Europe
German national team rights value drops in new ARD, ZDF, RTL deals
Uefa is close to finalising a deal for the German national football team’s matches with ARD, ZDF and RTL at a reduced per-match fee – a reflection of market conditions and the team’s relatively poor performances in recent years.
Pitch adds women’s matches to expanded Cricket Ireland rights deal
Sports marketing agency Pitch International has signed a new five-year broadcast deal with the Cricket Ireland national governing body
Channel 4 lands England matches as Sky’s Uefa national team rights further eroded
Free-to-air broadcaster Channel 4 has won rights to England’s qualifying matches for the 2024 Uefa European Championship and Uefa Nations League matches, dislodging incumbent rights-holders ITV and Sky.
BBC extends World Snooker Tour rights to 2027
UK public-service broadcaster the BBC has extended its broadcast deal with World Snooker Tour for another three years
UK government seeks sports digital rights protection in listed events tweaks
The UK government is pursuing alterations to the country’s listed events legislation to ensure that streaming rights are protected in future sports rights agreements.
New Recast technology ‘puts more power in rights-holders’ hands’
Live and on-demand video streaming platform Recast has unveiled new technology that it claims will make it easier for rights-holders to monetise their content
M6 shareholders give green light to TF1 merger
M6 shareholders have approved its proposed merger with fellow French commercial broadcaster TF1
Government adds Women’s World Cup, Euros to UK listed events
The UK government has added the Fifa Women's World Cup and the Uefa Women's European Championship to its listed events regime, ensuring the tournaments will remain on free-to-air television in the country
ServusTV lands French Open rights in Austria
Free-to-air commercial broadcaster ServusTV has acquired rights in Austria to this year’s edition of the French Open grand slam tennis tournament.
BT agrees to big increase in new five-year UFC deal in UK
Sources say that despite strong interest from DAZN and Sky, BT submitted the only concrete bid for UFC rights from 2023 onward.
Viaplay makes its UK move with ‘home nations’ Uefa rights swoop
Viaplay, the subscription streaming service operated by Nordic Entertainment (Nent) Group, has made its most significant UK rights acquisition to date by landing rights to the 2026 Fifa World Cup and 2028…
Emilia Romagna GP pulls in strong home audience on Sky Italia channels
Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix pulled in strong ratings in its home country of Italy, despite disappointment for local Formula 1 fans after a difficult race for Ferrari.
United Group’s revenues grow as sports rights spending increases
United Group has reported higher revenues for the 2021 financial year thanks to multiple acquisitions that it concluded, while its sport rights spending more than doubled
Viaplay adds 778,000 to global subscriber total, confident of dodging Netflix-style dip
The launch of Viaplay in the Netherlands helped the streaming service add 778,000 new subscribers to its global total in the first quarter of this year
Twitch to show Spanish MotoGP race live
Amazon-owned online streaming platform Twitch will show this Sunday's MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix live
Liverpool to play friendly in Singapore as StarHub secures rights to exhibition matches
Liverpool is to play a friendly against fellow Premier League outfit Crystal Palace at the National Stadium in Singapore as part of its forthcoming pre-season tour of Southeast Asia
Premier League the focus of Canal Plus sports channel in Czech Republic, Slovakia
DTH and IPTV operator Skylink is set to launch a new sports channel in the Czech Republic and Slovakia as it prepares to begin broadcasting English Premier League football matches from the 2022-23 season…
Sky invests in W Series to 2024 in property’s biggest deal to date
The W Series has secured a three-year broadcast rights deal with pay-television broadcaster Sky that represents the women’s motor racing championship’s largest media rights deal to date.