Clear Channel Satellite (CCS) has finalized a multi-year partnership with KLAC AM 570 Fox Sports, patient the Flagship station for Los Angeles Dodgers.

CCS will provide the space segment as they move their English-language radio broadcasts from 790 KABC to KLAC AM 570. The contract covers all 162 regular season games, the postgame show – DodgerTalk, any potential postseason games and at least seven spring training games to be broadcast on AM 570 and the 22 affiliates of the Dodgers Radio Network.

“We are excited to have another Major League Baseball team being delivered via satellite to radio affiliates,” said Monty Dent, Sales Manager, Clear Channel Satellite. The network will be utilizing Clear Channel Satellite’s StarGuide III Platform.

KLAC AM 570 Fox Sports is not only the Flagship station for the Dodgers, they are also the Flagship station for the San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Kings, UCLA Bruins and the Los Angeles Galaxy. Broadcasting since 1924 under the call letters KFPG, KMTR and finally KLAC, they are one of only a handful of stations established in 1924 that are still on the air.

Clear Channel Satellite specializes in satellite communications for Radio Networks, TV Networks and Disaster Recovery. This includes equipment sales and professional installation when needed. We also provide colocation and data center services. CCS delivers unsurpassed 24/7/365 technical support. Our state-of-the-art, secure facility is located near Denver, Colorado with geographical redundancy that is also manned 24/7/365.

StarGuide is a digital multimedia distribution system and the best value for delivering both audio content and spots to affiliates. In North America, 8 out of 10 radio stations have a StarGuide satellite receiver available for receiving radio network content.

The Big Sky Conference has agreed a deal with DirecTV Sports Networks for its Root Sports network to replace Altitude Sports as its official TV partner for Big Sky football and men’s basketball starting this summer.

The five-year deal was made with DirecTV Sports Networks, which owns the Root Sports networks. Root Sports consists of three networks which has more than 8.7 million viewers across 18 states.

The change will begin with the 2012 football season. The deal was set for broadcasting up to 18 Big Sky football games and 12 Big Sky basketball conference games each season, as well as the Big Sky quarterfinal and semifinal men’s basketball tournament games.

Each game will broadcast in high definition with state-of-the-art graphic elements customized for the Big Sky, but no definitive schedule has been set yet for each team’s air-time.

Sacramento State Athletic Director Terry Wanless said the move, which takes place on July 1, is going to be a great chance for Sac State to be seen all around.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for us as a league because it gives us by far the greatest number of exposures,” Wanless said.

The previous deal with Altitude cost the Big Sky $100,000 among nine schools, which was about $11,000 per school.

Wanless said the new deal with Root Sports would save Sac State and the other Big Sky schools the money and bring them some money too.

“Right now, (the Big Sky) is paying a company, Altitude Sports, $11,000 per school to cover football only,” Wanless said. “We are going to save $11,000 immediately, plus were going to get some residual dollars back from this contract.”

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) has withdrawn from next year’s Asian Champions League in protest against a ban on foreign teams, it has been announced.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has ruled that top leagues across Asia cannot contain foreign team, but the Singapore’s S.League has three – Chinese club Beijing Guoan, Japanese side Albirex Niigata and Etoile FC of France.

Chief of the FAS, Zainudin Nordin, said: “We concluded that due to our current lack of critical mass in key areas such as talent pool and resources, there is still a pressing need for us to continue having foreign teams participating in our league, to help address these gaps in our game and safeguard the sustainability of our league in football excellence, commercial and financial terms.”

President of the AFC, Mohamed Bin Hammam, added: “We have taken on board the situation of the FAS. We hope they will consider seeking direct entry to the ACL soon.

“It is hard to see Singapore out of AFC’s professional football activities in spite of their great potential. We will work hard towards seeing them playing an active role in our professional football programmes in the future.”

CBS Sports Network and the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced Tuesday the two parties have agreed on a multi-year deal to televise games beginning in the 2013-14 season, asthma the league’s inaugural campaign.

The agreement calls for a minimum of 18 conference games to be broadcast, ed including the NCHC’s tournament semifinal and championship games.

“With top teams and passionate fan bases, medic the National is poised to be an elite college hockey conference and we’re thrilled to be the national television partner,” CBS Sports Network Senior Vice President Dan Weinberg said. “College hockey has been a staple of our programming and we’re pleased to expand our coverage and further serve fans with compelling and competitive conference action.”

Western Michigan University officially joined the NCHC on Sept. 22 after the league was formed last July.

Conference commissioner Jim Scherr said he’s excited about the exposure the league will receive with the new television deal.

“We are delighted to be associated with the preeminent national broadcaster of college hockey,” Scherr said. “It is our goal to be the premier single-sport conference in intercollegiate athletics and the unmatched exposure and production quality that will be provided by CBS Sports Network will contribute significantly to realizing that vision.”

Joining WMU in the new conference will be Miami, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha, Denver, Colorado College, North Dakota and St. Cloud State.

League One football club Sheffield Wednesday has said that going into administration will not solve the side’s financial problems.

Wednesday has been served with a second winding-up petition by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over an outstanding bill of £600,000 (US$946,000).

The petition will be heard in the High Court on 17 November.

The club has debts of over £27 million (US$42.6 million) and chairman Howard Wilkinson and chief executive Nick Parker are currently negotiating with three potential investors.

A club statement read: “Ongoing talks with a lead investment party and others remain extremely positive. One investment group has pledged to pay HMRC £600,000 as a token of its commitment to concluding a deal at the club and we continue to monitor that situation.”

Hong Kong-based Legend Fighting Championship have announced an exclusive distribution and syndication agreement with ESPN International coinciding with Singapore’s One Fighting Championship formally announcing that it has entered into a 10-year deal with ESPN Star Sports, ed Asia’s largest sports broadcaster. 

Legend’s agreement with ESPN International will see the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” distribute the 2-year-old organization’s content exclusively throughout Asia, Oceania, the Indian sub-continent, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Legend programming, such as the upcoming Legend 7 on Feb. 11, currently airs in 10 countries throughout the Asia-Pacific, as well as in North America via same-day tape delay pay-per-view. The promotion has also hit American cable airwaves with “Legend FC: Reloaded,” a highlights program which debuted last August on Fuel TV. 

“Legend’s combination of a roster filled with elite fighters from the Asia-Pacific region with high-quality production values makes us excited to work with them to continue to develop their audience around the world,” ESPN International VP of Programming Mike Walter stated in a release. 

Meanwhile, One FC’s long-term deal with ESPN Star, an equal joint venture between ESPN and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. is being touted by the fight organization as “the largest MMA media deal in Asian history.” One FC CEO Victor Cui previously served as a senior director for the channel, which aired shows from his first promotion, Martial Combat, in 2010 and broadcast One FC’s inaugural event in September. Specifics of the deal were not mentioned in a release issued Monday. 

“ESPN Star Sports has always been at the forefront in offering innovative and engaging programming to sports fans across the region,” stated Adam Zecha, ESPN Star Sports executive vice president and head of sales. “We have successfully showcased a diverse range of combat sports events to fans, and with this long-term partnership with One Fighting Championship, mixed martial arts sports fans can now look forward to more exciting action on our networks.” 

One FC’s second event, “Battle of Heroes,” takes place Feb. 11 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The England and Wales Cricket Board today have announced today that they have extended their broadcasting agreement with Sky Sports from 2014-17.

Sky Sports has won the rights to show live domestic and international cricket in England and Wales as part of a package which includes all England’s home Test, One-Day International and T20 series, selected England Lions and England Women’s fixtures plus 60 days of domestic cricket every season.

Following last week’s announcement of a new six-year deal with BBC Radio, ECB’s broadcasting agreements for the next contractual cycle will deliver an overall increase in revenues compared with the previous four year period.

ECB’s agreement with Sky Sports also includes an option to extend for a further two years which would encompass tours by India in 2018 and Australia in 2019.

The awarding of TV rights followed an open tender process in which all broadcasters were invited to bid for a variety of packages which included the rights to individual Test matches, series or competitions, and a mixture of live and highlights programming.

ECB Chairman Giles Clarke said: “Sky Sports has raised the bar for all live television broadcasters with its innovative, informed and comprehensive coverage of cricket and we are very pleased to renew this agreement for a further four years.

“No-one should be in any doubt that our partnership with Sky has been of immense benefit to the wider game. World-class support structures for our successful England teams, major ground improvements at county level, a flourishing coach education programme and a five per cent increase in participation at our ‘Focus’ clubs are all by-products of this relationship.”

ECB Chief Executive David Collier said: “Today’s announcement is the latest in a series of broadcasting and sponsorship agreements concluded by our commercial team which will bring additional revenues into our game and be welcomed by all our key stakeholders.

“The sheer breadth and quality of Sky’s coverage which encompasses the main domestic competitions as well as key recreational events like the Barbados Cockspur T20 Cup Final demonstrates their passion for the sport and we look forward to working with them over the next four years.

“On behalf of ECB, I would like to thank both our Commercial committee and our Commercial Department for their efforts which will be hugely appreciated by everyone within the game.”

Barney Francis, Managing Director of Sky Sports, said: “This is good news for cricket and good news for viewers. Our viewers will enjoy a breadth of live coverage, at domestic and international level, and the ECB extends a partnership that has proved good for the game.”

He continued: “Cricket is flourishing in England and Wales with increased participation, record attendances and success for England’s men and women. Through extending our partnership, the ECB can invest on and off the pitch and the game can continue to grow.”

The ECB also announced today that it had renewed its broadcasting agreement with Channel 5 for highlights coverage of international cricket from 2014-17.

The broadcaster will continue to screen its highlights programme in early evening peak viewing time as part of a new four-year deal with ECB.

ECB Chief Executive David Collier said: “ECB strongly values its relationship with Channel 5 and we welcome their on-going commitment to cricket.  Their evening highlights programme provides an excellent snapshot of the day’s play in each Test Match and we are delighted that it will continue in an early evening slot which suits viewing patterns for families and younger viewers.”

Jeff Ford, Director of Programming, Channel 5 commented: “Channel 5 has been associated with English cricket for over six years, providing new and established fans with the very best in cricket highlights from Test matches and more. We’re delighted to continue our association with the ECB for another four years and to firmly cement our position as the terrestrial home of English Cricket.”

Row 44, Inc., provider of the world’s leading In-Flight Broadband Entertainment Platform, is partnering with the NFL Network to deliver live and on-demand NFL Network programming, including Thursday Night Football NFL games, in-flight to passengers’ Wi-Fi enabled devices.

NFL Network is the destination for all that happens around the sport of American football. NFL Network airs seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and provides viewers with nearly 2,000 hours a year of original programming, including: NFL Total Access, NFL GameDay, Top 10, Playbook, NFL Replay, NFL Classic Games plus the Emmy award-winning Sound FX and America’s Game series.

NFL Network is also the home of Thursday Night Football NFL regular season games, every NFL preseason game, AFL games, the Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine game, plus more coverage of the NFL Draft, Hall of Fame ceremony, NFL Scouting Combine and Super Bowl than any other network.

Passengers will also have access to NFL RedZone, the channel that every Sunday afternoon covers the most exciting moments of every game around the league. NFL RedZone, produced by NFL Network, whips around every NFL game on Sunday afternoons, delivering the touchdowns and most exciting moments as they happen. When a team goes inside the 20-yard line, fans see the crucial plays live. The channel keeps fans up-to-date in real time, switching from game to game with live look-ins, highlights and a chance to see every important play.

The new Row 44 service will also give passengers in-flight access to NFL Network’s video-on-demand library. This extensive library of exclusive NFL Network shows and NFL Films produced programming includes classic games, Super Bowls, documentaries and more.

Commercial airlines that select Row 44’s In-Flight Broadband Entertainment Platform will be able to offer their customers the service streamed to their own Wi-Fi enabled devices.

Row 44 Chief Commercial Officer Howard Lefkowitz, said: “NFL Network is a football fan’s fantasy, generously opening up the network’s suite of great football programming to air travelers – from exciting live games, to highlights, analysis, classic games and the world-renowned library of NFL Films.

“We are thrilled that NFL Network and NFL RedZone will further differentiate Row 44’s In-Flight Broadband Entertainment Platform as the world’s most extensive broadband experience for passengers today.”