USA
NBC buys World Cup as rugby growth trend in the US continues
Media group NBCUniversal extended its commitment to rugby union in the US this week, buying World Rugby rights for a significantly higher guaranteed fee.
NBC Sports extends backing of Pegasus World Cup Invitational
The NBC Sports Group division of US media company NBCUniversal has extended its exclusive rights deal for the Pegasus World Cup Invitational horse racing event.
CBS Sports picks up rights to ACC basketball championship
The CBS Sports division of US network CBS has secured a sublicense agreement with sports broadcaster ESPN to televise coverage of the American Athletic Conference’s 2018 college basketball championship.
NHL’s Golden Knights sign first local rights partner
Regional sports broadcaster Root Sports has been named as the official television home of newly-formed NHL ice hockey franchise the Vegas Golden Knights through an agreement between the club and the AT&T Sports Networks division of US telecommunications company AT&T.
Turner weighing up return to NFL rights market
Turner is assessing a return as a rights-holder of American football league the NFL, according to the US media company’s executive vice-president of property marketing and corporate partnerships, Will Funk.
Fox Sports calls on drivers for Nascar race coverage
The Fox Sports division of US network Fox will provide coverage of a Nascar stock car-racing event next month that will only feature audio provided by competitive drivers in the sport.
Poker Central launches new PokerGo service
Las Vegas-based media platform Poker Central has launched a new online subscription service entitled PokerGo.
NBC Sports Group lands rights to World Rugby events
The NBC Sports Group division of US media company NBCUniversal has agreed a wide-ranging rights partnership with World Rugby.
Facebook strikes live-streaming deal with MLB
Social media platform Facebook has struck its latest live sports deal through an agreement with Major League Baseball to show 20 of its games during the ongoing 2017 season.
CBS Sports renews rights to Army-Navy game
The CBS Sports division of US network CBS has retained rights to the annual American college football game between the US Military Academy and US Naval Academy.
Discovery invests in second-screen sports platform
US second-screen live sports television prediction platform WinView has raised $12m (€11m) in a Series B funding round whose participants include international media and entertainment company Discovery Communications.
ESPN extends partnership with WSOP
US sports broadcaster ESPN has extended its rights partnership with the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
WRC strikes US rights deals with Eleven, ESPN
The World Rally Championship motorsport series has agreed rights deals in the United States with international sports broadcasters Eleven Sports and ESPN.
IMG College seals rights deal with Abilene Christian University
The IMG College division of the IMG agency has agreed a multimedia rights deal with the Abilene Christian University in the United States.
NFL enters into live content partnership with Twitter
American football league the NFL has struck a new global multi-year deal with social media platform Twitter that it says will break new ground in creative live programming and video-on-demand content.
Sinclair to acquire Tribune Media in $3.9bn deal
Sinclair Broadcast Group has agreed a $3.9bn (€3.57bn) deal to acquire fellow US media group Tribune Media Company.
ESPN adapting to changing market – Iger
Bob Iger, the chief executive of ESPN’s parent company, Disney, has said that the sports broadcaster is adapting to changing market conditions as it copes with a fall in subscriber numbers.
Root Sports introduces in-market streaming for MLB partners
US regional sports broadcaster Root Sports has introduced authenticated in-market live streaming of games for its Major League Baseball team partners.