India

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

Sony was this week forced to renegotiate its deal for Twenty20 cricket’s IPL, after losing a court case in which it claimed that the original deal had been illegally terminated.

American Football: US digital satellite platform DirecTV extended its deal for the rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket package in a four-year deal, from 2011 to 2014, with the National Football League

Sony is facing a massive loss on its coverage of India’s cricket tour to New Zealand, which started this week.

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.

Asian Games: Hong Kong pay-broadcaster I-Cable Communications acquired the exclusive television and internet rights for the 2010 Asian Games, in Guangzhou, in a deal worth an estimated $1m (€780,000).

UK pay-broadcaster Setanta’s audiences for Premier League football are up 56 per cent on last season, according to the latest figures.

The Pakistan Cricket Board’s expectation of an early pay-day from its new lucrative television rights deal has been struck a major blow by last week’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Negotiations for the European rights for the 2014 and 2016 Olympics were building to a climax this week, as talks intensified between the EBU and the IOC

Fast Track is facing tough talks with broadcasters for the 2010 Commonwealth Games rights

Pan-regional broadcaster ESPN Star Sports increased rights fees five-fold to retain its hold on Formula One rights in Asia.

The latest commercial earthquake to hit a sport whose governance is in danger of being severely unbalanced by the explosion of Twenty20 cricket.

The phenomenal television-ratings success of last month’s Beijing Olympics will add considerable momentum to the International Olympic Committee’s broadcast rights negotiations in Europe and the US for the 2014 and 2016 Games.

Olympics: The Asia-Pacific Broad-casting Union acquired the free-to-air terrestrial and radio rights for the 2010 and 2012 Olympics for $10m (£5.1m/€6.4m) in a deal with the International Olympic Committee. 

Africa keeps Canal on course for Ligue 1 profits

Football: Pan-Asian broadcaster ESPN Star Sports acquired the exclusive television rights in the Indian sub-continent for Fifa events in 2009 and 2010, including the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.