United Kingdom

A summary of UK viewing audiences in football, rugby, golf, tennis, horse racing, athletics, Formula 1, cricket, snooker, darts, boxing and cycling in 2017. Watching Brief Vol. 191
Football

Media companies Singtel, StarHub, Fox Networks Group and football’s English Premier League have teamed up to bring a legal case against two Android television box-sellers in Singapore who have been accused of “wilfully infringing” copyright.

Horse Racing

Pay-television channel At The Races has renewed its deal for exclusive rights in the UK and Ireland to US horse-racing showpiece the Pegasus World Cup Invitational.

Golf

UK pay-television broadcaster Sky has secured an extension to its rights deal for US golf major the Masters.

Esports

Goal, the football news website operated by digital sports media company Perform, has acquired live-streaming rights to the inaugural edition of the eFootball League.

UK viewing data for the week between Monday 25th and Sunday 31st December, along with a summary of December's leading audiences on Eurosport. Watching Brief Vol. 190

UK viewing data for the week between Monday 18th and Sunday 24th December. We also include leading audiences in November on free-to-air television. Watching Brief Vol. 189

UK viewing data for the week between Monday 11th and Sunday 17th December. This week we also include leading audiences in November on Eurosport and across pay-television. Watching Brief Vol. 1
Multi-sport

UK sports promotional company Matchroom Sport has signed a new seven-year rights deal with pay-television broadcaster Sky.

Football

Tech company Amazon plans to table a bid for the next round of rights to football’s English Premier League, according to the Bloomberg news agency.

UK pay-television broadcaster BT Sport has signed up as the first partner of commercial broadcaster Channel 4’s new digital advertising sales house, 4 Sales.

Football

Uefa, football’s European governing body, has been granted an injunction by the UK’s High Court to force six internet service providers to clamp down on illegal streams of matches.

Ice Hockey

Ice hockey’s Spengler Cup will be broadcast in China, the UK, Ireland and Georgia for the first time when its 2017 edition takes place later this month.

UK viewing data for the week between Monday 4th and Sunday 10th December. This week we feature leading audiences for the 2017 Formula One season on both free-to-air and pay-television.
Multi-sport

UK Sport, the body that oversees the investment of public and National Lottery money into British Olympic and Paralympic sport, has signed a live-streaming partnership with UK public-service broadcaster the BBC.

Rival UK pay-television operators BT and Sky have sealed a landmark multi-year deal to make channels available on each other’s platforms.

Skiing

The Ski Classics series of long-distance skiing events has agreed new broadcast deals in France, the UK and the Middle East and North Africa region for the remainder of its 2017-18 season.

Darts

UK pay-television broadcaster Sky has sealed a new seven-year rights deal with the Professional Darts Corporation.