ESPN are set to lose their Executive Chairman George Bodenheimer after more than three decades at the company this week.

Bodenheimer had relinquished day-to-day responsibilities to John Skipper at the start of 2012. He served as the company’s president for 13 years, originally joining ESPN in 1981 as a driver in the mail room.

The network said Tuesday that Bodenheimer’s last day will be Saturday.

Bodenheimer says: “ESPN’s future is bright, which is of great comfort to anyone who cares deeply about our company.”

Skipper calls Bodenheimer a “uniquely gifted leader.”

 

UEFA has revealed today their reach across all social media platforms surged through the 37 million mark in 2013, with the official UEFA Champions League Facebook page passing 16 million fans recently.

Launched in January 2011, the official Facebook page of Europe’s premier club competition has gone from strength to strength, with supporters receiving and interacting with news, photos, galleries and live updates during matchweeks. The page, which has grown by over 10 million fans since this time last year, provides a platform for fans around the world to share their views on the competition and engage with content on UEFA.com.

The UEFA Europa League page has also proved attractive, with more than 4.9 million users interacting, and UEFA is nurturing flourishing communities with seven further Facebook pages dedicated to UEFA.com, UEFA EURO, UEFA Women’s Champions League, UEFA Women’s EURO, UEFA Training Ground, UEFA Futsal EURO and UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Indeed, the UEFA Women’s Champions League page stormed past the 1.1 million fan mark in November to become the most popular women’s football page on the platform.

Official UEFA Twitter accounts, led by @ChampionsLeaguewhich boasts over 3.2 million followers, a rise of 3 million plus since December 2012, add another dimension to UEFA’s social media coverage. Fans are kept up to date with news, photos and goals as well as being given the chance to win great prizes through competitions. For the second successive year, followers can also vote for their UEFA.com users’ Team of the Year on Twitter by retweeting the names of their preferred XI.

Over the last 12 months, a number of new Twitter accounts have been unveiled with @UWCL bringing the UEFA Women’s Champions League to life, and @UEFAEURO and @UEFAEURO_fr delivering regular updates as the countdown to UEFA EURO 2016 gathers pace. 

Leading international media rights company, ambulance MP & Silva, ed pills have announced they have launched a new European base in Paris to strengthen their business ties in the region.

The Paris office will be the company’s eighth establishment in Europe and its 15th office globally, viagra 100mg following the opening of its new headquarters building in London in 2012. The office in Paris will serve as liaison basis for MP & Silva to further take care of and consolidate the service management of its clients and rights holders mainly in France.

Pierrick Ysern will work as Country Director in Paris, in close coordination with Roberto Dalmiglio, MP & Silva’s Managing Director for Europe.  Pierrick is a French national that joined MP & Silva in September 2011 to manage specific projects and properties related to tennis and football. A former professional tennis player, Ysern previously worked at the Lagardère Unlimited agency. 

Andrea Radrizzani, Group CEO, MP & Silva, said: “We are pleased to announce the opening of 15th office of MP & Silva in Paris. We continue to grow and consolidate our positioning in the European media rights market. Through a focused and dedicated approach, we aim to strengthen our commitment to broadcasters and rights holders in France, especially servicing the French Tennis Grand Slam, Roland Garros, and the French football Ligue 1.”

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will open St. George’s Park, The FA’s new national football centre, next month it has been announced.

The Duke of Cambridge, who is the Honourary President of The FA, will officially launch the new national facility, which was completed in July.

The Royal Party will visit the Burton-upon-Trent site on Tuesday October 9, and join specially invited guests to celebrate the opening of the new home for the 24 representative England teams.

Local community figureheads and young players will meet the Royal Party, before they greet staff from The FA, Hilton Hotels and Spire Healthcare, who operate the three main facilities at St. George’s Park.

They will then meet England Manager Roy Hodgson and his squad as they train at St. George’s Park for the very first time ahead of their Euro 2012 qualification game against San Marino later that week.

Hope Powell, England women’s senior team manager, will be joined by a number of her squad who will also meet Their Royal Highnesses as they tour the facility, including the community use pitches and Sport England pavilion, the Hilton and Hampton by Hilton Hotels and the Spire Perform rehabilitation centre.

FA Chairman David Bernstein said: “The opening of St. George’s Park is truly a momentous occasion in the history of The FA. Next year we will celebrate The FA’s 150th anniversary, and this moment will be recorded as significant as any that has gone before us in the last 149 years.

“We are particularly delighted that both the Duke and Duchess can join us to open this facility.”

Chairman of St. George’s Park David Sheepshanks added: “This is a wonderful reward for all of the people that have worked so hard to bring St. George’s Park to reality.

“The local community have embraced every aspect of St. George’s Park and this will be a red letter day for Burton-upon-Trent and the surrounding locality.”

The International Rugby Board (IRB) have announced that the Unión Argentina de Rugby (UAR) will postpone hosting its round of the 2012/13 HSBC Sevens World Series. 

The decision follows a review of all operational requirements by the Union taken in full consultation with all stakeholders. The UAR will now focus on ensuring the delivery of an outstanding Sevens event in 2013/14 as well as the successful inauguration of Argentina into The Rugby Championship this year. 

IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: “The IRB understands and fully supports what was a very difficult decision for the UAR. They have kept us fully informed throughout the review process and we believe that the decision they have taken is in the best interests of the Union, Argentinean Rugby and the HSBC Sevens World Series.” 

“The Union is dedicated to the delivery of a memorable and successful Series event that showcases Rugby in South America. By extending the delivery timescale we can work in partnership with the UAR and all stakeholders to ensure that the event in 2013/14 achieves all strategic aims, is beneficial for Rugby in Argentina and South America and secures its place on the Series as one of the must see events.” 

UAR President Luis Castillo said: “This has been a difficult decision to take as we are excited about our HSBC Sevens World Series hosting opportunity. However, the logistical challenges are too significant to successfully deliver an event this year that is beneficial for all stakeholders and we would like to thank the IRB for their support and understanding in this matter. We are now all focused on ensuring that all the processes are in place to ensure that our debut in 2013/14 is a successful one.” 

IRB Council Member for Argentina Agustín Pichot added: “We have worked tirelessly to deliver the outstanding event for teams, fans and Argentinean Rugby. However, we must ensure that player preparation time is paramount and unfortunately we cannot guarantee the logistics that achieve this important consideration this year. However, we are determined to resolve these issues in partnership with the IRB ahead of next year’s tournament with a considerable lead-in time and in the meantime look forward to our Rugby Championship debut.”

Bei der 2012 IIHF Eishockey-Weltmeisterschaft jährt sich das Engagement von SKODA zu einem besonderen Jubiläum: Die tschechische Traditionsmarke ist bereits zum 20. Mal in Folge offizieller Hauptsponsor der IIHF Eishockey-Weltmeisterschaft. Dies ist in der Sponsoring-Geschichte von Sport-Weltmeisterschaften einzigartig und sogar im Guinness-Buch der Rekorde vermerkt.

SKODA unterstützt und fördert den Eishockey-Sport seit 20 Jahren. Sichtbare Zeichen des erfolgreichen SKODA Engagements bei den IIHF Eishockey-Weltmeisterschaften sind seit 1993 das SKODA Logo im Mittelkreis der Eisfläche, malady Bandenwerbung sowie Fahrzeug-Platzierungen am Spielfeld. Auch der Markenname des tschechischen Autobauers auf Helmen und Trikots der tschechischen, medicine slowakischen und weiteren Nationalmannschaften gehört ebenso dazu wie zahlreiche Publikumsaktivitäten außerhalb der Eisfläche.

„Eishockey passt perfekt zu SKODA. Unser Engagement in diesem faszinierenden Sport spielt seit Beginn unserer Erfolgsgeschichte in den 1990er-Jahre eine Schlüsselrolle in unserer Sponsoring-Strategie. Dies hat kräftig dazu beigetragen, site das Image und die Bekanntheit von SKODA auf den internationalen Märkten zu stärken”, begründet der SKODA Vorstandsvorsitzende Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland die Sponsoring-Entscheidung. SKODA will weltweit in den kommenden Jahren weiter wachsen und die Verkäufe bis 2018 auf etwa 1,5 Millionen Einheiten pro Jahr steigern. „Dazu werden wir vor allem international stark zulegen. Insofern ist es nur folgerichtig, dass wir das Sponsoring eines der weltweit bekanntesten jährlichen Sportereignisse langfristig ausrichten”, erläutert der SKODA Chef die hinter dem Eishockey-Engagement des Unternehmens stehenden Überlegungen.

Der laufende Vertrag zwischen SKODA und dem Eishockey-Weltverband IIHF, kurz für International Ice Hockey Federation, wurde bereits bis zum Jahr 2017 verlängert.

Durch gezielte und fortlaufend optimierte Platzierung der SKODA Werbeträger im Erfassungsbereich der TV-Kameras war SKODA bei der letztjährigen IIHF WM durchschnittlich 66,01 Prozent der TV-Übertragungszeit im Bild zu sehen. In der Spitze, beim Aufeinandertreffen zweier Teams mit jeweiliger SKODA Werbung auf Helmen und Trikots, war sogar eine Sichtbarkeit von 78,76 Prozent zu verzeichnen. Die gesamte Werbedauer für die Marke SKODA betrug hochgerechnet auf die Gesamtübertragungszeit 1.628,5 Stunden, was der Gesamtdauer von 195.400 TV-Werbespots à 30 Sekunden entspricht.

Wesentliche strategische Überlegung ist für SKODA die exzellente Abdeckung der großen SKODA Märkte in Europa durch die IIHF Eishockey-Weltmeisterschaft. Über 58 Prozent des weltweiten und fast 85 Prozent des europäischen SKODA Absatzes werden in TV-Übertragungsländern der IIHF WM erzielt. Allein 58 Prozent des europäischen Absatzes wiederum entfallen auf die zehn einschaltquotenstärksten Länder der WM einschließlich der SKODA Schlüsselmärkte Russland, Tschechien und Deutschland.

Im Verlaufe des 20-jährigen Hauptsponsorings hat SKODA immer wieder Ideen und Know-how für innovative Werbemaßnahmen und deren Optimierung geliefert, die heute in vielen Eishockey-Arenen Standard sind. Exklusive Untereis-Werbung im Mittelkreis etwa, die mit Hilfe von Textil-Inlays umgesetzt wird, die Verwendung von hochsauberem Osmose-Wasser für die Eisfläche und Fahrzeug-Platzierungen am Spielfeld sind Maßnahmen, die erstmals in der Partnerschaft mit SKODA bei IIHF Eishockey-Weltmeisterschaften verwirklicht wurden.

40 bis 50 SKODA Fahrzeuge machen bei jeder IIHF Eishockey-Weltmeisterschaft Offizielle und Gäste der WM mobil. Insgesamt haben die SKODA WM-Flotten in den 20 Jahren über fünf Millionen Kilometer zurückgelegt, oder anders ausgedrückt, über 125-mal die Erde umrundet. Nie musste in dieser Zeit eine Fahrt durch einen technischen Defekt an einem SKODA unterbrochen werden.

The 2012 European Tour’s Race to Dubai will have a reduced bonus pool of £2.4 million ($3.7million), sale exactly half of the 2011 figure of £4.8 million ($7.4million).

The so called “refined” bonus pool will also see five more golfers earn a share of the spoils – fifteen players will benefit this year as opposed to ten in 2011.

The announcement came on the brink of the commencement of the race yesterday with the Africa Open at East London Golf Club.

There had been speculation about the very future of the event until a new deal was struck in December which will see the tournament, which started in 2009, continue through until 2014 under a new name and title sponsor – The DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.

European tour CEO Keith Waters, has said: “We are delighted to have everything in place for the new three-year phase of The Race to Dubai…in DP World and Nakheel we have two incredibly strong partners fully dedicated to the future success of The Race to Dubai and the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.”

The deal would have seen World Number One Luke Donald secure £642,000 ($995,000) as opposed to £951,000 ($1.5million) for topping the 2011 money list.

The prize fund for the season closing DP World Tour Championship in Dubai (November 22-25), however, has been increased to £5.1 million ($7.9 million) from £4.7 million ($7.3 milloin). This year’s victor will reveice £844,000 ($1.3 million)– more than £51,000 ($79,000) than the 2011 figure.

Formula One is expected to lose about US$100m in revenues due to cancelling its season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix amid safety fears due to civil unrest in the nation, currently home to violent human rights protests.

Some of the “biggest losers” will be the 12 teams, as it is believed there are penalty clauses in their contracts with sponsors that would be triggered by missing a race.

The biggest-spending race sponsor is Bahrain’s Gulf Air, which pays an estimated $6m for naming rights. That fee comprises around half of the total income from advertisers at the circuit.

Despite heavy losses being estimated, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has claimed that Bahrain will not have to forfeit its $40m staging fee after calling off the race.

Ecclestone looked to clarify the situation after reports suggested that Bahrain would still have to pay the bill, so to speak, despite not actually staging the event, telling the Daily Telegraph: “The fee that is normally being paid for the event is not being paid.I am not charging them for a race they are not getting.”

Ecclestone continued: “Whether they are covered by their insurers for loss of revenues, ticket sales etc., I am not sure. But if anything is force majeure then that (the political unrest) is. It is similar to if an earthquake had struck – no one could have foreseen that a month ago.”

It is unknown as to whether or not the Bahrain Grand Prix will be rescheduled for later in the calendar with Ecclestone adding: “If and when it is rescheduled they will pay their usual fee. If everything is peaceful, which we hope it will be, then we will try our best to fit it in.”

Another suggestion has been made that would see the postponed Bahrain race allowed to take Abu Dhabi’s place on the schedule. World Motor Sports Council VP Mohammed ben Sulayem said: “Abu Dhabi and Bahrain agreed to have a big separation on the calendar to make the most of the exposure that a grand prix brings. However, this is an emergency and in an emergency we need to work together.”