Multi-sport
Ireland’s Eir to close sports channels following Covid impact
Irish telecoms operator Eir is to wind up its sports channels later this year after the disruption caused to various events by the Covid-19 pandemic
EU Parliament moves to crack down on sports piracy, protect live rights value
The European Union Parliament has voted in favour of creating new legislation that will remove all pirated sports content within 30 minutes, in a move aimed at protecting the value of live rights
Eurovision Sport chooses ARD’s Fikentscher for director of acquisitions role
Eurovision Sport, the sports arm of the European Broadcasting Union, has recruited Adrian Fikentscher of German public-service broadcaster ARD to the newly-created position of director of acquisitions
Australia’s auditor general to assess Fox Sports’ A$40m grant funding
Australia’s auditor general, Grant Hehir, is to review the A$40m (€25.5m/$31.2m)
M6 and TF1 agree merger deal in French market consolidation
French free-to-air commercial broadcasters M6 and TF1 have unveiled plans to merge their activities in a bid to “master the challenges arising from the accelerating competition with global platforms”.
AT&T’s WarnerMedia merges with Discovery to battle streaming giants
US telecoms giant AT&T has spun off its media arm, WarnerMedia, and merged it with media group Discovery in a major agreement announced today (Monday)
Fox Sports Asia: Fall of an icon
The shutdown of Fox Sports Asia, announced by owner Disney last month, will draw the curtains on one of the most storied companies in sports broadcasting in Asia-Pacific. SportBusiness Media takes a brief look back over the company's history.
Gap in Asia-Pacific market opens as Disney shuts Fox Sports
Sports media rights markets in Asia-Pacific stand at a crossroads following the exit of longstanding pan-regional player Fox Sports Asia.
IPC sees watershed European rights fee rise in Infront deal
The International Paralympics Committee has secured a step-change increase in the value of its European rights in its deal with the Infront agency, covering the 2022 winter and 2024 summer Paralympic Games.
Spring Media launches unified production division
The Spring Media agency has unified its production offering through merging its in-house capabilities with the production business of its subsidiary, Sportacentrs
Hong Kong government buys Tokyo 2020 rights, five channels to show coverage
The Hong Kong government has acquired the broadcast rights to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and will allow five local broadcasters to air the rescheduled Games
Canal Plus Poland delays IPO for second time
Polish pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus Polska has again suspended its planned initial public offering, after withdrawing in November last year due to market volatility
Gravity Media appoints beIN’s Zitouni to Mena advisory role
Gravity Media, the broadcast production and outside broadcast services company, has recruited the experienced Abdelkader Zitouni as its adviser in the Middle East and North Africa
RTVS, Joj to launch sports channels in Slovakia
Slovakian public-service broadcaster RTVS and commercial broadcaster Joj are both launching new sports channels
Recast development drive buoyed by $8.2m Series A investment
Fledgling UK-based direct-to-consumer video platform Recast has raised $8.2m (£5.8m/€6.8m) in a Series A round of investment, funds it will use to continue its development and push into new markets.
Just Women’s Sports garners $3.5m in seed funding
Women’s sports-focused media platform Just Women’s Sports has closed on a $3.5m (€2.88m)
ITV ‘not interested’ in pursuing BT Sport takeover talks
UK commercial broadcaster ITV has ruled itself out of investing in BT Sport, the pay-television sports arm of the UK telco, it is understood
Scudamore joins Monterosa board as non-executive director
Richard Scudamore, the former chief executive of the English Premier League, has taken a non-executive director position on the board of cloud technology and real-time engagement company Monterosa