Media

The gulf between England's rich and poor soccer clubs is growing and smaller teams may need to merge to survive, a British report has said.

Sports Internet Group is reported to be on the verge of accepting an 850p-a-share bid from BSkyB which would value the company at around #220m.

Dorna Promocion del Deporte ? the firm behind the MotoGP ? has signed an agreement with Spanish scooter manufacturer Derbi to become the official scooter supplier of MotoGP in 2000.

TVNZ Satellite Services has reached agreement with the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) to provide a concurrent 8-channel service delivering live coverage of events for the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics.

Sportsworld Media Group plc, the sports, media and entertainment business, has been appointed as exclusive marketing and media agent to the International Triathlon Union (ITU), the governing body for the sports of Triathlon, Duathlon and related multi-sports worldwide.

SportsForWomen.com will today team up with the Women's Sports Foundation to host the "SportsForWomen.com Party Out Of Bounds" as part of the Annual Women's Sports Foundation Summit.

Octagon CSI has been appointed by British Motorsport Promoters to produce the British Superbikes series.

The Extreme Group and UPCtv is to make joint venture the Extreme Sports Channel available in Romania and Bulgaria adding a total of potential 120,000 subscribers to its reach.

Michigan racing fans will be able to wager on the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs at all of the state's seven pari-mutuel tracks.

ABC's "Wide World of Sports" could make a return to network television, according to Broadcasting Cable. The show

Pay-per-view internet content company Arthur Shaw has signed a four-year deal with web agency Sportstars-direct.com to provide PPV programmes featuring world heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis.

International Management Group (IMG) is planning to extend its internet presence in Australia, reports Australasian Business Intelligence. Via its wholly-owned subsidiary TWI Interactive, the company has targeted a number of internet-based site opportunities, mostly on a revenue-sharing basis.

British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc has secured broadcasting rights to West Indies cricket matches in an eight-year deal with the West Indies Cricket Board, according to press reports.

SportSitio.com, the content-driven, interactive sports entertainment portal for the Latin American and U.S. Hispanic markets, will add "virtual golf lessons" to its Web site's expanding portfolio with an on-line content and service partnership with GolfingEdge.com.

NBC's NBA ratings are showing no sign of improvement. After a regular season that saw national ratings plunge 21% from last year and 29% from two years ago, Nielsen Media national ratings for the prime time playoff game between the Utah Jazz and Seattle SuperSonics were down 32% from the same spot a year ago.

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