MUMBAI: Sri Lankan Cricket (SLC), the governing body of cricket in the country, has signed a fresh deal with Singapore-based Somerset Entertainment Ventures for its ambitious franchise based T20 league that had failed to take off last year.

As per the new deal, the tournament will be held between 10-31 August ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in September, according to ESPNCricinfo.

SEV had entered into a five-year deal with SLC to acquire the commercial rights of SLPL, but the deal became void as the interim committee of SLC that had signed the deal was replaced.

The new deal also addresses concerns raised by a Committee on Public Enterprises report regarding some of the clauses in the contract. The agreement has been cleared by the office of the Sri Lankan attorney general.

The inaugural edition of the SLPL was supposed to be held from 19 July to 4 August but it did not take-off due to Indian cricket board?s reluctance to grant NoC to its players to participate in the league.

The BCCI had at that time contended that the contract with SEV does not safeguard the financial interests of the Indian players. The BCCI also suspected that former IPL chairman Lalit Modi had interests in SLPL, a charge that was vehemently denied by both SEV and SLC.

As for the format of the event, the SLPL will have seven teams who will play each other in a round-robin format followed by semi-finals and finals. The games are expected to be played at Colombo and Kandy.

MUMBAI: Heading into the television trade event MipTV, A+E Networks has bolstered its international sales staff with the appointment of Hana Zidek as director, content sales, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

In addition, Joanne Lim has been promoted to Manager, Content Sales, Asia. The announcement was made by A+E Networks MD, international content distribution Marielle Zuccarelli, .

Zidek joins A+E Networks from Lionsgate Entertainment where she managed sales for the Nordics and other territories from the company?s London office. Previous to that, she oversaw program acquisitions for Viasat.

Based in A+E Networks? London office, Zidek will be responsible for managing content sales in the Nordic and Middle East regions, and will report to Jonathan South, Vice President, Content Sales, EMEA.

Based in A+E Networks? Singapore office, Lim will continue to oversee program sales throughout Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. She reports to senior director, content sales, Asia Ling Sze Gan. Prior to joining A+E Networks in 2010, Ms. Lim held positions at BBC Worldwide and ITV.

Zuccarelli said, "I am happy to welcome Hana to A+E Networks. We have a seasoned content sales team in place and her background will further strengthen our efforts in the Nordic territories and the Middle East.

"Joanne has proven to be an integral player for us in Asia, and I?m very pleased to announce her promotion. Joanne has played an important role in expanding and strengthening our foothold in the region and will make a significant contribution as we ramp up our efforts to build our presence in Asia."

At MipTV, A+E Networks will offer a program catalogue spanning over 10,000 hours, including over 450 new titles to global broadcasters. Headlining the company?s slate are ?Mankind The Story of All of Us?, ?Seven Days of Sex?, ?Dance Moms?, ?Chris Bohjalian?s Secrets of Eden?, ?10 Things You Don?t Know About?, ?Shipping Wars? and ?Pawn Stars? - the format.

MUMBAI: Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) has unveiled its comprehensive broadcast plans on mio TV with ESPN Star Sports (ESS).

SingTel, in partnership with ESS, the IOC?s official pay TV broadcast partner, has secured the rights to broadcast the London 2012 Olympic Games.

As the largest pay TV platform across the region with the rights to broadcast London 2012 Olympic Games, ESS will feature round-the-clock coverage of the London 2012 Games across 13 channels (10 of which are in HD), available on mio TV with free access for all its subscribers.

To deliver an even more engaging experience, SingTel is also working with ESS and the IOC to explore showcasing key events in vivid 3D.

ESS MD Manu Sawhney said, ?We are very pleased to present the most comprehensive coverage of London 2012 Olympic Games in partnership with SingTel on mio TV. This is the first time fans in Singapore will have access to such a wide coverage of the Olympic Games which not only includes round-the- clock coverage on our core networks ESPN, Star Sports and ESPNEWS but 10 new additional ESPN Star Sports channels showcasing action from London 2012. To further enhance fans experience, we have lined up over 680 hours of build-up programming and original programming and along with this our talents will be bringing the highlights of the games from London. Fans can therefore look forward to the most entertaining and engaging presentation of the games ever.?

mio TV will aim to broadcast every single ?live? event that Team Singapore athletes are involved in. The platform?s technical capabilities enables viewers to use a robust search function to look for the events that they wish to watch without having to surf through all 13 channels.

SingTel CEO Singapore Allen Lew said, ?mio TV will be turning five this year. Since we launched in 2007, we have been steadily building our linear and on-demand offerings, ensuring that our subscribers have full access to key sporting events, the latest blockbusters and lifestyle programmes. Come July, our mio TV subscribers will enjoy the most comprehensive and exciting coverage of the London 2012 Games as a result of our partnership with ESPN Star Sports.?

On the home front, SingTel will be announcing a range of activities that will help ignite the flame of support for Team Singapore. Singaporeans are encouraged to come forward to give their encouragement and well-wishes for Team Singapore. More details on how to participate will be released later.

As the Official Telecommunications company for the Singapore National Olympic Council, SingTel will also be equipping the athletes with smartphones and complimentary airtime and data subscriptions while they are in London.

?Our athletes train hard for the Games and many times, find themselves spending less time with their loved ones. Using our multimedia and telecommunications services, SingTel enables Team Singapore to remain connected to their families, friends and supporters,? Lew said.

MUMBAI: Nimbus Sport, the media rights holder of Asia Cup, has signed international distribution deals with broadcasters in key cricket markets for the tournament.

Neo Cricket is televising the event in the Indian Sub Continent, US, Canada, UAE, Singapore, North Africa, Philippines and Hong Kong. Zee will air the event in the UK and Europe while Willow TV has done a deal for US and Canada.

Pan-African sportscaster Super Sport is airing the event in South Africa. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, the event is being telecast on PTC and BTV respectively while Carlton has bagged the rights for Sri Lanka. Setanta Australia has got the rights for that market.

On the advertising front, Standard Chartered, Jaypee Cements, Daikin, Indian Oil and Bangladesh Tourism have signed up as the five Official Partners. This is in addition to Micromax which renewed its title sponsorship of the tournament.