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Formula One Management, the commercial rights-holder of Formula One, has rounded out a successful North American rights cycle by increasing its fees in Canada by roughly a fifth, while also earning a healthy rights fee in the US.

Pay-television broadcaster StarTimes’s one-season deal for Formula E motor racing rights in sub-Saharan Africa has seen the per-race fee grow almost 20 per cent.
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US sports broadcaster ESPN has reaffirmed its strategic commitment to football by paying a substantial sum for exclusive rights to the Spanish Copa del Rey knock-out competition.
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Competition to create effective digital offerings in the US drove a hike in value for Uefa’s club competitions for the 2021-22 to 2023-24 cycle. CBS overcame strong opposition to surprise the market in acquiring English-language rights, while Univision renewed its high-performing Spanish-language rights.
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The Bundesliga is taking a calculated gamble in its new US media-rights deal, with ESPN, as despite the huge increase in the rights fee the deal involves a significant reduction in linear television exposure.

Brazilian pay-television broadcaster ESPN has ceased all live programming amid the Covid-19 pandemic, stating the wellbeing of its employees is behind the decision
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ESPN parent company Disney said it is seeing increased user consumption and advertiser interest in its entertainment properties while the US sports industry remains at a standstill due to the ongoing Covid-19…
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With a plethora of linear and digital networks to fill, as well as social media extensions, and no live games in the US happening due to the Covid-19 pandemic, ESPN is grappling with how to maintain a…
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Major League Baseball has expanded its international rights deal with ESPN to cover more territories in Europe and Africa

Features

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has secured a good increase for its media rights across Australia and New Zealand, in a new five-year deal with ESPN

A whirlwind six months for US boxing have seen five major media-rights deals agreed from May to October this year, setting up a four-way battle for supremacy between platforms from 2019 onward
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ESPN's deal with IMG for rights to Serie A and the FA Cup has shown how US sports broadcasters are desperate not to be left without premium European football on their platforms.

Australian telco Optus will get another chance to stream a major international football tournament despite its troubled coverage of this year’s Fifa World Cup.

Facebook and Esporte Interativo are set to strike a deal for Uefa Champions League rights in Brazil at a much-reduced price

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The desire for flexibility around its yet-to-launch OTT service drove Formula One Management to agree a new deal with sports broadcaster ESPN in the US last month.

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The Big Ten collegiate athletic conference has agreed a set of new domestic media-rights deals, increasing the value of the existing package by almost 300 per cent.

The Chilean football federation has earned a slight increase in the value of its national team friendly and qualifier matches in a new deal with Chilevisión.

Weak offers from broadcasters focused on other properties have delayed the award of 2017 Fifa Club World Cup rights in Latin America.

The value of US Open tennis rights in Australia and New Zealand increased slightly last month, despite Australian incumbent Fox Sports choosing not to renew its deal.

The summer of 2017 will prove a critical period in determining where major football rights in Brazil will end up for the next few years. 

Argentina’s Primera División is beset by uncertainty as a leaderless football association – its government funding withdrawn and a new season imminent – fields offers for its media rights and searches for a new president.

ESPN’s multi-faceted agreement with telco Econet’s Kwesé TV pay-television platform brings the sports broadcaster back to sub-Saharan Africa after an absence of more than three years.

The ATP World Tour earned a strong increase in the value of its rights in Latin America last month after renewing its deal with ESPN.

MotoGP’s deals in the Americas with beIN Media Group and ESPN have significantly increased the value of the motorcycling series in the region.

ESPN’s partnership with Chinese internet company Tencent last month is the latest stage in the broadcaster’s evolution into a global digital player

Interview with Russell Wolff, executive vice-president, ESPN international, on the media company’s partnership with internet operator Tencent in China.

Tennis Australia has renewed its deal with ESPN for Australian Open rights in Latin America and the Caribbean without putting the rights on the market.

Southern hemisphere rugby rights have increased significantly in global value, driven by explosive growth in the UK, France and the Middle East, and supported by strong returns in difficult core markets.