Iraq's state broadcaster suspended a TV commentator after he "insulted a Saudi referee live on air during last week's Gulf Cup final" between Iraq and the UAE. During Iraq's 1-2 loss in extra time, Alaa Sarhan "had criticised what he said were biased decisions" by referee Khalil Jalal al-Ghamidi. He said, "Oh Allah, do not guide Ghamidi or the people to whom Ghamidi belongs," in an apparent reference to Saudi Arabia (AFP, 1/23). ... German Football League (DFL) subsidiary Sportcast, which produces the broadcasts of Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga games, will, in cooperation with TV channels, test the "use of gyrocotpers that will carry cameras." Sportcast plans to use gyrocopters only at top matches (QUOTEN METER, 1/23). ... Sky Deutschland and digital sports media group Perform revealed a partnership to distribute selected content from Sky Deutschland's sports channels in the German and Austrian markets across ePlayer, Perform's sports video-on-demand broadcast platform. The partnership will see content from Sky Deutschland's branded channels appear on ePlayer, streaming highlight clips of top sports events and news in Germany and Austria (Perform).
