Coutts, who sailed undefeated through three straight America’s Cup matches as a skipper for two different countries, and added a fourth title in 2010 as CEO of Oracle Racing. “Frankly, I think it’s the best TV result for sailing, certainly in my experience with the America’s Cup. This is going to be great for sailing and really, really good for the America’s Cup.”

The NBC Sports Group also acquired rights to the Louis Vuitton Cup in the summer of 2013 in San Francisco, which will determine which foreign syndicate meets Oracle Racing, owned by Silicon Valley maverick Larry Ellison, for the oldest trophy in international sports.

Richard Worth, the chairman of the America’s Cup Event Authority, said NBC will televise the final day of racing from three stops on the America’s Cup World Series (ACWS) this summer as well as the opening two races of the 34th America’s Cup match on Sept. 7 and 8, 2013.

NBC Sports Group is not paying a rights fee. Worth said America’s Cup officials will acquire air time and offer commercial time first to their own sponsors.

The biggest risk in televising the America’s Cup is the capriciousness of the weather. Delays because of too much wind, not enough wind or wildly shifting breezes can easily mess up broadcast schedules. Organizers believe they’ve largely avoided that problem by switching to catamarans that can sail in a wide range of conditions. Races have been shortened to better fit into TV time slots and will be sailed close to shore.

Worth said the final races in ACWS stops in Plymouth, England, and San Diego last fall proved that organizers can provide racing on schedule even in brisk conditions that sometimes had boats sailing on edge, with an occasional capsize.

The ACWS is being contested in 45-foot catamarans with high-tech wings as mainsails. The Louis Vuitton Cup and America’s Cup match will be sailed in 72-foot cats.

The first NBC broadcast is scheduled for July 1, the final day of the America’s Cup World Series in Newport, R.I. The other dates on NBC are Aug. 26 and Oct. 7, so America’s Cup organizers will fit events to those slots. Organizers are exploring having an ACWS stop on the Hudson River in New York, which would end on Aug. 26. If that’s not possible, there would be ACWS stops in San Francisco ending with televised races on Aug. 26 and Oct. 7.

Each boat will carry an HD camera and 14 microphones. America’s Cup officials have developed a system called LiveLine that will insert graphics into live shots from helicopters. Lines similar to the yellow first-down line used in football broadcasts will be used to show which boat is ahead, distance to the marks and course boundaries.

by Ismail Uddin

Tottenham made a £6.6m loss after tax for the year ending 30 June 2010 following the investment in a squad that clinched fourth place in last season’s Premier League and a place in the Champions League.

Increased prize money for the north London club’s highest position since 1990 contributed to record revenue of £119.8m in the annual report released today, but the team could not match last year’s £23.2m profit after buying players including Sébastien Bassong, Peter Crouch and Younes Kaboul. Profits before player trading were £22.7m.

Still, qualification for the lucrative Champions League was expected to boost income further this season. “We are benefiting now from our investment to date in the first-team squad,” the chairman Daniel Levy said.

Tottenham said total income was up 6%, despite a lack of European competition, due to a season of sold-out home matches and increased broadcast revenue.

But that lack of European midweek matches contributed to a drop in sponsorship and corporate hospitality income to £25.8m from £27.4m, while revenue from ticket sales dropped by a similar amount for the same reason even though all 38 Premier League matches at the 36,310-seat White Hart Lane stadium were full.

Since 30 June, Tottenham have added William Gallas, Stipe Pletikosa, Sandro and Rafael van der Vaart to their squad for around £20m. That expense will feature in next year’s results, although Tottenham should compensate for that in Champions League income.

Source: Guardian.co.uk

UEFA has announced today they have awarded the 2012–15 UEFA Champions League media rights to The Sports Channel in Israel.

The Sports Channel has acquired all rights to the competition and will broadcast three live matches each matchnight on Sport 5, asthma Sport 5+ and +5GOLD. In addition Sport 5 will also show a highlights programme every matchnight.

by Ismail Uddin

Staff of Arsenal Football Club, allergy including CEO Ivan Gazidis will be sleeping out on November 11 to help raise money for the Club’s Charity of the Season, Centrepoint.?

A total of eleven members of staff including senior management will join others at Old Spitalfields Market in giving up their bed for the night at Centrepoint’s annual Sleep Out, to show solidarity with some of the most marginalized people in society.?

Centrepoint is Arsenal Football Club’s Charity of the Season for 2010/11 and through its ‘Be a Gooner. Be a Giver’ campaign, the Club has set itself a fundraising target of £500,000 which will be used to create a state-of-the-art service in a refurbished building in Soho. The centre will help homeless young people across London to develop essential life skills to get back on their feet and stay off the streets permanently.?

CEO Ivan Gazidis said: “This is a great way for our staff to connect and engage with the club’s Charity of the Season, Centrepoint. It will provide a rare insight into some of the challenges that young homeless people in London are faced with. We are heartened by the response of staff and hope this event will push us further towards our season-long fundraising target of £500,000.”?

The Club will match staff’s fundraising endeavours as part of Arsenal’s ongoing commitment to reaching the campaign’s ambitious target and will also be dedicating its Premier League fixture against Fulham on December 4 to the charity, when players and directors will donate a day’s wages to Centrepoint.

To find out more about Arsenal’s Charity of the Season and see how you can donate, visit www.beagoonerbeagiver.org

IMG Media, arthritis part of IMG Worldwide, capsule the global sports, cough fashion and media company, today has launched EDGEsport, the first-ever 24-hour premium action sport channel, to the Asian market.

Aimed specifically at the active and athletic urban young adult, the channel will feature top action from key sports disciplines such as surfing, snowboarding, BMX, mountain biking, skateboarding, Supercross, skiing, base jumping, freestyle motocross and wakeboarding.

In addition there will be films, documentaries, athletic profiles and biographies, lifestyle programming and magazine shows – all in High Definition.

Adam Kelly, Marketing Director for IMG Media, said: “We are investing in action sports as we see the long term potential in this area. Our belief is that with the right approach and development this content will deliver the audiences of tomorrow for sports channels and platforms around the world. EDGEsport will help deliver the exposure needed for our clients to develop their distribution initially in Asia and then in the rest of the world.”

Graham Fry, Managing Director Sports Production Worldwide for IMG Media, added: “Action sports already has a young dedicated following and we see huge growth potential in this genre so we are delighted to be offering this 24-hour channel. It’s also an exciting new challenge for our team based in Singapore who are responsible for the output.”

IMG Media is producing the programming and distributing the channel globally and has already secured deals in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia with others in different stages of negotiation. The channel is being broadcast across various Pay TV cable, satellite and IPTV platforms.

EDGEsport will have over 700 hours of content from launch and will show major events such as the World Snowboarding Championships, ASP World Surfing Tour, BMX Supercross World Cup Series and H2O racing.

Other top events will be added to the EDGEsport channel throughout the year and the programming also has the ability to be simulcast digitally online and to mobile.

by Ismail Uddin

The France squad want to give sponsorship bonuses to charity in a bid to improve their image following a poor display at the World Cup, ed according to captain Alou Diarra.

“We want to do a good deed, unhealthy ” Diarra told French radio RTL on Tuesday. The squad are due an estimated two million euros in bonuses, their share of sponsorship revenue which is unrelated to footballing performance.

The players will now discuss with the French Football Federation their plan to give the money to charity.

France were eliminated in the first round of the World Cup in South Africa in June when the players also went on strike to support Nicolas Anelka after the striker was kicked out of the squad for insulting then-coach Raymond Domenech.

J.League, herbal the top division of Japan’s professional football league, has renewed its agreement with World Sport Group, Asia’s leading sports marketing, media and event management company, to distribute its media rights worldwide, outside of Japan.

The new deal is an extension of a partnership that began in 2002 and which continues into its 11th year with J.League’s 2012 season which kicks-off on March 10th. Eighteen teams, including AFC Champions League 2012 contenders Kashiwa Reysol – the 2011 J.League champions – along with Nagoya Grampus and Gamba Osaka will play in a double round-robin competition of 34 games per club. 

As part of the agreement, World Sport Group will also produce 30-minute highlights shows weekly, featuring all the top action from J.League matches, for global distribution. 

“We are delighted that we have renewed our agreement with World Sport Group. From this year, J.League will be putting more emphasis on Asia to obtain leadership in the region. As part of our scheme, we signed a partnership agreement with the Thai Premier League. We would like to strengthen the relationship with foreign countries and take necessary actions to be able to broadcast J.League matches overseas,” said Kazumi Ohigashi, Chairman, J.League. 

“In order to achieve our goal, it is essential that we cooperate with World Sport Group. We will deepen the bond with WSG and promote the value of our league together.”

Since 2002, World Sport Group has secured live broadcast coverage for J.League matches in key Asia-Pacific markets including Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and the Middle East, as well as in the U.S., Europe and South America.

Nick Mould, President, East Asia, World Sport Group, said: “As Asia’s most successful professional football league, J.League offers exciting, competitive club football. Interest in J.League outside Japan has increased significantly in recent years and season-long coverage is now available on every major continent. 

“We look forward to continue working with J.League to grow its audiences on a global level.”

by Ismail Uddin

Chelsea, check the English Premier League soccer champion, erectile is looking to Asia’s surging economy for its first stadium sponsor.

Ben Wells, the club’s head of marketing, says conditions in the global economy mean takers are likely to come from the east.

“We are in Asia, absolutely,” Wells said in an interview. “There are a lot of brands in these markets who eventually are going to outstrip their domestic demand and look to launch internationally. What better platform than the global footprint the Premier League provides?”

The Blues’ principal sponsor is South Korean consumer goods maker Samsung Electronics Co and the club sponsors the Asian Football Confederation, an organization responsible for soccer in 46 countries.

“The Asian market is colossal,” Wells said. “If you look at the AFC, they represent two-thirds of the world’s population.”

Current market conditions aren’t easy because sponsorship is being passed through greater internal rigor in terms of return on investment, according to Wells.

“The right partner will come along at the right time,” he said.

The Blues’ commercial revenue of 52 million pounds in 2009 is less than six of its European rivals’, according to accountant Deloitte LLP.

Source: Bloomberg

Eurosport überträgt zwei Spiele der deutschen Frauen-Nationalmannschaft live vom Algarve Cup.

Der Spartensender zeigt zunächst die Partie der DFB-Auswahl gegen Schweden am Montag ab 16.30 Uhr (MEZ) in voller Länge. Die Anstoßzeit wurde für die Live-Übertragung um eine halbe Stunde nach hinten verschoben.

Zudem strahlt Eurosport das Platzierungsspiel des amtierenden Europameisters am Mittwoch, arthritis 7. März, aus. Spielort und Anstoßzeit hängen in erster Linie davon ab, um welchen Rang das deutsche Team spielt. Sollte die DFB-Auswahl ins Finale kommen, kämen zwei Uhrzeiten in Frage. Wenn im Endspiel auch Japan stehen sollte, wäre auf Grund einer Sendeverpflichtung im japanischen Fernsehen die Anstoßzeit um 14.10 Uhr (MEZ). Bei jedem anderen Gegner würde die Partie um 18 Uhr (MEZ) angepfiffen werden.

Der scheidende DFB-Präsident Theo Zwanziger hatte zuletzt die öffentlich-rechtlichen Sender ARD und ZDF für den Verzicht der Übertragung kritisiert, gibt allerdings zu: „Es herrscht keine Atmosphäre im Stadion, in der man Spitzen-Frauenfußball präsentieren muss“, sagte Zwanziger in der „Sport Bild“.

ARD-Sportkoordinator Axel Balkausky betonte dagegen, dass das Erste noch nie den Algarve-Cup übertragen habe, was auch an der fehlenden Stimmung im Stadion liege. In den kleinen Stadien an Portugals Südküste ist das Zuschauerinteresse stets nur sehr gering. Meistens verlieren sich nur wenige Dutzend Urlauber auf den Tribünen.

Das ZDF hatte 2008 und 2009 aus Portugal berichtet. ZDF-Sportchef Dieter Gruschwitz führte als Gründe für den Verzicht Probleme bei den Verhandlungen mit den Rechteinhabern aber auch sinkendes Interesse für Frauen-Länderspiele nach der FIFA Frauen-WM 2011 an.