None of the 64 World Cup matches from next year's tournament in Russia will be shown on state-run TV in Italy for the first time. Mediaset said that it landed the broadcast rights and "will offer its viewers the most important sporting event of 2018 free and exclusively." Mediaset reportedly paid €78M ($92.5M) for the rights (AP, 12/21).
A consortium led by French billionaire Xavier Niel agreed to buy a majority stake in telecom Eir. Niel's NJJ Telecom Europe and French telecom Iliad "did not disclose what they paid for the stakes" but said that the deal put Eir's enterprise value at around €3.5B ($4.1B) (RTÉ, 12/20).
Ziggo Sport acquired Champions League rights in the Netherlands for the next three seasons. The Dutch pay-TV channel will show live coverage and highlights packages from the European competition "across its linear and digital platforms." In addition to the Champions League, Ziggo Sport will also broadcast the annual UEFA Super Cup (SOCCEREX, 12/21).
Viacom Int'l Media Networks announced its subscribers in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Pacific Islands will be able to watch Bellator MMA events from January. The company acquired the rights from Electus Int'l and will show the fights on its Paramount Channel. It is also looking at helping Bellator stage fight events in Asia in the future (THE DRUM, 12/21).
