Europe
BBC picks up rights to England’s tour of Argentina
UK public-service broadcaster the BBC has acquired rights to the England rugby union team’s upcoming tour of Argentina.
Racing UK broadens reach with YouView deal
UK horse racing pay-television broadcaster Racing UK has agreed a carriage deal with the YouView platform, which is available through BT TV, TalkTalk TV and Plusnet TV.
Sportube deal sees Eleven Sports land in Italy
International sports broadcaster Eleven Sports has entered into the Italian market with the acquisition of a majority stake in over-the-top platform Sportube.
TV2 hails landmark Champions League partnership with MTG
Norwegian commercial and pay-television broadcaster TV2 has struck a sublicensing agreement for Uefa Champions League rights with Modern Times Group in a deal that ends the multi-territory commercial and pay-television broadcaster’s exclusive hold on the club football competition in the country.
Sport1 picks up Confederations Cup, Euro Under-21 rights
German sports broadcaster Sport1 has acquired rights for this year’s editions of the Fifa Confederations Cup and the Uefa Under-21 European Championship national team football tournaments.
InfrontRingier hires FC Basel exec as new MD
InfrontRingier, the Infront Sports & Media agency’s joint venture with Swiss media company Ringier, has hired an executive with Swiss Super League football club FC Basel as its new managing director.
MTG extends historic Champions League ties in Scandinavia
Modern Times Group, the multi-territory commercial and pay-television broadcaster, has extended its rights to the Uefa Champions League club football competition in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
RMG increases media-rights payments to British racecourses
Racecourse Media Group has distributed £85.5m (€101m/$111m) in media-rights payments to the 34 racecourses with which it is affiliated in the UK.
Rai nets rights to Uefa European Under-21 Championship
State broadcaster Rai has acquired exclusive rights in Italy to the next two editions of national team football tournament the Uefa European Under-21 Championship.
BT’s TV chief to depart
Delia Bushell, managing director of television and sport for UK telecommunications company BT, has opted to resign, according to multiple reports.
Proximus to seal Pro League deal, barring ‘catastrophe’
Belgian pay-television broadcaster Proximus has said it expects to seal a rights deal for the Pro League, the top division of domestic football, within weeks, adding that an agreement will be reached barring an “improbable catastrophe”.
S4C to cover Lions tour
Welsh public-service channel S4C has acquired highlights rights to the British and Irish Lions rugby union team’s upcoming tour of New Zealand through a sublicensing agreement with pay-television broadcaster Sky.
Eleven expands Belgian presence with carriage deal for new channel
International sports broadcaster Eleven Sports Network has expanded its reach in Belgium by agreeing a carriage deal for its Eleven Sports 3 channel with pay-television broadcaster Proximus.
Canal Plus F1 extension marks first major deal in Liberty Media era
French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus has agreed a three-year extension to its rights deal with the Formula One motor-racing championship.
Telia becomes new SM-Liiga rights partner
Finnish telecommunications company Telia has acquired rights to the SM-Liiga, the top division of ice hockey in Finland.
Watching Brief (Vol.154) UK Television Audiences Monday 17th April to Sunday 23rd April
UK viewing audiences for the week between Monday 17th April and Sunday 23rd April, plus leading rugby league audiences on pay-television for the season to date.
Watching Brief Vol. 154
Mediaset Espana seals long-term Fiba rights deal
Spanish commercial broadcaster Mediaset has acquired rights to national team events organised by the International Basketball Federation (Fiba).
EFL opens new revenue stream with live-streaming service
The English Football League, which operates the three club divisions below the top-tier Premier League, is to launch a new live-streaming and content platform for overseas fans.