Motorsport

The British Touring Car Championship motor racing series has agreed a two-season extension to its partnership with the Haymarket Consumer Media division of UK media company Haymarket Media Group.

Pan-European motorsports channel Motors TV has today (Friday) been acquired by automotive and motorsport digital technology business Motorsport Network in a move that is set to see it switch to become an over-the-top operation.

Motorsport’s Formula E secured its first rights fee from the UK market in a deal agreed earlier this month with commercial broadcaster Channel 5.

African telco Econet Wireless has completed a deal for World Rally Championship media rights in sub-Saharan Africa, further expanding its motorsport portfolio.

Hungarian broadcaster TV2 has made aggressive moves into the sports-rights market in recent weeks, acquiring English Premier League, National Hockey League and MotoGP rights.

The Sports Channel has renewed a host of rights in recent weeks as it seeks to solidify its position in the Israeli broadcast market.

The World Touring Car Championship has taken down the paywall for its WTCC Premium TV service for the remainder of the 2016 campaign.

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

The Pitch International agency this month acquired Formula One and LaLiga rights as part of a move to create a new in-flight offering, TV Sports Markets understands.

Pan-European motorsports channel Motors TV is refinancing its operations having been placed into a financial safeguard procedure in its home country of France.

German-based pay-television channel Motorvision TV has expanded its reach in France by agreeing a carriage deal with telecommunications company Bouygues Telecom.

The price of Formula One media rights has fallen and stayed flat in recent deals for Austria and Russia respectively, reflecting the lack of competition for the property in both markets.

French digital-terrestrial television channel L’Équipe 21 has acquired rights for the International Motorsport Federation (FIA) World Endurance Championship.

Moving coverage exclusively to pay-television in the UK helped Formula One Management increase its media-rights value significantly last month.

Greek public-service broadcaster ERT’s acquisition of two blue-chip properties is a sign it may slowly be recovering after its short-lived closure almost two years ago.

MotoGP’s deals in the Americas with beIN Media Group and ESPN have significantly increased the value of the motorcycling series in the region.

Pay-television channel Motorvision TV has expanded its global reach by launching on six additional platforms in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Formula One Management this month extended a deal with Telenet for Flemish-language rights in Belgium, earning a decent rights-fee increase.