MUMBAI: Sky Sports has been awarded the rights to the UK and Ireland qualification matches for Uefa Euro 2016 and 2018 Fifa World Cup.

The new agreement with Uefa provides Sky Sports with coverage of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland, together with and all other Uefa member associations, between 2014-2017.

The schedule of up to 500 international matches underlines Sky Sports as the home of televised football and complements the unrivalled portfolio of rights shown across six channels.

• England - Highlights of every England qualifying match for both tournaments and live away matches should England play other Home Nations.
• Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland And The Republic Of Ireland - All matches home and away exclusively live in the UK during qualification for both tournaments.
• Upto 500 Matches - Starting with Uefa Euro 2016 qualification fixtures in September 2014, Sky Sports will show up to 500 international competitive matches over three years.

 "There has never been a better time to be a Sky Sports subscriber, with an unrivalled breadth of sport offered across six different channels. This year our viewers can enjoy The British and Irish Lions Tour, back-to-back Ashes Series, the ICC Champions Trophy, every race live in the F1 season, Super League, US Open and US PGA Golf, Andy Murray defending his US Open title and of course our biggest ever season of football," said Francis.

MUMBAI: The final edition of the Champions Trophy takes place next month in England. According to guidelines issued by The International Cricket Council (ICC) a news broadcaster may broadcast a maximum of five and a half minutes of fresh footage per day.

It is the same as what the BCCI allows for the on-going IPL. The total number of broadcasts of footage is restricted to a maximum of two exhibitions per hour of broadcasting. No more than five and a half minutes of footage including repeats may be broadcast per hour of broadcasting.

There must be at least a 30 minute delay following the broadcast of any live footage by the host broadcaster (Star Sports) before this footage may be used by a news channel. News channels can interrupt regular content to broadcast footage using the caption ?Breaking News? or such equivalent, for a period not exceeding 15 seconds and for no more than one exhibition of footage within 30 minutes following the broadcast of such Live Footage by the official/host broadcaster.

This could be to report the achievement of an milestone by a player (for example, a hat-trick of wickets falling, 100 wickets being taken, or 1,000 runs being scored) or other exceptional events that may occur during any Match of the Event.
Footage the ICC says may only be used for news reporting of the results of the match and not for the purpose of analysis including by way of review or comments by experts, ex-cricketers, anchors, analysts or presenters.

News Broadcasters are not permitted to use any footage to make their own compilation or ?mix? the footage with footage from other television events, sports events, documentaries, interviews, etc. No use of any footage is permitted in any circumstances for any commercial purposes.

The news broadcaster shall not carry any advertising, sting, logo, graphic and/or any other commercial activity (including on a ticker) whatsoever immediately before, immediately after, or during the broadcast of footage (or any clip thereof) in a news programme and no association shall be created, suggested or implied between the use of footage and any third party brand or product.

Courtesy bugs acknowledging IDI and FSS must be pasted by news channel with due prominence, throughout the broadcast of any footage.

MUMBAI: New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has announced a new two-year deal with Sky TV for the broadcasting of all home domestic and international cricket matches.

The new agreement runs through to March 2014 and will include tours by England, West Indies and India. Part of the new commitment from Sky TV is to broadcast a number of domestic HRV Cup matches in the Friday night time slot.

NZC CEO David White said that he was delighted to continue the partnership with Sky and is particularly excited about the agreement to showcase HRV Cup games on Friday evenings.

"New Zealand Cricket has enjoyed a strong relationship with SKY and we are thrilled to be extending our agreement.Sky?s commitment to cricket is highlighted by their offer to broadcast HRV Cup matches on Friday evenings, helping extend the reach of our highly entertaining Twenty20 competition. Part of NZC?s mission is to have more people playing and more people watching cricket. The partnership with SKY will play a key role in delivering on that vision."

Sky Television director of sports content Richard Last said, "We are especially excited about the introduction of Friday night HRV Cup matches where we will have the opportunity to provide even greater exposure for cricket in this country. There are some of important international tours coming up, including England and India, and we are looking forward to showcasing top international cricket from New Zealand to fans around the world. We very much look forward to continuing this association over the next two years."