Shorts: Viaplay, Australian Open, Bengals
Swedish streaming service providers Viaplay Group is reportedly in talks to acquire UK pay-television broadcaster Premier Sports, according to Bloomberg.
With Viaplay set to launch to in the UK later this year and looking to consolidate its place in the new market, the report suggests that Viaplay has initiated negotiations with regards to a takeover, looking to secure an agreement within the next few weeks.
In May, Premier Sports acquired a package of UK broadcast rights to national team matches featuring Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales from 2022 to 2024. Viaplay has already acquired the same set of rights across the period from 2024 to 2028.
Now Viaplay are looking to bring Premier Sports on board and gain its extra football and rugby union content. This includes Spanish football’s top-flight, La Liga, the United Rugby Championship, and Scottish football cup competitions.
Sports Travel & Hospitality Group UK (STH UK), the UK-based sports hospitality business, has been appointed as an official travel agent of the Australian Open and will exclusively operate AO Travel packages for UK-based fans heading to Melbourne for the 2023 tournament.
AO Travel will supply ticket-inclusive travel experiences for every round of the Australian Open 2023 – the first tennis major of the year – with a range of specially curated packages that can be tailored based on the tennis sessions, ticket types, hotel accommodation and the ability to add on exclusive experiences.
STH UK General Manager, Emily Tuffin, commented, “We are thrilled to bring AO Travel packages to tennis fans in the UK. The Australian Open is one of the most iconic sporting events in the calendar and the passion for tennis in the UK remains incredibly high with players gaining incredible support wherever they play in the world.
“Australia remains one of the most popular travel destinations from the UK and with the travel restrictions of the last couple of years now lifted we are expecting incredibly high-demand for these exclusive packages.”
Ohio-based American football team Cincinnati Bengals has announced a a multi-year partnership with UK-based bookmaker Betfred to make it the team’s official sports betting partner.
With sports betting set to be legalised in Ohio from 2023, Betfred plans to launch a mobile sports betting app for fans to place wagers on sporting events anywhere in Ohio. The partnership also includes a variety of fan engagement activations, promotions and free-to-play gaming opportunities.
Betfred was represented in the deal by American consultants SCCG Management.
UK-based sportswear brand Kukri Sports has been announced as the official workforce / volunteer uniform supplier to the World Gymnastics Championships, Liverpool 2022.
Kukri will be producing and supplying the official volunteer and workforce uniforms for the Championships, kitting out over 600 volunteers and staff who will be supporting the delivery of the event across spectator services, digital and media, sport, hospitality and event operations.
Josh Beal, Sales Director at Kukri Sports, said, “It is great to be supporting the volunteers and staff at the World Gymnastics Championships, in Liverpool, this year. As proud partners to British, Scottish and Welsh Gymnastics, it is an event we are taking huge interest in as a business, and even more so with the Championships being held in the north-west. Many of our staff will be at the event watching and we can’t wait to see Kukri supporting the hard-working volunteers around the venue.”
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has been named as exclusive broadcaster of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games across Canada. It will also have exclusive rights for streaming Birmingham 2022.
CBC Executive Director for Sports and Olympics Chris Wilson commented, “Building on the momentum of Canada’s stellar performance at Tokyo 2020, we’re excited to bring audiences across the country the top moments from Team Canada at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.”
Image; Shutterstock
