The Week in Sportbiz: Premier League toasts beIN deal; banker set to buy Lille; breakaways boosted; Australian Open delay; and Griezmann bins Huawei December 17, 2020 Christmas cheer has arrived early at the Premier League after it agreed a new $500m deal with beIN Sports. The contract, which gives beIN exclusive broadcast rights in 24 countries across the Middle East and North Africa, is effectively a three-year extension to their deal for 2019-22. It comes as a boost to the Premier [...]
Pixar’s Soul is another existential gem from Pixar December 17, 2020 The release of Pixar’s Soul is a bittersweet experience for many movie fans. Anything that comes from the production line of the animation powerhouse feels like an event, and event movies should arrive in a cinema, not just another block of content alongside murder documentaries and Bake Off boxsets. Nonetheless, Pixar’s 23rd feature arrives on [...]
Rangers, Hummel and JD Sports probed by competition watchdog over replica kit pricing December 16, 2020 Scottish football club Rangers are being probed by the UK competition watchdog over the pricing of their replica kits. The Competition and Markets Authority is also investigating Rangers’ former kit maker Hummel and retailers JD Sports and Greaves Sports. The CMA said it’s probe centred on “suspected anti-competitive behaviour in relation to the price at [...]
Wonder Woman 1984: Gal Gadot shines in retro romp December 16, 2020 The news that Warner Bros would be simultaneously releasing their upcoming slate in cinemas and HBO Max shook the entertainment world, although most headlines buried the fact that this was a US-only deal. In the UK, this week’s sequel to Wonder Woman is still a cinema event, and a welcome one after months of scant [...]
Sadiq Khan calls for additional £24m to house homeless Londoners December 16, 2020 The Mayor of London has called for £24m funding to house homeless Londoners as a matter of urgency as temperatures drop and Covid cases in the capital rise.
What the tech happened to sport in 2020? December 16, 2020 Comparing the lack of sport with the other crises witnessed this year would be disingenuous. Still, an awful lot of people had large holes in their lives when live sport went off air in 2020. Some entities filled the gap fast, most notably motorsport, in no small part thanks to its embracing of esports. For [...]
The Best Fifa Football Awards 2020: Does Lionel Messi deserve to retain his Best Men’s Player crown? December 15, 2020 The Best Fifa Football Awards 2020 take place this week to honour the top performers of last season. Lionel Messi will be hoping to retain his Best Fifa Men’s Player title in the face of competition from his perennial rival Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski. So who really was the best in 2019-20? Using quantitative [...]
London in Tier 3: Will the City return to normal after Covid? December 15, 2020 The decision to move London into Tier 3 at midnight on Wednesday, following substantial rises in Covid-19 cases, may mean further delays to City workers returning to the office. This will come as another disappointment to the City as it had planned to entice workers back into their offices during a ”back to work week” [...]
Cricket stars Michael Holding and Ebony Rainford-Brent given Freedom of the City of London December 15, 2020 Cricket stars Michael Holding and Ebony Rainford-Brent have been awarded the Freedom of the City of London. Former West Indies fast bowler Holding, 66, and Rainford-Brent, 36, the first black woman to play for England, are being recognised for their anti-racism advocacy as well as their sporting achievements. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the pair will [...]
Sam Torrance: Incredible Lee Westwood deserves a place in the World Golf Hall of Fame December 14, 2020 The European Tour’s finale yesterday got the most exciting of conclusions and a delightful result. Both the DP World Tour Championship and the Race to Dubai went down to the wire, with the same three players — Lee Westwood, Matt Fitzpatrick and Patrick Reed — battling for both the tournament and order of merit titles. [...]