Germany

Eurosport 2 to air on Premiere Star DTH - 25 Apr 08

German DTH platform Premiere Star will carry sports channel Eurosport 2 from May 29.

Bundesliga clubs approve TV deal for Cup games - 24 Apr 08

German public-service broadcasters ARD and ZDF, and pay-broadcaster Premiere, acquired the TV rights for the German domestic football cup in a three-year deal, worth €50 million per year.

Cordes to head RTL’s re-launched UFA Sports - 8 Apr 08

Philip Cordes will become CEO of European broadcast group RTL’s sports rights marketing arm, the re-established UFA Sports.

News Corp set to increase stake in Premiere - 1 Apr 08

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is expected to increase its 19.9 per cent stake in German pay-television group Premiere.

Bundesliga TV deal could be under threat - 11 Mar 08

The €3 billion agreement between the German Football League (DFL) and Leo Kirch's KF 15 group to market the TV rights for Bundesliga matches could come under pressure after a move by cartel authorities.

RTL renews German F1 TV deal - 4 Mar 08

German commercial broadcaster RTL agreed a new four-year deal with Formula One Management for the TV rights for Formula One in Germany, from 2008-20011.

German FA and League raided in cartel office probe - 27 Feb 08

The offices of the German Football Association (DFB) and the German Football League (DFL) were raided by cartel investigators as part of a probe into whether they sought to limit competition for football sponsorship.

News Corp increases stake in Premiere - 22 Feb 08

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has increased its stake in German pay-television operator Premiere to 19.9 per cent, adding to the 14.6 per cent it acquired last month.

Football Money League: Manchester United rise but Real Madrid stay top - 14 Feb 08

Manchester United climbed two places to second in the latest Football Money League from business advisory firm Deloitte, which ranks the 20 biggest football clubs in the world based on revenue, but Real Madrid remains the world’s largest revenue generating club, completing a hat-trick of first place finishes.

Two new Serie A TV deals in Germany - 8 Feb 08

The MP & Silva agency agreed deals for Serie A in the German market with broadcaster ZDF and with online portal www.maxdome.de.

T-Systems signs new BMW Sauber F1 deal - 21 Jan 08

T-Systems, Deutsche Telekom's business customer unit, and the BMW Sauber F1 Team have signed a new partnership agreement.

Premiere to fight Sirius broadcast plans - 21 Jan 08

Pay-TV company Premiere AG said it will fight plans to sell ready-to-air Bundesliga shows.

Hertha Berlin renews partnership with Sportfive - 17 Jan 08

German Bundesliga club Hertha Berlin extended its partnership with marketing company Sportfive in a deal reported to be worth €25 million over four years, from 2014 to 2018.

Murdoch's gains German TV hold with Premiere swoop - 8 Jan 08

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation acquired a 14.58 per cent stake in German Pay-TV broadcaster Premiere AG, making it the company's biggest single shareholder.

Premiere takeover rumours persist - 7 Dec 07

Speculation continues that German media entrepreneur Leo Kirch or another competitor might be interested in taking over German pay-TV company Premiere.

Stuttgart confirmed as World Athletics final venue - 30 Nov 07

The IAAF confirmed that the 2008 IAAF/VTB Bank World Athletics Final will be held in Stuttgart, Germany, from September 13-14, 2008.

Deutsche Telekom and Giant end cycling sponsorship - 29 Nov 07

Both Deutsche Telekom and Giant ended their association with the T-Mobile professional cycling team citing ongoing doping scandals.

Sportfive and DHB sign marketing deal - 26 Nov 07

Sportfive agreed a deal with the German Handball Association (DHB) to become the exclusive marketing partner for the national handball team.

Football shirt sponsorships increase again say Sport+Markt - 15 Nov 07

The prices paid by shirt sponsors within European football’s six key markets has grown to €405.3 million this season, up from €366.3 million last season according to a new report from Sport+Markt.

Premiere scraps 2008 outlook over Bundesliga TV rights - 8 Nov 07

German pay TV broadcaster Premiere scrapped its 2008 outlook over uncertainty over the forthcoming TV rights sales process for German football’s Bundesliga – the German pay-TV market’s killer-application.

Euro Hockey League achieves widespread TV coverage - 23 Oct 07

European hockey’s new Euro Hockey League competition has secured a series of TV rights deals.

Germany favourites to host Women’s World Cup 2011 - 18 Oct 07

Germany and Canada will compete to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011 following the withdrawal of Peru from the race.

Kirch to pay €3 Billion for German football’s TV rights - 10 Oct 07

German media mogul Leo Kirch agreed a deal for his Sirius agency to market the domestic TV rights for German football’s Bundesliga. The German football league, the DFL, said it expects revenues of at least €3 billion euros from the six-year contract starting in 2009-10.

Broadcasters strike gold with Women’s World Cup final - 2 Oct 07

TV broadcasters in Germany and Brazil, the two countries that took part in the 2007 Women’s World Cup final, set new records, despite the unfavourable time differences.

EM.Sport Media strikes Premiere deals - 26 Sep 07

Munich-based media company EM.Sport Media has agreed a number of deals and strategic initiatives with German Pay-TV unit Premiere.

Coca-Cola extends sponsorship with Eintracht Franckfurt - 18 Sep 07

Coca-Cola will continue to sponsor German Bundesliga football club, Eintracht Frankfurt for the next three years until 2010.

Top German cycling sponsor ends support - 5 Sep 07

German company Gerolsteiner will not extend its sponsorship deal with the cycling team that bears its name.

Adidas beat off Nike challenge for German soccer deal - 28 Aug 07

Nike’s attempts to wrestle the national German soccer team kit contract from arch-rivals adidas has failed.

ADIDAS BACKS T-MOBILE CYCLING TEAM - 17 Aug 07

German sportswear manufacturer Adidas will continue its sponsorship of the T-Mobile cycling team in support of the stringent anti-doping measures announced last week.

DEUTSCHE TELEKOM RENEWS CYCLING COMMITMENT - 10 Aug 07

Deutsche Telekom, the sponsor of the Team T-Mobile cycling team, will continue its 16-year involvement in the sport despite a series of recent doping cases.

T-MOBILE SPONSORSHIP DECISION IMMINENT - 9 Aug 07

T-Mobile is expected to announce later today whether it will continue its sponsorship of the ProTour cycling T-Mobile Team.

JORDI QUERALT JOINS SCHMIDT UND KAISER - 1 Aug 07

Jordi Queralt was appointed Managing Director of Schmidt und Kaiser, Munich.

VIVENDI POSSIBLY IN FOR PREMIERE - 24 Jul 07

There is growing speculation that French media group Vivendi could be interested in a takeover of German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere according to various media reports.

GERMAN COMMERCIAL CHANNEL SWOOPS FOR TOUR DE FRANCE RIGHTS - 20 Jul 07

German commercial broadcaster Sat.1 acquired rights for the remainder of this year's Tour after two German public broadcasters dropped the coverage in response to the news that T-Mobile rider, Patrik Sinkewitz had failed a June drugs test.

BUNDESLIGA TV RIGHTS BACK TO PREMIERE - 20 Jul 07

German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere regained the rights to show Bundesliga matches after getting approval from regulatory authorities for its deal with cable television operator UnityMedia.

GERMAN BROADCASTERS STOP TOUR DE FRANCE COVERAGE - 19 Jul 07

Germany’s public broadcast channels, ARD and ZDF, have stopped live coverage of the Tour de France after doping case with German rider, Patrick Sinkewitz.

BUNDESLIGA CLUB HSV TO PLAY IN THE HSH NORDBANK ARENA - 4 Jul 07

German Bundesliga club HSV Hamburg made the country’s first ever change to a naming rights deal for its stadium. From now on the club’s ground will be known as the HSH Nordbank Arena.

EM.TV CHANGES NAME TO FOCUS ON SPORTS - 28 Jun 07

EM.TV, the German media company that once owned a share in Formula One, is set to change its name to EM.Sport Media.

INFRONT ACQUIRE FRANKFURT FIRM DSM - 22 Jun 07

German sports marketing agency DSM Sportwerbung is set to be swallowed up by Infront.

EHF EXTENDS INFRONT PARTNERSHIP - 22 Jun 07

The European Handball Federation (EHF) has extended its marketing partnership with Infront.

PUBLIC CHANNELS WIN EURO 2008 RIGHTS IN GERMANY - 19 Jun 07

German public channels ARD and ZDF have won the rights to broadcast all major matches for EURO 2008 in the German market.

SIX CITIES BID FOR FUTURE EUROPEAN ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS - 7 Jun 07

European Athletics announced that three applications have been received for both the European Athletics Indoor Championships 2011 and the SPAR European Cross Country Championships 2009.

INFRONT WINS GERMAN FIS WORLD CUP RIGHTS - 22 May 07

Infront Sports & Media has won the worldwide media rights to all FIS World Cup events belonging to the German Skiing Association (DSV), covering the Alpine and Nordic disciplines, Freestyle and Snowboard, as well as other DSV events.

INFRONT SETS UP CHINA-GERMANY BASKETBALL CLASH - 9 May 07

Infront Sports & Media, the exclusive global marketing partner of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the German Basketball Federation, has set up two exhibition games between Germany and China to take place this summer.

EARLY SEASON FORMULA ONE VIEWING ENCOURAGING - 24 Apr 07

An audience review of Formula One for the ‘Big Five’ European markets France, Spain, Germany, Italy and the UK shows audiences to have been generally very encouraging.

ESPNSOCCERNET.COM LAUNCHES GERMAN AND FRENCH SITES - 18 Apr 07

ESPNsoccernet, the news and scores website, launched two new language versions. The site will now be available to users in both French (soccernet.fr) and German (soccernet.de).

PUMA TAKEOVER BID MAY FALL SHORT - 11 Apr 07

Analysts say that billionaire French investor François Pinault may have to up his €5.3 billion bid for sports goods manufacturer Puma.

POTENTIAL BUYERS EYE EM.TV’S SPORT UNIT - 29 Mar 07

Sports and children's programming company EM.TV's chief executive Werner Klatten said that his company was in talks with Swiss media group Highlight Entertainment, raising speculation of a takeover.

BORUSSIA DORTMUND FINDS NEW PARTNER IN SCHWEIZ TOURISMUS - 29 Mar 07

An entire country - Switzerland - has become Borussia Dortmund’s new partner.

ARD AND ZDF WIN 2014 WORLD CUP RIGHTS - 26 Mar 07

German public-service broadcasters ARD and ZDF acquired the rights for the 2014 World Cup.

ADIDAS DFB ROW SET FOR ARBITRATION - 16 Mar 07

Sportswear giant Adidas says it is to take its row with German soccer federation the DFB to arbitration.

MLS AND BUNDESLIGA TEAM UP - 14 Mar 07

Major League Soccer and Germany’s Bundesliga have agreed a partnership deal designed to boost the sport in the US.

SPORTFIVE COMPLETES MANAGEMENT RE-JIG - 8 Mar 07

Now that the Lagardère Group’s acquisition of the Sportfive agency has been completed, the management structure of the agency has been changed, with Lagardère's Olivier Guiguet appointed interim CEO of Sportfive.

SPORTFIVE CEO CORDES QUITS COMPANY - 22 Feb 07

Philipp Cordes has been shown the door as Sportfive CEO and chairman – just months after the sports marketing giant was taken over by French media group Lagardere.

SPANISH CLUBS TOP FOOTBALL MONEY LEAGUE - 8 Feb 07

The Deloitte Football Money League shows the total revenue of the world’s Top 20 clubs is now over €3.3 billion with Real Madrid ahead of the competition with total revenue of £202 million (€ 292 million).

FIFA AND HOST CITIES WIN SPORTS MARKETING AWARD - 7 Feb 07

FIFA and the twelve 2006 World Cup Host Cities won the German Sports Marketing Award for 2007 for their organisation of the Fan Fests and their innovative, overall marketing concept for the official public viewing events.

ADIDAS CONSIDERS UPPING DFB SPONSORSHIP OFFER - 2 Feb 07

Adidas could offer more money in order to remain the sponsor of the German football association (DFB).

SPORTFIVE SIGNS UP WITH NFL EUROPA - 1 Feb 07

NFL Europa has confirmed Sportfive as its exclusive marketing partner for national sponsorships.

VIAGOGO SIGNS UP FC BAYERN MUNICH AND EVERTON FC - 30 Jan 07

Viagogo, Europe’s leading secondary ticketing company, agreed two new partnership deals with FC Bayern Munich in Germany and Everton Football Club in the UK to give fans a secure and legal way of trading match tickets.

SECONDSOUT.COM TO SHOW KLITSCHKO WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT EXCLUSIVELY VIA INTERNET - 23 Jan 07

SecondsOut.com has acquired the rights to screen the March 10 IBF world heavyweight bout between Wladimir Klitschko and Ray Austin from Mannheim, Germany, live and exclusively in the UK.

BECKENBAUER AND BLATTER TO ATTEND ISPO SPORTSPONSORSHIP CONFERENCE - 22 Jan 07

Over 680 delegates are registered for the ISPO Sportsponsorship Conference 2007, held in Munich, from February 5-6.

GERMAN BUNDESLIGA TO LAUNCH EARLY TENDER - 16 Jan 07

The German football league, the Deutsche Fussball Liga, wants to launch a tender for the sale of its TV rights from the 2009-10 season later this year.

GERMAN BROADCASTERS FIGHT FOR F1 - 16 Jan 07

German pay and free-to-air broadcasters Premiere, Arena, RTL, ARD und Sat 1 are to bid for the TV rights for Formula One.

GERMAN HANDBALL AND BASKETBALL TEAM UP ONLINE - 11 Jan 07

Germany’s top domestic handball and basketball leagues the Handball Bundesliga (HBL) and Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) have joined forces online.

BAYERN WITHDRAW G14 THREATS - 8 Dec 06

Threats by German soccer giants Bayern Munich to pull out of the G14 pressure group have been resolved.

WORLD CUP PAY OFF FOR GERMANY - 5 Dec 06

Hosting the 2006 FIFA World Cup provided a massive financial boost to German football.

DISNEY TO BUY EUROPEAN SPORTS CHANNEL - 5 Dec 06

US media group Disney is to acquire the North American Sports Network in a bid to expand the reach of its ESPN channels.

BAYERN MUNICH TO CONSIDER ITS G14 POSITION - 28 Nov 06

German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich is reported to be considering pulling out of the G-14, the group of Europe’s leading clubs, over concerns the lobbying group is failing to achieve results for its members or for the game as a whole.

INFRONT SIGNS FURTHER BOBSLEIGH DEALS - 28 Nov 06

The Infront Sports & Media agency agreed broadcast rights deals for the upcoming FIBT events in Bobsleigh and Skeleton, covering the territories of
Germany and Switzerland.

GERMAN BROADCASTERS WIN BOBSLEIGH RIGHTS - 16 Nov 06

The German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF agreed a long-term deal to broadcast the races of the Men’s and Women’s bobsleigh and skeleton World Championship and World Cup events exclusively on free television in Germany.

NBA ADDS RECORD 24 BROADCAST PARTNERS - 2 Nov 06

The National Basketball Association added 24 broadcasters, including 19 in Greater China, for the 2006-07 season, marking the largest season to season growth in league history.

FORMULA ONE DELIVERS HUGE GERMAN RATINGS - 25 Oct 06

German commercial broadcaster RTL’s coverage of Formula One’s Brazilian grand prix attracted 14.8 million viewers and a 40 per cent audience share.

SERVECAST RECRUITS TOP SPORT INDUSTRY EXPERT - 25 Oct 06

European sports webcasting company Servecast announced the appointment of a new Business Development Director in Germany. This is the second European appointment by Servecast this year in order to meet growing market demand for advanced streaming media solutions in the sports industry.

SCHALKE CONFIRMS GAZPROM SPONSORSHIP DEAL - 12 Oct 06

German club Schalke confirmed that Russian company Gazprom will be its shirt sponsor from next season.

GERMAN CLUB SCHALKE SET TO SIGN WITH GAZPROM - 10 Oct 06

German Bundesliga club Schalke 04 is reported to be in talks over a possible association with Gazprom, the world's largest natural gas company.

SCHMIDT APPOINTED CONSULTANT FOR 2010 WORLD CUP™ - 2 Oct 06

The general secretary of the German football association (DFB) and one of the driving forces behind the success of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ Horst R. Schmidt, is take a consultancy role in the staging of the 2010 event in South Africa following an agreement reached with FIFA football’s governing body.

T-MOBILE EXTENDS GERMAN CYCLING SPONSORSHIP - 28 Sep 06

Mobile phone operator T-Mobile extended its deal as the main sponsor of the German cycling team until 2010.

EUROSPORT PARTNERS HANDBALL'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - 20 Sep 06

The European Handball Federation is set to sign a TV deal with the Eurosport Group, which means a massive increase in the coverage of Champions League Handball.

GERMANY'S WORLD CUP POSTS A €135 MILLION PROFIT - 15 Sep 06

Following a technical review of the World Cup 2006 conducted on September 11-13, FIFA and Germany’s World Cup organising committee reported a revenue surplus of €135 million for the event.

TELECOM ITALIA AND NEWS CORP IN TALKS - 8 Sep 06

News Corporation and Telecom Italia are in continuing talks on a deal to distribute media content in Italy.

GOLTV SCORES LA LIGA DEAL - 29 Aug 06

Soccer channel GolTV has confirmed a new exclusive multi-year agreement to broadcast Spain’s La Liga in the US and Canada.

BHAMJEE QUITS FIFA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE - 21 Aug 06

A FIFA Executive Committee member who admitted selling World Cup tickets at three times their face value to fans has quit from all his key sports administration positions.

CHELSEA AND MANCHESTER UNITED SIGN UP WITH VIAGOGO - 18 Aug 06

Chelsea Football Club and Manchester United have both signed landmark partnership agreements with viagogo to establish official ticket exchanges to their fans for the first time.

SPORTELMONACO 2006 EXHIBITION SPACE SELLING OUT - 14 Aug 06

With more than 2 months to go before the opening of SPORTELMonaco 2006, exhibitors have committed to more than 85% of the expanded floor space in the Grimaldi Forum.

GERMAN STATE BANS BWIN FROM ACCEPTING SPORTS BETS - 11 Aug 06

The German state of Saxony banned Austrian online gaming operator bwin Interactive Entertainment from taking sports bets in Germany, according to reports.

SOUTH AFRICA STADIUMS WILL BE READY - 7 Aug 06

Work on three new stadiums in Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth in preparation for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa will be completed in three years.

MINISTERS OF SPORT SIGN UP TO SOCCEREX - 4 Aug 06

Soccerex, the world's largest business to business football convention, is delighted to announce that subject to Parliamentary commitments, the UK Minister for Sport, Rt Hon Richard Caborn MP will be attending the 10th annual Soccerex convention, held at the Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, 26th-28th November 2006.

MCDONALDS PLEDGES MILLION DOLLAR HAT-TRICK - 28 Jul 06

Fast food chain McDonalds pledged on Friday one million dollars to a charity if any player scores a hat-trick in the final of the 1998 World Cup.

PLATINI TO RUN FOR EUROPEAN FOOTBALL'S TOP JOB - 25 Jul 06

Michel Platini, the former captain of France, confirmed that he will stand for election for the presidency of Uefa, European football’s governing body.

BERLIN TO BID FOR OLYMPICS - 21 Jul 06

Berlin plans to bid for either the 2016 or 2020 Olympic Games according to city Mayor Klaus Wowereit.

O2 GERMANY EXTENDS SKI SPONSORSHIP - 20 Jul 06

Mobile phone operator O2 Germany extended its sponsorship of the German Skiing Federation (DSV) for a further three years.

GERMANY AND ITALY COULD LOSE F1 RACES - 18 Jul 06

Germany and Italy have been warned that they may each lose one of their two Formula One grand prix races from 2007.

AUSTRALIA MAY BID FOR 2018 WORLD CUP - 14 Jul 06

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said that should the Football Federation of Australia put in a bid for the 2018 World Cup the country’s local governments would support the bid very enthusiastically.

GERMAN AND PORTUGUESE UEFA CUP TV DEALS - 13 Jul 06

Uefa agreed deals with public-service broadcaster RTP in Portugal and Pay-TV broadcaster Premiere in Germany for the UEFA Cup quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals for the 2006-2009 period and the Uefa Super Cup from 2006 to 2008.

LENNART JOHANSSON TO STAND AT 2007 UEFA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION - 12 Jul 06

Uefa President, Lennart Johansson, confirmed that he intends to seek a further, and final, term of office as Uefa President.

VIEWERS FLOCK TO WATCH WORLD CUP FINAL - 11 Jul 06

The World Cup final between Italy and France was a ratings winner in France, Italy and the USA. In Italy over 23 million watched public-service broadcaster Rai’s coverage of the final, some 84 per cent share of the audience, with an estimated two million more watching coverage on pay-broadcaster Sky Italia.

SOUTH AFRICAN BROADCASTER AWARDED 2010 WORLD CUP TV RIGHTS - 10 Jul 06

South African public-service broadcaster SABC acquired the rights for all Fifa competitions from 2007 to 2014, including the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP ADDS NEW RACES FOR 2007 - 6 Jul 06

The FC)dC)ration Internationale de l’Automobile approved the calendar for the 2007 World Rally Championship, adding three new races in Ireland, Norway and Portugal. The new races replace those in Australia, Cyprus and Turkey. The FIA said in a statement that its World Motor Sport Council had approved a calendar which would continue to run on the existing January-November format instead of the proposed August-May switch. It said that it would decide whether to add further events to the calendar at its next World Motor Sport Council meeting.

ESPN CLASSIC EXTENDS REACH TO SPANISH MARKET - 5 Jul 06

The 24-hour sports channel ESPN Classic agreed a deal with Spanish telecoms company TelefC3nica for carriage on its IPTV platform Imagenio. The deal marks the channel’s first move into the Spanish IPTV market.

AGENDA: JULY 3-11, 2006 - 3 Jul 06

A GUIDE TO KEY EVENTS