Europe
Watching Brief (Vol.150) UK Television Audiences Monday 20th March to Sunday 26th March
UK viewing audiences for the week between Monday 20th March and Sunday 26th March, plus a round-up of 2017's most-watched live golf programmes so far.
Sport1 picks up World Endurance Championship rights
German sports broadcaster Sport1 has acquired rights to motor-racing series the World Endurance Championship.
Russian stakeholders lament rights talks for 2018 World Cup
Stakeholders in the process to assign rights in Russia to the 2018 Fifa World Cup and the forthcoming Confederations Cup have claimed world football’s governing body is asking for too much for a deal in the host nation for the two tournaments.
Spanish regulator opens Mediapro investigation
Spain’s anti-trust regulator, the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y La Competencia (CNMC), has opened an investigation into the Mediapro agency in relation to possible anti-competitive practices.
New WTA tournament to set VR first for tennis
The InfrontRingier agency has said the inaugural edition of Women’s Tennis Association tournament, the Ladies Open Biel Bienne, will set a first for the sport by providing live virtual reality coverage.
PPTV to add Bundesliga to football rights portfolio
Chinese retail giant Suning has agreed a media and strategic partnership with the German Football League (DFL), according to Kicker.
Juventus launches on-demand service for overseas fans
Italian Serie A football club Juventus has launched an on-demand video platform for its international fan base.
Sky to revamp sports offering – report
UK pay-television broadcaster Sky is set to revamp its sports offering this summer, with dedicated channels to be launched for football, cricket and golf, according to the Daily Mail.
Olympic Channel lands 50th partner through IWGA link-up
The International World Games Association has become the latest global sporting body to partner with the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Channel.
Media and football heavyweights call on G7 to tackle internet piracy
A collective of major broadcasters and Europe’s leading football organisations have joined forces to call on the G7 group of industrial nations to take action to tackle internet piracy.
Highlight moves to defend against hostile takeover bids
Highlight Communications has said it has taken measures to ward off hostile takeover attempts as the dispute with its parent company, German media company Constantin Medien, continues.
Sky acquires digital content producer
Pan-European pay-television broadcaster Sky has acquired digital content producer Diagonal View.
Fifa opens rights tender in Spain
Fifa, the global governing body of football, has opened an invitation to tender in Spain for the media rights to the 2017 Confederations Cup, the 2018 World Cup and the 2019 Women’s World Cup national team tournaments.
Serie A clubs approve guidelines for rights auction
Clubs from Italy’s Serie A, the top division of domestic football, have unanimously approved a new set of guidelines for the centralised selling of the next package of rights to the league and other competitions.
ARD and ZDF pick up Uefa European U21 Championship rights
German public-service broadcasters ARD and ZDF have acquired rights to the 2017 Uefa European Under-21 Championship national team football tournament.
NOS extends rights to Tour of Flanders
Dutch public-service broadcaster NOS has extended its rights deal for the Tour of Flanders, one of the five ‘monument’ events of cycling.
Sport1 picks up Major League Baseball rights
German sports broadcaster Sport1 has agreed a sublicensing deal with DAZN, the OTT service operated by digital sports media company Perform, for rights to North America’s Major League Baseball.
ECB seeks to triple its money through new rights deals – report
The England and Wales Cricket Board is seeking a threefold increase in the value of its domestic broadcast rights through the launch of its new Twenty20 competition, according to The Telegraph.