Media

After taking bets for over two years on who will win the right to stage the World Cup 2006, UK betting firm William Hill have finally closed their book ? just days before the FIFA executive committee finally votes on who will stage the tournament.

Sportel, the international meeting place for the television distribution and programming market, is expanding its outreach to new media and advertising companies for SPORTEL's 11th International Sports Television Convention, to be held in Monte Carlo November 5-8, 2000.

Entertainment specialist Haymarket Advertising, the media arm of Global Entertainment Media, has completed a merger with North American entertainment agency Echo Advertising + Marketing - a move which will consolidate the companies? sports client interests.

Real Madrid presidential candidate Florentino Perez was quoted as saying on Friday the Spanish club was 42,910 million pesetas ($247.2 million) in debt.

The Extreme Group and United Pan-Europe Communications (UPC), the joint venture partners in the Extreme Sports Channel, have signed a distribution agreement with Germany's third-largest independent cable network operator PrimaCom AG.

Sydney passed its final inspection before this year's Summer Olympics with flying colours, winning rave reviews from the International Olympic Committee for its preparations.

Barry Snellgrove has joined John Taylor International, the sports sponsorship consultancy, as business development director to head up the agency's new business drive.

FOX Sports World Espanol, the only 24-hour, Spanish-language sports network in the United States, is to distribute its programming to more than 117,000 Time Warner Communications' subscribers in El Paso, Texas.

European soccer's governing body UEFA issued an official apology on Wednesday after a report on its media information website attacking England's Euro 2000 performances caused a major stir in Britain.

NBC and Fox's hardball efforts to negotiate new baseball rights have thrown the bidding process wide open, according to Variety magazine.

Australian media tycoons Rupert Murdoch and Kerry Packer are reported to be involved in a bidding war for the digital and internet rights to English cricket.

European governing body UEFA attempted to bring calm to a storm in England on Wednesday after a report on its media information website attacked the national side for its performances at Euro 2000.

Media company Belo Corp says it is to sell its interest in the NBA?s Dallas Mavericks and its new downtown arena.

NBC expects to sell nearly $1 billion in advertising for the Sydney 2000 Olympics this summer, and has already sold more advertising than the record sum from the Atlanta Games in 1996.

Sportsworld Media Group, the sports, media and entertainment business, has completed the acquisition of the UK-based Pro-Active Projects Limited for an initial consideration of #660,00.

Top officials of the World Broadcasting Unions (WBU), which groups the world?s major associations of broadcasters, are meeting in Lucerne today and tomorrow to discuss the transition to digital broadcasting ? among the topics being the issue of sports rights.