Netherlands

The 2006 World Cup in Germany is on course to break television viewing records.

The finals of the Wimbledon tennis championship drew good television audiences in many of the sport’s top European markets last weekend. 

Pay-television operator Modern Times Group has for the first time acquired television rights for Denmark’s popular domestic handball leagues.

A new deal for French Ligue 1 football is likely to be the biggest television-rights deal of 2008

Tennis: US network NBC and cable broadcaster ESPN are set to acquire the rights for the Wimbledon tournament in two separate four-year deals, 2008 to 2011

Sale of Tien to RTL Nederland likely to end three-year boom in Dutch sports rights market

The European Commission is thought likely to rule early next year that Dutch public-service broadcaster NOS must pay back state subsidies

Television audiences of the drivers and manufacturers’ home markets reflect rise and fall

The Dutch and Belgian domestic football leagues, whose pioneering television-rights deals with telecom companies started this month, have begun their seasons with the bulk of live matches accessible to only a handful of intrepid subscribers

Football: French commercial broad-caster TF1 acquired the free-to-air Champions League rights for a further three-years, from 2006-07 to 2008-09

Dutch public-service broadcaster NOS has filled the gaping hole in its schedule with two top foreign football leagues

Basketball: Spanish commercial broadcaster La Sexta acquired the rights to this year’s basketball World Championships in a deal with Fiba, the international basketball federation.

Football: Spanish Primera Liga champions FC Barcelona agreed a long-term deal with the Mediapro agency which guarantees the club at least €1bn (£685m) for its domestic and international television rights for the seven years from 2006-07 to 2012-13.

Sportfive has postponed the selling of Euro 2008 pay-television rights in the Netherlands after the only bidder offered less than €500,000.

Olympics: Brazilian free-to-air broadcaster TV Record acquired the Brazilian media rights across all platforms for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and the 2012 Olympics Games in London in a $60m (£31m/€45m) de…

Football: New Spanish commercial channel La Sexta, which launched last week, acquired the rights to this year’s World Cup.