MUMBAI: The International Basketball Association (Fiba) and ESPN have agreed to a multi-year, multi-platform (TV, internet and mobile) agreement, which includes the rights to more than 400 games across six tournaments from 2013-2015.

The agreement covers the Fiba Americas Championships (2013, 2015), the EuroBaskets (2013, 2015), the Fiba Basketball World Cup (2014) and the Fiba World Championship for Women (2014).

"I"ESPN?s commitment to international basketball continues to intensify as the sport?s global popularity soars," said ESPN vice-president, programming and acquisitions Leah LaPlaca. "This agreement expands our year-round basketball presence while serving the passionate and growing Spanish-speaking audience in the US."

Fiba Secretary General Patrick Baumann said: "Following a great collaboration over the past three years, we are delighted to announce that ESPN have once again decided to partner with us and our events, including the 2014 Fiba Basketball World Cup which is set to be the biggest basketball event of all time. International basketball is as exciting as sport gets and it is great that the US audience can continue to follow our competitions thanks to a coverage that is second to none."

ESPN?s television rights will result in telecasts in both English and Spanish, extending throughout the United States and its territories, excluding Puerto Rico. Overall, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPN Deportes will combine to televise every game. All Team USA and Gold Medal Games will air live on ESPN or ESPN2, and ESPN Deportes.

MUMBAI: Scientists have warned that watching too much television will shorten life span by 4.8 years. The researchers from University of Queensland have said that every time an individual spends at least one hour in front of the television set, their life expectancy reduces by 22 minutes.

The study which is to be published in British Journal of Sports Medicine is based on the data from the National Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study. It is based on an average six hours viewing per day, compared to a person who watches no television.

The study said that TV viewing time may affect the health of a person because of the lack of physical activity, obesity and smoking.

Further study is required to confirm this, and to specify the link of TV viewing time with mortality.

Also, the Australian and US guidelines for children recommend no more than two hours of screen time/day. With further corroborative evidence, a public health case could be made that adults also need to limit the time spent watching TV, the report said.

Though the researchers used Australian data, the effects in other industrialised and developing countries are likely to be comparable, given the large amounts of time spent watching TV and similarities in disease patterns.