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.
Broadcast
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.
A$5m name game: Fox and FFA lock horns over new ‘Melbourne-ish’ franchise
February 25 – Australian club Western United’s decision to not incorporate ‘Melbourne’ in its name could cost Football Federation Australia (FFA) A$5 million in annual TV rights as Fox Sports seeks to challenge its obligation to increase future payments for the broadcasting deal.
Concacaf to live stream Champions League on Yahoo Sports platform
February 15 – Concacaf has taken a deeper step in live streaming with the announcement that 2019 Champions League matches will be broadcast in English on Yahoo Sports platforms, a part of the confederation’s multi-platform media-rights deal with Verizon.
PSG left red-faced after 1.4m watch Man Utd game pirated on to its Facebook site
February 14 – Already in the wars over financial fair play, Paris Saint-Germain have been left embarrassed again after part of their Champions League last-16 game against Manchester United was accidentally illegally streamed live to a global audience on social media platform Facebook
Mourinho back on centre-stage with his own TV show on RT
February 12 – Nice work if you can get it. Jose Mourinho may be out of a management job at club level but he is rarely out of the limelight. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United boss has landed a plum mega-million role with English-language Russian broadcaster RT.
Champions League to make live broadcast debut with Goal on Twitter in SE Asia
February 12 – European Champions League football will be broadcast via football website Goal’s Twitter account in six markets in Asia with a mix of live matches and highlights packages.
LaLiga wins case to shut down three more IPTV pirate channels in Brazil
February 11 – LaLiga has won a battle against pirate TV operators stealing live broadcast of matches in brazil with the closure of three IPTV platforms who were getting more than 1.5 million visits a month and had over 8,000 illegal subscribers.
UEFA will have its OTT broadcast platform ready for 2019/20 season, says Ceferin
February 8 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin confirmed that the governing body’s over-the-top streaming service should be complete in the next six months in time for the the 2019/2020 season.
beIN Sports goes to FCC in US over Comcast refusal to carry channels
February 6 – Sports broadcaster beIN SPORTS is to take further legal action in its dispute with US cable operator Comcast over its rights to have carriage on the Comacast platform.
Digital streamer FloSports grabs exclusive rights to Concacaf Nations League in US
January 30 – Concacaf have agreed an exclusive broadcast rights deal with digital streaming service FloSports for the new Concacaf Nations League which will start in March.
Football governing bodies issue joint threat to pirate channel beoutQ
By Samindra Kunti and Paul Nicholson
January 22 – FIFA, UEFA, AFC, La Liga, the Premier League and the Bundesliga have today issued a joint statement condemning “clear and flagrant” pirating of games by satellite channel beoutQ, but refrained from naming Saudi Arabia as culpable for the infringements though the channel broadcasts from the country.
Premier League launches new attack on Saudi-backed beoutQ broadcast piracy
By Paul Nicholson
January 22 – Following the launch of a website detailing the broadcast piracy of Saudi Arabia-based beoutQ, the Premier League has issued a statement saying it has appointed legal counsel to fight the copyright theft and reassuring rightsholders it will work with them to stop the illegal broadcast.
AFC condemns Tele Liban piracy, but Lebanese minister claims they are their rights
By Paul Nicholson
January 15 – The issue of broadcast piracy has arisen at the Asian Cup in the UAE where the AFC has issued a statement condemning Tele Liban for rebroadcasting matches without having paid for the rights.
Eleven Sports calls on Serie A to shift Super Cup from Saudi or risk killing its TV income
By Paul Nicholson
January 13 – Broadcaster Eleven Sports has added its voice to media rights holder calls for Serie A to reverse its decision to play its Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, saying the decision has “considerable implications for Eleven Sports and for the longer term value of Italian football rights.”