MUMBAI: Following on from the successful sale of media rights in the home market, Barclays Premier League has commenced the sale process for Americas which is expected to witness fierce bidding particularly in the lucrative United States market.

The Premier League?s Invitation to Tender (ITT) spanning seasons 2013/14 - 2015/16 has been divided into five broadcast territories: USA, Canada, South & Central America, The Caribbean, and Brazil.

The Premier League had secured a record breaking television deal worth ?3.018 billion with pay TV broadcaster Sky Sports and British Telecom for the UK market.

Executives at leading Premier League clubs are expecting a similar windfall from Americas (read US) where the game considered a foreign import is gaining popularity even as local leagues are thriving.

According to Bloomberg, the US will see bidding war as incumbent rights holder Fox Entertainment Group will have to overcome competition from Walt Disney?s ESPN and newly launched Al Jazeera?s beIN Sport, who are expected to bid aggressively for the rights. NBC Sports is also expected to throw in its hat into the ring.

MUMBAI: The BBC has retained free-to-air highlights of the Premier League in the United Kingdom until the end of the 2015/16 season.

With a bid of ?179.7m the BBC has retained their highlights package, including the traditional Saturday evening Match of the Day programme, the Sunday morning repeat, MotD2 on Sunday evenings and other evenings when Premier League fixtures justify a show.

Match of the Day and MotD2 will also be available on the BBC?s iPlayer from midnight on Mondays.

Premier League CEO Richard Scudamore said: "The free-to-air highlights are extremely important to the broadcast reach of the Premier League; allowing the competition and our clubs to be seen by the maximum possible number of fans across the country.The BBC has done a fantastic job for fans of Premier League clubs by providing quality coverage and analysis across their programmes. We are very pleased to be continuing our partnership with them."

Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker added: "It is wonderful news that we have MotD for another three years. It is a flagship programme and it shows how much the BBC values sport and the importance of football."

The new contract will see MOTD celebrate its 50th birthday.

BBC Director of Sport Barbara Slater said: "With such an amazing season and thrilling finale, Premier League football has never been more exciting and dramatic. We?re absolutely delighted that the TV highlights will continue to be available to licence fee payers. We?ve seen audiences for MOTD grow in recent years and the programme remains one of the BBC?s best loved and most iconic brands."

MUMBAI: Building on their current four year contract, Advisers Media International and The Football Association have renewed exclusive broadcast and new-media partnership for the next six years which will run till 2018.

The contract between the two partners which began in 2009 expires later this year.

The new broadcast and new-media agreement which covers 27 territories throughout Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia includes all FA Cup programming, along with select England international and friendly games.

FA?s commercial director Stuart Turner said, ?We are extremely pleased to be continuing our partnership with AMI. They have a proven track record in distributing the FA rights across a variety of platforms and technologies and I have no doubt that they will continue to help develop the accessibility and reach of our rights across their territories."

AMI also holds rights for the English Premier League, FIA Formula One World Championship and NHL in the region.

MUMBAI: The inaugural edition of Premier League Soccer that was expected to kick-start from 24 March has been deferred at least by a month by Indian Football Association (West Bengal), the organisers of the tournament.

While the postponement is being attributed to difficulty in getting stadiums from the state government, the real reason is believed to be the not-so-good condition of stadias, which need to be refurbished and the fact that organisers will get more time to plan the league and create more buzz about the tournament.

However, a source in the Celebrity Management Group, the commercial rights holder of PLS, was confident that the IFA will successfully resolve all outstanding issues with state sports department, which is asking the state association to cough up money for using stadias, a demand that has been resisted by IFA.

The source also revealed that the global tender for broadcast rights will be initiated next week after working out modalities with its media rights holder, MP&Silva.

?Any new initiative which is new and unique is bound to have problems so that shouldn?t be made much of an issue, but we are confident that the league will be successful,? the source said on condition of anonymity.

The PLS will involve six teams -- Kolkata Camelians, Barasat Euro Musketeers, Durgapur Vox Champions, Howrah Manchester, Bengal Tuskers and Team Haldia, whose name is yet to be finalised.

Earlier, the PLS had faced its first major roadblock when the Indian football federation had asked the FIFA to suspend the Transfer Matching System account of the franchises over the ambiguity in the registration of franchises.

The issue was later sorted out after the IFA assured the parent body that the PLS clubs were recognised by it following which the clubs were allowed to seek transfer of international players through TMS.

The PLS was scheduled to take place from 24 March till 6 May while the new dates are expected to be announced by the organisers in the next few days.