Media

Australian broadcaster Seven Network has asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to urgently arbitrate on the terms and conditions of access for its sports pay channels C7 to the telecommunications company Telstra's cable network.

Satellite television operator British Sky Broadcasting has reached a five-year deal with British pay-TV rival NTL to supply a wide range of its channels to the leading UK cable operator.

Media giant News International has created a new sales channel for sports and leisure goods manufacturers to push their products to market.

An Australian broadcaster withdrew on Wednesday as host of a major Olympic function at Sydney Opera House because she did not want to speak in French before English.

Commercial network ITV has secured an exclusive broadcast deal for the forthcoming Volvo Ocean Race in the UK.

UK newspapers the Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph have teamed up with commercial radio station talkSPORT 1089/1053 for coverage of the Olympics in Sydney.

English Football League club Fulham has appointed its first ever female member of the board.

NBC Sports has signed up Orad's 'Virtual Swimmer' technology to enhance its coverage of the Olympic Games swimming events.

Rogers Communications Inc. , Canada's largest cable company, bought an 80 percent stake in Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays for $112 million, and now has its sights on bringing a football franchise to the city. For full details see the `FEATURES? section of SportBusiness.com.

British Eurosport has signed UP cable operator CWC (Cable & Wireless) - accessing 1m CWC customers - to make British Eurosport the most widely available sports channel in the UK.

Moldova has been given permission by UEFA to use their main stadium for international matches this season, the country's soccer chief said.

France, currently president of the European Union, is pressing for sports "specificity" to be recognised by the European Commission after EU plans to scrap transfer rules sparked consternation in soccer.

SNTV, the sports video news service jointly-owned by TWI and APTN, the television arm of the Associated Press, has launched SNTVi aimed exclusively at internet -based operators.

Sportal, the global provider of interactive sports content, has signed an extensive multi language sports content distribution deal with Yahoo! Europe.

NFL action will be broadcast in a record 194 countries as the new season kicks-off.

Beijing is eyeing the 2008 Olympics as a cure for problems ranging from choking smog to taxi-clogged streets, and as an image boost for the Communist capital.