LaLigaTV breaks new ground in UK with Amazon Prime channel deal
February 12 – LaLiga has added its 24/7 English-language tv channel to the Amazon platform as one of the Prime Video Channels in the UK only.
Broadcast
Serie A TV deals reach crucial point as CVC shows signs of cold feet
February 10 – The new Serie A deals for domestic and international broadcast rights – revenue that will underpin the league and its clubs – have reached crucial and sensitive stages at the same time.
AFC adds new broadcasters in Asia and Europe for 2021-24 rights cycle
February 9 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has increased the pace of its broadcast rights sales with two new partners announced for its 2021 to 2024 rights cycle, one in Europe and one Asia.
Ozil’s new club Fenerbahce pushes beIN to limit, sparking fear over next SuperLig deal
By Paul Nicholson
February 8 – Mesut Ozil, no stranger to conflict and controversy in recent years, may not find Fenerbahce the calm and safe haven club he was looking for.
Canal+ throw LFP a €35m lifeline for more TV rights to end of season
February 5 – France’s professional leagues have been handed a badly needed lifeline to help them over their broadcast rights crisis after Ligue 1 reached an agreement with Canal Plus to screen the remainder of matches this season following the spectacular collapse of a record contract with Mediapro.
French club crisis deepens as TV rights tender falls flat
By Samindra Kunti
February 2 – The TV rights crisis in French football is deepening after a new tender for Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 looks to have flopped with bids below what the league and clubs had expected.
Portuguese to centralise media sales; Italians talk up €1.1bn target for domestic deal
February 1 – Portugal’s Primeira Liga is to centralise its domestic broadcast rights from 2027/28, forming a company with the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) to sell media rights.
NBC Sports closure raises questions over $1.3bn Premier League deal
January 27 – Premier League broadcast rights partner NBC, is shutting its Sports Network in the US and is expected to close operations by the end of 2021.
Chinese TV channel countersues Premier League for $116m over broken contract
January 20 – In an escalation of a Covid-19 dispute, Chinese broadcaster PPLive Sports International has countersued the English Premier League for failing to live up to the terms of its contract.
Serie A hedges its bets as it hunts for funds with Middle East broadcast tender
By Paul Nicholson
January 15 – Serie A, who are in the final stages of hiving off their commercial rights to venture capitalist CVC for $1.7 billion, will have an early test of that value with the league having issued a tender for the broadcast rights for the Middle East and Africa.
LFP to issue new domestic TV tender as it frantically looks to replace Canal+ deal
January 18 – The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) is to issue a new tender for French domestic TV rights after broadcaster Canal+ returned its Ligue 1 media rights to the LFP.
French league crisis deepens as Canal+ hands rights back saying league is ‘devalued’
January 13 – In another major blow to French football, broadcaster Canal+ will return the Ligue 1 media rights to the LFP, demanding a new tender is issued.
Failed Mediapro partnership strikes financial fear into hearts of French club football
December 21 – French football is still counting the cost of the loss of the Mediapro broadcast deal that has plunged a raft of clubs, already hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, into further financial disarray.
beIN holds on to Premier League rights with reported $500m 3-year renewal
By Paul Nicholson
December 18 – The Premier League has renewed its broadcast rights partnership with beIN SPORTS for the Middle East and North Africa region for a new three-year terms running through to 2025.
Spurs follow Barca and turn on to Twitch with official channel
December 18 – Twitch is rapidly becoming the newest must-have ‘broadcast’ channel for clubs, with Premier League Tottenham Hotspur launching their service on Wednesday. LaLiga’s Barcelona announced they were migrating new content to a Twitch last week.