ESPN has reached a five-year extension of its agreement with ATP Media, the broadcast arm of the ATP World Tour, for telecast rights in Spanish-speaking Latin America and the Caribbean to all nine ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events and the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Under the terms of the new agreement, ESPN's rights include full exclusivity for pay-TV and digital platforms in Spanish-speaking Latin America and the Caribbean. Each year, ESPN will present more than 400 hours of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event coverage. The new agreement begins with the first Masters 1000 event of the '16 season: the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, Calif. (ESPN).
IPL BROADCASTING: Flow Sports -- the region's newest and only Caribbean-based HD sports TV network -- announced Tuesday that it has become the official broadcast partner of the Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament starting in '16. Flow Sports will be the only broadcaster in the region to provide HD coverage of all the IPL matches. The deal also gives Flow exclusive digital rights for the IPL, which will be available for free to all Flow mobile and broadband customers via the cricketgateway.com platform. The IPL deal comes after the recent announcement that Flow Sports had secured broadcasting rights for two other global cricket tournaments -- The Pakistan Super League T20 and the ASIA Cup 2016 (Flow Sports).
NEW MARKET: English Premiership rugby clubs have reached a three-year agreement with NBC Sports for coverage of matches in the U.S. "as they bid to gain a wider audience in the country." The partnership "kicks off with the first Premiership match on U.S. soil," featuring champions Saracens and London Irish at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey on Saturday. The initial contract begins at the the start of the '16-17 season (REUTERS, 3/8).
PRE-EURO FRIENDLIES: The Russian Football Union agreed to a deal with state broadcaster Channel One "for the rights to the national team’s matches." The RFU "did not clarify the exact terms of the contract," but Channel One Deputy Managing Dir Alexander Fayfman claimed the deal will see "the broadcaster carry friendly matches" in the run up to this summer’s UEFA European Championships, held in France. Russia is "due to play friendlies against Lithuania, France, Czech Republic and Serbia as part of their Euro 2016 preparations" (SOCCEREX, 3/7).
MEDIA BRIEFS ...
Super League rugby side Hull FC announced a partnership with local business group, Halltech, which has become the club's new main partner. The group, founded by Alex Hall, agreed to a three-year partnership that will see the company become the highest-profile sponsor at the club. Over the duration of the deal, a number of its core business brands, including Bambu Scaffolding and Envolve, will appear on club apparel and branding, while a number of new dedicated initiatives will be launched for club members, supporters and local community groups, the latter working alongside the Hull FC Community Foundation (Hull FC).
RL360° Quantum announced a sponsorship agreement with double trap shooter and current world record holder Tim Kneale. The int'l offshore investments and savings provider will provide financial backing for Kneale as he prepares for the Rio Olympic Games. The sponsorship agreement will allow RL360° Quantum to provide regular and exclusive news and progress updates about his training and competition progress, as well as host exclusive corporate shooting events in London and Dubai (RL360° Quantum).
