Japan
Wowow cites ‘soaring’ rights fees as it exits LaLiga renewal talks
Japanese pay-television broadcaster Wowow has conceded defeat in its bid to retain rights to LaLiga, which is set to bring an end to its 20-year coverage of Spanish football's top flight
Bayern to tour Japan in latest Bundesliga-Sky PerfecTV initiative
German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich has announced a pre-season tour of Japan as the league looks to continue its brand-building efforts in the market in partnership with local media rights-holder Sky…
J.League turns to Content Arena to augment international distribution
Content Arena, the technology platform that facilitates sports media rights trading, has added the J.League, organising body of the top two domestic football leagues in Japan, as its latest client
DAZN extends J.League deal for another five years to 2033
DAZN and Japan's J.League have agreed another extension to their domestic media rights deal, ensuring their agreement will run for an extra five years until the end of the 2033 season
Coupang Play furthers F1 association, Fuji TV retains rights
South Korean streaming platform Coupang Play has secured a long-term association with Formula 1 by agreeing a rights deal with the motor racing championship
Wowow picks up rights to Copa del Rey
Japanese pay-television broadcaster Wowow has added to its Spanish football output by securing the rights to the final stages of the 2022-23 Copa del Rey tournament
Free-to-air and pay-TV mix retained in Japan’s Rugby World Cup TV deals
Broadcast rights to the Rugby World Cup have once again been split in Japan across free-to-air and pay television in deals for this year’s tournament with NHK, Nippon TV and J Sports.
DAZN retains F1 rights in Japan to 2025
DAZN has kept hold of Formula 1 rights in one of its core markets, retaining the property in Japan until 2025.
J.League expands YouTube offering for streaming in dark markets
The J.League, organising body of the top two domestic football leagues in Japan, has opted to expand its use of video streaming platform YouTube for international coverage, with the top-tier J1 League to be showcased.
Japan’s Levain Cup extends with domestic rights-holders
Japanese media network Fuji TV and pay-television broadcaster Sky PerfecTV have retained rights to the Levain Cup, the domestic club football competition organised by the J.League
SPOTV Now acquires Serie A rights in Japan
Streaming platform SPOTV Now has acquired rights in Japan to the Italian Serie A in a deal covering at least the remainder of the 2022-23 season
Abema acquires Bundesliga rights in Japan in short-term deal
Japanese streaming platform Abema has acquired rights in Japan to the German Bundesliga in a deal covering the remainder of the 2022-23 season
NHK reveals satellite channel cut timeline, part of wider cost cuts
Japanese public service broadcaster NHK is merging two of its linear satellite channels this November as part of cost-cutting measures that have also seen a pullback in spending on sports rights
Australian Open fee surges in US thanks to Disney aggression
Disney’s deal includes exclusive rights to live matches, unlike the previous deal during which the Tennis Channel showed a small number of live games.
World Cup rights take Abema to big quarterly loss, but wider deal impact hailed
Japanese digital media company CyberAgent reported a rare quarterly loss in its 2023 Q1 financial results, caused by the costly acquisition of 2022 Fifa World Cup rights by its streaming platform Abema
Amazon and J Sports acquire rights in Japan for World Baseball Classic
Amazon Prime Video and J Sports have acquired media rights in Japan for the upcoming World Baseball Classic national team competition
Japan’s Rugby League One reports financial surplus in first year
Japan's revamped rugby union league, Rugby League One, has reported revenue of 3.3bn yen ($25m/€23m) and a surplus of 270m yen ($2m/€1.9m) in its first financial year.
Sponsorship revenue generated 2.1bn
Japan Racing Association to live stream events
Horse racing organisation the Japan Racing Association (JRA) has announced it will begin providing a live streaming service for all races under its jurisdiction