Nordics

Football: Philippines commercial broadcaster ABS-CBN acquired the rights for the 2010 World Cup in a $1m (€750,000) deal with the Football Media Services agency.

Norwegian football’s top-tier domestic league, the Tippeliga, has turned down extra revenues from pay-television in order to give its internet partners more exclusivity.

Athletics: UK public-service broad-caster the BBC extended its deal for domestic athletics events for a further six years, from 2009 to 2014

The Finnish Competition Authority has been widely criticised for its decision to force pay-broadcaster Canal Plus to sublicense on domestic ice hockey rights in return for approving its merger with Swedish broadcast group TV4.

Fox Turkey, the News-owned general entertainment channel that last week won the rights for 2014 and 2016 Olympics, hopes that the acquisition will help it fulfil its ambition of becoming Turkey’s most popular network.

Baseball: US sports network ESPN extended a deal with Major League Baseball’s Advanced Media arm for inter-active television and other digital media rights through to 2013.

The EBU won the rights for World Cup skiing events in Austria despite offering less than its main rival and the previous incumbent, the Infront Sports and Media agency.

Athletics: The Shanghai Media Group acquired the rights in China for the World Athletic Series in a four-year deal from 2010 to 2013

Football: Pan-Scandinavian broadcaster Modern Times Group acquired the rights in Denmark, Sweden and Norway for the Uefa Champions League and Uefa Super Cup in a three-year deal from 2009-10 to 2011-12

Top sports rights-holders Uefa and Formula One Management have achieved good rights-fee increases in Scandinavia.

News in Brief

Football: Spanish pay-television operator Sogecable acquired the television rights for the 2010 Fifa World Cup in a deal with Fifa worth just over €90m (£71m). 

Ratings fall but battling Tour sees signs of hope

Olympics: The Asian Broadcasting Union agreed deals in Indonesia for the 2008 Beijing Games with free-to-air broadcaster TVRI and pay-operator Astro.

Football: German commercial broadcaster RTL sublicensed a package of nine 2010 Fifa World Cup matches from pay-television operator Premiere, with an option to purchase a further nine matches.

Norwegian football has avoided a major cut in rights fees.