Sky Sports was outbid for the Irish rights to Pro14 matches by eir Sport, which will take over from next season. Sky's strategy was based on having the rights for both the U.K. and Ireland. Having lost out in the Emerald Isle, it "will now not be involved at all." Pay-TV and free-to-air companies are reportedly now involved in bidding for the rights in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and "potentially" England (WALES ONLINE, 1/15).
Motorsport.tv rolled out the seminal film history of motor race 24 Hours of Le Mans, thanks to a partnership agreement between race organizer the Automobile Club de l'Ouest and Motorsport Network. The archive includes more than 70 films covering the race since '33. Motorsport.tv will also feature future races to ensure an unbroken film record (Motorsport).
Late last year, Channel 9 announced a "major shakeup" for the "NRL Footy Show," cutting ties with Darryl Brohman and "painting a giant question mark over Beau Ryan's contract." Longtime host Paul Vautin was also "given the boot" after 23 years. On Monday, the network announced Ryan and Brohman's regular segments would "get another lease on life," with the former players returning to TV screens in '18 after all. Vautin's hosting gig was not "resuscitated" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 1/15).
We.Stream and Sky Sports agreed to a pilot of the company's secure mobile Wi-Fi hotspot. Sky Sports Technical Manager Ian Brash said, "Through We.Stream, we will have secure, cost-effective data access in over 100 countries for the first time. Our partners can be assured that any confidential information they share with us is in safe hands and is received instantly" (BROADBAND TV NEWS, 1/15).
CBC and Radio-Canada partnered with Telelatino Network Inc. to give Canadians access to coverage of the Olympic Games in Italian and Spanish for the next two editions as well as in Portuguese for Tokyo 2020 (CBC/Radio-Canada).
