France

Football
Europe

Football: Sports broadcaster ESPN acquired the UK rights previously held by Setanta for 46 Premier League matches from the 2009-10 season and 23 matches a season for the three years from 2010-11 to 2012-13,…
Football
Europe

Orange is to target French Open tennis rights as it returns to the sports acquisition trail, having put rights-buying on hold in recent months because of a continuing legal row over the distribution of its Orange Sport channel.
Football
Argentina

Football: Portuguese commercial broadcaster SIC sublicensed the rights for 18 of the 56 matches from next year’s Fifa World Cup from public-service broadcaster RTP.
Athletics
Croatia

Athletics: US free-to-air broadcaster NBC extended its deal with the New York City Road Runners for the television rights for the New York City marathon for three years from 2009 to 2011
Football
Asia

The fate of UK pay broadcaster Setanta was hanging by a thread late this week, as TV Sports Markets went to press.
Football
Europe

The cumulative average television audience across the big five European markets for this season’s Champions League final was 27 per cent up on the final in 2007-08.

Football
Africa

Football: Spanish media group Prisa agreed a deal with the Mediapro agency for the exclusive pay-television rights of one La Liga match each week, to be shown on Prisa’s Canal Plus premium channel, and t…
Basketball
Europe

The European basketball league managed a 24-per-cent increase in television revenues this season and is optimistic of further growth next season.

Athletics
Asia

Athletics: US broadcaster NBC and its cable and broadband subsidiary Universal Sports acquired the rights for the World Athletics Series, covering Indoor and outdoor World Championships and other events,…
Europe

The decision to move the Australian and Malaysian Formula One grands prix to later timeslots for the benefit of European television audiences has paid off.

Football
Asia

The EBU has renewed television rights deals for gymnastics, weightlifting and Greco-Roman wrestling, but pulled out of broadcasting judo, as part of a “reshaping” of its sports portfolio.
Badminton
Asia

Basketball: Eurosport Deutschland acquired live rights for nine selected playoff matches from Germany’s top league, the Basketball Bundesliga, in a deal with the league and rights-holder Sportdigital.tv.
Football
Africa

Canal Plus Events are to begin a second phase of international rights sales, targeting more deals in Asia and increased free-to-air coverage in Africa.
Rugby Union
Europe

Ireland’s first Grand Slam victory since 1948 helped rugby union Six Nations broadcasters in Ireland and the UK post record television audiences for the 2009 championship.

Football
Europe

A court decision ruling that Orange’s exclusive carriage of its Orange Sport pay-television channel is anti-competitive could prompt a review of its sports rights strategy.
Football
Africa

Football: The Sportfive agency acquired the fixed-media rights to Fifa events in a four-year deal with international football’s governing body from 2009 to 2012, including the 2010 World Cup in South A…
Athletics
Africa

Athletics: The Organización de Telecomunicaciones Iberoamericanas, the Latin American broadcasting union, acquired the rights for the 2009 World Championship for member broadcasters in Argentina (cable …
Cricket
Asia

The lack of government legislation in India over news access to sports events is provoking further tension between the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Nimbus Communications agency.