Sponsorship & Marketing

The disappointing ratings for Olympic coverage on NBC in the US have been offset by more encouraging figures around the world.

Southern African Investments Limited (SAIL), the sporting brands company with stakes in eight South African rugby clubs, a soccer club and a chain of upmarket golf practice centres, has made its first move into professional cricket.

ESPN has promoted Russell Wolff, senior vice president of programming and event management for ESPN STAR Sport (ESS) in Asia, to senior vice president, ESPN International.

Commercial broadcast coverage of the Sydney Olympic Games in Mexico has been dominated by TV Azteca over it rival company Televisa.

United States swimming double gold medallist Megan Quann has signed a representation contract with Octagon to handle her professional swimming career.

Nike Australia could cash in on the impact of Cathy Freeman?s Olympic 400-metre victory by marketing the ?Swiftsuit? she wore as a retail product.

Nike chairman and CEO Phil Knight has named Mindy Grossman as global vice president of apparel.

GolfServ Online, the provider of syndicated golf-related online content and services, has signed a partnership agreement with internet site iWon and Nypost.com, the online version of the New York Post published by News Corporation.

The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), recently snapped up by a trio of high-tech moguls, announced on Tuesday that it has tapped two former top Nike marketing executives to run the 42-year old league.

Irish cigarette maker Gallaher Ltd has said it is withdrawing its sponsorship of the Benson and Hedges Irish Masters snooker tournament following recent government moves to ban tobacco advertising.

America West has a signed a three-year marketing agreement with Columbus, Ohio's new National Hockey League franchise, the Columbus Blue Jackets.

English first division soccer club Bolton Wanderers has signed up UK-based company TeamCard to create a multifunctional smart-card system for season ticket holders.

Four years after the "Glitch Games" of Atlanta, IBM looks set to end 40 years of Olympic involvement on a high note.

US-based Scheer-Stern Development and The Stadium Game have merged to form ScheerGame Sports Development,LLC, a turnkey sports and entertainment venue development company.

Galaxy Latin America, the company that provides the DirecTV service to Latin America and the Caribbean, has named Jeffrey Whalen as vice president of market planning and management.

London rugby club NEC Harlequins has launched a new advertising medium based on rugby?s traditional association with beer.

ESPN Internet Group (EIG) generated record traffic in August.

The official Olympic Games internet site has already attracted 7.2 billion hits, surpassing the original estimate of 6.5 billion with six days of competition still remaining.