Finance & Law
Cuban talks up real estate revenues over media rights as Mavs sale signed off
Mark Cuban said the changing media landscape in the United States contributed to his decision to sell his majority stake in the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks
Barcelona sues Libero over missed payments, nets €160m from TV payout
FC Barcelona is to sue German investor Libero Football Finance over missed payments for its stake in the LaLiga club's Barça Vision digital media business.
Viaplay ups monthly prices as part of ongoing rescue act
Viaplay Group has instigated price increases in two of its core markets as it bids to turn the tide after a turbulent 2023 dominated by huge financial losses, share sales and workforce cuts
ECJ rules against Fifa, Uefa but no ESL approval yet; A22 plots free OTT service
Fifa and Uefa acted unlawfully when they threatened to ban clubs and players joining breakaway competitions like the European Super League (ESL), the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled
WBD ‘in merger talks’ with Paramount Global
Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive David Zaslav and Paramount Global chief executive Bob Bakish have met to discuss a potential merger between the two media giants, according to multiple reports
Spanish government counteracts Saudi investment in Telefónica
The Spanish government has agreed a deal to acquire up to a 10-per-cent stake in Telefónica, in a move that will counterbalance investment in the telecoms operator from Saudi Arabia’s STC Group.
DAZN operating loss cut but still runs into 10 figures
DAZN recorded an operating loss of $1.06bn (€969m) in 2022 on the back of increased rights fee commitments but higher direct-to-consumer revenues helped to reduce the figure by 22 per cent year-over-year, SportBusiness understands.
Sharma’s $300m Bluestone fund invests in Magnifi
Bluestone Equity Partners, the private equity fund founded by Bobby Sharma, a former executive at IMG and the National Basketball League, has invested in Magnifi, an AI-powered video editing technology…
RTL Group to sell Dutch broadcast business for €1.1bn
European media conglomerate RTL Group has reached an agreement for the sale of Dutch broadcaster RTL to DPG Media, a multimedia company with operations in the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark.
Broadcasters, rights-holders ward off EU geo-blocking ban
Broadcasters and rights-holders have claimed victory in their battle to preserve territorial exclusivity in Europe after law-makers resisted calls to ban geo-blocking
Liberty Media’s tracking stock, SiriusXM combine in new public company
Liberty Media's Liberty SiriusXM (LSXM) tracking stock group will be combined with US radio broadcaster SiriusXM to create a new public company under the SiriusXM name and brand
ESPN stalwart Wolff to take up Sixth Street position
Russell Wolff, who recently left ESPN after 26 years with the Disney-owned sports broadcaster, is joining global investment firm Sixth Street
DFB names media rights expert Blask as CEO; finances still hurt by historic tax issues
The German Football Association (DFB) has promoted its senior marketing and sales executive Holger Blask to the role of chief executive
Bundesliga clubs narrowly vote to enter private investor talks
The German Football League (DFL) has been given the green light to re-enter talks with potential investors, after the smallest possible majority of Bundesliga and 2
Sports industry speaks out against EU geo-blocking ban
Uefa, LaLiga and the Premier League are among a flood of rights-holders and broadcasters opposing plans to end the geo-blocking of live sports content in Europe
UK Athletics lays bare commercial struggles with £3.7m loss
The continued absence of a title sponsor and long-term broadcast partner has thrown a spotlight on the financial plight of UK Athletics (UKA), which was spared from bankruptcy by Nike frontloading a significant…
Viaplay bids to stave off insolvency with SEK4bn equity raise, debt renegotiation
Viaplay Group has laid out plans for a “recapitalisation programme” that includes a SEK4bn (€350m/$382m) new equity raise and SEK14.6bn debt renegotiation package as part of measures designed to stave off insolvency and subsequent bankruptcy.
Premier Sports returns after buying back embattled Viaplay’s UK business
Premier Sports, the pay-television broadcaster, is to return to UK homes early next year after announcing it has reached an agreement to buy back the business that it sold to Nordic media giant Viaplay…