France

Fox International Channels, the broadcast division of media company 21st Century Fox, has strengthened its operations in the UK and France by appointing two new senior members of staff.

The Ligue Nationale de Rugby last week secured an increase of 4.2 per cent in the value of the media rights of the top-tier domestic league, the Top 14, despite limited competition.

Interview with Emmanuel Eschalier, chief executive officer at the Ligue Nationale de Rugby, on the league’s new Top 14 domestic deal with pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus.

French basic-tier broadcaster Ma Chaîne Sport has bounced back from losing several rights properties in recent months by agreeing deals for football and tennis competitions.

Mike Kiernan, analyst for SportBusiness Intelligence, reviews the most-watched events of 2014 in France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

International pay-television channel RTL9 has acquired rights for the Bellator mixed martial arts (MMA) series.

French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus has been awarded rights by the Ligue National de Rugby (LNR) for the domestic rugby union Top 14 tournament for four seasons, from 2015-16 to 2018-19.

Pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus has acquired rights in France for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in a sublicensing deal with commercial broadcaster TF1, according to French newspaper Le Figaro.

Six broadcasters have made offers to the Ligue Nationale de Rugby, which operates the French professional rugby union league, for the rights to the top-tier Top 14 and second-tier Pro D2 divisions, according to L’Equipe.

French pay-television broadcaster beIN Media Group has agreed a three-year extension to its rights deal for rugby league’s Super League, which comprises clubs from England and France, and will also continue to broadcast Australian competition the NRL, according to Mediasportif.fr.

French commercial broadcaster TF1 has confirmed a rights deal for the 2015 men’s World Handball Championships, while public-service broadcaster France Télévisions has struck an agreement to show the women’s World Championships later this year.

French basic-tier sports broadcaster Ma Chaîne Sport has acquired rights for the Copa Libertadores football club cup tournament in Latin America, while beIN Media Group has snapped up rights for this year’s Copa America national team competition, according to the Media Sportif news website.

Mike Kiernan, analyst for SportBusiness Intelligence, reviews television audiences across the big five markets for the recently concluded Formula One World Championship

French pay-television broadcaster beIN Sports has agreed a two-year deal for the exclusive rights to football’s German Bundesliga, according to L'Équipe.

Pay-television broadcaster Kombat Sport has agreed a deal to launch a channel dedicated to the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts organisation, which will be available exclusively through French pay-television operator Numericable.

French commercial broadcaster TF1 has agreed a deal for rights to the 2015 men’s World Handball Championships, according to L’Equipe.