Multiple Sports
Half of Sport1 sold to Turkey’s Acunmedya for €30m
Turkish media group Acunmedya has bought a 50-per-cent stake in German sports broadcaster Sport1 for €30m ($32.5m) following an agreement struck with owner Highlight Communications.
Viaplay ‘reset’ continues after SEK2.9bn Q4 loss closes turbulent year
Viaplay is to continue reducing its sports rights commitments, turning to sublicensing deals where possible to recoup fees, as part of its company-wide reset.
Sky NZ weighs up exclusivity balance amid rising subscriber costs
Sky New Zealand is considering an increased role for free-to-air coverage of sports events it acquires rights to, with the exclusivity balance to be “part of the conversation” during rugby rights negotiations lat…
Canal Plus-MultiChoice merger would cool super-heated African rights market
Sub-Saharan Africa has become the hottest sports-rights market in the world, but that dynamism could be brought to an abrupt halt if the proposed merger between France’s Canal Plus and South Africa’s MultiChoice goes ahead.
ESPN, Athletes Unlimited in multi-year deal for all four sports
Player-focused professional women's sports league Athletes Unlimited (AU) has signed a new multi-year deal with ESPN covering all four of its sports, including, for the first time, basketball
Fubo files antitrust complaint over ESPN-Fox-WBD streaming JV
Fubo is suing Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery over their recently announced joint venture sports streaming platform, calling the move an "extreme suppression of competition in the US sports-focused streaming market", according to a copy of the lawsuit.
DAZN names Daumin as first France CEO
DAZN has appointed former Canal Plus executive Brice Daumin to lead its French operation as it continues to target domestic rights to the country’s top football league.
IMG to make production redundancies, PLP and ETP unaffected
The IMG agency is undertaking a consultation process with staff with a view to making up to 35 layoffs at its studios business
US DOJ ‘to review’ ESPN-Fox-WBD streaming deal
The United States Justice Department (DOJ) is planning to scrutinise the new sports streaming service that Disney's ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery plan to launch later this year over potential antitrust breaches.
DAZN Japan names Sasamoto CEO as price hike kicks in
DAZN has hired Yu Sasamoto as chief executive of its Japan business, one of the global subscription streaming service's most important markets
Paramount slashes costs with 800 layoffs
Paramount Global is making around 800 job cuts worldwide amid ongoing restructuring of the company and conversations around a possible sale or merger
IMG recruits Sky’s Clement to lead studios tech, operations
The IMG agency has recruited James Clement from UK pay-television broadcaster Sky to lead technology and operations for its production studios business
Viaplay Denmark hikes subscription cost by 11 per cent
Viaplay Denmark is raising the price of its all-encompassing subscription package by 11 per cent to DK499 (€66.95/$72.04) per month.
The bundle is dead. Long live the bundle
The streaming platform that Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery will jointly launch later this year is, experts say, effectively a part-migration of the bundle from cable to streaming.
Fox’s Murdoch: Streaming bundle focused on ‘cord-nevers’
Fox's new sports streaming service with ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery that shocked the US media market this week will not affect its lucrative pay-TV business, executive chair and CEO Lachlan Murdoch has insisted.
Foxtel’s Ebitda down 14 per cent amid high rights costs
Australian pay-television broadcaster Foxtel has recorded a 14-per-cent drop in earnings, citing increased media rights fees for sports properties as a key driver of the loss
ESPN’s D2C product set for August 2025 launch, ESPN+ subs dip in Q4
ESPN's flagship direct-to-consumer service is set to be in place by the start of the 2025 National Football League season, making the full suite of ESPN's channels available in a standalone service
Study: UK viewing time for women’s sports up 16 per cent
The average UK viewing time for women’s sport across free-to-air and pay-television rose by 16 per cent in 2023, driven in large part by the bumper audiences for the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup.