Sky Deutschland Extends Rights Deal With U.S. PGA Tour Through '15

German pay-TV channel Sky Deutschland has extended its media rights deal with the U.S. PGA Tour for another three years through '15. The agreement provides Sky with the exclusive live TV rights to the tour in Austria and Germany. In addition to the live TV rights, Sky also secured the IPTV and mobile rights to the PGA Tour. Sky Sport Dir Burkhard Weber said, "The rights extension with the U.S. PGA Tour continues Sky's role as the No. 1 golf channel for the upcoming years. After [German golfer] Martin Kaymer's switch from the European Tour to the U.S.-based Tour, his German fans will be able to continue to follow him live and exclusive on Sky." The agreement consists of more than 40 events including The Players Championship in May, the Tour Championship in September and the Presidents Cup in October in which the U.S. plays against the rest of the world excluding Europe every two years (Sky Deutschand).

ON TOP OF THE GAME: Sky Deutschland "was the share with highest increase in value on the German stock index MDAX," which includes the country's top 50 mid-cap, non-technology sector companies. Sky Deutschland shares were able to increase their value drastically and "finished '12 with plus of 202.3%." The extensive speculations and hopes for positive numbers "resulted in a run on the shares from investors." The MDAX index "was able to increase its value by 36% in '12" (WALL STREET ONLINE, 12/31). DER AKTIONÄR's Thomas Bergmann reported Sky Deutschland "has extended its contract with CEO Brian Sullivan for another two years." Sullivan has been Sky's CEO since April 1, 2010 and his contract is set to expire at the end of Dec.'14 (DER AKTIONÄR, 12/28).