Oceania

Media conglomerate News Corporation and Australian commercial broadcaster Nine are still some way from signing an agreement on rights for rugby league competition the NRL, despite suggestions a deal could be signed as soon as this week, according to The Australian.

Australian commercial broadcaster Nine and pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports are in talks over a new rights deal for the NRL that could see all games from the club rugby league competition covered live for the first time, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Corporate bookmakers and alcoholic drinks manufacturers will still be permitted to advertise during sports broadcasts in Australia, despite new restrictions being placed on free-to-air broadcasters in the country.

Australian pay-television operator Foxtel’s loss of English Premier League rights has been downplayed by its parent company News Corporation, with the media conglomerate’s chief executive, Robert Thomson, questioning the value of the top division of English club football.

England’s Premier League this week completed the first set of deals across Asia for its rights in the 2016-17 to 2018-19 cycle, with mixed results. It saw significant increases in value from Australia and New Zealand, but a decline in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, while Malaysia and Myanmar are proving difficult.

Allen Lew, the chief executive of Optus, has said the telecommunications company could pursue further sports rights after acquiring exclusive rights in Australia for football’s English Premier League.

Telecommunications company Optus has acquired exclusive rights in Australia for football’s English Premier League top tier.

Australian commercial broadcaster Ten has not held any discussions with pay-television broadcaster Foxtel with regard to sublicensing rights to the Australian Football League Aussie rules tournament.

Fijian commercial broadcaster FBC has acquired rights to the 2015-16 season of the World Rugby Sevens Series.

Financial losses at Australian commercial broadcaster Ten almost doubled to A$312.2m (€205m/$226m) in the 12 months through to the end of August 2015.

The Cricket Australia governing body has agreed a three-year partnership with telecommunications firm Optus under which video of some of the national team’s greatest historic matches will be digitised and made available to its customers.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has approved pay-television operator Foxtel’s deal to acquire a 15-per-cent stake in commercial broadcaster Ten, stating its concerns the agreement could reduce competition for premium content such as sports rights had been allayed.

UK pay-television broadcaster Sky has agreed a five-year extension to its rights contract with Sanzar, the umbrella body for the Australian, New Zealand and South African rugby unions.

Australia’s National Basketball League has agreed a multi-year domestic rights deal with commercial broadcaster Nine.

The Australian Football League, the top division of Aussie rules football, intends to divide revenue from its new broadcast rights deal in more of a “group co-ordinated manner” rather than dealing with clubs and players separately, according to The Age.

The new deal with Racing Victoria, the representative body of the state’s four racing clubs, covers domestic and international broadcast rights, plus digital rights.