Media
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.
UNIVISION TOPS WORLD CUP US AUDIENCE RATINGS
Spanish-language broadcaster Univision has turned out to be biggest U.S. beneficiary in this years World Cup.
VILLA SCORES #11.7M AFTER LATE RUN
Aston Villa, the Premier League football club, has announced annual pre-tax profits of #11.7m, against a loss of #3.9m last year.
SPONSORS DIVIDED ON TOUR BRAND DAMAGE
Tour de France team sponsors are divided about whether their brands would suffer from the doping scandal at the world's top cycling race.
WORLD CUP BOOSTS GERMAN ONLINE SPORTS SERVICES
German online sports services saw a short but powerful surge in usage this summer, thanks in large part to coverage of the soccer World Cup, and some momentum has endured.
ATP APPOINT MICHELMAN
The ATP Tour have appointed Fran Michelman as vice president of public relations.
UNITED FANS PLAN PROTEST AGAINST MURDOCH BID
Manchester United fans are planning a mass protest against Rupert Murdoch's bid for Britain's most celebrated soccer club in a spirited attempt to defy market forces.
GERMAN FEDERATION BOSS HURT BY CRITICS, MIGHT QUIT
German Soccer Federation (DFB) president Egidius Braun has said he had been hurt by critics and was considering retirement.
DIGITAL TELEVISION SCRAP IS ON THE CARDS
The future of digital television in Italy is shaping up into a scrap over soccer as Telecom Italia strives to hammer out a deal by Friday and global media baron Rupert Murdoch considers whether to join in.
ERC SIGNS WITH ISL WORLDWIDE
European Rugby Cup Ltd has signed a new four-year partnership agreement with ISL Worldwide.
RIDLEY QUITS AS HEAD OF MUTV
PAUL Ridley, managing director of MUTV, the television station which is dedicated to Manchester United, has quit the channel less than a month after it was launched.
ISTANBULSPOR BOSS QUITS, PLAYERS FOR SALE
The media magnate chairman of Turkish side Istanbulspor has announced he has resigned from the club after ordering a number of players to look for work elsewhere.
MURDOCH-MAN UDEAL GOES INTO EXTRA TIME
The bid by Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB for famed English soccer club Manchester United was booted into extra time on Thursday after the British Government passed the deal to an anti-monopoly referee.
FORMULA ONE DENIES MAKING MISLEADING STATEMENTS
British motor racing giant Formula One said it rejected allegations made by a BBC-TV documentary that it made misleading statements regarding the status of a European Commission competition investigation.
SAUDI ARABIA WITHDRAWS FROM ASIAN GAMES
Saudi Arabia has withdrawn from next month's Asian Games in Bangkok because the event clashes with religious and national festivals at home, Thai officials have said.
ICC POISED TO OPEN PROBE INTO MATCH-FIXING
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is poised to appoint a commission to investigate allegations of betting and match-fixing, and it has vowed to take tough action against anyone found guilty.
BLATTER PROPOSES BIENNIAL WORLD CUP
FIFA president Sepp Blatter put forward the biggest change in the history of world soccer Sunday, saying the World Cup should be held every two years instead of four.
STOP DISRUPTING FIVE NATIONS, ENGLAND TOLD
England, already facing sanctions from rugby union's governing body in a club versus country row, have been told to stop disrupting the Five Nations championship.