Leagues and federations worldwide must brace themselves for “very uncomfortable conversations” over the next few weeks as broadcasters’ lawyers wade through the terms of rights contracts amid the rapid spread of the coronavirus outbreak that has decimated the global sporting calendar, Sportcal has been told.

The local organising committee for this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo has admitted that the spread of the deadly coronavirus is a major concern ahead of the event.

The US broadcast of American football’s iconic Super Bowl on Sunday evening secured an average television audience of 99.9 million on national network Fox, an increase of 1.7 per cent on the figure for last year's event.

International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty is confident the arrival of new leaders at the men’s ATP Tour will result in a single, bumper annual national teams tournament on the calendar by the end of his second term.

BeIN Media Group, the Qatar-based, international pay-television broadcaster, has told Sportcal it is considering ending its $500-million outlay on Italian soccer if Serie A does not reconsider its decision to play next month's Supercoppa in Saudi Arabia.

DAZN, the big-spending international over-the-top streaming subscription service, is seeking to raise at least $500 million, according to reports.

Toby Hester, a senior figure in the European sports sponsorship industry, and well known beyond that from his time at prominent brands T-Mobile and Castrol, has died at the age of 57.

With the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup attracting unprecedented worldwide visibility and interest, the road has now been paved for other sports to do their part to increase opportunities for women on fields of play and in sport governance structures.

ESPN, the international sports broadcaster, struck a late deal with the PGA of America for rights across Latin America, Brazil and the Caribbean to the US PGA Championship, the second major of the golf season, which got under way in New York today.

China is the leading sports hosting nation in the world, ending USA's three-year reign, while Tokyo, Japan maintains its place as the dominant sports city, according to the latest in-depth research from Sportcal.