Under the new deal, extended coverage of the the Championship in Haarlem, The Netherlands, which began on August 15 and is due to conclude on Sunday (August 24), will be provided of the bronze and gold medal matches in the US and Japan.

Both sides have been the form teams in the tournament so far topping their respective groups and are expected to contest the gold medal match at the weekend.

TV Tokyo has obtained the exclusive broadcast rights for Japan to its 32 million potential viewers.

In the US, Comcast Sports Network and Cox Sports Network will broadcast games to their viewership in 10 regions, while ESPN3 will also offer the medal games on their streaming platform to their more than 90 million subscribers.

"This is truly an exciting development and major boost that further raises the profile and confirms the appeal of women's sport - and in particular women's softball - in the eyes of broadcasters and audiences alike," said World Baseball Softball Confederation executive vice-president, Dale McMann.

"The expanded coverage will allow these athletes at our World Championship in Haarlem to showcase their talents - and our sport - to a wider audience, which not only significantly raises the value of our women's showpiece event but also helps inspire and attract the next generation of girls to our sport over the long-term.

"The timing of this advancement is particularly key as the WBSC remains dedicated and continues working very hard to position our sports for a return to the Olympic Games."

The US are aiming for a 10th world title, while Japan are the defending champions, having overcome the US in the 2012 final in Whitehorse, Canada.

The US continue to impress in Haarlem with seven straight wins in the group stages
©Haarlem 2014




Both sides continued their unbeaten runs in this year's Championship, with the US securing a 7-0 win over Italy and Japan beating Czech Republic by the same scoreline to conclude the group stages in Haarlem today.

The US topped Group B with their seventh consecutive win ahead of Australia, Chinese Taipei and The Netherlands who all secured their places in the playoffs.

Australia saw off Dominican Republic 7-0 as they chase a second World Championship crown, while another 7-0 scoreline saw Chinese Taipei condemn Great Britain to a seventh straight defeat.

The most popular win of the day came as the hosts hammered Botswana 12-0 to seal a place in the next phase with pitcher Ginger de Weert starring for the Dutch, striking out 10 Botswana batters while Britt Vonk registered a two-run triple.

China joined Canada and New Zealand in the top-four in Group A after an 8-1 win over Russia.

The Canadians secured the runners-up spot behind Japan with an 7-0 victory over Cuba.

New Zealand defeated Puerto Rico 3-1 to ensure they advance to the next round.

Tomorrow's playoff matches will see Australia face Japan, New Zealand take on Chinese Taipei, North American rivals Canada and the US square-off while hosts The Netherlands are up against China.

In the consolation matches, Russia face Britain, Puerto Rico play Botswana, Italy are up against Cuba and Dominican Republic play the Czech Republic.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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