Media
Features
After Leoz’s death, South American football is still battling the ghosts of its corrupt past
The death of former Conmebol president Nicolás Leoz has brought South American football one step closer to closing the book on an era of corruption. As global agencies and investment funds are taking advantage of the power vacuum, Callum McCarthy examines the current landscape and asks if and when that book can be closed for good.
Stills life | Photography as important as ever in the digital age
In association with Getty Images
Tom Hill, World Rugby | Dual award of 2015 and 2019 World Cups helped mitigate Japan risks
Tom Hill, chief commercial officer, World Rugby speaks exclusively to SportBusiness about the commercial programme for the 2019 World Cup in Japan
ICC targets younger audiences with digital-first, data-led broadcasting approach
Adam Nelson reports on how the International Cricket Council revamped its broadcast coverage ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, focusing on storytelling to attract new audiences and break digital engagement records
The challenge facing the next Premier League chief executive: media-rights growth has stalled
The search to replace Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore, who announced his resignation over a year ago, has proved arduous. Frank Dunne looks at the issues surrounding media-rights growth and the challenges Scudamore's succesor should expect.
Canal Plus increases 4K sports commitment
French pay-TV broadcaster Canal Plus is making ultra high-definition coverage of the entirety of the 2019 Rugby World Cup and two English Premier League matches per week available to its subscribers
Deutsche Telekom ‘facing difficulties’ in Telekom Romania sale
German telco Deutsche Telekom is reportedly facing problems in selling its stake in its Romanian subsidiary, Telekom Romania, as rival telco RCS & RDS look to navigate around any anti-competitive issues
SABC and IMG agree late Rugby World Cup radio rights deal
South African public-service broadcaster the SABC has struck a last-minute agreement with the IMG agency for selected radio rights to the 2019 Rugby World Cup, which kicked off on Friday
Seven in rights talks for new Australian motorsport series
Australian commercial broadcaster Seven is said to be in advanced talks over a rights deal for fledgling motor-racing series TCR Australia and S5000
Euroleague Basketball’s quest to become the real European super league
Euroleague Basketball's revenue has more than doubled over the past three seasons, and it's now expanding the competition across western Europe, Callum McCarthy delves into how the plan is being put into action.
Free-to-air exposure brings new audiences to cricket, but F1 and Wimbledon still deliver
Sky Sport’s decision to share coverage of the Cricket World Cup with Channel 4 meant an additional 4.8 million are estimated to have watched the Cricket World Cup final. Ben Cronin, global head, Publicis Sport & Entertainment, interprets the viewing figures for a memorable Sunday of sport.
Media beyond football highlights – SDMS London
Highlights of our 'media: the world beyond football' at SDMS London. How are rights owners outside the big money football bubble are developing effective media strategies?
Play Sports Group acquisition allows Discovery and Eurosport to ‘super serve’ cycling fans
Discovery’s acquisition of the Play Sports Group in January this year served further notice of its strategy to focus its energies on cycling. Ben Cronin speaks to Sameer Pabari, SVP, content & business development, Discovery, and Simon Wear, CEO & founder of PSG ahead of the Tour de France.
The Long Read | Potential investors will do well to look closely at the football deals of Endeavor and Wanda Sports
With Endeavor and Wanda Sports both preparing for IPOs, Frank Dunne looks at how the media rights strategies of their respective buying arms, the IMG and Infront agencies, fit into the two groups’ portfolios and explains why potential investors would be advised to look carefully at the small print around some key football deals.
College sports carve out a commercial niche on OTT platforms
The Colonial Athletic Conference’s $4.5m streaming deal with FloSports is helping the conference to build audiences and close the gap on the Power 5. Eric Fisher reports.
Brazilian club football is shown the light, but chooses to remain in the dark
The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A will be the only major football league in the world without international, local-language distribution in 2019. Callum McCarthy looks at why Brazilian club football lags behind its European counterparts.
Digital, direct and driven
The launch of iX.co, a digitally native company which unites the strength of Infront’s digital operations and Omnigon, is designed to offer brands and sports bodies an opportunity to talk to consumers directly and in new ways.
Can new Bundesliga domestic and international deals prove 50+1 isn’t holding it back?
German football has earned praise for its blend of ideological purity and commercial nous, but calls to reform restrictions on private ownership and investment are growing. With the Bundesliga’s media rights coming to market, Callum McCarthy explores how the league’s commercial performance over the next 18 months could shape its long-term future.
US boxing deals promised a revolution, but it’s business-as-usual for the sweet science
Last year, broadcasters and promoters announced a series of big-money deals that promised much and have so far delivered very little. Callum McCarthy examines why boxing’s stakeholders aren’t yet on the same page.
The new EU Copyright Directive leaves sports rights-holders dissatisfied
The new EU Copyright Directive is one of the most controversial pieces of European legislation ever passed, pitting content creators like record companies, film studios and sports rights-holders against social media platforms and free-speech campaigners. Its final wording appears to have left both sides unhappy. And many experts say it will change very little for sport and direct no new revenues towards the industry.
Comeback or a temporary correction? NFL domestic TV audiences recover in 2018-19
After consecutive years of falling television ratings, NFL domestic television audiences increased by five per cent in the recently concluded 2018-19 season.
LeBron goes west, NBA domestic TV audiences go south in 2018-19
Despite appearing to be at an-all time high in terms of general popularity, NBA domestic television audience ratings for the first half of the 2018-19 season are down across the board compared to the first half of the 2017-18 season.
Heavyweight backers say mass migration has created opportunity for “Champions League” of cricket in Europe
Former Fifa and Team Marketing executives believe mass-migration has created a new opportunity for a club cricket competition in Europe.
Le Floc’h: Fifa Women’s World Cup sponsorship rights could be unbundled in 2022
Women’s World Cup currently has two-tier sponsorship model
Global Partner tier includes sponsorship rights to all Fifa events
Creative treatment | Digital executives choose their best-performing videos
As new technology has opened new methods of media distribution, stakeholders from across the sports feeding chain have set out to establish themselves as media businesses
Eurovision Sport & Eurovision Services partner to provide 360° media solutions
In association with Eurovision Sport
Simon Denyer | Chief executive, DAZN Group
Simon Denyer was among the 10 executives whose work in 2018 we believe indicates the direction of the sports business in 2019 and beyond.
Laura Froelich | Senior director, head of US content partnerships, Twitter
Laura Froelich was among the 10 executives whose work in 2018 we believe indicates the direction of the sports business in 2019 and beyond.