Media

UK broadcaster, BBC Radio has secured the commentary rights for the cricket World Cup until 2007 for its Radio Five Live station.

Go Racing, the media consortium run by UK broadcasters Channel 4 and BSkyB and track owner Arena Leisure, has hired its first marketing director just a few weeks after it agreed a £387m ($545m) ten-year multimedia racing rights deal with the British Horseracing Board and the Racecourse Association.

Shares in English Premier League soccer club Manchester United have continued to rise – along with concerns among supporters – as the mystery deepens over who could be behind the purchase of a 6.7 percent stake.

SportBusiness Group is expanding its global reach by opening offices in Munich, Germany.

The English Premier League has awarded the production contract for its 40 pay-per-view (PPV) soccer matches to satellite broadcaster Sky Sports in a deal reported to be worth around £2.5 million ($3.54m) a year.

Fox Sports Net has signed a deal with LodgeNet Entertainment which will see the broadcaster’s array of digital channels installed in hotels around the US.

UK satellite broadcaster BSkyB has unveiled a new digital set-top box which will allow sports fans to pause live broadcasts and record one programme whilst watching another.

Harrah’s Entertainment, the world’s third biggest casino operator and sponsor of this week’s CART FedEx Championship series, blamed poor winnings at its Rio casino in Las Vegas and a drop in visitors to its casinos in northern Nevada for flat second earning figures.

The recommendations laid out in this week’s UK government-sponsored review on the gaming industry would not become effective for at least another five years, an independent report by an international broking firm predicts.

MLB Advanced Media, which manages MLB.com and each of the 30 official Major League Baseball club sites, has reported record traffic to its site.

UK mobile internet services company Wap Integrators and Premier League club Derby County have signed an agreement to provide fans with club branded mobile phones offering content from Derby County’s web site.

Tele-Cine, the builders of secure TV and internet production facilities, has signed a long-term contract to provide transmission services for the digital TV channel gobarkingmad - a live, 24-hour greyhound racing channel where punters can see a race every five to eight minutes.

Charlie Ergen, chief executive of satellite platform EchoStar Communications, has confirmed the rejection of a merger bid for rival US broadcaster DirecTV.

The European Commission (EC) has challenged UEFA's policy of selling free and pay-television rights for the Champions League on an exclusive basis.

The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) has filed a lawsuit against Canadian businesses that it claims are illegally distributing pay-per-view telecasts of WWF events.

UK cable companies NTL and Telewest, both of which will broadcast Premiership pay-per-view soccer next season, may be forced into financial restructuring in the face of mounting debts.

Trans World International (TWI) has won the contract for the television and new media rights to the Tennis Master Series, previously held by the now defunct ISL/ISMM.

Promoters of dog racing in the UK have given the British Greyhound Racing Board (BGRB) a mandate to handle the sale of the intellectual property rights, including photo, betting and media rights, in return for two extra seats on the board.