A company chaired by former Australian Football League CEO Andrew Demetriou has "played a pivotal role in the hotly contested radio rights negotiations which have threatened Triple M's dominance of football broadcasting on the FM band." Demetriou's sports technology business Beyond Boundaries Global has been advising Triple M's opposition ARN, the network behind Gold and KIIS FM, "which has made a bold play for the FM radio AFL broadcasting rights." In an "ironic twist," the FM radio battle has pitched North Melbourne's soon-to-be-installed Chair Ben Buckley against the outgoing James Brayshaw. Buckley is the CEO of Beyond Boundaries "while Brayshaw is the face of the Triple M coverage." The new radio rights deal, "while only a small financial player in comparison with the wider media rights, is expected to reap" an extra 30% for the competition compared with the last deal (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 7/18).
SUB-SAHARAN FORMULA E: The FIA Formula E Championship will have live streaming access to action from every race of the '16-17 season after an agreement was reached with Econet Media to stream content via the Kwese Sports website. Econet Media has acquired the rights to stream all sessions including practice, qualifying and every race of the racing series, which starts back with the HKT Hong Kong ePrix on Oct. 9. The agreement also gives Kwese Sports exclusive rights, including TV for the '17-18 season. Through the Kwese Sports streaming service, viewers across sub-Saharan Africa will be able to access live Formula E racing action for the first time (Formula E).
MEDIA BRIEFS ...
The England Football League Digital (formerly Football League Interactive FLi) announced the dual appointment of Realise and NeuLion as its new long-term digital partners. U.K.-based digital agency Realise will be tasked with the design and development of EFL Digital's club web and mobile sites as well as implementing the Episerver content management system. The streaming, merchandising and payment services will be provided by U.S.-based NeuLion (EFL).
ITV announced that Francesca Cumani will "co-host ITV’s coverage of racing’s flat season with main presenter Ed Chamberlin." Cumani, daughter of leading Newmarket trainer Luca, "already has broadcast experience in racing," having worked for CNN and Seven Network in Australia. Cumani will cover "up to 50 days" of Flat racing when the station's four-year contract to show domestic action on terrestrial TV begins next year on ITV and ITV4 (PA, 7/19).
Amazon will reportedly "launch its Prime Instance Video platform in Italy, Spain and France" before the end of '16. Although Amazon has "not made any official statement regarding a potential launch," reports indicated that a representative from the company had started to “float the concept” with local parliamentarians. The report also "noticed that the brand names have been registered in France" (BROADBAND TV NEWS, 7/18).
