SportBusiness Media staff

Tour de France organiser Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO) has renewed its deal to distribute the international television rights of the Tour Down Under for its next three editions, from 2014 to 2016.

East African pay-television provider Zuku has agreed an exclusive five-year broadcast partnership with Kenya Rugby Union for the airing of all rugby matches played under the auspices of the governing body.

Telecommunications company Bell has added its pay-television channel Sportsnet to the Bell Mobile TV service in Canada.

Pauline McVey, analyst for SportBusiness Intelligence, examines television audiences for the 2013 French Open as Nadal wins record-breaking eighth Roland Garros title

US sports broadcaster ESPN will launch SEC Network, a new pay-television sports channel dedicated to college sports’ Southeastern Conference, on August 21, 2014, according to the Orlando Sentinel newspaper.

US network Fox’s new national sports channel Fox Sports 1 will have a less serious “personality” as it prepares to compete against ESPN, according to Fox Sports chief executive officer David Hill. FS1

Australian public-service broadcaster SBS has agreed a 10-year deal for the exclusive rights to broadcast the Tour de France cycling event until 2023.

UK pay-television broadcaster BSkyB has agreed a three-year extension to its current rights agreement with the English Football League, taking the partnership through to 2018.

Pay-television broadcaster Abu Dhabi Media has blamed an “extremely unrealistic” price demand for its failure to extend its broadcast rights deal for English Premier League football, according to the Sport 360 newspaper.

The Swiss Competition Commission (Comco) has rejected a request from a group of cable television operators for provisional measures against telecommunications company Swisscom, which is accused of having established a monopoly by strengthening its position in the sports-rights market.