Analysis
Cage Warriors plans European expansion to diversify revenues
UK mixed martial arts promotion Cage Warriors is aiming to become a pan-European operation by the end of 2019, as it looks to diversify its income in the face of uncertainty over the future of its most important rights deal.
Band opts for tennis as it says it won’t sublicense Fifa World Cup
Brazil’s Grupo Bandeirantes bolstered its tennis coverage with a pair of deals covering several properties with the IMG agency.
Late sublicensing deals grow Discovery earnings in Europe
Discovery Communications secured three late sublicensing rights deals ahead of last month’s winter Olympic Games, taking it closer to its sublicensing revenue target.
Uefa reverses decline in Cyprus and wraps up sales in Slovakia
Uefa has reversed the falling value of its club competition media rights in Cyprus via an exclusive deal with telco Cyta.
New 365 owner pays up to retain hold on Uefa club competitions
Media group 365 has retained its grip on Uefa Champions League and Europa League media rights in Iceland, paying an increase of about 50 per cent.
Infront hoping for increase in Turkish basketball league tender
The Infront agency is likely to benefit from relatively strong competition for domestic rights to the Turkish basketball league in its tender, despite difficult market conditions in the country.
WSL on cusp of healthy increase in Australia with new Fox deal
The World Surf League is set to almost double the value of its media rights in Australia via a new deal with pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports, TV Sports Markets has learned
DAZN broadens Canadian offer with Commonwealth Games
Perform-owned OTT platform DAZN has acquired exclusive Commonwealth Games rights in Canada as it bids to widen its subscriber base by adding more locally-relevant content.
Surprise live coverage for IOC in Singapore via late Eleven deal
The 2018 Olympic Games was shown live in Singapore after a late deal with pay-television broadcaster Eleven Sports, which showed some coverage free-to-air.
Watching Brief (Vol.198) UK TV Audiences 12th to 18th February
Watching Brief (Vol.197) UK TV Audiences 5th to 11th February
End of BT/Sky pay-TV war halts trend of Premier League growth
After successive 70-per-cent rises in the last two cycles there were only two sets of circumstances in which the Premier League was likely to secure another increase in the value of its domestic live rights.
Strong agency competition helps LaLiga grow revenues in Europe
Competition between sports-rights agencies has helped Spain’s LaLiga grow the value of its media rights in several new deals across Europe.
Mediapro hopes to sell league channel in Italy despite doubts
Spanish agency Mediapro said this week it wanted to create and distribute a Serie A league channel on the same model as the LaLiga channel it distributes in Spain. But Italian law may make this impossible.
New Saudi football deal creates platform for grandiose plans
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation’s new 10-season deal with Saudi Telecom will see the Saudi Professional League return to free-to-air television – a key step in the government’s plan to transform the league into a powerful pan-regional marketing platform.
Mena missing from AFC tender, giving beIN the chance to renew
The Asian Football Confederation’s media and marketing rights tenders – sent out earlier this month – do not cover the Middle East and North Africa, TV Sports Markets has learned.
A new day for Fox as it bets big on Thursday Night Football
Fox’s acquisition of broadcast rights to the NFL’s Thursday Night Football package is the first step in the US media group’s rebuilding project after many of its assets were sold to Disney.
FAM changes strategy and grows value with OTT and pay-TV deals
The Football Association of Malaysia has earned a significant sum for its media rights after opting to split them between online streaming service iflix and telco Telekom Malaysia.