Broadcaster ONE World Sports has reached an agreement with Nippon Television Network Corporation to extend its exclusive, ed multiplatform rights to all home games of the Yomiuri Giants for the 2014 Nippon Professional Baseball season.

Yomiuri Giants games will be presented live on the network’s linear channel and digital platforms. Additional highlights and short-form video from the games will be distributed on broadband and via the network’s app, “Watch ONE World Sports.”

“Having the legendary Yomiuri Giants on ONE World Sports last season was a home run for us, so we are delighted to be bringing back the team to the network for the 2014 season,” said Alexander Brown, president and CEO of ONE World Sports. “Nippon Professional Baseball has produced scores of players who have successfully transitioned to Major League Baseball, and the Giants are a topnotch member of our network roster of world-class programming.”

ONE World Sports will kick off its new-season coverage with the Giants’ season opener on March 28.

The Giant are holders of 22 NPB championship titles. The Giants last won the Japan Series baseball championship in 2012, and last season it took the Golden Eagles seven games to deny them a repeat Japan Series title.

After the International Olympic Committee (IOC) published its evaluation report on the candidate cities to host the 2018 Winter Olympics yesterday, May 10, Annecy, Munich and PyeongChang all insist they still have a good chance of landing the Games.

The IOC released a statement confirming that no clear front runner had emerged from the report, adding: “All three candidate cities could successfully host the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, with each city offering its own distinct vision and concept.”

The South Korean bid of PyeongChang is believed to be leading the way by many having bid for the Winter Olympics twice before. The bid came out on top in opinion polls conducted on site on behalf of the IOC, with 92 per cent of locals and 87 per cent of South Koreans backing the bid.

Cho Yang-ho, bid leader of PyeongChang, told Reuters: “We are confident that PyeongChang would deliver an unforgettable Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games that have the power to inspire a new generation of winter sports athletes and provide a platform for winter sports to grow and thrive in new areas of the world.”

“I am absolutely delighted that the IOC’s report confirms that PyeongChang is considered ready to welcome the Olympic and Paralympic Games to South Korea for the first time.

“The evaluation commission’s visit was a great success and this has been highlighted in their recognition of our bid as ‘a national priority’ and that ‘all land required for the construction and operation of the competition venues has been secured.”

The German city of Munich recently survived a local referendum on its bid in the Alpine town of Garmisch-Partenkirche, and received high marks for its short travel times with the vast majority of athletes able to stay within 10 minutes of their competition venues.

Munich bid CEO Bernhard Schwank stated: “On very first reading, we are absolutely thrilled with the IOC Evaluation Commission’s report. Right now we want to offer our sincere thanks to the Commission members for their full and frank assessment of our bid’s strengths.”

Katarina Witt added: “In general it’s a very positive report which shows they appreciated the strengths of our bid, particularly as athlete-friendly Games. If there are any criticisms here and there then it just reminds us of something we can do better.”

The French bid of Annecy has long been touted as an underdog in the race but was praised for its comprehensive environmental plan and what the IOC called a “workable model for Olympic winter Games sustainability”, although the report stated that accommodation could create “operational and financial challenges”.

Annecy bid CEO Charles Beigbeder said: “Today’s report is a real boost for the bid as it highlights the technical strengths of Annecy 2018’s vision of authentic Games in the heart of the mountains, with the athletes and for the future.

“We believe this strong report will help us to convince the Olympic Family that Annecy offers the best possible and most nurturing home for the 2018 Winter and Paralympic Games.”

World Wrestling Entertainment have announced a broadcast deal with TELE 5 to bring WWE’s flagship program, allergist  Monday Night Raw, try back to free television in Germany.

Starting April 10th, symptoms WWE fans will be able to see the two-hour version of Monday Night Raw every Thursday at 10.15pm on TELE 5.

WWE combines compelling storylines with an exciting mix of in-ring action, featuring WWE Superstars John Cena, Randy Orton, Alberto Del Rio, Daniel Bryan and many more. In the United States, Monday Night Raw is the longest-running, weekly episodic program in primetime TV history and it is also one of the most-watched programs on cable.

“Monday Night RAW is a phenomenal television event that fascinates people all over the world”, says Kai Blasberg, CEO of TELE 5. “Now TELE 5 is bringing this highlight of the entertainment industry back to the German public TV audience.”

“WWE is thrilled to partner with Tele 5 to bring our family-friendly brand of entertainment to free TV making it more accessible to our German fans,” said Stefan Kastenmueller, General Manager, WWE Germany. “Our local team will be supporting this launch with multi-platform activities to bring the very best of all of our lines of business to the German market including Live Events, PPV, Consumer Products and Digital Services.”

Eric Mastalir has been named the chief commercial officer for the Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Sounders FC and First & Goal, Inc., it was announced today.

He will be responsible for leading and developing the organization’s strategic planning, development and execution on all regional and national sales activities within the corporate partnerships and suite sales departments.

“I am excited to add Eric to our senior management team,” said Seahawks and Sounders FC President Peter McLoughlin. “He brings a diverse background and a wide-range of experience in both the sports and entertainment field.”

Mastalir joins Seattle after spending the previous five seasons as Vice President/Corporate Partnerships for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. With Sharks Sports & Entertainment, he oversaw all sponsorship sales and service efforts for the Sharks, HP Pavilion Management, Sharks Ice at San Jose (Sharks training facility), select HP Pavilion events and the HP Pavilion Citrix Suites sales and hospitality staff and the event presentation department.

Prior to his time in San Jose, Mastalir spent four years with Maloof Sports & Entertainment where he successfully led efforts to advance the corporate sponsor base of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, WNBA’s Sacramento Monarch’s and ARCO Arena.

He has also worked in corporate sales and business development for adidas, Bausch+Lomb and LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy), while also spending time at Omnicom Group, aiding in corporate sponsorships and marketing for companies in global sports and entertainment events including the Olympics, Super Bowl, Grammy Awards and the Sundance Film Festival.

Mastalir holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Stanford University, where he earned All-American honors in track. He and his wife, Shannon, have two children, Cameron and Myles.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has today, May 10, released the Evaluation Commission’s report on the bidding cities for the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in 2018, following visits to the three Candidate bidding to host the Games: Munich, Annecy and PyeongChang.

The Evaluation Commission spent four days in each city earlier in the year to conduct on-site inspections and carry out an assessment of the cities’  2018 Olympic Winter Games projects.

The report is a technical analysis which is being provided to IOC members prior to the “2018 Briefing for IOC Members” which will be held on May 18 and 19 in Lausanne, Switzerland. During this meeting the Candidate Cities will have the opportunity to present the technical aspects of their candidatures to the IOC members and answer questions.

The report comprises of evaluations of each city, at length, covering aspects of respective bids including: Vision, Concept and Legacy; Sport and Competition Venues; Olympic Villages; Paralympic Games; Accommodation; Transport; Media Operations; Environment and Meteorology; Safety and Security; Medical Services and Doping Control; Legal Aspects, Games Governance and Delivery; Political Structure, Government and Public Support; Marketing; Finance.

While the French city of Annecy are seen as outsiders, despite the efforts of new bid chief Charles Biegbeder, the contest is thought to be very tight between the candidates, with PyeongChang tipped as favourites in a recent report. Since then, the bid of Munich received a huge boost after passing a referendum when residents of the Alpine town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen rejected petitions to halt the city’s bid to stage the Games.

The election of the host city of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games will take place on July 6 during the 123rd IOC Session in Durban, South Africa. Prior to the IOC members casting their votes, the Candidate Cities will make their final presentations, followed by a final report by Evaluation Commission Chair Gunilla Lindberg, IOC member for Sweden. The city that obtains an absolute majority of votes will be elected.

IMG subsidiary, diagnosis IMG Productions, sales has once again been appointed by the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) to produce television coverage of the second franchise-based Twenty20 cricket tournament, treat which begins on July 10^th with the final scheduled for August 16^th this year.

IMG, who produced last year’s inaugural event, will produce live coverage of all 30 of the CPL matches and also provide a one hour daily highlights package. The company will employ a staff of 90 in two production teams across six different Caribbean countries – Antigua, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, and Trinidad.

Damien O’Donohoe, chief executive of the CPL, said: “We are delighted to once again be working with IMG Productions. They have a wealth of experience and knowledge of producing top class cricket in the West Indies and did an excellent job with the television coverage of the first tournament.”

He added: “While it is a team effort, I’d like to thank in particular Andrew Wildblood, Graham Fry, Simon Wheeler and Kate Best for their efforts in providing a fantastic all round production solution for CPL and look forward to working with them again this year.”

Simon Wheeler, executive producer of cricket for IMG, said: “The first CPL produced some outstanding cricket and the line-up of top international stars for this year’s tournament promises more of the same. Every match was played in front of packed crowds with a real carnival atmosphere unique to the Caribbean. The whole event was a great boost for the game of cricket in the West Indies.”

Each team has 15 contracted players including a maximum of four international players, four under the age of 23, one local and one international franchise player. The tournament will involve top West Indies players and overseas stars.

Robert Bayigamba has been elected as new President of the National Olympic Committee of Rwanda after free and fair elections.

M. Bayigamba who played ten years for the national volleyball team, viagra sale has been consecutively President of the Rwanda volleyball federation, find Vice-President of the RNOC, and Minister of Youth and Sport.

He said: “For more than 20 years, I have been dedicated to sport. Today, it is an honour to put forward my passion and experience to serve the development of our Olympic Movement. Rwanda has the potential to become a leading African Nation in sport and it’s up to us to make this dream a reality.”

Bayigamba’s mandate will focus on six priorities namely good governance and organizational development, long-term athletes’ development, participation, infrastructures and facilities, international relations and partnerships. He will foster unity, responsibility and professionalism, with the ambition to make sport a pillar of the social and economic development of the country.

Robert Bayigamba succeeds to Brig.Gen. Charles Rudakubana who was leading the organization since 2009.

The European Professional Football Leagues Association (EPFL) have confirmed that they will be holding their official Media and Marketing Committee meeting in a private session at this year’s Soccerex European Forum on 10-11 April, Manchester.

On the occasion, the Leagues’ Association shall be represented by EPFL CEO Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, EPFL Head of Marketing, Media & Communications Alberto Colombo,  Committee Chairman and Bundesliga CEO Christian Seifert who will lead the Committee, which will include representatives from Europe’s top leagues including Committee Deputy Chairman and AustrianBundesliga CEO Georg Pangl, Premier League Director of Marketing & Sales Richard Masters, LFP CEO Francisco Roca Pérez,Serie A Marketing Director / Deputy General Secretary Fabio Santoro, Scottish Premier League CEO Neil Doncaster,Eredivisie Media/Marketing CEO Alex Tielbeke, Divisionforeningen CEO Claus Thomsen, Norsk Toppfotball CEO Niels Røine,Swiss Football League Media & Marketing Director Roger Müller, Serie B CEO Paolo Bedin and Turkish Super League Clubs’ Union Marketing & Media Advisor Cem Ülkeroğlu, among others.

In addition to this, the EPFL and its members will play an active role in this year’s Forum, providing speakers such as Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros on the “Fighting corruption in football” panel and Francisco Roca Pérez on the “Rise of the armchair supporter” panel and taking part in multiple SoccerMatch sessions, a series of structured networking events that bring together industry-focused supplier groups with representatives from leading European clubs, in a line-up of 1 to 1 sessions.

EPFL CEO Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros said:

“We’re glad to be staging our committee meeting at the Forum. This is a classic business event in the football calendar. There is a long standing cooperative relationship between our two organisations and on behalf of our members; we look forward to playing an active role again in this year’s Forum.”

Soccerex Chairman, Tony Martin said:

“It’s fantastic that the EPFL have decided to be involved with Soccerex again. To have their support and that of their influential members reinforces the Forum as Europe’s most important football business event.”

The Soccerex European Forum is a two-day event which attracts over 1,600 delegates from the elite of Europe’s football industry to come together to debate, network and do business. This year’s agenda setting conference programme will tackle the key issues shaping European football, including fan engagement, media rights, match fixing, discrimination and addiction, life after football, social media and a selection of special 1-2-1 sessions with the game’s biggest names.

For further information about this event please call +44 (0)208 987 5522 or visit www.soccerex.com/europe.

Reports in the Sunday Times newspaper yesterday, May 8, claimed that, Nicolas Leoz, A voting member of FIFA’s Executive Committee asked for a knighthood in exchange for backing England’s bid to stage the 2018 World Cup.

The Paraguayan is one of the most powerful men in the game in his role as President of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and is alleged to have raised the question of being knighted at a meeting with England officials in November, 2009.

Sources claim that Leoz stated that the special honour was the only thing he wanted as a quid-pro-quo, adding that the request was far from flippant and pretty direct, stating: “He went through it at some length and made clear what he expected from us.”

Simon Greenberg, previously chief of staff during England’s World Cup bid, is now director of corporate affairs at News International, the publishers of the newspaper which leaked the story.

Leoz claimed last week that he received an invite to the marriage of the Prince William and Kate Middleton just a day before the December 2 vote in which FIFA awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia rather than England.

With just over 600 days to go before the 30th Olympiad takes place in London, key sponsors of the London 2012 Games including Coca Cola, adidas, Deloitte and GE, have given their thumbs up to preparations and the latest developments at the Olympic site.

At a meeting of the Chairman’s Club, a collective of the Worldwide, Tier 1 and Tier 2 level Partners of London 2012, held at the Olympic site last week, sponsors welcomed the strong progress made in the last 12 months.

John Connolly, Global Chairman of Deloitte, said: “Everyone who attended the meeting was struck by the evident progress made on the site. The Olympic Delivery Authority and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, working in conjunction with the Government, the London Mayor’s Office, business and other stakeholders, are clearly ahead in the delivery of the venues – in one case by months.”

Mr Connolly commented that the leading sponsors were confident that the London 2012 family would be successful as the pace builds up: “Everyone now working on the Games is moving into delivery mode. The Chairman’s Club members reviewed progress and toured the Velodrome. We left the site with real confidence that the infrastructure is in good shape, the shift from planning to operations is being very carefully managed, and the Games will achieve their ambitions. We were impressed by the strong relationships between the main players – Seb Coe and Paul Deighton at LOCOG, John Armit and his ODA team, the very clear commitment of Jeremy Hunt at Cabinet level, and Boris Johnson, leading the city of London’s contribution. This provides extra confidence not just that the plans are in shape but that any delivery challenges still to come will be tackled and resolved collectively.”

Created in 2008 by Deloitte and Think London, the Mayor’s Foreign Direct Investment Agency, the Chairman’s Club brings together some of the world’s most experienced business leaders from companies with combined global sales of more than $1.2 trillion, and employing over two and a half million people.

The establishment of the Chairman’s Club is the first time in the history of the Olympic Games that a group of lead sponsor companies have come together as a single group ahead of an Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“It’s vitally important that the business community works in collaboration to ensure that London and the UK benefits from a sustainable legacy following the Games,” said Mr Connolly.

Seb Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee, who attended last week’s business summit, said that the effort of sponsors was crucial as preparations for the Games intensified.

“The sponsor family is absolutely vital to the success of London 2012,” said Lord Coe. “The Games would not be able to happen without the products, services, support and consumer programmes they provide.”

Michael Charlton, Chief Executive of Think London, thanked the members of the Chairman’s Club for their support and partnership. Using the 2012 Games as a catalyst Think London, with the support of these partners, has helped create over 3,700 jobs for Londoners as a direct result of 2012 campaigns.