Events

News Corp boss Rupert Murdoch has said he is not interested in lifting his stake in Italian pay-TV operator Stream from its current 35 percent.

The beleaguered organisers of the Rugby World Cup have criticised ITV's coverage of the event as a "disgrace" according to a report in the UK?s Guardian newspaper.

Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB has opened negotiations with Aston Villa about buying a 9.9% stake in the Premier League football club, according to a report in the Mail On Sunday.

The Australian Football League (AFL) has agreed a five-year deal for vision, audio and text rights for AFL content across online and wireless technologies with Telstra.
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BAA Scottish Airports, owners and operators of Scotland's principal airports at Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, is to sponsor the WPGA International Matchplay golf tournament as part of Scotland's Ryder Cup bid.

Sportsworld Media Group, the London-based sports marketing group, has confirmed that it is in talks with Australian-based Southern Cross Broadcasting about selling its Aussie TV advertising sales business.

India's state broadcasting corporation, Prasar Bharti has won exclusive rights to broadcast the first Afro-Asian Games scheduled in New Delhi in November.

Sportech, the UK-based holding company for gaming giant Littlewoods Leisure, has signed a sponsorship deal with ITV?s interactive soccer coverage for an undisclosed sum.
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The US women?s soccer league is heading into the end of season play-offs for its inaugural season having exceeded attendance expectations, but it has fallen short in the television ratings.

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 official World Internet Chess Championships have been launched by FIDE Commerce International (FCI) ? the exclusive holders of commercial rights to all FIDE world chess events.

Australia?s Nine Network will be the official broadcaster for the Tennis Masters Cup which will be held in Sydney from November 12-18 at the Sydney SuperDome.

HBO Enterprises has appointed Total Sports Asia (TSA) as its exclusive TV rights representative in Asia for boxing events.

New Zealand pay television operator Sky Network Television Ltd has named private broadcaster TV3 as Sky's free-to-air broadcast partner for rugby union and cricket for the 2001/02 season.

Turner Network Television (TNT) has recorded the second highest NASCAR television ratings in basic cable history with its coverage of the New England 300 race.

The most commonly abused drug in sport, erythropoietin (EPO), is not being tested for at the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka as officials try and isolate the sport from recent drugs controversies.

US television executives have said that Tiger Woods' popularity was not a significant factor in their new deals with the PGA Tour.

Cablevision and Multicanal have been ordered to transmit Sunday?s soccer international between Argentina and Columbia live on open television or lose their licenses.