Media

European governing body UEFA attempted to bring calm to a storm in England on Wednesday after a report on its media information website attacked the national side for its performances at Euro 2000.

Gary Newman, the newly elected president and CEO of Choice Sports Network, has rescinded the company?s agreement to acquire www.cricmania.com and has accepted the resignation of Atul Mehta as president and director of the company.

Sportal has launched the official website for the South African Rugby Football Union, SARFU.

ESPN is to launch a 24-hour television service in Israel tomorrow (Thursday).

Bavarian tycoon Leo Kirch's media group has confirmed it plans to unite its three sports rights management agencies in a new holding company and integrate the Internet more strongly into its sports activities.

Specialist internet group Play-Sport New Media has joined forces with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in a new on-line cricket venture to provide an extensive internet network for amateur cricketers and their cricketing communities.

Golf.com has launched its second joint venture based on fantasy games with Smallworld.com, an independent developer of online fantasy sports games.

SimPlayer.com, a developer of interactive applications for the sports market, has formed a strategic partnership with The New England Patriots NFL franchise.

Total Sports, an online sports media company, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) will have provided online coverage of nearly 100 events when this year?s spring season championships come to a close.

Virtual imaging company Orad Hi-Tech Systems recorded revenues up 128 per cent in the first quarter of 2000.

Enic, the UK-based entertainment, sports and media group has acquired ukbetting.com, the internet bookmaker for #500,000 ($749,000), reports the Financial Times.

The Premier League is to consider a TV rights auction after 75 requests were received for the tender document when the deadline for the broadcasters? initial bids passed yesterday. The number of bids for the next three-year deal was even more than the Premier League had originally anticipated.

Fox Sports International has launched a new all-sports channel for Central and Eastern Europe.

SportSitio.com, the content-driven, interactive sports entertainment portal for the Latin American and U.S. Hispanic markets, will add "virtual golf lessons" to its Web site's expanding portfolio with an on-line content and service partnership with GolfingEdge.com.

The turbulent stock market may be creating funding problems for the big sports web site players as they continue to burn through cash, but Rivals.com general manager Scott Ehrlich argues that sports community niche sites will prosper because they can market themselves using the already existing connections and affinities between fans and groups of sports participants.

Granada Media interactive (GMi), the online advertising division of the Granada Group, has brokered a commercial partnership between Granada and leading digital content provider 365 Corporation.

UEFA have announced sweeping changes to their internal structure.

To ability to insert personalised advertisements into web broadcasts of sport has taken a step closer after Philips Digital Networks and Symah Vision announced they were collaborating to develop a cutting edge technology.