September 9 – All 28 English Premier League fixtures that take place in September will be televised live following pressure from the government and fans groups to maintain last season’s arrangement of wall-to-wall games when the campaign resumed behind closed doors.
August 27 – The English Football League (EFL) has agreed a streaming deal for non-TV matches with its anchor UK broadcaster Sky Sports to give fans access to games while stadium attendance is restricted during the Covid-19 crisis.
August 21 – Free-to-air broadcast matches will not take place routinely when the new English Premier League season begins, giving rise to concerns over how fans – especially season ticket holders – can watch games.
July 29 – Viewing figures from the US show record numbers for the women’s club game and a significant breakthrough for the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League).
By Andrew Warshaw
July 23 – The burgeoning political and diplomatic feud between Britain and China has spilled over into top-flight football with English Premier League games reported to have been pulled from Chinese state television (CTV).
July 23 – The Brazilian FA (CBF) has published a tentative match calendar for the Brazilian top flight with a TV schedule that will intensify the on-going domestic TV rights battle.
By Paul Nicholson
July 15 – Saudi Arabia’s decision to “permanently terminate” beIN Sports license to broadcast in the country has been called a “sham” by the Qatari broadcaster, but also throws focus back on to the Premier League who are still to rule on whether Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund can buy Newcastle United.
July 6 – Spanish telecommunications giant Telefónica has signed an exclusive broadcast rights deal for UEFA’s flagship club competitions for the 2021-24 cycle covering the Spanish territory.
July 6 – The war on global piracy has seen a new battle win for LaLiga who, working with the Danish Rights Alliance, have won a court ruling that pirate service Rojadirecta is illegal and must be blocked by Danish ISPs.
By Samindra Kunti
July 3 – In an unprecedented move, Brazilian broadcasting behemoth TV Globo has rescinded its contract with Rio de Janeiro’s state football federation after Flamengo streamed their match against Boa Vista on Youtube under a temporary federal rule introduced by Jair Bolsonaro.
By Paul Nicholson
June 29 – Serie A returned to beIN Sport TV schedules at the weekend following the last-minute conclusion of a deal between the broadcaster and the league over a reduction in the rights fees to be paid.
June 23 – BeIN Sports went dark on the broadcast of the return of Serie A from the coronavirus shutdown this weekend as tensions mount over the league’s relationship with Saudi Arabia and the kingdom’s support of pirate channel beoutQ.
June 22 – The Bundesliga has become the first major European league to negotiate a new TV rights deal in the coronavirus age. While the new deal shows a reduction on the previous broadcast money achieved, it nevertheless suggests that there is still some life left in the market.
June 19 – With the row over the Saudi-based BeoutQ pirate broadcaster and the takeover of Newcastle United still hot news, an international coalition has managed to shut down another illegal streaming network
June 12 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has issued an RFP (request for proposals) covering broadcast rights for 10 Middle Eastern territories.