USA
Time’s 120 Sports to go live on Wednesday
US media group Time will launch 120 Sports, a new all-digital sports network, on June 25, it was announced today.
Chicago Cubs weighing up multicast station – report
US MLB baseball club the Chicago Cubs is considering launching a multicast television station to broadcast games currently held under the team’s local rights deal with cable-television broadcaster WGN-TV, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Dish states interest in NFL’s Sunday Ticket rights
US satellite television company Dish Network has said it would be interested in bidding for the NFL American football league’s Sunday Ticket package if rival operator DirecTV fails to extend its rights deal.
NHL commissioner moves to aid Sharks rights talks
National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman has intervened in talks over San Jose Sharks’ local broadcast rights deal amid fears the long-term agreement is seriously affecting the ice hockey team’s financial position, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
IMG and WME make new senior-level appointment
The IMG and William Morris Endeavor agencies have appointed Greg D’Alba as president of global sales and marketing.
Broadcast partners sign up for Mexican clubs’ US tour
International sports broadcaster ESPN and US media company Liberman Broadcasting have acquired media rights for the 2014 Socio MX Tour, which features five friendly matches between top-tier Mexican football clubs.
UFC targets content expansion following Invicta deal
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has agreed a multi-year content deal with fellow mixed martial arts series Invicta Fighting Championships, with UFC president Dana White suggesting he is keen to add further content to the UFCFightPass.com digital streaming service.
ESPN teams up with Google in World Cup partnership
US sports broadcaster ESPN has signed a video content partnership with internet company Google for the 2014 Fifa World Cup national team football tournament.
NFL goes it alone as leagues push out short-form content
Two services due to launch soon show the increasing strategic and commercial importance of short-form content to the big US sports leagues and underline the degree to which US sport is leading the way in exploiting digital media.
Vikings step up MLS franchise bid with Relevent Sports tie-up
NFL American football franchise the Minnesota Vikings have stepped up their efforts to secure a Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion team for their new stadium by agreeing a partnership with the Relevent Sports agency.
BSkyB extends and expands US Open rights deal
UK pay-television broadcaster BSkyB has extended its exclusive rights deal for the US Open golf tournament as part of a new agreement that also includes coverage of other women’s, senior and amateur golf events in the US.
NC Plus pounces for golf major rights
Polish pay-television broadcaster NC Plus has acquired exclusive rights for the US Open and PGA Championship golf tournaments.
RDA and IEC to market rights for showpiece USA Rugby games
The RDA Television and IEC in Sports agencies have secured a deal with USA Rugby to jointly market the global media rights for the US national team’s matches against New Zealand and Scotland.
NESN to utilise fans’ video content during Red Sox broadcasts
US regional cable-television broadcaster NESN has linked up with mobile video technology company Burst to introduce fan-generated mobile video content into its live coverage of Boston Red Sox MLB baseball games.
NBC seeking record figure for Super Bowl ads – report
US network NBC is seeking a record sum of around $4.5m (€3.3m) for a 30-second advertisement during its coverage of the 2015 Super Bowl American football game, according to the Variety magazine.
Turf TV bolsters US racing content
Turf TV, the horseracing channel for betting shops in the UK and Ireland, is to add a third US fixture to its existing broadcast package.
NWSL secures ESPN exposure
US pay-television broadcaster ESPN has sealed a one-year rights deal for the National Women’s Soccer League, the top division of women’s football in North America.
NFL Now adds new partners
American football league the NFL has sealed carriage deals with the Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Kindle Fire digital platforms for NFL Now, a new online service that will launch in August ahead of the 2014-15 season.