Australia
PACKER ASSAULT ON AFL TV DEAL
The heir to Australia's biggest fortune, Mr James Packer, is expected to use an alliance with the Collingwood Football Club as a launching pad for an assault on the Australian Football League's lucrative television rights.
300,000 EXTRA TICKETS TO BEAT GAMES BLOW-OUT
Sydney Olympic organisers are banking on selling more Olympic tickets - and at higher prices - to help offset a $150 million increase in the cost of staging the 2000 Games.
SYDNEY OLYMPICS BUDGET BLOWS OUT TO A$2.6 BLN
Sydney 2000 Olympics organisers have said the cost of staging the Games had blown up by A$150 million (US$90 million), largely because of an increase in the number of events.
BASEBALL PONDERS ITS OWN WORLD CUP
Baseball could stage its first world cup as early as 2001.
MCG’S SAVIOUR MAY BE AT HAND
From 2000, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will no longer be the home of Australian Rules football in Melbourne.
SEVEN STEPS IN TO FILL SPORTS VISION GAP
Australian Television group Seven Network Ltd has agreed to provide a dedicated 24 hour sports channel to Optus Communication's Optus Vision cable pay television network.
NEWS LAUNCHES $25BN FILM, SPORT SATELLITE
THE News Corporation Ltd has cemented its position as the nation's biggest listed company after unveiling a $25 billion-plus spin-off of its American motion picture, television and sports divisions.
SYDNEY OLYMPICS TO BOOST AUSTRALIA TOURISM
The Sydney 2000 Olympics will attract an extra 1.6 million tourists to Australia and generate A$6.1 billion (US$3.8 billion) in export earnings between 1997 and 2004, according to Tourism Minister Andrew Thomson.
AUSTRALIAN CHANNELS AGREE TO PROMOTE MALAYSIAN GAMES
Three Australian TV stations have promised to airing programmes for the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games soon in efforts to help Malaysia intensify promotion of the event.
ESPN AND OPTUS ANNOUNCE 24 HOUR SPORTS CHANNEL
ESPN International has signed a multi-year programming agreement with Sydney-based Optus to provide a 24 hour international sports channel called ESPN Australia.
SPORTS AND OUTDOOR MEDIA FLOTATION RAISES #3.2M
The recently formed Sports and Outdoor Media International Plc will be valued at #23.4m when it floats on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London.
TOP GAMES SEATS FOR ONE AND ALL
Thousands more of the best seats in Sydney's new Olympic Stadium will become available to ordinary sports fans under a major membership deal announced yesterday.
RUGBY SIGNING GIVES STADIUM AUSTRALIA SHARES A KICK
An announcement that Rugby Australia has signed a deal for two Sydney-based rugby tests at Stadium Australia in Sydney's Homebush has caused at $A350 increase in the share price of Stadium Australia.
SYDNEY SNATCHES BACK BLEDISLOE
Sydney is to host the annual rugby union competition the Bledisloe Cup.
MELBOURNE KEEPS AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
The Australian Formula One Grand Prix will remain in Melbourne for at least another eight years.
DOCKLANDS DEVELOPMENT COULD HIT MELBOURNE PROPERTY VALUES
A new study into the potential impact of the $A5 billion Docklands development in Melbourne, which includes a major new stadium project, concludes that the city's Central Business District propertymarket could be squeezed.
AUSTRALIA FORMALISES WORLD CUP BID
Australian soccer authorities have made a formal application to host the World Cup in 2006 or 2010.
THE NEW FACE OF MELBOURNE DOCKLANDS STADIUM
Expenditure on Melbourne's Docklands project is likely to be around the $A5 billion being spent on infrastructure for the Sydney 2000 Olympics.