Media

TVB, the free-to-air Hong Kong-based broadcaster, has gained the rights to the UEFA Cup and the European Super Cup for the next three years.

Rupert Murdoch?s News Corporation is on the verge of becoming the largest global satellite network after lengthy negotiations for control of US broadcaster DirecTV were said to have entered an `advanced? stage by DirecTV?s parent company Hughes Electronics.

Media Content and the Sportel Organisation, owner and organiser of the popular sports broadcasting events in Monaco and Miami are launching an online marketplace.

French media giants Vivendi Universal will pay ISMM?s worldwide salaries while it works to take over the troubled Swiss marketing firm, a leaked ISMM memo obtained by sportbusiness.com reveals.

Kirch, the German media group, is to increase its stake in SLEC, a holding company which controls the broadcasting rights for Formula One, to 57.5 per cent from 37.5 per cent.

Sports.com, the website which claims to be Europe?s biggest sports news and data site, has bought the UK's Daily Star?s website Megastar.co.uk from Lord Hollick?s United Business News for about #100,000 ($144,000).

The St.Louis Cardnals wants to redevelop its Busch Stadium and offer up to 3.3m of its fans a retro-style, baseball-only ballpark which it said would offer spectators more ambiance and amenities.

Sportsworld Media, the sports marketing and television production company, has increased its foothold down under after buying Elite Sports Properties (ESP), an Australian athlete management company which represents about 20 Olympic and Commonwealth champions, as well as a number of leading Australian Football League players.

The television ratings for the NASCAR Winston Cup have risen this year following the switch to new host broadcaster Fox Sports. The first quarter of races in the 2001 series averaged a rating of 6.8, up 39% on the same period the previous year.

The lucrative sports sponsorship industry will come under increasing pressure if the world economy continues to slow down, the UK Institute of Sport Sponsorship has warned.

England?s Football Association could be asked to give a #120m ($172m) National Lottery grant back if plans to reconstruct Wembley Stadium cannot be saved.

German entertainment firm EM.TV Group, which earlier this year agreed a bail-out package with broadcaster Kirch Group, has announced a preliminary net loss of 2.8 billion marks ($1.27 billion) for 2000.

The world?s largest media company AOL Time Warner is in talks with the UK?s largest cable company NTL about a distribution alliance for content over high-speed broadband networks.

ESPN Star Sports (ESS) will develop its broadcast feeds in Asia with the addition of the Philippines.

Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton has urged fellow elected officials not to do anything that could jeopardise efforts to lure a National Basketball Association team there.

Nasdaq-listed Quokka Sports, the company at the forefront of developments in online sports content, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States in preparation for an asset fire-sale.