• Singha extends sponsorship with Manchester United

    MUMBAI: Soccer club Manchester United‘s official beer partner, Singha has announced that it is to extend its sponsors

  • Manchester United buys out BSkyB stake to take complete control of its TV channel

    Submitted by ITV Production on Jan 22
    indiantelevision.com Team

    MUMBAI: Manchester United has taken complete ownership of its in-house television channel Manchester United Television (MUTV) by acquiring the one-third minority equity stake held by BskyB (Sky).

    MUTV is now a wholly owned group subsidiary.

    As part of the club?s long-term digital media plans, Manchester United has made the strategic acquisition of Sky?s stake in MUTV in order to own 100 per cent of the content production and distribution capabilities of this business.

    MUTV was launched in 1998 as a three-way joint venture, with UK broadcasters ITV and Sky as equal partners. Since then, MUTV has developed considerable in-house expertise and Manchester United bought ITV?s one-third equity stake in November 2007.

    According to the club, the latest acquisition is a natural progression and is indicative of the club?s desire to have full control of the content generating and distribution capabilities across all of its businesses.

    MUTV is available in 57 countries around the world. It is accessed in the UK and Ireland by subscription on satellite and cable platforms, and in the rest of the world through a combination of subscription or as programming blocks purchased by international broadcasters.

    Manchester United commercial director Richard Arnold said: "The acquisition of Sky?s stake is great news for all our fans who watch us around the globe, MUTV, its staff and the club. We look forward to continuing to enhance our media proposition and distribution capabilities in the years to come, and delivering some of the best and most compelling content to our 659 million followers.

  • Former ESS MD Manu Sawhney to join Manchester United as director

    Submitted by ITV Production on Aug 20
    indiantelevision.com Team

    MUMBAI: Manu Sawhney, the managing director of ESPN Star Sports (ESS) till Star took over the joint venture, will join soccer club Manchester United as a director next month.

    Sawhney?s role will involve making the Manchester United brand even bigger and helping it expand globally.

    Manchester United raised $233 million and recently listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

    This announcement coincides with the start of the Barclays Premier League. In the previous season the club narrowly missed out on being crowned champions due to a goal difference.

    Sawhney has been with ESS for 16 years, having served in India as managing director before he moved to Singapore as the MD of the 50:50 joint venture between News Corp and Walt Disney.

    Image
    Manu Sawhney
  • Man-U is most valuable sports team: Forbes

    Submitted by ITV Production on Jul 17
    indiantelevision.com Team

    MUMBAI: English football club Manchester United has emerged as the world?s most valuable sports team, according to Forbes report on the top 50 valuable sports teams around the world.

    Man-U, which has filed for a $100 million IPO on Nasdaq, has been valued at $2.23 billion ahead of Spanish club Real Madrid, which is at No. 2 with a value of $1.88 billion.

    Incidentally, all 32 National Football League (NFL) franchises have made it to the top 50 list with the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, New England Patriots and New York Giants making it to the top 10.

    Seven Major League Baseball (MLB) teams have earned spots in the top 50 list with New York Yankees making it to the top 10 with a value of $1.85 billion.

    Only two NBA teams, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks, have made it to the top 50 list while none of the National Hockey League clubs figure in the list dominated by professional clubs from US.

    As many as four NFL teams have entered the top 10 table besides two teams from MLB. Joining Man-U and Real Madrid in the top 10 list are Spanish club Barcelona at No. 8 list and English club Arsenal at No 10 spot.

    The top 50 list has two Formula One racing teams, Ferrari with a value of $1.1 billion, and McLaren valued at $800 million.

    Forbes Top 10 teams:
    1. Manchester United (soccer) - $2.23 billion
    2. Real Madrid (soccer) - $1.88 billion
    3. New York Yankees (MLB) - $1.85 billion
    4. Dallas Cowboys (NFL) - $1.85 billion
    5. Washington Redskins (NFL) - $1.56 billion
    6. Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB) - $1.40 billion
    7. New England Patriots (NFL) - $1.40 billion
    8. Barcelona (soccer) - $1.31 billion
    9. New York Giants (NFL) - $1.30 billion
    10. Arsenal (soccer) - $1.29 billion

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    Manchester United
  • UFA Sports to distribute ManU's pre-season tour matches

    Submitted by ITV Production on Jul 12
    indiantelevision.com Team

    MUMBAI: Manchester United has teamed up with Germany-based international sports media company UFA Sports to distribute the 2012 pre-season tour to TV viewers across the world.

    The Red Devils are travelling over three different continents this summer to prepare for the upcoming Premier League campaign. With stops in Europe, Africa and Asia over a time period of three weeks, Sir Alex Ferguson?s men will compete in interesting friendly matches in sold-out stadiums to get into shape.

    Manchester United will kick off the tour in South Africa on 18 July, before flying out to China to face Super League club Shanghai Shenhua in front of tens of thousands of Chinese United fans. In early August, the squad will return to Europe and finish off the tour with matches against teams from Western Europe, including the top match against FC Barcelona.

    Image
    Manchester United
  • Manchester United files for $100 mn IPO in US

    Submitted by ITV Production on Jul 04
    indiantelevision.com Team

    MUMBAI: After calling off its $1 billion initial public offering (IPO) in Singapore due to volatile market conditions, well-known English Premier League (EPL) club Manchester United has filed for a $100 million IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

    It will become the first UK soccer club to go public in the US in more than a decade. The club was listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) from 1991 until June 2005.

    The club, which is owned by American Glazer family, said it will issue Class A and Class B, with the latter controlling most of the voting rights. The club did not specify the launch date, stock symbol, price range or size of the IPO.

    Manchester United said they intend to use all the net proceeds of the issue to reduce debt, which stands at $664 million higher than the $520 million revenue it earned last year.

    "Our indebtedness could adversely affect our financial health and competitive position and reduce the availability of our cash flow to fund the hiring and retention of players and coaching staff," Manchester United said in its filing.

    The team would become a wholly owned subsidiary of Manchester United Ltd, a newly formed holding company based in the Cayman Islands.

    "In the Premier League, recent investment from wealthy team owners has led to teams with deep financial backing that are able to acquire top players and coaching staff, which could result in improved performance from those teams in domestic and European competitions,? the Manchester United filing said.

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    Glazer
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