United Kingdom

Cycling

Negotiations upcoming with Union Cycliste Internationale and individual event organisers about World Championship and World Cup events
Boxing

BBC focusing on Audley Harrison, David Haye and Carl Froch in the next 12 months
Football

Sceptical broadcasters would prefer to buy top rights independently rather than through an EBU operating with unfavourable conditions
Cricket

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
American Football

Football: German sports agency Infront did not take-up its €595m (£412m) option for the Deutsche Fussball Liga rights for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, failing to reach agreement over price. 

Plans afoot to offer three stages live this year
Cricket

Cricket: The England and Wales Cricket Board agreed a four-year deal with UK pay-television operator British Sky Broadcasting, from 2006 to 2009, for exclusive live rights to English cricket

American Football

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. 

Cricket

Rugby league’s inaugural Tri-Nations tournament between Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand, though generally regarded as a success, failed to attract UK viewers like rugby league’s previous international series

Football

Football: Sports agency Sportfive acquired the worldwide international television rights for the German Bundesliga in a two-year deal, from 2004-05 to 2005-06, paying over €15m (£10m) per season.
Snooker

The UK division of Korean company LG Electronics is quitting the sponsor-ship of snooker.
Cycling

SweetSpot, a sports marketing and events company, beat two contenders to win the right to set up cycling’s new Tour of Britain.
Football

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

American Football

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
Basketball

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.

Pay-television operators in the UK, Germany and Italy reported growing numbers of subscribers
Cricket

The England and Wales Cricket Board’s new-media rights, which it put out to tender last week, could be worth more than £10 million
Football

English football’s Premier League will be at the heart of the battle for subscribers to third-generation mobile telephony