Events
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.
WORLD CUP BOOST FOR BILLBOARD BUSINESS
Independent French outdoor advertising firm Dauphin saw an exceptional level of turnover in June thanks to the World Cup, according to the firm's commercial director .
SOUTH KOREA DENY WORLD CUP EXIT
South Korean officials insisted that they have no intention of backing out of staging the 2002 World Cup.
KIRCH GROUP MAY GO PUBLIC
Germany's powerful but secretive media conglomorate the Kirch Group may be going public according to an unconfirmed report Friday in Italy's financial daily Sole 24 Ore.
COMMONWEALTH GAMES TICKET SALES HIT 220,000 MARK
The number of tickets sold for the September Commonwealth Games has exceededthat for the last Games in Victoria in 1994. In Victoria, 190,000 ticketswere sold.
MALAYSIA ACCEPTS AUSTRALIA TEAM BOSS’S REPLY
The Commonwealth Games organising committee has said that Australian team boss Perry Crosswhite had denied questioning Malaysia's ability to manage the games next month.
BROWNS FRANCHISE GOES FOR $530 MILLION
National Football League owners have accepted a $530 million bid for the expansion Cleveland Browns from businessman Alfred Lerner following one of the most intense bidding wars in sports history.
CANAL PLUS WINS EURO BASKETBALL RIGHTS
Sports marketing organisation ISL Worldwide has signed an accord giving French pay television group Canal Plus exclusive broadcasting rights in Europe to basketball events from 1999 to 2004.
CANAL PLUS TALKS TO MORE ITALIAN TEAMS
French pay television company Canal Plus is in talks with four more Italian football clubs following its recent broadcasting rights accord with the country's four main teams, a company official has said.
NFLI SIGNS U.K. SPONSORSHIP DEAL WITH COORS
NFL International has signed a two-year agreement with Coors for the sponsorship of NFL activities in the United Kingdom.
IAAF SET UP NEW FORMAT FOR GOLDEN LEAGUE
Athletics chiefs have revamped their fixture list for next season in a bid to make Wednesday nights a focal point for top-class track and field.
BLATTER REPEATS BACKING FOR AFRICAN WORLD CUP
FIFA president Sepp Blatter repeated his belief that Africa should stage the soccer World Cup finals in 2006, in an interview published on Monday.
BOND BLOW FOR GP CZAR BERNIE SAY BANKERS
Racing tycoon Bernie Ecclestone's efforts to raise $2.0 billion with a controversial bond have received a fresh setback as bankers said the London Stock Exchange (LSE) was so far reluctant to list the security.
2002 WORLD CUP FINALS MAY BE SHORTER
The 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea may be three days shorter than this year's 33-day tournament in France, FIFA president Sepp Blatter has said.
ASIA THREATENS WORLD CUP BOYCOTT
Asian soccer chiefs have gaven FIFA until March to avert a regional boycott of the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea by giving Asia the chance of an extra place in the finals.
N.KOREA SAYS NOT BEEN ASKED FOR 2002 HELP
Isolationist North Korea has never been officially approached about the possibility of hosting matches during the 2002 World Cup, a top Pyongyang sports official has said.
SPAIN FIRST FOR EURO 2004 VISIT
The bidding process for the right to stage the 2004 European soccer championship moves up a gear this week when UEFA inspectors go to Spain - the first visit to one of the bidding nations.
ITALY SEEN SETTING 60 PCT ROOF ON TV SOCCER RIGHTS
The Italian government are to prepare new rules limiting a single digital television broadcaster from owning more than 60 percent of rights to the total amount of football games, an Italian newspaper has reported.