Japan

Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten has furthered its ties to the NBA by agreeing a multi-year media and marketing partnership with the basketball league.

DAZN, the OTT sports subscription service operated by digital media company Perform, has appointed Peter Parmenter to the new position of managing director of commercial partnerships.

OTT sports subscription service DAZN has secured rights in Japan to the crossover fight between undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and mixed martial arts superstar Conor McGregor.

The PGA of America has furthered its new rights strategy for the PGA Championship in the UK, by stating that live streaming of the 2017 edition of the US golf major will be available via social media platforms Facebook and Twitter.

The International World Games Association has said the 2017 edition of its showpiece event will receive record levels of exposure across the world.

Strong competition helped Uefa secure an increase of about 50 per cent for its club competition rights in Japan last month, as OTT platform DAZN added another premium property to its portfolio.

Consumer electronics company Samsung has partnered with North America’s Major League Baseball to provide fans with a virtual reality offering for the remainder of the 2017 season.

The FIH, the global governing body of hockey, has agreed rights deals with a number of broadcasters in various regions around the world.

DAZN, the OTT service operated by digital sports media company Perform, has acquired exclusive rights in Japan to the Uefa Champions League and Europa League club football competitions.

The CAA Eleven agency has launched new tenders in Greece, Japan and Vietnam for rights to Uefa national team properties.

DAZN, the OTT service operated by digital sports media company Perform, has enhanced its content portfolio in Japan by agreeing a rights deal with North American wrestling organisation WWE.

Japan’s five main commercial broadcasters have come together to develop a system that will serve as the lynchpin for simultaneous broadcasting of television programs over the air and the internet.

A collective of major broadcasters and Europe’s leading football organisations have joined forces to call on the G7 group of industrial nations to take action to tackle internet piracy.

DAZN chief executive James Rushton has apologised for the failings of the service during the opening round of the J.League football season in Japan, and said it will be “very aggressive” in pursuing key sports rights in Germany.

US media company NBCUniversal has expanded the global reach of its Golf Channel network by agreeing new distribution agreements in Japan with OTT digital platform AbemaTV and pay-television broadcaster Wowow.

Japanese pay-television broadcaster J Sports has acquired rights to motor-racing series the World Touring Car Championship.