Alex Donaldson

United Kingdom

Assistant Editor at VG247

Video game critic. Owner @RPGSite, Assistant Editor @VG247, freelance elsewhere. Mixed Race. Street Fighter, Whisky, Final Fantasy, Lego & NFL expert/saddo.

Articles

Premier Sports continues rugby rights sweep with URC extension through 2029

1 week ago | sportcal.com | Alex Donaldson

UK pay-TV sports network Premier Sports has reaffirmed its commitment to the rugby union market, extending its broadcast partnership with the United Rugby Championship competition for the next four years. Premier Sports will air every URC game, 151 per season, every year through the 2028-29 season, with 131 games being exclusive broadcasts.
One Championship: Internationalizing a promotion in the digital age

1 week ago | sportcal.com | Alex Donaldson

Among mixed martial arts (MMA) promotions, One Championship is unique in that MMA is not its main focus, but rather one of four sports that the company promotesWith Muay Thai, kickboxing, and submission grappling also thrown into the mix, One’s offering is more varied than that of its competitors, and its focus on the Asian market in particular has allowed the business to distinguish itself in a crowded field of international promotions.
FIBA secures expanded German coverage with ProSieben, DT's Magenta

1 week ago | sportcal.com | Alex Donaldson

Basketball governing body FIBA has announced new broadcast partnerships in Germany with free-to-air commercial network ProSiebenSat.1 and the country’s Deutsche Telekom telecommunications giant. The four-year accord covers the 2025-2029 media rights cycle, which will begin in November 2025 with the qualifiers for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup and conclude with the 2029 edition of the quadrennial EuroBasket tournament.
McIlroy Masters triumph draws massive viewership in US, UK

1 week ago | sportcal.com | Alex Donaldson

Golf’s 2025 Masters has attracted strong viewership internationally thanks to strong play across the field and Rory McIlroy’s career Grand Slam-securing triumphThe tournament, which is staged annually at the Augusta National Golf Club in the US, was a major draw for its tense April 13 final round on US broadcaster CBS, which drew a 12.71 million viewer average across that round, which ended in a tie-breaker win for McIlroy.
Seven Network secures 2026, 2030 Commonwealth Games rights in Australia

1 week ago | sportcal.com | Alex Donaldson

Australia’s free-to-air Seven Network has secured exclusive media rights in the country to the 2026 and 2030 editions of the Commonwealth Games multi-sport event. The linear Seven Network, as well as the broadcaster’s 7Plus OTT platform, will disseminate coverage of the games, it was announced over the weekend. This agreement covers linear broadcast, streaming, radio, and social media coverage as well.
Midnite closes series B funding round with $10m in investment

1 week ago | sportcal.com | Alex Donaldson

UK sports betting and online casino operator Midnite closed a series B funding round, raising $10 million (£7.7 million) amid its consumer awareness push in the UK. The funding round was led by a trio of major investors, including the online gambling private equity fund Discerning Capital, the Raine Group advisory and investment firm, and the igaming venture capital vehicle Play Ventures.
Hands-on: Donkey Kong Bananza is extremely Super Mario Odyssey-coded, but also nails that delicious, specific Rare flair

1 week ago | vg247.com | Alex Donaldson

Nintendo has a silly new tradition. Pre-release, it doesn’t actually talk about who makes its games. This is part of an overall Nintendo-wide strategy about focusing on the experiences rather than the people. So while it might be exciting to learn that the studio behind Super Mario Odyssey is behind Donkey Kong’s latest outing, we don’t actually know if it is. But it sure looks like it.
FIA turmoil continues as vice-president Reid departs

1 week ago | sportcal.com | Alex Donaldson

Motor racing’s FIA governing body is set for continued turmoil after the resignation of its deputy president Robert Reid over what he reportedly called “a steady erosion of the principles we promised to uphold.” Reid entered the role in 2021 alongside then newly-elected FIA president Mohammed Ben-Sulayem, but in the years since, his relationship with the body’s leader has deteriorated, with Reid pointing to “decisions are being made behind closed doors, bypassing the very structures and...
Drive to Thrive: How F1 revitalized itself and became a commercial giant

2 weeks ago | sportcal.com | Alex Donaldson

In 2017, US mass media ownership group Liberty Media decided to enter the world of motorsports ownership, setting out to acquire racing’s elite series, Formula 1 (F1). Although F1 has always been the highest class of open-wheel racing, the series’ brand had struggled in the years leading up to the purchase, with commercial values suffering as spiraling costs and stagnant revenues led to multiple teams going bust.
Men's, women's March Madness finals strong once again in post-Clark era

2 weeks ago | sportcal.com | Alex Donaldson

The showpiece finals of the men’s and women’s “March Madness” NCAA Division I tournaments saw the two iconic college tournaments end on a strong note in the viewership stakes. The men’s fixture, a thrilling comeback win for Florida over Houston drew an average of 18.1 million viewers on Paramount Global-owned national network CBS.