LaLiga have released a statement insisting they still have hope for their planned Miami fixture later this season.
A court in Madrid have blocked the game in the interim, however it will be settled properly in February next year.
The statement from LaLiga says:
Madrid’s Mercantile Court No. 12 today decided not to grant interim measures to stage an official LaLiga match in Miami in a case about the pending authorisation from the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
LaLiga respects this decision, which does not prejudge the substance of the matter, which will be permanently settled in February 2020.
Staging an official LaLiga match abroad is part of a long-term LaLiga strategy for international growth. We hope that from February forth LaLiga will be able to organise an official match beyond Spanish borders.
Bringing clubs closer to their global fans represents a significant opportunity to connect with them and to continue working to increase LaLiga’s followers around the world. This international growth leads to benefits for the clubs, their players, their fans, LaLiga as a whole, Spanish football and the brand of Spain.
BT Sport have secured the rights to all 420 games of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and the new UEFA Europa Conference League, for a further three seasons until 2024.
There was a 26 per cent increase in UEFA Champions League viewer hours on BT Sport last season, with the UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool and Spurs available for all to watch in the UK on social media, and a record breaking 11.3m people tuning in across all platforms.
Marc Allera, CEO of BT’s Consumer Division, said: “We’re delighted to remain the home of UEFA Champions League in the UK. BT Sport leads the way when it comes to UEFA Champions League coverage, and we’re very excited to continue to bring our world class coverage to one of the most exciting football competitions in the world – whether that’s broadcasting 12 games simultaneously or delivering industry leading images in 4K UHD.
“With increasingly more ways to watch our content, with more games on show than ever before, and alongside our excellent line up of other competitions and sports, BT Sport is going from strength to strength.”
UEFA Marketing Director Guy Laurent Epstein said: “UEFA is delighted to continue its strong partnership with BT until 2024. All matches will be available across the BT Sport channels and digital services and in addition UK football fans will be able to enjoy club competition highlights for free on social media each match week, as well as the finals to the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and the newly formed UEFA Europa Conference League.
“Its high quality production and programming standards set the bar for the industry and audiences will continue to enjoy the competitions in new ways via BT’s innovative approach as it showcases new technologies.”
DAZN has claimed the rights to show the new Davis Cup in Brazil until after the 2021 event.
The online streaming service has agreed to show the next three editions of the competition, beginning later this month, after signing a deal with the International Tennis Federation.
DAZN’s Vice President of Partnerships in Brazil, Sérgio Floris, said: “Tennis fans who are already watching WTA on DAZN will now have more opportunities to watch tennis on the platform. We are happy to offer quality content to our subscribers, which is an absolute priority for us.
“Tennis is one of the most beloved sports. Brazilian fans and I’m sure that both the Davis Cup and Bruno Soares series, which deals with their intimate relationship with family and sport, will please the public.”
BT Sport have secured the rights to all 420 games of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and the new UEFA Europa Conference League, for a further three seasons until 2024.
IOC + Japan Consortium
The IOC Has Awarded The Japan Consortium the broadcast rights in Japan For the Olympic Games during the period between 2026 and 2032.
Honda + NHL
Honda and the National Hockey League today announced a multiyear renewal of their partnership, which keeps Honda as the NHL’s Official Automotive Partner in the United States and Canada through the 2021-22 season.
Formula E + BBC
Formula E will return to the BBC for its sixth season, with every race available live and free-to-air on BBC online platforms and two races to be shown live on BBC channels.
Heineken + UEFA
Heineken has become the official beer partner of UEFA EURO 2020, as well as extending its UEFA Champions League partnership for another three years.
Wizards District Gaming + Alarm.com
Esports team will wear a jersey patch of Alarm.com
French Tennis Federation + Wilson Sporting Goods
Wilson will become the official ball of the French Open.
Hookit’s latest social media rankings have been published, showing Cristiano Ronaldo as the most highly interacted with athlete on social media platforms once again. View the full video on iSportconnect TV – https://tv.isportconnect.com/en-int/playerpage/88341
Ronaldo dominates once more, nearly doubling the number of interactions second-placed Lionel Messi produces.
Aerial cameras have emerged as a unique and immersive part of sports broadcasting in recent years. But having a high-definition camera flying more than 20 metres above the action is no easy task.
With 11 of its 20 stadiums now using the technology, LaLiga Santander provides more of these cameras than any other football competition. To enable this, a huge team effort has been created across Spain, combining some of the leading audiovisual techniques to ensure the best experience for watching fans.
Aerial cameras can be found this season at the stadiums of Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, CD Leganés, Getafe CF, Sevilla FC, Real Betis, Valencia CF, RCD Espanyol de Barcelona, Athletic Club and Granada CF, while Real Sociedad will soon become the 12th club to install the technology in its Reale Arena stadium.
Making this possible are six expert ‘piloting’ teams from Mediapro, the official producer of LaLiga. Stationed at every match where the aerial camera system is in use, these three-person teams are responsible for managing the huge infrastructure that has been put in place.
First, there is a technician who supervises the structure itself. Provided by Omnicam4sky, the system consists of four pulleys with moving cables and four 160kg motors. If the stadium roof cannot support this weight, four separate lighting towers are required. All of this is installed 21m above pitch level, a recommended ideal height that LaLiga follows.
Second, a camera operator manages the framing, zoom and focus for the match. The high-definition cameras use a 4/3, 14x zoom wide-angle lens, able to cover an area of 155 metres by 44 metres, larger than any standard football pitch.
Working with the third team member, a technical assistant, the camera is then mounted to the cables which can withstand a weight of 980kg, more than adequate for the 40kg device. This allows the camera to fly above the action, piloted by two team members using consoles and corresponding software. The camera can reach speeds of 36 km/h or 10 metres per second, ensuring it can keep up with the on-field action.
The final piece of the puzzle arrives in the form of fibre-optic cables, which transmit the footage from the stadium to a mobile broadcasting unit. This allows directors to share instructions with the camera operators, requesting a players-eye-view of a set-play, a wide-angle image of the entire stadium or a replay of a key incident.
When the stadium is empty, the team carries out its final task of disassembling the camera and transporting it to the next game. It is a significant undertaking on the part of the audiovisual team, but it is one that brings fans closer than ever before to their favourite teams and players, while keeping LaLiga at the forefront of technological innovation.
Continental Tyres and The FA today announced the extension of their partnership to September 2021. This renewal will see Continental Tyres reach their 10-year milestone of continued support for Women’s Football in England since first signing as a founding partner of The FA Women’s Super League.
Continental Tyres now remains the official tyre partner to the England Women’s Senior Team and continues their uninterrupted role as title partner to ‘The FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup’ since the inaugural competition in 2011.
The FA’s Head of Women’s Marketing and Commercial, Marzena Bogdanowicz, said: “We are delighted that Continental Tyres has chosen to continue to partner the Women’s game in England. Since they first supported women’s football, huge strides have been made on and off the pitch and they’ve been an integral part of The FA’s journey to grow the game. Following the record crowd at Saturday’s Wembley Stadium fixture, the future is very exciting, and we’re delighted that Continental Tyres will be a part of it.”
Tracey Mortimer, Marketing Director of Continental Tyres UK & Ireland added: “It’s a really exciting time for women’s football, having seen the recent record attendance at Wembley Stadium and massive growth in attendances at domestic matches, the Women’s game in England continues on a fantastic journey. We are delighted to be renewing this commitment to the Women’s game and in particular look forward to continuing support of The FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup, and being part of the Lionesses’ journey towards our 10-year anniversary, and a home UEFA Women’s EURO in 2021”
Formula E will return to the BBC for its sixth season, with every race available live and free-to-air on BBC online platforms and two races to be shown live on BBC channels.
As well as the whole season being broadcast online, Formula E fans will be able to watch both the Marrakesh E-Prix in Morocco on February 29 and Rome E-Prix on April 4 on the BBC’s TV network channels.
Jerome Hiquet, Chief Marketing Officer at the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, said: “We want the ABB FIA Formula E Championship to be accessible to the widest possible audience and with five British drivers on the grid, Formula E fans in the UK will need to choose who they are getting behind when racing returns to London in July next summer.
“The British contingent may outnumber the other famous names in the field, but they face stiff competition with the arrival of Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, as well as the current F2 champion Nyck De Vries choosing to join Formula E for the start of the new season.”
Formula E made its terrestrial debut on the BBC last season when the Hong Kong E-Prix was shown live on BBC Two in March, with the early morning race attracting more than half a million viewers across all linear and digital platforms. All Formula E races this season will also be broadcast on Eurosport, with select events also shown live and free-to-air on Quest.
The IOC Has Awarded The Japan Consortium the broadcast rights in Japan For the Olympic Games during the period between 2026 and 2032.
The broadcaster has acquired the exclusive television and digital broadcast rights with a commitment to broadcast its most comprehensive coverage ever across all media platforms, including every single Olympic sport, with unprecedented digital content and Olympic Games coverage on free-to-air national television channels.
IOC President Thomas Bach said: “With the eyes of the world focused on the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo, we are delighted to continue and strengthen our partnership with a long-term broadcast partner which has successfully promoted the Olympic values in Japan since the last time the Olympic Games were in Tokyo, in 1964. Thanks to the Japan Consortium’s sports broadcasting expertise and its passion for the Olympic values, we can ensure outstanding broadcast coverage of the Olympic Games in the years to come. The Japan Consortium’s significant financial commitment over the course of our partnership is great news for the entire Olympic Movement, since the IOC distributes more than 90 per cent of the revenue generated through its commercial agreements to support athletes and develop sport worldwide.”
JBA President Yoshio Okubo further commented: “We are pleased to announce that the Japan Consortium has been awarded broadcast rights for four Olympic Games scheduled for 2026 and onwards. The JC, along with the Japan Pool (JP), its predecessor, has been instrumental in bringing the splendour of the Olympic Games to Japanese audiences over the years, beginning with the Olympic Games Montreal 1976 and the Olympic Winter Games Nagano 1998.
I am confident that the JC, which comprises the public broadcaster NHK and commercial broadcasters, is best equipped, amidst the fast-changing environment surrounding the media and sport, to deliver the Olympic Games to the viewers in Japan with the latest in TV broadcasting technology available. With the new contract under our belt, we are set to forge our relationship with the IOC for 10 more years and beyond. The JC will continue its commitment to the delivery of the excitement generated by the Olympic Games to our viewers through broadcasts and transmissions on other platforms in partnership with the IOC.”
IMG have had a big restructure which has seen Sam Zussman and Adam Kelly appointed Co-Presidents of the now renamed ‘IMG Media and Events’. Meanwhile, IMG’s media activities will now be headed up by new Chairman Ioris Francini, who had been the IMG Media President.
Ben Ladkin has become the Managing Director of MLB Europe.
Mark Alford will take over as the new Director of Sky Sports News when he leaves SkyNews following the upcoming UK General Election.
Andrew Ryan is now the Managing Director of FIBA Media.
Russell Scibetti has joined the New York Giants as Vice President, Strategy and Business Intelligence.
Laurie Dalrymple is now Harlequins Chief Executive.
Sanjay Gupta has joined Google to be their Country Manager for India.
Six Nations Rugby have announced Rupert Hunter as Chief Commercial Advisor.
Onefootball have appointed Edward Desbois as Head of UK Sales.
Right Formula have announced Luke Organ as their new Managing Director, Commercial.
Jason Johns is Applicaster’s new VP of Sales, EMEA and APAC.
