Richard Welbirg

Commercial broadcaster Nine will pay between A$3.5m (€2.4m/$2.7m) and A$4m for free-to-air rights to the Australian national team’s remaining 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

Infront Sports & Media secured the Badminton World Federation’s global commercial rights for eight years after completing a blockbuster deal last week.

Increasing the number of live Premiership Rugby matches broadcast had an “immediate and tangible” impact on its international distribution and income, according to the league’s commercial director Dominic Hayes.

The British Basketball League’s six-season deal with the Perform Group last month marks the completion of the league’s commercial revamp and sets a clear course for its future.

The English Premier League has launched an early tender in China in order to reap the benefits of the country’s buoyant media-rights market.

Channel 4 is expected to pay a small increase to extend its deal with the International Paralympic Committee to cover the 2018 and 2020 Games.

Sony Pictures Networks India’s acquisition of the Ten Sports channels is likely to restrict the Indian media-rights market and make life difficult for rights-holders below the top tier.

Asian Football Confederation rights have increased in value by 86 per cent in South Korea after cable-television broadcaster JTBC outbid the country’s free-to-air cartel.

Red Star Kunlun’s entry as the first Chinese team in the Kontinental Hockey League has helped the league massively increase its exposure, but is yet to have any impact on its bottom line.