Italy

The Italian antitrust authority cleared Mediaset’s controversial acquisition of SportItalia’s free-to-air television operation.

The Turin Winter Olympics attracted impressive audiences to European public-service broadcasters.

The imminent deal between Italian state broadcaster Rai and the Sportfive agency for the rights to football’s European Championship in 2008 has angered Rai’s fellow broadcasters.

Football: French mobile operator Orange acquired the mobile phone rights to France’s Ligue 1 in a two-year deal, covering the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons.

Football: Italian broadcaster Mediaset acquired the broadcast rights across any medium to top Serie A club Inter Milan in a two-year deal worth €200m (£137m), covering the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.

Mediaset’s plan to sell more of its sports programming to mobile phone operators, could be hit by an investigation by the Italian antitrust authority.

The French football league’s €29 million a-year- deal with Orange for its mobile rights places it second among Europe’s top six leagues.

Cricket: Pan-Asian broadcaster ESPN Star Sports acquired the worldwide rights for International Cricket Council events from September 2007 through to 2015.

Sportfive, Kentaro, IMG get plenty of ties against the big five teams; Infront do not fare so well

An exciting championship this year boosted MotoGP television audiences in the sport’s two major European markets, Italy and Spain.

English football’s Premier League began its international audiovisual rights sales in dramatic style with massive first-round awards in three of its most competitive markets.