Media

Australia?s Seven Network has signed a new pay-per-view deal to provide coverage of this summer?s Olympic Games in Sydney.

FirstEntertainment, the multimedia internet entertainment company, has signed a sponsorship agreement with Team USA for the Trans-Atlantic Rowing Race to be held in October 2001.

Neil Ressler is to take over as the new chief executive officer of Jaguar Racing. Currently chairman of the board of Jaguar Racing, Ressler will have full direct responsibility for all team activities.

Internetsoccer.com has introduced a new soccer business information channel.

Dr. Richard Luker, founder of the ESPN Sports Poll presented new research at the Interactive Sports 2000 conference in Los Angeles that suggests the internet sports market is "a market place still waiting for people to come through its doors".

A new annual international sports awards ceremony will be inaugurated in Monaco on May 25. The Laureus Sports Awards, will be hosted by stars of the entertainment world such as Jeff Bridges, Ashley Judd and Dylan McDermott and will broadcast to a hoped-for global audience of 1 billion viewers.

NHL International, in conjunction with ESPN International, will distribute the 2000 NHL

Italian Serie A soccer club AS Roma, which aims to float on the stock market this month, is in talks on a commercial alliance with Italian and foreign telecoms groups, director general Fabrizio Lucchesi has said.

Two controversial bills in Washington aim to ban wagering on college and Olympic games in Nevada, the last outpost of such legalized betting, reports APBnews.com.

Nike Inc. and Metastream Corp., a provider of marketing visualization solutions for the Web, have signed a viewer distribution agreement.

When tenders for the new Premier League broadcast deals are tabled on April 3rd, UK clubs will be in an even stronger position to secure funds from finance houses against the value of those rights.

Last Wednesday?s Champions League match between Manchester United and Fiorentina attracted 10 million viewers - or 43% of the national audience - for the UK?s commercial terrestrial channel, ITV.

English Premier League club Arsenal looks set to be the next British football club in line to join forces with a media company, according to British newspaper reports.

US soccer is coming to the German Internet market after DotCom Ventures ? a subsidiary of the Peacock Financial Group ? struck a web co-production agreement with Cyware Media.

The Australian Football League has launched a number of specially tailored Internet packages ? giving its large overseas fan base the opportunity to access video highlights and audio broadcasts of games.

The Liberty Media Group is on the verge of securing the Ascent Entertainment Group ? that includes the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Avalanche and the teams? arena ? in a deal worth $755m.