Fox Networks Group

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has turned the tide to earn a significant increase from its pan-regional pay-television rights deal with Fox Sports Asia.

The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) last month agreed a new deal with Fox Networks Group in Latin America for its club competitions, earning a decent increase.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has begun a complete overhaul of its media rights in Latin America and Mexico, exiting its joint venture with Televisa in favour of a more traditional deal with former partner Fox Sports.

Intervention from Grupo Clarín and Torneos helped ensure the joint bid from Fox and Turner won rights to Argentina’s Primera División.

Greater free-to-air exposure and a deep understanding of Asian media-rights markets has helped One Championship create a “global duopoly” in mixed martial arts, according to its chairman Chatri Sityodtong.

Argentina’s Primera División is beset by uncertainty as a leaderless football association – its government funding withdrawn and a new season imminent – fields offers for its media rights and searches for a new president.

Fox Sports Africa is the latest of the region’s pay-television broadcasters to invest in African football, but the structure of its joint venture with the West African Football Union differs greatly from recent deals struck by its competitors.

Two recent deals with the National Basketball Association have fulfilled different needs for Eleven Sports Network in Singapore and Taiwan.

The Fox Networks Group division of 21st Century Fox has acquired exclusive rights to the World Baseball Softball Confederation-sanctioned Asia Winter Baseball league in Taiwan.

GolTV’s accusation of bribery against Fox Sports Latin America – made in a Florida court late last month – has cast light on one of the most secretive deals in world football.

International sports broadcaster Eurosport recovered a third of its spend on the 2016 US Open in Asia from a deal with LeSports in Hong Kong.

Electric car-racing championship Formula E has secured a modest rights fee in sub-Saharan Africa from pay-television broadcaster Kwesé Sports.

Italian premium sports channel Fox Sports acquired rights in the country to two editions of the Africa Cup of Nations in a deal with the Lagardère Sports and Entertainment agency.

Deals for Australia’s new top-tier netball competition signify a strong commitment from broadcasters to women’s sport and could signal a step-change in revenue earned by Netball Australia.

This month’s deals for South American football rights followed a trend in the sub-Saharan African sports rights market in 2016 – Kwesé Sports and StarTimes acquired second-tier properties, Fox Sports were outbid and SuperSport let go of a poorly-performing property.

Fox Networks Group significantly increased the value of US Open rights across Asia as the syndicator’s regional broadcast arm sought to complete its coverage of the tennis grand slams.