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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
By Ben Nicholson
October 6 – The MLS has added another TV deal to its expanding roster by partnering with FOX Sports Latin America to televise matches in Mexico, South America (excepting Brazil where the MLS already partners with Globosat), Central America and the Caribbean. The deal now makes the MLS available for viewing in almost 120 countries and territories worldwide.
By Samindra Kunti
September 28 – France’s Professional Football League (LFP) has extended its partnership with production company HBS (Host Broadcast Services) for a further four years.
By Tom Parsons
September 24 – Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has agreed a deal to become a regular analyst on China’s Sina Sports network where he will link up with current pundits Carlo Ancelotti and Michael Owen.
By Paul Nicholson
September 17 – US data company Gracenote, which earlier this year debuted in the sports data business with the acquisition of Infostrada Sports and SportsDirect, has launched its ‘DVR Extend’ feature for cable and satellite broadcasters in the US that will mean viewers who record games need never miss extra time or a penalty shoot-out.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 11 – The pre-season march of English Premier League clubs through the US has paid off with American broadcaster NBC announcing it has struck a deal to show live Premier League games for the next six years, extending its current contract until 2022.