ITV

Tag: Serie A

  • Gabriella Carriere climbs higher at Fremantle with expanded global strategy and new biz brief

    Gabriella Carriere climbs higher at Fremantle with expanded global strategy and new biz brief

    MUMBAI: Fremantle has handed group head of strategy Gabriella Carriere a power-packed promotion, expanding her remit to include new business in addition to her current strategic responsibilities. She now takes charge as group head of strategy and new business, reporting to group COO and CEO continental Europe Andrea Scrosati.

    With the new hat, Carriere will now command Fremantle’s most lucrative growth levers — including sports, branded content and licensing, music rights, live events, and its vast library of IP — all while continuing to lead the company’s global strategy agenda. Reporting into her are director of Fremantle Sport Owain Walbyoff and global head of branded content & sponsorships Gabriella Zamboni.

    Since joining Fremantle in 2022, Carriere has been at the forefront of major moves, from launching the documentaries division to shaping the Fremantle Sports unit, driving branded entertainment, and integrating global M&A footprints.
     

    Scrosati commented: “I am delighted to announce Gabriella’s promotion to Group Head of Strategy and New Business. I have been working with Gabriella for many years and highly admire her analytical and business skills and her innovative approach to define and drive strategy. I have no doubts that in this new expanded role Gabriella will drive even more value for Fremantle and her teams.”

    Carriere added: “I am deeply grateful to Fremantle’s leadership team for their trust in me and for this incredible opportunity. I strongly believe in the growth potential of these areas and in the outstanding team currently driving this forward. I’m excited to collaborate with the Fremantle labels and the talented Fremantle teams to unlock many opportunities across our global footprint. I am proud of our achievements over the last three years and now I look forward to what we can accomplish together going forward.”

    Before Fremantle, Carriere made waves at Sky Italia, where she spearheaded landmark deals for Serie A and the UEFA Champions League, inked game-changing partnerships with Netflix and Disney, and helped launch Sky’s broadband business. Her career roots lie in the energy sector, with senior stints at EDF and Edison across Milan and Paris.

    Now with the full force of Fremantle’s revenue-generating verticals under her belt, Carriere looks set to play a starring role in the company’s next act.

  • Streamer Dazn acquires Australian Foxtel group from News Corp & Telstra for A$3.4 bn

    Streamer Dazn acquires Australian Foxtel group from News Corp & Telstra for A$3.4 bn

    MUMBAI: It’s a deal that’s happening  down under but it’s given streaming platform Dazn group an upper hand as it continues its march towards spreading its wings even further globally. News Corp and Telstra owners of the Foxtel group– once a prized pay TV operator in Australia now turned streamer – have agreed to sell it to the Dazn group in a deal that values it at A$3.4 billion, including debt. Dazn is a  privately-held global streamer owned by British-Ukrainian billionaire Len Blavatnik.

    Under the terms of the agreement, Dazn will pay News Corp’s loans to the tune  of $578 million in cash on account of Foxtel, give it a board seat and a six per cent shareholding in the acquiring company. 35 per cent Foxtel owner Telstra’s debt of A$128 million too will be repaid and it will end up with a three per cent minority interest in Dazn. Foxtel’s existing debt will be refinanced by Dazn when the deal closes. 

    Founded in 2016, Dazn has more than 3,000 employees and reported a top line of $3.2bn in 2023, having grown its annual revenues by over 50  per cent on average from 2020 to 2023, through diverse revenue streams comprising subscriptions, advertising, sponsorship, and transactional video on demand. It has more than 300 million viewers across 200 markets. Dazn streams over 90,000 live events annually and is the home of European football, women’s football, boxing and MMA, and the NFL internationally. The platform features sports and leagues from around the world including Bundesliga, Serie A, LALIGA, Ligue 1, Formula 1, NBA, Moto GP, and the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

    A press release mentioned that the agreement follows a strategic and financial review of Foxtel as part of its  ongoing efforts to optimise its portfolio and simplify its corporate structure. With Dazn’s global reach, industry leading technology and broad content portfolio, the proposed transaction enhances Foxtel’s position as a digital-first, streaming-focused business, led by the current CEO, Patrick Delany, and his management team. The Foxtel group includes the Foxtel, Hubbl, Flash, Kayo Sports and Binge streaming brands along with Fox Sports and Foxtel Media. Foxtel has 4.7 million streaming subscribers

    The transaction, which is expected to close in the second half of fiscal 2025, is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. For News Corp financial reporting purposes, Foxtel will be classified as discontinued operations as of the second quarter of fiscal 2025. 

    “This agreement is a victory for News Corp shareholders, Dazn, and sport fans in Australia and around the world,” said News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson. “Foxtel has been transformed into a genuine digital and streaming leader in Australia, and we believe Dazn is the right owner to take the business to the next level with their technological capabilities, global footprint and compelling sports rights. This transaction also allows News Corp to focus on our other growth pillars of Dow Jones, digital real estate and book publishing, while benefiting from repayment of our shareholder loans and an improved credit profile. We are proud to be a long-term partner of Dazn and its talented team.”

    Dazn chief executive officer Shay Segev said: “Australians watch more sport than any other country in the world, which makes this deal an incredibly exciting opportunity for Dazn to enter a key market, marking another step in our long-term strategy to become the global home of sport. Foxtel is a successful business that has undergone a remarkable digital transformation in recent years, and we are confident that our global reach and relentless pursuit of innovation will continue to drive the business forward and ensure long-term success. 
    “We are committed to supporting and investing in Foxtel’s television and streaming services, across both sports and entertainment, using our world-leading technology to further enhance the viewing experience for customers. We are also committed to using our global reach to export Australia’s most popular sports to new markets around the world, and we will continue to promote women’s and under-represented sports. 

    “We’re looking forward to working closely with Patrick Delany and his team, as well as News Corp and Telstra as shareholders in DAZN, to realise our ambitious vision for the future of sport entertainment.” 

    Foxtel chairman Siobhan McKenna, said the agreement with DAZN was international recognition of the transformation of Foxtel from an incumbent pay TV operator to a sports and entertainment digital and streaming leader. “Over the last seven years the Foxtel team, with the strong support of News, have achieved an extraordinary turnaround in an intensely competitive environment.” 

    Foxtel Group CEO Patrick Delany said: “News Corp’s unwavering support and guidance has seen Foxtel successfully reinvent itself into a dynamic, streaming-led business delivering strong financial performance. We are excited to embark on the next chapter with Dazn, a premier global sports streaming provider, as our new shareholder. Dazn’s backing will enhance our strategy needed, provide access to their global reach, and strengthen the infrastructure and technology to accelerate our transformation. Most importantly, we will continue to be a proudly Australian-based business, led by local management, committed to delivering locally-produced sports and entertainment content for our audiences.” 
     

  • LIVE Football action returns on Sony Pictures Sports Network with Serie A, Italy’s premier football league

    LIVE Football action returns on Sony Pictures Sports Network with Serie A, Italy’s premier football league

    Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN), the official broadcasters of Serie A in India and the Indian sub-continent, is all set to broadcast the return of the top-tier Italian football league. As the clubs get back into the competition, football fans are on the edge of their seats as the title race is wide open, UEFA Champions League spots are up for grabs, the relegation battle is going down to the wire and so much more.

    SPSN will mark the return of LIVE football action as Serie A resumes, with some of the most awaited matches such as Inter Milan vs SSC Napoli; Juventus vs AS Roma; AC Milan vs AS Roma and Juventus vs Sampdoria amongst others. Bidding for a ninth successive Serie A title, Juventus has a one-point advantage in the league over Lazio while Inter Milan are nine points behind Juventus with one less match played.

    Fans can expect nothing less than nail-biting action from all 20 teams from June 20, 2020 LIVE and Exclusive on SONY TEN 2 and SONY SIX channels.

    Serie A is one of the premier football leagues in the world, hosting some famous football clubs such as Juventus FC, AS Roma, Inter Milan and AC Milan to name a few. The Italian league is also home to some of the best footballers in the world such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Lorenzo Insigne, Romelu Lukaku, Ciro Immobile and Luis Muriel among many others.

  • Sony Pictures Networks’ sports cluster’s year in review, road ahead

    Sony Pictures Networks’ sports cluster’s year in review, road ahead

    MUMBAI: In the tough two-horse race of Indian sports broadcasting, Sony Pictures Networks has had a slight edge over Star India when it comes to football events, while the latter holds the sway in Indian cricket. Currently, the NP Singh-led network is in charge of premier football properties like La Liga, Serie A, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, FA Cup and UEFA Super Cup. 

    SPN India has also invested in domestic leagues, firmly believing that such products are not only gaining prominence but are bound to witness a formidable growth in the future. One such success story is the Pro Wrestling League (PWL), which will return to SPN for its fourth edition. Besides this, the network will also broadcast the inaugural edition of the Pro Volleyball League that has gained considerable steam of late.

    Multi-sporting destination

    2018 was a successful year for the broadcaster in terms of multi-sporting properties, with big-ticket events like Commonwealth Games, FIFA World Cup, NBA and Asian Games helping it differentiate itself from others.

    “Multi-sports viewing is on the uptake and we will continue to provide our viewers diverse content across different sports categories along with innovative programming initiatives to increase our penetration in both urban and rural markets,” SPN India chief revenue officer and head – sports business Rajesh Kaul said.

    SPN has been the home of La Liga for the past four seasons in India. However, last year Facebook won the media rights for the top tier of Spanish football for the Indian subcontinent for three seasons starting 2018-19. The deal with the social media giant was the first of its kind for La Liga.

    While the 380 matches were to be available for free to people on Facebook in eight countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Facebook and SPN reached an agreement wherein the broadcaster earned the right to air over 100 games via its sports cluster.

    The deal will allow SPN to broadcast key clashes including the El Clasico and Madrid Derby across its sports channels as well as SonyLIV.

    Record-breaking show

    The headline act for SPN in 2018 was the FIFA World Cup. There was a humungous buzz around the tournament this time as it aired during primetime in India after almost two editions. The broadcaster had four language feeds for the showpiece event, which was telecast on Sony Ten 2 in English, Sony Ten 3 in Hindi and Bengali and Malayalam audio feeds on Sony ESPN.

    A total of 110.5 million viewers in India watched the quadrennial event, according to the broadcaster. The tournament had 64 live matches aired across Sony TEN 2, Sony TEN 3, Sony ESPN channels and their HD versions.

    The broadcaster, which had managed to attract more than 40 advertisers on television, is estimated to have pocketed close to Rs 200 crore in advertising revenue. The 2014 edition had fetched the network Rs 100 crore in ad revenue.

    70 million viewers across India tuned in to watch the World Cup on SPN’s OTT SonyLIV. The average time spent per viewer was 15-16 minutes per match.

    “Sports’ viewing as a trend is becoming participative and we saw an opportunity to launch interactive engagement for our viewers in both entertainment and sports. Second screen engagement and interactivity is moving to the forefront and we will continue with his trend as it gives viewers deeper insights and a more immersive experience. While TV is still the preferred choice for sports viewing, we have observed trends of a growing user base on digital platforms for sports viewing in 2018 and we see it strengthening its position further in 2019,” Kaul added.

    Cricket rights play

    When it comes to cricket, SPN currently holds the broadcast rights for eight boards – Cricket Australia, England and Wales Cricket Board, Pakistan Cricket Board, Sri Lanka Cricket, Cricket South Africa, Cricket West Indies, Cricket Ireland and Zimbabwe Cricket Board. 

    It had acquired exclusive media rights from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for the Indian subcontinent for a period of five years from 2018 through 2022. This agreement with ECB gives SPN the rights to both televise and digitally broadcast within the Indian subcontinent, men’s and women’s international matches, including Test matches, T20 Internationals and ODIs, played in England.

    SPNI also acquired the media rights for T10 Cricket League for three years (2018-20) for the Indian sub-continent and Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The broadcaster also had the rights for T10 Cricket League in 2017.

    The broadcaster currently has 10 channels in its sports bouquet after the network pulled the plug on Sony Ten Golf HD in the wake of TRAI’s new tariff order.

    The Prasar Bharati problem

    In October, MIB proposed to amend the Sports Act 2007 to offer ‘sports events of national importance’ on Prasar Bharati-owned free-to-air Doordarshan Network, an extended reach via private direct to home and cable TV Networks.

    The move to amend the Sports Act 2007 has been necessitated due to a Supreme Court verdict which held that the public broadcaster Doordarshan cannot air events of national importance on private distribution platforms.

    In the same month, MIB issued a notice for receiving feedback/comments from general public/stakeholders on the draft bill, 2018. The deadline for submitting the feedback was 15 January 2019, but there is no update on the date extension. The earlier deadline was 31 December 2018.

    This may result in a preference change of the consumer, thereby pushing them to unsubscribe private sports network channels. This will also give the distribution platforms an opportunity to negotiate harder with the sports broadcasters.

    A move of this nature could adversely impact the revenues of sports broadcasters, throwing the entire ecosystem into a tizzy.

    Challenges in 2019

    India’s historic win over Australia ensured that SPN kicked off 2019 to a rather glorious start. With the immensely popular Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni delivering match-winning knocks, SPN is likely to have posted big viewership numbers on its channels as well as OTT. However, the remainder of the year isn’t going to produce a lot of fireworks for the broadcaster especially when it comes to Indian cricket. Barring India’s tour to the West Indies, SPN does not have a lot to offer to Indian fans. Rival Star India, with the rights to the IPL and the World Cup, is bound to be the home of India’s cricket-crazy public in 2019.

  • Facebook to sub-license La Liga India broadcast rights to Sony

    Facebook to sub-license La Liga India broadcast rights to Sony

    MUMBAI: Social media giant Facebook, which recently acquired the Indian sub-continent La Liga rights for three years, has struck a sub-licensing broadcast deal with Sony Pictures Network (SPN) India, a source close to the development has confirmed to Indiantelevision.com.

    SPN has also renewed its Serie A deal for a three-year term. Sony Six and Sony ESPN will broadcast the matches, which will be streamed on its OTT platform SONY LIV.
    The high-profile move of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid to Juventus has undoubtedly increased the buzz surrounding the league this term. 

    The five-time Ballon d’Or winner made his Serie A debut for Juventus in a 3-2 win at Chievo on 18 August 2018 after a €100 million move from the Champions League winners.

    SPN had reportedly paid $32m (€28m) when the La Liga rights for India were up for sale in 2014.

    Earlier this year, the Mark Zuckerberg-led company unseated the broadcaster as it bagged the rights for the 2018/19-2020/21 cycle for an undisclosed fee.
    The landmark agreement La Liga’s first broadcast deal with a social media platform.

    At the time, Facebook had stated it was open to working with broadcasters in the region to increase the reach of the league. In a sense, the deal with SPN is consistent with the company’s vision and position.

    While Facebook steams the La Liga content for free, it remains to be seen whether SPN’s OTT will stream the matches with a delayed feed or not.

    Amazon, the tech giant, was the first platform to strike a deal to stream Premier League matches in the UK, with 10 matches to be shown on Amazon Prime on two separate days for three seasons starting from 2019.

    In April 2018, Amazon wrote a large cheque for the exclusive UK rights to the US Open tennis, giving subscribers who pay £79 a year for its Prime Video service access to three of the four grand slams. 

    Last year, Facebook bid for the five-year global media rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which went to Star India for a hefty sum of Rs16,347.50 crore.

  • Serie A club, Napoli partners Amazon to launch merchandise store

    Serie A club, Napoli partners Amazon to launch merchandise store

    MUMBAI: The runner-up club of 2017-18 season, Napoli in Serie A has tied-up with e-commerce giant Amazon to launch an exclusive brand store. The Napoli Amazon brand store has been launched featuring official team products from the club’s technical supplier Kappa along with a full range of Napoli Calcio-licensed merchandise.

    Napoli hope the new partnership will make it easier for its international fans to access kit and merchandise.

    Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said, “Napoli have become a regular fixture among the top 20 clubs in UEFA rankings, have over 40 million fans worldwide as well as a further 120 million with a passing interest. It is very important to us to be able to offer them easy access to our merchandise, and Amazon offer extraordinarily efficient distribution and order management services,” according to Sportspromedia.com.

    The club released its 2018-19 season kit which is starting from 19 August 2018 and the partnership will also reach other markets like Italy, France, the UK and Spain, with the aim to launch in the North American market in the near future.

    The Amazon partnership is part of the club’s international development strategy designed to strengthen the Napoli brand in foreign markets.

  • Arsenal VS Chelsea: When & where can India tune in?

    Arsenal VS Chelsea: When & where can India tune in?

    MUMBAI: Arsenal and Chelsea are two of the fiercest rivals in modern day football and hence the 2015 FA Community Shield is certain to become the perfect curtain raiser for European Club Football fanatics.

     

    FA Community Shield is played between the champions of Barclays Premier League and FA Cup. Chelsea is under the leadership of Jose Mourinho, won the 2014-15 league title, while Arsene Wenger guided Arsenal to their back to back FA Cup title. The duo is renowned for their sideline sillies and whenever they come together, it’s never short of action.

     

    But when and where can India see all the action?

     

    Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) sports boutique Sony Six and Sony Kix acquired the broadcasting rights of FA Cup and Serie A for three years (2015 – 2017) and hence will be the official broadcasters of the Community Shield match too. The rights of both the tournament were previously with Star Sports. The match will be played in Wembley Stadium and the kickoff is scheduled at 3.00 pm BST, which is 7.30 pm IST on Sunday (2 August, 2015). The SD feed can be watched at Sony Kix, while Sony Six HD will air the High Definition feed.

     

    Speaking exclusively to Indiantelevision.com, Sony Six and Sony Kix EVP and business head Prasanna Krishnan says, “Community Shield match between Arsenal and Chelsea will be the perfect way for us to begin the football year. So far in our portfolio if anything was missing, it was quality club football action. With FA Cup and Italian Serie A, we fill that need gap. Being the official broadcaster of FIFA and UEFA Euro, we already had all the major International Football tournaments in our kitty. Now we can say that we are the only sports broadcaster to provide a quality mix of international and club football action throughout the year.”

     

    As per TAM Peoplemeter system analysis, FA Cup’s cumulative reach has gone up by 27 per cent in the past two seasons. In 2013 – 14 season, the tourney secured 5.61 million but in 2014- 15 season, it went up to 7.13 million in CS4+ Target Group all over India.

     

    According to a report by KPMG, with 215 million GVTs Football remains the second most watched sports entity in India after cricket, which garnered 254 million GVTs. Sports genre plays a pivotal role when it comes to revenue generation through subscription for broadcasters.

     

    “We have to keep the fact in mind that Sony Kix is just a couple of months old and still in the developing process. With Community Shield, India VS Sri Lanka test series, the reach will get stronger. We are already there in all the DTH players and our presence in cable is also enhancing. Kix is positioned to feature football and fight sports,” asserts Krishnan.

     

    In football, the scope of generating ad revenue is very less. UEFA Champions League, which is aired on Ten Sports, has no brands associated with it. However, there is multiple special programming, which is exclusively curated to explore monetizing avenues. Pre match, post match and half time analytical programs remain the biggest slot to rope in advertisers. Also weekend reviews and previews garner good viewership.

     

    A media planning expert asserts, “Football is not cricket so putting an ad in the middle of the game is not an option. But whenever there is an injury stoppage or celebrations after goals or for that matter when the replays come in, relevant brands can be roped in as side captures or pop ups. Prime time in football begins five minutes before the match, the half time analysis program is also considered prime time in football.”

     

    “In order to monetize and generate revenue we will not intrude into the flow of sport neither will we disturb our viewers. Disturbing viewers with an ad is not how we do business,” informs Kirshnan.

     

    So no disturbances for Indian football fans this weekend, as an action packed match between Arsenal and Chelsea takes centre stage on Sony Kix and Sony Six HD. 

  • Nimbus looks to push genre frontiers with Neo Sports Plus

    Nimbus looks to push genre frontiers with Neo Sports Plus

    MUMBAI: Your Gateway to the best sporting action! This is the tagline that Nimbus is using to push its second channel Neo Sports Plus. The channel, which Nimbus says is a sports entertainment offering, has launched today. Sister cricket channel Neo Sports had launched a month back.

    Neo Sports Plus will offer content from a variety of sports like soccer, badminton, motorsports. As Nimbus chairman Harish Thawani says, “Some of the recent Indian sporting achievements have come from sports disciplines like golf, tennis and motor racing, to name a few. On the back of these developments we believe that there is potential in building sustained consumer interest in sports beyond cricket amongst Indians in the medium to long term through strategic content and marketing initiatives.”

    On the soccer front Neo Sports Plus has acquired content from Italy, Germany, Brazil and Argentina through leagues like Bundesliga, Serie A, Copa Suda Americana and Copa Libertadores. In motorsports it has got V8 Supercars and Superbike World Championships. Additionally, the channel is also focussing on badminton through properties like the Sudirman Cup, The Thomas Cup, The Uber Cup and The World Badminton Championship. Thawani says that the sport, despite strong grassroots support in India, has not got the backing of a channel to realise its potential.

    Neo Sports Broadcast CEO Shashi Kalathil says that the aim is to build up passion for different sports in the long run. It has sports entertainment concepts on the drawing board. Some shows have gone into production. The channel is looking at chat shows, reality shows, sports serials, game shows, quizzes etc.

    Further Neo Sports Plus will also air India cricket in dubbed languages like Hindi. This initiative kicks off this month with the Duleep trophy. Kalathil says that search has been done into what kind of sports entertainment concepts the Indian viewer will like and dislike.

    It has already come up with some entertainment shows. One of them is Unbreakable. This focusses on a memorable performance of a batsman or a bowler or a partnership that refused to buckle under pressure. Then there is Test of Strength. This is a daily show that focusses on India’s great cricketing moments. When India Beat looks at victories by the Indian cricket team. Neo Sports Rewind provides a crisp look at classic ODIs. Mission Impossible is a one hour show that looks at some of the finest cricket matches. The anchor takes viewers through the match and sees how an individual made the impossible possible.