German public-service broadcasters ARD and ZDF have pulled out of talks to acquire rights for handball’s 2015 men’s World Championships.
ARD sports co-ordinator Axel Balkausky told the Zeit.de news website: “We would like to broadcast [the tournament]. Despite repeated calls, we received yesterday (Monday) an unacceptable response to our offer.”
The report added that a dispute over whether coverage of the tournament could be shown on free-to-air or pay-television channels was the main cause of the dispute, rather than the proposed rights fee.
Reports have suggested that the tournament is now unlikely to be shown on German television.
German handball association president Bernhard Bauer called the development “very disappointing” while Hassan Moustafa, president of the International Handball Federation, said: “This is a shame, but we cannot change it.”
The event is due to run from January 15 to February 1 in Doha, Qatar.