SportBusiness Media staff

Celebrity video website producer Young Hollywood will launch an online channel focused on the 2014 Fifa World Cup.

Qatari pay-television broadcaster Al Jazeera has acquired the exclusive rights in the Middle East and North Africa to English Premier League football in a three-year deal with the MP & Silva agency.

The Welsh Rugby Union has announced an agreement with UK public-service broadcaster the BBC which guarantees live coverage of Wales’ autumn international matches on terrestrial television until the end of 2018.

US pay-television broadcaster the Tennis Channel has requested a rehearing of its court claim that pay-television provider Comcast unfairly placed the channel in a lower tier than Golf Channel and other channels in which it holds an interest, according to the Variety newspaper.

IMG Media has confirmed Tom Harrison will head up the agency’s media distribution business in the UK and Ireland while retaining responsibility for international cricket board rights.

The Unidad Editorial media company and the Mediapro agency, which jointly own Marca TV, will close the Spanish digital-terrestrial sports channel on July 31, according to the Libertad Digital website.

Pay-television channel GolTV is to share the US media rights for the 2013-14 season of Dutch football’s top division, the Eredivisie, with sports broadcaster ESPN.

Production company Sunset+Vine has been appointed as the host broadcaster and distribution partner for the 2014-15 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race international sailing competition.

Spanish pay-television operator Canal Plus has agreed a multi-year extension to its media rights deal with US basketball league the NBA to continue broadcasting the competition in Spain.