Media

Television networks paid more than ever to broadcast National Football League games but the ratings have not lived up to expectations, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

In a move to keep cable TV on the bench during this spring's NCAA men's college basketball tournament, broadcast network CBS and satellite TV company DirecTV has unveiled plans for joint coverage of the event.

The ATP Tour has said it was "unconcerned" by talk of rival tours after a Germany weekly magazine said Boris Becker was working on plans to launch a breakaway tennis circuit from 2000.

Racing tycoon Bernie Ecclestone's efforts to raise $2.0 billion with a controversial bond have received a fresh setback as bankers said the London Stock Exchange (LSE) was so far reluctant to list the security.

Indian cricket officials, reacting to the Australian scandal in the sport, has said betting on cricket was common but involvement of players in match-fixing was a serious and so far unproved offence.

The UK's third biggest cable operator, NTL, has bought a 6.3% stake in the Premier League soccer club Newcastle United with an option to take control of the company in a deal which would value it at #160m.

The Association of Tennis Proessionals will seek to double the sport's current penalty for doping to two years, bringing them into line with International Olympic Committee guidelines.

The Argentine Grand Prix has been scrapped from the 1999 Formula One calendar, the InternationalAutomobile Federation (FIA) has announced.

The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced a major new contract with Sports and Outdoor Media International (SOMI).

The man who ran the ill-fated 1996 Atlanta Games offered some advice to Sydney 2000 Games organisers on Friday: ignore an Olympic corruption scandal and trust that everything will come out right.

Leading Australian media figures have denied they had agreed to keep quiet about Sydney's tactics in wooing International Olympic Committee (IOC) votes for the city's bid to host the 2000 Games.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is set to join forces with four top soccer clubs and media group Cecchi Gori to buy 65% of Telecom Italia's digital tv operation, Stream.

Princeton Video Image Inc (PVI), a global leader in virtual advertising, has appointed a new chief technology officer.

SEGA, the computer Games manufacturer, is set to follow its sponsorship deal with London based soccer club Arsenal by signing with a leading French club in the next seven days.

Broadcom Corporation, an enabler of broadband communications to homes and businesses, and Gotcha International, the surfwear and media company, have launched Broadband Interactive Group Inc. (BIG) to create interactive content aimed at the 10-24 year-old age group.

American cable network Home Box Office have withdrawn their threat of non co-operation with Evander Holyfield's promoter Don King.