USA
ESPN renews PFL rights in ‘multi-year’ deal
Disney-owned sports broadcaster ESPN has renewed its rights in the US to the Professional Fighters League mixed martial arts promotion
Nascar extends with Fox, NBC and adds Amazon, TNT in $7.7bn seven-year deals
Nascar has signed seven-year domestic media rights contracts for its premier Nascar Cup Series with broadcasters Fox Sports, NBC Sports, Amazon Prime Video and TNT Sports that will begin in 2025 and run…
USL scores sizeable domestic rights increase
The United Soccer League, America's second-tier, will see its annual domestic media rights revenue rise sharply over the next four seasons thanks to new deals with Paramount and ESPN.
MLB hires Clark to oversee content distribution amid RSN upheaval
Major League Baseball has hired Josh Clark as senior vice-president of content distribution as the league and its broadcast department wades through the ongoing regional sports network (RSN) turmoil
Big Ten agrees Greenfly deal to help college athletes monetise their content
US college athletes competing in the Big Ten Conference are to be given the chance to build their personal brands and explore commercial opportunities via the use of digital media clips featuring them…
CAA Evolution forms new player in sports investment marketplace
Evolution Media Capital, the merchant banking arm of CAA, has joined forces with strategic advisory firm M. Klein & Company to launch a new entity which they claim will significantly step up their presence in the sports and entertainment investment space.
MLR brings in Globant to revamp OTT platform after success of Fifa remit
Major League Rugby has signed a wide-ranging commercial partnership with digital consultant and software provider Globant, which encompasses an overhaul of its over-the-top (OTT) platform, The Rugby Network
NWSL lands record four-year $240m domestic rights deals
The National Women's Soccer League has agreed the largest media rights deals in women's sport in contracts spanning four years worth $60m (€56m) annually, with games airing on CBS, ESPN, Amazon and Scripps S…
UFC heads back to Sportsnet and TVA, agrees Roku documentary deal
Pay-television broadcasters Sportsnet and TVA Sports have regained English-language and French-language rights, respectively, in Canada to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), while the mixed martial arts promotion has agreed a documentary series deal with US streaming service Roku.
Zaslav warns of ‘generational disruption’ as WBD reports $417m net loss
Warner Bros. Discovery has reported third-quarter net losses of $417m (€390m) after a decline in advertising revenue, a drop in streaming subscribers, and what president and chief executive David Zaslav called a “generational disruption” as the company’s stock tumbled by 19 per cent.
ESPN has strong quarter as D2C shift and strategic partner loom
Disney is still searching for a strategic partner for ESPN and is fully set on taking the sports property entirely direct-to-consumer as it posted an operating income increase of 16 per cent to $987m (€922m) i…
CW Network to broadcast WWE NXT in five-year deal
WWE has agreed a deal for the CW Network to broadcast its talent series WWE NXT in a five-year agreement that will put the 13-year-old World Wrestling Entertainment product on network television for the…
Netflix ‘weighing up’ move for live boxing rights
Streaming service Netflix is reportedly seeking to further expand its entry into live sports by targeting Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) and boxer and YouTube influencer Jake Paul.
USL lands domestic rights deal with CBS until 2027
United Soccer League has struck a multi-year rights agreement with CBS Sports that will put its matches on network television for the first time in its history
Diamond Sports settles with NBA, rights to hit 15 local markets in 2024
A spate of local market National Basketball Association team media rights will hit the market next year after the league and Diamond Sports Group, the largest owner of regional sports networks (RSNs),…
Paramount+ not actively looking at more sports rights as subscriptions reach 63m
Paramount Global's streaming service Paramount+ netted 2.7 million subscribers in the quarter to bring the total to 63 million as the direct-to-consumer service's revenue increased 38 per cent year-over-year
TNT Sports to show NBA, NHL, US Soccer games at Cosm’s immersive venues
Technology and entertainment company Cosm and pay-TV broadcaster TNT Sports have announced a multi-year deal for Cosm to produce and present live sporting events from TNT in immersive 8K+ at its planned…
NHL’s Coyotes seeks $18m from Diamond Sports Group
The National Hockey League's Arizona Coyotes is seeking $17.9m (€16.8m) from Diamond Sports Group (DSG), the owners and operators of Bally Sports Network regional sports networks.