The Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) will meet on 16 August to finalise the tender process for the sales of internet and mobile rights of international matches played in India.

The body’s marketing sub-committee will handle the process.

Mumbai-based Nimbus Communications holds the global television and production rights for international matches played in India until 2013, a deal renewed in 2009.

Nimbus previously held internet and mobile rights from 2006-10 but opted against keeping them, meaning the rights are up for sale.

At this time there are no indications as to which companies are expected to bid for the tender.

American soccer league, Major League Soccer (MLS) signed a substantial three-year deal with broadcasting giant NBC Sports Group.

The partnership will begin in 2012 and Comcast Corporation, NBC and NBC Sports Network, will show 45 MLS games and four U.S men’s national soccer team matches per season, NBC and MLS said in a joint news release. Fox Soccer previously held the contract for the league.

The deal is worth $10 million per season, the Sports Business Journal reported, citing unidentified people.

Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBC sports group, said: “MLS is a perfect fit for our new group, and we are uniquely positioned to help grow soccer in the United States with extensive coverage on NBC Sports Network, significant programming on the broadcast network and our growing digital platforms.”

MLS already has local-coverage partnerships with five Comcast Sportsnets: California, Chicago, Mid-Atlantic, New England and Philadelphia.

ABC have agreed a six-year deal to televise the Indianapolis 500 through to 2018, extending one of the longest-running relationships between a sporting event and a television network past the half-century mark.

ESPN on ABC will broadcast the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race for the 48th consecutive year on May 27, 2012, and, with the new agreement taking effect in 2013.

The agreement also involves ABC being the network partner for the IZOD IndyCar Series from 2013-18 and will continue to televise four races each year in addition to the Indianapolis 500.

George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN and ABC Sports, said: “The Indianapolis 500 and ABC have been together since 1965, and we are very proud to extend the relationship with this new agreement. The 500 is a uniquely American event and a Memorial Day tradition, and we especially look forward to televising the 100th edition of the race in 2016.”

The Indianapolis 500 aired at first as part of ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” from 1965 until 1971, when it was broadcast for the first time as a same-day, stand-alone, tape-delayed telecast in prime time. It was shown on a delayed basis until the first live telecast in 1986. This past May, ESPN’s production of the Indianapolis 500 telecast used 64 high definition cameras, a satellite-activated effects system and more of the most modern television technology available.

 

Baltimore Ravens have extended and expanded their partnership with Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, the area’s leading source for multiplatform coverage which began before the 2010 season.

Comcast SportsNet, the ‘Official Sports Network of the Ravens,’ will significantly increase its game-day coverage of the team under the new deal.

The expanded deal means Comcast will add official pregame and postgame shows and preseason games to its extensive line-up of team programming.

The network will continue to deliver the Ravens’ complete line-up of daily television shows, live coverage of head coach John Harbaugh’s weekly press conferences and other team-related programming and online content throughout the season.

Rebecca Schulte, Comcast SportsNet Senior Vice President and General Manager, said: “We enjoyed a very successful season with the Ravens last year, so we are excited to extend and elevate our partnership to include high-quality game-day coverage.”

“This expanded coverage, in addition to the full news and entertainment programming we provide all season, makes Comcast SportsNet the number-one destination for Ravens fans.”

In addition, Comcast SportsNet will air full pregame coverage as ‘Ravens Kickoff’ prior to select games, beginning with the regular-season opener against Pittsburgh on Sept. 11. These exclusive shows, which will feature the region’s top analysts and insiders, will provide complete team-related news, analysis and interviews.

Ravens President, Dick Cass, said: “We can reach all of our area fans through Comcast SportsNet, which has a well-deserved reputation for outstanding regional sports coverage.”

Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic delivers more than 500 live sporting events per year reaching more than 4.7 million homes throughout the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.

A record global audience around the world have been tuning in to watch Rugby Sevens for a sixth consecutive year according to figures published by the International Rugby Board (IRB).

The broadcast report was delivered by IRB’s television distribution partner Pro-Active Television and was based on the 2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series, the first with a title sponsorship.

Television broadcast coverage was vast with 147 countries across the world watching the eight-tournament World Series, with 24 broadcasters showing action from the Series, which was won by New Zealand.

The grand prix-style Series accumulated 3,657 hours of total airtime – 3% up on the 2009/10 season – of which 1161.5 hours went out live.

Programming from the season of Sevens was carried in 16 languages and reached 332 million homes, with an estimated potential reach in excess of 760 million.

Only six years ago, the total airtime for the World Series stood at just 300 hours. This season’s coverage amounts to over 12 times that figure, underlining the considerable advances Rugby Sevens has made in the eyes of international broadcasters and the global sporting public.

Expanding to USA served its purpose where coverage was aired for the first time on NBC and NBC Universal, while broadcasters in Spain, Croatia and the Caribbean also joined the long list of takers of either live, delayed live or official IRB highlights programming.

In addition, bespoke online videos produced from each round of the Series by highlights production team 78Seventy Broadcast attracted over one million views on the official website, irbsevens.com, and Youtube.

Bernard Lapasset, IRB Chairman, said: “Rugby Sevens continues to prove a huge success with fans, broadcasters and commercial partners around the world, and is also attracting new members to the global Rugby family now that it has the ultimate seal of approval from the IOC.

“The non-stop, highly competitive nature of the action on the pitch combined with a festival atmosphere off it continues to be the sport’s winning formula.”

Giles Morgan, Group Head of Sponsorship, HSBC Holdings added: “This impressive record of growth, in addition to the half a millions fans who attended the tournaments this season, shows just how exciting and entertaining a sporting competition the HSBC Sevens World Series is. In our inaugural season as title sponsor, HSBC is delighted that more and more sports fans around the world are enjoying this world class competition.”

The 2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series was composed of eight tournaments in Dubai, South Africa (George), New Zealand (Wellington), USA (Las Vegas), Australia (Adelaide), Hong Kong, England (London) and Scotland (Edinburgh).

International sports media company MP & Silva, anabolics has confirmed that it has attained the rights in Asia for all of Italy’s home matches until the FIFA World Cup in 2014.

Italy have a friendly against World Champions Spain tonight, therapy in preparation for the return of the UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying rounds next month. Italy are in a group with Slovenia, Serbia, Estonia, Northern Ireland and the Faroe Islands and are leading the group by five points.

Upcoming matches that MP & Silva will distribute include: Italy vs. Slovenia on 6th September and Italy vs. North Ireland on 11th October.

Italy’s FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifying group will include Denmark, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Armenia and Malta and matches will be played in the period from 7th September 2012 to 15th October 2013.

“We are delighted to have added the rights for Italy’s crucial matches over the next three years to our global portfolio,” said Andrea Radrizzani, Group CEO, MP & Silva. “This agreements further cements our position as the leading agency in distributing football rights into Asia and we believe that, with this deal, we can enhance the positioning of the Italian national team and further increase Italian football’s overall fan base across the region.”

MP & Silva acquired the deal for all Italy matches played until 30th June, 2014 from Italian state broadcaster Rai and will distribute the matches in the following territories: Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zeland, Pacific Islands, Pakistan, South and North Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, The Philippines and Vietnam.

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has been asked by the South African Football Association to pay between $19.3 million and $21 million per year to renew its deal for the rights of the National Team matches, link a increase of more than $4 million.

They believe they deserve this new deal due to their successful exploits in hosting the 2009 Confederations Cup, ed 2010 FIFA World Cup and the national team getting international acclaim.

denture serif; font-size: 13px;”>The SABC have already agreed on some of these claim but the deal had yet to finalised.  The broadcaster and the association have been in discussions to renew the deal after the previous one expired at the end of March.

“We await a final quotation on the total revenue to be expected by the association through this exciting new venture,” Kirsten Nematendani, the president of the association, said.

The deal covers around 60 matches per year played by the South African national teams, including the men’s senior team, the women’s senior team and junior teams.

Castrol have a created a documentary centred around its global ambassador Cristiano Ronaldo, to launch its new product, Castrol Edge.

The unique, hour-long film-documentary was developed by M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment and filmed in Madrid, by UK production house, Plum Pictures. 

The documentary will give fans an rare insight into what makes Ronaldo tick and why he is considered one of the world’s best soccer stars. 

In the UK, Sky Sports has already earned itself the global airing rights. 

Castrol Edge has been developed by experts and was tested to its limits to become Castrol’s strongest, most advanced engine oil yet – by applying the same rigorous testing to Ronaldo, the new film-documentary Castrol Edge Presents Ronaldo Tested to the Limit, sees the Portugal and Real Madrid winger push himself in an in-depth scientific examination.

Castrol Edge Presents Ronaldo Tested to the Limit sees the star player’s skills, strength and agility taken away from the pitch and into a high performance lab where the world’s leading sports scientists use cutting-edge technology to test him in a series of challenges that show exactly what gives him the edge. 

Interviews with other leading soccer leaders will also be in the film such as Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger.

The global premiere of Castrol Edge Presents Ronaldo Tested to the Limit will take place in Madrid, Spain, in September 2011, before being broadcast on TV channels in 15 key markets for Castrol including Europe and Asia. 

Global distribution is being handled by Mindshare, and the film-documentary will be supported by a global PR campaign also created and managed by M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment.

‘We’re incredibly excited to be launching Castrol Edge globally and to be doing so with a film as groundbreaking as Castrol Edge Presents Ronaldo Tested to the Limit’ said Sean Rahaley, Castrol Edge Global brand manager.

‘By testing Ronaldo to his absolute limit, just like we do with the product, the film showcases the core brand values of Castrol Edge – strength and performance – in an entertaining and compelling way’. 

‘The film-documentary also allows us to offer a host of exclusive benefits and experiences to our customers and consumers from around the world, including exclusive access to the global premiere this September and opportunities to meet Cristiano in person’.

At the filming in Madrid in July, Cristiano Ronaldo added: ‘Shooting the film has been really exciting as it’s the first time I’ve ever done something like this. The challenges were designed to look at my strength and skill in detail and it’s been a great experience to see how my body works’. 

‘The challenges were really tough, but I think I did well on the day’.

According to Italian sport and leisure consultants StageUp, the decision of Italy’s top soccer league, Lega Serie A, to return to the collective selling of television rights boosted media-rights income by over 20 percent.

Global sports production and distribution company USP Content has been appointed as official radio provider to the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12.

The race, pills which starts starts on 29 October in Alicante, search Spain, case will receive dedicated radio coverage that will be carried across hundreds of radio stations worldwide to millions of listeners.

USP will provide live and pre-recorded audio coverage for the entirety of the race directly from Race Headquarters in Alicante, ports of call en route and from on board the boats themselves.

Listeners can look forward to being updated on the latest news, conditions and race standings, which will be delivered in multiple languages to reflect the diversity of nationalities taking part in the Race.

Adam Binns, Director of Radio & Television for the Volvo Ocean Race said: “We are delighted to be working with USP Content – a company with an outstanding track record in the field of sports broadcasting.

“In 1973-74 we had a weekly phone call to the fleet. Now our Race will be consumed when the listener wants, on all kinds of devices so it is essential we work with someone whose experience in live commentary, traditional radio and digital audio streams is unrivalled.”

USP Content masterminds BBC Radio 5 Live’s Formula 1 coverage, producing live, pre-recorded programmes and podcasts for the entire race calendar, and the company’s portfolio of sports broadcasting includes NFL, Major League Baseball and Premier League football.

Rob Jones, Managing Director of USP Content said: “Obviously I am delighted to be aboard such a prestigious project.

“We have devised a very sophisticated and comprehensive broadcast plan which will ensure many millions of people around the world will be able to ride every single wave!”

USP Content will build a broadcast centre attached to the NASA-inspired Race Control room in the Spanish Race Headquarters, allowing organisers to achieve better communications with the racing fleet and help USP to connect the media directly via live audio-conferences with the race itself as the action unfolds.