Football
Features
KBS stokes competition for Bundesliga rights in Korea but value drops
The surprise emergence of free-to-air broadcaster KBS as a bidder for German Bundesliga rights in South Korea generated some competition during the 2020-22 sales process, but not enough to stave off a dip in value.
Premier League sees steep discount in short-term China deal
Chinese internet giant Tencent picked up the English Premier League rights for the 2020-21 season at a massive discount compared to the value of the terminated deal with previous rights-holder PPTV.
Nova pays premium to avoid Panathinaikos blackout in 2020-21
Greek pay-television broadcaster Nova has sharply increased its fees to Super League One club Panathinaikos to avoid losing the rights to the side’s home matches in the coming 2020-21 season.
Conmebol counts cost of Globo exit after Copa Libertadores deal agreed with SBT
The value of Copa Libertadores free-to-air rights in Brazil has halved in commercial broadcaster SBT’s deal following media group Globo’s vacation of the rights in the country.
Ziggo gets discount for LaLiga renewal in Netherlands
Dutch telco Ziggo has secured another fee reduction in its latest renewal of Spanish LaLiga rights amid a lack of competition in the market.
Discovery continues cut-price Bundesliga sublicense to DAZN on same terms
International media group Discovery has continued its sublicensing agreement with DAZN into 2020-21 at the same fee after the former’s attempt to terminate its Bundesliga rights deal was thwarted by the German Institution of Arbitration (DIS).
LaLiga rights fee plateaus in Portugal after Eleven Sports renewal
The Portuguese arm of pay-television broadcaster Eleven Sports has only slightly raised its per-season outlay on Spanish LaLiga rights, for the 2021-24 cycle, with the property looking to have hit a ceiling in the territory.
Having delivered the Champions and Europa League, Uefa must figure out media rebates
After a five-month delay and a few matches shaved off the top, this season’s Uefa Champions League and Europa League have finally come to a close. The one-legged format used from the quarterfinals produced one of the most exciting tournaments in recent memory, prompting Uefa president Aleksander Čeferin to ponder whether Uefa could learn a thing or two for future seasons.
Marcin Animucki, president of the Ekstraklasa SA board
Marcin Animucki, president of the Ekstraklasa SA board, discusses the leagues latest domestic deals and how it was able to avoid paying rebates for the suspended 2019-20 season.
AFC and FMA to renegotiate global rights contract
The Asian Football Confederation and the Football Marketing Asia agency are to renegotiate the terms of their landmark, $2.4bn (€2bn) global commercial rights contract covering 2021-28, SportBusiness understands.
Polish Ekstraklasa avoids rights rebate in extended domestic deals
The Polish Esktraklasa was able to avoid paying domestic rebates for the suspended 2019-20 season by extending its existing deals with pay-television broadcaster Platforma Canal Plus and public-service broadcaster TVP for a further two seasons on unchanged final terms.
Belgian Pro League sees hike in international betting streaming rights value
Belgium’s Pro League saw a sizeable uplift in the value of its international betting streaming rights in its deal with sports data and technology company Stats Perform for the 2020-25 cycle.
FA Cup rights hit again in Hong Kong in TVB deal
The value of FA Cup rights in Hong Kong fell again in commercial broadcaster TVB’s deal for the 2020-24 cycle, which followed the collapse of the two prior broadcast agreements in the territory.
TV2 moves to consolidate portfolio with four-season LaLiga deal
Hungarian commercial and pay-television broadcaster TV2 has renewed rights to Spain’s LaLiga, as it looks to secure key rights to retain its dominant position amid new competition.
Bundesliga ties Indonesian rights deal to Mola’s youth football focus
The German Bundesliga’s strategy of intertwining international media-rights agreements with ancillary brand-building and football development activities has continued in its deal with Indonesian OTT and pay-television platform Mola TV.
Broadcaster power struggles help drive up the value of LaLiga in sub-Saharan Africa
LaLiga, the governing body of the top two tiers of Spanish football, has seen an increase in value of about 12.5 per cent after closing out its sub-Saharan African rights cycle.
Canal Plus raises French third-tier football outlay in renewal
Canal Plus has paid an uplift to renew its rights to France’s Championnat National, the third tier of club football in the country, for another four seasons.
RFEF sees respectable Copa del Rey fee in France after initial debacle
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) managed to secure a fairly robust fee for the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa from L’Equipe TV in France, despite a lost season following the abortive sale of the rights to a previously unknown agency.
LaLiga to more than double Russian rights value amid strong competition
LaLiga will more than double the value of its rights in Russia in its imminent renewal with the Telesport agency for the 2021-26 cycle.
Mediapro’s minimum guarantee demand may scupper Téléfoot carriage talks
The reluctance of French pay-television platforms to pay a minimum guarantee to carry Mediapro’s new Téléfoot channel has become a huge obstacle to the Spanish agency’s prospects for finalising distribution deals before the start of the new domestic football season.
Covid-19, betting factor boost Russian Premier League rights on Hong Kong return
The Russian Premier League has secured a strong fee from pay-television platform i-Cable for its media rights in Hong Kong.
Jair Bolsonaro’s swipe at Globo injects yet more uncertainty into Brazilian football
The business of Brazilian club football is a minefield at the best of times, but a temporary change to the law by the country’s president Jair Bolsonaro has made it even trickier, especially for dominant media giant, Globo.
Teleclub limits free-to-air Uefa club competition exposure in CH Media deal
Swiss pay-television broadcaster Teleclub prioritised retaining a level of exclusivity in choosing to sublicense free-to-air Uefa club competition rights to CH Media over SRG.
Tough market weighs on DFL domestic rights income
The German Football League (DFL) faced an absence of new bidders, a change in strategy from incumbent Sky Deutschland and an unstable economy as it went to market with its 2021-25 domestic rights. The tough conditions left experts to conclude the league had done well to avoid a larger income drop for the cycle.