Media

British athletics governing body UK Athletics has won a top marketing award for its brand development.

The London-based soccer advisory company, Media Content Sports Media Advisors Ltd, has secured its most prestigious consultancy project to date.

The head of Britain's richest soccer club Manchester United Plc is likely to step down this year in a move that will mark the end of four decades of family control, the Financial Times has reported.

Germany's top television channel, RTL has bought the coveted free-to-air rights to Champions League soccer from September for the next three seasons.

Fox Sports International has agreed to broadcast the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup soccer tournament on Fox Sports owned-and-affiliated cable and satellite services around the world on an exclusive basis, beginning with the 2000 competition.

Reports that a major UK soccer club has been the subject of a stake-holding bid from a leading international sports marketing company have been rebutted.

The recent MotoGP in Italy broke new TV viewer records for the sport ? according to figures just released.

Former Pakistan cricket captain Salim Malik and all-rounder Ata-ur-Rehman were banned for life by their country's cricket board on Wednesday.

French commercial TV station TF1 and pay-TV channel Canal Plus have acquired stakes in sports channels Eurosport International and Eurosport France from Disney Corp cable TV sports network ESPN.

Digital pay-TV company, ONdigital, is to ask the UK's Office of Fair Trading to investigate the competition for the right to screen Football League matches, reports the UK's Sunday Business newspaper.

The European Broadcasting Union, the association of Europe?s public service broadcasters, said it is satisfied at a decision by the European Commission authorising the joint acquisition and sharing of sports rights by EBU members in the framework of Eurovision.

Sportsworld Media Group plc, has been appointed exclusive marketing and media agent to the International Triathlon Union (ITU).

NBC's NBA ratings are showing no sign of improvement. After a regular season that saw national ratings plunge 21% from last year and 29% from two years ago, Nielsen Media national ratings for the prime time playoff game between the Utah Jazz and Seattle SuperSonics were down 32% from the same spot a year ago.

LOS ANGELES: Andrew Gellatly, SportBusiness.com new media editor, reports from the Interactive Sports 2000 conference.

Enic, the UK-based sports, media and leisure group with controlling interests in European club?s Slavia Prague and Vicenza as well as minority stakes in Glasgow Rangers, FC Basel and AEK Athens, has reported greatly increased half-year profits. The company made substantial gains on player trading, and the sale of part of its holdings in AEK and Autonomy, the new media company.

Squash media and enthusiasts will be able to participate in the sport's first live worldwide interview with the world's leading women players - including England's world champion and world No1 Cassie Campion and Australia's former three-times world champion Sarah Fitz-Gerald - during the Com4Net Munich Open which gets underway in Germany today.