Italy

Two founding clubs in rights negotiations with Sky

Calls for reduction in free-to-air highlights

Huge difference in valuations indicate that a deal with ARD and ZDF for all 40 matches is unlikely

Sky likely to make pan-European bid

New media content reseller wants a 50 per cent discount on retail price of Sky channels

Terrestrial channel snatches rights from incumbent Rai for a 300-per-cent rights fee increase

Cricket: Pan-Asian satellite channel Ten Sports agreed a sub-licensing deal with Indian state broadcaster Doordarshan for highlights of the forthcoming Indian tour of Pakistan

Mobile operator turns to Media Partners subsidiary, MP Web, to sell rights outside Italy

Football: French pay-broadcaster Canal Plus acquired the exclusive live rights and a highlights package for the French football league in a three-year deal

Cycling: Italian public-service broadcaster Rai agreed a four-year deal with the European Broadcasting Union, from 2005 to 2008, for coverage of the Tour de France. 

Rai, the Italian state broadcaster, this week defended its aggressive stance towards the European Broadcasting Union

Media Partners and the family of Riccardo Silva are close to acquiring the international TV rights for eight of Italian football’s 20 Serie A clubs.

A Mediaset plan to launch its digital-terrestrial pay-per-view football service next month, nine months ahead of schedule, could be a serious blow to pay-television platform Sky Italia

Commercial broadcasters have questioned the effectiveness of the rights sublicensing scheme drawn up to placate the European Commission by the EBU.

Ice Hockey: The US National Hockey League signed a two-year deal with the NBC network, with an option to renew for a further two years

Handball: Danish public-service broadcaster Danmarks Radio acquired the rights to both men’s and women’s Champions League competitions from the European Handball Federation in a five-year deal, from 2006-07 to 2010-11.