Europe

The decision this week to suspend the media rights deal between Lega Calcio and Sky Italia was based on a questionable – and probably flawed – interpretation of European competition law, according to legal experts.

Indian broadcaster Zee is in the process of completing its takeover of Dubai-based sports broadcaster Ten Sports.

The England FA is determined not to be panicked into agreeing a quick-fix deal in solving the problem caused by the demise of Setanta, its secondary domestic television rights partner.

The flourishing Middle East sports-rights market could hold the key to the MP & Silva agency getting a return on its investment in the international rights to Serie A.

The battle between rival Scandinavian platforms Canal Digital and Viasat has driven apart the free-to-air consortium that was aiming to land the rights for Euro 2012 in a pan-regional deal.

MTV3 has extended its deal for Formula One until 2012, securing what has been the cornerstone of its mini-pay offering for a further three years.

Football: Lega Calcio, the body representing Italian football’s top clubs, agreed a number of deals for the domestic and international rights for the country’s top two divisions, Serie A and Serie B, …

Baseball: Chinese broadcasters Shenzhen TV, Jiangsu TV and Beijing TV acquired packages of rights for Major League Baseball matches in 2009 and 2010 in deals with Major League Baseball International,…

ARD and ZDF are looking to break the trend of escalating sports rights costs for major events, taking a hardline stance in talks for football’s Euro 2012 and the 2014 and 2016 Olympics.

A takeover of Saudi-owned Middle East pay-broadcaster Arab Radio and Television by Qatar-based Al Jazeera Sports is likely to still go ahead, according to industry insiders.

Lega Calcio moved this week to calm concerns about the transparency of its tender process for the international rights to Serie A.

Sky Italia is set to drop its coverage of Formula One motor racing in what would be the latest – and most high-profile – cut in its sports-rights spending.

The Swedish football federation has received a good response to its recent television tender for national team and domestic league rights, but there are signs that it will face as tough a sell as last time.

Primetime launched last week in an attempt to exploit the increasing amount of sport missing out on live television coverage.

The launch of EXQI Plus has been delayed, affecting coverage of Uefa’s second-tier Europa League competition, rights for which the new channel acquired earlier this year.

Football: Middle East pay-broadcaster Al Jazeera Sports acquired the rights for Euro 2012 and 2016 in a deal with Uefa, European football’s governing body, worth $100m (€67m) overall. Al