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The difference between reported and like-for-like growth is accounted for by the €33m impact of the full consolidation of the World Sport Group agency’s revenues at the start of the year. Lagardere acquired a 70-per-cent stake in WSG in the middle of last year.

Mediaset added an extra 400,000 active cards in the quarter, to reach 3.3 million at end-March. Mediaset Premium revenue now accounts for almost nine per cent of Mediaset’s Italian revenues.

Earlier, French clubs agreed to continue participating in the League Cup only on the basis that the competition no longer offers a Europa League place to the winner, a proposal that was accepted by the Ligue de Football Professionnel.

Poland is one of the biggest European markets where the rights for the 2009-10 to 2011-12 period have yet to be sold. Public-service broadcaster TVP and pay sports channel N Sports have the rights at present, paying a combined €6 million a year.

HiTV, which is the Premier League’s main broadcast partner at present in Nigeria, says that the consortium venture already has 18 partners and is looking for more. The consortium hopes to challenge the pan-regional dominance of the Naspers-owned Multichoice platform. Revenues from the new platform would be invested into local media and culture.

Sportfive will replace the French Tennis Federation’s long-term partner, the IMG agency. The deal will initially exclude almost all the key markets, such as Australia, Japan and the Indian sub-continent, where IMG has agreed long-term deals that run beyond 2010.

For more details see the latest issue of TV Sports Markets here

The IAAF is looking to extend its European media rights deal for at least another four years, from 2010 to 2013. If no agreement is reached with Dentsu, the IAAF will then proceed to tender in June or July.

Wakeling’s role as head of Sky Sports will be taken by Barney Francis, with Sophie Turner-Laing assuming responsibility for Sky News as part of her role as managing director, entertainment and news. Wakeling has headed BSkyB’s sports division for 15 years.

The decision will be anxiously awaited by numerous sports rights-holders hoping for a decision in Orange’s favour. If the court rejects the appeal, Orange’s recent investment in sports rights – providing competition to dominant pay-operator Canal Plus – is likely to be swiftly curtailed.

The audience on Sky Sports 2 peaked at 487,000 viewers (4.1-per-cent share) at the climax of the shoot-out. The next highest peak of the season was 373,000 for the match between the Ospreys and Leicester Tigers on 24th January.

Solar said that the fight had surpassed the P120 million ($2.5 million) generated by Pacquiao’s encounter against the now retired Oscar De La Hoya, with sources estimating final ad revenue of between P125 million and P135 million. The broadcaster gives Pacquiao P60 million a fight in a five-year deal from May 2007 to 2011.

The first option would see the broadcaster’s scheduled payments, of £153 million over the next five years, cut to £133 million.

The second option would see the deal shortened to finish at the end of 2011-12, two years early.

Citing projections from GEZ, the national organisation responsible for collecting the licence fee, the Spiegel magazine reported that ARD could be worse off to the tune of €200 million and ZDF by €100 million.

Unemployed people are exempt from paying the television licence fee and more people are likely to default on payments in the present economic climate.

Sogecable is paying increases of between 15 and 20 per cent in the new deals, which run for the British Open for three years from 2009 to 2011 and for the two US events from 2010 to 2012.

The broadcaster will also be looking to renew deals for the US Masters – which expired after this year’s event – and the US PGA Tour, which also runs out at the end of this year.

The channel, Digi Sport, will carry coverage of Spanish football’s La Liga, German Bundesliga and some Romanian league matches.

Despite launching what is essentially a rival to GSPTV, the joint-venture sports channel owned by RCS and commercial broadcaster Antena 1, RCS confirmed that its partnership with Antena will continue.

South African-based Supersport, which holds the rights in South Africa and Nigeria, showed coverage in sub-Sahara of the FA Cup semi-finals in an interim arrangement.

With Supersport the only realistic bidder for the rights, the FA looks certain to take a hit.

Japan is Uefa’s most lucrative market in Asia, with SkyPerfecTV paying some $17 million a year in its existing Champions League deal.

The new deal includes the Uefa Super Cups in 2009, 2010 and 2011 and the rights for the second-tier Europa League.

Eclat is asking for Won1.4 bn (€790,000/$1m), but the broadcasters, including SBS Sports, KBSN, MBC ESPN and Xports, are only willing to pay Won1bn. They also want a discount if the KBO goes ahead with plans to also sell rights to IPTV operators.