MUMBAI: Discovery, which is a leader in US pay-TV market, is all set to become world?s leading pay TV programmer outside the US, after it acquired ProSiebenSat.1 Group?s SBS Nordic operations for $1.7 billion and a 20 per cent stake in Eurosport for$221.6 million ( ?170 million).

The acquisition of ProSiebenSat.1 Group?s SBS Nordic operations and a minority stake in TF1/Eurosport would add to Discovery Communications? earnings and accelerate the international growth, Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav said on a conference call.

The two acquisitions will add sports and scripted programming to the company even as he sought to clarify that the wasn?t planning to become a player in US sports broadcast which has big players like ESPN and Fox Sports among others.

"The US sports TV business is a totally different business. I do not see us getting into big checks," Zaslav said.

Discovery, Zaslav said, now has 153 channels in 217 countries with more than 1.8 billion subscribers. He also pointed out that Discovery was a "unique" media company as it owns nearly all of its content, which allows it room for syndication.

Similarly, TLC, he said, is now in 150 countries and has more than 300 million subscribers worldwide, making it the number one female TV lifestyle brand in the world.

According to Zaslv, the two deals will help Discovery to grow faster.

On being asked as to when international would overtake US business, Discovery Networks International CEO Mark Hollinger said there would be "friendly rivalry" between the US and international teams.

Hollinger and Zaslav are also bullish about Eurosport which has a potential for growth in other regions inlcuding Asia. Eurosport was a viable proposition since it was focussed on low-cost sports like tennis and ice skating. It also airs Bundesliga outside of Germany where it is cheaper.

MUMBAI: News Corporation has completed its $2 billion acquisition of Australia media company Consolidated Media Holdings, which holds 50 per cent of Fox Sports and 25 per cent of Foxtel.

News Corp had on 20 June made a $2 billion bid to wrest control of CMH which would give it a greater share of Australia‘s pay television market. CMH‘s board backed the offer in the absence of a higher bid.

The buyout will see the exit of Australian billionaire James Packer from media business as he sets out for a bigger play in the gambling business. Packer, the son of late media baron Kerry Packer, held 50.1 per cent stake in the CMH.

The deal will give News Corp‘s Australian subsidiary News Limited a complete ownership of Fox Sports, an equal joint venture partnership between Consolidated Media and News Corp, and a 50 per cent stake in pay TV operator Foxtel, which is half owned by Australian telecom and media company Telstra Corporation with News Corp and CMH holding a 25 per cent stake each.

As per the agreement, News Limited and News Pay TV Financing (News), 100 per cent owned subsidiaries of News Corporation, will acquire CMH for $3.45 cash per share by way of a scheme of arrangement.

The scheme consideration of $3.45 represents an implied multiple of 9.4x EV/Ebitda based on a proportional consolidation of CMH‘s main investments in Foxtel and Fox Sports.

CMH‘s major shareholders CPH executive chairman James Packer said, "I am delighted that CMH and News have reached agreement on the terms and conditions, and as I said in June, CPH will support the Scheme in the absence of a superior cash proposal. In my view, this is a great outcome for CMH shareholders and for News and it reflects a fair price."

The implementation of the Scheme is subject to a number of customary conditions including CMH shareholder and Court approvals.

MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports, the media rights holder for all International Cricket Council events till 2015, has closed a significant broadcast rights deal in Australia with Fox Sports and Channel Nine. The two Australian broadcasters will provide live coverage of every major ICC event from 2012 to 2015, including the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Fox Sports will provide live coverage of each tournament during the three-year agreement, including every match of the 2012 and 2014 ICC World T20 events, plus every match in the 2013 Champions Trophy and ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

Channel Nine will bring free-to-air viewers the action from all the big games in the 2012 and 2014 World T20 tournaments and again for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 on home soil.

The agreement covers 2012 and 2014 ICC World Twenty20, 2013 ICC Champions Trophy and, world cricket‘s premier event, the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Fox Sports CEO Patrick Delany said, "We are delighted to be partnering with Channel Nine and the ICC and are looking forward to delivering live and high definition coverage of all major international cricket tournaments to complement our exclusive coverage of Australia‘s international tours and national competitions including the KFC T20 Big Bash League.

"Last year we delivered an immersive Rugby World Cup experience, going beyond the live match coverage to tell the entire story of the tournament through our presence in and around the venues, fans, and Wallabies camp in New Zealand. The 2015 Cricket World Cup will be the biggest cricket event to hit our shores in over 20 years and we plan to offer fans the complete package."

Channel Nine MD Jeffrey Browne, said: "Nine‘s Wide World of Sports and big-time cricket are synonymous and to ultimately have the 2015 ICC World Cup played at home in Australia as part of this new deal is both a challenge and celebration we very much look forward to."

ESPN Star Sports Managing Director Peter Hutton, "We are delighted that we are able to extend our long term relationship with Fox Sports in Australia as we ensure that the ICC events are seen by cricket fans throughout the world. We look forward to the next ICC Cricket World Cup being the most watched cricket event in the history of the sport, and thank Fox for their support."

ICC General Manager - Commercial Campbell Jamieson said, "The ICC is delighted to have the continued support of major Australian broadcasters Fox Sports and the Nine Network for its events. These partnerships will ensure that fans in Australia continue to enjoy top quality broadcast coverage from premier cricket events, including the ICC Cricket World Cup, which will take place in Australia and New Zealand."

MUMBAI: Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association (Concacaf), the governing body of soccer in Americas, has signed a five-year agreement with Fox International Channels Latin America to broadcast the Concacaf Champions League in Latin America.

The deal starts with the 2012-13 championship commencing on 31 July and gives Fox Sports exclusive rights in Latin America, including both Pay TV and the digital platforms throughout the region. Additionally, in Mexico and South America, Fox Sports will have total exclusivity as the rights in these territories also include Free TV.

"Our agreement with Fox International Channels Latin America puts the Concacaf Champions League in perfect position to grow and fans throughout the region will be able to enjoy the competition like never before. With Fox?s many broadcast platforms and technologies, the Champions League will be presented in ways the fans want and expect," said Concacaf President Jeffrey Webb.

Fox Sports will broadcast more than 40 games live and delayed through its wide multimedia platform that consists of Fox Sports, Fox Sports+, their HD versions and FoxSportsla.com. It will also provide enhanced coverage on its shows such as Central Fox and La ?ltima Palabra (The Last Word), and through a weekly Concacaf Champions League highlight show.

"We?re very pleased with this new agreement and relationship with Concacaf ," said Fox International Channels Latin America President Carlos Martinez."We are confident that we?ll turn this tournament into a favorite and make it one of the strongest in the region, leveraging FOX Sports wide reach and the synergies of our entertainment, lifestyle and factual channels in Latin America, as we have already done with other Latin American and European events."

The Concacaf Champions League, launched in 2008, is the confederation?s annual club championship. It features 24 teams from each of Concacaf?s three sub-regions -- North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The winner of the Concacaf Champions League qualifies for the Fifa Club World Cup.

MUMBAI: Television viewers in Australia will not be able to watch the IPL which kicks off today in Chennai due to a stalemate involving Australian television networks and Indian cricket administrators.

A report in ?The Age? states that ?Network Ten? held the rights for the first four seasons of the IPL but declined to air last year?s event, mainly because of the poor ratings and also because it coincided with a diversification of its One HD channel away from consisting solely of sport.

The newspaper also reported that it is believed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has sought a hefty price whenever a new IPL TV rights contract has been discussed with Australian networks.

Australians can watch the action online at ipl.indiatimes.com and youtube.com/indiatimes.

The successor to Ten for the now-lapsed IPL rights, Fox Sports, is about to begin its broadcast of the West Indies Tests, while on weekends it has significant AFL, rugby league, rugby union and soccer commitments.

MUMBAI: US sports broadcaster Fox Sports has sued the baseball team Los Angeles Dodgers over the proposed television rights sale.

In the filing, Fox Sports Net West asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to reject any proposed sale of the Dodgers? television rights that does not abide by the terms of the current contract.

Fox retains exclusive negotiating rights through November 2012, as well as the right to match any other offer under that contract. Fox is looking for damages and has also accused the Dodgers of sharing confidential broadcast rights information.

Earlier the Dodgers had filed for bankruptcy in June after Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig named a monitor to oversee the team?s day-to-day operations and rejected a proposed television- rights deal with Fox Sports.

In June, The Los Angeles Dodgers had blamed Major League Baseball for rejecting a television deal that would have given the baseball team cash.

The filing marked an attempt by Dodgers owner Frank McCourt to prevent the league and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig from seizing the team, which McCourt had bought back in 2004.