Football

The Czech Republic’s victory in the final of last year’s ice hockey World Championship attracted the country’s top sports television audience in 2005.

Expatriate communities in North America have turned themselves from a niche television audience into one of the fastest growing sports rights markets in the world.

Mediaset’s plan to sell more of its sports programming to mobile phone operators, could be hit by an investigation by the Italian antitrust authority.

Arena Sport is in talks with all Germany’s free-to-air broadcasters about sublicensing up to three live matches a season.

Polish public-service broadcaster TVP acquired the television rights for the national football team and will launch a dedicated sports channel.

TV2 and Telenor have abandoned plans to use the domestic football rights they acquired to launch a sports channel.

The French football league’s €29 million a-year- deal with Orange for its mobile rights places it second among Europe’s top six leagues.

Football: A consortium of Telecoms company Telenor and Scandinavia’s commercial broadcasters, TV2 in Denmark, TV2 in Norway and TV4 in Sweden, acquired the rights for the Euro 2008 tournament in a deal w…

Cricket: Pan-Asian broadcaster ESPN Star Sports acquired the worldwide rights for International Cricket Council events from September 2007 through to 2015.

UK pay-television channel Bravo will drop its coverage of Italian Serie A football from next month.

Minor sports in Denmark have turned to the internet to increase their exposure and drive revenues rather than rely on traditional broadcasters.

Germany’s two pay-television rivals Premiere and Arena are understood to have collaborated in acquiring the rights to English Premier League football.

Canadian cable sports channel The Score’s acquisition of English Premier League football rights was a surprise win over Rogers SportsNet.

The involvement of pay-television companies has helped the Sportfive agency earn rights-fee increases of about 60 per cent for Euro 2008.

Sportfive outbid local agency Dentsu to win the Japanese rights for the English Premier League.

Uefa, European football’s governing body, is on course to bring in about £51 million for the 2008 European Championship outside Europe.

Brazilian broadcaster Globo won the tv rights to the next two football World Cups despite making a lower bid than rival broadcaster Rede Record.

Fifa recruited Jerôme Valcke from the Sportfive agency in September 2003 to be head of marketing and television.