MUMBAI: MP and Silva, a media rights company, has agreed to a six-year deal with The FA for the acquisition of the FA Cup, the FA Community Shield match and rights for England National Team matches until 2018.

The package covers all Asian territories, except Thailand.

The FA Cup is the world?s oldest domestic Cup competition, with a history of famous upsets and big game clashes. The package offers up to 59 live matches per season, featuring several prestigious English clubs, with the semi-finals and final played at the iconic Wembley Stadium.

The deal with The FA also covers the Community Shield match, the traditional curtain-raiser of the English football season, England national team qualifying matches for the 2014 Fifa World Cup and all England friendly and Under 21 matches.

The FA broadcast manager Mark Shannon said, ?The Football Association is delighted to announce a new long term partnership in Asia with MP & Silva. Their expertise and strong portfolio of football rights in the region impressed throughout a highly competitive tender process. We very much look forward to working with them to further enhance The FA?s competitions in the in the years to come?.

With this new acquisition MP & Silva now has the Asian rights for all English football?s Cup competitions. Since 2010-11, MP & Silva has also managed the rights of Premier League in selected territories in Asia.

MP and Silva Group CEO Andrea Radrizzani said, ?English football is extremely popular in Asia and I am delighted that we can use our local network and expertise to increase the revenues and exposure of The FA in Asia. The rights for the FA Cup, together with Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Brazilian League and World Cup qualifier matches puts MP and Silva in control of football rights in Asia, helping us to better negotiate with different broadcasters and ensuring that audience numbers will keep growing in the region."

MUMBAI: News Corp is planning to launch a national US sports network on cable television to take on Walt Disney-owned network ESPN, the dominant player in that market.

According to Bloomberg News, the company is considering converting its action-sports network Fuel to the new channel that would compete not just with ESPN but with NBC?s and CBS?s sports networks.

Fox Sports chairman David Hill is spearheading the new channel which could begin service by the end of this year.

The implications of this could also be felt in Asia where the two companies run the ESPN Star Sports join venture, which according to recent media reports is on the verge of splitting. This development will only add fuel to that speculation.

The company is also in the process of assembling the required rights from pay-TV carriers and sports organisations for the yet-to-be-launched channel.

News Corp had recently snapped up various sports rights prominent among them being the US TV rights to Fifa World Cup in 2018 and 2022, beating competition ESPN. It had also secured rights to the Pac-12 Conference and Big-12 Conference games and is in the running to secure an exclusive deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

According to Miller Tabak & Co analyst David Joyce, "The success of all these networks will depend on the quality of their sports rights. There?s been a lot of competition for those rights and that?s driven up costs."

Joyce also opined that ESPN is well-positioned to withstand competition because of its rights for Monday Night Football and national baseball and basketball games.

A national sports channel can capture higher affiliate fees from pay-TV providers such as Comcast and DirecTV, according to research firm SNL Kagan. ESPN will command $5.06 per subscriber per month this year, the most of any cable channel, it estimates.

MUMBAI: Soccer?s governing body Fifa has announced the extension of its broadcast rights agreement with Brazilian broadcaster Globo for the 2018 Fifa World Cup Russia and the 2022 Fifa World Cup Qatar.

The agreement covers cable, satellite, terrestrial, mobile and broadband Internet transmission across the country.

Fifa Secretary General J?r?me Valcke said, "Globo?s strength in distribution across such a vast territory as Brazil ensures the tournament can be followed by as many people as possible, and this was the determining factor in our decision to extend the agreement with Globo".

Globo chairman, CEO Roberto Irineu Marinho said, "For more than 40 years, Fifa and Globo have developed a very fruitful partnership which has led to significant rewards for both of us. During all these years, Fifa has succeeded in making football the most popular sport with a huge audience all over the world and Globo is very proud of being part of it. The most important thing to Globo is to allow our viewers to be part of the tournaments as if they were on the pitch themselves. For that reason, we are proud to extend this partnership".

Globo, a Fifa broadcast partner since 1970, has committed to unprecedented presence and coverage levels of the 2014 Fifa World Cup Brazil onwards, including free TV coverage as agreed between the two parties and in line with Fifa distribution policies.

MUMBAI: The All India Football Federation is planning to bid for the under-17 FIFA World Cup in 2017 in a bid to take the popularity of the sport to the next level.

Described as a ?sleeping giant? by none other than the current FIFA president Sepp Blatter, the Indian football has been going through lots of high in the recent past with developments like Argentina-Venezuela match and the visit of Blackburn Rovers to Pune among others. The hosting of U-17 FIFA WC could well be the turning point for the sport, that is if all goes as per the plan.

AIFF vice-president A R Khaleel said that the national body is serious in its bid to host the Under 17 World Cup. "India is going to bid for the Under 17 World Cup in 2017. But it will be a long process and the AIFF will have to take permission from the government. It will be a long process."

Khaleel also brushed aside concerns, saying the country has the infrasturcture required to host this event. He also hinted that the event will be held at four or five countries across the country.

"Four or five venues will be enough and it can be held across the country. We have Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Delhi, Banglaore Football Association Stadium, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai and Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata where the matches can be held. So we have the infrastructure," he said.

AIFF president Praful Patel had in the past expressed his desire to host the under 17 World Cup in 2017 following FIFA director for Member Associations and Development Division, Thierry Regenasses mooted the idea for India to host the tournament in 2017 or 2019.

The U-17 World Cup is a 24-team held every two years. The 2013 edition of the tournament will be hosted by United Arab Emirates while the 2015 event will be held in Chile.

MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Disney?s net income for the fiscal was up 21 per cent to $4.8 billion.

Disney president, CEO Robert A. Iger said, ?Fiscal 2011 was a great year financially and strategically, demonstrating the strength of our brands and businesses with record revenue, net income and earnings per share. We are confident the company is well-positioned to deliver long-term value for our shareholders with our focus on quality content, compelling uses of technology and global asset growth.?

Media Networks revenues for the year increased by nine per cent to $18.7 billion and segment operating income increased 20 per cent to $6.1 billion. For the quarter, revenues also increased by per cent to $4.8 billion and segment operating income increased by 20 per cent to $1.5 billion.

Operating income at Cable Networks increased $760 million to $5.2 billion for the year due to growth at ESPN and the worldwide Disney Channels and an increase in equity income. The increase at ESPN reflected higher advertising and affiliate revenue, partially offset by higher programming and production, labour and marketing costs. Higher advertising revenue was driven by higher rates while the increase in affiliate revenue reflected contractual rate increases.

The programming and production cost increase was driven by the addition of college football programming including Bowl Championship Series games and contractual rate increases for NFL, college football, NASCAR and Major League Baseball programming. These increases were partially offset by the absence of programming costs for the FIFA World Cup which was broadcast in the prior year.

Growth at the worldwide Disney Channels was driven by higher affiliate revenue due to higher contractual rates domestically and subscriber growth internationally, sales of Disney Channel programming and increased advertising revenues internationally. These increases were partially offset by higher programming and production costs due to more episodes of original programming. Increased equity income was driven by the absence of programming write-offs and higher advertising and affiliate revenues at A&E/Lifetime (AETN).

For the quarter, operating income at Cable Networks increased by $191 million to $1.3 billion due to growth at the worldwide Disney Channels, increased equity income and an improvement at ESPN. The increase at the worldwide Disney Channels was driven by sales of Disney Channel programming, higher affiliate revenue due to contractual rate increases domestically and advertising revenue growth internationally.

The increase at ESPN reflected higher contractual rates for affiliate fees and, to a lesser extent, growth in advertising revenue, partially offset by an increase in programming and production, labor and marketing costs. Advertising revenue growth was driven by higher rates, partially offset by fewer units sold and lower ratings, in part reflecting the absence of the FIFA World Cup. Programming and production cost increases were driven by higher contractual rates for college football and NFL programming, partially offset by the absence of programming costs for the FIFA World Cup. Increased equity income reflected the absence of programming write-offs at AETN.

Operating income at Broadcasting increased $254 million to $913 million for the year driven by lower programming and production costs at the ABC Television Network, higher advertising revenues at the Network and owned television stations, and higher affiliate fees, partially offset by a decrease in the cost charged to ESPN for programming aired on the Network. Decreased Network programming and production costs reflected a lower cost mix of programming in primetime due to a shift in hours from original scripted programming to reality programming, the shift of the Rose Bowl and BCS National Championship game to ESPN and lower news and daytime production costs. Higher Network advertising revenues reflected higher rates, partially offset by lower ratings.

For the quarter, operating income at Broadcasting increased $54 million to $201 million driven by lower programming and production costs and higher Network advertising revenues, partially offset by decreased political advertising at the owned television stations. Lower programming costs were driven by decreased write-offs. Higher Network advertising revenues were due to higher rates, improved news ratings and higher sports units sold, partially offset by lower primetime ratings.

Studio Entertainment revenues for the year decreased by five per cent to $6.4 billion and segment operating income decreased by 11 per cent to $618 million.

For the quarter, revenues decreased by eight per cent to $1.5 billion and segment operating income increased 13% to $117 million. Lower results for the year reflected decreased worldwide theatrical and home entertainment results and higher technology infrastructure spending, partially offset by lower film cost write-downs and a higher revenue share with the Consumer Products segment primarily due to the performance of Cars merchandise.

Decreased theatrical results reflected the stronger overall performance of key prior-year titles, Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland, Iron Man 2 and Princess and the Frog compared to the current-year performance of Cars 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Tangled, Thor and Captain America. This decrease was partially offset by the poor performance of prior year summer releases, The Prince of Persia and Sorcerer?s Apprentice.

Decreased home entertainment results reflected a change in the transfer pricing arrangement between Studio Entertainment and Media Networks for the distribution of Media Networks home entertainment product and lower domestic sales volume. These decreases were partially offset by higher unit sales and improved net effective pricing internationally which benefitted from a higher Bluray sales mix.

Improved results for the quarter were driven by lower film cost write-downs and improved domestic theatrical results, partially offset by decreased international theatrical and worldwide home entertainment results. In both domestic and international theatrical markets, Cars 2 did not perform in line with the strong prior year performance of Toy Story 3.

However, domestic theatrical results improved due to the better overall performance of The Lion King 3D and The Help in the current quarter, compared to The Sorcerer?s Apprentice, You Again and Step Up 3 in the prior year quarter. Domestic theatrical results also benefitted from lower pre-release marketing expense. Decreased home entertainment results reflected lower overall sales volume domestically and decreased sales of catalog titles internationally. Consumer Products revenues for the year increased by 14 per cent to $3.0 billion and segment operating income increased by 21 per cent to $816 million.

For the quarter, revenues increased 12 per cent to $816 million and segment operating income increased 13 per cent to $207 million. The increase in segment operating income for the year and quarter was driven by higher Merchandise Licensing revenues reflecting the strong performance of Cars merchandise and higher revenue from Marvel properties. The increase in revenue from Marvel properties reflected the impact of acquisition accounting which reduced revenue recognition in the prior-year periods. These increases were partially offset by a higher revenue share with the Studio Entertainment segment primarily due to the performance of Cars merchandise. The increase in revenue from Marvel properties for the year also included an additional quarter of operations for Marvel which was acquired at the end of the first quarter of the prior year.

Additionally, results for the year reflected an improvement at the Disney Store North America driven by higher comparable store sales. Interactive Media Interactive Media revenues for the year increased by 29 per cent to $982 million and operating results decreased $74 million to a loss of $308 million. For the quarter, revenues increased by 19 per cent to $223 million and operating results improved $10 million to a loss of $94 million.

MUMBAI: Soccer?s governing body Fifa has secured TV rights deals worth $1.85 billion for the period 2015-2022.

Fifa has awarded the sales representation for selected territories in Asia to Infront Sports and Media following an
international tender process. The territories comprise India,
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China PR, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Macau, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

The rights for the 2015 to 2022 period include the 2018 Fifa World Cup Russia and the 2022 Fifa World Cup Qatar, the Fifa Women?s World Cup Canada 2015 and the Fifa Women?s World Cup 2019, as well as other Fifa events.

Fifa?s executive committee has decided on further sales and
distribution of media rights for the same period in the following territories:

? Australia -- extending with SBS

? Canada -- rights awarded to Bell Media (CTV/TSN/RDS)

? Caribbean -- extending with IMC (SportsMax)

Fifa secretary general J?r?me Valcke said, ?Fifa is delighted with the progress of our media rights sales to date which, coming amid austere economic times, more than confirm the strength and appeal of our competitions."