News

The India match last Saturday was watched by 1.472 million and an eight-per-cent audience share, beating the 1.435 million that tuned in for the Pakistan game a week earlier.

For more analysis see the next issue of TV Sports Markets.

The federation is offering three different packages, covering live Euro 2012 and World Cup 2014 qualification matches, live friendly matches, and highlights and magazine rights.

In Croatia, HRT extended its deal for a further three years from 2010-11 to 2011-12. The federation said that the deal tripled the value of the previous deal.

Ppv buys for Serie A have reached 560,000 and the broadcaster expects the final total to reach 635,000 by the end of the season, compared with 521,000 in 2008. Ppv buys for Serie B are expected to reach 130,000, up from 107,000 a year ago.

The Setanta board is understood to be meeting twice daily as it continues to pursue refinancing options. Even excluding rights fees, the broadcaster’s operating costs come to £400,000 daily. The company yesterday stopped taking pay-television subscriptions.

NOS retained the rights for the next three-year period, from 2009-10 to 2011-12, in a deal covering the first-pick matches on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, highlights on both nights and the magazine programme. Commercial broadcaster SBS also bid.

The four-year deal with the International Handball Federation, which starts next year, covers the biennial men’s and women’s World Championships in 2011 and 2013. The rights for the 2007 and 2009 championships were held by Sportfive in a deal worth about CHF30 million (€20 million/$28 million).

 

SIC show 14 group stage matches and four matches from the first knockout round, reportedly paying less than the €6.5 million it paid to sublicense 13 matches from the 2006 World Cup. Commercial rival TVI also bid for the rights.

The Champions League final, shown by Ten Sports, drew a 0.38 rating, equating to 353,000 viewers, the same number as for the most-watched English Premier League match of last season shown on rival sports channel ESPN, the Manchester United-Chelsea clash on January 11.

Concerns over Setanta’s future have escalated further in the last week, after the broadcaster’s private equity shareholders, Doughty Hanson, Balderton Capital and Goldman Sachs, were only willing to put up £50 million of the £100 million in funding needed to cover upcoming rights payments.