United Kingdom
Pro14 closing in on rights announcement as BBC admits defeat
The Pro14 cross-border rugby union league has said it is concluding talks over its next set of rights in the UK and Ireland, as the Welsh division of public-service broadcaster the BBC said it has been outbid in its effort to retain live coverage.
BT pays big increase to maintain loyal MotoGP subscriber base
Telco BT will pay an increase of about 140 per cent to keep hold of exclusive MotoGP media rights in the UK and Ireland.
Watching Brief (Vol.198) UK TV Audiences 12th to 18th February
Extreme Sailing Series returns to Sunset+Vine
UK production company Sunset+Vine has regained the distribution contract for the Extreme Sailing Series under a new deal with the competition’s owner and organiser, OC Sport.
Amazon in the mix for Premier League rights – report
E-commerce and media company Amazon is interested in acquiring a ‘super pack’ of rights to club football competition the English Premier League, according to the Digiday website.
SUM seeks to bolster video content offering with Copa90 deal
Soccer United Marketing, the media and marketing arm of North America’s Major League Soccer, has entered into a strategic partnership with London-based digital media company Copa90.
Manchester United ends YouTube resistance with official channel
English Premier League football club Manchester United has launched an official channel on YouTube, breaking a cycle where it was the most-viewed club on the video-sharing platform purely through unofficial content.
Watching Brief (Vol.197) UK TV Audiences 5th to 11th February
BT Sport secures extension to MotoGP rights deal
UK pay-television broadcaster BT Sport has signed a three-year extension to its rights deal with the MotoGP motorcycling series.
BBC to show ITTF Team World Cup
UK public-service broadcaster the BBC has confirmed it will show live coverage of the International Table Tennis Federation Team World Cup.
Super pack option touted for remaining Premier League rights
The Premier League, the top division of English club football, could merge its two remaining domestic rights packages into a ‘super pack’, according to multiple reports.
End of BT/Sky pay-TV war halts trend of Premier League growth
After successive 70-per-cent rises in the last two cycles there were only two sets of circumstances in which the Premier League was likely to secure another increase in the value of its domestic live rights.
Toronto Wolfpack seeks to engage global fan base with OTT service
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.
Premier League’s domestic value slips as Sky retains majority of rights
UK pay-television broadcaster Sky has retained the bulk of live domestic rights to the English Premier League, with the award of contracts signifying a reversal in the trend of sky-rocketing fees from recent tenders, albeit with two packages left on the table.
Quest to dislodge Channel Five as EFL highlights home
UK DTT channel Quest has dislodged commercial broadcaster Channel Five as the free-to-air highlights rights-holder for the English Football League, which operates the three divisions of football below the top-tier Premier League, according to the Daily Mail newspaper.
Sky holds negotiations over SPFL rights extension
UK pay-television broadcaster Sky has held “extremely positive” talks to extend its rights deal with the Scottish Professional Football League, according to the Daily Express.
Imagen upgrades video management platform
UK production company Imagen has enhanced its video management platform by adding live capture and social media publishing capabilities to the service.
Premier League rights battle reaches deadline day
Broadcasters and media companies have today (Friday) entered their initial offers for rights to the Premier League, the top division of English club football.