Global
ESPN engages in drone racing with new rights deal
Sports broadcaster ESPN has agreed a global rights distribution deal with the International Drone Racing Association, a worldwide organisation for first-person-view drone racing.
Fiba confirms Basketball Champions League distribution plans with Perform, TAF
Fiba, basketball’s global governing body, has confirmed a media rights distribution partnership with digital sports media company Perform and the TAF Sports Marketing agency.
Euro expansion vindicated with fees up 30%
Uefa will secure an increase of just over 30 per cent in the value of media rights to the Euro 2016 tournament compared to Euro 2012, according to research by TV Sports Markets.
ITTF takes greater control with Lagardère deal
The International Table Tennis Federation’s decision to sell its media rights in China and other core markets itself left slim pickings for agencies, but hasn’t stopped Lagardère Sports from taking on the challenge.
MEDIA RIGHTS: From March 24 to April 6
Media rights clips from March 24 to April 6
UCI hails landmark rights deal with EBU and IMG
The International Cycling Union (UCI) has agreed an eight-year deal with the European Broadcasting Union consortium of public-service broadcasters and the IMG agency to distribute the worldwide rights to all its World Championship events.
NFL achieves ‘tri-cast’ goal with Twitter partnership
American football league the NFL has today (Tuesday) selected social media company Twitter as its exclusive partner to deliver a live over-the-top digital stream of Thursday Night Football games to a global audience across all devices and for free during the course of the 2016 regular season.
Discovery expands Olympics technology team
Media and entertainment company Discovery Communications, the parent company of international sports broadcaster Eurosport, has strengthened its Olympic Games technology team with two senior appointments.
Major League Baseball expands international reach
North America’s Major League Baseball has confirmed renewals of a swathe of rights deals for the new 2016 season.
UCI extends Red Bull Media House contract for Mountain Bike World Cup
The International Cycling Union (UCI) has extended and expanded its exclusive television production and media rights partnership with Red Bull Media House under a new three-year deal with the media company.
Miami FC claims NASL first with broadcast coverage
New North American Soccer League franchise Miami FC has claimed a first for the football competition by stating it will be the only club to broadcast all its matches internationally.
PDC bolsters digital media offering with new partners
The Professional Darts Corporation has secured partnerships with full-service digital agency Rippleffect and video streaming specialist StreamAMG as part of a move to strengthen its digital media offering.
WWE connects with Snapchat ahead of Wrestlemania
The WWE wrestling organisation has signed a multi-year partnership with social media platform Snapchat.
WME-IMG set for further major investment – report
The WME-IMG agency is close to a deal with another “blue chip” investor and is set to report significantly improved financial figures for 2015, according to US magazine the Hollywood Reporter.
SRO unveils broadcast line-up for 2016 GT Series
SRO Motorsports Group, promoter of the GT Series, has unveiled details of expanded broadcast coverage for the 2016 season of the motor racing competition.
ATP Media serves up extension with Two Circles
Sports marketing agency Two Circles has extended its partnership with TennisTV, the direct-to-consumer streaming service managed by ATP Media, the broadcast arm of top professional men’s tennis circuit the ATP World Tour.
Formula E embraces virtual reality
The Formula E electric car-racing championship has entered into a partnership with virtual reality technology company Virtually Live.
Le Sports boosted by further funding
Le Sports, which is operated by Chinese internet company LeEco, has been valued at Rmb21.5bn (€2.96bn/$3.3bn) following its latest influx of funding, the company has said.