Germany

The IOC prompted all the major media players in Germany, Europe’s largest television market, to join the fray for the country’s television rights for the 2010 and 2012 Olympics.

Explosion of competition in Germany for the rights for football’s 2006 World Cup.

Rugby union: Pay-television operator British Sky Broadcasting acquired the live rights for English international and domestic rugby in a five-year deal, 2005-06 to 2009-10, with the Rugby Football Union, the sport’s national governing body, and Premier Rugby, the umbrella body of the country’s top-tier clubs.

Basketball:  Spain’s top domestic league, the ACB Liga, failed to agree television deals in time for the start of its season for the second successive year.

League hopes new rights-selling strategy will earn them a better rights fee, and enough to repay Infront

Double threat to Eurosport from Eurosport-sceptics within EBU, and EC investigation into EBU collective selling

Marked differences in the out-comes of the European Commission’s investigations into England’s Premier League and Germany’s Bundesliga

German pay-television broadcaster Premiere is set to acquire the live rights for the German basketball league

The German ice hockey league started the new season last week without a live-rights television deal in place.

The Athens Olympics attracted impressive ratings for Europe’s public-service broadcasters

German pay-television operator Premiere is to make a formal complaint to the European commission about the International Olympic Committee’s tender

The America’s Cup, sailing’s premier event, is on course for a huge increase in television coverage

Cricket: Indian public-service broadcaster Doordarshan agreed a deal for the terrestrial rights for select matches from International Cricket Council tournaments up until 2007, including 19 matches from the 2007 World Cup and nine from the Champions Trophy this year and in 2006

The French football league is expected to decide in the next few weeks to take over the production of at least some of its matches

Viewing rises in four out of the top five European television markets

Swedish TV4 gets best-ever viewing figure for Women's football World Cup final

Spanish public-service broadcaster TVE is enjoying a flying start for its coverage of motorcycling’s MotoGP this season, with the rivalry between young Spanish riders Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa

Further questions were prompted this week about the future role of agencies in football