Football
RCS channel plans reveal rift at heart of Romanian deal
RCS-RDS’s plans to launch a new sports channel raise serious questions about the stability of the record television rights deal signed by the country’s top-tier domestic football league last year.
TVP wins pole position for Euro 2012
Uefa had a good start to its television rights sales for the Euro 2012 championship, achieving a 25-per-cent increase in fee from co-host country Poland.
TV Rights Deals 1: Euro 2012, Champions League, La Liga and more
Football: Sports broadcaster ESPN Brasil acquired pay-television rights in Brazil for the 2010 World Cup in a sublicensing deal with commercial broadcaster Globo
IMG hopes ASO link unlocks Uefa in Euro 2012 bidding
A joint offer from IMG and the Amaury Sport Organisationis the surprise package among four agency bidders invited to make presentations to Uefa next month regarding the European media rights for Euro 2012.
Fox gets kicks in first in ESPN war
US sports channels Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta are motivated at least in part by the fear that rival ESPN is planning a knockout bid of its own for English football’s Premier League.
FASTRACK
Football television rights values in the Netherlands are plunging, with pay-channel Sport1 succeeding in getting massive rights-fee reductions on key contracts.
Canal Plus takes on Viasat with new Danish driver
Canal Plus is to challenge the dominance of rival Viasat in the Danish market with the launch of a new basic-tier channel showing premium sports content.
Bundesliga sales on track as agencies battle tough markets
DFL Sports Enterprises has almost completed its international rights sales for the league for the 2009-10 to 2011-12 period and will hit its predicted target.
Ligue 1 returns to Asia for phase two
Canal Plus Events are to begin a second phase of international rights sales, targeting more deals in Asia and increased free-to-air coverage in Africa.
TV Rights Deals 1: Bundesliga, La Liga, Uefa club deals and more
Football: The Sportsman Media Group, which is distributing the rights for the German Bundesliga in 16 markets across Southern Europe and Asia, has agreed deals in 13 territories
FASTRACK
A Formula One television rights deal in the Middle East looks set to go down to the wire, with just two weeks left until the season-opener.
Serie A value hangs on EC ruling
An EC decision on the stringent conditions under which Sky Italia is forced to do business will go a long way to determining how the media rights for Serie A football are sold in the next round of deals and how much they are worth.
Telecino fights for matching right as Copa goes to TVE
Telecinco is suing the Grupo Santo Monica agency in an effort to extend its rights for the domestic football cup tournament, the Copa del Rey.
Double Dutch Uefa talks draw blank
Team has been forced to close down the free-to-air sales process in the Netherlands for Uefa Champions League rights, after an extremely poor first-round response from broadcasters.
TV2 Sport safe for now as internet football wars begin
TV2 said that its acquisition of the last remaining package of domestic Tippeliga football rights has secured the future of its premium sports channel, TV2 Sport, for the next two years.
Nova pays up after On Telecom rings off
Nova Sports this week picked up the pay-television rights for the Champions League after an initial deal with IPTV company On Telecoms fell victim to the financial crisis.
TV Rights Deals 1: Football: World Cup, Champions League, Copa del Rey
Football: Pan-African pay-broadcaster Supersport acquired the sub-Saharan pay-television rights for all Fifa events in 2009 and 2010, including the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the 2009 Confederations…
Watchword must be ‘security’ as Uefa kicks off Euro tender
The Sportfive agency’s already strong position will be further boosted if it continues its relationship with Uefa to cover the rights for the Euro 2012 football championships.