Mediaset España acquired the rights to the 2017 and 2021 EuroBasket tournaments as well as the 2019 FIBA World Cup. The broadcaster's Telecinco, Cuatro and Be Mad channels, as well as online platform Mitele, "will carry the championships." Starting in November, Mediaset will also air all of Spain's qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China (MUNDO DEPORTIVO, 5/4).
Formula 1 agreed to a multi-year media deal with Canal+ for the broadcast rights of all Grand Prix events, including F2 and GP3 on Canal+ and Canal+Sport. The deal will begin in March ’18 and marks the first major media rights agreement under F1’s new ownership (F1). L’ÉQUIPE reported the agreement extends Canal’s existing deal through ’21. In ’13, after 20 years on TF1, Canal won the broadcast rights to F1 for €29M per year, excluding production costs estimated at €20M per season (L’ÉQUIPE, 5/4).
The first leg semifinal Europa League match between Olympique Lyonnais and Ajax Amsterdam, broadcast on W9 in France, was watched by an average audience of 1.3 million viewers. The numbers translated to a market share of 6.7%. The second semifinal match between the clubs will be broadcast in primetime on M6 and beIN Sports (L’ÉQUIPE, 5/4).
ITV is "under fire from some of its biggest shareholders" as they accused CEO Adam Crozier of leaving “a job half done.” The 53-year-old will stand down in June "after seven years in charge of Britain’s biggest commercial broadcaster." A top 10 shareholder in the company said that he was "really disappointed" in the timing of Crozier's departure (London TELEGRAPH, 5/3).
