Analysis
Football League rides the global rights-fee wave
The English Football League this week confirmed the buoyant state of the worldwide sports rights market with a four-fold rise in international rights fees to £24 million
Table tennis to reap benefits from Beijing showcase
The International Table Tennis Federation, the sport’s governing body, will start renewal talks next month for its key commercial rights contract in what is a crucial summer for the sport.
Realitatea’s league sponsorship deal leaves bad taste
Taste of victory soured by league title-sponsorship deal with rival broadcaster Realitatea.
Lagardère pays ‘reasonable’ price for Asian growth
Analysts reacted positively to French media group Lagardère’s recent
BSkyB’s pick-battles with Setanta get growing audience
UK pay-operator BSkyB’s live television audiences for English football’s Premier League rose in 2007-08 after three years of decline
Agencies, TV bid for ‘new’ rights
Men's and women's national team, national underage teams, and domestic league rights on market
Dutch TV impasse over World Cup qualifiers’ price
Sportfive valuation at £604,000 per match is double the amount broadcasters claim they will earn in ad revenue
US networks fight on to avoid promoter tag
US Senate votes to establish boxing commission with power to designate broadcasters as promoters
Sky Italia fights terrestrial TV for highlights viewers
Sky also wants league to hold back free-to-air highlights until late evening, starting from 2005-06
Late slots show Six Nations how to win viewers
Late kick-offs work, at least for broadcasters of the Six Nations tournament in France and the UK. And they would like more of them.
Athletics integrity comes before TV, says IAAF head
Changes to make athletics more television-friendly will happen, but will take time and will not be allowed to undermine integrity of the sport
Bundesliga rejects the unknown to take lower bid
Incumbent Premiere's lower offer chosen over bigger, but more financially risky ProSiebenSat.1 offer
Japan wins lower fees for World Cup but it’s still a risk
Main risks for broadcasters are unfavourable timezone and national team potentially failing to qualify
Agencies get one week to bid for rugby world cup
Surprise within industry at tight timeline and offer of one-tournament deal only
Octagon has to quit auction after guarantee is withdrawn
The Octagon agency, favourites to win the English Premier League’s international rights in the Middle East, was thrown into gloom late last month when parent company Interpublic refused to guarantee i…
‘Very few want to follow Premier’
Thomas Martens, chief executive of WPP’s Global Sportnet
‘Only top rights can go in-house’
A senior agent at Interpublic’s Octagon