Analysis

The merger between media groups Sony and Zee will challenge the current streaming dominance of Disney and Viacom18 in the Indian sports media market, experts say.

Fifa avoided a momentum-killing Women’s World Cup television blackout in five major markets after a financial and diplomatic intervention from the European Broadcasting Union.

Hungarian public-service broadcaster MTVA will pay more than €30m for Uefa national team rights over the 2022-23 to 2027-28 cycle, it can be revealed.

Experts in the betting and data rights markets point to at least three reasons why Italy’s Serie A can expect a large increase in its income from these rights in the next cycle, with one predicting the value would “at least double”.

Pay-television broadcaster SCTV secured exclusive rights in Vietnam to Spain’s LaLiga for five seasons after outbidding its rivals.

Viaplay’s financial crisis may represent a low-cost opportunity to scale quickly for other expansionist media groups, but the costs the company took on to drive its expansion over the last six years could deter many potential buyers.

Hungarian public-service broadcaster MTVA has more than doubled its Formula 1 rights spending over the last six years, helping to enshrine the country’s place on the F1 calendar.

Team Marketing is set to expand its sports client base for the first time in its 31-year history as it nears an agreement to become the Swiss Football League’s global commercial rights sales agent, sources have told SportBusiness Media.

Italy’s third-tier professional football league is attempting to boost its media rights revenues from the 2023-24 season onward, as it aims to earn about €5m per season from its domestic media rights.

Two years of wrangling with investors, intermediaries and each other over the creation of a unified league have brought Brazil’s football clubs back to where they started: fragmented conversations with media group Globo.

The Confederation of African Football has opted for a slimmed-down, eight-team version of the African Football League after expected funding from the Saudi Arabian Football Federation failed to materialise.
USA

Major League Cricket, which held the final of its inaugural edition last night, opted to seal a five-year media rights deal with Willow TV in the absence of strong competition.

Viacom18 is thought to be the front runner to secure rights to the Indian Super League, the country’s top-tier football competition which has launched its first ever tender.

The Ukrainian Premier League has abandoned hopes of creating a centralised broadcast rights pool for the 2023-24 season, but the majority of top-flight clubs are pressing ahead with an ambitious a la carte streaming project.

Streaming platforms DAZN and U-Next agreed to pay a marginal increase to secure co-exclusive rights in Japan to LaLiga in five-year deals.

The US Open tennis tournament has emerged from a difficult sales process in the German-speaking region with a long-term media rights deal with streaming platform operator DOSB New Media.

The thrilling 2023 Ashes series have produced valuable returns for their national media rights-holders, drawing record audiences to Sky Sports in the UK and providing bumper ratings late into the night for Australia’s Nine Network.

Pay-television broadcaster Sport TV agreed to pay a minor increase to renew its rights for Wimbledon, from 2023 to 2026.