Italy
Sportfive wins top Italian clubs, but must fight for rest
The Sportfive agency looks to be in a strong position to take the international rights of the rest of the Serie A clubs.
Rai Trade quits foreign rights sales
Rai Trade, commercial arm of state broadcaster Rai, is to quit the selling of sports rights on the international market.
New bidder forced Sky Italia to raise fees for top clubs
Sky Italia’s expensive and quickly-negotiated deals with Italy’s top three football clubs were to at least a large extent the result of a rival bid from a newly-formed group of top sports executives and bankers.
Mediaset to bid against Rai for away qualifiers
Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset is set to make another attempt to show the national football team’s matches for the first time.
Serie A’s big three increase TV fees
Sky Italia’s new deals with Italy’s top three clubs cover two seasons, 2005-06 and 2006-07.
Rai puts name to EBU bid – with separate offer
EBU to patch together a “pan-European” bid for the next round of Olympic Games television rights.
Sky Italia’s surprise deals
Rupert Murdoch’s Sky Italia pay-television company astonished experienced industry observers by signing lucrative rights deals with Italy’s top three clubs.
TV cash is key to election of Lega Calcio president
Italy’s biggest clubs, Juventus and AC Milan, enriched by individually-sold television-rights contracts, have wondered for the last few years how they could get even richer.
New mini-spot ad rules may not appease Brussels
Hope that changes to the rules about the use of mini-spot advertisements during football matches will be enough to appease the European Commission.
TV RIGHTS CLIPS 2: Basketball, wrestling, horseracing and more
Basketball: Spain’s top domestic league, the ACB Liga, failed to agree television deals in time for the start of its season for the second successive year.
Brussels probes Murdoch deals with Serie A clubs
The European Commission has opened an investigation into the television rights deals which Rupert Murdoch’s Sky Italia signed with Italy’s top three football clubs
Ruling on Serie A ‘burden’ boosts superleague move
Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio accept Bologna complaint that the annual €100 million payment by Serie A clubs to Serie B clubs is 'excessively onerous'
Gioco Calcio wins lifeline, as Sky hits subscriber trouble
Lega Calcio buys €3 million stake in ppv football channel
TV RIGHTS CLIPS 1: Cricket, football, swimming and rugby union
Cricket: Indian broadcaster Zee Telefilms made a $308m (£174m/ €257m) bid for the worldwide television rights to Indian cricket for four years, from October 2004 to September 2008.
Rai buys top domestic rugby
Italian state broadcaster Rai has agreed a one-year deal with the Lega Italiana Rugby Eccellenza for the exclusive rights to the top division
So even Rai liked the Olympics. Not bad for an ‘excessive luxury’
The Athens Olympics attracted impressive ratings for Europe’s public-service broadcasters
The art of buying and selling qualifier rights
Sports agencies have had a busy fortnight negotiating deals for the opening round of 2006 World Cup
Radical changes to America’s Cup boosts TV deals
The America’s Cup, sailing’s premier event, is on course for a huge increase in television coverage