December 20 – Premier league Liverpool has added cyber storage company Acronis to its sponsorship roster in what is described as a multi-year partnership. No value was given for the deal.
December 20 – Adidas have become the latest FIFA sponsor to embrace the controversial Italian Super Cup after earlier this week Coca-Cola announced it would be the match’s title sponsor.
December 20 – Real Madrid have launched a new Facebook subscription service costing $2.77 as the club seeks monetise their giant following of a 110 million on the social media platform.
December 20 – Premier League West Ham United has announced ITD Global as its Official Logistics Partner.
December 19 – Coca-Cola has compounded the controversy of the Italian Super Cup to be played between Juventus and Lazio on December 22 in Saudi Arabia, by becoming the event’s title sponsor.
December 18 – Manchester City has launched a dedicated channel on YouTube Kids, the first football club to do so. The channel will feature City-themed children’s content aimed at an under 12 audience.
December 18 – UEFA has issued tenders covering its club competition licenses in the areas of video games and esports, as well as for the creation of a number of UEFA-branded products.
December 17 – LaLiga is striking at the heart of English Premier League broadcast territory with the country’s first dedicated football channel on the SkyTV platform.
December 16 – Juventus have extended their Official Water deal with Chinese mineral water firm Ganten for another three years, taking them through to 2023.
December 16 – In an unprecedented move that illustrated the country’s sensitivity over human rights issues, China’s state broadcaster pulled Sunday’s Arsenal-Manchester showpiece fixture from its broadcast schedule after Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil criticised Beijing’s brutal crackdown on ethnic Muslims.
December 16 – Japanese eFootball gamemaker Konami has added LaLiga’s RCD Mallorca to partner clubs. Mallorca will feature in the 2020 edition of the game.
December 13 – Digital sport consultancy Seven League has released its 2020 Digital Trends for Sport report, and for anyone on the business side of sport grappling with their own digital strategy it is a focussing read.
December 13 – Online retail and delivery business turned entertainment streaming giant Amazon has taken another step into the live football rights market securing the rights to show selected Champions League matches in Germany.
By Paul Nicholson
December 12 – The five-year deal between Scotland’s SPFL and sports betting content hub IMG Arena will see a big step forward for sports broadcast technology company Pixellot in the European football market.
December 10 – With the threat of broadcast disruption from the broadcast streaming giants and sports ambitious social networks looming over the traditional broadcast industry, and pay tv networks in particular, a distribution deal between Canal+ Group and beIN Sports in France could indicate a trend towards a new pathway for established rights holders.