Ireland

Horseracing:  UK commercial broadcaster Channel 4 signed a one-year deal to continue its horseracing coverage in 2006 after the horseracing and betting industries agreed to pay the channel £4.95m (€7.4m). 

Football: Spanish free-to-air broadcaster Cuatro sublicensed the non-exclusive rights to at least seven matches from the upcoming World Cup from rival broadcaster La Sexta in a deal worth €20m (£14m).

Football’s Champions League final was not the only major sporting event in May to attract good viewing for broadcasters around Europe.

The English Premier League’s £82 million (€119 million) deal for live rights in Ireland is a record sports-rights deal for the country.

Dramatic tournament attracts best-ever audiences in four key markets

Cricket:  Indian pay-television broadcaster Sony Entertainment Television acquired the international rights to this month’s India v Pakistan tour for $11.5m (£6m/€8.7m).

Commonwealth Games:  UK public-service broadcaster the BBC acquired the rights to the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in a deal with the Fastrack agency, which is selling the rights on behalf of the organisers.

Cricket:  Indian public-service broadcaster Doordarshan was awarded the domestic rights to the upcoming India v Pakistan series by the Madras High Court, which was ruling on the case brought by Indian broadcaster Zee Telefilms.

Rugby union’s Six Nations has secured significant rights fee increases

Olympics:  The Bell Globemedia-Rogers Communications consortium won the Canadian rights to the 2010 and 2012 Olympics

The Six Nations championship boosted television audiences in all participating countries except Italy.

Irish government likely to add final day’s coverage of the Ryder Cup to its list of events protected for free-to-air coverage.

Irish broadcasters TV3 and Setanta issue complaint against ITV