Europe
BBC ‘committed’ to Open coverage
The BBC has responded to reports suggesting that the UK public-service broadcaster is considering curtailing its rights deal for golf’s Open Championship by saying that it is “committed” to showing the next two editions of the event.
Fox Sports Africa secures Baku 2015 rights
Pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports Africa has acquired rights for the 2015 European Games multi-sport event in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Eurosport to launch Denmark channel and revamp digital service
International sports broadcaster Eurosport will establish a new local channel in Denmark on July 1 after relaunching its Eurosport Player digital service on June 10.
BT Sport set to reveal price rises – report
UK pay-television broadcaster BT Sport is set to announce a price increase for its subscription rates following its significant investment in football rights, according to the Daily Mail newspaper.
Eurosport builds on localisation strategy with host of rights deals
Pan-regional broadcaster Eurosport has sealed a raft of new rights deals in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Belgium and Singapore encompassing football, tennis, golf and rugby union.
Portuguese regulator sets media rights limit
The Autoridade da Concorrência, Portugal’s competition regulator, has ratified a set of proposals by Controlinveste, the investment vehicle that controls the Olivedesportos agency, to limit the lengths of domestic rights deals with football clubs to three years.
Yahoo selected by NFL for free worldwide streaming first
Internet company Yahoo has been selected by American football’s National Football League to deliver the first ever live stream of a regular-season game from the league for free to viewers worldwide.
Gazprom Media to form new Russian sports channel
Russian media group Gazprom Media Holding has unveiled plans to launch a new sports television channel.
RTL set to seal F1 rights extension
German commercial broadcaster RTL is close to sealing an extension to a rights deal for the Formula One motor-racing world championship.
Sky Italia extends WWE coverage
Italian pay-television broadcaster Sky Italia has renewed a rights deal with the WWE wrestling entertainment organisation.
Baku 2015 secures VGTRK as Russian rights partner
Russian state broadcaster VGTRK has acquired free-to-air and pay-television rights in the country to the 2015 European Games.
ESPN Player to showcase summer X Games in Europe
International sports broadcaster ESPN will provide live and on-demand coverage of the forthcoming 2015 summer X Games action sports event to European audiences through its broadband platform, ESPN Player.
Eurosport snaps up rights for Wiggins’ hour record attempt
International sports broadcaster Eurosport has acquired live rights for Bradley Wiggins’ International Cycling Union Hour Record attempt this Sunday, June 7.
Sky Deutschland to show Cotto title defence
German pay-television broadcaster Sky Deutschland has acquired exclusive rights for this Saturday’s World Boxing Council middleweight title clash between champion Miguel Cotto and Daniel Geale.
ISPs ordered to block illegal streaming websites
Six UK internet service providers (ISPs) have been ordered to block subscriber access to three websites that offer live streaming coverage of English football matches.
Discovery secures PGA Tour action for Eurosport Norway launch
International media and entertainment company Discovery Communications has struck a rights deal for golf’s PGA Tour in Norway ahead of the launch of a new regional version of its Eurosport pan-European channel in the country.
TVP scores Polish rights to Copa America
Polish public-service broadcaster TVP has acquired rights for the 2015 Copa America national team football tournament.
Star India on target with Bundesliga rights
Pay-television broadcaster Star India has confirmed the acquisition of rights for the Bundesliga, the top division of football in Germany.