Springer acquires rights for ice hockey finals

German newspaper publisher Axel Springer has acquired live rights for online coverage of the finals of the 2013 German Ice Hockey Cup competition.

The rights for the finals, which will take place in Cologne and Berlin from April 14-24, will be exploited on the Sportbild.com website after the publisher struck the deal with the Sportsman Media Group agency.

Sportsman’s online sports broadcaster, Laola1.tv, and commercial broadcaster Servus TV, will also show live coverage of the finals.

Sportsman has a rights deal with the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the German ice hockey league, covering four years, from 2012-13 to 2015-16. Laola1.tv and Servus TV already have rights deals for coverage of the league, which also operates the cup competition.