Europe

Aintree Racecourse, host of UK horseracing’s showpiece event the Grand National, has confirmed that the 2016 edition of the race will start an hour later than in previous years in an effort to help increase television audience figures.

Pan-European basketball competition the United League has reached an agreement in principle on a broadcast rights deal with Russian sports media platform Match TV, according to the tournament’s deputy chief executive Ilona Korstin.

German public-service broadcaster ARD and pay-television broadcaster Sky Deutschland have retained rights to German club football’s knockout competition the DFB-Pokal, according to Bild.

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has fired his latest shot in the ongoing discussions surrounding the value of broadcast rights for German club football by urging the German Football League (DFL) to secure better agreements from its next set of contracts.

Irish public-service broadcaster RTÉ is considering sublicensing on sports rights next year in an effort to generate additional income, according to the Irish Times newspaper.

Media and entertainment company Discovery Communications, which operates the Eurosport Norge pay-television channel, would consider an alliance over Norwegian football league rights in the country with public-service broadcaster NRK, according to the Kampanje news website.

The rojadirecta.me website, which has been accused of being a major source of online piracy of sports coverage, has been ordered to halt operations in Spain by this Friday, December 4.

Altice customers in France and Monaco will be able to watch live coverage of football’s English Premier League anywhere and on any device under the terms of a rights deal that will play a key role in promoting the telecommunications company’s broadband services.

UK free-to-air DTT channel Quest has struck a deal to broadcast coverage of the final round of the 2015 World Rallycross Championship motor-racing series.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, chairman of Bayern Munich, has rallied behind an “overdue” debate triggered by 2.Bundesliga club St. Pauli over the distribution of revenue from the broadcast rights to German football.

Spanish media company Secuoya has been awarded the host broadcast rights for the International Ski Federation’s (Fis) 2016 Freestyle Aerials and 2017 Freestyle Snowboard World Cup events.

Telecommunications company Altice has dislodged pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus as the rights-holder in France for English football’s Premier League, according to multiple reports.

Antonio Campo Dall’Orto, the director general of Rai, has said the Italian state broadcaster is not interested in entering the pay-television sector.

The English Premier League is to receive bids from broadcasters in 10 European territories today, TV Sports Markets understands.

French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus has opted to broadcast the final of the Davis Cup national team tennis tournament this weekend.

Pay-television broadcaster BT Sport has acquired rights in the UK and Ireland for the 2015 Hockey World League Finals.