TV gets sports. Sports gets viewers. Channels get ads.

Sports on television are bigger than ever and, all over the world, are contributing mightily to the broadcasters' coffers.

At the same time, costs of obtaining sports rights are on the rise and -- particularly in the case of some of the European public broadcasters -- are outrunning their ability to pay.

There are more sports services on the horizon almost every month, many to be carried by satellite and made available to millions all over the world. Sky Television in Britain, for instance, is to launch as many as five new channels soon, one of them -- Sky Sports 2 -- to be devoted to sports events of all kinds. The programs will be a mix of sports and documentaries and, initially, will run on weekends only. They will be free to viewers who already are Sky Television subscribers.

The recent World Cup put the focus on the European Broadcasting Union, which provided at a bargain price the full worldwide coverage of the 52 matches played in the U.S. The ratings results were nothing short of phenomenal. In Germany, for instance, the Germany-Bolivia match on June 17 drew an audience of more than 19 million. In countries like Denmark, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands and Belgium, one of five viewers tuned in. In Italy, average audiences for the Italian matches ran to 13.5 million, in France close to 7 million and in Spain more than 5 million.

In the U.S. the United States-Romania game pulled a 7.8 rating, which made it the most-watched soccer match in U.S. TV history. ABC and ESPN, which carried the event, estimated that the Brazil-USA game, won by Brazil, attracted an audience of some 32 million. For Univision, the Spanish-language network, which provided coverage of the World Cup, the games provided a bonanza and a 10 per cent increase in audience.

And yet, despite its unquestioned success with the World Cup, there seems to be no question that, gradually, the EBU's virtual stranglehold of some years back, is being eased as other sports promoters enter the fray. Bertelsmann UFA, for example, has the Wimbledon Tennis Championships until next year and in Germany, the Leo Kirch Group has become more active--and more powerful -- in tying up sports events.

In Europe, the most prominent channel carrying sports is Eurosport where -- as on other, local channels -- soccer is far and away the most popular attraction. Eurosport is owned by the American ESPN (in turn a subsidiary of Capital Cities/ABC) to the tune of 34 per cent; France's TF1 (33 per cent) and Canal Plus (also 33 per cent). ESPN is considered the largest sports network in the U.S. The network recently launched ESPN2, which is aimed at a younger audience, 18 to 34 years of age.

Eurosport estimates that European television on the whole spends in the region of $2 billion a year on sports coverage rights for television. Eurosport on the average is on the air 124 hours a week.

But while the satellite-carried Eurosport becomes ever more important, some individual European channels are in fact cutting back on the number of hours they devote to sports. In part, this can be attributable to the spiralling costs.

A recent German study charted the perminute cost of TV sports, showing that it had risen from DM2800 ($1,800) in 1990 to almost four times as much--DM 10500 ($7,000) -- in 1994. That's an increase that is much more significant than the rise in costs for news, entertainment or films. In fact, the overall programming costs have gone up only a fraction of that.

A good example of how European networks have cut back on sports coverage -- which nevertheless remains hugely popular -- is the Norddeutsche Rundfunk in Hamburg which, in 1989, devoted 14,204 minutes to sports, while in 1994 it reduced this to only 245 minutes. Soccer and tennis are the most popular attractions.

NDR explained that it alternates coverage of tennis with ZDF, with which it is associated. That event alone accounts for a difference of 2,000 minutes in any given year.

The last study of TV sports programming hours is for 1992, and it came from Kagan World Media. It showed European stations as a whole devoting some 13.3 per cent of their time to sports. The most sports-conscious country was Italy, with 7 per cent, followed by Spain and the U.K. with 10 per cent and France and Germany with 2 per cent.

Gradually, the coverage of certain popular sports events, such as Formula 1 motor racing, has shifted from the public broadcasters to commercial stations, said Werner Rumphorst, director of the Department of Legal Affairs at the European Broadcasting Union. "These stations, because of the quantity of air-time they have to fill, and their relatively small budgets, have championed the development of "minority sports," he said. "For the first time, they now attract regular TV interest."

And he added: "Such situations do not materially increase the level of sports coverage, but rather merely shift viewing habits from public to commercial broadcasters."

The degree to which the attraction of sports programming has risen is evident from the case of China which has sharply increased its volume of imported sports programs, particularly as Chinese cable spreads. Oriental TV, for instance, has been launched in the Shanghai region and carries, among other things, ESPN's "Sports Center". ESPN expects soon to expand this to basketball, boxing and aerobics.

Jack Stanfield, who handles sports coverage for Star TV out of Hong Kong -- carried on the Liberty Sports and Prime Sports International channels -- recently told the Paul Kagan symposium on Far East television opportunities that 50 million customers took his service in the region and that Liberty and Prime were responsible for improving the organization of Asian soccer and Asian badminton. The sports shows are provided unscrambled and the 24-hour sports service involves carrying key events like Wimbledon Tennis in their entirety.

In Australia, a new sports Channel -- Liberty Sports/Prime -- has been launched in competition with Optus/Continental Cablevision, which has a tie up with ESPN.

The ORF in Austria reported that, last year, it carried 1245 hours of sports on its two channels (compared to 855 hours during 1989), and that the network in 1994 is expected to spend AS110 million ($20 million) on sporting events.

In France, the sports department of TF1 refused to provide any details of its sports coverage, arguing that its statistics are available only for "internal use."

In Japan, Japan Broadcasting Corp. said sumo, baseball, soccer and tennis were the most popular sports programs, which are carried live for 15 hours on the terrestrial transmitters and for 52 hours, both live and on a delay basis, on the satellite channel. Japan Broadcasting spends about $100 million a year on sports, a figure that has not changed over the past two years.

TV Asahi Sports, according to Mr. Sumeragi, its general manager for sports, filled 33,456 minutes (557 hours) with sports last year, an average of 10.7 hours per week. Soccer and sumo are most popular. TV Asahi Sports also spends about $100 million on producing sports each year.

In New Zealand, Television New Zealand Sports puts out 30 hours a week of sports, about four hours a week more than in 1989. Rugby, cricket and netball head the popularity list. John Knowles, director of sports, estimates that costs have risen some 500 per cent since 1989, which is partly due to the introduction of competition in 1990.

In Italy, where soccer is the big favorite, Berlusconi's three Fininvest channels carried 741 hours and 40 minutes of sports in 1993, a substantial drop (from 854 hours) in 1992 and from 927 hours in 1990.

South Africa's TV1 devotes 10 per cent of its program schedule to sports, with viewers preferring soccer, tennis and rugby. The 1994 sports budget is $14.3 billion, according to I.H.J. Kern, the TV1 program director.

In Britain, both the BBC and ITV cover sports, with soccer far and away the most popular attraction.

ZDF, the German public broadcaster, which lists soccer, tennis, track and field and skiing as the most popular TV sports, reported that, in 1993, it carried an average of 9.5 hours per week of sports. The network has gradually increased its sports niche over the years, but the figures are distorted by special events such as the Olympics, the soccer World Cup, etc.

In 1992, ZDF spent $39 million on obtaining sports rights, an amount that has gradually risen during the past two years.

Soccer Plays Ball in the U.S.

With the ESPN International networks now servicing 86 countries in Asia and Latin America, where soccer is the most popular sport, ESPN International has now acquired worldwide media rights to American Major League Soccer. The professional League is due to kick off in April 1995.

In addition to regular season playoff and all-star games, the coverage will also include six exhibition games against international competition. The League consists of 12 teams, with each having the right to draft up to three international players.

One of the more extraordinary aspects of the ESPN deal is that, while the contracts have been signed, the League has not yet selected the actual teams that will compete around the country.