Media
ECCLESTONE SET TO SELL TO STAMP OUT THREAT
Formula One motor racing supremo Bernie Ecclestone has offered to sell 50 percent of his family's stake in the sport to the motor manufacturers in a bid to quash threats of a breakaway, rival circuit, according to a UK newspaper report.
LEAGUES REUNITE UNDER EUROLEAGUE BRAND
The two rival European club basketball leagues have officially reunified ? with the new league to be known as the EuroLeague.
ESSEX BUSINESSMAN PLANS ?NEW AGE? HORSERACING DEVELOPMENT
A new state-of-the-art racecourse has been planed for a 165-acre site at Great Leighs, north of Chelmsford in the UK.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LIFTS LEEDS
The monetary value of Champions League football to English soccer clubs has been dramatically emphasised with the revelation that Leeds United has increased turnover by 67% for the last six months of last year.
ROGGE JOINS RACE FOR IOC PRESIDENCY
Jacques Rogge, a Belgian surgeon who has won a reputation for fixing the pains and strains of organising Olympic Games, on Monday joined the race for world sport's most powerful job - the International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidency.
WORLD RALLYING EDGES CLOSER TO F1
A World Rally Championship Commission and Technical Working Group which will mirror the system in Formula One has been created by the World Motor Sport Council.
EBU APPOINTS STOCK
The European Broadcasting Union has appointed Jean Stock, president and CEO of TV5 and Canal France International, as its new secretary general.
RFU EXPECTS PROFITS TO DOUBLE BY 2007-08
The English Rugby Football Union said it expected profits and cash reserves to double by 2007-2008, as it outlined an eight-year strategic plan to increase investment in the game.
TORONTO GREETS SUMMER OLYMPIC OFFICIALS
While Beijing sprayed its grass green to impress Olympic Games inspectors, Toronto is about to greet the officials with a thick blanket of new snow as it makes its pitch to host the 2008 Summer Games.
RTL EDGES CLOSER TO CANAL PLUS DEAL
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.
F1 CARMAKERS AGAINST EM.TV HAVING CONTROL
Formula One's five European car makers said on Tuesday they opposed any moves that would lead to one television company controlling the commercial rights to races.
VANS SIGNS THREE YEAR NBC SPORTS DEAL
Sports retailer and event sponsor Vans Inc. has signed a three-year sponsorship programming deal with NBC Sports under which NBC will broadcast skateboarding championships and other events.
CHINA COURTS IOC OFFICIALS FOR 2008 BID
China urged International Olympic Committee (IOC) delegates arriving on Monday to assess Beijing's bid for the 2008 Games to focus on its credentials as a "sports superpower of 1.2 billion people", not its human rights record.
AFL DENIES COCA-COLA SPONSORSHIP EXIT
The AFL has had a much-needed sponsorship boost as the league and naming-rights backer Coca-Cola denied their relationship would end prematurely.
KIRCH AND EMTV MOVE CLOSER TO DEAL
A possible rescue attempt by Kirch of cash-strapped Germany media group EM.TV seems closer after EM.TV management seemed to resolve their differences.
NBC DENY PUSHING FOR LATER START TIMES IN ATHENS
U.S. network NBC has denied that it was trying to exert pressure to put back the times of events at the 2004 Athens Olympics because of prime time television at home.
GLOBAL PREMIER LEAGUE RIGHTS UP FOR GRABS
The Premier League will sell their overseas rights in separate geographical blocs when the rights come up for negotiation in the next two weeks.
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.