BeIN Sports retained the broadcast rights for La Liga in France from next season through ’21. The Qatari-owned broadcaster reportedly will pay €30M ($37M), on average, per year for the rights. This season, beIN Sports is paying €26M ($32M) for the La Liga rights. SFR Sport was interested in the tender "but was outbid by beIN," while Canal+ did not submit a bid (L’ÉQUIPE, 1/22).
Warc anticipates global adspend growth this year to "ring in at a healthy" 4.7%, or $572B. This is thanks to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cup, U.S. mid-term elections and "reduced dollar volatility in emerging markets." Going by region, the factors listed will "contribute to stronger growth" in North America (5%), Asia-Pacific (6%) and Western Europe (2.6%) this year (CAMPAIGN LIVE, 1/23).
The British Basketball League signed a deal with FreeSports, which will broadcast 15 games for the remainder of the season. Starting with the BBL Cup Final on Sunday, the recently-launched free-to-air sports channel will show one game per week on either a Saturday or Sunday (Bristol Flyers).
Eleven Sports secured the live and exclusive rights for the Euro 2020 qualifiers, the European qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup and the inaugural UEFA Nations League in Belgium. For the Euro 2020 qualifiers and 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Eleven Sports will show matches from each matchday, including playoffs and other int'l friendlies. Matches featuring Belgium can be aired on a delayed basis (Eleven Sports).
German cable operator Unitymedia will offer two Ultra HD services from pay-TV broadcaster Sky Deutschland from Jan. 30. Sky subscribers with the UHD recorder Sky+ will be able to receive Sky Sport Bundesliga UHD and Sky Sport UHD (BROADBAND TV NEWS, 1/23).
Sunday’s Ligue 1 match between Olympique Lyonnais and Paris St. Germain, which OL won 2-1, drew an average audience of 1.96 million viewers to Canal+. The match recorded a peak audience of 2.6 million. It was the second-best audience of the season for a Ligue 1 match (L’ÉQUIPE, 1/22).
