Sport1, a leading German sports broadcaster, has acquired a package of rights from major media rights agency MP & Silva to cover Italy’s Serie A domestic football competition.

The agreement will commence from this weekend and under the terms of the deal, Sport1 will air one game per week via Livestream on the Sport1.de online platform, while individual matches will also be available on the new pay-TV channel SPORT1+.

Sport1 already holds the rights to Italy’s Coppa Italia, the Coupe de France and the English FA Cup thanks to its existing partnership with MP & Silva. The sports media agency has a contract with Serie A to serve as the league’s international media rights distributor for the current and 2011-12 seasons.

Alexander Rosner, editor-in-chief at Sport1, stated: “With Serie A, we are further expanding our extensive range of international football on SPORT1.de.”

He added: “Besides our Tuesday evening highlights magazine, which has already been airing on free-TV channel Sport1 since September, fans of Serie A can now also enjoy live top football from Italy’s elite league.”

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has changed the rules regarding dealing with the time frame for bidding cities to host the Olympic Games.

Olympic guidelines set the time frame between July 15 and August 31 due to the extensive appointments in the international sports calendar. Hence in 2008, price Qatar bid was excluded because they proposed to stage the Games in October due to the extreme heat conditions in the summer months.

Following an IOC executive board meeting, health it was concluded that the decision to change the dates will be submitted to the Executive Board in the initial phase of bidding. This will eliminate allowing cities to go to the second phase of bidding unnecessarily if their proposed dates do not meet the requirements of the IOC.

Another key modification in the bidding process was that bid proposals from the cities located in the southern hemisphere to stage the winter Games will also have to go through an early vetting process.

The IOC also is looking at simplifying the paperwork in the submission process and also eliminating duplicate paperwork.

Lancashire County Cricket Club is looking to sell the naming rights to its Old Trafford ground, it has been reported.

Other cricket clubs have taken similar decisions this season, including Durham which saw the Riverside become the Emirates Durham International Cricket Ground, while Surrey’s home has been sponsored by Fosters and AMP in the past and is now the Brit Oval.

Lancashire chief executive Jim Cumbes said: “We will explore all options – it is in our minds to sell the naming rights.

“But it would have to be right for the ground because Old Trafford is such an iconic name and such a strong brand.

“Half the world knows it as a football ground and the other half know it as a cricket ground.

“If it fits with the name of Old Trafford then it is something we are looking at.”

Lancashire is hoping to host an Ashes test in 2013.

The Asian Golf Tour has postponed next month’s Macau Open, it has been announced.

Reports have claimed the postponement is down to the event promoter, the Macau Sports Development Board, failing to attract a private sponsor to back the event, which was getting more and more expensive every year.

The Tour said in a statement: “The Macau Open, which was slated from October 21-24, 2010, has been postponed by the event promoter, the Macau Sports Development Board.”

An Asian Tour spokesman added that he didn’t know whether the tournament would be rescheduled later this year, saying: “Only the Macau Sports Development Board can tell that.”

The Macau Open has been running since 1998, and Colin Montgomerie, eight-times European champion, is one of its past winners.

Sports broadcaster ESPN is preparing to announce the appointment of Ross Hair as its new head of operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Hair will join from Sony Pictures Television and will bring an end to a five month search for a replacement for Lynne Frank who left the position citing personal reasons in April.

Hair’s appointment will mark his second stint at ESPN, having previously worked for the company’s Star Sports business in Singapore.

Before that, he spent five years at children’s television channel Nickelodeon in the UK, joining from BSkyB.

It is not yet known when Hair will take up his new role, but until that time, the businesses will be overseen by Russell Wolff, executive vice president of ESPN International.

Frank was a highly respected member of the ESPN team, who oversaw the acquisitions of Cricinfo.com and Scrum.com during her five years in the job.

Scottish Rugby have announced that it has awarded its global broadcast rights to sports marketing agency Pitch International for three seasons.

The deal grants Pitch the exclusive right to distribute home Scotland Autumn Tests matches in 2014, discount 2016 and 2017 around the world.

Dominic McKay, Scottish Rugby Director of Commercial Operations, Communications and Public Affiars, said: “Scottish Rugby is delighted to partner with Pitch International.

“Their vast expertise in the sports rights market and enthusiasm for taking Scotland games around the world impressed throughout, in what was a highly competitive tender process.

Henri Kamerling, Head of Sales at Pitch International, said: “We are delighted to be working with Scottish Rugby and its partners and helping them grow the existing coverage of their games.

“Scotland have some very attractive fixtures over the next few years and we believe that with our long experience of selling major rugby rights we can contribute significantly towards the growth of their business.”

Rutland in Great Britain has been named as the venue for the 2015 ISAF Team Racing World Championship.

Located in central England near Leicester and Peterborough, viagra the 2015 ISAF Team Racing Worlds will be held at Rutland Sailing Club on Rutland Water, allergy a large inland stretch of water.

Following a bid process, the ISAF Team Racing Sub-committee made a recommendation to the ISAF Executive Committee who approved the choice of Rutland.

ISAF Competitions Manager Jon Napier said, “Over the 20 year history of the ISAF Team Racing Worlds, team racing specialists, Olympic medallists and match racers have locked horns in the high octane team racing environment. More of the same close, exciting racing will be expected at the 2015 edition.

“Rutland Sailing Club has a strong team racing heritage and passion for the discipline. With an exceptional infrastructure in place we look forward to working with the Organising Authority to deliver a successful event.”

Event Director Steve Tylecote added, “Rutland Sailing Club is proud to have been chosen by ISAF to host this prestigious event.

“Rutland is a National Centre of Excellence for sailing set on an enormous picturesque reservoir in England with outstanding facilities and a very experienced team.”

The 2015 ISAF Team Racing Worlds are provisionally scheduled for July 2015.

Ticketing provider PrimeSport have announced a new partnership with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to offer official fan travel packages for both the 2014 Indianapolis 500 and 2014 Crown Royal Presents the “Your Hero’s Name Here” 400 at the Brickyard.

The 2014 Indianapolis 500 will take place Sunday, May 25, 2014 while the Crown Royal Presents the “Your Hero’s Name Here” 400 at the Brickyard event will run Sunday, July 27, 2014.

“Our goal is to provide racing fans coming to Indianapolis with the absolute best experience possible, and we are excited about being able to offer that exceptional experience through our new partnership with PrimeSport,” said Doug Boles, President, Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “PrimeSport has an extensive track record managing fan travel for high-profile sporting events, and we are looking forward to tapping into the unmatched travel services they can provide fans for our events.”

As part of the partnership, PrimeSport is offering Official Indianapolis 500 Travel Packages that include: 2 – 4 nights hotel accommodations, pre-race pit pass, driver’s meeting pass for Saturday May 24, roundtrip transfers to the race and airport, official Indy 500 race program and souvenir, admission to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, breakfast at the hotel and premium race tickets (with upgrades available). Each package is customizable and can be fit to a fan’s specific needs.

“We are thrilled about our partnership with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the opportunity to offer racing fans an unforgettable and hassle-free experience when traveling to Indianapolis,” said Sam Soni, President at PrimeSport. “We are looking forward to providing fans with a safe, reliable and officially sanctioned place to buy official travel packages.”