USA

Spotify has said sports broadcaster ESPN will be one of its initial partners as it seeks to diversify from its core music streaming business into video content.

US pay-television sports broadcaster ESPN has expanded its long-term partnership with Mountain West by acquiring the rights to the US college sports conference’s annual American football championship game.

The welterweight world title unification boxing clash between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas earlier this month has smashed the US record for pay-per-view buys.

US network ABC will broadcast its first NFL American football game in 10 years next season, with sports broadcaster ESPN agreeing to a simulcast deal for the Wild Card Weekend on January 9-10.

US pay-television broadcaster ESPN is not expected to retain rights for British golf major the Open beyond 2017, according to the UK’s Guardian newspaper.

Pay-television operator Charter Communications is engaged in early talks with banks to secure a debt package of $25bn (€22.4bn) to $30bn to aid a merger with fellow cable operator Time Warner Cable, according to multiple US media reports.

US collegiate sports rights holder Learfield Sports has signed an innovative partnership with social media platform Snapchat and has brokered a broadcast rights extension for Boise State University.

Periscope, the recently launched live streaming application of social media website Twitter, will be prohibited at the 2015 US Open golf major in Washington next month.

Kayvon Beykpour, the co-founder of Periscope, has defended Twitter’s new live video streaming application against criticism that it was used to infringe copyright of coverage of Saturday night’s world welterweight boxing clash between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.

The start of Saturday’s world welterweight title fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas was delayed by about 45 minutes due to problems surrounding the processing of late pay-per-view orders through US pay-television providers.

US college sports organisation the Atlantic 10 Conference has bolstered its broadcast reach by agreeing a multi-year partnership with media company Sinclair Networks Group.

US pay-television broadcasters HBO and Showtime have filed a joint lawsuit against a set of websites that have allegedly been advertising unauthorised live online coverage of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. v Manny Pacquiao welterweight world title boxing clash this Saturday.

Golf’s PGA Tour has partnered with MLB Advanced Media, Major League Baseball’s interactive media and internet company, to launch a new digital over-the-top subscription service.

US sports broadcaster ESPN has stepped up its battle with Verizon over its new ‘Custom TV’ programming package by suing the telecommunications company, which has signed pay-television broadcaster CBS Sports Network as a new partner for the service.

The NBC Sports Group division of US media company NBCUniversal has acquired rights to the International Ice Hockey Federation’s 2015 World Championship, while it has also expanded the reach of its live streaming product NBC Sports Live Extra.

The board members of Time Warner Cable and Comcast have admitted defeat in their efforts to salvage a proposed $45.2bn (€42bn) takeover of the US pay-television operator by the US media company.