#media-rights

#media-rights

ESPN's purchase of NFL Network and other league digital assets has been finalized after government regulators approved the transaction. The league and ESPN officially announced the closing of the deal Saturday night after the Justice Department and other non-US antitrust authorities completed their reviews. ESPN acquired NFL Network, NFL Fantasy and the rights to distribute the RedZone channel to cable and satellite operators and the league will get a 10% equity stake in ESPN.

ESPN has had one of its most-viewed starts to the NBA regular season since it started to carry games in 2002. According to the network and Nielsen, ESPN averaged 2.6 million viewers in its first 21 games through Christmas, a 35% increase from last season and the second most-watched in a full season. The numbers for this season only trail 2010-11.

It was 1946 in the Crown City the proud home of the Rose Bowl and the Rose Parade. The parade's theme rang out that year, Victory, Unity, Peace a theme sparking the birth of new aspirations for a war-weary nation. Pasadena's Rose Bowl later known as The Granddaddy of Them All and its giant spectacle of a parade were right at the center of this new era, with all the pomp and tradition it could muster.

Beginning with the 2029 101st annual Academy Awards, the Oscars will no longer be available on network television, where advertising dollars and local news dictate how long Adrian Brody's acceptance speeches should be. As announced earlier today, when the Oscars' current contract expires, those little gold men will march over to YouTube and YouTube TV, where the ceremony will be live and free to YouTube's massive viewership.

Portsmouth owner Michael Eisner says the English football pyramid is a "financial disaster" for clubs at Championship level - but says the introduction of an independent regulator offers hope "extraordinary losses" will be a thing of the past.

Over the course of the November international break, we've learned that MLS will cease its year-round format and switch to a spring-summer season in 2027, breaking a tradition that has remained since the league's inception three decades earlier, aligning with Europe's top leagues. There have also been sweeping changes at the broadcasting level, with Major League Soccer and Apple TV agreeing to a revised media rights deal that will come to an end following the 2028/29 season, three and a half years earlier than expected.

Disney and YouTube TV reached a new deal to bring channels like ABC and ESPN back to the Google-owned livestreaming platform Friday, ending a blackout for customers that dragged on for over two weeks. "As part of the new deal, Disney's full suite of networks and stations - including ESPN and ABC - have already begun to be restored to YouTube TV subscribers," The Walt Disney Co. said in a statement.

Eslaih was the director of the Alam24 News Agency and a freelancer who contributed to international news organisations, including photos of the Hamas-led October 7 attack.

Unrivaled's inaugural season generated $30 million in revenue, nearly double initial projections, spurred by media deals and strong ticket sales, projecting profitability in Year 2.