RIGHTS FEES
=> Al Jazeera Sports has signed a 6-year deal to distribute international broadcast rights for French soccer’s top-tier Ligue 1 after the LFP decided against continuing with incumbent rights-holder Canal Plus Events. Al Jazeera’s deal will run from the 2012/13 to 2017/18 season and include the second-tier Ligue 2, France’s league cup competition and the Trophée des Champions. Al Jazeera’ deal is reportedly worth an average minimum guarantee of €32 mil ($46.1 mil) per season.
=> Canal Plus Events had signed a 4-year deal with the LFP in 2008 to sell the Ligue 1 international rights, with option of another 4 years from 2012-13 to 2015-16, but was defeated in the bidding by Al Jazeera. Canal Plus Events’ deal had involved a minimum guarantee of €179 mil over 8 years, including a minimum payment of €68 mil (or €17 mil /season) from 2008/09 to 11/12. C+E was set to provide €111 mil (or €27.75 mil /season) over 4 years from 2012/13 to 15/16, had it won an extension. Last year, C+E was surprisingly not appointed by the LFP to sell the 2010 Trophée des Champions despite having done so in 2009, with the LFP selling rights directly in some territories and use agencies elsewhere.
=> Italian pubcaster, RAI, has renewed its deal with the Italian soccer federation, for a further 4 years. RAI will pay €124 mil ($177 mil) to show all home competitive and friendly matches involving the Italian national senior team and under-21s until 2014, including the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign and European Championship. Following patterns across other European markets where Euro 2012 has been sold, RAI will likely pay less than the €115 mil ($161 mil) it paid for Euro 2008. The FIGC added that a series of high-profile friendlies will be played over the course of the contract, "more so than in the previous four years," including matches against Germany, Spain, France and the Netherlands and, potentially, Argentina or Brazil. The previous four-year deal between Rai and the FIGC expired at the end of 2010.
=> Swansea City will pocket £90 mil ($148.5 mil) after beating Reading 4-2 in the Championship play-off to gain promotion to the Premier League. Swansea will receive over £40 mil in TV revenue, as a result of being promoted via yesterday's match, dubbed 'the richest game in soccer,' as well as an additional £48 million even if they are relegated after just one season, thanks to the Premier League's parachute payments, which are staggered over four years. Swansea will be the first Welsh team to play in the EPL since its establishment in 1992, and were the last Welsh team to play in top-flight English soccer in the 1982-83 season.
BIZ & BITES
=> The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has selected Zee TV's Subhash Chandra as the honoree for this year's International Emmy Directorate Award. Chandra is a pioneer of Indian pay-TV and founder of Zee TV, India's first Hindi-language satellite channel in 1992 and subsequently building a broad portfolio of media assets, including additional local and international channels and a cable-TV platform. Chandra will receive the honor at the International Emmy Awards Gala on November 21.
=> Sepp Blatter was combative in a press conference Monday in Zurich where he asserted that the only case worth following up on was the one that his rivals for power have been called up on. Accusations against two of his most senior former allies, Mohd Bin Hammam and Jack Warner, needed to be vigorously investigated and the rest were but "difficulties" that could be internally sorted out. Blatter also asserted he was determined to stand unopposed in Wednesday’s farce of an election since his only opponent, bin Hammam is now suspended by the very organization he was bidding to lead. FIFA’s major sponsors Coca-Cola and adidas joined the growing chorus of criticism of the disgraceful goings on, describing the spectacle as “distressing” and “damaging”.
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