USA
NBCU snaps up Universal Sports Network rights
Media company NBCUniversal has acquired Universal Sports Network’s rights after the US pay-television sports broadcaster closed down.
Liberty Media opens Braves up to public trading under recapitalisation plan
US mass media company Liberty Media has unveiled a recapitalisation plan that will lead to investors being able to buy shares in Atlanta Braves, the Major League Baseball franchise it owns.
Sport1 extends rights deal with ESPN
German sports broadcaster Sport1 has extended its media rights deal with US sports broadcaster ESPN through to the end of the 2017-18 season.
Media giants invest in NextVR
Live-action virtual reality broadcast technology company NextVR has sealed a $30.5m (€28.3m) Series A funding round with participation from leading names in sports and entertainment.
Pac-12 expands LeTV partnership in China
The Pac-12 US college sports conference has expanded its rights partnership with Chinese internet company LeTV.
Disney ‘bullish’ over ESPN after revenue increase
The Walt Disney media company has moved to allay concerns over ESPN after confirming its Media Networks division, which houses the sports broadcaster, achieved better-than-expected revenue during the three months through to the end of September.
Splitting English and Spanish language rewards Uefa in US
Uefa opened its international competition rights to the US market early in its sales cycle to take advantage of the competitive environment, and was rewarded with a significant uplift.
Judge throws out arbitration decision over Nationals rights dispute
An arbitration decision that stated that US regional cable-television broadcaster MASN owed Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Washington Nationals $298m (€270m) for the franchise’s broadcast rights has been thrown out by a New York judge.
NBA targets youth market with Verizon content partnership
US telecommunications company Verizon has agreed a multi-year content and marketing partnership with the NBA basketball league that will bring daily league highlights, new original series and access to some live games to its new mobile video streaming service Go90.
TMZ launches dedicated sports show through Fox partnership
Entertainment news channel TMZ is set to branch out into the sports world through the launch of a new programming franchise in partnership with the Fox Sports division of US network Fox.
HBO Sports president steps down
US pay-television broadcaster HBO has announced that Ken Hershman has resigned as president of its HBO Sports division.
ACC commissioner plays down reports of network launch delay
Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford has labelled talk of US sports broadcaster ESPN seeking to delay the launch of a dedicated network for the college sports organisation as “premature.”
NBA’s Mavericks extend local rights deal
The Dallas Mavericks North American NBA basketball franchise has sealed a local rights deal with the Fox Sports Southwest division of US network Fox.
UCLA Athletics commits to WME-IMG
The athletics division of the University of California, Los Angeles has agreed a 10-year extension to its multimedia rights partnership with the WME-IMG agency.
TVG to rebrand HRTV
TVG will rebrand HRTV, a pay-television broadcaster acquired by the US horse racing broadcaster in February from gambling and horse racing company the Stronach Group.
ESPN pulls videos from YouTube over Red launch
US sports broadcaster ESPN has begun removing its videos from YouTube due to apparent concerns over rights issues ahead of the launch of the video-sharing website’s new subscription service.
Fox Sports responds as World Series opener hit by broadcast outage
The Fox Sports division of US network Fox has blamed a “rare electronics failure” after its broadcast of Tuesday’s dramatic opening game of Major League Baseball’s World Series went off air.
Yes Network extends deal with NBA’s Nets
US regional pay-television sports broadcaster Yes Network has extended a rights deal with North American NBA basketball franchise the Brooklyn Nets.