Pasty brand Ginsters has signed a deal to sponsor the new Football League highlights show, Football League Tonight, on Channel 5. The 90-minute program will feature six 10-second ads highlighting Ginsters' products (BAKERY INFO, 8/17). ... The Italian Serie B announced a three-year deal with B4 Capital for the distribution of the int'l audio-visual rights of the Serie B championship, for the '12-13 to '14-15 seasons. B4 Capital is an independent media agency which has been active in the Italian and int'l media rights market for more than 20 years (EPFL). ... Discovery Networks UK & Ireland extended its advertising and sponsorship sales partnership with Mean Broadcast for its British Eurosport and British Eurosport 2 channels. Mean Broadcast will have responsibility for managing airtime sales, channel and program sponsorship, and brand partnerships working with media and ad agencies. The new contract begins with immediate effect (CAMPAIGN LIVE, 8/18).
LINEKER MAKES BT DEBUT: Broadcaster Gary Lineker made his BT Sport debut Tuesday as the channel began its coverage of the Champions League, which it prised from Sky and ITV in an £897M deal. He was be joined by pundits Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes and Glenn Hoddle. Michael Owen was on commentary duties alongside Ian Darke (LONDON TIMES, 8/18). BT signed up Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane to appear on its football shows and in adverts promoting its sport channels. BT "has been signing high-profile sport personalities to front and appear on its shows as it looks to use sports rights, in particular football," to take on TV and telecom rival Sky. The deal, which sees the 22-year-old become an "ambassador" for the online channels, "allows BT to use him as a pundit, though no appearances have yet been confirmed" (London GUARDIAN, 8/18).
NTV PLUS SECURES SERIE A RIGHTS: Russian pay-TV broadcaster NTV Plus has secured the broadcast rights to Italy's Serie A and France's Ligue 1. The broadcaster will show select games from the top Italian league and all the games from the top tier of French football on its Match TV channel, available to subscribers in Russia (SOCCEREX, 8/18). South African pay-TV provider StarTimes said that it has secured the exclusive broadcasting rights for the Bundesliga for five years. The 306 games from the '15-16 season will be broadcast live on the StarSat Sport channels (TELECOM PAPER, 8/17).
