Europe
Sky’s rivals seek ‘no single buyer rule’ for Bundesliga rights – report
Competitors of German pay-television broadcaster Sky Deutschland are reportedly lobbying the country’s federal cartel office, the Bundeskartellamt, to introduce a ‘no single buyer rule’ to the bidding process for rights to the Bundesliga, the top division of German football.
Tender process launched for carriage of beIN Sports LaLiga
The Mediapro agency has launched a tender process for Spanish pay-television operators interested in carrying beIN Sports LaLiga, the new channel set to be launched by the pay-television broadcaster to exploit its rights to the top division of Spanish football.
Gazzetta TV set for online future
Italian media group RCS has said it is likely to move its digital terrestrial sports television channel Gazzetta TV to an online-only model.
Sky strengthens rights portfolio in Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Pay-television broadcaster Sky Deutschland has extended a rights deal for golf’s US PGA Tour in Germany, Austria and Switzerland while sister channel Sky Sport Austria has struck a deal to show coverage of the Austrian Basketball Bundesliga top division.
Channel 4 to replace BBC as F1 free-to-air rights-holder
UK commercial broadcaster Channel 4 will replace public-service broadcaster the BBC as the free-to-air rights-holder of the Formula One motor-racing world championship from the start of next season, it was announced this (Monday) morning.
RTÉ considering sublicensing Euro 2016 rights
Irish public-service broadcaster RTÉ has said it is considering sublicensing rights to next summer’s Uefa Euro 2016 national team football tournament.
IMG’s Edgesport secures ProSiebenSat.1 partnership
German commercial broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 has agreed a multi-year distribution deal for the IMG agency’s action sports and lifestyle channel Edgesport.
Tebas: beIN and telco rivals drive historic deals which prove LaLiga sceptics wrong
LaLiga president Javier Tebas this week described the Spanish league’s new domestic media rights deals as “historic” in terms of income and the completion of the move to collective selling.
Sky snatches ATP tennis rights
German pay-television broadcaster Sky Deutschland is close to dislodging Sport1 as the holder of ATP World Tour tennis media rights in the country.
Sky busy with football and rugby
Sky renewed its deal for European club rugby and picked up Russian Premier League rights after a four-year hiatus.
Discovery’s big ambitions help league defy gravity
Discovery Communications’ ambition to strengthen its market position in the Nordics helped Norway’s football league defy all expectations in the sale of its media rights last week.
Glory switches up strategy with move to ESPN in the US
Kickboxing promotion Glory will cement its place on US sports broadcaster ESPN for all of 2016, TV Sports Markets understands.
New Benfica deal sparks feeding frenzy for club rights
Benfica’s deal with Nos has triggered a wave of negotiations, with Porto and Sporting Lisbon particularly keen to take advantage of competition in the marketplace.
Javier Tebas, president, LaLiga
Interview with LaLiga president Javier Tebas on the first centralised tender for Spanish domestic football rights.
ProSiebenSat.1 nets Euro 2016 rights package in Germany
German commercial broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 has acquired a package of rights for the Uefa Euro 2016 national team football tournament, under a sublicensing deal with public-service broadcasters ARD and ZDF.
Squash body secures Eurosport partnership
The Professional Squash Association (PSA) has sealed a long-term rights deal with international sports broadcaster Eurosport.
ESPN signs up Scandinavian broadcasters for X Games’ European return
US sports broadcaster ESPN, which organises the X Games, has agreed multi-year rights deals for the action sports franchise in Denmark, Sweden and Finland which include coverage of the new X Games Oslo event in Norway.
Watching Brief (Vol.115) Special Focus: Motor Racing – Formula One
John Manning, research analyst for SportBusiness Intelligence, reviews television audiences across the big five markets for the recently concluded Formula One World Championship