North America
HEAT IS ON FOR THE BAHAMAS
NBA side Miami Heat has signed a three-year deal to make the Islands of the Bahamas the club’s ‘preferred destination’.
EPCOR POWERS INTO 2010 WINTER GAMES
Organisers of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games have confirmed EPCOR Utilities as a new partner.
VANOC SET TO UNVEIL SPONSOR
Organisers of the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver in 2010 will today unveil a new sponsor.
DUGGAN GETS NIKE HOCKEY POST
Sportswear giant Nike has promoted sales chief Mark Duggan to head up its Nike Bauer hockey subsidiary.
PALMER EXTENDS ENDORSEMENT DEAL
He may be about to retire from tournament golf, but the man whose handshake with IMG founder Mark McCormack initiated modern day sports marketing still has commercial appeal.
PLAYERS INC RECRUIT EXEC
The licensing and marketing subsidiary of the NFL Players’ Association has hired Dextor Santos as vice president of player marketing.
SAMUELS JOINS BONHAM GROUP
Paul Samuels, former head of sponsorship for O2, has been appointed as chief executive of The Bonham Group Europe.
ESPNSOCCERNET.COM TO LAUNCH IN FOUR MORE LANGUAGES
ESPN.com’s website ESPNsoccernet.com will launch in four additional languages by the end of the year.
WHITE SOX SPONSORSHIP MEANS GAMES BEGIN AT 7:11
Major League Baseball’s Chicago White Sox will start weeknight home games at 7:11pm under a sponsorship deal with convenience store 7-Eleven.
FIBA AMERICAS GIVES VENEZUALA EXTRA TIME
FIBA Americas has given Venezuela until Monday to come up with a suitable financial package to beat Las Vegas or San Juan in order to host the Beijing 2008 Olympic qualifying tournament next August.
DISCOVERY CHANNEL IN CYCLING TALKS
The Discovery Channel has reportedly begun negotiations to renew its $10 million to $15 million-a-year sponsorship of its US-based road cycling team.
CHAMP CAR LOSES FORD SPONSORSHIP FOR CANADIAN RACES
The Ford Motor Company pulled its sponsorship from Canada's three Champ Car World Series events.
NFL ON US RATINGS HIGH
US Networks NBC, ESPN and Fox reported that viewing for NFL games so far this season is among the highest in history, with broadcasts challenging for network top spots on a weekly basis.
MOVIDA SPONSORS NASCAR TEAM
The Cisneros Group agreed a deal for its Movida wireless communications service to sponsor Nascar's only minority-owned team.
SERIE A INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS UNIFIED
The Media Partners & Silva and Sportfive agencies agreed a deal to unify the sale of international Italian Serie A rights in some key territories.
RECORD NUMBER OF COUNTRIES TENDER FOR RWC SEVENS
The International Rugby Board (IRB) said that a record number of countries have officially confirmed their intention to tender for the right to host the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament in 2009.
ONLINE GAMING COMPANIES MAY STOP US TRADING
Online gaming companies including Sportingbet, 888 and PartyGaming said they would likely pull out of the United States and warned on future profits after the US congress unexpectedly passed legislation that would ban online gaming.
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER TO SELL AD SPACE ON SHIRTS
US football’s Major League Soccer will become the first major team sports league in the US to permit shirt-sponsorships from next season.