Media

Chrysalis, the media company which produces ITV?s Formula One coverage and is the financier behind UK-based sports website Rivals.net, reported a pre-tax loss of #5.6m ($8m)for the six months to February 28 compared with a profit of #100,000 ($142,000) for the equivalent period last year.

Arena Leisure, one of the three companies behind the Go Racing consortium, said today that pre-tax losses for the nine months to December 31 widened to #6.2m ($8.9m) from #2.96m ($4.24m). It also reported an increase in losses per share to 2.29p from 1.21p. But confirmation that it is to become a 33.33 percent shareholder in Go Racing saw its share price rise by nearly 10 percent to 104p.

Media Content and the Sportel Organisation, owner and organiser of the popular sports broadcasting events in Monaco and Miami are launching an online marketplace.

Arena Leisure, the racecourse and media group, is set to announce this week it has clinched a deal to control television rights to British horseracing, according to newspaper reports.

NBC is expected to announce that the XFL won't be returning to the network's lineup next year, according to US reports.

Gobarkingmad, the greyhound racing service owned by UK-based online betting and leisure group Gaming Internet, has signed an agreement with Australia?s Sky Channel ahead of its UK interactive digital television launch in June.

In a bid to counter the match-fixing scandals that have besmirched international cricket over the past year, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has drawn up strict new contracts for all players and personnel linked to county cricket clubs in the UK.

TNN, which holds the US broadcast rights to the Arena Football League, kicks off its 2001 15 game regular season schedule with a rematch of last year's Arena Bowl XIV in a special primetime telecast featuring the Nashville Kats and the Orlando Predators.

British bookmakers expect to take bets worth up to #100m (US$143.2m ) this weekend - one of the busiest in the UK sporting calendar.

Cheltenham & Gloucester, the financial services company, has announced a three year sponsorship agreement with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) that will see the company become title sponsors of the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy, the premier One-Day knockout tournament in England and Wales.

The ICC has banned star cricket player Brian Lara from using a new bat carrying the logo of an internet betting company.

Greece's state-run Soccer Pools and Lottery Organisation (OPAP) hopes to raise about 60 billion drachmas ($156.2 million) through a share sale to help fund the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

Media company Pulitzer Inc, owners of the St Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper, and chairman Michael Pulitzer, have agreed to buy a nearly 4 per cent stake in the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team.

Media technology firm Sportvision, has teamed up with CBS Sports and SportsLine.com, to deliver animated play analysis of the 2001 NCAA Men?s Basketball Championship.

The toe-dipping around the Olympic pool is set to stop and the serious contenders are preparing to dive into the race for world sport's most powerful job - the International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidency.

i-Cable, Hong Kong?s dominant cable operator, expect its subscribers to grow from 520,000 to 548,000 by the end of 2001 on the back of its acquisition of World Cup 2002 and the recently secured English FA Cup soccer.