Welcome to our regular look at the world of the Irish and international sports media, the stories, the numbers and the organisations that are, more than ever before, our window on the world of sport…
This week we look at a return to Sky of the US Open Tennis, greater visibility than ever for the Heineken Champions Cup, the NFL on gambling sites, soaring streaming numbers from the World Cup in Qatar, and a new Podcast that dives into the legals of John Delaney’s battles with the Corporate Enforcement Authority…
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US OPEN TENNIS RETURNS TO SKY
Sky Sports has today announced a new five-year partnership with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) for the US Open Championships, welcoming tennis back to Sky Sports and reaffirming the broadcaster as the home of live sport in the UK and Ireland.
The new agreement will begin with the 2023 US Open at Flushing Meadows, starting on August 28th, with Sky Sports holding the exclusive broadcast rights up to and including the 2027 event.
Sky Sports will have access to all individual court feeds, broadcasting a minimum of 135 hours of competition throughout the two-week Grand Slam tournament. Across Sky Sports’ linear channels and on Sky Sports digital and social channels, extensive coverage will provide content for both existing tennis fans and new audiences. The agreement includes coverage of both the Men’s and Women’s tournaments, alongside respective Double’s, Mixed Doubles, Juniors, and Wheelchair competitions.
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ENGLAND EXIT SEEN BY 23 MILLION HOME VIEWERS
England came up short once again in the World Cup last weekend, exiting the tournament at the Quarter Final stage against France.
The performance and the opposition meant that it was greeted more philosophically than in years gone by and the support for the team was evident through an average audience of 20.4 million viewers on ITV, and a peak of 23 million.
In France the average on TF1 was 17.7 million with a peak of 20.1 million.
That was the biggest French audience for a World Cup quarter final since 2006, boding well for Sunday’s Final against Argentina.
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EPCR GAMES NOW VISIBLE IN 100 COUNTRIES
The opening games of the Heineken Champions Cup last weekend were viewed in more countries around the world than ever before as a result of new deals brokered by Infront and River Media Partners.
These include broadcasts to India for the first time as well as to the Nordic countries through Viaplay, the new owners of Setanta Sport.
In New Zealand, Sky will now show 63 games from the Champions Cup through the season as well as the Challenge Cup Final which will be broadcast live from the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
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STREAMING NUMBERS SOAR
The England Final was also streamed a total of 15.3 million times on devices on Saturday night. The Morocco Vs Portugal game the following day was streamed 8.2 million times.
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NFL ALLOWS THE FIRST GAME STREAMED ON A GAMBLING SITE
It has become familiar in Europe with Livescore having the rights to broadcast all UEFA Champions League games in Ireland on its betting-powered app, but America has always been the holy grail for gambling companies and now the NFL has allowed the first of five games to be streamed by the Caesars Palace online service.
A relaxation of regulation around betting has accelerated over the past two years.
The Indianapolis Colts against the Dallas Cowboys was the first game to be streamed by Genius Sports a ma=jor provider of in game data, itself a significant driver of gambling propositions.
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JOHN DELANEY’S PRIVILEGE
In episode one of a new Podcast series from Sport for Business members William Fry, host Craig Sowman, Partner and head of the Sports and Entertainment Group, was joined by colleagues, Derek Hegarty, Partner and Patrick Murphy, Senior Associate.
They looked at the recent decision of the High Court in proceedings between the Corporate Enforcement Authority and the FAI, to which its former CEO, John Delaney is a notice party.
It’s a ten-minute wrap on a complex area bringing in issues of shareholder disputes, family law and more, ultimately rejecting the privilege claimed by the former CEO of the FAI.
