Analysis
De Mol shakes up TV football
John de Mol, pioneer of the Big Brother and Fear Factor reality-television formats, is about to shake up the sports-rights market in the Netherlands
Big falls for BBC and live Sky viewing of Premier League
Television viewing of live coverage of English football’s Premier League has fallen heavily this season.
Rai buys top domestic rugby
Italian state broadcaster Rai has agreed a one-year deal with the Lega Italiana Rugby Eccellenza for the exclusive rights to the top division
Israel’s Charlton gets ppv approval
The Israeli Cable Council, a government agency, gave approval this week for pay-per-view company Charlton to televise Israeli football’s Premier League and the English Premier League
Favourite RTP loses hold on league TV rights
Portuguese commercial channel TVI acquired the domestic free-to-air television rights for the country’s top football league
So even Rai liked the Olympics. Not bad for an ‘excessive luxury’
The Athens Olympics attracted impressive ratings for Europe’s public-service broadcasters
Euro champs in demand – for now
Unprecedented demand from broadcasters worldwide to cover the Greek national team’s matches
Israeli TV pressed to buy rights of national team
Immense government and public pressure for the team’s other away matches to be covered.
The art of buying and selling qualifier rights
Sports agencies have had a busy fortnight negotiating deals for the opening round of 2006 World Cup
Premier goes to EC over Olympics
German pay-television operator Premiere is to make a formal complaint to the European commission about the International Olympic Committee’s tender
Radical changes to America’s Cup boosts TV deals
The America’s Cup, sailing’s premier event, is on course for a huge increase in television coverage
New life for 3G from new Premier deal
Three, is at last beginning to generate value from its 3G sports rights
India’s deal sets cricket record but can TV afford it?
The sale of Indian cricket television rights for the next four years will be the most valuable cricket deal agreed by a national cricket board
Murdoch: Relax merger rules
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is to ask the European Commission to reconsider the conditions under which it allowed the creation of pay-television operator Sky Italia
France may lose ice-skating unless it finds TV host
The International Skating Union could strip France of the right to host the 2006 European ice skating championships
Growing TV pushes Samsung to new title deal
Electronics company Samsung is set to renew its title sponsorship of show jumping’s Nations Cup
G14 may drop Euro-blueprint
The expected clash over the future of European club football between the G14 group of top European clubs and Uefa is unlikely to materialise
UPC to launch sports channel
UPC, the pan-European cable company, is to launch a second sports channel in Hungary