Latin American pay-TV is dominated by DirecTV/Sky and Claro/America Movil, which will reportedly "together account for nearly half" the region’s pay-TV subs by the end of '16. This share "will be maintained for the next five years." Three more pan-regional operators, Telefonica/Movistar, Tigo/Millicom and Liberty Global, "harbor ambitions to increase their regional market shares" (BROADBAND TV NEWS, 8/23).
COPPA ITALIA IN RUSSIA: Eurosport will air the Coppa Italia in Russia. According to Sports.ru, the Discovery-owned pay-TV network "will show the action from the knock-out competition via its Eurosport Player digital service, after striking a deal with the B4 Capital agency." London-based B4 Capital acquired the int'l media rights "to the Coppa Italia last summer as part of a deal reportedly worth" around $20M per season until '18 (SOCCEREX, 8/23).
LESPORTS NEWS: Chinese broadcaster LeSports is "testing the pay-per-view model on broadcasts of some of Italy's Serie A matches in China." LeSports "bought the Serie A rights" from sports media company MP & Silva in '15. Games were broadcast free-to-air during the '15-16 season, but LeSports has said that "it will now charge for some games this season." It will "charge for two out of the 10 games in each round of the Serie A season," while the other matches will remain free-to-air (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 8/24). ... LeSports Hong Kong acquired the 2016 US Open Tennis Championships exclusive broadcasting rights in Hong Kong. Live-streaming of all tournament matches starts from Aug. 29 to Sept. 12 on LeSports HK platforms. Matthew Mui, Gary To, Irene Chui and Tong Ka Po will gather at LeSports HK to commentate (LeSports).
WOMEN'S RUGBY: After acquiring the TV rights to France’s Top 8 women’s rugby competition in March, Eurosport has “announced the format for the women’s competition on its channels.” There will be “four regular matches broadcast throughout the year, as well as the semifinals and the final.” The Top 8 season starts on Saturday and Eurosport 1 will broadcast the first match between Lille-Villeneuve d’Ascq and Ovalie Romagnatoise Clermont Auvergne. The Top 8 final will also be co-broadcast by France 4 (MEDIA SPORTIF, 8/23).
