Germany

SportA, the sports rights agency for German public-service broadcasters ARD and ZDF, has agreed a two-year sublicensing deal with telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom for rights to the Basketball Bundesliga, the top division of the sport in Germany.

UK pay-television broadcaster BSkyB has moved another step closer to sealing the acquisitions of pay-television broadcasters Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia by announcing it has received approval for the deal from German state media authorities.

German sports broadcaster Sport1 has agreed an exclusive live rights deal with Brose Baskets for the Basketball Bundesliga club’s 2014-15 campaign in the Eurocup competition.

Digital sports media company Perform has appointed Dirk Ifsen as managing director for Germany.

The Sportsman Media Group agency has agreed a two-year extension to its contract with SportA, the sports rights agency for German public-service broadcasters ARD and ZDF, to cover the German Ice Hockey League (DEL).

BSkyB’s proposal to acquire pay-television broadcasters Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia has been overwhelmingly approved by the UK pay-television broadcaster’s shareholders.

Sports broadcaster Sport1 has acquired exclusive free-to-air rights in Germany for the inaugural European Games.

Media company Constantin Medien will expand its management board to three people on October 1, while its sport subsidiaries will undergo managerial restructuring.

European pay-television sports broadcaster Eurosport has confirmed the acquisition of rights in Germany for the MotoGP motorcycling world championship.

Pan-European sports broadcaster Eurosport has agreed a deal for the rights to the MotoGP motorcycling championship in Germany, according to Speedweek.com.

The Formula E motor racing series secured strong rights fees in Germany for its inaugural season, mostly through a deal with pay-television broadcaster Sky Deutschland agreed earlier this month.

The European Handball Federation saw the value of its Champions League rights in Germany rebound in a new deal with Sky Deutschland, following a drop in the previous cycle.

German sports broadcaster Sport1 has acquired the free-to-air rights to the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the top division of the sport in Germany, after agreeing a two-year deal with the league’s rights-holder, telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom.

Mike Kiernan, analyst for SportBusiness Intelligence, examines television audiences in key European markets for last month’s European Athletics Championships

German public-service broadcaster ARD will consider showing boxing bouts beyond the end of this year on an ad hoc basis and is considering bringing back coverage of the Tour de France cycling race, according to spokeswoman Anna Engelke.

The management and board of Sky Deutschland have recommended that shareholders in the German pay-television broadcaster should reject a takeover offer from UK pay-television broadcaster BSkyB.