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Features
Lack of competition smooths way for ITV’s BTCC renewal in UK
UK commercial broadcaster ITV is not thought to have seen any competition in its latest five-year renewal of British Touring Car Championship rights.
FA’s WSL carve-out pays dividends in exclusive Sky deal
The English FA is thought to have achieved a robust fee for rights to the top-tier Women’s Super League in the first domestic rights tender for the property.
Summer Paralympics value holds steady in UK in Channel 4 renewal
UK commercial broadcaster Channel 4 kept its outlay flat on summer Paralympics media rights in its renewal for the Paris 2024 edition, SportBusiness Media understands.
Matchday revenue is just one small piece of the Premier League PPV puzzle
Between Project Big Picture and pay-per-view, it’s not been the best couple of weeks for Premier League football’s public image.
Amazon’s Autumn Nations Cup swoop triggers speculation over rugby intentions
Tech giant Amazon’s acquisition of UK rights to the Autumn Nations Cup competition has triggered a debate over whether the company will now embark upon a concerted push into rugby.
NFL avoids rights fee fall in Sky’s UK, Ireland renewal
Pay-television broadcaster Sky renewed its NFL media-rights deal in the UK and Ireland at an unchanged fee, SportBusiness Media understands.
British & Irish Lions media value holds up in UK, Ireland in Sky renewal
The British & Irish Lions touring side maintained the value of its media rights in the UK and Ireland in a deal with pay-television broadcaster Sky for next year’s tour of South Africa.
Premiership Rugby seen in tricky spot after apparent rejection of BT offer
Premiership Rugby, operator of the top division of English rugby union, is entering the final season of its domestic rights deal with BT with no clear plan for the forthcoming cycle after rejecting a robust renewal offer, industry sources told SportBusiness Media.
BT’s short-term Turkish Süper Lig deal is taster for longer-term contract
UK telco BT’s acquisition of Turkish Süper Lig rights for the remainder of the 2019-20 season is a ‘toe-in-the-water’ ahead of a potential longer-term agreement, SportBusiness Media understands.
Extreme E negotiates one-year break clause in BBC rights deal
Extreme E, the electric SUV off-road racing series, has secured a one-year break clause in a two-year media-rights deal in the UK with public broadcaster the BBC, SportBusiness Media understands.
Six Nations pauses media-rights sales in face of Covid-19 pandemic
Six Nations Rugby, the organising body of the annual national team tournament, has paused the sales process for the next cycle of domestic and international rights to the Six Nations and Autumn Internationals due to the widespread uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Disney’s pivot to India-focused Hotstar strategy opened door to Sky-IPL reunion in the UK
Disney’s decision to refocus Star India’s Hotstar OTT platform on its domestic market paved the way for the return of Indian Premier League cricket rights in the UK to pay-television broadcaster Sky.
WWE gains full-spectrum UK coverage for 2020-23 cycle with Channel 5 deal
Channel 5’s free-to-air highlights deal with World Wrestling Entertainment will run for the same four-year period as WWE’s primary UK broadcast contract with BT Sport, SportBusiness Media understands.
Sky gains from BBC live golf reappraisal in Masters renewal
Sky achieved its long-held ambition of exclusive live coverage of the US Masters in the UK because its co-incumbent, the BBC, decided live golf is no longer a strategic priority.
BT looks to secure sports future with huge Champions League renewal
BT’s huge outlay for Uefa club competition rights in the 2021-24 cycle was driven by the UK telco's need to retain a viable sports broadcasting proposition.
SPFL sees robust international rights guarantee despite betting absence
The Scottish Professional Football League has secured a strong minimum guarantee from Infront for international rights to Scottish league football. The deal is robust by historical standards, given that betting streaming rights were not included.
DAZN’s ‘logical’ interest in UK launch is hard to square with commercial realities
In October, DAZN executive chairman John Skipper described the UK as “a logical DAZN market”, pinpointing three potential avenues of entry: rights to the English Premier League, boxing, and tennis. But experts and insiders surveyed by SportBusiness say DAZN should treat the UK market with caution.
UK, France may drive global Champions League revenue downturn
Uefa, European football’s governing body, could be on the verge of a sharp downturn in Champions League media-rights revenues for the 2021-24 cycle, with specific factors in the key UK and France markets exacerbating a broader price correction already anticipated for similar high-profile properties.
Sky, Channel 4 keep terms steady for three-year F1 sublicence renewal in UK
UK commercial broadcaster Channel 4’s recent Formula One sublicensing renewal with pay-television broadcaster Sky extends their relationship for another three years, until the end of 2022, with the deal value unchanged, SportBusiness Media understands.
LaLiga shifts to fee plus revenue share in Premier Sports UK, Ireland deals
Spain’s LaLiga has for the first time agreed a revenue-sharing deal for its rights in the UK and Ireland for the 2019-22 cycle. LaLiga will receive a fee from pay-television broadcaster Premier Sports, but the two parties will also share revenues in both territories from LaLiga’s dedicated channel, LaLigaTV, SportBusiness Media understands.
BBC pays blockbuster fee for Women’s Euro 2021 UK rights
The BBC has paid around ten-times more for the UK rights to the 2021 Uefa Women’s Euro than commercial broadcaster Channel 4 paid for the 2017 tournament, SportBusiness Media understands.
GolfTV threat drives Sky extension of Open rights in UK & Ireland
UK pay-television broadcaster Sky’s extension of its rights deal for The Open is an attempt to shore up its dominant position in golf in the UK and Ireland against the threat of GolfTV, the dedicated channel run by the Discovery-PGA Tour joint venture, SportBusiness Media understands.
LaLiga FTA constraints in UK, Ireland may stymie tender interest
Match-choice restrictions placed by Spain’s LaLiga on the free-to-air package in its UK and Ireland rights tenders for the 2019-22 cycle may limit interest from broadcasters, according to industry experts spoken to by SportBusiness Media.
BT benefits from incumbent Sky’s OTT concerns in WWE grab
Pay-television broadcaster BT Sport took advantage of Sky’s long-running concerns over wrestling body WWE’s OTT service to grab WWE rights in the UK and Ireland from its rival at a steep discount, SportBusiness Media understands.