MP & Silva, "struggling for its existence," lost its deal with Arsenal, according to Ashish Khanna of INSIDE SPORT. Arsenal's termination of its contract with MP & Silva is "yet another major blow" to the agency, which is facing a court battle with Serie A over a $44.4M payment default and has also lost its contract with the Scottish Premier League over "the unpaid media rights fee." The "Arsenal blow" comes after reports of the agency being in a "state of paralysis" amid "serious financial woes with several clients and rights holders ending ties," with some "moving to a legal recourse over unpaid dues and breach of contract." Arsenal confirmed in a statement that it cut ties with MP & Silva "with immediate effect." The club said that it will now "deal directly with global broadcasters" to sell its media rights for the '18-19 season and added that the change in approach will not affect its distribution and presence in int'l markets (INSIDE SPORT, 8/17).
LAGARDÈRE STEPS IN: Lagardère acquired the TV rights to the Handball World Cup from MP & Silva from '19-25. The deal will include the World Championships in '19, '21 and '23, as well as the women's tournaments in each of those years. The deal comes after the Int'l Handball Federation terminated its contract with MP & Silva (IHF).
