North America
DAZN confirms launch in Canada
DAZN, the OTT service operated by digital sports media company Perform, has confirmed it will launch in Canada “this summer” and will be the exclusive home in the country of the NFL American football league’s Game Pass digital subscription package.
Olympic Channel to show World Games in the US
The newly-launched Olympic Channel in the US has struck a deal to show the 2017 World Games.
BBC strikes PGA Championship deal – reports
UK public-service broadcaster the BBC has acquired rights to golf major the PGA Championship, according to multiple reports.
Nascar bolsters leadership team
North American stock car-racing series Nascar has revamped its leadership across its content and marketing divisions with a host of new appointments.
DirecTV to operate as separate unit after AT&T deal – report
Satellite-television broadcaster DirecTV will be operated as separate unit when telecommunications company AT&T completes its takeover of US media company Time Warner, according to the Reuters news agency.
Combate Americas signs ESPN rights deal
US sports broadcaster ESPN has acquired rights to Hispanic mixed martial arts series Combate Americas’ upcoming ‘Combate Clásico’ event.
FloSports to show college basketball tours
Sports streaming specialist FloSports has agreed a multi-year deal with Basketball Travelers Inc., which organises tours featuring top US basketball universities.
Nationals-Orioles MASN dispute to return to MLB panel
The Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals are at odds over their respective positions following the latest legal ruling in a long-running case concerning the latter Major League Baseball franchise’s revenue payments from US regional cable-television broadcaster MASN.
PGA of America ends Sky partnership to explore new rights model
The PGA of America has said it will not extend its UK rights deal with pay-television broadcaster Sky for the PGA Championship, one of golf’s four major tournaments, in favour of exploring a new model for the event.
NBA legend invests in 15 Seconds of Fame
NBA basketball legend Kobe Bryant has invested in 15 Seconds of Fame, a new social media platform that delivers personal video content to fans at live events.
Learfield adds Northern Arizona to US college portfolio
The Learfield Sports agency has agreed a multimedia rights partnership with the athletics department of Northern Arizona University in the US.
ESPN partners up with Samsung to bring VR to X Games
The X Games has agreed a partnership with Korean consumer electronics company Samsung that will result in the action sports competition being presented in virtual reality for the first time.
DAZN lines up Canadian launch – report
DAZN, the OTT service operated by digital sports media company Perform, is set to expand into Canada, according to German media magazine W&V.
Wolfpack’s rugby league journey gains US exposure
International sports broadcaster Eleven Sports has acquired rights in the US to the games of Canadian rugby league team Toronto Wolfpack, which has been labelled the world’s first transatlantic sports club.
Fox Sports programming chief fired
Jamie Horowitz has been fired as the head of programming at the Fox Sports division of US network Fox.
CBC Sports signs exclusive rights deal with Fina
The CBC Sports division of Canadian public-service broadcaster CBC has agreed a wide-ranging rights deal with Fina, the global governing body of aquatic sports.
ESPN to showcase World Cup of Softball
US sports broadcaster ESPN has sealed a rights deal with USA Softball to show coverage of the annual World Cup of Softball.
NBC Sports bolsters Premier League coverage with live streaming product
The NBC Sports Group division of US media company NBCUniversal has said it will launch a new direct-to-consumer live streaming service for its coverage of the English Premier League ahead of the 2017-18 season of the club football competition.