Six Nations adds in-depth tactical analysis to TV coverage

Five new stats will provide fans with a deeper level of insight into team tactics and performance A series of new insights have been created for The Guinness Six Nations Championship that attempt to reveal the subtle plans, plays, attacks, and defence of each team. The five new stats supplement seven stats added for the […]

Fanview bolsters board with two appointments

Former Deltatre COO Paul Bristow and Dow Jones digital product director Spencer Piggott join board Fanview, the esports and sports media services business, has appointed former Deltatre COO Paul Bristow and Dow Jones digital product director Spencer Piggott to its board. Bristow, now co-founder and director of European Championships Management, joins the company as non-executive […]

Channel 5 and WWE wrestle a deal

ViacomCBS secures UK’s first free-to-air highlights of the sport Wrestling highlights are coming to free-to-air in the UK for the first time after WWE secured a partnership with Channel 5 owner ViacomCBS. From February, C5 will air a one-hour version of the Raw programme on Sunday mornings at 10:30am, with SmackDown highlights will be broadcast in the same slot […]

StarTimes wins Formula E rights for Africa

Formula E races will be screened in 37 countries across the continent StarTimes has picked up the TV rights to the rest of the Formula E Championship season. It will screen races live across its linear and digital channels in Africa. The new broadcast partnership brings Formula E to viewers in 37 countries, including South […]

BT Sport to show two live NHL games a week

Broadcaster is to sub-licence the matches from Premier Sports BT Sport has picked up the rights to the National Hockey League (NHL) and will now show two live games each week. The broadcaster says it will air a game most weekends during ‘UK primetime hours’. It will also broadcast Stanley Cup finals and the All-Star […]

Bundesliga to use AI/ML to enhance live game stats and analysis

Machine learning will enable the German football league to provide a plethora of new live game predictions Germany’s football league Bundesliga is turning to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to provide more in-depth insight in the stats and analysis displayed on-screen during live games. It plans to bring in real-time stats that will […]

Sky Sports and Comcast launch sports tech accelerator

Initiative aims to train, mentor, develop and fund 10 sports tech startups Sky Sports and Comcast NBCUniversal are launching ‘SportsTech’, a global accelerator programme to mentor, develop and fund sports tech startups on both sides of the Atlantic. NBCSports, Gold Channel, NASCAR, US Ski and Snowboard and USA Swimming are also involved in the launch. […]

BT Sport wins rights to Fury vs Wilder rematch

Broadcaster trumps Sky’s reported £10m bid BT Sport has won the UK television rights for Tyson Fury’s rematch with Deontay Wilder, beating off a reported bid of more than £10m by Sky Sports Box Office. BT Sport Box Office’s coverage from Las Vegas on February 22nd will be available not only to their regular customers but […]

Eurosport to air Tennis Australia’s bushfire fundraiser

Rally for Relief exhibition match takes place on Wednesday 15th January Eurosport is to screen Tennis Australia’s Rally for Relief, in aid of the Australian bushfire relief efforts. The exhibition match, taking place on Wednesday 15 January, will feature some of the world’s top players on the Rod Laver Court in Melbourne with all proceeds […]

Mexican club Chivas relaunches OTT service with StreamAMG

Offers live matches and on demand video worldwide Mexican football club Chivas have relaunched their direct-to-fan service ChivasTV to offer live matches and on demand video worldwide with live streaming and sports OTT specialists StreamAMG. The Guadalajara-based football club, whose official name is Club Deportivo Guadalajara, competes in Liga MX, and is the only club […]

Barney Francis to leave Sky

Senior sports executive to depart later this year Senior Sky Sports executive Barney Francis is to leave the broadcaster after more than 20 years. Francis, who will leave later this year, was managing director of Sky Sports for ten years until he was appointed as chief executive of future sport last May. The move was […]

SquashTV to stream entire British Junior Open for free

Full free-to-access live coverage of the five day tournament begins today SquashTV is televising the entire Dunlop British Junior Open squash tournament for free via its SquashTV platform. Coverage is currently live and free-to-access to registered users of the site. The tournament is considered the most prestigious on the junior circuit and features more than […]

Discovery acquires Golf Channel Latin America

Broadcaster adds to golf portfolio with pay-TV acquisition Discovery has bolstered its golf media business in Latin America with the acquisition of pay-service Golf Channel Latin America. The channel was bought from Simple Networks LLC and Fornaluz Productions, S.A., an affiliate of Inversiones Bahia. The acquisition adds to Discovery’s global portfolio that includes digital platform GOLFTV, […]

LaLigaTV channel to launch on Sky TV

Premier Sports and LaLiga bring dedicated 24/7 LaLigaTV channel to Sky EPG LaLiga is bringing its new dedicated TV channel to the Sky platform in the New Year, showing all live matches from Spain’s top-flight league in full HD. The LaLigaTV channel launches on Sky from Monday 13 January and costs £5.99 a month. To […]

Amazon Prime to show live tennis from the first ATP Cup

Matches from the new tennis tournament will be streamed live on Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video will show all live tennis from the first ATP Cup, taking place Friday 3 January – Sunday 12 January. The new tournament comes as part of an five-year existing deal Amazon Prime has in place with the ATP […]

Peter Crouch turns comedy host for BBC1

Fulwell 73 nets 14-part studio show for next summer’s Euros Peter Crouch’s position as key BBC talent could be enhanced by a greenlight for a comedy entertainment show from Fulwell 73. The former England footballer and podcast host is fronting BBC1’s Crouch’s Euro Fest 2020 next summer. The BBC describes the 14 x 45-minute series as a “live post-match festival […]

Eleven Sports to give fans ‘seconds after live’ social media clips

Broadcaster partners with cloud editing platform Blackbird to speed up content delivery to sports fans Eleven Sports has agreed a two-year contract with cloud video editing platform Blackbird for the rapid editing and publishing of sports content online. The broadcaster’s OTT platform delivers thousands of hours of sports content to its global subscriber base. It […]

Straightforward guide to low-latency streaming

Kyle Goodwin of Vecima Networks explores, in layman’s terms, how the industry is preparing to tackle low-latency streaming During the 2018 World Cup, media measurement company Conviva recorded 75.8 million attempts to stream the quarter-final games. More than 15% of those attempts failed – that’s more than 11 million unsuccessful attempts. Those delivering OTT services are […]

Explaining the appeal and continued growth of esports

Gravity Media Group sales manager Edward Dowdall, explains the growing appeal of esports As we head fast towards the end of 2019, esports continues to expediently grow in momentum with more global events. Tier 1 sponsors and media attention is being drawn to what is ultimately simply a form of live entertainment. Examples include the […]

BT Sport retains Champions League rights in £1.2bn deal

Broadcaster fended off bids from ITV and Sky BT Sport has retained the rights to broadcast Champions League games for another three seasons in a deal worth £1.2 billion. The new deal is worth £400m a year, slightly up on the 2018-2021 rights cycle which is worth £394m a year. As such, UEFA has protected […]

Red Bull freestyle football contest to air in 4K HDR on Insight TV

Competition to be live streamed in 4K UHD HDR for the first time   Global 4K broadcaster Insight TV is to live stream Red Bull’s Street Style Football World Championship on 15 November in 4K UHD HDR. The live broadcast of the 90-minute event takes in Miami, Florida, will be in partnership with Red Bull […]

Australia’s Optus Sport signs three-year Women’s Super League deal

Exclusive Barclays FA Women’s Super League deal starts this weekend Australia’s Optus Sport has picked up the exclusive live rights for the Barclays FA Women’s Super League, the top-tier of English women’s football. The deal is for the next three years and covers around 50 live matches a season. It begins the weekend (Sunday 17 […]

1.25m tune in to live finals of mobile esports competition

Summoners War World Arena Championship 2019 finals gets 10 times the views of last year’s tournament The finals of the Summoners War World Arena Championship 2019 picked up its highest online viewing figures to date, with 1.25m tuning in to the live stream, via YouTube and Twitch. This was 10 times the cumulative views from […]

SquashTV to broadcast Men’s Squash Championship live to 3m global fans

D2C coverage, together with Facebook streams, will see squash tournament reach large audience worldwide SquashTV will broadcast the Men’s World Team Squash Championship (held 15-21 December in Washington D.C.) for free globally, after reaching an agreement with the World Squash Federation (WSF) and tournament hosts Squash on Fire. The D2C platform Squash TV, which is […]

BBC resolves SPOTY complaint with two sports indies

Sunset+Vine and Done and Dusted compensated for travel costs in failed bids The BBC has resolved a complaint from two sports producers over the Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) tender process, Broadcast understands. The corporation has given both Tinopolis-backed Sunset + Vine and live events firm Done and Dusted a small amount of compensation for their […]

Facebook eyes niche sports

Social media giant’s strategy is to focus on live events that are ‘under-served’ by broadcasters   Facebook is concentrating its sports strategy on “underserved” events that are not being shown by the traditional broadcasters, according to the US tech giant’s head of global live sports. Peter Hutton cited sports including surfing and Ironman as appealing […]

Red Bee launches women’s football streamer

OTT service will launch early next year Swedish sports rights agency Spring Media has partnered with Red Bee Media to launch the world’s first women’s football streaming service. The duo have formed Wnited, which will launch early next year with more than 300 live matches across its first 12 months, along with a range of […]

Premier Sports launches LaLigaTV streaming service

Channel dedicated to Spain’s La Liga is available in the UK and Ireland from today. Premier Sports has launched its dedicated English-language channel dedicated to Spain’s LaLiga. LaLigaTV is available from today in the UK and Ireland via the Premier Player OTT streaming service, costing £5.99 per month or £49 annually. Premier Sports began broadcasting […]

Amateur football channel ‘Give Me Five’ launches

The channel will air through digital platform Alchimie French digital distribution company Alchimie has launched TV channel, Give Me Five, which will focus on live coverage of amateur football leagues. The channel will report from the amateur six-a-side and five-a-side leagues across Europe, with original programme Too Good To Miss providing a mix of the best […]

Yahoo Sport reveals video hub dedicated to US sport

Yahoo Sport Presents…Tailgate aims to be the home for the UK fanbase of American major league sports Yahoo Sport UK has launched a new platform focused on American sports, called Yahoo Sport Presents…Tailgate. Tailgate is a collection of “premium video content, with fans at the heart of the experience,” says Yahoo. It’s presented by TV […]

Sports Channel Network picks up rugby head injury doc, Head On

Rugby doc will TX on free-to-air channel in the UK A new documentary, Head On, which tackles the issue of head injuries in rugby -– is being screened in the UK exclusively by Sports Channel Network. There’s been an increase in the number of head and neck injuries in the sport, which has driven changes in […]

Millennial to build esports racing arena in Miami

Gaming and esports specialist says 12,000 square-foot arena will be first of its kind Millennial Esports is building what it says is the world’s first dedicated esports racing arena in Miami. Set to open in 2020, the new 12,000 square-foot arena will be located in the entertainment district of Wynwood in Miami. Canadian-based gaming and […]

BT recruits Andy Haworth to grow viewers and revenue for BT Sport

Former BT Consumer strategy lead takes up new role focused on BT’s sports rights and accelerating the growth of BT Sport BT has appointed Andy Haworth to the newly created role of managing director of Sports Rights and Commercial. He will manage BT’s growing sports rights and commercial business and spearhead the company’s renewed efforts […]

The European Tour launches innovation competition to “enhance golf”

New contest is aimed at start-ups and is seeking innovations that will appeal to golf fans The European Tour has launched an innovation contest for start-ups aimed at developing new creative concepts to enhance golf. The European Tour Innovation Hub competition is being run with Tata Communications and is seeking ideas that can be developed […]

Man City, Intel launch immersive highlights

Fans can watch key moments of a match from any angle on their phone Intel and Manchester City have launched an immersive highlights experience that can be viewed on mobile phones. Intel’s True View technology allows fans to watch key moments of a match from any angle on their phone. Immersive highlights are captured with […]

Sling TV expands relationship with La Liga

US streamer signs up as official sponsor of Spanish league in North America US streamer Sling TV has become the official sponsor of LaLiga in a deal which will see it step up its coverage of the Spanish league. Sling TV curently broadcasts all LaLiga regular season matches via beIN Sports and beIN Sports en […]

Mobile Viewpoint reveals 4K camera for its sports automation system

Company bolsters the quality of image acquisition for its automated sports production and distribution system Mobile Viewpoint has launched the IQ X-Cam – a multi-4K camera system designed to be used by its artificial intelligence (AI) sports production and distribution automation system IQ Sports Producer. The IQ X-Cam IP camera can capture panoramic images in […]

DAZN unveils virtual production facility

First hub opens in Madrid, with Leeds broadcast centre next to be connected Sports streamer DAZN has launched its first virtual production facility. The facility, which is based on NEP’s production platform, makes a variety of production resources including live logging, editing, commentary, and graphic design accessible remotely from any location around the world, all […]

Eurosport serves up live Laver Cup coverage

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer among players at this month’s three-day competition Eurosport is to broadcast live and multi-platform coverage of this year’s Laver Cup tennis competition across Europe. A new agreement grants Eurosport rights to the Laver Cup in more than 50 European markets, including Switzerland, where this year’s event will be hosted at […]

Rugby World Cup 2019 to offer fan-controlled 3D highlights

Seven matches from the tournament, which kicks off on Friday 20 September, will have highlights created by Canon’s Free Viewpoint Video System Seven Rugby World Cup 2019 matches will offer fans post-match highlights with viewpoints and angles not possible with conventional cameras. Canon’s Free Viewpoint Video System is being used to create replays the company […]

Eurosport to broadcast World Urban Games

BMX freestyle, parkour, breaking and 3×3 basketball among competition events at this month’s Games Eurosport is to broadcast live coverage from the inaugural World Urban Games Budapest 2019. The World Urban Games takes place from 13-15 September 2019 and features six competition events – BMX freestyle, parkour, breaking, 3×3 basketball, flying disc freestyle and roller […]

Premier Sports brings La Liga to UK

‘Historic’ three-year deal covers all Spanish league games and introduces dedicated platform LaLiga and Premier Sports have announced a “historic agreement” that will see all La Liga games to the end of the 2021/22 season broadcast in the UK and Ireland. It has also revealed the launch of LaLigaTV; a dedicated 24/7 channel in the […]

Streaming: Taking the direct route

Both established and niche sports are testing the waters of serving fans via their own D2C services   The rollout of high-speed broadband, smartphones and SVoD services such as Netflix has created a technically literate audience that’s familiar with the direct-to-consumer (D2C) model. Sports organisations are beginning to test the waters in different business models around OTT […]

MotoGP: Full throttle action

Covering the Silverstone MotoGP race meeting for BT Sport is a mammoth operation for North One, with 26 hours of live outside broadcast over three days   It’s late on Friday afternoon at Silverstone and production house North One has already been live-to-air on BT Sport for eight hours straight. A premium presentation and commentary team have been busy fronting the show throughout the […]

Six Day Series: Fast track to success

Revitalising one of cycling’s first ever track events, the Six Day Series is making innovative use of data to educate first-time fans and grow its audience   The growth in shorter TV sports formats, marrying cutting-edge on-screen technologies with rousing in-stadium entertainment, continues at full pace. Cycling’s version – the Six Day Series – hit its […]

INTERVIEW: Alex Green, Amazon Prime

With two blocks of Premier League matches to sit alongside its ATP Tour tennis coverage, Amazon is emerging as one of the key players in the future of sports broadcasting   Alex Green, head of sports and channels, Europe, at Amazon Prime Video, would love to have the rights to Wimbledon. “If only that were possible,” […]

STV to stream 24-hour sports feed

Broadcaster partners with Premier Sports and FreeSports for on-demand offering STV is to offer an ‘always on’ sports channel on STV Player after partnering with pay TV sports broadcaster Premier Sports and free-to-air sister channel FreeSports. By streaming FreeSports, STV becomes the first broadcaster to operate a VoD service providing a free-to-air, 24-hour sports feed. […]

Why esports needs TV

How the storytelling ability of television will add significant value to esports The Esports industry has grown into a serious player despite having very little coverage on traditional TV. There are a spattering of televised esports tournaments, and broadcasters including BT Sport, ITV and Sky Sports have dabbled in bits and pieces of esports broadcasting, […]