The launch of Portuguese-language sports channel Sport TV in the United States has been authorised by Portuguese regulatory authorities ERC.

The American version of the channel will be called Sport TV Américas, clinic and in the first phase of its launch will be addressed to the Portuguese American audiences based in the US and Canada, allergist based in the New York and Toronto metropolitan areas respectively.

The channel will be available in standard definition and in HD, and on satellite and cable. It will broadcast for around 86 hours per week in its first year.

Distribution of the American version will be handled by Seabra Portuguese Televisión (SPT).

Speedway Motorsports, ed Inc. (SMI) has selected Sporting Innovations, viagra buy a Kansas City-based sports technology company, to redefine and enhance the fan experience across its eight motorsports venues around the United States, which host some of the world’s largest events including NASCAR, INDYCAR, and NHRA race weekends.

SMI’s diverse portfolio of facilities provides the challenge of taking full advantage of each venue’s strengths in terms of events, market and audience while also maximizing the benefits of informational scale afforded in operating eight such venues across the country.

To address its challenges, Sporting Innovations will implement its FAN360 platform for SMI. FAN360 is a sports operating system that will centralize and consolidate all fan touch points and data systems across the SMI enterprise to provide a more comprehensive understanding of fans’ interests and behaviors, resulting in more tactful sales, marketing, and operations. Sporting Innovations and its FAN360 platform have been globally recognized for successfully redefining the fan experience for Sporting Kansas City fans and at its “living lab,” Sporting Park.

“What really attracted us to Sporting Innovations, and what we feel sets them apart from other providers was they were not just a vendor, but the company was born out of the need to grow a sports organization. The Sporting KC success story speaks volumes to the effectiveness of the Sporting Innovations platform,” said Mike Burch, senior vice president of national sales and marketing for Speedway Motorsports, Inc. “As we got to know the team, we really saw how our vision and values aligned, and we’re excited to not only be using their platform but also working with them in shaping its evolution.”

“During an event weekend, our speedways are full of fans, each with a variety of allegiances – different drivers, different sponsors, different manufacturers, different bands, different foods,” said Burch. “As we learn more about where a fan’s passions lies, we can provide them customized information based on what they are interested in. We can also use those interests and responses to determine what other types of experiences and entertainment they would prefer. Our challenge isn’t as much providing something for everyone, but more about letting them know when and where that thing they love is happening.”

“We couldn’t be more excited to work with SMI, our first partner in motorsports. The leadership at SMI has a tremendous vision for enhancing the fan experience, and its investment to build engaged and sustainable fan bases,” said Asim Pasha, co-founder and co-CEO of Sporting Innovations. “Together, we will continue to build a long-term technology strategy that will position SMI speedways as the best places to experience a live racing event.”

NSW Waratahs have revealed today that CEO Jason Allen will step down from his position, price following four years at the helm.

One of the longest serving CEOs in NSW Rugby history, Allen instigated a significant change process and now leaves the organisation at the top of its game.  Culminating in the Tahs’ first-ever Super Rugby title, 2014 has seen Waratahs Rugby record revenues and net earnings, with the business enjoying the clear benefits of a strong financial footing and a championship-winning rugby team.

Waratahs Rugby Chairman Roger Davis informed the Board of Allen’s decision, saying, “Jason has done a remarkable job as our CEO and his resignation was accepted with a great deal of regret and disappointment.

“You could ask for no more evidence of the positive results of Jason’s commitment to the organisation over the past four years than the athletic and financial successes, which are the holy grail of all sports administrators, often sought but rarely achieved!”

On his decision, Mr Allen added, “I am very grateful to the Waratahs Board for their invaluable support over the past four years, and to our terrific commercial partners and key stakeholders.

“I’m very proud of the incredible commitment and passion of the on- and off-field staff here at the Waratahs.

“On the back of a record-breaking season, the business has never been in better shape and I feel now is the perfect time to consider my next steps.

“These last four years have seen significant change take place at all levels of the business.  In 2012 we became a vision and values-based organisation, with a clear focus on excellence, accountability and innovation.  As well as being Super Rugby Champions, next season looks set to eclipse 2014 and deliver record membership numbers, with early indications showing a 50% increase in demand and member satisfaction ratings at over 90%.

“As well as an explosion in the team’s social and digital media reach, the Waratahs have also fostered stronger links to the NSW Rugby community, thanks to the strength of the Tahs Together community engagement, launched two years ago.

“I am hugely grateful to the Waratahs Board and senior leadership team for their support and commitment in making all this possible and I wish them and the team the very best of luck for 2015 and beyond.”

Bromont/Montreal have been announced as the host city for the FEI’s flagship event, the FEI World Equestrian Games, in 2018.

The decision came after the FEI Evaluation Commission’s report was presented at the start of the Bureau’s two-day meeting at FEI Headquarters in Lausanne (SUI) today.

The Bromont Olympic Equestrian Park, venue for the Montreal 1976 Olympic equestrian events, will be the hub for the FEI World Equestrian Games in 2018. Bromont/Montreal is only the second host outside Europe following the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in 2010 which were staged in Lexington, Kentucky (USA).

Bromont/Montreal beat out Lexington the other remaining bidder for the 2018 Games. 

“We are really delighted to award the 2018 Games to Bromont/Montreal,” FEI President HRH Princess Haya said after the Bureau decision. “The Bromont Olympic Equestrian Park is an exceptional and proven venue, and will be the ideal location for the eighth edition of the FEI World Equestrian Games, our most global equestrian event.

“We are now just 75 days from the opening ceremony of the 2014 Games in the heart of Normandy, when over 500,000 spectators and millions of TV viewers will watch the best equine and human athletes compete for world titles over two weeks of absolutely top equestrian sport.

“And four years from now, the Games will be heading to Canada, where we expect even larger audiences on the ground and on television as equestrian sport continues its global growth.”

Portland’s newly added Arena Football League team has announced its new brand identity and will now be known as Portland Thunder for the 2014 season.

“We appreciate all of the support we’ve received from our fan base and new season ticket holders,” said Owner Terry W. Emmert. “We wanted to choose a powerful name that will define our team and the attitude of our franchise. We feel our fans can be proud of the name Portland Thunder.”

Prior to today’s announcement, the Portland Thunder accepted team name suggestions from the local community, new season ticket holders and local schools through its “Name the Team” contest. As the first fan to submit “Portland Thunder” as his entry, Seth Johnson of Portland has been declared the winner of the contest. Seth will receive a pair of season tickets to watch the Portland Thunder live in action all season long.

Team President Jared Rose indicated that the franchise would be releasing further Portland Thunder branding elements, such as logo and team colors, in the near future.

Phizzle, Inc., the fan-centric marketing automation technology company, today announced a strategic partnership with Learfield Sports, a premier company in administering the multimedia rights for a host of colleges and universities.

Phizzle joins Learfield Sports as a Preferred Solutions Provider (PSP), an exclusive collection of select technology partners endorsed by Learfield’s content group. The partnership leverages digital and enterprise software technologies to maximize sponsorship revenues and drive fan engagement, through mobile marketing.

The collaboration provides the more than 50 collegiate and entertainment properties which Learfield Sports represents the opportunity to utilize Phizzle’s new marketing automation platform. Phizzle will provide Learfield’s properties with a self-service, highly scalable, cloud-based mobile marketing solution to create, manage and analyze mobile marketing initiatives including a broad spectrum of text messaging campaigns and in-venue video board presentations.

The partnership with Phizzle enables Learfield Sports’ properties to deliver automated SMS campaigns for sweepstakes, data collection, in-stadium security and personalized scoring alerts. 

“We have been looking to provide a digital marketing platform solution for our properties as we develop compelling sponsorship and promotional programs that drive fan engagement. Phizzle has an incredible track record with innovative sports and entertainment technology in this space and is our newest Preferred Solutions Provider (PSP),” said Joe Ferreira, Learfield Sports’ Senior Vice President and Chief Content Officer. “Ben Davis and his team have done a tremendous job developing the Phizzle Platform that delivers outstanding digital marketing tools designed to enhance the fan experience for teams and brands, and we’re looking forward to maximizing those opportunities in the collegiate arena to provide yet another key digital asset to our properties and school partners.”

“In as much as being chosen as a Learfield PSP significantly validates Phizzle as a leading technology provider for collegiate sports, it is also a reflection of Learfield’s dedication and commitment to providing its’ partners with the next generation of digital marketing tools specifically designed to deliver real business value,” stated Ben Davis, Phizzle’s CEO. “One-to-one personalization is driving fan engagement today and by taking advantage of our solutions designed to capture statistical data and business intelligence not only enhances the fan experience, yet also provides additional revenue opportunities for sponsors in the collegiate sports industry.”

Plymouth Argyle FC’s Home Park stadium is set to be revamped after Plymouth City Council approved planning permission which will include a new grandstand, a 10-screen cinema and a hotel.

The Council granted the ideas which also include plans for 1,636 square metres of A1 retail space, 3,486 square metres of A3 restaurant space and an ice arena on the 4.6-hectare site. 

The plans, submitted by developer Akkeron Leisure, would see the Sky Bet League 2 team’s existing South Stand demolished and replaced with a new 4,800-seat grandstand.

According to a planning report, 211 representations were received by the council objecting to the plans while 177 were made in support. Objections focused on the design of the scheme, size of buildings, impact on neighbouring parkland and traffic impact. Support focused on the scheme’s potential positive economic impact on the city.

The report said that as the site is out of centre, the issue of the potential impact the retail element of the scheme could have on the city centre was an “important consideration”. But it said that the A1 retail floor space at the site would not represent “a significant adverse impact on the city centre … nor will they unacceptable adverse impact on the vitality and viability of the city centre”. However, it recommended that restrictions be put the retail units limiting them to the sale of sports and leisure goods.

On the design of the scheme, the report said that it was “considered that the proposed development will deliver a significant and impressive composition of high quality buildings that contribute positively to the character and appearance of the area and local visual amenity”.

Recommending the plans for approval, the report said that the development would have “significant physical, social and economic benefits that would have both a local and city wide impact. The proposed development will help contribute towards the regeneration of Central Park and includes improvements and enhancements to the wider park”.

The Chinese Touring Car Championship (CTCC) have appointed high-performance engine company, capsule Swindon Engines as their official engine supplier for the next four years.

Their engineers have spent the past six months developing the unit, order which can be fitted into any touring car entered in the CTCC from this year onwards.

Swindon Engines Managing Director, view Raphaël Caillé, said: “In January of this year, we announced our development of commercial opportunities in Asia and the next phase in our growth strategy. We are overwhelmed by our rapid success in this new venture and excited by the potential still to be achieved in the Asian market.” 

The CTCC Series is about to start on May 12th at the Zhuhai International Circuit before heading to the Shanghai International Circuit two weeks later, with races at the Tian Ma circuit near Shanghai and at Ordos in June.

The 2013 BMW PGA Championship has announced it will have a record prize fund of €4.75million ($6.1m), sale an increase of €250, erectile 000 ($323, arthritis 000) which is set to take place at Wentworth Club, Surrey, England, from May 23-26.

This year’s champion will receive €791,660 ($1million), which is over €40,000 ($51,811) more than England’s Luke Donald collected for his second consecutive BMW PGA Championship success in 2012 when he finished four strokes clear of joint runners-up Paul Lawrie of Scotland and Donald’s compatriot, Justin Rose.

The total prize fund has grown by €750,000 ($971,420) – and the first prize by just over €125,000 ($161,903) – in the eight years since BMW became a Partner in the PGA Championship at Wentworth Club in 2005, when then US Open Champion Angel Cabrera picked up the first prize of €666,000 ($862,621) after claiming a two shot victory over 2014 European Ryder Cup captain, Paul McGinley.

George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour, said: “The BMW PGA Championship is our Tour’s flagship event and it is important that the prize fund reflects that status. This increase to €4.75 million, offering a cheque of just under €800,000 to the 2013 champion, underlines the importance of the Championship as a key component in the season-long Race to Dubai.”

Tim Abbott, Managing Director of BMW UK, said: “We value our long-term partnership with The European Tour and Wentworth Club in helping to develop the BMW PGA Championship as one of the most prestigious events in world golf. The increase in the prize fund to €4.75 million reflects this status and we look forward to another successful edition of the Championship in May.”

The 2013 BMW PGA Championship will boast one of the strongest fields on The European Tour International Schedule, with many of the world’s best players in action over the famous West Course at Wentworth Club. All four days will be broadcast live on Sky Sports with highlights on BBC.

The Championship is set to deliver an enhanced spectator experience this year as Europe’s Ryder Cup Team, triumphant from the ‘Miracle in Medinah’, regroup for the first time competitively on British soil at Wentworth Club.