Media

Germany's Kirch Group and public broadcasters ARD and ZDF have reached a television rights agreement for the next two World Cups after Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder asked them to work out a deal.

Britain will not restore terraces at soccer stadia after studying a report into standing accommodation in Germany, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary of State Chris Smith said in a statement.

England Premiership soccer club Leeds United has launched LUTV, a behind the scenes insight into the club through their official website.

The Melbourne Cup, Australia's most famous horse race, will carry a purse of US$2.12 million this year, the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) has said.

Premier Rugby said that this season's winners of the Zurich Premiership will be the English Champion Club and will qualify as number one seed for the new end of season Zurich Championship play-offs.

Fox Sports? coverage of NASCAR Winston Cup racing from North Carolina Speedway last Sunday recorded an 8.2/19 US rating/share, according to figures released by Nielsen Media Research.

Car makers may set up their own motor racing championship if talks with German media group Kirch, which owns 75 percent of Formula One broadcast rights' company SLEC, do not lead to a deal, German media reported.

The relationship between Channel Seven and the Australian Football League appears to have turned nasty with the Seven Network signing a major sponsorship deal with brewery Lion Nathan.

United Airlines has appointed Craigie Taylor International as sponsorship agency for its latest venture ? the British Sydney 40 entry in the Admirals Cup.

ISL?s head of media relations has quit the Swiss company at the height of its financial crisis.

Environmental and residents? protest groups have hit out at plans to build London?s first racecourse since Alexandra Park in the north of the city closed 30 years ago.

British Eurosport has secured live rights to this year?s CART FedEx Championship Series.

The bets are off on horse races in the UK, cancelled until March 7 because of a foot-and-mouth outbreak, so gambling addicts are turning to wackier subjects.

World champion Michael Schumacher has said he would reluctantly wear a sponsor's helmet after a Belgian court issued an injunction to stop him appearing in a rival firm's helmet that he claims is safer.

ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has signed multi-year agreements for Asian broadcast rights to Formula One motor racing and the leading tennis Grand Slams ? the US Open and Wimbledon.

RTL, Europe's largest television group, is close to an accord with European pay-TV group Canal Plus over sports broadcasting rights, RTL, according to its CEO Didier Bellens.

Formula One teams, car manufacturers and sponsors will resist any move by German media companies to shift their glamorous sport from free to pay television.

Eurosport has signed a new two-year deal with Gillette for an extensive package of football broadcast sponsorship on the pan-European channel.