Europe

Ice Hockey

Eurosport continued its gradual rise from a basic-tier to a premium pay-television broadcaster this month in Russia, following deals for National Hockey League and Wimbledon tennis rights.

Motorsport

The price of Formula One media rights has fallen and stayed flat in recent deals for Austria and Russia respectively, reflecting the lack of competition for the property in both markets.

Rugby Union

French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus has retained rights for the Top 14, the top division of rugby union in the country.

Viasat, the pay-television operator run by multi-territory commercial and pay-television broadcaster Modern Times Group, will launch a new ultra-high-definition channel ahead of the start of the next football season.

Football

UK telecommunications company BT has confirmed that its pay-television broadcaster BT Sport will provide the 2015-16 finals of the Uefa Champions League and Europa League via video-sharing platform YouTube, while it has agreed a partnership with EE, the firm’s mobile network operator subsidiary.

Horse Racing

UK horse racing pay-television broadcaster Racing UK has extended a streaming contract with digital sports media group Perform.

Football

LaLiga, the organising body of the top division of Spanish football, has said it will broadcast a number of pre-season games featuring its clubs via its official channel on video-sharing platform YouTube.

Multi-sport

The UK’s Culture Secretary, John Whittingdale, has confirmed that the government will not alter the ‘crown jewels’ list of sporting events reserved for free-to-air television in the country.

Football

Telecommunications company TalkTalk has sealed a deal to carry pay-television broadcaster BT Sport on its TalkTalk TV platform ahead of the 2016-17 English Premier League season.

Football

Axel Springer chief executive Mathias Döpfner has said that the German media company will participate in the auction for the next cycle of rights to the top-tier domestic football Bundesliga, but will not seal a deal at an inflated price.

Rugby Union

The BBC Scotland division of UK public-service broadcaster the BBC has acquired rights to the Scottish rugby union team’s two-Test series against Japan.

Volleyball

French digital-terrestrial television channel L’Équipe 21 has acquired rights to the International Volleyball Federation’s (FIVB) World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Tokyo, Japan – which represents the final chance for France’s men’s national team to qualify for Rio 2016.

Football

German sports broadcaster Sport1 has agreed a deal with SportA, the sports rights agency of public-service broadcasters ARD and ZDF, granting it online video highlights of the Uefa Euro 2016 national team football tournament.

Football

Italian DTT sports broadcaster Sportitalia has acquired rights to the 2016 season of Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, the top division of Brazilian club football.

Olympic Games

US media and entertainment company Discovery Communications has sealed its latest sublicensing deal for Olympic Games rights in Europe through an agreement with Czech public-service broadcaster Ceska Televize.

Football

The German Football Association (DFB) has confirmed a three-season extension to its rights deal with pay-television broadcaster Sky Deutschland for the DFB-Pokal club knockout competition.

Football

German commercial broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 has acquired rights to the Copa América Centenario, the special edition of the national team football tournament which is being hosted by the United States next

Multi-sport

The European Broadcasting Union has said talks with Romanian government officials over the future of Televiziunea Română (TVR) have been constructive following the suspension last month of the public-service broadcaster’s EBU membership privileges.