BT scraps dividend as Covid-19 and full-fibre rollout hit profit May 7, 2020 BT today scrapped its dividend as the coronavirus crisis and full-fibre broadband costs weighed on profit. The telecoms giant said it had taken the “exceptionally difficult” decision to suspend the payout until 2022, when it will be reduced 50 per cent to 7.7p per share. It came as BT posted a two per cent dip [...]
Ladbrokes owner GVC’s board takes 20 per cent voluntary pay cut May 1, 2020 Ladbrokes owner GVC has announced its board will take a voluntary pay cut of 20 per cent amid the coronavirus crisis. Last month the bookmaker said the board’s remuneration committee would consider the impact of coronavirus on GVC’s performance and review the remuneration policy. Today GVC announced the board of directors and members of the [...]
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, [...]
Coronavirus: Premier League clubs should face ‘windfall tax’ April 2, 2020 Premier League clubs that furlough non-playing staff during the Covid-19 crisis should be slapped with a windfall tax, according to the chair of Westminster’s sports select committee. Tottenham, Newcastle and Norwich City have taken steps to furlough non-playing staff so they can access the government’s wage subsidy scheme, while still paying players their full contracts. [...]
M&C Saatchi scraps dividend and cuts salaries due to coronavirus April 2, 2020 M&C Saatchi today said it has scrapped its 2019 dividend and cut salaries for senior staff members as the advertising agency battles a downturn sparked by coronavirus. The firm said a “very high proportion” of its top paid staff would take pay cuts, with board members and senior management committing to a 20 per cent [...]
Football clubs fear EFL sanctions unless they sack staff or make pay cuts March 31, 2020 Football clubs fear they will be punished for “doing the right thing” if they don’t make redundancies or ask staff to take pay cuts while all sport is suspended. The coronavirus pandemic has slashed teams’ income, especially at those below the Premier League, who are more reliant on revenue from fans attending matches. That has [...]
Coronavirus: Clubs facing ‘an avalanche’ of claims from players over forced pay cuts March 30, 2020 Everyone has had to make sacrifices since the coronavirus pandemic took over daily life, and sportspeople are no exception. With all sport in the UK currently postponed, players have set about a new existence, training as best as they can at home until a resumption is possible. But with no end to the lockdown in [...]
How sports teams are using technology to recreate group training sessions with players in isolation March 29, 2020 They may be miles apart and isolated in their homes, but footballers, rugby players and cricketers across the country are finding new ways to continue training together. Sportspeople left in limbo while their seasons are delayed indefinitely by the coronavirus pandemic are still staying in shape, as they have readily documented on social media. The [...]
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 [...]