Sportfive scores Olympic deal

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded the European cross-platform broadcasting rights to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia and the 2016 Olympic Games to sports rights distributor Sportfive, reports paidContentUK.

The deal covers the free TV, pay TV, online and mobile rights in 40 European countries but does not extend to some of Europe's biggest TV markets: UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Turkey.

Sportfive will now set about finding broadcast partners to sell the rights to, but as per the IOC's rules, must ensure 200 hours of free-to-air coverage of the Summer games and 100 hours of the Winter games in each country.

As satellite and Internet broadcast services continue to extend the reach of film and video, companies like CRM Studios are offering the services direct from locations across the globe, writes TMCnet.

CRM Studios, one of the largest independent film and video production companies in the south-west US, is now offering satellite and Internet broadcast services from its main studios.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based studio says its new on-site control room marks the first time news feeds, training videos, Web casts, and corporate messages can be broadcast from inside the facility without the need and expense of an outside mobile uplink.

Oxygen8 Communications has introduced an interactive voice broadcasting service which enables media companies and corporate users to drive new revenue streams across all English-speaking territories, says TMCnet.

Named Voice Push, the new service allows customers to simultaneously mass call thousands of 'opt-in' users in any English-speaking market with an interactive voice broadcasting message. Recipients have a choice to either leave a recorded message or get connected to a call centre agent if a further action is required.

The company intends to target a wide variety of global customers with its Voice Push solution including businesses in the government, education, health authorities, media, and marketing sectors.