Nissan and bet365 have "signed three-year deals to sponsor live Premier League football on Sky Sports," according to Simon Gwynn of CAMPAIGN LIVE. The season starts on Aug. 13, with "newly-promoted Hull City hosting champions Leicester City in the first fixture," at 12:30pm. This will be the "first of 126 games shown on Sky throughout the year -- more than any previous season." The partnership deals will see bet365 sponsor Monday and Friday night games -- "marking the first time the Premier League has had regular Friday fixtures." Bet365 will "also sponsor all games shown on the dedicated Sky Sports channel provided to commercial premises." Nissan, meanwhile, "will sponsor all Saturday and Sunday matches." Alongside TV coverage, the carmaker "will be the sole sponsor for Premier League previews, reviews, articles, stats, facts and figures on the Sky Sports website." The new sponsorships "were negotiated by Sky Media," the advertising sales division of Sky with Manning Gottlieb acting for Nissan and with Drummond Central and Republic of Media working for bet365 (CAMPAIGN LIVE, 7/7).
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES: In London, Jack de Menezes reported Sky Sports revealed the live Premier League fixtures that it "will broadcast throughout the first two months" of the '16-17 season. In "a swap" from last season, Sky will now broadcast the early Saturday fixture as the new TV broadcasting rights deal "kicks in for the Premier League," with BT Sport taking up the 5:30pm kickoff. Sky Sports will "continue to show two matches on the majority of Sundays throughout the season," with the opening weekend set to see Jose Mourinho’s first competitive match as ManU manager shown live at 1:30pm when the club takes on Bournemouth before a "hotly-anticipated clash" between Arsenal and Liverpool at 4pm. As well as showing Mourinho's first match, Sky Sports "will also boast Antonio Conte's opening fixture as Chelsea manager" when the club takes on West Ham in the first London derby of the season. BT Sport meanwhile "will broadcast Pep Guardiola’s first match" in charge of Man City on Saturday evening as the former Bayern Munich manager "opens his account up against Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium" (INDEPENDENT, 7/6).
MANU GETS FULL SET: Also in London, James Lorenzo reported ManU's first six Premier League matches of the season will all be televised in a sign that its "underwhelming last campaign under Louis van Gaal has not diminished" its appeal to broadcasters. ManU finished fifth last season and "will be without Champions League football for the second time in three seasons as a result," but the club's "pulling power remains as strong for Sky Sports and BT Sport," which will televise four and two of Mourinho’s opening games, respectively (LONDON TIMES, 7/7).
