Football is at the center of Now TV's new mobile package in the Italian market. Now TV Mobile is introducing a "dedicated app for mobile and tablet devices" that includes coverage of Serie A, Premier League and the Europa League. Sky Italia divided its Now TV Sports tickets into two. For €19.99 ($21.44), the monthly football ticket covers Serie A, Serie B and the Europa League. A second ticket -- priced between €9.99 ($10.72) for a day and €29.99 ($32.17) for the month -- also includes the Premier League, Formula 1, MotoGP, basketball, tennis and rugby (BROADBAND TV NEWS 4/21).
The Sun published an apology to Everton and England footballer Ross Barkley over a column by Kelvin MacKenzie in which he "compared the midfielder to a gorilla." The piece, headlined "Ross Barkley: Sun apology," appeared after the April 14 opinion piece in the paper "sparked uproar and accusations of racism" (PA, 4/22).
The Europa League match between Olymique Lyonnais and Beşiktaş, broadcast on W9 on Thursday, drew an average audience of 2.2 million viewers. The number translated to a 10.2% market share for the channel. The audience peaked at 2.5 million as the game ended (L’ÉQUIPE, 4/21).