Germany
TV Rights Deals 1: Champions League, World Cup, Bundesliga and more
Football: Pan-Scandinavian broadcaster Modern Times Group acquired the rights in Denmark, Sweden and Norway for the Uefa Champions League and Uefa Super Cup in a three-year deal from 2009-10 to 2011-12
Eurosport gets DFL off to flying start
Eurosport has given the Deutsch Fussball Liga an excellent start to its international rights sales for Germany’s top-tier Bundesliga.
Public-service TV’s sports-rights buying under attack
Commercial channels across Europe are challenging state broadcasters’ acquisition of major sports rights, as part of wider lobbying for stricter controls and limits on the financing of the public-service sector.
TV Rights Deals 1: Formula One, Serie A and more
Cricket: Pan-Asian broadcaster ESPN Star Sports acquired the rights for Twenty20’s cricket’s Champions League.
Plug pulled on doomed Kirch deal
The Deutsche Fussball Liga cancelled the €3 billion (£2.4 billion), six-year deal it had agreed for its media rights with Leo Kirch’s Sirius group.
Opening ceremony draws China’s biggest-ever TV audience
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV’s coverage of the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games attracted the country’s largest-ever television audience.
EBU faces uphill task as IOC looks beyond united front
The early signs are not good for the European Broadcasting Union
Compromise ‘won’t save Kirch deal’
The compromise on highlights coverage offered to the Bundeskartellamt
Cartel office: Kirch late highlights plan against consumer interest
Dr. Bernhard Heitzer, president of the Bundeskartellamt, Germany’s federal cartel office, last week delivered the following ruling on the media-rights arrangements of the Deutsche Fussball Liga
League has strong case to overturn ‘bizarre’ ruling
A legal challenge to last week’s ruling by the German cartel office on the collective selling of the Bundesliga media rights would stand a high chance of success, say lawyers.
TV RIGHTS CLIPS 2: Olympics and more
Olympics: Spanish media group Telefónica’s Latin American digital media arm Terra acquired the internet and mobile platform rights to the 2008 Olympic Games.
Dorna looks to fill Eurosport hole
MotoGP commercial rights-owner goes market-by-market, despite offer of increase in fees and exposure
Euro 2008 cock-up could prove costly
“We will be having words. [It is] the most annoying cock-up imaginable.” Dieter Gruschwitz, ZDF director of sport, reacts to the partial blackout of the Germany-Turkey semi-final. N
Eurosport still not for sale despite Murdoch advances
Pan-European sports broadcaster Eurosport said this week that it is not for sale, despite rumours to the contrary and strong interest in the company
ARD/ZDF: UCI must try harder
Tour wins new EBU deal but UCI must try harder
TV RIGHTS CLIPS 1: World Cup, Champions League, Norwegian deal
Football: German commercial broadcaster RTL sublicensed a package of nine 2010 Fifa World Cup matches from pay-television operator Premiere, with an option to purchase a further nine matches.