Frank Dunne

The English Football League is battling to keep all of its clubs locked into a collective agreement for the exploitation of digital rights

English Premier League club Chelsea will take the global distribution of its Chelsea TV channel in-house, TV Sports Markets understands.

Sky Italia’s investment in this summer’s two major football tournaments – Euro 2016 and the Copa América Centenario – came as a surprise as the broadcaster had said it has abandoned its strategy of acquiring rights to major events. It does not, however, represent a U-turn – the deals were last-minute, opportunistic acquisitions.

Acquiring rights to Formula One motor racing in Poland will provide a small boost to Eleven Sports Network’s ambitious target of breaking even within three years of launch.

Infront Sports & Media’s Italian football business activities are facing a three-pronged attack which could have major long-term repercussions for the agency’s revenues and undermine its behind-the-scenes influence in the country.

Italy’s antitrust authority has notified Lega Serie A, Infront Sports & Media, Mediaset and Sky Italia that their behaviour during the auction process for Serie A media rights constituted a breach of European competition law.

The Chinese government has intervened in the sale of media rights to the 2018 and 2022 Fifa World Cups in the country, ensuring a deal will eventually be struck with state broadcaster CCTV.

The kind of portability clauses included for the first time by England’s Premier League in its recent European rights tenders look set to become an industry norm.

A victory for Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa in Fifa presidential election could have major repercussions on the sale of Asian Football Confederation media rights.

Sky renewed its deal for European club rugby and picked up Russian Premier League rights after a four-year hiatus.