Saudi Arabian takeover of Newcastle United off as bid withdrawn July 30, 2020 The Saudi Arabia-backed bid to takeover Newcastle United football club has been withdrawn this afternoon. A consortium made up of the Gulf state’s Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and the Reuben brothers had reportedly made a £300m bid to businessman Mike Ashley for the Premier League team. In a statement, the group said: “With [...]
Manchester United revenue drops almost £30m due to Covid-19 May 21, 2020 Manchester United today said its revenue fell by almost £30m in the third quarter after the football season was brought to a halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The New York-listed football club reported total revenue of £123.7m in the three months to the end of March, down from £152.1m in the same period last [...]
Coronavirus crisis set to wipe $17bn off sports sponsorship market May 18, 2020 Global sports sponsorship revenue will fall by $17.2bn (£14.1bn) this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, new forecasts have revealed. Total spend is expected to reach just $28.9bn in 2020 — a 37 per cent fall year on year — as scores of live sporting events have been scrapped and businesses look to [...]
BeIN Sports urges Premier League to block Saudi bid for Newcastle April 22, 2020 Broadcasting giant BeIN Media has urged the Premier League to block a proposed £300m Saudi takeover of Newcastle United amid concerns about “industrial scale” piracy. Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is said to be on the brink of accepting a takeover offer from a consortium backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. However, the chief executive [...]
Coronavirus cancellations set to cost global sports industry $62bn April 20, 2020 The global sports industry is set to miss out on almost $62bn (£50bn) of revenue this year as almost half of all sports events are scrapped due to the coronavirus outbreak. The sector is forecast to generate $73.7bn of revenue in 2020 — roughly 45 per cent lower than the $135bn projected before the pandemic, [...]
Forget finishing the current seasons; this is a time for sport to ponder far bigger questions March 25, 2020 The now globally iconic slogan “Keep Calm and Carry On” was originally used on a 1939 British motivational poster, during the country’s preparations for World War II. With Covid-19’s outbreak and spread across Eurasia, much of British sport has appeared intent on summoning the spirit of this old poster. From the Cheltenham Festival to Champions [...]
Esports enjoying boom while traditional sports suffer from coronavirus cancellations March 23, 2020 Since the coronavirus outbreak, the world has rightly been reacting with human safety at the forefront of every decision. This has made it impossible to avoid the cancellation of global events and has left us all with an uncertain start to the decade. However, the esports industry’s level of growth offers a glimmer of hope [...]
Jude Bellingham transfer: The rules Manchester United and their competitors will have to negotiate to sign Birmingham’s star midfielder March 18, 2020 Like everything in sport right now, Jude Bellingham’s future is on hold. But the coronavirus pandemic has only delayed what now feels inevitable: that Birmingham City’s most prized asset will be flying the coop. Bellingham is just 16 and only made his professional debut in August, but his performances for Birmingham have set the scouting [...]
Coronavirus and football: What happens if the Premier League is cancelled? March 14, 2020 As Liverpool’s footballers emerged from the dugout at Anfield on Wednesday evening, fans stretched their hands down towards them from the flanking stands in search of a high five. Most players ignored them. Sadio Mane, Liverpool’s second highest goalscorer of the season and African player of the year, reached up to grant one supporter his [...]
Premier League broadcasting: What does Amazon’s initial success with Prime Video mean for the market? March 3, 2020 Amazon broadcast its first live football matches in December, showing 20 Premier League games to subscribers on its Prime Video platform. The decision to make a first foray into the sector was a brave, albeit relatively small, one for the US retail giant. Now that the dust has settled, it looks increasingly like an intelligent [...]