MUMBAI: Longtime sports broadcast executive and managing director ESPN Star Sports Peter Hutton has put in his papers. He has been appointed COO of the MP & Silva Group and he is slated to join its London office in July. The company specialises in distributing television rights for sports federations, leagues and clubs globally.

Hutton had joined ESPN Star Sports in 2012. Prior to this, he was senior VP sports for Fox International Channels. He then relocated to Asia last year to head Star?s sports business in the region after Disney and News Corp called off their JV.

Prior to that in 2002 Hutton helped shake up the Indian sports broadcasting business by helping start Taj Television which ran Ten Sports. He became COO before helping to finalise the sale of Taj Television to Zee.
 
MP & Silva Group CEO Andrea Radrizzani said, "We are very glad to welcome Peter to work with us at MP & Silva. Peter has over 30 years of sports broadcasting experience and he is the perfect person to join MP & Silva?s leadership team to help the group into our next phase of commercial expansion."

MUMBAI: MP & Silva, a leading international media rights company, has secured a deal for the exclusive rights to distribute Fifa?s stellar line-up of tournaments in Vietnam between 2013 and 2014 for the first time, including the highly sought-after 2014 Fifa World Cup Brazil.

The 2014 Fifa World Cup Brazil is expected to once again captivate soccer fans as 32 teams get ready to battle for the coveted trophy in Brazil next year 12 June - 13 July 2014, and MP & Silva will be the exclusive distributor for television rights across cable, satellite and terrestrial platforms.
 
The partnership with Fifa, the world?s governing body for football, includes all 64 live matches and ceremonies of the 2014 Fifa World Cup Brazil as well as daily 45-minutes highlights.

The offer also includes all Fifa tournaments including the Fifa Confederations Cup 2013 in Brazil, Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup 2013 in Tahiti, the Fifa Under-20 World Cup 2013 in Turkey, the Fifa Under-17 World Cup 2013 in the UAE, the Fifa Under-20 Women?s World Cup in Costa Rica and the Fifa Under-17 Women?s World Cup 2014 in Canada.

MP & Silva Group CEO Andrea Radrizzani said, "We are very proud of our great relationship with FIFA, the world?s governing body of football. We look forward to working with our robust network of partners in Vietnam and continue distributing top premium content, headlined by the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. Vietnam continues to be a key market for MP & Silva, and this partnership with FIFA underlines our leadership in sports content across the region, adding to our comprehensive line-up of top football leagues, tournaments and club content from around the world."

Fifa TV Director Niclas Ericson said, "MP & Silva is an important player in the sports industry in Vietnam and is joining the FIFA efforts to further enhance football across its platforms in Vietnam. This inaugural deal with them underlines their commitment to football, and ensures that our events, including the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, will be seen by the widest possible audience across Vietnam - an exciting football market that continues to grow."

MUMBAI: Sports media rights company MP & Silva has bagged the live audio visual broadcast rights for Premier League in the Middle East and North Africa region till 2016 season.

MP & Silva will be the exclusive distributor of the Barclays Premier League TV rights, mobile and digital media for the territories of Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Algeria, Chad, Libya, Morocco, Somalia, Tunisia, Egypt and Djibouti.

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore said, ?We know MP & Silva well as they have acquired other Premier League rights for the 2013-2016 period, and in previous seasons. We are pleased to be working with them again and are confident that they will distribute all the best Barclays Premier League action in a comprehensive and innovative manner to fans in the Middle East and North Africa.?

MP & Silva Group CEO Andrea Radrizzani said, "We are extremely excited to extend the distribution of BPL to the Mena region.

With this new addition, MP & Silva is now partnering with the Premier League in 40 countries across Asia, Pacific and Mena. It is a very distinctive and strategic partnership for us. We are glad that the Premier League recognises our leadership in the market and we are looking forward to using our network of broadcasters to improve audiences of top-class English football in Mena.?

MUMBAI: MP & Silva, a leading international media rights company, has entered into a long-term media partnership with the Italian Volleyball League to distribute their worldwide media rights until 2016.

The deal includes all territories outside Italy.

The agency will be the exclusive distributor of Lega Pallavolo Serie A rights across cable, satellite, betting, terrestrial, IPTV and mobile platforms.

Serie A1 is the highest level club competition in Italian professional male volleyball. There are 12 teams, featuring a mix of local and international players from USA, Cuba, Brazil, and Eastern European countries, competing in a round-robin regular season, followed by a playoff tournament.

The rights package offers Serie A1 regular season with 22 rounds, playoff tournament which foresee 10 to 16 matches and Coppa Italia A1 with 4 matches.

Lega Pallavolo Serie A president Diego Mosna said, "The sales of our international TV rights international have really increased in the last fifteen years. Apart from football, among the Italian club sports we are the favorite of the broadcaster outside our borders. Now we?re signing an agreement with MP & Silva which is literally a milestone for the League history and it?s going to become an impressive accelerator for our Clubs? visibility. Our export marketing today breaks a stunning record."

MP & Silva has a strong media rights portfolio managing the distribution of sports competitions of European football, European handball and European basketball internationally.

MP & Silva Group CEO Andrea Radrizzani said, "We have been extremely successful in the last five years in distributing football rights and other European competitions in Asia, MENA, Europe and Americas. I?m delighted to use our network of clients and partners to increase the exposure and value of the Italian Volleyball League internationally."

MUMBAI: The F?d?ration Fran?aise de Tennis (FFT) and MP & Silva have said that the first year of their collaboration in distributing the European media rights for Roland Garros has seen increased hours of coverage, higher audiences and new channels showing the tournament.

The collaboration with MP & Silva is the first time the FFT has chosen to partner with an agency in Europe following an over 30-year partnership with the European Broadcasting Union.

For the 2012 tournament outside of the home nation (France), European broadcast partners showed over 7,800 hours of coverage across 50 channels, an increase from the 6,629 hours of coverage across 42 channels in 2011.

Of the 25 broadcast partners for 2012, 12 were new, with the likes of ITV in the UK, Cuatro in Spain, PRVA TV and B92 in Serbia, Czech TV in Czech Republic and NTV in Turkey showing action from Roland Garros for the first time.

In keeping with the FFT?s commitment to ensure the widest possible audience for its event, MP & Silva secured free-to-air coverage in 22 countries, up from 20 in 2011. Pay-TV coverage was provided by Eurosport across Europe and by Canal+ in Spain.

FFT?s Media & Sponsorship Director Michel Grach said, ?Our aim is to develop our relationships with MP & Silva and our new broadcasters still further, and to continue to improve the quality and quantity of Roland Garros coverage for tennis fans and tournament partners worldwide."

The 2012 distribution generated 18.8 billion viewing minutes (where one person watching for one minute equals one viewing minute) for the tournament, a 17 per cent increase on the 16 billion viewing minutes achieved in 2011.

Excluding audiences on Eurosport, the 2012 tournament generated 10.8 billion viewing minutes, a 6 per-cent increase on the 10.2 billion viewing minutes for the 2011 event.

The increased audience was achieved despite the overlap this year with Euro 2012 and the poor weather conditions for the men?s final, traditionally the biggest viewing peak of the tournament. Persistent rain forced the conclusion of the match to be postponed 24 hours and it eventually finished on Monday 11 June.

The rain interruptions on the Sunday meant that coverage ended up clashing with Euro 2012?s Spain v Italy group stage match and Formula One?s Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.

MP & Silva Group CEO Andrea Radrizzani said, "We are extremely happy with the results of the first year of our partnership with Roland Garros. We have worked together with the Federation with full transparency in every deal done with every broadcaster."