Nimbus Sport bags Premier League’s mobile and Internet rights till 2010

Nimbus Sport, a sports rights management company, has bagged the mobile and Internet rights for the 2007/2008 Barclays Premier League, which began on August 11, 2007 and will go on until May 2008, showcasing 380 matches. With this win, Nimbus has expanded its portfolio of rights in new media and in the sport (football).

Nimbus Sport has won the rights for the next three years for more than 80 countries across the globe, including China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and other countries in Asia; UAE, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, and other countries in the Middle East and North Africa; Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece, and Belgium in Europe; and reaching as far as Brazil, Australia and New Zealand.

Digvijay Singh, CEO, Nimbus Sport, says, “This is the first time that the Premier League has offered Internet rights separately from broadcast rights, and Nimbus Sport is delighted to be a pioneering commercial partner for the world’s leading football property. With both the Internet rights and the mobile rights to work on, we are excited at the prospect of bringing top football on new media devices to fans around the world. We have already closed major deals with licensees in Italy, Japan, China, Korea, Australia, Hong Kong and many other major markets – the intensity of the demand for Premier League match action on new media is very impressive indeed.”

Richard Scudamore, chief executive, Premier League, says, “New media markets are an increasingly important part of our international broadcast strategy and landscape. Nimbus demonstrated the requisite drive and market knowledge to secure the mobile and Internet rights for some of the key areas of Premier League growth and I am sure they will offer quality production and delivery to prospective licensees and fans alike.”

Nimbus Sport will market these rights in conjunction with PA SportEV – a subsidiary of PA Sport. The Premier League is widely regarded as the elite club competition in world football. Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool are among the 20 clubs that constitute the Premier League.