Uefa

Uefa has reversed the falling value of its club competition media rights in Cyprus via an exclusive deal with telco Cyta.

Media group 365 has retained its grip on Uefa Champions League and Europa League media rights in Iceland, paying an increase of about 50 per cent.

Italian public-service broadcaster Rai has bounced back from losing out on rights to this summer’s Fifa World Cup by agreeing three important football deals.

Aggressive bidding from telcos has helped Uefa substantially grow the value of its club competition rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

SportsMax and Flow’s decision to bid jointly for Uefa club competition rights suggests there may be a cooling off period for sports rights in the Caribbean.

Italian state broadcaster Rai has acquired rights to a host of top football content, including the return of the Uefa Champions League to its screens for the first time in six years, while pay-television broadcaster Sky Italia has secured rights to the Euro 2020 national team tournament.

French commercial broadcasters TF1 and M6 have confirmed the acquisition of rights for France national football team matches over four years, from 2018-19 to 2021-22.

Czech public-service broadcaster Česká Televize has secured a package of rights to competitions organised by Uefa, football’s European governing body.

Uefa increased the value of Champions League media rights in Belgium by about 31 per cent last month, while the Europa League grew in value by about 19 per cent.

Uefa has secured an increase of about 33 per cent from Dutch telco Ziggo for pay-television Champions League rights, but is yet to agree a deal for its free-to-air rights in the Netherlands.

Uefa, football’s European governing body, has been granted an injunction by the UK’s High Court to force six internet service providers to clamp down on illegal streams of matches.

Renewing Uefa Champions League rights has cemented SuperSport’s place as the leading pay-television sports broadcaster in sub-Saharan Africa for at least the next four years.

The value of Uefa Champions League and Europa League rights in Greece is set to fall in its new cycle despite rights being sold exclusively to pay-television broadcaster Cosmote last week.

BeIN Media Group has acquired Uefa Champions League rights in Turkey for a slightly reduced fee, meaning it will show both of the governing body’s club competitions from 2018-19 onward.

Pay-television broadcaster Astro is close to renewing its deal for Uefa national team rights in Malaysia, TV Sports Markets understands.

Saran Media is set to acquire rights to the Uefa Europa League in Turkey for a marginally smaller fee than the governing body’s allocation in the current cycle, TV Sports Markets understands.