Japan
Wowow picks up rights to Copa del Rey
Japanese pay-television broadcaster Wowow has added to its Spanish football output by securing the rights to the final stages of the 2022-23 Copa del Rey tournament
Free-to-air and pay-TV mix retained in Japan’s Rugby World Cup TV deals
Broadcast rights to the Rugby World Cup have once again been split in Japan across free-to-air and pay television in deals for this year’s tournament with NHK, Nippon TV and J Sports.
DAZN retains F1 rights in Japan to 2025
DAZN has kept hold of Formula 1 rights in one of its core markets, retaining the property in Japan until 2025.
J.League expands YouTube offering for streaming in dark markets
The J.League, organising body of the top two domestic football leagues in Japan, has opted to expand its use of video streaming platform YouTube for international coverage, with the top-tier J1 League to be showcased.
Japanese streaming platforms U-Next and Paravi to merge
Japanese services U-Next and Paravi are merging to create one of the market's biggest subscription video streaming platforms
Japan’s Levain Cup extends with domestic rights-holders
Japanese media network Fuji TV and pay-television broadcaster Sky PerfecTV have retained rights to the Levain Cup, the domestic club football competition organised by the J.League
Dentsu suspended from bidding on government contracts amid Olympics investigations
Advertising giant Dentsu is one of three companies that have been temporarily suspended by Japanese authorities from bidding on certain government contracts due to ongoing corruption investigations around…
Chinese, Japanese and Korean sports ministers declare intent to increase cooperation on sports projects
The sports ministers of China, Japan and Korea have adopted a joint statement on increasing cooperation between the three countries on sports projects
SPOTV Now acquires Serie A rights in Japan
Streaming platform SPOTV Now has acquired rights in Japan to the Italian Serie A in a deal covering at least the remainder of the 2022-23 season
Abema acquires Bundesliga rights in Japan in short-term deal
Japanese streaming platform Abema has acquired rights in Japan to the German Bundesliga in a deal covering the remainder of the 2022-23 season
Former Tokyo 2020, Dentsu execs arrested in bid-rigging probe
Yasuo Mori, a senior official within the Organising Committee for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, is one of four executives who have been arrested as part of an ongoing probe by Japanese prosecutors…
Belgium’s STVV strengthens Japanese ties with new stadium sponsor
Belgian Pro League club Sint-Truidense VV has agreed a deal for wasabi producer Daio to take on naming rights to its home stadium, Stayen
NHK reveals satellite channel cut timeline, part of wider cost cuts
Japanese public service broadcaster NHK is merging two of its linear satellite channels this November as part of cost-cutting measures that have also seen a pullback in spending on sports rights
Hisense Japan agrees sponsorship with NPB team Yokohama DeNa BayStars
The Japanese arm of Chinese electronics manufacturer Hisense has agreed a sleeve sponsorship deal with Nippon Professional Baseball team Yokohama DeNa BayStars for the 2023 season
World Cup rights take Abema to big quarterly loss, but wider deal impact hailed
Japanese digital media company CyberAgent reported a rare quarterly loss in its 2023 Q1 financial results, caused by the costly acquisition of 2022 Fifa World Cup rights by its streaming platform Abema
Amazon and J Sports acquire rights in Japan for World Baseball Classic
Amazon Prime Video and J Sports have acquired media rights in Japan for the upcoming World Baseball Classic national team competition
DAZN agrees global distribution deal with Amazon Prime Video
Sports streaming service DAZN will be offered as an add-on subscription channel on Amazon's Prime Video service around the world under a new distribution deal between the two companies
Rakuten Sports to debut new skateboarding event in Tokyo
Rakuten Sports has announced the launch of Uprising Tokyo, a new international skateboarding event in the Japanese capital