Lazio object to being branded facists in Amazon’s Maradona drama-doc
November 9 – Lazio have hit out at the makers of Amazon Prime’s dramatised ‘Maradona: Blessed Dream’ series for a scene in which the Rome-based club are branded fascists.
Broadcast
CBS Sports builds on its women’s football coverage with England’s WSL
November 9 – CBS Sports has expanded its football broadcast rights portfolio with the acquisition of the rights to the English Women’s Super League in a two-season deal.
Premier League closing on £1.1bn of US broadcast deals
November 8 – The Premier League is on the cusp of confirming a record-breaking US television rights that will benefit all 20 topflight clubs.
LaLiga launches expanded domestic broadcast rights tender
November 4 – LaLiga has formally opened the bidding process for the domestic sale of domestic audiovisual rights, for the first time extending the license period from three to five seasons and increasing the number of packages of rights available.
Illegal broadcasts cost LaLiga €231m in 2020, but pirates are being made to walk the plank
October 26 – A study by broadcast research specialists GfK has estimated that illegal access to digital content cost the Spanish economy €682 million in 2020. Piracy is estimated to have cost Spain €5.34 billion since 2012. The equivalent of 130,000 direct and indirect jobs in the industry.
ELEVEN and OneFootball agree bundled media rights deal for nine European Leagues
October 22 – Nine European leagues, members of the Association European Leagues Association, have agreed a joint international broadcast deal with ELEVEN and OneFootball that includes both live rights and highlights.
FIFA strips Globo of digital rights as it opens up its Brazilian media packages
October 20 – Brazilian broadcast giant TV Globo has lost exclusivity to the digital rights for the 2022 World Cup, with FIFA breaking out streaming rights and offering packages to Youtube, Facebook and TikTok.
UEFA Nations League finals smash TV viewing and social media records
October 19 – UEFA is reporting that its just completed Nations League final tournament in Italy delivered a 30% growth in TV audience figures from the inaugural edition in 2019, helo in Portugal.
ELEVEN grabs AFC rights to drive Asian expansion
October 6 – Fast growing broadcast platform ELEVEN has secured a package of Asian football rights from the AFC to spearhead the launch of its channels into Hong Kong and five south-east Asian territories.
No win for Victory TV as UEFA and EPL win anti-piracy case in Rwandan court
September 27 – The battle against piracy saw a significant win for rights holders and owners at the end of last week when a Rwandan court in Kigali ruled against an appeal that would have seen UEFA and English Premier League continue to be broadcast without rights fee in the country.
FIFA turn to IMG to sell rights to CAF World Cup qualifiers
September 27 – IMG has picked up the worldwide media rights for African 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
Spurs build on Korean credentials with skySports TV deal
September 17 – Premier League Tottenham Hotspur have continued to build on the their South Korean links with an agreement with skySports to broadcast exclusive club content in Korea.
AFC cruising on sea and in air with Sport 24 syndication
September 14 – Having conquered most of the world’s ground territory in distributing its broadcast right to its major competitions, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has now taken to the skies and seas.
Abu Dhabi Media scoops up AFC rights for the UAE
August 26 – The AFC has added another broadcaster to its distribution roster with public service broadcaster Abu Dhabi Media in the United Arab Emirates picking up the rights to national team and club competitions for the 2021 to 2024 cycle.
PRO Company takes AFC rights with mission to expand audiences in Iraq
August 25 – Iraq’s PRO Company has become the AFC’s new media partner in Iraq for its national team and club competitions as the confederation sells its rights territory by territory in the middle east following the end of beIN Sport’s deal for pan-Middle Eastern rights.