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All the latest sport business news, focusing on TV Rights. For more, click the categories on the left or use the search box to look through our massive sport business news archive.


RFU trophy victorious participation figures

It’s official: participation in rugby union is at an all-time high thanks to investment at grassroots.

Coming Soon: TV Sports Rights in the Americas 2009

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Published Date: 
June 12, 2009

International TV Rights: Spanish Primera Liga

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The selling of international television rights for top European football leagues is a rapidly-growing, big-money business.

Published Date: 
October 4, 2008

International TV Rights: English Premier League

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The selling of international television rights for top European football leagues is a rapidly-growing, big-money business.

Published Date: 
October 1, 2008

Shares in BSkyB marginally down after TV rights coup - 09 Feb 2009

Shares in BSkyB fell 4.3 per cent after Cazenove downgraded the firm to "in-line", saying its investment plans, dollar strength and its recent Premier League TV acquisitions put pressure on forecasts.

MP & Silva to distribute AFC Asian Cup 2011 Qualifiers - 03 Feb 2009

MP & Silva acquired exclusive international media and marketing rights to a selection of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup 2011 qualifiers.

Doubts cast over FA Cup season opener

FA Cup TV rating figures took a tumble last weekend, sparking worries that English football’s governing body the Football Association may be undoing the good work that many believe the BBC&rs

IAAF sets out commercial aims for 2009 - 06 Jan 2009

The IAAF said that its aims for 2009 include the launch of a new IAAF brand and branding system, further improving TV and sponsorship sales and delivering better stadium and city branding at major eve

UEFA agree rights deals in Portugal - 22 Dec 2008

Portuguese free-to-air broadcaster Sic and pay-broadcaster Sport TV agreed deals with UEFA, European football's governing body, for the media rights for the 2009-12 UEFA Europa League.

RTÉ acquires horse racing rights - 22 Dec 2008

Irish public-service broadcaster, RTÉ, agreed a three-year deal with the Association of Irish Racecourses for the rights to show live Irish horse racing until 2011.

UEFA launches Euro 2012 rights tender - 18 Dec 2008

UEFA, European football's governing body, announced that the tender process for the media rights for Euro 2012, will be launched in early 2009.

CBS & Time Warner consider joint Olympic rights bid - 18 Dec 2008

American networks CBS Corp., and Time Warner Inc., could join forces to bid for rights for the 2014 and 2016 Olympics, according to The Associated Press.

Sky Sports wins exclusive live coverage of European Rugby - 12 Dec 2008

Sky Sports signed a new deal with ERC for the exclusive rights for at least 50 live games a season from the Heineken Cup and Challenge Cup competitions.

PRL agree £54m rights deal - 12 Dec 2008

UK pay-television broadcasters Setanta Sports and Sky Sports agreed a three-year deal with Premier Rugby Limited (PRL) for the live rights for the Guinness Premiership, from 2010-11 to 2012-13.

IOC postpones US 2016 rights tender - 11 Dec 2008

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is prepared to postpone the bidding on lucrative US broadcast rights until after next year's selection of the 2016 host city due to the economic downturn.

Davies to lead 'crown jewels' review - 11 Dec 2008

Former FA executive director David Davies has been chosen by UK Culture Secretary Andy Burnham to review 'crown jewels' list that guarantees major sporting events are broadcast on free-to-air TV.

ESS signs three new ICC deals - 11 Dec 2008

ESPN Star Sports agreed partnerships with three major broadcasters to make International Cricket Council (ICC) events exclusively available tofans in Pakistan, Canada and the USA from 2009-2011.

Eurosport wins IIHF rights - 10 Dec 2008

Pan-European broadcaster, the Eurosport group acquired the live broadcast rights for three major 2009 Ice Hockey World Championships from the sport's governing body, the IIHF.

UEFA agrees rights deals in Spain and Italy - 10 Dec 2008

UEFA, European football's governing body, agreed deals for the UEFA Champions League rights and UEFA Europa League media rights in Italy and Spain respectively, from 2009-12.

ITV drops Boat Race coverage - 09 Dec 2008

UK free to-air-broadcaster, ITV, will not renew its contract to broadcast The Boat Race beyond next year.

BBC acquires UKA rights - 08 Dec 2008

UK free-to-air broadcaster, the BBC agreed a six-year deal with UK Athletics (UKA) to remain as host broadcaster for its major indoor and outdoor events until December 2014.

ESPN acquires Women's British Open rights - 04 Dec 2008

US broadcaster, ESPN, agreed an eight year deal to show all four rounds of the Ricoh Women’s British Open live on ESPN with the Ladies Professional Golf Association.

IOC rejects EBU bid for 2014-16 Olympic Games rights - 03 Dec 2008

The International Olympic Committee has rejected the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) bid for the European broadcast rights for the Olympics Games 2014-2016.

CEV renews partnership with Infront Sports & Media - 03 Dec 2008

The European Volleyball Confederation renewed its partnership with Infront Sports & Media, for the sale of worldwide media rights for the CEV Indesit European Championships until 2013.

Premiere secures Bundesliga rights - 01 Dec 2008

The German football league, the DFL awarded Premiere pay-TV and Web rights to show live Bundesliga football matches for the next four seasons.

Ad revenue fall could affect Australian sports revenues - 01 Dec 2008

Observers are concerned about future TV revenues for Australian sports leagues amid reports that Channel Nine could go into receivership next year.

BON acquires FIFA World Cup rights - 26 Nov 2008

The Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) agreed a deal with FIFA, football's world governing body, for the free-to-air terrestrial TV rights for the 2010 World Cup.

Ten agree $140m deal with PCB - 24 Nov 2008

Dubai-based Ten Sports agreed a five-year, $140.5 million deal for the TV rights for cricket matches in Pakistan from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), from 2009 to 2013.

MP & Silva acquire ATP Qatar Open rights - 21 Nov 2008

MP & Silva (MPS) agreed a five-year deal for the Middle East’s premier men’s tennis tournament, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, until 2013.

Poverkhnost acquire UEFA Champions League and Europa League rights - 21 Nov 2008

Ukrainian broadcaster, Poverkhnost, acquired the media rights for the 2009-12 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League from European football’s governing body, UEFA.

ESPN and BCS agree four year deal - 19 Nov 2008

US broadcaster ESPN agreed a four year deal with the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) for the TV, radio, digital, international and marketing rights for 15 BCS games from 2011 to 2014.

IAAF signs agreement with ABU - 19 Nov 2008

The IAAF has reached a major broadcasting agreement with the Asian Broadcasting Union.

ESPN to close BCS deal - 18 Nov 2008

The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) is close to a deal with US broadcaster ESPN for the television rights to college football's championship game and biggest bowls, according to US press reports.

UEFA agrees Champions League rights deals in China - 18 Nov 2008

Chinese free-to-air channel, CCTV 5, agreed a three year deal with UEFA for Champions League television rights, from 2009 to 2012.

Lufthansa AG to show Bundesliga highlights - 18 Nov 2008

European airline, Lufthansa AG, agreed a deal with the Sportsman Media Group to show highlights of the German Bundesliga for the current matchday on board all of its intercontinental flights.

US Senate appeal to NFL over game day broadcasts - 17 Nov 2008

Members of the US Senate have asked the NFL commissioner to make more game-day broadcasts available to local fans at no cost on broadcast television.

Channel Nine inks RFL deals - 17 Nov 2008

Australian broadcaster, Channel Nine, acquired the television rights to the RFL's two marquee competitions - the engage Super League and Carnegie Challenge Cup in a three year deal brokered by IMG.

Turner Sports will not renew British Open Deal - 13 Nov 2008

US broadcaster, Turner Sports, will not renew its current seven-year rights deal to carry golf’s British Open when the deal expires after the 2009 event in July.

GolTV acquires football friendly rights - 11 Nov 2008

GolTV acquired the North American rights for the international friendly between Germany and England on November 19.

Ten secures 2014 Commonwealth Games - 10 Nov 2008

Australian commercial broadcaster, Ten, has acquired the exclusive rights for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

UEFA opens tender for U21 Championship - 05 Nov 2008

UEFA, European football’s governing body, invited interested parties to bid for the media rights for the European Under-21 Championship.

Red Bull appoints IMG - 05 Nov 2008

Red Bull Air Race GmbH appointed IMG Sports Media to act as the exclusive sales agent for the international TV rights to the 2009 Red Bull Air Race World Championship.

Infront wins DFB Cup marketing rights - 05 Nov 2008

Infront Sports & Media acquired the marketing rights to the DFB Cup (DFB Pokal) from the Deutsche Fussball-Bund (DFB) for three seasons from 2009 to 2012.

Sky acquires RFU rights - 04 Nov 2008

UK pay-TV broadcaster, Sky Sports, agreed a new five-year deal for the rights to show live England Rugby with the Rugby Football Union (RFU).

Open looks to sign US TV deal - 04 Nov 2008

An imminent new US TV deal will help keep ticket prices for golf’s 2009 Open at Turnberry at the same level as this year's championship, organisers have said.

Greek Superleague deals worth €162m - 04 Nov 2008

Greece’s premier football league, the Superleague, has agreed deals worth over €162 million for the broadcasting rights for the next three seasons, from 2009 to 2012.

Bundesliga opens rights tender - 03 Nov 2008

Germany’s top-tier domestic football league, the Bundesliga, launched a tender for its domestic broadcast rights.

Al Jazeera acquires Gulf Cup rights - 03 Nov 2008

Arabic-language sports channel, Al Jazeera, agreed a $23.5 million (Dh 86,362,000) deal for the exclusive rights to broadcast the 19th Gulf Cup.

IOC awards 2014 & 2016 rights in Turkey - 29 Oct 2008

Turkish national broadcaster, Fox Turkey, has acquired the broadcast rights for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and the 2016 Olympic Games from the IOC.

Eurosport wins Powerboat World Champs rights - 28 Oct 2008

Pan-European broadcaster, Eurosport, agreed a two year deal with Powerboat F1 for the rights for the rights for the UIM Powerboat P1 World Championship.

EBU and OSV agreement on key skiing events - 24 Oct 2008

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU)and the Austrian Skiing Association (OSV) signed a landmark agreement to broadcast key European skiing events.

XFMedia wins Europa League rights - 24 Oct 2008

Chinese media group, XFMedia, has acquired the free-to-air media rights for the UEFA Europa League for three years from European football’s governing body, UEFA.

One in ten to wave BSkyB good-bye

The assumption that British consumers will sit out the recession at home with a beer and Premier League football on pay TV has been challenged by a recent survey, which showed that 10 per cent of BSky

Beckham stay worth £10m to AC Milan - 23 Oct 2008

David Beckham’s proposed loan move to Italian giants AC Milan could be worth up to £10 million to the club over six months.

IOC awards 2014 & 2016 Olympic rights in Italy - 22 Oct 2008

Italian pay-television broadcaster, Sky Italia, has acquired the broadcast rights for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in 2016 from the IOC.

UTC agree 10-year partnership - 22 Oct 2008

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has agreed in principle to a 10-year relationship with colligate sports marketing agency, Learfield Sports.

Eurosport acquires Bundesliga rights - 21 Oct 2008

The Eurosport Group has acquired the exclusive live rights for the Bundesliga, Germany’s top-tier domestic football league from the DFL Sports Enterprises GmbH.

Eurosport renews BSB deal - 21 Oct 2008

Pan-European broadcaster, Eurosport, has renewed its TV rights deal with MotorSport Vision to broadcast the British Superbike Championship for a further two seasons.

DFL looks to four year tender - 20 Oct 2008

Switching to four-year contracts could allow owners of the rights to plan better and could raise more money for the league, the magazine said, citing league sources as saying discussions with German a

Neo Sports targets Rs1.5 billion subscription revenue - 20 Oct 2008

Neo Sports Broadcast president affiliate sales, Arun Poddar, said: "We are targeting pay-TV revenues of Rs 1.5 billion.

Sportfive awarded certain Bundesliga international rights - 17 Oct 2008

The Sportfive agency agreed a deal for international rights for the Bundesliga for the 2009-10 – 2011-12 seasons in parts of Europe and Asia.

Sport TV/RTP acquire Champions League rights - 16 Oct 2008

Portuguese public service broadcaster RTP and pay-television broadcasters RTP agreed a three-year deal with UEFA for the TV rights for the UEFA Champions League.

Dorna and IMG partner on MotoGP - 15 Oct 2008

Dorna Sports appointed IMG Sports Media to work as the exclusive global agents for broadcast rights sales for the MotoGP World Championship in key markets across the globe for the next three years.

MP & Silva agrees Ligue 1 deal - 15 Oct 2008

MP & Silva (MPS) acquired the exclusive media rights in Korea for France’s top-tier professional football league – Ligue 1 for two years from French media group, Canal Plus.

MLB and ESPN extend digital rights deal - 13 Oct 2008

ESPN, and Major League Baseball extended their digital rights partnership for what they describe as most comprehensive multiplatform collection of baseball rights ever, until 2013.

TSN and NHL agree multi-year deal - 13 Oct 2008

TSN agreed a deal with the the NHL to become the exclusive global distributor of real-time NHL game statistics to Web sites, broadcasters, arenas, fantasy games and selected mobile applications.

SMG acquires IAAF rights - 10 Oct 2008

The Shanghai Media Group (SMG) agreed a three-year deal with the IAAF for the TV rights for the IAAF World Athletic Series competitions from 2010 to 2013.

Kentaro/USSF agree distribution deal - 10 Oct 2008

The Kentaro agency agreed a six-year deal with the US Soccer Federation (USSF) to distribute its global media rights.

FIFA and UEFA in media focused workshop at Soccerex 2008 - 10 Oct 2008

FIFA and UEFA will address the latest media issues affecting the football industry as part of the inaugural International Football Club Summit at Soccerex 2008.

FIVB/IMG agree distribution partnership - 09 Oct 2008

IMG Sports Media agreed a four-year partnership with the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) to distribute FIVB tournaments worldwide.

India: Opportunities in the Business of Sport

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For sport India has to be the last huge market and possibly the biggest opportunity on the planet today.

The headlines are overwhelming:

Published Date: 
October 3, 2008

Universal Sports acquires CHL rights - 07 Oct 2008

Universal Sports agreed a new partnership with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for the exclusive rights to broadcast the 2008-09 Champions Hockey League (CHL).

MTG acquires Champions League rights - 07 Oct 2008

Modern Times Group (MTG), acquired the exclusive media rights in Denmark, Norway and Sweden for the UEFA Champions League from UEFA.

French MotoGP rights awarded - 02 Oct 2008

The AB Groupe and Eurosport France have agreed a three-year deal with commercial rights holders, Dorna Sports, for the television rights for MotoGP across France, until 2011.  

BSkyB may have to share content - 01 Oct 2008

UK newspaper, the Telegraph, reports that under the proposals, Sky would wholesale Sky Sports 1 and 2, their high-definition versions, and 12 of its movie channels.

Champions League rights acquired in Israel - 29 Sep 2008

Under the deal, the broadcaster will show comprehensive coverage of the UEFA Champions League on its basic tier channel, Sport 5, as well as its pay channels Sport 5+ and 5+ Gold.  The coverage will

Kirch contract cancelled - 26 Sep 2008

The termination of the agreement had been expected after the cartel office signalled that it would only approve the centralised allocation of the TV rights through DFL and Kirch under the condition th

NHL to announce multi-year rights deal - 25 Sep 2008

The agreement, with the All Sports Network (ASN), which is owned by Yes TV in Hong Kong, will include more than 130 regular season games, the NHL All-Star game, the playoffs and Stanley Cup Final.

World Baseball Classic coverage finalised - 23 Sep 2008

From next year ESPN will show the semi-finals and final, scheduled for March at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, as well as select other games domestically, whilst the MLB Network will broadcast much of

Mediapro to launch new football channel - 23 Sep 2008

The channel will combine live and recorded football match broadcasts from Spain's top division Liga BBVA, as well as seven European

Kirch to file damages claim - 16 Sep 2008

German magazine, Focus, reports that the cartel office is facing a claim of at least €25 million.

CHL signs four new rights deals - 12 Sep 2008

Under the agreements, Czech public-service broadcaster Ceska Televize acquired the exclusive rights for three years, France’s Sport+, a multi-sports channel which is part of the Canal Plus Group, s

ESS sign $900m cricket rights deal - 11 Sep 2008

Under the deal, ESS has acquired the exclusive Global Commercial Rights for all the matches in the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 season, due to be held from December 3 to 10, 2008, and for all f

Disney to challenge for Premier League rights - 11 Sep 2008

On a visit to London, chief executive of Walt Disney, Robert Iger, told the paper that ESPN - the company's sports broadcaster - was its second principal brand after the Disney name itself and indicat

BFU extends relationship with Sportfive - 11 Sep 2008

Under the deal, which has been supplemented by a marketing agreement, Sportfive will exclusively sell the advertising rights for the qualifying matches in the European and World Championships as well

ESPN extends TV deal with WAC - 05 Sep 2008

Under the deal, ESPN networks, including ESPN, ABC, ESPN2 and ESPNU will show more than 300 regular-season games and 45 championships.

Mueller von Vultejus joins UFA Sports - 05 Sep 2008

Mueller von Vultejus is a former managing director and executive board member of rival sports rights agency, Sportfive.

Tribune group acquire NFL games - 04 Sep 2008

Under the deal, viewers in New York, Dallas, San Diego, New Orleans, Denver and Indianapolis will be able to watch the games, which are normally only available to viewers via cable and satellite telev

ESS renews F1 deal - 03 Sep 2008

Under the deal, ESS has acquired the television, Internet, mobile and radio rights to show F1 across 24 Asian markets, including India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea.

Setanta share issue - 02 Sep 2008

ITV secures Guinness Premiership rights - 28 Aug 2008

Under the deal with Premier Rugby, the umbrella organisation that represents the twelve professional clubs in England, ITV has committed to launching a new hour-long weekly show that will air on Sunda

Melita Cable agrees rights deal - 28 Aug 2008

Under the deal, Melita Cable will deliver comprehensive coverage of each competition across its Melita Sports channels as well as wide exposure on one of their basic tier channel.

Setanta row escalates - 27 Aug 2008

Setanta told the paper that it had not been offered enough money for the highlights rights, saying that “it had not yet received a proposal that makes commercial sense”.

Rai acquires Super Cup rights - 26 Aug 2008

Under the deal, Rai will pay €600,000 for all domestic media rights, including, free-to-air, pay-television and radio rights.

IOC hoping for Chinese bonanza - 22 Aug 2008

According to various news reports the International Olympic Committee expects to reap a "three-figure" multimillion-dollar deal with China for the 2010 Winter and 2012 Summer Games.

NBC keen on the Michael Phelps ratings effect - 22 Aug 2008

Financial terms of the deal with USA Swimming were not revealed. NBC had already acquired the rights to the 2012 US Olympics swimming trials and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

ESPN to bid for 2014 and 2016 rights - 20 Aug 2008

ESPN’s executive vice president for content, John Skipper, told the paper: “Our DNA is different than theirs, we serve sports fans.

MP & Silva agree new rights deal - 19 Aug 2008

Under the deal, MP & Silva acquires the international distribution rights (except Japan, South Korea, and the United States of America) to events organised by FEG Inc., including K-1 – one of the wo

PT Indonusa Telemedia secure Serie A rights - 18 Aug 2008

Under the deal, TELKOMVision will broadcast the upcoming 2008/2009 Serie A season live on its pay-television platform.