Europe
Bakcell, Digiturk secure content partnership
Azerbaijani broadband and mobile phone operator Bakcell has entered into a long-term content partnership with Turkish pay-television operator Digiturk.
CAA Eleven opens UK tender for Uefa rights
The CAA Eleven agency has launched a tender in the UK for rights to the European Qualifiers for the Uefa Euro 2020 and 2022 Fifa World Cup national team tournaments, the 2018-19 and 2020-21 Nations League competitions and other international matches.
Sport1 extends rights deal with ESPN
German sports broadcaster Sport1 has extended its media rights deal with US sports broadcaster ESPN through to the end of the 2017-18 season.
Laola1 secures television platform in Austria
Online sports broadcaster Laola1.tv, a subsidiary of Sportsman Media Group, has broadened its reach in Austria through a new partnership with telecommunications firm Telekom Austria.
LaLiga launches rights tender, rethinks Saturday kick-off slots
LaLiga, which operates Spanish club football’s top competitions, has launched a tender process for domestic media rights across the three seasons spanning 2016-17 to 2018-19.
Vivendi chief targets sports investment
Vincent Bolloré, the chairman of Vivendi, has said the media company’s French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus requires up to €2bn ($2.2bn), including a major investment in sport, to remain competitive.
Formula E extends Portuguese rights deal, video partnership
The Formula E electric car-racing series has extended its media rights deal with Portuguese pay-television broadcaster Sport TV and renewed a video partnership with technology developer 360 Racing.
LFP launches tender process for Coupe de la Ligue rights
The Ligue de Football Professionnel, the French football league, has launched a tender for broadcast rights to the Coupe de la Ligue knockout competition.
WWE Network set to launch in Germany
The WWE wrestling organisation will launch its WWE Network pay-television channel in Germany on January 5.
Eurosport revamps brand identity
Pan-regional broadcaster Eurosport has unveiled a new brand identity following its takeover by US media and entertainment company Discovery Communications.
Sky snaps up Premier League rights in Ireland as Setanta seals BT Sport deal
Pay-television broadcaster Sky has acquired six packages of rights in the Republic of Ireland for football’s English Premier League.
TV3 strengthens rugby portfolio with Six Nations deal
Irish commercial broadcaster TV3 has acquired rights for rugby union’s Six Nations Championship for four years, from 2018 to 2021.
Match TV completes capture of VGTRK’s sports assets
Russian pay-television broadcaster NTV Plus has completed the acquisition of assets held by state-owned broadcaster VGTRK for sports media platform Match TV.
ITV boosted by Rugby World Cup advertising revenue
UK commercial broadcaster ITV has said that additional advertising activities for its coverage of the 2015 Rugby World Cup rugby union national team tournament helped it to achieve year-on-year revenue growth over the nine months through to September 30.
Norwegian football rights head to market
The Fotball Media agency, which distributes the rights for the Tippeligaen on behalf of the Norwegian Football Federation, has opened a tender process for the rights to the top division of the domestic game, along with the second-tier 1. Divisjon.
LEN extends European Broadcasting Union deal
The Ligue Européenne de Natation, the governing body for swimming in Europe, has agreed a four-year extension to its rights deal with the European Broadcasting Union, the consortium of public-service broadcasters.
BBC NI to follow Northern Ireland’s Euro 2016 preparations
The BBC Northern Ireland division of UK public-service broadcaster the BBC has acquired live rights to the national football team’s home friendly games ahead of its participation at the Uefa Euro 2016 tournament.
New African sports channel set for January launch
A new television channel dedicated to African sport is set to commence broadcasting in the continent and Europe in January.