Cristiano Ronaldo can cash in from Saudi Pro League streaming initiative Sport Business The Saudi Pro League is giving Cristiano Ronaldo another way to top up his £170m salary by incentivising players to promote livestreams of matches via social media. The SPL’s “Share and Earn” initiative will allow players and influencers to share links to broadcasts of the league, whose stars also include Sadio Mane, Gabriel Martinelli and [...]
Jamie Vardy bags Bundesliga rights as he steps up streaming war with Neville and Lineker Sport Business Former England striker Jamie Vardy is stepping up his efforts to build a media empire to rival Gary Neville and Gary Lineker by acquiring the rights to show live Bundesliga games on his YouTube channel. Jamie Vardy’s Having A Party will stream seven Friday night games from the German top division, beginning tonight when Harry [...]
Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig face ownership shake-up after 50+1 ruling Sport Business Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen, RB Leipzig and Wolfsburg face ownership overhauls after Germany’s competition watchdog ruled they are non-compliant with the country’s 50+1 rule. The rule mandates that all football clubs must be majority controlled by members but Leverkusen, Leipzig and Wolfsburg have historically benefited from loopholes. In its final decision on a long-running challenge [...]
Overseas games: Will World Cup success force Fifa’s hand over divisive issue? July 29, 2026 Fifa’s staging of the World Cup in North America may have been a massive commercial win, but it might also have ramped up the pressure on world football’s governing body to make a decisive call on one of the game’s most contentious issues: domestic leagues taking matches to more lucrative overseas locations. The biggest ever [...]
Premier League + and why owning the broadcast isn’t owning the fan May 17, 2026 The Premier League and Uefa’s moves into streaming platforms misunderstand the way fans want to consume football, says George Gilmore. In the last few months, the two leading lights in global club football, the Premier League and Uefa, have announced they will be launching direct-to-consumer broadcast offerings. In so doing, a revolutionary, if predictable, moment [...]
German football giants plan biometric stadium entry in place of tickets May 14, 2026 Borussia Moenchengladbach are planning to become one of the first European football clubs to use biometric access technology in place of tickets. An increasing number of US sports venues now offer facial recognition or palm vein scanning as a way of speeding up entry and even buying food and drink or merchandise. In the few [...]
Premier League +, VPN piracy and lessons from Norway and France March 28, 2026 The Premier League is built on its precious media rights but will its new streaming service be susceptible to the piracy that just scuppered a similar service in Norway? In less than five months’ time the Premier League will take one of the most significant steps in its history when it launches its own direct-to-consumer [...]
Boycott 2026 World Cup over Greenland, European countries told January 20, 2026 European countries should consider a boycott of the 2026 World Cup over US president Donald Trump’s attempts to seize Greenland, say senior football figures in Germany and France. The US is set to stage the lion’s share of this summer’s tournament, which it is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, including all knockout games from the [...]
Why sports media is entering its most disruptive decade yet November 22, 2025 There was a time when watching live sport meant one remote, one broadcaster, and one living room. That era is quickly passing. Sports media is undergoing its most significant transition since the shift from analogue to digital, only this time the change is being driven by fans rather than technology. Across Europe viewing habits are [...]
Premier League spending not suffocating Europe, insists chief October 2, 2025 Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has denied English clubs’ unprecedented spending in the summer transfer window is “suffocating” rival football leagues. The 20 Premier League clubs spent £3bn over the summer, smashing all records for a transfer window. Their net spend was £1.2bn. This splurge was led by Liverpool, who spent over £400m, while [...]