TV rebates: Champions League broadcast rights in limbo in France
May 26 – The Champions League broadcast bubble took a pin prick at the end of last week when French telecoms giant Altice said it was demanding a rebate on its broadcast rights.
Broadcast
Man Utd lose £15m as Premier League rebates up to £300m to broadcast partners
By Paul Nicholson
May 21 – Manchester United’s third quarter financial release has revealed that the loss of broadcast revenue due to a broadcaster rebate following failure to complete fixtures is about £15 million, putting the overall Premier League rebate at about £300 million.
First mover Bundesliga renews Japanese TV deal; rejigs Eurosport/DAZN rights
May 20 – The gentle trend towards longer term broadcast rights agreements in international broadcast markets has been continued with the Bundesliga announcing a five-year extension to its SkyPerfecTV! (SPTV) deal in Japan.
Spanish law change gives LaLiga more flexibility in TV deal making
April 28 – LaLiga will have more flexibility in negotiating its broadcast deals following the Spanish government’s scrapping of a three-year licensing restriction on TV rights contracts.
Canal+ and beIN stand by LFP with €50m payment support for its clubs
April 27 – Canal+ and beIN SPORTS and have reached an agreement outside their existing broadcast rights contract that will see them accelerate much needed payments to France’s Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) and its clubs regarding the rights to matches already aired.
French league short of cash as broadcasters say they will withhold rights fees
March 31 – French football is staring down the financial barrel as domestic broadcaster Canal Plus, a long-time rights holder of Ligue 1, is holding up the release of a scheduled €110 million payment.
PSG to make small screen streaming debut with Amazon docuseries
March 19 – French champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) are to feature in their own behind-the-scenes docuseries, produced by Amazon, later this year.
Sportradar and Australia’s NPL partner for OTT streaming platform
March 17 – Sportradar and Australia’s National Premier League have partnered to create and OTT streaming platform for football in Australia.
MLS agrees highlights package with Facebook Watch platform
March 5 – Having reported record opening weekend viewing figures in the US, Major League Soccer (MLS) has unveiled a new alliance with Facebook that will see highlights of all matches available on Facebook Watch.
US TV audiences show they starting to switch on to MLS
March 4 – The opening weekend of the Major League Soccer (MLS) season delivered record TV ratings across the US for a league that is pushing to take a bigger slice of the broadcast rights revenue cake.
Gent agree Belgian TV terms leaving Antwerp as remaining block to deal
February 18 – KAA Gent has signed up to the Belgian broadcast deal with Eleven Sports, leaving Antwerp as the only club to oppose the agreement for the country’s domestic TV rights.
Belgian Pro League secures new €103m TV deal but clubs battle over the cash
February 13 – The Belgian Pro League has awarded its new TV rights deal to Eleven Sports for a record €103 million in a five-year deal, but not all the clubs are happy with the proposed income distribution from the new agreement with both Antwerp and AA Gent opposing.
Canal+ and beIN Sports tie knot on landmark French distribution deal
February 12 – French media giant CANAL+ Group and Qatari pay broadcaster beIN SPORTS have closed the distribution and sub-licensing deal announced last December.
TV deals show balance shift to OTT as NENT adds Bundesliga to Premier League
By Paul Nicholson
February 11 – The likely shape of Europe’s premium broadcast deals in the future is starting to reveal itself, and it will be a case of evolution rather than revolution.
Premier League cracks open next broadcast rights cycle with a big Scandinavian deal
February 6 – The Premier League has concluded its first broadcast deal for the rights cycle beginning 2022 and it’s a big one.