Fifa

The IMG agency has secured the global in-flight and in-ship rights to Fifa’s 2018 World Cup, 2019 Women’s World Cup and 2017 Confederations Cup international football tournaments.

The attempt by MP & Silva to terminate a deal with Fifa for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in Italy is being challenged by football’s global governing body, just months after the two appeared to have reached a settlement.

Russian broadcasters VGTRK, Channel One and Match TV have agreed a deal with Fifa for rights to this year’s Confederations Cup, but wrangling over rights to the 2018 World Cup continues.

The addition of StarTimes to Fifa’s set of 2018 World Cup broadcasters in sub-Saharan Africa has significantly increased the governing body’s income from the region.

Fifa took advantage of the BBC’s failure to acquire women’s Euro 2017 rights to secure a big increase in the value of the women’s World Cup.

UK public-service broadcaster the BBC has acquired rights to the 2019 edition of football’s Fifa Women’s World Cup, which will be staged in France.

TV Sports Markets understands the Telesport agency has acquired rights in Russia to four Olympic Games, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and is currently in negotiations with Fifa for rights to the 2018 World Cup.

Fifa is projecting an additional €480m ($516m) of media-rights income from the 2026 World Cup compared to 2018, an increase of about 20 per cent. Arguably only half of this will be a consequence of expanding the tournament from 32 to 48 teams; the other half being organic growth in the value of the competition from cycle to cycle.

The value of Fifa World Cup rights in Greece is likely to fall in any new deal, TV Sports Markets understands. A tender is currently open for rights to the 2018 tournament.

Kwesé Sports and SuperSport will share pay-television rights to the 2018 Fifa World Cup in sub-Saharan Africa after both broadcasters agreed to acquire the rights non-exclusively outside South Africa, TV Sports Markets understands.

Fifa and Uefa are set for huge increases in the value of their media rights in sub-Saharan Africa. TV Sports Markets understands bidding in both governing bodies’ tender processes has progressed beyond a first round.

Aaron Davidson, the former president of the US division of Brazilian sports marketing agency Traffic Sports, will attend a sentencing hearing on April 24 after pleading guilty to corruption charges in a case involving football’s global governing body Fifa.

Chinese sports marketing company Shankai Sports is expected to make a substantial profit on the streaming rights to Uefa properties it acquired last year.

Fifa secured only a small increase in the value of the men’s World Cup in France last month, signing deals with TF1 and beIN Sports for its 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

The Chinese government has intervened in the sale of media rights to the 2018 and 2022 Fifa World Cups in the country, ensuring a deal will eventually be struck with state broadcaster CCTV.

A victory for Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa in Fifa presidential election could have major repercussions on the sale of Asian Football Confederation media rights.

Chinese internet company LeTV, which operates the Le Sports service, has acquired exclusive rights in Hong Kong for football’s 2018 Fifa World Cup, according to the South China Morning Post newspaper.

Fifa, football’s global governing body, has said that the 2015 edition of its Women’s World Cup attracted an all-time record television audience for the national team tournament.