Football
EBU broadcasters split over giving in to EC demands
Sceptical broadcasters would prefer to buy top rights independently rather than through an EBU operating with unfavourable conditions
TV RIGHTS CLIPS 2: Cricket, rallying, motorcycling and football
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
TV RIGHTS CLIPS 1: Football, horseracing, boxing and tennis
Football: German sports agency Infront did not take-up its €595m (ÂŁ412m) option for the Deutsche Fussball Liga rights for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, failing to reach agreement over price.Â
Denmark’s TV2 forced to raise FA price by 200%
Public service broadcaster DR pushed out of the bidding by fierce competition between Modern Times Group and TV2
Hungarian league signs TV deal after buying back rights
Football Duo only managed to win match-by-match deals with tiny commercial broadcaster Magyar ATV
Vodafone goes back to agency to sell on rights
Mobile operator turns to Media Partners subsidiary, MP Web, to sell rights outside Italy
TV RIGHTS CLIPS 2: French football, rugby union, tennis and more
Football: French pay-broadcaster Canal Plus acquired the exclusive live rights and a highlights package for the French football league in a three-year deal
Russian league to win big fee rise
Russian football’s Premier League is asking for $15 million
Greek cup fails to win TV deal, but AEK moves ahead
Greek football’s knock-out competition, the Greek Cup, is not getting any coverage on television this season
Ukraine to get first sports channel
Ukraine is to get its first dedicated television sports channel next spring
De Mol to bid for Euro 2008
John de Mol’s Talpa Capital is one of four individual broadcasters which will submit bids to Uefa next week for the rights to football’s 2008 European Championship
League in battle to drop option on matching-rights
A matching-rights option in the Belgian football league’s existing television rights contract is causing the league a major legal headache
RTP in surprise World Cup bid, but wants fee cut
Portuguese public-service broadcaster RTP is set to enter the bidding for the television rights for football’s 2006 World Cup to the surprise of television-business insiders
World Cup rights deals in Germany balance Latin loss
The deal last week between the Infront agency and pay-operator Premiere for the 2006 World Cup rights bring the agency’s sales for the tournament in Germany to about €290 million
Canal Plus may challenge TF1 deal
French pay-broadcaster Canal Plus is considering launching a legal challenge to TF1’s controversial one-year extension of a deal for French football internationals.
TPS ‘must’ mould new image
Most analysts believe that the loss of league rights will cost TPS up to about 130,000 of its
De Mol sets Dutch dilemma
Dutch football’s top domestic league, the Eredivisie, will decide next week whether to take a big gamble by awarding its free-television and pay rights to two new companies
Did winner Canal Plus lose or loser TPS win? And Sky?
Commentators say Canal Plus’s €1.8 billion Ligue deal is not viable