Football
Spectre of listed-events law rises again in Denmark
The Danish government is considering reintroducing listed events legislation after a key national team World Cup qualifier was sold to pay-television.
TV Rights Deals 1: Football: La Liga, Champions League and Bundesliga deals
Football: Spanish media group Prisa agreed a deal with the Mediapro agency for the exclusive pay-television rights of one La Liga match each week, to be shown on Prisa’s Canal Plus premium channel, and t…
Uefa plays safe as EBU all set for Euro 2012 rights comeback
The EBU is set to win back a significant portion of Euro 2012 rights, after beating off competition from three agencies.
Nigeria to curb sport spending
Moves by Nigeria’s government and broadcast regulator could make it increasingly difficult for the country’s pay-television broadcasters to continue paying big money for international sports rights.
FASTRACK
UK pay-broadcaster BSkyB is set to agree a deal for cricket’s upcoming World Twenty20 Championship in England, ending a protracted 18-month long negotiation process with rights-holder ESPN Star Sports.
Serie A tender in sight after regulators give green light
Italy’s antitrust and communications authorities are close to approving the guidelines for the sale of the media rights to Serie A and Serie B from the 2010-2011 season onwards.
New competition draws out fresh Belgian bidders
The Belgian tender for Uefa’s new Europa League competition has coaxed two new bidders to make their first significant steps into the international sports rights market.
Belgacom blasts BeTV blow-out
An extraordinary situation has arisen this week in Belgium, whereby the climax of the top-tier domestic football league will be shown by BeTV, a rival of the league’s main broadcaster, Belgacom TV.
Beijing Olympic peaks show power of sport for TV
The Beijing Olympics accounted for the top four most-watched sports events in 2008, with the opening ceremony attracting the biggest global television audience in history.
TV Rights Deals 1: Football: Uefa deals, Belgian Pro Ligue and Greek Superleague
Football: Australian public-service broadcaster SBS and pay-channel ESPN acquired the rights for Uefa club competitions the Champions League and Europa League in a three-year deal, from 2009-10 to 2011-12,…
FASTRACK
The Premier League is set to stagger its next international rights sales process in a move that will rule out what was always a remote possibility of someone making a worldwide bid for the rights.
Uefa avoids the chop in cut-price Japanese market
Champions League television rights fees in Japan will rise slightly in the next three-year period, bucking the trend in recent times of the country’s broadcasters paying less for European football.
End in sight for football war with Prisa on the brink
Spain’s football war between Prisa-owned pay-broadcaster Sogecable and the Mediapro agency could soon be over.
Patience pays off as Team wins Europa deal in Scandinavia
The decision by Team to delay Europa League sales in Scandinavia until after the completion of Swedish broadcaster TV4’s merger with the pan-regional Canal Plus premium channels appears to have paid off.
Sportfive impresses SPL enough to skip tender process
The SPL chose to ignore the potential of an agency bidding war by extending its international television rights deal with Sportfive without putting the rights on the market.
TV Rights Deals 1: Football’s Confederations Cup, Uefa, Bundesliga and SPL deals
Football: German sports channel DSF acquired the rights for the 2009 Fifa Confederations Cup in June. DSF will show 14 games live including the final and the third-place playoff match
Mediaset a believer as Uefa’s Europa League gathers pace
Mediaset’s recent acquisition of the exclusive rights to the Europa League could provide a shot in the arm for a competition that has almost disappeared from the schedules of major Italian broadcasters in recent years.