MLS lands on planet Pluto with free streaming channel
May 14 – Major League Soccer (MLS) has opened up a new broadcast content channel with the announcement of the launch on the Pluto TV free streaming service of its own channel (Ch. 203).
Broadcast
UK government vows to take on Saudi pirates BeoutQ with ‘robust attack’
May 13 – The on-going battle against rogue Saudi Arabia-based pirate broadcaster BeoutQ that has seen the Saudi channel steal thousands of hours of sports and entertainment programming is causing government concern with a committee of UK Parliamentary MPs now calling for a “robust attack” on the channel.
Facebook to go behind the scenes at Copa America
May 10 – Facebook, which is gradually becoming a broadcast rights competitor for premium tier live football rights, has signed a content deal with Conmebol for this Summer’s Copa America in Brazil.
LaLiga wins landmark copyright case in Denmark to block pirate channels
April 25 – LaLiga, in co-operation with Denmark’s RettighedsAlliancen, scored a major victory in the battle against broadcast pirate with a Danish court ruling that sites offering illegal streams of live sport should be blocked.
Juve are out but Italian battle for Champions League rights is on
April 18 – Mediaset are on the verge of wrestling the free-to-air rights for the Champions League from Italian state broadcaster RAI in a two-year deal with Sky Italia.
LaLiga renews virtual ad board deal guaranteeing Barca, Real and Atletico
April 15 – LaLiga has extended its virtual perimeter and virtual goal-side advertising deal with the UK’s Interregional Sports Group (ISG). The deal was concluded via LaLiga’s media agency MediaPro.
RFEF goes into battle with La Liga with its own OTT platform offer
By Paul Nicholson
April 16 – The animosity between the Spanish FA (RFEF) and LaLiga has found a new broadcast battleground to play out.
Seifert questions domestic policy on TV rights split between two pay broadcasters
March 27 – Christian Seifert, chief executive of the Bundesliga, has called into question the league’s ‘no single buyer’ broadcasting rule which was introduced ahead of the current cycle that ends in 2021 and is designed to stop a single broadcaster from purchasing domestic rights to show all games from Germany’s top two divisions.
LaLiga launches OTT service with multi-sports content proposition
March 27 – LaLiga has launched its OTT streaming service, LaLigaSportsTV, which offers fans coverage of live LaLiga 1|2|3 content, as well as other Spanish sports.
Twitter secures broadcast deal for topflight Brazilian women’s matches
March 19 – The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has teamed up with social media platform Twitter in a broadcast deal for the Brazilian women’s top flight, the 2019 Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol Feminino.
AFC streaming of ACL reaches 1m in Saudi Arabia but now Saudi 24 channel joins piracy
By Paul Nicholson
March 13 – The streaming of the Asian Champions League match involving Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli Saudi away to Uzbekistan’s Pakhator was watched by close to 1 million people in Saudi Arabia on the AFC’s YouTube and Facebook Live channels.
AFC step in to beIN/beoutQ broadcast row to stream Saudi ACL games on its digital channels
By Paul Nicholson
March 12 – Football fans in Saudi Arabia will be able to watch tonight’s Champions League match involving Al Ahli Saudi FC away to Uzbekistan’s Pakhator FC legally and without having to resort to beoutQ’s piracy of BeIN Sport’s broadcast.
Mycujoo expands streaming services in Brazil and adds key staff
March 6 – Sports streaming specialist mycujoo has expanded its South American footprint with the signing of its 10th Brazilian state federation that will see up to 300 matches streamed over the next two years
ESPN swoops for MLS rights in South American and Caribbean
March 5 – ESPN has replaced Fox Sports as the Major League Soccer Spanish-language rights holder in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of a four-year deal until 2022.
Dominican Republic’s FEDOFUTBOL in groundbreaking OTT tie-up with OZ Sports
By David Owen
March 1 – The Football Federation of the Dominican Republic (FEDOFUTBOL), to which a FIFA normalisation committee was appointed last November, has agreed a deal with the production company OZ Sports covering the country’s professional football league.