Oceania

Australian pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports and commercial broadcaster Network Ten are set to acquire rights for matches involving the Australia rugby union national team, according to the Australian Financial Review newspaper.

Damien De Bohun, head of Australia’s A-League, has said that a potential expansion of the top-tier football club competition hinges on the backing of the league's broadcast partners.

Golf’s PGA Tour has linked up with online subscription service Coliseum Sports Media to establish a new direct-to-customer service in New Zealand.

UK pay-television broadcaster BSkyB has agreed a deal to extend its rights contract with Sanzar, the umbrella body for the Australian, New Zealand and South African rugby unions, according to the Telegraph.

Bill Pulver, the chief executive of the Australian Rugby Union, the governing body of rugby union in the country, is confident a recent drop-off in viewing figures for the national team will not have an adverse impact on talks for the next cycle of rights beginning in 2016.

Australian commercial broadcaster Seven is set to table an offer to horse racing pay-television channel TVN to acquire rights for races held in New South Wales and Victoria.

Australia’s seven leading sports bodies have joined pay-television broadcasters in urging the country’s Federal Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, to reform the so-called ‘anti-siphoning’ list of events reserved for free-to-air television.

Sky New Zealand is considering offering “season tickets” that would allow viewers to watch individual sports or competitions online without purchasing a full subscription with the pay-television broadcaster.

A petition has been launched by internet provider Orcon calling for the New Zealand Rugby Union to stream live coverage of all national team All Blacks games online in the country.

Pay-television broadcaster Sky New Zealand will not renew a rights deal for coverage of various golf events.

Australian pay-television provider Foxtel has confirmed that it will cut the price of its basic cable-television subscriptions by a half and will freeze the price of its sports package.

Australian commercial broadcaster Seven is in talks to expand its partnership with TVN to carry all of the pay-television channel’s horseracing coverage, according to the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

Australian commercial broadcaster Seven has expanded its sports portfolio by acquiring rights for the country's Magic Millions horseracing event.

Fijian commercial broadcaster Fiji TV has said the country’s Communications Ministry is in talks with the International Rugby Board over the status of its rights deal for the IRB Sevens World Series following legislation that has been passed concerning the broadcasting of major events.

Indian subcontinent pay-television broadcaster Taj TV has acquired rights for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.

Pay-television broadcaster Sky New Zealand has paid a significantly increased fee to hold on to New Zealand’s domestic cricket rights, facing one rival bidder and the threat of new market entrants.