IMG
Masquelier: Full ownership and control are key to making private equity work in sport
The common denominator in the major success stories for private equity investment in sport is ownership and control of the property, according to Michel Masquelier, the former chairman of IMG Media
Masquelier: ‘The more sophisticated the industry becomes, the better it will be for agencies’
Michel Masquelier, former chairman of IMG Media, talks exclusively to SportBusiness about the lessons learned from 35 years in the industry, the value of private equity investments in sport and why the increasingly sophisticated nature of the sports and entertainment industries is good news for agencies.
IMG acquires tennis’ Madrid Open, golf’s Spanish Open
The IMG agency has added to its tennis portfolio through an agreement to acquire the Mutua Madrid Open, a leading event on both the men’s ATP Tour and women’s WTA Tour.
Bilibili takes another stride into sport with FA Cup rights
Chinese streaming platform Bilibili has acquired the exclusive digital media rights in China for the English FA Cup in a three-season deal, 2021-22 to 2023-24
Migu and WTT announce gatekeeper media rights deal in China
World Table Tennis, the commercial arm of the International Table Tennis Federation, has today (Wednesday) announced China Mobile's streaming service Migu as its exclusive, gatekeeper media rights partner…
Barcelona turns to IMG to develop licensing programme in Southeast Asia
Spanish LaLiga club Barcelona has appointed the IMG agency as its master licensee to develop a consumer products programme for fans in the Southeast Asia region
LaLiga launches domestic rights tender divided into seven ‘options’
Spain’s LaLiga has launched the bidding process for domestic media rights for up to five seasons, from 2022-23 to 2026-27.
Sport1 extends Rocket League rights, agrees German skiing content deal
German sports broadcaster Sport1 has agreed a one-year extension to its rights deal for the Rocket League Championship Series esports competition and has also agreed a content tie-up with the German Ski…
IMG to distribute global media rights to PGL esports tournament
Esports tournament organiser PGL has appointed the IMG agency to distribute its media rights globally for its PGL Stockholm Major 2021, which will be held in Sweden for the first time since 2014
PTO buoyed by global broadcast audience for inaugural Collins Cup
The Professional Triathletes Organisation has stated global broadcast viewing figures for the inaugural edition of its Collins Cup competition surpassed all expectations, citing figures from sports, sponsorship…
PBR offers bull ownership with move into NFT space
Professional Bull Riders has become the latest sports property to delve into the non-fungible tokens space by announcing a deal with SmartMedia Technologies that the two parties say will revolutionise…
IMG recruits experienced Ormston to production business development role
The IMG agency has recruited experienced broadcast production executive Jo Ormston to the newly-created role of director of business development for its global production business
Francis to replace Fry as IMG’s production chief
Barney Francis, the former managing director of Sky Sports, has been recruited as executive vice-president, global production at the IMG agency
Singtel announces SPOTV deal, reveals Open and WTT rights
Singaporean telco Singtel has officially announced its carriage deal with SPOTV, the new pan-regional sports pay-television broadcaster in Asia-Pacific
APOS 2021: Betting, superfans, Gen Z-focused content among the critical trends
Adam Kelly, co-president at IMG Media & Events, was among the speakers at the APOS 2021 virtual conference. Here Kevin McCullagh summarises some of the standout themes and ideas from the event
AFC lands in-flight, in-ship rights deal with Sport 24
The Asian Football Confederation has unveiled a deal for Sport 24 to become its in-flight and in-ship broadcaster through to 2024
Eleven Sports secures exclusive EuroLeague digital rights in Italy
Eleven Sports has acquired exclusive digital rights in Italy to the EuroLeague and EuroCup, European basketball's top-tier competitions, in a four-season deal that will sit alongside pay-television broadcaster…
IMG steps up golf commitment with long-term European Solheim Cup deal
The IMG agency has been appointed as the delivery partner for the European editions of golf’s Solheim Cup in a long-term deal that will initially run until the end of 2038.