ESPN Latin America touted a sponsorship package it sold to FedEx around the World Cup. FedEx signed up as the title sponsor of its series "Last Train to Russia." But it also included on-air sponsorships, where the network's hosts in Russia received gifts from home on air. The gifts were presented to the talent -- Everaldo Marques, David Gutierrez, Tomás Boy -- via FedEx boxes (John Ourand, Staff Writer).
Thierry Henry quit his £4M ($5.3M)-a-year role as a Sky Sports pundit "to pursue his ambition of becoming a manager." The former Arsenal striker helped Belgium to a third-place finish at this summer's World Cup as part of Roberto Martínez's coaching staff and said that his experiences on the sidelines fueled his "desire to forge a career in the dugout" (London DAILY MAIL, 7/16).
Scottish Premiership side Celtic fans are "set to have their say after every game following the launch of Celtic Fans TV." The new YouTube channel will debut after the club's Champions League first round, second-leg qualifier against Alashkert on Wednesday, with fans "encouraged to find the presenter outside the Emirates Arena straight after the game" (SCOTSMAN, 7/16).
PCCW Media and broadcaster beIN Sports are collaborating to offer La Liga football on Now TV during the '18-19 season. Viewers will also be able to watch top-flight football from France and Italy on Now TV "following the addition of beIN Sports 1 and beIN Sports 2 channels on PCCW's Hong Kong cable TV network." Now TV and beIN Sports said that they will offer coverage of all 380 matches per season "on a co-branded channel" (RAPID TV NEWS, 7/16).
CBC Sports announced it will offer more than 18 hours of broadcast coverage of the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 from July 20-22 in San Francisco, Calif., including all Canadian matches and championship rounds. All men's and women's matches will be available to stream at cbcsports.ca and via the CBC Sports app. Radio-Canada Sports will also offer live streaming coverage of every match (CBC Sports).
