Inter Milan team up with Le Sports in China
By David Owen
January 29 – Italy’s Internazionale has agreed a deal for Le Sports, the former LeTV, to become the exclusive broadcast partner for the club’s TV channel in mainland China.
Broadcast
Premier League’s TV bonanza is out of sync with Euro rivals and economic measures
By Paul Nicholson
January 27 – The Premier League’s bumper €2.4 billion per season deal that kicks in with the 2016 season start has been well documented. Other leagues have looked on in envy and anticipation of good things to come in their home markets. Football Benchmark has looked at the macro-economies of the European countries to see if the English deal is justifiably much bigger than their European counterparts.
Man Utd switch on MUTV in China with Sina Sports
January 7 – Manchester United is to launch its dedicated TV channel in China with Sina Sports. The multi-year deal is exclusive to Sina Sports.
Spanish opt for giant Vizrt video wall to boost TV talk show
January 6 – In the battle to bring innovative broadcast technology to football, Canal+ in Spain has turned to Norweigan company Vizrt to revamp the look and feel of its popular ‘Mucho Más Deporte’ (Much More Sports) show.
Liverpool’s Barnes leads final week of Premier League carnival in Tianjin, China
January 5 – China’s Super Sports is now 30 days into its 38-day English Premier League ‘carnival’. The Chinese broadcast rights holder has been promoting the league and its clubs with events focussed in the Aegean Shopping Mall based in Tianjin.
The BIG show: FIFA’s World Cup showcases beat TV records worldwide
By Paul Nicholson
December 21 – FIFA has released more record breaking TV numbers for both for its men’s and women’s world cups – a poignant reminder of the popularity of the world’s favorite event as US justice authorities reiterate their crusade against football corruption on their own continent and their thinly veiled objective of bringing down world governing body FIFA.
MLS Cup final TV figures slump after a season of growth
By Ben Nicholson
December 14 – The 2015 MLS season came to an end last week with the MLS Cup final between Portland Timbers and Columbus Crew. And while the league’s lofty ambitions have been creating international stir in recent months, the cup final failed to generate much of a domestic stir, according TV viewership figures.
Man Utd keeps its TV rhythm going with Caribbean deal
December 4 – Manchester United is again using its MUTV channel to drive the club’s brand and commercial presence into international markets. Last week it announced a distribution deal into Indonesia, this week it unveiled a partnership with telecoms giant Cable and Wireless Communications for the Caribbean.
Virgin boss demands 3pm TV kick-offs and #MoreBalls from Premier League
By Mark Baber
December 3 – With UK television regulator Ofcom’s review of the issue likely to drag on for months, Virgin Media’s chief executive Tom Mockridge has stepped up the campaign for 3pm Saturday kick-offs to be televised with a blog post on the Virgin Media site and briefing for sports journalists.
Man Utd switches on to its 55m Indonesian fan base
November 30 – Manchester United has expanded its TV footprint into Indonesia with a multi-platform deal via SuperSoccer to distribute the channel for the first time in the country.
Copa del Rey matches switch to YouTube for PPV broadcast in 17 countries
By Tom Parsons
October 28 – The Spanish football league has agreed a deal with Mediapro to broadcast this season’s Copa del Rey games internationally via YouTube as a pay-per-view offering.
La Liga preps for €3bn domestic TV rights bonanza
By David Owen
October 26 – Spain’s La Liga is expected soon to start the process of selling domestic broadcasting rights for the next three seasons, in a move it hopes will drive up value by some 50% from the €600 million realised for 2015-16. El País, the much-respected newspaper, has suggested that an auction of these rights for the 2016-17 to 2018-19 period is likely before the end of the year. Spain moved recently to the same collective selling model as that utilised by other leading European football leagues.
Pay TV misses out in UK as BBC and ITV to share Euros
October 23 – UK football pay tv broadcast giants Sky Sports and BT Sport have missed out on upcoming European summer TV football festival in France as the BBC and ITV have jointly secured the media rights to EURO 2016.
Premier League’s Chinese TV rights holder Letv to rebrand
By David Owen
October 19 – Letv Sports & Technology, the Chinese business that last month won exclusive live broadcasting rights for the Premier League in Hong Kong for three seasons from 2016-17, is to rebrand.
Supponor and ADI combine to boost ad options and distribution
October 9 – Digital pitchside advertising specialists Supponor and ADI have combined their expertise to launch the world’s first broadcast quality LED virtual advertising solution.