Events

Ninety percent of the population of Beijing tuned into the broadcast of the Olympic vote on the host city for the 2008 Games which saw the Chinese capital emerge victorious.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has stated that the fallout from the collapse of ISL, FIFA's marketing partner for more than 20 years, was not as bad as was perceived. Speaking at a news conference during a visit to Vietnam on Sunday, Blatter stated that there were no dangers to the staging of the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea.

The European arm of the Extreme Sports Channel has appointed Phil Jones as its new managing director with responsibility for the 20 countries in which the broadcaster operates.

The Fox broadcast and cable networks have inked a $90 million advertising and marketing deal with giant Tricon Global Restaurants, owner of such fast-food chains as Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

General Motors, the controlling body behind the Hughes Electronics-owned broadcaster DirecTV, has stated that the merger bid from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has the ‘priority right now’. News Corporation has been battling with US satellite platform EchoStar for control of DirecTV which owns the soccer World Cup rights in Latin America amongst other sporting content.

Mobile phone giant Vodafone is winning the corporate sponsor battle thanks to its £30 million ($42 million) branding deal with English Premier League soccer club Manchester United, according to London-based brand-building public relations firm Propeller Direction.

New research from broadcaster ESPN has revealed that more than 1.7 million men in the US watch content shown on broadcast networks or advertising-led cable channels outside of their own homes.

Sport England advisers PMP Consultancy have been commissioned by the States of Jersey Sport, Leisure and Recreation Committee (SLR) to prepare a ten-year strategic plan for the ongoing development of sports and leisure services on the island.

Cricket fans will be able to listen to live commentary on the internet for the current one-day international cricket series involving England, Pakistan and Australia.

US-based Avaya told sportbusiness.com it was not concerned about becoming the first company to sign a sponsorship deal with the new marketing arm of soccer’s world governing body FIFA.

The BBC tried to block its rival Channel 5 advertising at the England v Greece soccer match in Athens on Wednesday night.

Jonas Persson scooped Sweden’s Stockholm and Gotland Entrepreneur of the Year award yesterday for his work as chief executive of licensing company IEC Sports.

Canada said it would bid to host the next soccer World Cup to be played in the northern American hemisphere.

Organisers of the ‘best ever Olympic games’ in Sydney have admitted they “made it up as they went along” during the weeks and months of preparation prior to the widely acclaimed event last year.

The British Olympic Association (BOA) has told sportbusiness.com that there could be serious negative ramifications to London's sporting reputation if the Picketts Lock stadium is not built to host the World Athletics Championships in 2005.

Siebel Systems, the eBusiness applications software company, has been named title sponsor of the Siebel Open, the ATP Tour tournament to be held between February 25 and March 3 next year at the Compaq Center, San Jose (formerly the San Jose Arena).