Sponsorship & Marketing

In a bid to get back into professional football broadcasting, the NBC television network will form a 50-50 partnership with World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc., to own and operate the new XFL football league and its eight teams.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) says it has received several offers for the television rights to Africa's top soccer competitions.

Sportal has appointed Caroline Duret ? head of PR during the soccer World Cup in 1998 ? as its new international communications manager.

A survey carried out by Scarborough Sports Marketing has determined which Major League Baseball clubs have the most passionate or ?avid? fans.

Southern Company, the international energy company, is to launch a year-long national TV ad campaign, composed of four new 15-second commercials centering around the company's role as the Official Energy Company of the PGA TOUR.

German media firm, Kinowelt, is seeking to broadcast football league games live in cinemas from August.

Dave Ogrean, the head of marketing for the U.S. Olympic Committee, has resigned.

NASCAR Senior Vice President Brian France has won the Sports Industrialist of the Year award from The Sports Business Daily.

South Korean sports site start?ups are proliferating and using US-based sports marketing models, according to a report from The Korean Times.

The Salt Lake City Organising Committee for the winter Olympics has signed up its 33rd corporate partner for the 2002 Games in a $20m (#12.7m) sponsorship deal.

Octagon, the global sports marketing and entertainment group, has named Alasdair Ritchie as worldwide president and COO of Octagon Marketing, the conultancy, property representation and event management division.

S:COMM, the Stockholm-based market research compnay, has agreed a partnership with Lynne Anderson Consulting Group in Sydney, Australia. The group will add S:Comm?s Spindex monitoring service to its value-added services for brand exposure evaluation during spring 2000.

SportSitio Inc., an online sports communications company, has completed the acquisition of TotalFutbol.com, the Latin American professional soccer news and information portal.

ISL Worldwide has signed Orad Hi-Tec Systems to provide Orad's IMadGINE virtual advertising for the Tennis Masters Series TV coverage. This is the first time that Orad will be providing virtual advertising to an ISL premium event.

John Dooner, Jr., formerly head of McCann-Erickson, has been named President and Chief Operating Officer of The Interpublic Group of Companies, owners of Octagon, the leading global sports marketing company.

John Krimsky, former deputy secretary general and managing director business affairs of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), has been named president of YankeeNets Properties and chief marketing officer of YankeeNets, the completed merger between the Yankees, New Jersey Nets and the recently affiliated New Jersey Devils.