South America

This second annual survey of global sports media consumption by Perform, KantarSport and TV Sports Markets confirms many of the trends highlighted in the first report in 2011 and brings into even sharper focus some of the changes in consumer habits that anybody working in the sports media industry needs to be attuned to.

Rio de Janeiro’s Mayor, Eduardo Paes, has conceded that the city will not keep its promise of cleaning the polluted Guanabara Bay in time for its staging of the 2016 Olympic Games.

Eduardo Paes, the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, has claimed that organisers of the 2014 Fifa World Cup international football tournament have made a mistake by planning to stage matches in 12 different cities.

Rio 2016 has taken a significant step in addressing one of the main problem areas in its preparations for the Olympic Games by awarding a tender for its Deodoro zone to a consortium comprising Brazilian construction companies OAS and Queiroz Galvão.

The Olympic tennis test event for the Rio 2016 Games has been postponed by four months amid construction delays, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has confirmed.

Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke has expressed his concern over preparations in Sao Paulo, Natal and Porto Alegre as the clock counts down to kick-off for the 2014 World Cup on June 12.

Brazil’s Deputy Sports Minister Luis Fernandes is confident that the country will host a “fantastic” Fifa World Cup this summer despite admitting mistakes were made during the preparations for the national team football tournament.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has announced that the Chinese city of Kunshan will host the 2016 Thomas & Uber Cup Finals, while the Peruvian capital of Lima has secured the rights to the 2015 World Junior Championships.

Sanzar’s bid to establish a Super Rugby expansion franchise in the Asian market has suffered a blow with Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) president Trevor Gregory stating the continent is not ready to host a team.

Football’s world governing body Fifa and Brazilian football club Corinthians have agreed to cancel a test event at a key World Cup stadium in Sao Paulo due to concerns over traffic congestion.

SportAccord Convention has announced it is closing in on a decision over the host of its 2015 event, adding that “strong interest” has been received from multiple Brazilian cities to stage a future edition of the Convention in the country for the first time.

Brazilian football club Corinthians has organised a second test event at its Arena Corinthians in a bid to meet Fifa’s demands for the World Cup, while organisers have maintained that unfinished work will not pose a problem during the upcoming national team tournament.

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has said it may conduct independent water-quality tests in Rio de Janeiro’s Guanabara Bay as concerns mount over pollution levels at the sailing venue for the 2016 Olympic Games.

Brazilian state environmental officials have acknowledged that previously set water pollution targets will not be met in time for Rio de Janeiro’s hosting of the 2016 summer Olympic Games.

Organisers of the Rio 2016 Olympics have moved to quell criticism of their preparations for the Games by announcing 38 per cent of competition venues are ready for the event.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has welcomed the appointment by Rio 2016 of IPC vice-president Andrew Parsons as chair of the Games’ Paralympic Integration Committee and insisted that it is ‘encouraged’ by developments in preparing for the event.