Advanced Television

Rights

Belgium: Eleven Sports extends La Liga rights

Global sports provider Eleven Sports has extended its La Liga coverage in Belgium after agreeing an improved 3-year partnership with the Spanish football league.  The new partnership means that fans will not miss a minute of the action as all La Liga matches will be available on Eleven Sports. Prior to the new agreement, Eleven […]

January 26, 2018

MPs voice Brexit creativity concerns

Members of the UK House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee have said that maintaining access to talent, UK production tax credits, and getting clarity around regulatory equivalence with the EU are vital to resolving concerns about Brexit. The Committee’s report, The potential impact of Brexit on the creative industries, tourism and the […]

January 25, 2018By Colin Mann

Sky day-and-date movies

Pay-TV operator Sky has announced the launch of Sky Cinema Original Films with the intention of showing them in cinemas at the same time as they become available for Sky Cinema customers. Sky says that by acquiring exclusive rights and commissioning original movie productions, it will provide customers with even more great film content, in […]

January 25, 2018By Colin Mann

OTT sports growth expected

Delegates at a Media & Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA) event in London (‘Post CES Review’) heard a consensus from panellists that viewers could expect a growing presence in the number of sport and new sub-genre services offered by an expanding number of OTT operators. Peter Bellamy (SVP at OTT operator NeuLion) told delegates that because […]

January 25, 2018By Chris Forrester

Ex-Culture Secretary calls for Kodi box crackdown

John Whittingdale, who was the UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport between May 2015 and July 2016, has called for a crackdown on illegal streaming, or risk throttling the UK’s creative industries. Writing an opinion piece in the i newspaper, Whittingdale notes that January always brings a “treasure trove” of film or […]

January 25, 2018By Colin Mann

Sky extends Warner Bros movie deal

Sky has announced an extension to its deal with Warner Bros. The deal will give viewers in the UK, German and Austria the chance to see Warner Bros films such as Wonder Woman premiere on Sky Cinema sooner than ever before (following the home entertainment window). The agreement with Warner Bros. further strengthens the group’s […]

January 25, 2018

O2 scores Czech/Slovak Champions League rights

Pay-TV network O2 TV has secured the exclusive broadcast rights for Champions League football in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. From August, the broadcaster will show live coverage of the competition on its O2 TV Fotbal and O2 TV Free channels in both markets until 2021. Coverage will also be rolled out via the O2 […]

January 25, 2018

EC consults on piracy watch-list

The European Commission has launched a public consultation to establish its first world-wide ‘Counterfeit and Piracy Watch-List’. The aim is to identify the marketplaces outside the EU where counterfeiting, piracy or other forms of intellectual property abuse are common practice. The initiative is part of the Commission’s strategy announced in the 2017 Communication, A balanced […]

January 25, 2018By Colin Mann

Analyst: Premier League rights to top £10bn

Estimates in a report from research firm Ampere Analysis covering the most likely deal value for English Premier League football rights suggest a sum between £5.5 billion (€4.55bn) and £5.9 billion for domestic three-year ‘live’ television rights (up from £5.13 billion previously). When

January 23, 2018

FAANG causes sports rights inflation

The cash-rich technology giants of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google (FAANG) could put “tremendous pressure” on traditional TV, pay-TV and cable operators in the race for exclusive content, says a note to investors from investment bank Exane/BNP-Paribas. The news that Facebook has hired away Eurosport CEO Peter Hutton, and that he will join Facebook […]

January 23, 2018By Chris Forrester