Global

Esports

Olympic Broadcasting Services chief executive Yiannis Exarchos has said the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Channel will seek to engage in esports content following the winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang.

Digital entertainment company Modern Times Group has completed the disposal of its international entertainment operations by selling Bulgarian commercial broadcaster Nova to PPF Group, the investment company controlled by Czech billionaire Petr Kellner.

Football

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation’s new 10-season deal with Saudi Telecom will see the Saudi Professional League return to free-to-air television – a key step in the government’s plan to transform the league into a powerful pan-regional marketing platform.

Rugby League

Toronto Wolfpack, the world’s first transatlantic rugby league club, has launched an OTT platform that will grant fans outside of Canada and the UK live and on-demand access to its games.

Surfing

The World Surf League has expanded its global digital rights deal with Facebook, securing a significantly higher fee.

US virtual reality company LiveLike has unveiled a $9.6m (€7.85m) Series B funding round as it seeks to further develop a platform targeted at the sports market which combines VR and social media interactivity.

The MotoGP motorcycling world championship has opted to shorten some of its races to enable broadcast partners to better plan their race day programming.

Esports

The IMG agency has furthered its interest in esports by agreeing a global media rights partnership with events and production company PGL.

Boxing

The IMG agency has agreed a deal for distribution rights to boxing events organised by promoter Frank Warren.

Comcast is considering submitting a new offer for rival media company 21st Century Fox’s business assets, despite the latter having agreed a deal with Walt Disney in December, according to reports.

Cricket

Over-the-top platform YuppTV has acquired rights to the Nidahas Trophy, an upcoming Twenty20 cricket tournament that will be contested by the national teams of Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh.

Esports

Three major deals last month have shown the esports market is maturing quickly, with rights-holders focusing on exclusivity and rights fees over universal reach and exposure for sponsors.

Billiards

The growth in popularity of billiards in South Korea has helped the Union Mondiale de Billard secure a seven-figure annual dollar fee for its global media and marketing rights.

Esports

Sports and betting-related services company Sportradar has been named as the official international media rights distribution partner of eFootball.Pro, an esports company founded by Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué.

Olympic Games

The International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Channel digital platform has agreed a wide-ranging partnership with Snap Inc, the parent company of social media platform Snapchat.

Equestrian

The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) has engaged London-based digital communications agency RedTorch to enhance its digital audience, while it has agreed a new rights deal with French pay-television broadcaster SFR Sport.

Mixed Martial Arts

The Professional Fighters League mixed martial arts promotion has agreed rights deals with the NBC Sports Group division of US media company NBCUniversal and social media platform Facebook.

American Football

The New England Patriots will launch a 24-hour video stream on Monday to chronicle the NFL American football franchise’s build-up to the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 4.