ESPN buys live rights to show MLS and other European league games in Britain

October 11th, 2009 LONDON - Cricket's showpiece Test series has joined the list of legally protected "crown jewel" sporting events, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt. A review of "crown jewel" events which must be shown live on terrestrial television, led by David Davies, the former Football Association executive, is understood to have recommended that the Ashes be made free to air, The Daily Telegraph reports.

October 5th, 2009 LONDON - England's World Cup qualifier in Ukraine on Saturday will be the country's first ever competitive match to be screened exclusively live on the internet. Fans wanting to watch the game will have to go online and fork out four pounds after TV companies decided not to bid for the rights, reports Sky Sports.

October 5th, 2009 LONDON - England's World Cup qualifier in Ukraine on Saturday is to be shown exclusively live on the internet. It will be the first time that an England match has not been available on one of the television networks.

September 17th, 2009 Stage spectacular 'Ben Hur Live' opens in LondonLONDON — It has a cast of hundreds, dozens of horses, gladiators, a sea battle and a live chariot race. A stage version of "Ben Hur" is opening Thursday at London's 02 arena before going on tour across Europe.

August 18th, 2009 LONDON - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes that the idea of a European Super League could be a reality in 10 years' time, as he felt that the growing number of clubs could not be accomodated by the Champions League alone. Wenger said that he has nothing against Europe's elite competition in its current format, but he envisaged a time when a more exclusive trophy could be on offer.

July 23rd, 2009 LONDON - England mid-fielder Frank Lampard has said that the Premier League and not Europe's Champion's League is Chelsea's number one priority in the 2009-10 season. "Personally, and as a club, we need to get back to winning ways in the league.

July 16th, 2009 ESPN, Sky buy Scottish soccer rightsLONDON — ESPN and Sky will show Scottish Premier League soccer live in Britain and Ireland for the next three seasons, with an option for an additional two. The rival broadcasters agreed to a deal Thursday worth $106 million over five years to acquire the rights taken off Setanta before the Irish network's British operation collapsed last month.

July 8th, 2009 ESPN to show Premier League soccer in IrelandLONDON — ESPN has acquired the rights to televise Premier League soccer in Ireland. The broadcaster, owned by The Walt Disney Co., will show the 46 matches next season that were previously held by Setanta Sports.

July 7th, 2009 ESPN UK rebrands US sports channel to air soccerLONDON — ESPN will broadcast Premier League matches in Britain on a channel previously dedicated to televising American sports. ESPN, owned by The Walt Disney Co., acquired the rights to televise 46 matches next season and 23 in each of the following three seasons after the collapse of last month of sports broadcaster Setanta.

June 26th, 2009 UK regulator eyes BSkyB movie, sport dominanceLONDON — British Sky Broadcasting's premium sports and movie channels should be more broadly available through other television platforms, Britain's communications regulator said Friday. The Office of Communications said it believes BSkyB is limiting distribution of these channels to rival TV platforms, and thus restricting consumer choice.

June 23rd, 2009 Setanta files for bankruptcy protectionLONDON — Irish broadcaster Setanta Sports filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, saying it will shortly cease broadcasting to customers in Britain after failing to make a number of payments to football organizations. Setanta, which is backed by private equity firms Doughty Hanson and Balderton Capital, said it has suspended the collection of subscription payments in Britain after appointing accounting firm Deloitte to run the collapsed company.

June 22nd, 2009 Setanta fails to make payment to Scottish leagueLONDON — Setanta has failed to make a payment to the Scottish Premier League to screen live matches in Britain, casting further doubt on the future of the troubled broadcaster. Monday's announcement that Setanta didn't make a $5 million payment as scheduled could have severe implications for smaller Scottish clubs.

June 22nd, 2009 ESPN to air live Premier League matches in BritainLONDON — ESPN will broadcast live Premier League matches for the first time in Britain after gaining rights from financially troubled Setanta Sports. The Premier League on Monday announced that ESPN, owned by The Walt Disney Co., will televise 46 matches next season and 23 in each of the three seasons from 2010-11 in its first major contract to broadcast live sports in Britain.

June 13th, 2009 LONDON - Real Madrid president Florentino Perez aims to shatter the global dominance of the English Premier League, after successfully luring ace striker Cristiano Ronaldo to his club. The new Bernabeu president plans to change the face of football and shift the balance of power from England to Spain.

May 29th, 2009 English-only 'Britain' soccer team for OlympicsLONDON — A soccer team of only English players is set to represent Britain at the 2012 London Olympics. The four "home nations" — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — sent a joint letter to world governing body FIFA on Friday saying they had agreed that an English team could represent Britain in both the men's and women's tournaments.