Events

NBA team the Seattle Sonics is to unveil a new team logo and strip next week in a bid to reflect the change in management and whip up support in the team ? and has just signed a new exclusive TV deal.

US broadcaster Fox has unveiled its advertising rates for next year?s SuperBowl with a 30-second spot costing as much as $2.5million (?2.72m).

Satellite channel British Eurosport scored its highest ever TV ratings for its coverage of the World Athletics Championships from Edmonton, Canada.

Scottish Rugby Union chief executive Bill Watson believes that media coverage of the new Celtic League can boost the Scottish game.
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New Zealand-based venture capital firm IT Capital (ITC) has updated investors on the fortunes of its investment portfolio, which includes the sports broadcast enhancement company, Virtual Spectator.

Attheraces, the new name for the Go Racing consortium backed by Arena Leisure, BSkyB and Carlton Communications, has appointed three additional members of the senior management team to supplement last month?s recruitment of marketing director Gavin Bisdee.

Australian sports fans soon may have to pay to see Australia play cricket in countries other than Britain and a host of other events deemed too unpopular to deserve free-to-air television coverage.
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Vietnam has signed a contract with a Chinese consortium to build a $52.9 million (?59m) main stadium for the 2003 Southeast Asian Games, an official said.

The UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has confirmed to sportbusiness.com that it has received a letter from Prisma - the sports rights subsidiary of German media giant KirchGruppe ? demanding an investigation into the sale of television rights for the soccer World Cup.
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Major League Baseball (MLB) team the Cleveland Indians has denied reports that coverage of its matches would only be available on pay-TV platforms next season.
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US broadcaster Fox Sports World Espanol will broadcast coverage of the Mexican Baseball League for the remainder of 2001 and the whole of the 2002 season.

The Italian government is to give police new powers to combat soccer hooliganism at and other sporting events, the Interior Ministry said.

Financial services brand Discover Card has expanded its marketing tie-up with broadcaster ESPN for coverage of US college football.
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The 2002 Australian Open will be the first Grand Slam to offer spectators the chance to see wheelchair tennis players in tournament action, Tennis Australia (TA) president Geoff Pollard said on Monday.

Britain's leading cable companies NTL and Telewest Communications Plc have held debt restructuring talks with international banking group JP Morgan Chase, according to the UK's Sunday Business newspaper.

NFL club the Denver Broncos has signed a two-year outsourced managed hosting contract with internet managers AppliedTheory.