Analysis

French public-service broadcaster France Télévisions has launched a digital terrestrial channel, France 4

International Hockey Federation is said to have signed its longest, most lucrative television-rights deal ever

Finland’s top domestic ice hockey league, the SM-liiga, is to put most of its matches on to pay-television

Sogecable is to end its financial backing of European club basketball’s top-tier league, the Euroleague

The privatisation of Danish public-service broadcaster TV2 has been called off because of the financial insecurity surrounding the channel

Audacious raid of 29 sports, media and intellectual-technology lawyers and their clients

Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset could face a tough battle holding on to its lengthy media-rights deals with Italy’s top football clubs

The IMG-TWI agency has made a number of high-level redundancies

The European Broadcasting Union is planning to bid for the first time for the rights for handball’s World Championships

Men's World Handball Championships in Germany attracts big audiences across Europe

German pay-broadcaster Premiere is understood to be in talks to take over the free-to-air sports channel Deutsches Sport-Fernsehen (DSF)

The Ladies Professional Golf Association tour is bringing in the bulk of its television-rights fees from Asia

The rights for French handball’s top properties have been put out for tender

Prospects for a new Swedish sports channel, SportExpressen, could well hang on its coverage of second-tier domestic rights for ice hockey and football

Bidders in the Netherlands and Belgium to submit new bids because the initial offers were too low.

Polish pay-broadcaster Canal Plus has won the live rights for the Polish football league

Norway's top leagues have been forced to compromise on taking over ownership and sale of league rights

The consortium of seven Nordic free-to-air broadcasters which own the World Cup rights for 2006 has bid again for the rights for the 2010 tournament