France

The RDA agency will look to extract more value from Australia and New Zealand and strike deals in the Pacific Islands for the first time, after taking over international rights to the Super League.

French free-to-air sports broadcaster L'Équipe has extended its deal with Uefa, European club football’s governing body, for rights to the European Under-19 Championship.

Spanish agency Mediapro has said it has no intention of sublicensing rights to Ligue 1 and will instead rely on striking carriage deals for its planned new channel for the top division of French club football, while telco Altice has unveiled a new look to its sports media offering in France.

Spanish agency Mediapro has said it will form a dedicated football channel open to all “premium TV operators” in France after securing the lion’s share of rights to Ligue 1, the top tier of domestic club football.

The Ligue de Football Professionnel has secured a 60 per cent increase in value for the domestic rights to Ligue 1 through deals with Spanish agency Mediapro and pay-television broadcaster beIN Sports, with the agreements ending the status of pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus as the long-time home of the top-tier competition.

International sports broadcaster Eurosport has further diversified its offering with the launch of Eurosport Shop, its first e-commerce platform.

Patrick Comninos, chief executive of the Basketball Champions League, spoke to media at the Fiba Final Four event last week about Greek basketball club Panathinaikos reported interest in joining the competition.

French digital-terrestrial sports channel L'Équipe has extended rights deals for motorsport’s FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) motorcycle-racing series.

French pay-television broadcaster SFR Sport, a division of the Altice telco, is “unlikely” to bid for the next cycle of rights to Ligue 1, the top division of football in France, according to SFR Group chairman Alain Weill.

French media company Groupe AB has acquired rights to the Drone Racing League, with the competition set to host its first event in France in June.

The Ligue de Football Professionnel, which operates the French football league, has launched its sales process for the domestic rights covering Ligue 1, the top division in the country.

French business tycoon Vincent Bolloré, who last week stepped down as chairman of media giant Vivendi, has been charged amid an investigation by French authorities into claims his company helped two African politicians win elections in return for lucrative business contracts.

French billionaire Vincent Bolloré, who last week stepped down as chairman of media giant Vivendi, is being questioned by police as part of an investigation into allegedly corrupt business practices in Africa, it emerged today (Tuesday).

The Ligue de Football Professionnel, which operates the French football league, will launch a new domestic broadcast rights tender before the summer, according to multiple reports.

Yannick Bolloré will take over as the new chairman of French media company Vivendi after his father, Vincent Bolloré, announced he would step down from the position.

French media company AB Groupe has acquired rights to esports competition the Overwatch League.