Europe
Breeders’ Cup extends with UK rights partner
Pay-television channel At The Races, which is set to rebrand as Sky Sports Racing, has struck a three-year extension to its rights deal in the UK and Ireland for US horseracing showpiece the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.
Facebook makes latest senior appointment for push into sports market
Social media company Facebook has made its latest high-level appointment as its seeks to further bolster its presence in the sports rights market, with Rhys Beer joining from US media group NBCUniversal.
Mediapro considers domestic LaLiga coverage exit – report
Spanish agency Mediapro is considering withdrawing its interests in domestic football coverage due to escalating rights fees, according to daily financial newspaper El Español.
Euroleague pens North American rights deal
Euroleague Basketball, which organises continental club competitions in Europe, has signed a multi-year rights deal with sports-streaming service FloSports.
Sky renews Ladies European Tour rights deal
UK pay-television broadcaster Sky has extended its rights deal with golf’s Ladies European Tour.
Lega Serie A secures uplift in rights fee as Rai retains Coppa Italia
State broadcaster Rai has retained domestic rights to the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana club football competitions, with Lega Serie A gaining a 60 per cent uplift in the value of the contract.
Eleven linked to UK bid for Premier League rights
International sports broadcaster Eleven Sports is considering a bid to acquire rights in the UK to football’s English Premier League, according to the Independent.
BT set to announce job cuts
BT, the UK telco that operates the BT Sport pay-television sports broadcaster, is set to announce plans to cut 6,000 jobs worldwide next week.
Sport1 renews World Endurance Championship deal
German sports broadcaster Sport1 has renewed a rights deal for the FIA World Endurance Championship motor-racing series.
Motorsport Network to provide DTM support
Motorsport Network, the digital media platform, has agreed a partnership with the DTM German Touring Car Championship.
Watching Brief (Vol.207) UK TV Audiences 16th to 22nd April
Eir Sport seals Irish rights to Pro14
Pay-television broadcaster Eir Sport has today (Thursday) become the new home of the Pro14 in Ireland, with the cross-border rugby union league stating the three-season deal represents a “quantum leap” for the competition.
Quest replaces Channel Five as EFL partner
The English Football League, which operates the three divisions below the top-tier Premier League, has agreed a four-season deal for free-to-air DTT channel Quest to become its new partner for highlights of its competitions.
Channel 4 linked to fresh rugby rights deal
UK commercial broadcaster Channel 4 is set to enhance its rugby union coverage by acquiring rights to Wales’ three summer Test matches, according to multiple reports.
L’Équipe renews FIA, FIM endurance rights deals
French digital-terrestrial sports channel L'Équipe has extended rights deals for motorsport’s FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) motorcycle-racing series.
Racecourse Media Group details rise in rights payments
Racecourse Media Group, the holding company responsible for media and data rights involving a host of British horse-racing destinations, has said that its 37 affiliated racecourses will receive a nine per cent increase in revenues generated from their media rights in 2017.
Eleven replaces Sky as LaLiga partner in UK, Ireland
International sports broadcaster Eleven Sports has today (Wednesday) moved into a new market after ousting pay-television broadcaster Sky as the rights-holder to LaLiga, the top division of Spanish club football, in the UK and Ireland.
Polsat to launch new channels ahead of Champions League coverage
Polish commercial and pay-television broadcaster Polsat has said it will launch two new sports channels in an effort to support its rights for the Uefa Champions League and Europa League club football competitions.