Events

Australia’s National Rugby League will change its rules at the request of its broadcast partners to allow for a delay at restarts, so that broadcasters can run an extra advertising spot.

Proposed extensive changes to the scheduling of events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics to suit the television schedules of US network NBC could have a knock on effect on other events held in the lead up to the Olympics.

A new report from the European Tour Operators Association says that the London tourism industry will suffer a decline rather than receive a boost because of the 2012 Olympics. “There is no strong link between hosting sporting events and increased tourism” says the ETOA.

The FC)dC)ration Internationale de l’Automobile approved the calendar for the 2007 World Rally Championship, adding three new races in Ireland, Norway and Portugal. The new races replace those in Australia, Cyprus and Turkey. The FIA said in a statement that its World Motor Sport Council had approved a calendar which would continue to run on the existing January-November format instead of the proposed August-May switch. It said that it would decide whether to add further events to the calendar at its next World Motor Sport Council meeting.

Danish beer brand Carlsberg said that it would extend its sponsorship of the England football team next month in a deal that is expected to run until after the World Cup in 2010.

Spanish Primera Liga football club Barcelona is set to announce a profit of around Eur15 million for the 2005-06 season, meeting its budgetary target for the season. The board will announce the results officially in August after they have been audited according to Spanish media reports.

The IOC has launched the 2014 Winter Games Candidature Procedure and Questionnaire. This document is provided by the IOC to Candidate Cities in the second phase of the bid process. It contains explanations about the various steps of the candidature until the election of the Host City in July 2007.

The saga of London’s new Wembley stadium has taken another turn with builders Multiplex saying that the £757 million stadium will not be finished in September.

A GUIDE TO KEY EVENTS

FRANCIS TELLIER, CEO OF HOST BROADCAST SERVICES, ON THE -BUILD UP TO SUNDAY’S FIFA WORLD CUP FINAL

Strategies for designing and delivering a seamless and effective venue overlay will come under the spotlight at the inaugural International Sports Event Management Conference at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, on November 22 and 23.

IEC in Sports has been appointed by China Open Promotions Ltd to handle worldwide television distribution for the ATP China Open.

TV audiences for the FIFA World Cup in host country Germany have rocketed by 51 percent on the 2002 event, according to the latest research commissioned by Infront.

Men’s international tennis governing body the ATP has confirmed the appointment of its new Player Council.

UK commercial network ITV has won the exclusive broadcast rights to show the UEFA Cup quarter-finals, semi-finals and final between 2006 and 2009.

More British TV viewers claim they specially chose to watch Wimbledon the last time it was on TV rather than the FIFA World Cup, according to a new study.