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SBS announced it has successfully signed a three year agreement with FGSport securing the rights to broadcast the Superbike World Championship until 2010.
The agreement allows SBS to televise a highlights package for all 15 rounds of the Championship plus a season closing one hour ‘End of Year Review’ show.
On Sunday 2 March, the 2008 Superbike World Championship will make its debut on SBS Television with the opening round in Qatar.
“The Superbike World Championship is one of the most popular motorsport competitions in the world and SBS is pleased to add the series to our portfolio of great sporting events,” said Mr Ken Shipp, SBS Head of Sport.
“We are delighted to be able to extend our television coverage in Australia following this latest agreement with SBS,” declared Paolo Flammini, CEO of FGSport.
“Australian riders have always been successful in World Superbike and this has undoubtedly helped to make the championship incredibly popular throughout the continent. We hope that TV viewers in Australia will again enjoy this year’s coverage on SBS.”
The 2008 Superbike World Championship will air Sundays at 12:30pm as part of SBS’s Sports Sunday programming.
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SBS announced it has re-signed its Tour de France contract with the owners and organisers, Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), securing the event on free-to-air until 2012.
In addition to being the official EXCLUSIVELY LIVE Australian television broadcaster, SBS announced that the extended contract would also include online and mobile delivery, continuing on from the success of its 2007 coverage.
In 2004 the television broadcaster made the historical announcement that the following year, for the first time, it would televise every stage of the three week event, LIVE. The increased growth in participation and interest in cycling and the Tour itself, saw SBS further extend its coverage in 2007 to include its official Tour de France website, radio reports and interviews in more than ten languages, highlight clips through media partner, the Australian and exclusive mobile coverage with Telstra Next G.
"SBS has enjoyed a strong professional relationship with rights holder, ASO, for many years, having completed its 17th Tour de France broadcast in July this year," said SBS Managing Director, Shaun Brown.
"This new five-year agreement, which takes us through to 2012, reaffirms our continuing commitment to cycling and the Tour as a major event on our annual sports schedule," continued Mr Brown.
"Not only has SBS secured the rights to broadcast the Tour de France from 2008 to 2012, the new deal puts major cycling classics such as the Paris-Nice, Paris-Roubaix, Fleche Wallonne, Liege Bastogne Liege, Paris Tours and Tour de Faso on the 2008 sports schedule."
SBS's ratings for the 2007 Tour de France increased by almost 30 per cent on the previous year reflecting the overall growth in the popularity of cycling in this country and audience response to this and other international cycling events.
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