MUMBAI: Bloomberg Sports, founded as a vertical division of Bloomberg and now part of a joint venture with IMG, has formed a new data analytics partnership with Gala Coral, one of Europe?s largest betting houses.

The partnership will give Gala Coral subscribers free access to the advanced analytics data from the recently-launched BSports Match Analysis football product. Gala Coral Group is one of Europe?s pre-eminent betting and gaming businesses with strong market positions and well established brands, both in retail shops and online.

Launched in September, BSports Match Analysis delivers advanced statistics and predictive analysis for the English Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1.

Built from in-depth analysis of current and historical data, Match Analysis provides predictive models on the winner, final, half-time score, and total goals, breaking down each of the key game factors as well as a host of original information. 

"We are very pleased to work with Gala Coral as our first soccer data analytics partner," said Bloomberg Sports Head Bill Squadron. "We expect the scientifically based projections, insights and statistics in our BSports Match Analysis product to be as popular with fans of football as our work with Major League Baseball has been in the United States."

"Coral is all about presenting the best possible products and services to help our customers. Bloomberg Sports is the world leader in predictive analytics and the BSports Match Analysis product will be a hit with our customers," said Gala Coral MD John O?Reilly. 

MUMBAI: The National Rugby League (NRL) has secured a new international television deal with IMG Media that will guarantee access to key markets including the UK, USA, Asia and the Pacific.

The five-year agreement with IMG Media will ensure fans overseas have worldwide access to all Telstra Premiership matches as well as State of Origin, Test matches played in Australia, AAMI City-Country and the Harvey Norman All Stars.

The international rights do not include NRL properties in Australia and New Zealand, nor do they include World Cup matches or Tests overseas.

The partnership covers free-to-air television, subscription television, IPTV, mobile, in-ship, in-flight and gaming rights, as well as access to the NRL Films archive.

IMG Media SVP Head of Asia Pacific Chris Guinness was committed to increasing Rugby League coverage across international markets. ?We are very excited about extending our relationship with the NRL over the next five years. The relationship has evolved from traditional international TV distribution to a complete 360 degree involvement covering all aspects of the NRL?s international media assets and we look forward to working closely with the NRL in this new exciting era.?

MUMBAI: IMG Media, a division of IMG Worldwide, has agreed to a new three-year deal with the Premier League for aeroplanes and ships rights. The deal which runs till 2016 includes extensive coverage on Sport 24, the 24-hour live sports channel exclusively produced for the airline and cruise industry.

The new agreement will mean the Barclays Premier League matches will be shown live and in highlights on specially equipped Lufthansa and Gulf Air planes as well as Norwegian Cruise Liners (NCL) and Carnival UK cruise liners. IMG Media is in ongoing discussions with a number of other airlines and cruise-liners to expand the coverage.

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore said, "We know IMG well and are extremely pleased that they have chosen to invest in the Premier League?s exclusive aeroplanes and ships broadcasting rights. We look forward to working with them as they distribute the Barclays Premier League in a way that allows our fans to enjoy the competition while travelling overseas."

IMG Media VP Richard Wise said, "The Barclays Premier League is the most popular and exciting league in world club football. It is in great demand by passengers world-wide and is also a tremendous asset for Sport 24. We are delighted to have extended our agreement for another three years.

"Our goal is to continue to distribute the very best live sports action to both these markets. With the launch of Sport 24 earlier this year we have featured some of the best sporting action within one channel. Events include the London 2012 Olympic Games, Uefa Euro 2012, the Ryder Cup, Bundesliga, Formula 1, golf majors including The Masters and The Open, Grand Slam tennis from Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the Australian Open and, of course, the Barclays Premier League."

MUMBAI: IMG Media has acquired the Premier League live audio visual broadcast rights for Japan, Vietnam and Mongolia. IMG Media will have the rights to broadcast all 380 Barclays Premier League matches per season from 2013-16.

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore said, "We know IMG well and are extremely pleased that they have chosen to invest in the Premier League broadcasting rights for Japan, Vietnam and Mongolia. We look forward to working with them as they distribute the Barclays Premier League in a comprehensive and innovative manner to our fans in all three countries."

IMG Media SVP and Head of Football Michael Mellor, "The popularity of the Premier League has never been higher in the Asian regions and we anticipate there will be strong competition for the various rights in all three territories."

MUMBAI: IMG Media has agreed to a deal with Vans, the original action sports and youth lifestyle brand, to distribute the rights to its growing portfolio of events including leading skateboard and surfing competitions and lifestyle media content developed for Vans? offthewall.tv digital network depicting the worlds of action sports, music, art and youth culture.

The agreement will see IMG develop and enhance the international distribution of all Vans content globally across all media platforms, bringing top level action sports events to both new and existing fans.

Among the events are the world?s premier surf event series, the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, beginning today in Haleiwa, Hawaii, which concludes the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour at the North Shore Billabong Pipe Masters event. Other top action sports events include the Coastal Edge East Coast Surfing Championships (ECSC), the longest-running surf contest in North America, as well as top flight skate competitions, the Vans Downtown Showdown and the Pro-tec Pool Party.

IMG will also work with Vans? slate of action sports features developed for the offthewall.tv digital network including the Vans Surf Team film Get-N Classic and Pass the Bucket, the acclaimed series of short films featuring the humanitarian efforts of renowned athletes, artists and musicians as well as Vans? exclusive skateboard focused shorts Love Letters to Skateboarding with skate icon Jeff Grosso and Adventures with Chris featuring gonzo skate journalist Chris Nieratko.

IMG Media SVP and Head of Business Development Adam Kelly said, "This is an exciting agreement for IMG as we look to invest in the long-term potential of action sports. Our partnership with Vans will increase the worldwide profile of their events as well as bringing them a new audience, and we are very much looking forward to working with them.?

Vans VP Marketing Doug Palladini said, "International growth continues to be integral to Vans? success as a brand and sharing the Vans lifestyle through our action sports events and feature content connects us with consumers in the most authentic way possible. Our partnership with IMG gives Vans? industry-leading action sports event line-up and our growing library of rich lifestyle content a broader global platform than ever before to reach our consumers worldwide."