Piracy threatens future of sports broadcasting

‘Iron Fist’ won’t return for Season 3

LONDON, Oct 13, (Agencies): Piracy poses an existential problem for broadcast rights holders but there are no signs that live sport is losing its glittering allure, according to Eleven Sports chief executive Marc Watson.

The company – a relative upstart in a cutthroat field – has got its hands on a number of high-profile events this year, adding the UK and Irish rights to the PGA Championship, La Liga and Serie A to a growing portfolio.

Founded by Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani in 2015, it holds the rights for a range of sports in 11 markets, but Singapore has proved a major headache.

“Piracy is everywhere... It is an existential problem for broadcasters,” Watson told AFP in an interview at the company’s London headquarters, though he said the extent of the problem varies from place to place.

“Piracy is rampant in Singapore. It is a very law-abiding nation but piracy is pretty much treated there as legitimate.

“The levels of piracy are hard to make the business work but it was not only us who suffered.”

Watson, who joined Eleven Sports in 2015 after a successful seven-year spell at BT Sport, during which the company ate into Sky’s portfolio by muscling in on the Premier League, said the solution is to offer a good-value product, not to fight through the courts.

“In the end the answer is about accessibility for consumers. It is about making good-value products available everywhere to consumers at a reasonable price where they want it, when they want it,” he said.

Managed

Watson believes the music industry has managed to combat illegal streaming of content by going down that route.

“Sports rights owners and federations themselves need to back that by supporting rights holders to make available content everywhere at all times and at reasonable prices,” he said.

Watson, a lawyer by profession, says his bold approach at both BT Sport and now Eleven Sports is born of necessity.

“I am definitely prepared to disrupt the status quo if I think there is good business in it,” he said. “I did it at BT because it really needed at that moment to grow its business.

“We are doing it here because of that. If you are a new entry you have to be prepared to be a disruptor as there is no other way of entering an existing established marketplace but to be a disruptor.”

Despite its status as a jewel in the broadcasting crown, the rampant inflation associated with Premier League rights has slowed.

In February, Sky and BT paid a combined £4.46 billion ($5.9 billion) for domestic rights to England’s top football tier for 2019-2022, significantly less than the £5.1 billion they forked out in the previous auction.

It is understood BT subsequently paid £90 million for a further package of games and Amazon made an intriguing foray into the market, though it is unclear how much they paid.

Watson expects the slowdown to be temporary, with appetites undiminished.

“Live sport is always going to be an essential commodity because it can drive consumer behaviour,” he said.

“Sports rights will rise and fall over time, most markets are flattening around the world but only because they rose so quickly.

Marvel’s “Iron Fist” will not return for a third season, a Netflix representative confirmed to Variety.

“Marvel’s Iron Fist will not return for a third season on Netflix. Everyone at Marvel Television and Netflix is proud of the series and grateful for all of the hard work from our incredible cast, crew and showrunners,” read the company’s joint statement with Marvel Television. “We’re thankful to the fans who have watched these two seasons, and for the partnership we’ve shared on this series. While the series on Netflix has ended, the immortal ‘Iron Fist’ will live on.”

Set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the series starred Finn Jones as Danny Rand, a martial arts expert with a mystical power called the “Iron Fist.”

NBC has released premiere dates for three series, starting with “The Titan Games,” which will premiere Wednesday, Jan 2, 2019, from 8 pm to 10 pm ET/PT, and will begin airing in its regularly scheduled 8 pm to 9 pm timeslot beginning Wednesday, Jan 9. Hosted by Dwayne Johnson, the new series will offer everyday people the chance to enter the Titan Arena and compete in head-to-head athletic challenges. “America’s Got Talent: The Champions” is slated to premiere Monday, Jan 7, at 8 pm. The show will bring together some of the world’s best acts from international “Got Talent” franchises for an Olympics-style competition. Season 2 of “Ellen’s Game of Games” will premiere Tuesday, Jan 8 at 8 pm and will start airing in its regularly scheduled 8-9 pm time slot on Tuesday, Jan 15. Ellen DeGeneres serves as host and executive producer of the comedy game show, which includes new challenges and old favorites from “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

ABC is developing a comedy series based on Sara Saedi’s memoir “Americanized,” Variety has learned.

The single-camera series, which will be executive produced by Reese Witherspoon, tells the story of a loving and off-beat Iranian family who’s been living with a huge secret: they’re undocumented immigrants. It is described as a window into the life of a Middle-Eastern household while exploring the universal truths that bond every type of “American” family.

Saedi will pen the series in addition to executive producing. Witherspoon and Lauren Levy Neustadter will executive produce via Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine banner. ABC Studios will produce.

In addition to writing “Americanized,” Saedi has previously written for shows such as “iZombie” at The CW and “The Goodwin Games” at Fox.