Europe
Romanian pay-television platforms claim F1 rights
Romanian pay-television platforms Digi Sport and Dolce Sport have claimed two-season deals for rights to the Formula One motor racing championship.
ITV closes in on Rugby World Cup extension – report
UK commercial broadcaster ITV is close to extending a rights deal with World Rugby, the global governing body of rugby union, for its Rugby World Cup showpiece national team tournament, according to the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
ProSiebenSat.1 to launch combat sports platform
German media company ProSiebenSat.1 has announced the launch of a new combat sports digital platform, ranFighting.de.
Tennis Channel expands French Open rights deal
US pay-television broadcaster Tennis Channel has expanded a rights deal for the French Open grand slam tournament.
Bundesliga tender won’t include shortened free-to-air highlights – reports
The next cycle of domestic rights for the Bundesliga, the top division of German football will not include a shortened Saturday nights highlights programme, according to reports in the country.
BBC retains Commonwealth Games rights for 2018 edition
UK public-service broadcaster the BBC has extended its long-term rights deal for the Commonwealth Games to cover the 2018 edition of the multi-sport event.
EBU broadens European cycling portfolio with UEC deal
The European Broadcasting Union consortium of public-service broadcasters has agreed a rights deal with the Union Européenne de Cyclisme, the sport’s European governing body, to cover the European Cycling Championships from this year onwards.
Eleven to show Brazilian domestic football leagues
International sports broadcaster Eleven Sports Network has agreed a rights deal with the Mediapro agency for coverage of domestic Brazilian football leagues.
ARD retains DFB-Pokal rights
German public-service broadcaster ARD has agreed a three-season extension to its rights deal for German club football’s knockout competition the DFB-Pokal.
Vivendi closing in on deal to acquire Mediaset Premium – report
Italian media company Mediaset is closing in on a deal to sell its pay-television division, Mediaset Premium, to French media company Vivendi, according to the Reuters news agency.
Virgin Media to cover Formula E race
UK pay-television operator Virgin Media will broadcast live coverage of tomorrow’s (Saturday’s) Mexican leg of the Formula E electric car-racing championship.
SRG SSR makes commitment to Swiss indoor sport
Swiss public-service broadcaster SRG SSR has agreed a three-year rights deal with Indoor Sports – the umbrella body that oversees national championships in basketball, handball, floorball and volleyball.
Rising cost of sports rights force BBC to reassess savings target
UK public-service broadcaster the BBC has raised its savings target by £100m (€128.5m/$141.6m) to £800m per year over the next five years, blaming an increase in the cost of sports rights and producing quality drama programming.
United World Wrestling pins down EBU extension
The European Broadcasting Union consortium of public-service broadcasters has agreed a four-year extension to its exclusive media rights partnership with the United World Wrestling global governing body.
Rallycross coverage deal sealed in Latvia
Latvian telecommunications company Lattelecom has acquired rights for the World Rallycross Championship.
Everton scores Snapchat partnership
Everton of the English Premier League has become the latest major football club to enter into a partnership with mobile social media platform Snapchat.
NRK to show World Rallycross Championship
Norwegian state broadcaster NRK has sealed a rights deal for the World Rallycross Championship.
BT Sport steps in to show Formula E race live
UK pay-television broadcaster BT Sport has expanded a rights deal to show live coverage of the forthcoming Mexico City ePrix on March 12.