Kuala Lumpur – The Kaohsiung Organizing Committee (KOC) has appointed Total Sports Asia (TSA) as its exclusive agent to handle international distribution of media rights (excluding Taiwan) of the quadrennial World Games 2009, to be held in the southwestern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung in July. The eighth edition of the World Games will take place from 16-26 July 2009 and will be staged over a period of 11 days and is the biggest international multi-sports games after the Olympic Games. Over 56 hours of programming will be produced live, including the opening/closing ceremonies (in HD), billiards, dance sports, gymnastics, speed roller sports and selected matches of Rugby 7’s and korfball. Meanwhile M-1 Netherlands B.V. and its worldwide television consultant Blue Entertainment Sports Television (BEST) have appointed Total Sports Asia as its exclusive representative to the television, new media and home video rights to M-1 Events in selected Asian territories. Billed as the ‘World Cup of Mixed Martial Arts’, the M-1 Challenge is a full season of MMA events that showcases some of the best up and coming MMA fighters in the world. The show will be broadcast to over 80 countries around the world, including the US (on HDNet), Russia (NTV), the UK (Bravo UK), Korea (SBS) and Australia (Fox Sports Australia). TSA will represent M-1 in negotiation of all television, new media and home video licensing deals in Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, the Indian Subcontinent, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The partnership started with a deal struck in China earlier this month. Guangdong TV will be the first broadcaster to air M-1 Challenge 2009 under this partnership with many more discussions in advanced stages.