Americas
NBC Sports retains IIHF Worlds rights, signs Roku and Apple TV deals
The NBC Sports Group division of US media company NBCUniversal has acquired rights to the International Ice Hockey Federation’s 2015 World Championship, while it has also expanded the reach of its live streaming product NBC Sports Live Extra.
IPC expects record audience for Rio 2016 Games
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) expects the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to break all broadcast viewing records and exceed a cumulative global audience of four billion people for the first time.
Board members admit defeat in Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal
The board members of Time Warner Cable and Comcast have admitted defeat in their efforts to salvage a proposed $45.2bn (€42bn) takeover of the US pay-television operator by the US media company.
Broadcasters sign up for Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships
Broadcast platforms from Italy, Canada, Japan, Russia and Germany have agreed deals to provide coverage of the International Paralympic Committee’s 2015 Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool.
Valcke maintains Fifa’s innocence over new US rights deal
Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke has maintained world football’s governing body did “nothing wrong” in negotiating its new US rights deal for the World Cup, adding the agreement was needed to protect date changes for the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
UFC engaged in renewal talks as US partner drops event
US pay-television provider Dish Network will not show the latest pay-per-view event from mixed martial arts series the Ultimate Fighting Championship this Saturday, with the two parties in talks over renewing their deal.
BET stakes boxing claim with Roc Nation deal
BET, the Viacom-owned US cable and satellite television channel, has announced its first move into professional boxing.
Fox Sports and NBC Sports add weight to Verizon dispute
The Fox Sports division of the Fox network and NBC Sports division of media company NBCUniversal have joined sports broadcaster ESPN in disputing US telecommunications company Verizon’s new ‘Custom TV’ service.
Cable & Wireless picks up Rio 2016 rights in Caribbean
Multinational telecommunications company Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) has acquired rights to the 2016 summer Olympic Games for the pan-Caribbean region.
ESPN Player launches NASL channel for 2015 season
Sports broadcaster ESPN has launched a dedicated North American Soccer League channel on its digital streaming service ESPN Player.
Fifa details landmark broadcast plan for Women’s World Cup
World football’s governing body Fifa has said the 2015 Women’s World Cup will receive the biggest and most advanced broadcast production for a women’s football tournament when it takes place in Canada later this year.
ESPN challenges Verizon strategy with senior exec set to depart
ESPN is objecting to telecommunications company Verizon’s new payment planning structure for its FiOS TV pay-television service, while long-time executive Sean Bratches has announced he will leave the US sports broadcaster at the end of the year.
Gannett and ViewLift team up for new sports venture
US media and marketing company Gannett has entered into a partnership with video platform ViewLift to explore the development of a new digital sports video service.
Bayern Munich teams up with MSN in US content drive
German Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich has announced a US content partnership with Microsoft’s web portal MSN.
Verizon set for college sports focus with new mobile video service
US telecommunications company Verizon is to launch a new mobile over-the-top service that will offer customers access to live coverage of college sports.
Univision Deportes partners with Snapchat for sports clips
Spanish-language US broadcaster Univision Deportes is partnering with Snapchat to offer sports video clips via the social media platform.
NFL’s Eagles secure regional broadcast partnership
NFL American football franchise the Philadelphia Eagles has signed a regional broadcast partnership with US pay-television broadcaster Comcast SportsNet and the NBC10 regional affiliate of the NBC network.
MLS adds Globosat to ESPN coverage and looks for more
Major League Soccer will enjoy a substantial increase in exposure in Brazil in the 2015 season, which got under way at the end of March.