Altice

IMG’s packaging of Euroleague and Eurocup basketball rights has led to another big increase, this time in France from a deal with SFR Sport

Altice has entered talks with rival media company Prisa to acquire a majority stake in the latter’s Portugal-based Media Capital.

Multinational telecommunications company Altice has elected to rebrand a number of the businesses it acquired during an acquisition drive in an effort to better position itself in the content and distribution marketplace.

Canal Plus’ loss of Champions League rights – announced late this week – is a blow to the broadcaster, softened slightly by its recent extension of Formula One rights.

Strong competition is expected between France’s main pay-television broadcasters for Uefa Champions League, Formula One and European rugby rights, with all three properties currently on the market.

SFR Sport lost out to French pay-television rival Canal Plus in a fourth round of bidding for International Basketball Federation (Fiba) events this month, but added the Diamond League to its slow-growing portfolio of sports rights.

Increasing the number of live Premiership Rugby matches broadcast had an “immediate and tangible” impact on its international distribution and income, according to the league’s commercial director Dominic Hayes.

Industry experts believe the Portuguese sports-rights market is set to stagnate for the foreseeable future after the country’s three biggest telcos took equal stakes in dominant pay-television broadcaster Sport TV, ending any possibility of competition between them.

The Autoridade da Concorrência, Portugal’s competition regulator, has denied reports that it has decided to block a series of football media rights deals featuring the Altice and Nos telecommunications companies.

Portuguese telco Nos has won the battle for premium domestic football rights, beating rival Altice to deals with nine more clubs.

Telco Altice last week blindsided French broadcasters to acquire Premier League rights in the country with a knockout first-round bid.

Interview with Nicolas Rotkoff, chief executive of entertainment and sports for Altice, on the telco’s acquisition of English Premier League media rights in France.

Telecommunications company Altice has dislodged pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus as the rights-holder in France for English football’s Premier League, according to multiple reports.

The closure of Canal Plus-owned sports channel Sport Plus has provided French basic-tier broadcaster Ma Chaîne Sport with another opportunity to boost its portfolio, after last month’s deal for domestic basketball rights.