The National Lacrosse League’s (NLL) Minnesota Swarm has announced a new broadcast partnership with KFGI SAM 101.5 FM to air live radio coverage of the Swarm’s eight home games in 2012.

The deal marks the first radio broadcast partnership in team history. The Swarm enters their eighth season of play in the NLL this year.

SAM 101.5 serves the Brainerd Lakes area and can be heard in 18 counties in Central Minnesota. In addition, pills fans can listen to all eight broadcasts for free on the Internet by visiting Network1Sports.com. A link to the streaming broadcast will also be posted on SAM 101.5’s Facebook page prior to gamedays. Tom Martin and Dan Krogh will comprise the broadcast team.

Andy Arlotta, Co-Owner and Vice President for the Minnesota Swarm, said: “This is a very exciting day for the Minnesota Swarm and our fan base. This partnership with SAM 101.5 gives us more visibility and puts us out in areas that we haven’t necessarily been before. We were thrilled when SAM 101.5 approached us in regards to broadcasting Swarm games this season and it goes to show that we have an exciting, entertaining product that people want to share in their communities. We’re looking forward to creating new fans and getting people out to our games to show them what Swarm lacrosse is all about.”

As part of the radio agreement, SAM 101.5 will also feature a Swarm guest every Monday morning at 9 a.m. to talk Swarm lacrosse and preview upcoming games.

Dan Krogh, Sports/News Director for SAM 101.5 Radio, said: “We here at KFGI SAM 101.5 are very excited to have the opportunity to bring the listeners and fans of Minnesota Swarm lacrosse coverage of the upcoming 2012 season. We believe this partnership will benefit both sides. The whole staff here has been very excited about lacrosse ever since we attended our first Swarm game last season, and we are looking forward to being able to bring the excitement of the home season to the listeners in the Brainerd Lakes area on SAM 101.5!”

The Public Television and Radio Company of Azerbaijan, known as ITV, has secured the free-to-air television rights for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and Rio 2016 Summer Olympics by international sports rights marketing agency Sportfive. 

International sports marketing agency Sportfive in charge of media rights for Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016 decided to award the rights to ITV in Azerbaijan after concluding the broadcaster will ensure substantial live coverage of the two events, as well as providing additional programming around them.

“This agreement with Sportfive will enable us to cover both Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016,” said Ismail Omarov, the general director of ITV. “We will use ITV’s experience to ensure that the broadcasting is delivered successfully and that the programming is appreciated by our sports fans.”

ITV intends to focus primarily on Rio 2016 but have stated that they are fully focused on ensuring ample transmission of Sochi 2014.

“We are delighted to sign this deal in Azerbaijan and are confident that ITV will provide live coverage and excellent programming during Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016,” added Sportfive chief executive Shaila-Ann Rao.

Sportfive were appointed by the IOC as their official media rights agent for Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016 in 40 European markets after offering a guarantee of some £225 million ($348 million) to the organisation.

However, the agreement does not include the key European markets of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the UK, all of who negotiated broadcast deals directly with the IOC.

The IOC has already raised well over £400 million ($618 million) from these markets alone for the 2014 and 2016 Games even though the rights in the UK have yet to be agreed.

The deal for ITV is also put them in pole position to secure the rights in Azerbaijan for the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games and 2020 Summer Games

The 2020 Games could prove far more interesting to the broadcaster as the Azerbaijani capital city Baku are currently bidding to host the event.

Learfield Sports Cowboy Sports Properties, the exclusive multimedia rights holder for Okhlahoma State University Athletics, has inked an extension with Stillwater Broadcasting LLC keeping the Cowboys on Hot AC KSPI-F (HOT 93.7) and Country KGFY (Cowboy Country)/Stillwater as the school’s flagship for the next five years.

KSPI will carry football, men’s basketball and baseball games and wrestling coverage, while KGFY will air women’s basketball, softball and soccer, plus a coach’s show and daily show on Olympic sports.

“We’re pleased to have this agreement in place and look forward to providing our listeners with exciting OSU athletics for the next five years,” said Stillwater Broadcasting President Robert Mahaffey.  “OSU already has had an accomplished athletic season across all sports, and what an incredible BCS win for the football team at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl!”

Cowboy Sports Properties’ Kip Racy, added: “These two stations have done an excellent job providing quality programming and game coverage, and we’re certainly pleased to extend our relationship with them moving forward. We continually look at ways we can enhance the radio broadcast experience for fans and strongly believe we have a solid, long-term partner in Stillwater Broadcasting.”

Irish Sports broadcaster Setanta has signed a three-year deal with Basketball Ireland to broadcast coverage of the National Cup finals.

The three-year deal will see the sports broadcaster provide live coverage of the National Cup finals and a regular magazine programme, while there is the possibility the channel could also show the National League finals.

This year’s Men’s SuperLeague National Cup finals will see UL Eagles take on UCC Demons on Friday, February 3, while UL are also represented in the Women’s SuperLeague National Cup finals where they will face holders DCU Mercy.

“Setanta are delighted to broadcast the finals. Basketball is an incredibly popular sport in Ireland with huge participation levels among men and women so it would have been a shame if the finals were not televised,” Colin Morgan, Setanta CEO, commented.

As Ireland’s only dedicated sports broadcaster we have the resources to accommodate important Irish sport in our schedules.  We expect this to be just the beginning of a long relationship with Basketball Ireland and we look forward to working together.”

Basketball Ireland Secretary General Bernard O’Byrne has worked hard to secure television rights for the competition and he is delighted at the prospect of working with Setanta.

“This is a tremendous day for the sport. I applaud Setanta Sports’ vision in recognising that basketball is one of our national games and is played by tens of thousands of people in every community across the 32 counties of Ireland,” O’Byrne said.

“I urge all the Basketball community to support Setanta Sports in their efforts as we look forward to a fantastic night of basketball on Friday, February 3rd at the National Basketball Arena.

“I would like to pay credit to Setanta Sports for ensuring that our National Cup Finals will receive the live coverage the competition so richly deserves. I would also like to acknowledge the excellent support of the Irish Sports Council, for their role in making this happen.”

The commissioner for Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), Tonya Antonucci, has announced she is stepping down from the position at the end of the month.

The announcement came less than a day after the league concluded a troubled regular season.

Antonucci said: “For the league overall, it’s a time of transition from early stage growth now that several of the key building blocks are in place.

“For me personally, it’s been a great honour to launch and lead the league through its first two seasons, and the timing is right to move on to new challenges and opportunities ahead.”

WPS general counsel Anne-Marie Eileraas will succeed Antonucci as chief executive officer.

Digital video solutions innovator Ooyala and Tennis Australia, apoplectic the governing body of tennis within Australia, nurse have partnered to bring the Australian Open to the web.

The deal has already begun with visitors able to watch on australianopen.com, the official website of the 2012 Australian Open, from January 16. They can watch live matches from all seven of the tournament’s courts, as well as special features, highlights and interviews from one of the year’s most popular events in tennis.

Tennis Australia selected Ooyala as its official online media partner for its ability to quickly integrate its personalized digital video solutions with australianopen.com to create a premier live sports video experience that will attract millions of visitors from around the world over the course of the tournament. This is the first time the Australian Open will be delivered online for free.

In addition to helping Tennis Australia monetize its online video offering with a variety of Ooyala-powered video advertising tools, Ooyala’s digital video technology will dramatically increase viewership of the Australian Open through its seamless multi-device delivery to tablets, smartphones and other devices, and through syndication of videos to YouTube and other news and sports websites. Ooyala also handles important geographic content restrictions to comply with Tennis Australia’s broadcast partner requirements.

“This is an important first for tennis and the world of sports, delivering the excitement and action of the Australian Open to people around the world who otherwise may never experience the tournament,” said Steve Wood chief executive officer of Tennis Australia. “Ooyala’s combination of technology and services are the perfect solution to the myriad of challenges involved in sophisticated delivery of a live video project of this scale. We are thrilled to be working with their team to take the Australian Open to the web for free for the first time.”

Jay Fulcher, chief executive officer of Ooyala, added: “The Australian Open is not to be missed, and we’re happy to deliver the most powerful, personalized viewing experience for people tuning in online and on mobile devices. Starting the year with such a landmark live sporting event for a world-class partner like Tennis Australia really sets the tone for what people should expect in digital video entertainment this year.”

The partnership with Tennis Australia builds on Ooyala’s strong momentum as a leading digital video solutions provider for premier consumer and media brands and broadcasters. In recent months, Ooyala’s ability to combine the most personalized digital video delivery with the most powerful behavioral analytics and monetization tools has won the company partnerships with some of the world’s most innovative brands, such as ESPN and Victoria’s Secret, that are successfully using digital video to drive business results.

The San Diego Chargers have agreed to a new three-year deal with ClearChannel to broadcast all of the team’s preseason, cough regular-season and postseason games on radio. The new contract runs through the 2014 season.

Chargers games will continue to be simulcast on KIOZ-Rock 105.3 FM and KLSD-XTRA Sports 1360 AM.

“We are happy to continue our partnership with ClearChannel for the next three years,” said Chargers Executive Vice President-CEO A.G. Spanos. “We’ve had a very good relationship with ClearChannel and the variety of stations they own in the San Diego market allows us to reach Chargers fans through a wide range of platforms and music genres. It’s a winning combination.”

Debbie Wagner, Clear Channel San Diego President and Market Manager, added: “We’ve built a strong partnership with the San Diego Chargers over past seven years and look forward to bringing San Diegans the excitement of NFL football on KIOZ-FM and KLSD-AM for another three seasons. Whether supporting and promoting team rallies, interviewing players or covering pre-season activities, the partnership fostered between the San Diego Chargers and Clear Channel Radio San Diego extends to our entire cluster of stations, including World Class Rock 101.5 (KGB-FM), Channel 93.3 (KHTS-FM), Star 94.1 (KMYI-FM), News & Talk (95.7-FM / AM-600 KOGO).”

In addition to live play-by-play coverage of all Chargers games, both Rock 105.3 and XTRA Sports 1360 air locally produced shows prior to and following each game, while XTRA dedicates programming time year-round with the “Chargers Power Hour” airing weekdays from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.

GolTV will broadcast the next ten games of the Gillette Brazil World Tour in the U.S. and Canada, herbal as well as 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification matches involving Kentaro´s partner federations, impotent such as Germany, Sweden, Republic of Ireland, Austria and Norway.

The agreement, which runs from 2012 until 2014, also includes friendly matches from Kentaro Federation partnersand games from Kentaro´s club portfolio.

“As all eyes turn to Brazil and excitement builds for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, this agreement allows GolTV to showcase premier friendly and qualifier matches, connecting fans and reinforcing that GolTV is the exclusive destination for those who are just as obsessed with soccer as GolTV,“ said Constantino Voulgaris, executive vice president of programming and business development at GolTV.

“We look forward to working with GolTV to grow their business and that of the overall soccer market in North America,” said Jay Berhalter, President of Kentaro North America. “We are committed to providing outstanding content and service to our partners and fans of the sport.”

Olaf Jochmann, Managing Director of Kentaro Germany and Kentaro´s Head ofGlobal Media Sales, added: “We are thrilled to supply the ever-growing fanbase in the U.S. and Canada with a massive number of great games. This package includes some of the biggest names in international soccer.”

Japanese MMA organisation Dream has announced a promotional partnership and fighter exchange program with Stratus Media Group, allergy | Inc. owner and operator of ProElite MMA.

The alliance will foster co-promoted events, unhealthy both in the United States and in Japan with fighter exchanges featured on the cards of both fight promotions, asthma respectively.

“Our partnership with DREAM forms a promotional bond with the most prominent Japanese MMA organization,” said Billy Kelly, President of ProElite and COO of Stratus Media Group Inc. – parent company of ProElite. “DREAM has developed a stable of great fighters on their roster and a strong team behind the scenes. With this exchange, the two organizations are building a cultural and fight-event bridge that our fans are sure to welcome.

The initial fighter exchange debuts this Saturday, January 21, in Hawaii when DREAM star and Japanese fan favorite Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa takes on Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove in the ProElite main event at the Neal Blaisdell Center.

DREAM Event Producer Keiichi Sasahara, said: “I’m really honored to join the partnership with ProElite. It is important for us to exploit Asian or Pan-pacific markets by improving relationships with foreign organizations like ProElite. We would like to make this fighter exchange program a first step to generate synergistic success for both organizations.”

 

DirecTV Sports Networks will produce and televise up to 18 NCAA Big Sky Conference college football games each season under a five-year agreement announced on Tuesday. 

In addition, DirecTV Sports Networks and its Root Sports-branded regional sports networks will be the Big Sky’s official TV partner in basketball, with coverage of up to 12 regular-season conference basketball games as well as Big Sky quarterfinal- and semifinal-round conference men’s basketball tournament games. 

The three Root Sports networks reach more than 8.7 million viewers across 18 states, including Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, Utah and Colorado in the Big Sky footprint.

Big Sky Conference Commissioner, Doug Fullerton, said: “I think it’s a proposition where everybody wins. This is in my mind part of the natural evolution of the Big Sky Conference.

“We’ve long had the best distribution of football at the FCS level, and this is just another step in that process. I think it’s recognition that the Big Sky Conference is becoming a major player in the western United States.”

Patrick Crumb, president of DirecTV Sports Networks, added: “That is certainly a game of high interest for Root Sports, to be totally upfront about it. And frankly we’ll put considerable resources around it as we lead up to it.”