Eastern Europe

Cricket: Pan-Asian broadcaster ESPN Star Sports agreed sublicensing deals for the Twenty20 world championships, held in South Africa in September, with DirecTV (North America), Geo TV (Pakistan), Ten Sports…

Volleyball’s surging popularity in Poland helped pan regional cable and satellite broadcaster Eurosport record its highest-ever audience last weekend.

Television viewing for the 2006 World Cup in Germany smashed viewing records in several countries in Europe and elsewhere.

Golf: UK pay-broadcaster Setanta acquired the rights to the US PGA Tour in a six-year deal, from 2007 to 2012.

Basketball: The US National Basketball Association signed deals for this season with 164 broadcasters covering 215 countries.

Football: African pay-television broadcaster Supersport acquired the rights for the South African Premier Soccer League, the country’s top-tier football league, in a five-year deal, 2007-08 to 2011-12, w…

American Football: Canadian commercial broadcaster CTV and cable sports broadcaster Rogers Sportsnet acquired the Canadian rights to NFL football for the three years from 2008 to 2010, paying a combined…

Football: French commercial broadcasters TF1 and M6 confirmed their joint acquisition of the rights for Euro 2008, in a €100m (£68m) deal brokered by the Sportfive agency. 

Basketball: Polish pay-broadcaster Canal Plus acquired the live rights for the Euroleague in a three-year deal, from 2005-06 to 2007-08, with the Bonivest agency, which brokered the deal on behalf of Euroleague Basketball.

Talks over a 2006 World Cup deal in Poland remain stalled over Infront’s €20 million (£13.7 million) asking price

acquisition of cable and satellite sports channel Galaxie Sport, the main cable sports channel in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Football: Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset acquired Serie A highlights rights in a three-year deal

Commercial broadcaster RTL Klub snatched the Hungarian rights for the 2006 World Cup

Formula 1: Spanish sports agency Mediapro acquired the rights for Formula 1 in a five-year deal, 2009 to 2013, in a deal thought to be worth about €35m (£24m) a year.

Football: Spanish pay-television broadcaster Sogecable acquired the pay-rights for the Champions League in a three-year deal from the 2006-07 to 2008-09 with the Team agency

Czech Television acquired the rights for the Gambrinus Liga, but it is threatening to pull out of the deal unless the football association tackles new corruption accusations.