By Samindra Kunti and Paul Nicholson
January 22 – FIFA, UEFA, AFC, La Liga, the Premier League and the Bundesliga have today issued a joint statement condemning “clear and flagrant” pirating of games by satellite channel beoutQ, but refrained from naming Saudi Arabia as culpable for the infringements though the channel broadcasts from the country.
By Paul Nicholson
January 22 – Following the launch of a website detailing the broadcast piracy of Saudi Arabia-based beoutQ, the Premier League has issued a statement saying it has appointed legal counsel to fight the copyright theft and reassuring rightsholders it will work with them to stop the illegal broadcast.
January 22 – Adidas have unveiled the ball for the Champions League final to be played at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid.
January 17 – Germany’s Bundesliga is to open an office in Beijing, China, in March to build on the relationships the league has established with the Chinese FA and various regional sports authorities.
By Paul Nicholson
January 15 – The issue of broadcast piracy has arisen at the Asian Cup in the UAE where the AFC has issued a statement condemning Tele Liban for rebroadcasting matches without having paid for the rights.
By Paul Nicholson
January 13 – Broadcaster Eleven Sports has added its voice to media rights holder calls for Serie A to reverse its decision to play its Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, saying the decision has “considerable implications for Eleven Sports and for the longer term value of Italian football rights.”
By Paul Nicholson
January 11- Qatar-based pan-regional broadcaster beIN Sport has written a second letter to Serie A urging new CEO Luigi De Siervo to change the venue of the Italian Super Cup final that will be played in Jeddah next week to a location outside of Saudi Arabia.
January 11 – Forget legal letters, World Trade Organisation petitions, and multi-stakeholder pressure groups, beIN Sport may have at last found the killer application to end beoutQ’s rampant piracy of their TV output – Jose Mourinho.
January 11 – Matches from the second tier of Spanish football are to be broadcast on Youtube with English commentary in a bid to boost the division’s international appeal.
January 11 – Sticker albums, the staple collectable and ‘education’ tool for growing football fans, are back in fashion. Panini have announced it will almost double revenue on the back of the Russia 2018 World Cup to about €1 billion.
By Paul Nicholson in Abu Dhabi
January 9 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has issued a statement condemning the Saudi-backed pirate broadcaster beoutQ’s theft of live matches from the Asian Cup currently being played in the UAE.
January 9 – The timing is presumably co-incidence but having cast off the oppressive shadow of Jose Mourinho’s management regime for the more free-flowing joy of Ole Gunnar Solsjaer (albeit interim), Manchester United has announced it will open three “experience centres” in China by 2020.
January 7 – Real Betis, currently in sixth in LaLiga’s top flight, have expanded their agreement with Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo who will now become one of the club’s main partners.
January 4 – LaLiga has distributed more than €1.32 billion from broadcast revenue to with Barcelona and Real Madrid taking almost 25% of the pot with a combined €302 million.
December 21 – A record audience of more than 3.5 billion people watched this year’s World Cup in Russia, with the final between France and Croatia attracting 1.12 billion viewers, according to FIFA.