USA

Media company Walt Disney has promoted James Pitaro to become the new president of sports broadcaster ESPN and co-chair of Disney Media Networks.

E-commerce and media company Amazon has furthered its reach in the sports market by agreeing a partnership with mixed martial arts promotion the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Seattle Sounders have become the latest Major League Soccer franchise to strike a rights deal with YouTube TV, the cable-free live television service of video-sharing company YouTube.

US telco Verizon has agreed a wide-ranging media-rights partnership with the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf).

US media company Discovery Communications has reported a six per cent increase in its full year revenues as its proposed takeover of cable television network owner Scripps Networks Interactive was given the green light by the Department of Justice.

US network CBS has launched its new OTT sports service, CBS Sports HQ, stating it is seeking to take advantage of being the first to the market with such a product.

Comcast confirmed this (Tuesday) morning that it has submitted a new offer for Sky, the European broadcaster operated by rival media company 21st Century Fox, despite the latter having agreed a broader deal with Walt Disney late last year.

Football streaming service Fanatiz has reached an agreement with the MP & Silva agency for rights in the US and Canada to the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana club competitions.

World football’s governing body Fifa is reportedly in line for bonuses of $302m (€243.3m) from its North American broadcast partners should it decide to award hosting rights for the 2026 World Cup to the ‘United 2026’ joint proposal from the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Telco Altice has acquired rights to North American basketball league the NBA in the Dominican Republic, while multichannel television streaming service Sling TV has claimed a first with a carriage deal for out-of-market live game subscription service NBA League Pass.

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.

Video-sharing service YouTube, social media platform Twitter and e-commerce and media company Amazon are all in contention for the digital streaming rights package being marketed by American football league the NFL for its Thursday Night Football property, according to multiple reports.

Fox’s acquisition of broadcast rights to the NFL’s Thursday Night Football package is the first step in the US media group’s rebuilding project after many of its assets were sold to Disney.

US network CBS has said its new OTT sports service, CBS Sports HQ, will launch later this month.

Video-sharing company YouTube has bolstered the sports output of its US cable-free live television service, YouTube TV, through a new partnership with media company Turner.