Richard Welbirg

A broadcast deal in Germany – which is close to being agreed – is an important staging post for mixed martial arts promoter Ultimate Fighting Championship in its assault on Europe.

Spanish club Barcelona said this week that the planned return to collective selling would help La Liga to eventually match or exceed the media-rights income of Italy’s Serie A, but that it would require the country’s pay-television industry to be much stronger.

US pay-television network ESPN beat commercial networks NBC and Fox to win rights to the revived World Cup of Hockey in 2016.

The financial might of major US network Turner Broadcasting System, allied to strong local market knowledge, will enable Brazilian sports broadcaster Esporte Interativo to be both competitive in the rights market and distinctive from rivals in its programming, the broadcaster believes.

Fox International Channels’ decision to sublicense German Bundesliga rights in Japan to the MP & Silva agency surprised industry observers this week. Something seemed to be the wrong way round – agencies buy to sell to broadcasters, not vice versa.

Star India’s new deal for Indian Premier League internet and mobile rights helps the broadcaster in three ways: it gives it vital digital content, helps undermine the exclusivity of rival Sony, and ensures Star has a role in IPL coverage ahead of the sale of the main television rights in India.

Interview with David Allen, Ultimate Fighting Championship SVP and manager of EMEA, and James Elliott, content & distribution director EMEA, on the promoter’s European distribution strategy.

The National Basketball Association’s exclusive digital rights deal with Chinese internet operator Tencent, agreed late last month, looks to be a landmark one for the country’s media-rights market.

US network NBC this week agreed a deal to show the 2017 America’s Cup, holding off strong interest in the rights from other US broadcasters. Oracle Team USA is the holder of the Cup.