Media
MAYOR LIVINGSTONE HOLDS FINAL SAY ON LONDON OLYMPIC BID
Ken Livingstone, the outspoken mayor of London, will hold final approval for any London Olympic bid, the British Olympic Association (BOA) chairman has said.
PLAY – SPORT NEW MEDIA LAUNCH CRICKET NETWORK
A new network of websites aimed at uniting the UK?s domestic cricket community, and supported by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was launched at Lord?s Cricket Ground in London last night.
KIRCH TO AUCTION UK WORLD CUP RIGHTS
German media giant Kirch, holders of the European broadcast rights to the FIFA World Cup 2002 and 2006, will auction the rights in separate packages to both pay-TV and free-TV broadcasters in the UK.
EM.TV AND KIRCH CONTINUE EXCLUSIVE TALKS
Debt-laden German media company EM.TV & Merchandising is continuing to talk on an exclusive basis to Kirch Group on a rescue deal by the media giant, sources close to the negotiations have said.
BSKYB MADE OFFER LEWIS REFUSED
Lennox Lewis was allegedly offered a last-ditch incentive by BSkyB to prevent him from switching the broadcast coverage of his fights to the BBC.
STAR TV BIDS FOR PREMIER LEAGUE SOCCER RIGHTS
Hong Kong cable-TV operator i-CABLE Communications could lose the broadcasting rights for Premier League soccer in the England and Scotland to Rupert Murdoch?s Star TV.
EM.TV TALKS WITH KIRCH CONTINUE PAST DEADLINE
Germany's EM.TV & Merchandising said talks on a rescue bid by rival media group Kirch would continue but the embattled company declined to comment whether the discussions remained exclusive.
BOA AND GOVERNMENT DECIDE WHETHER TO LAUNCH LONDON BID
British Olympic chiefs will meet government ministers today to decide whether London can launch a bid to bring the Olympic Games back to Britain for the first time since 1948.
CASINOS WIN BIG TIME ON SUPER BOWL
Las Vegas casinos emerged as the big winner following the Baltimore Ravens? 34-7 rout of the New York Giants in last Sunday?s Super Bowl.
TURKISH DELIGHT AS NEW TV DEAL SIGNED
Turkish soccer authorities agreed a $465 million television deal on Wednesday to end a dispute over broadcast rights which delayed the second half of the season by a week, a spokesman for the governing body said.
BBC SET TO ENTER RING WITH SKY FOR LEWIS v TYSON
The BBC says it would consider pitching a rival bid against Rupert Murdoch?s Sky for the rights to heavyweight boxing?s greatest prize ? live coverage of Mike Tyson against Lennox Lewis.
TF1 CHEERED BY EUROSPORT STAKE
Shares in French commercial TV station TF1 - which had been hit recently by fears of slower advertising revenues - gained over two percent as investors cheered in-line 2000 earnings and a deal to buy all of Canal Plus and Havas Image's stakes in the Eurosport sports channel.
PRIMERA LIGA ATTENDANCE SUFFERS FROM PAY-TV EXPOSURE
An increase in subscribers to Spain?s pay-TV channels ? the broadcasters of live Primera Liga soccer - has coincided with declining attendance at league matches.
OCTAGON MOVES INTO CHESS WORLD WITH RIGHTS DEAL
Octagon Marketing has won the exclusive rights to capitalise on the commercial potential of chess worldwide over the next three years.
HBO EMBRACES WEB AND TV FOR INTERACTIVE LAUNCH
HBO.com is to launch a live interactive adjunct to HBO Sports' new 12-week talk/magazine show, On the Record with Bob Costas.
SALT LAKE GAMES’ UNIFORMS COSTLY AND COLOURFUL
Uniforms to be worn by Salt Lake Organizing Committee staff, course workers and volunteers for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games will be bright, colour-coordinated, and costly.
CANAL PLUS $2BN EUROSPORT SALE
French pay- television company Canal Plus, a unit of Vivendi Universal , said it had received two billion French francs ($280.6 million) from the sale of its Eurosport stakes to TF1 .
LEWIS SIGNS $1.6m DEAL WITH BBC
Heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis is today signing a $1.6m deal with the BBC ? a key victory for the broadcaster as it looks to rebuild its sports portfolio.