Brewery Greene King decided to stop airing the ad titled "The Knockabout" featuring England cricketer Ben Stokes "after his arrest following a bar brawl" in Bristol, England. However, Greene King IPA remains the official beer of the England & Wales Cricket Board. Another video of Ben Stokes "mimicking the 15-year old disabled son" of TV personality Katie Price has "further fueled the controversy" (THE DRUM, 9/30).
German media company Constantin Medien will not sell sports broadcaster Sport1 or advertising sales arm Sport1 Media. The management board decided on Friday to "terminate the structured, competitive bidding process regarding a possible sale of Sport1 and Sport1 Media with immediate effect," according to a statement, adding that, "as part of Constantin Medien's concentration on the sports segment, the company will mainly focus on the strategic and operative development" of 360-degree sports platform Sport1 and production company Plazamedia (BROADBAND TV NEWS, 9/29).
Digital music streaming service Deezer extended its partnership with TalkSport, the global audio partner of the Premier League in the Asia-Pacific, to "capture the growing sports market." Users in Australia and Malaysia will "have full access to all English Premier League" games including pre-match, halftime and post-match programming. There are "live commentaries in English for users in Australia" (THE DRUM, 9/28).
