Football

Costa Rican broadcaster Teletica has said it will retain exclusive television rights to the 2018 Fifa World Cup national team football tournament after failing to strike a sublicensing deal with fellow media group Repretel.

Russian social media and video-hosting platform VKontakte has acquired rights to the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch club football, and the Championship, the second tier of the English game.

International sports broadcaster Eleven Sports has acquired rights to live stream Serie A games in Italy, while the top division of domestic football is set to enter into private negotiations with bidders for its international rights.

China’s Super Sports Media has moved to expand its portfolio of football content by acquiring rights to the Uefa Nations League, the national team tournament launched by the sport’s European governing body.

The South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) has hailed a ruling from the Federal Court of the Southern District of Florida dismissing a claim from pan-American pay-television broadcaster GolTV and its agency partner Global Sports Partners for damages in connection to the sport’s wide-ranging corruption scandal.

Media group Globo has acquired digital media rights to Brazilian national team games, with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) considering its next move after failing to assign television rights.

The China Sports Media agency has secured new media rights to the East Asian Football Federation’s 2017 E-1 Championship, which will take place in Japan in December.

Italian media group Mediaset has entered a bid for the domestic rights to the 2018 and 2022 editions of national team football tournament the Fifa World Cup, according to multiple reports.

Manchester United vice-chairman Ed Woodward has said Premier League clubs expect internet company Amazon and social media firm Facebook to compete for the next set of rights to the top division of English club football.

Jia Yueting, founder of Chinese internet company LeEco, has agreed to sell the majority of his stake in the group’s LeSports division, according to multiple reports.

Swedish pay-television broadcaster C More has said it will launch a new channel on October 14.

Goal, the football news website operated by digital sports media company Perform, has agreed a media partnership with international pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports for the revived WAFU Nations Cup.

A new OTT sports streaming platform has launched in the Latin America market, with a focus on football content.

A total of 95 offers from 30 companies have been submitted in the international rights-sales process for Serie A, the top division in Italian football, as well as the Coppa Italia knockout tournament and the Supercoppa Italiana clash between the Serie A and Coppa Italia winners.

Yousef Al-Obaidly, deputy chief executive at beIN Media Group and president of beIN Sports France, has said the pay-television broadcaster hopes the French Football League (LFP) launches a new rights tender as late as possible, noting that it will be “rational” in what is expected to be increased competition in the process.

Media commentators will debate whether the 36-per-cent increase the English Football League secured for its rights from Sky is a great result, a disappointment, or something in between.