Media

President Fidel Castro has thrown his weight behind Cuba's ambitious bid to host the 2008 Olympics, saying it was merited both because of the island's athletic record and as a right for the Third World in general.

Hopes that English Premier League soccer club Arsenal would build a new stadium on derelict land in central London were fading, as no building work could begin on the site until at least 2005, the Times reported on Monday.

USA Broadcasting, the eighth largest television broadcast group in the US, has signed a broad, multi-year alliance with the Dallas Mavericks, the first local sports partnership for USAB Dallas Channel 49, set to launch this November.

Mark Monaghan has been appointed Chief Financial officer at Umbro Holdings.

Shares in Leeds Sporting Plc posted fresh gains in active trade on Tuesday as speculation mounted that the soccer club owner would shortly unveil a partnership with a media company.

The Fox Entertainment Group has reported full year operating income before

Westwood One, America's largest radio network, and SportsLine USA, the leading global Internet sports media company and publisher of CBS SportsLine, have signed a three-year, $9 million promotional and programming agreement.

The Queensland, Australia, TAB betting agency has welcomed the state government's decision to dump plans to sell 20 percent of its proposed A$300 million float to a major investor.

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.

Pressure is building for Air New Zealand to spend millions of dollars to fly the All Blacks to the rugby union World Cup in their own black jet, the company said on Sunday.

The owners of Britain's 59 race courses are planning to launch their own online, tax-free bookmaking business, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

Talk Radio plan to invest #6m to start up the UK's first 24-hour all-sports radio station.

CBS and the NCAA are in talks to extend their broadcast rights agreement to the Division I basketball tournament.

The control of Everton Football Club will be determined by auction following the decision of majority shareholder and former chairman Peter Johnson to rebuff a #30m offer from board director Bill Kenwright.

Walt Disney Co.'s (NYSE:DIS - news) Buena Vista Internet Group has agreed to purchase 60 percent of soccernet.com from the Daily Mail & General Trust Plc (quote from Yahoo!UK & Ireland: DMGO.L) for an undisclosed amount.

Soccer clubs under common ownership will not be allowed to take part in UEFA competitions starting next season, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled on Monday.