Events

With the NHL play-offs little more than a week away, ABC has reported lower than hoped for ratings for the three of five broadcasts scheduled for the 2000-2001 season to date.

Online betting and gaming company Ladbrokes eGaming Ltd has stepped up its Far East recruitment campaign by signing an exclusive representative deal with Asia's leading independent sports marketing agency, Total Sports Asia Ltd.

VTV has been awarded the contract to produce the UK?s Channel 5?s live coverage of the MotoGP World Motorcycle Racing Championships for 2001.

Bill Gates and Microsoft are throwing their financial support behind next year's Commonwealth Games in Manchester, signing up as an official sponsor and technology supplier.

Last week?s visit by IOC delegates to Paris to assess the city's plans for hosting the 2008 Olympic Games brought nothing to light which would endanger the bid, its organiser has said. For the full story see the FEATURES section of sportbusiness.com.

ENIC, the London stock market-listed sports and leisure company, is looking to transfer its market listing from the main market to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) so that it can comply with UEFA rules on dual ownership of clubs.

Sponsors have warned Australia?s Wests Tigers rugby league side that deals worth around A$1m ($480,000) per year may be reviewed after a week which saw three stars fallen and fans staying away.

The 2001 Goodwill Games organisers say they are on track to deliver a successful event.

The monetary value of Champions League football to English soccer clubs has been dramatically emphasised with the revelation that Leeds United has increased turnover by 67% for the last six months of last year.

Interactive sports content company Sportal has unveiled a demonstration version of an interactive broadband sports channel.

The Badminton Association of Indonesia has denied that it is bidding to host the 2002 Thomas and Uber Cups, pointing to its own financial straits and the current uncertainty in Indonesia.

The UK?s Southampton City Council has appointed PMP Consultancy, a strategic solutions company for sports and leisure, to research a new multi-purpose arena for Southampton.

Sport site network Rivals.net has teamed up with Entertainment Films to sponsor the movie Mike Bassett ? England Manager.

Tickets.com and the Milwaukee Brewers are expanding their relationship to include retail distribution through Tickets.com's retail outlets and call centres.

The World Cup became the latest casualty of Japan's economic slump when organisers said they were slicing $22 million off the budget for the 2002 event.

The World Cup became the latest casualty of Japan's economic slump on Wednesday when organisers said they were slicing $22 million off the budget for the 2002 event.