Sports On Telly

News and updates on UK sports rights broadcasting deals and fixture scheduling.

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BT Sport extends WRC broadcast deal

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World Rally Championship will remain on BT Sport until at least 2024 after the broadcaster and WRC Promoter extended their existing deal.

The extension will see BT mark a decade of WRC coverage and kicks in next season when the Championship launches a new era of hybrid-powered cars from Evans’ Toyota Gazoo Racing squad, Greensmith’s M-Sport Ford team and Hyundai Motorsport.

BT will cover every special stage from every championship round as it happens. In additions fans will enjoy expert analysis from rallies, key interviews with the top stars and behind-the-scenes features. 

A pre-event magazine show, daily highlights capturing all the twists and turns on the leaderboard and a post-rally review programme are also part of the extended agreement.

“British rally fans have celebrated some stellar moments over the years, cheering on as they watched TV coverage of Colin McRae and Richard Burns bringing WRC championship glory to their shores,” said Philipp Maenner, media rights director at WRC Promoter.

“Now a new generation of British drivers is focused on emulating those amazing achievements. I’m delighted that, as the WRC travels the globe to compete in picture-postcard locations and gruelling conditions, BT Sport will continue to screen the thrills and spills from every round. 

“The introduction of sustainable hybrid technology next year for the WRC’s headline category marks one of the biggest milestones in the sport’s history and this extension means British fans will be right there from the beginning.”

Rachel Knight, Sports Rights Director, BT Sport added: “Today’s news not only extends our successful long-term relationship with WRC Promoter, it builds on our existing motorsports coverage of Moto GP, Extreme E and Moto E. 

“BT Sport is passionate about sustainability and we aim to become one of the greenest broadcasters globally, so we welcome the chance to showcase WRC’s landmark hybrid evolution from 2022.”

All or Nothing: Arsenal is coming to Amazon Prime Video in 2022

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Prime Video subscribers will get “an unprecedented” inside-look at the Premier League’s 2021/22 season with All or Nothing: Arsenal.

The next instalment in the hit Amazon Original documentary series will take viewers behind the curtain during a crucial season at one of the world’s biggest football clubs, as Arsenal focus their efforts on challenging for domestic success and returning to elite European competition. 

As well as capturing the highs and lows of life at the Emirates Stadium and the Arsenal Training Centre, the All or Nothing cameras will follow Arsenal’s squad away from the pitch to examine the daily challenges faced by elite athletes throughout a demanding calendar of high-pressure competition.

“We are looking forward to giving our fans around the world a unique insight into how we work day to day. We have one of the biggest global followings in the game and one consistent thing we hear from fans is their desire to see more about what happens behind closed doors at the club,” said Mark Gonnella, Arsenal’s Media and Communications Director. 

“All or Nothing will give our fans and sport lovers an opportunity to learn more about what makes Arsenal such a special club, our trophy laden history and our ambitions for future success.”

“Arsenal is a historic club going through a fascinating period, and we can’t wait to take viewers behind-the-scenes on the journey of this crucial season,” said DanGrabiner, Head of UK Originals, Amazon Studios.

DAZN and Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom confirm 5 year deal

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DAZN has confirmed details of its five-year tie-up with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom, news of which first leaked last month and makes the streaming service the global home of Matchroom’s stable of fighters.

At least 16 Matchroom UK fights available to subscribers in the UK and Ireland each year.

The deal also expands the existing DAZN and Matchroom partnerships across the U.S., Italy and Spain, with more events planned in these countries, and ensures all Matchroom UK events will remain available to fight fans on DAZN in the U.S. 

The first output from the deal will be the return of the Matchroom Fight Camp series spanning three back-to-back weekends from July 31st.

Details of fights, including highly-anticipated domestic, European and World title match-ups, will be confirmed “in due course”.

The £1.99 subscription offer first announced at the time of DAZN’s UK launch will remain in place for new subscribers throughout the three-week Matchroom Fight Camp series.

DAZN Co-CEO James Rushton said: “Game. Changed. This historic deal builds on the success and momentum of our long-term partnership with Matchroom around the world and solidifies DAZN at the forefront of the global sports streaming era. 

“Together, we are committed to building the new home of boxing in the UK and Ireland while continuing to grow the global home of boxing in a way that matches today’s evolving viewing habits and brings fans all over the world more of the most premium live action, more round-the-clock global storytelling, and more broadcast and content innovations – only on DAZN.” 

Eddie Hearn added:“We have made the monumental decision to sign a historic 5-year deal with sports streaming giant DAZN. This means that our UK events will now be broadcast live on DAZN along with all Matchroom shows across the world.

“Pushing the boundaries is something we will always continue to do and we needed a partner that shared our vision for boxing, and who was also willing to make the investment to make those dreams a reality. 

“This is also an amazing opportunity for our newly formed production and content business, Matchroom Media, who will now be responsible for live production across our events, working in close collaboration with DAZN and enabling us to form a cradle to grave mindset across inception to completion of our shows so we can deliver the live event experience to the viewer in the narrative and style in which we have built it. 

“As we continue Matchroom’s expansion worldwide, this new deal will enable us to further cement DAZN as THE unrivalled global home of boxing. Our aim, alongside DAZN, is to create the biggest and best live fight nights and deliver a viewing experience that is truly game-changing.”

Ultimate Tennis Showdown returns to Eurosport

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A galaxy of top stars, a host of innovations, from some of the world’s iconic locations – sports fans can take a look into what tennis could look like in the future when Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) Season 2 returns to Eurosport screens in 2021.

Eurosport has secured the rights to all of the UTS Season 2 events on a pan-European basis (excluding France) as well as in India in 2021, starting in May at the Mouratoglou Academy (24-25 May) ahead of the second Grand Slam of the year at Roland-Garros. 

The opening UTS event is set to feature an exciting line-up including world number two Daniil Medvedev “The Chessmaster” as well as top 10 player Diego Schwartzman “El Peque” and charismatic Fabio Fognini “Fogna”.

The UTS complements Eurosport’s existing tennis portfolio that includes all four tennis Grand Slams across Europe* in addition to rights to broadcast the ATP Tour in 10 markets** and WTA Tour in Russia.

Trojan Paillot, VP Rights Acquisitions, Eurosport, said: “We are delighted to be able to bring the UTS to the screens of millions of tennis fans across the world once again after a successful series in 2020. The UTS has clear has synergies with Eurosport – both look to constantly innovate and both look to continue to push the boundaries in order to appeal to new and younger audiences. 

“With some of the top players in the world taking part in this relatively young format, it should be both a highly watchable tournament with plenty of world-class action on the court.”

Patrick Mouratoglou said: “Eurosport was a key player in the success of UTS Season 1, which has been seen by millions of fans around the world. It was an obvious choice to partner with Europe’s leading sports channel for the broadcasting of UTS Season 2. One of our goals is to democratize tennis and attract a larger and younger fanbase, and we know that through Eurosport, we will be able to reach out to a very large and passionate audience.”

BBC Sport to show IAAF Diamond League until 2024

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BBC Sport today announce a new rights deal which sees every IAAF Diamond League event live on the BBC until 2024.

The new four-year deal kicks off with live coverage from Gateshead from 7pm, 23 May on BBC Two.

The 2021 series will see 14 meetings in total, with a Doha meet following Gateshead on 28 May. Meetings will then take place at other locations throughout the summer before ending with a two-day meet in Zurich in September. All will be available live on the BBC across either network TV or BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio and BBC Red Button.

The Diamond League showcases the best track and field starts in the world. Viewers can watch how leading British athletes, including Dina Asher-Smith, Laura Muir, Adam Gemili, Holly Bradshaw and Katarina Johnson-Thompson perform around the jewel in the crown this summer, Tokyo Olympic Games.

This new deal adds to the BBC existing athletics portfolio which includes the Olympic Games, World Athletics Championships, European Championships and the Commonwealth Games. Alongside the London Marathon, Great North Run and Great Manchester Run plus the European and World Indoor Championships.

Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport said: “These events showcase the very best talent that athletics has to offer as well as the emergence of the stars of the future. 

“In what is set to be a thrilling year for the sport, we’re delighted to bring viewers a wealth of live athletics coverage from the Diamond League.”

Eleven Portugal renews Ligue 1 rights

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Eleven Portugal has extended its partnership with Ligue 1 for an additional three seasons.

The deal means the service will continue to be the exclusive home of France’s top tier in Portugal until 2023/24. In total, Eleven will deliver 381 games a season live and exclusively across its linear and OTT platforms. 

Jorge Pavão de Sousa, Managing Director of Eleven Portugal, said: “This renewal is part of a wider strategy of consolidating our content portfolio Portugal, to ensure we deliver the best possible offering to Eleven viewers in the seasons to come. 

“The Ligue 1 Uber Eats is a fantastic competition, and we look forward to continuing to showcase talents like Neymar Jr, Kylian Mbappe, Gelson Martins, Renato Sanches and Anthony Lopes on Eleven. 

“We’d like to thank Ligue 1 for their ongoing support and belief in our service and we look forward to continuing to continuing to champion the best of French football to Portuguese fans in the seasons ahead.”