Media

KirchGruppe unit KirchMedia has continued its 'mopping up' operation in regard to the sale of World Cup broadcast rights with the conclusion of further deals in minor football markets.

The Football Network (TFN), the fledgling 24-hour gridiron football cable channel, has appointed Jerry Solomon to president and CEO of the company.

UK broadcaster Carlton, a joint-venture partner in the ITV Digital venture, has revealed that a partnership with BSkyB is essential if the terrestrial platform is to secure its long-term future.

Sports.com, the unofficial website for the World Cup, has expanded its email marketing business by signing a deal with internet advertising group Doubleclick.

ITV's terrestrial channel, ITV1, and its digital network, ITV2, will be available on BSkyB's digital satellite platform, sportbusiness.com can confirm.

UK media group TEAMtalk has completed a GBP2m (USD2.8m/EUR3.2m) deal to acquire 80 percent of radio station Atlantic 252 from the RTL Group.

The Winter Olympic Games and the World Cup should help the beleaguered advertising market see some signs of recovery, according to leading global media planning and buying agency Zenith Optimedia, whose forecasts are closely watched by the industry.

Sports media group TEAMtalk has signed a deal with the Expressen Newspaper Group in Sweden to provide daily football content for the Allsvenskan league.

German media company ProSiebenSAT1 Media has been downgraded by investment bank Merrill Lynch on the back of falling ad revenues and higher sports related programming costs in 2002.

US racetrack owner Churchill Downs has completed an agreement with privately-held Centaur Racing to sell a 15 percent interest in Hoosier Park, which owns the Anderson racetrack and related off-track betting operations.

Carlton - one of the biggest shareholders in UK commercial network ITV - is banking on the soccer World Cup to buck the current advertising downturn.

According to reports, US broadcaster Fox still has a surplus of advertising inventory to sell for its February 3 broadcast of Super Bowl XXXVI from the Louisiana Superdome next year.

Bookmakers are rubbing their hands at the prospect of a GBP150m (USD213.77m / EUR239.76) betting bonanza for the 2002 World Cup. The tournament is traditionally one of the biggest for the industry.

Australian television network Seven has been given shareholder approval to takeover the Colonial Stadium in Melbourne.

Octagon UK has been appointed by Vodafone to boost its sponsorship of the Ferrari Formula One team.

FIDE, the official governing body for chess world-wide, and its marketing consultancy, Octagon UK, have expressed their "disappointment" at the demise of a rival online chess tournament.