Europe

Belgium’s three leading pay-television operators are considering a legal challenge to the Pro League’s domestic tender process on the grounds it discriminates against them and may be anti-competitive.

UK public-service broadcaster the BBC has renewed rights to two properties in the last month as it seeks to protect its sports-rights portfolio well into the future.

BeIN Media Group, which owns Turkish pay-television operator Digiturk, is considering opening its own free-to-air sports channel in the country.

Swiss public-service broadcaster SRG renewed rights to Uefa national team competitions late last month despite facing a rare challenge for premium sport from rival free-to-air broadcasters.

Polish public-service broadcaster TVP has paid an increase of over 40 per cent to acquire rights to the 2018 and 2020 Olympic Games from media group Discovery Communications.

LaLiga, the organising body of Spanish club football, and the Mediapro agency have today (Friday) unveiled an agreement that will result in Friday night games from the top division being streamed live and free of charge via social media platform Facebook in Spain.

Football’s English Premier League has claimed the latest win in its ongoing battle against piracy of its broadcasts with three suppliers of pre-loaded Internet Protocol TV boxes ordered to pay a total of £267,000 (€310,000/$332,000) by the courts for infringing copyright.

The English Football League, which operates the three divisions below the top-tier Premier League, has appointed London-based Oliver & Ohlbaum as its domestic broadcast adviser.

English Premier League football club Manchester United has launched a subscription-based application that will allow its in-house television channel, MUTV, to be available worldwide.

The CAA Eleven agency has launched tenders in six markets for rights to Uefa national team football properties.

UK viewing audiences for the week between Monday 30th January and Sunday 5th February, plus a review of January's audiences on free-to-air television. Watching Brief Vol. 143

International sports broadcaster Eleven Sports Network has acquired rights in Poland for the Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga, the top two divisions of club football in Germany.

The European division of media company Liberty Global has posted an 18.1-per-cent increase in operating income to $2.482bn (€2.33bn) on the back of a 24.5-per-cent rise in subscribers to 946,100 in the 2016 financial year.

International sports broadcaster Eleven Sports Network has acquired rights for the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship mixed martial arts series.

UK public-service broadcaster the BBC has called on the government to update media law to reflect the modern age as it warned it may lose rights to major sporting events “by the back door”.

The European Handball Federation has launched a new magazine show on social media platform Snapchat for its Champions League club competition.