Media

US broadcaster ABC?s TV audience for last Sunday?s instalment of the Indianapolis 500 was up 18 per cent on the previous year?s rain-delayed race, scoring a 5.3 rating with a 14 per cent market share.

Soccer's most powerful administrator will face the world's media today as pressure mounts for him to sort out his organisation's finances or quit.

e-comsport Group plc, the Alternative Investment Market (AIM)-listed sports marketing business, has announced a loss for the year ended 31 December 2000 of #4.5m ($6.41m).

A court in the Swiss town of Zug declared the Swiss sports rights marketing firm ISMM-ISL officially bankrupt on Monday after French media group Vivendi Universal last week withdrew a rescue offer.

FIFA will decide on Monday whether the World Club Championship, due to be held in Spain at the end of July, will go ahead as planned, the Spanish Football Federation said on Friday.

Opponents of the proposed #100m ($143m) London City racecourse are this week arguing against the scheme at a public inquiry at Ilford Town Hall.

The European Commission has cleared German media giant Bertelsmann?s acquisition of a majority stake in RTL group, Europe?s largest commercial broadcaster, without conditions.

Eurosport has launched its 18th language version specifically for Greek-speaking viewers.

EchoStar Communications has refused to rule out a merger between itself and Hughes Electronics-owned satellite broadcaster DirecTV, despite the latter reaching advanced discussions with Rupert Murdoch?s News Corporation for a similar tie-up.

The television ratings for the NASCAR Winston Cup have risen this year following the switch to new host broadcaster Fox Sports. The first quarter of races in the 2001 series averaged a rating of 6.8, up 39% on the same period the previous year.

Sweden?s answer to Rupert Murdoch, Jan Stenbeck, has bought a 17 per cent stake in soccer team Djurgarden. Stenbeck's company, Modern Times Group (MTG), owns several media companies, including the free commuter newspaper Metro which was introduced in the UK two years ago.

Non-League Media, the creators of TeamTalk and On The Ball soccer magazines in the UK, said pre-tax losses for the six months to December 31, 2000 widened to #800,000 ($1.2 million) from #425,000 ($611,800) for the same period last year.

ISL has lost its exclusive contract to market the commercial rights to Euro 2004 because it still owes UEFA #10m ($16m) from Euro 2000, UEFA spokesman Mike Lee revealed at SportBusiness 2001.

US sports website Rivals.com is to close with the loss of 80 jobs, reports the Seattle Times. The news comes after protracted talks with Yahoo failed to result in a sale of the struggling network. Rivals chief executive Saul Gamoran told the west coast newspaper; ?We tried very hard to effect a sale of the company, and we came pretty close, but we were unable to cross the finish line.?

The prospect of the XFL surviving a second season is now officially against the odds ? according to a major US gambling firm.

ISL will buy its way out of the $1.2billion marketing, licensing and broadcasting rights deal signed with the ATP and top tournaments, according to news sources.