Analysis

Ted Forstmann, owner of the IMG agency, could prove the exception to the rule.

Pay-per-view audiences for English football’s Premier League are up by 27 per cent for the opening matches of the season.

Setanta last week renewed its deal for German football’s Bundesliga for a further three years.

The EBU is set to renew its deal with the Fédération Equestre Internationale, equestrianism’s world governing body.

Eurosport acquired the German rights for handball’s Champions League in what is a rare departure from its pan-European acquisition strategy.

Finnish commercial broadcaster MTV3 renewed its television-rights deal for motorsport’s Formula One championship.

Pakistan cable and satellite broadcaster Geo TV will launch a sports channel in time to show cricket’s Champions Trophy.

The ICC is expecting fees of up to $1 billion (£535 million/€790 million) for its next television and new-media rights deal.

BSkyB exploited the connections of its parent company, News Corp, to keep hold of the UK rights for American football’s National Football League.

The EBU has asked the Fédération Internationale de Ski, to reduce the length of the Alpine World Championships in order to cut television costs.

Seventeen or more agencies and broadcasters have submitted bids to Uefa, European football’s governing body, for the Euro 2008 rights outside Europe.

Italy’s troubled telecoms giant, Telecom Italia, is on a collision course with the government over deals it agreed with five Serie A clubs.

Poor viewing for the European athletics championships in Gothenburg will not help the European Athletics Association get the fee increase it is trying to get.

The domestic ice hockey leagues in Sweden and Norway have signed new live television deals.

The emergence of Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal is responsible for a fierce three-way battle for the Spanish rights for tennis’s Masters series.

ESPN Australia consolidated its position in the country’s pay-television market by outbidding Fox Sports for European rugby union’s Heineken Cup rights.

The Belgian football association's decision to sell the Flemish television rights of national team matches on a match-by-match basis has spectacularly backfired.

Japanese professional football’s J-League has agreed a new television-rights deal with a new broadcaster.