Seven Network Extend Tennis Broadcast Deal for Australian Open

Australian broadcaster Seven has renewed their long-term broadcasting deal with Tennis Australia for a further five years.

As part of the deal, pills Seven has acquired the Australian broadcast rights to the Australian Open and Australian Open Series for 2015-19. Seven has been the television partner of the Australian Open since 1973 and this deal will extend the partnership to 46 years.

The new agreement fits with Tennis Australia’s “tennis anywhere and on any device” philosophy and includes free-to-air, bronchi pay-TV, medic digital/online, IPTV, HbbTV, mobile and tablet rights for the Australian Open and AO Series, as well as live streaming from all broadcast courts at the Australian Open and AO Series on online and mobile platforms.

“We are delighted to extend the historic relationship with Seven, a long-term partner of tennis in Australia,” said Tennis Australia CEO Steve Wood.

“Seven has played a key role in the success of our sport and events and we welcome their continuing involvement as our coverage expands across broadcast television and new online and tablet apps. This agreement fits in very well with our overall strategy of ensuring as much high quality tennis coverage for the Australian public as possible, freely available on whatever device the viewer chooses.”

Celtic CEO ‘comfortable’ with Club’s Finances Despite Annual Loss

Celtic revealing a loss of £7.37m for the year ending June 30, 2012, has not concerned chief executive Peter Lawwell who has insisted that he is “comfortable” with the club’s finances.

The Scottish champions reported the loss yesterday which also revealed an increase in debt of more than £2m. 

Lawwell said: “The club’s in a decent place and we have built up over the past few years. 

“Although making that loss, our debt level is still under £3m, which is very comfortable for a club of Celtic’s size and revenue streams. 

“We are in the Champions League and we have a great foundation, a great basis to take the club forward. There will be challenging times ahead but we are prepared for that.” 

Luis-Moreno Ocampo to Head-Up FIFA’s Ethic Committee

Luis-Moreno Ocampo, chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC), is in line to be appointed as FIFA’s first head of the new ethics committee’s investigations arm.

Ocampo, 66, who has led investigations into a number of war crimes cases is standing down from his ICC position in The Hague next month.

The Argentinian is expected to be confirmed as the chairman of the FIFA ethics committee investigations chamber next month, and would be responsible for investigating any allegations of corruption or ethics rule breaches.

Four people were shortlisted as candidates but Ocampo has emerged as the top choice.

Ocampo is a renowned lawyer who made his name prosecuting members of the Argentina junta who were found guilty of organising the disappearance of thousands of political opponents during the 1970s and 80s.

He was appointed as the first chief prosecutor of the ICC in 2003, and has been responsible for bringing charges against a number of people accused of war crimes and human rights abuses including Mohammad Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam and former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo.

FIFA are splitting their ethics committee into two bodies, each with an independent chairman, as part of the reforms of the world governing body.

The investigations chamber will be responsible for bringing charges, and the other chamber for judging the cases. FIFA had identified a judge to chair the other chamber but a serious medical condition has led to a postponement of an announcement.

The ICC is separate from the special UN courts that have brought war crimes charges against Serbian leaders, and ex-Liberia president Charles Taylor.

In an interview in The Times last week, Ocampo said he had been against the Falklands War, adding “I don’t like wars”. He also spoke about being cleared of an allegation of sexual harassment four years ago, saying: “It’s regrettable, and it’s not nice to be accused publicly that you commit crimes, but it’s part of the job.”

Amsterdam 2012 Event on the Horizon

The world’s largest Sports Conference(s) and Exhibition Event in 2012, ambulance  AMSTERDAM 2012 EVENT, will take place on December 12-13, 2012.

The venue is the prestigious Rai Convention Centre, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The AMSTERDAM 2012 EVENT will cover 6 expos, featuring 6 Conferences and 6 combined Exhibitions, with the SPORT being the connection. AMSTERDAM 2012 EVENT is anticipated to be the world’s largest Sports Exhibition and Conference Event internationally in 2012.

The following 6 expos will be part of the AMSTERDAM 2012 EVENT:

The PANSTADIA EXPO 2012 www.panstadiaexpo.com

The SPORTS FACILITIES EXPO 2012 www.sportsfacilitiesexpo.com

The FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT EXPO 2012 www.footballdevelopmentexpo.com

The TURF and GRASS EXPO 2012 www.turfandgrassexpo.com

The PLAYGROUND and LANDSCAPE EXPO 2012www.playgroundandlandscapeexpo.com

The SPORTS TECHNOLOGY EXPO 2012 www.sportstechnologyexpo.com

The confirmed organisations and individuals speaking at AMSTERDAM 2012 EVENT is well underway, if the business and development of sport is your industry, make sure you are present in AMSTERDAM!

With 12 months to go, the organisers – Sports Development Marketing (SDM), based in the Olympic City – Lausanne, Switzerland can confirm that the following organisations/individuals are part of AMSTERDAM 2012 EVENT:

FIFA, International Rugby Board, International Tennis Federation, International Hockey Federation, Cairos Technologies, KNVB, DFB, Denmark FA, RFU, Norway FA, FARE Network, KNHB, KNLTB, NOC-NSF, Nussli, HKsinc, Daplast, Terraplas, Forbo, Recticel, Sports Path International, IOG, Gerard Houllier, Southampton Football Club, Aviva Stadium, IMG, Russian Association of Sports Facilities, Mike Lee – Vero Communications

–          these are just a few of the organisations/individuals confirmed.

The big issues on and off the field will be discussed, with 6 Conferences, underAMSTERDAM 2012 EVENT, taking place at the same time, the connection beingSPORT.

The combined 6 Exhibition Halls of AMSTERDAM 2012 EVENT will create more synergies for exhibitors and visitors to assure more commercial benefits and to grow your business.

Whether it is networking, making new business contacts, or existing business relationships – AMSTERDAM 2012 EVENT is the place to be there.

www.amsterdam2012event.com where links into the 6 other websites.

For details and bookings please contact:

E-mail:  info@amsterdam2012event.com
Tel:         0041 216 016 754

IMG to Distribute UCI Broadcast Rights in Canada

The Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal has appointed IMG Media, a division of IMG Worldwide, to distribute the media rights for the UCI WorldTour one-day races in Québec City and Montréal, Canada.

IMG Media, a division of IMG Worldwide, the global sports, fashion and media company, has been appointed by l 

IMG Media will be distributing broadcast and digital rights to build global exposure for the only UCI WorldTour events held in North America.

Floris Weisz, Head of Sales & Acquisitions IMG Media Cycling, said: “Cycling has its history mainly in Europe but Canada is one of the areas where the sport is experiencing large growth.

“All of the UCI World Tour teams and many of the great cycling stars will participate in the Québec City and Montréal Grands Prix Cyclistes and these races are being extremely well organized and produced from a TV perspective. We believe these events will serve as the standard for how cycling will be developed outside of Europe and we are extremely proud to represent them.”

Serge Arsenault, President and CEO of the Grand Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal, said: “Including our existing Eurosport, Sportsnet and TVA Sports relationships, IMG has enabled us to be broadcast in over 100+ territories worldwide for 2013.

“Since international broadcasts are crucial for showcasing race sites and associated brands, our IMG-GPCQM strategic alliance has been vital in order to maximize exposure and increase the global spotlight for the host cities of Québec City, Montréal and our Canada-based partners.”

This year’s one day races take place respectively on September 13th (Québec City) and 15th (Montréal).  The races will feature elite athletes competing throughout the historic province of Québec.

The domestic Canadian media partners of the race are Rogers Sportsnet for English Canada and TVA Sports for French Speaking Canada.

IMG has an impressive portfolio of cycling media rights including the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de Suisse, Milano-Sanremo, Tour de Romandie and the Flanders Classic.

Ehrenamtspreis 2012 der Bayer 04 Sportförderung wird weiterhin unterstützt von der AOK Rheinland/Ham

Das Herzstück der Fußballvereine ist häufig das Ehrenamt, prostate damit sowohl die Gesamtorganisation als auch der Spielbetrieb aufrechterhalten werden können. Um den Stellenwert des Ehrenamts im Fußball weiterhin zu fördern und anzuheben, allergist bleibt die Bayer 04 Sportförderung gGmbH ihrem Konzept treu und vergibt bereits zum sechsten Mal den Ehrenamtspreis an engagierte Vereine aus den Fußballverbänden Mittelrhein (FVM) und Niederrhein (FVN). Unterstützt wird die gemeinnützige GmbH von Bayer 04 wiederholt von der AOK Rheinland/Hamburg. “Das Ehrenamt liegt der Gesundheitskasse besonders am Herzen, impotent daher unterstützen wir auch die diesjährige Vergabe des Ehrenamtspreises aus voller Überzeugung”, so Rolf Buchwitz, stellvertretender Vorstandsvorsitzender der AOK Rheinland/Hamburg. 

“Um den zahlreichen Bewerbungen der letzten Jahre gerecht zu werden, haben Vereine der beiden Verbandsgebiete in diesem Jahr die Möglichkeit, sich für eine von insgesamt drei verschiedenen Kategorien zu bewerben”, so Bayer 04-Geschäftsführer Wolfgang Holzhäuser. In den Kategorien Integration, Einzel- und/oder Vereinsengagement und Nachhaltige Entwicklung wird jeweils ein Verein mit einem Preisgeld von 5.000 Euro für vorbildliche Arbeit geehrt. 

Zu “Integration” zählen alle Projekte, Engagements und Aktionen, die jedem Menschen die Möglichkeit geben, sich in der Gemeinschaft einzubringen und an dieser teilzuhaben. Beim “Einzel- und/ oder Vereinsengagement” liegt das Hauptaugenmerk hingegen auf den Angeboten des Vereins für seine Mitglieder, aber auch auf Veranstaltungen wie Benefizspiele und Tombolas für soziale Einrichtungen bis hin zu Umwelt- und Klimaaktionen. 

Abschließend tragen Fort- und Weiterbildungen für die ehrenamtlichen Helfer, Kooperationen mit Kindergärten und Schulen, Umweltprojekte sowie Schiedsrichter-Ausbildungen zu einer nachhaltigen Förderung bei. Ein Engagement in diesem Bereich fällt daher in die Kategorie “Nachhaltige Entwicklung”. Nähere Ausführungen und Beispiele hierzu finden Sie auf unserer Homepage unter www.bayer04.de unter der Rubrik “Soziales Engagement”. 

Interessierte Vereine des FVM und FVN können sich ab sofort bewerben. Bitte stellen Sie uns in einem Kurzporträt Ihren Verein sowie Ihr ehrenamtliches Engagement in einer der drei Kategorien vor, gerne mit Zeitungsberichten, Videos und Bildern. Einsendeschluss ist Mittwoch, 31. Oktober 2012. Wir freuen uns auf Ihre Bewerbung. 

Drucken Sie sich einfach das Download-Formular auf www.bayer04.de unter der Rubrik “Soziales Engagement” aus und senden dies mit Ihren Unterlagen per Post an: Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, “Ehrenamtspreis 2012”, Bismarckstr. 122-124, 51373 Leverkusen; per Fax an: 0214/8660-239; per Email an: soziales@bayer04.de. 

Bitte beachten Sie hierbei, dass wir nur das in der Bewerbung vorgestellte Engagement bewerten können.

Manchester City Snag Tom Glick for Commercial Role

American Tom Glick has become Manchester City’s chief commercial and operating officer.

Glick, who is currently the chief executive officer at Derby County, will take up the position in August.

City’s former chief executive Garry Cook was forced to resign in September last year after sending insensitive emails regarding the condition of cancer sufferer Dr Anthonia Onuoha, who had been acting as the agent of her son, then City defender Nedum Onuoha.

The role is a new position at the club and City said in a statement: “The post has been created to empower the football club to rapidly realise its ever-increasing commercial opportunities and simultaneously optimally evolve its operations.

“All members of the commercial and operational teams will report to the new position.”

City’s interim chief executive John Macbeath said: “Since September 2008 Manchester City has been a club in constant development and evolution.

“With many milestones achieved in terms of on and off-field developments, it is important that we recognise that we must now further evolve in order that we can continue to create and capture potential opportunities for the club.

“To do that we need the very best people and the board believes that Tom is the ideal person for this role. We very much look forward to the contribution that he will make.”

Glick, who worked in minor league baseball and the NBA in his homeland before joining the Rams in 2008, is looking forward to a new challenge with the Premier League winners.

He told City’s official website: “I am very pleased to have been offered this opportunity at Manchester City football club.

“This is an exciting time for all connected with City and I am looking forward to joining and helping to drive the club’s off-field development on its future journey.

“I have been impressed by the ambitions and plans set out by the chairman and board.

“I shall use my experience here in England and in North America to help City build on its recent successes and achieve new milestones in Manchester and around the globe.”

Read Tom Glick’s exclusive featured profile here

Tom Glick’s 

BBC Retains Scottish Rugby Broadcast Deal

BBC Sport have announced they have extended their broadcast deal with Scottish Rugby for another two years. 

The British broadcaster will have exclusive live rights to Scotland’s autumn international matches on TV, viagra radio and online. The new deal covers 2014 and 2016.

Scottish Rugby’s Chief Executive, Mark Dodson, welcomed today’s announcement: “Our broadcast partnerships are important to Scottish Rugby and I am delighted that the BBC will continue to be on board with us during our autumn tests through until 2016.

“Their coverage enables us to showcase Scotland international matches at Murrayfield to a wide audience throughout the UK and is appreciated by supporters.”

Barbara Slater, Director BBC Sport, said: “We’re very pleased to be continuing our valued relationship with Scottish Rugby. The autumn international matches are an important part of our rugby union output and are very popular with audiences across BBC TV, radio and online. These are big internationals against some of the most powerful rugby nations and so a crucial part of the season, ahead of the Six Nations which is always hugely anticipated by fans across the UK.”

Today’s news follows the recent announcement that Scotland’s 2013 autumn internationals are to broadcast on BBC TV; with Japan (9 November) being shown on BBC Scotland and via the red button in the rest of the UK; South Africa (17 November) on BBC One & BBC One HD and Australia (23 November) on BBC Two & BBC Two HD.

Carmelo Anthony Assigned VP Role at Powercoco

New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony, allergist already an investor in the POWERCOCO company, generic has officially been named the vice president of Innovation for the company with the coconut water-laden sports drink.

In his new role as vice president, medic Anthony will work with the POWERCOCO executive committee on product functionality, branding evolution and development. He will also act as a marketer/endorser of the product, as he will take a starring role in the company’s marketing and advertising initiatives.

“After many years as a professional athlete, I’ve become more aware of the ingredients I put into my body to perform at my best,” said Five-time All-Star Anthony. “There is no question that the natural ingredients and low sugar formula of POWERCOCO is the best choice to keep me hydrated on and off the court. I am proud to help introduce The Next Generation Sports Drink as a part of the POWERCOCO movement.”

POWERCOCO, which was founded by former minor league baseball player Tyler Beuerlein, markets itself as the “next generation sports drink” — in large part due to the product’s usage of coconut water and its reduced sugar content in comparison to comparable sports drinks.

“Most consumers would be shocked if they took the time to realize how much sugar exists in other sports drinks,” said Steve Vasquez, president of POWERCOCO and 20-year veteran of the beverage industry. “It is clear that Carmelo shares our mission for delivering a better sports drink to the market. The POWERCOCO team is looking forward to the perspective that Carmelo will bring to our brand as more than just an investor.”

Global Sports Forum Barcelona Opens Registration for 2012

Global Sports Forum Barcelona (GSFB), decease the world’s leading exchange platform for the sport industry, has today announced that registrations for the fourth edition of the Forum in 2012 are now open. 

Next year, the annual Forum will take place from 7 – 9 March, 2012 at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya (PPC) in Barcelona.  The event will once again be attended by the world’s leading athletes, government institutions, rights holders, governing bodies and businesses from the sport industry, with a distinguished line-up of speakers already confirmed. 

FC Barcelona President, Sandro Rosell, will join the likes of LOCOG Chairman, Sebastian Coe, IOC member, Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr, Coca-Cola’s Head of Global Sports and Entertainment Marketing, Emmanuel Seuge, and Head of Sports Content You Tube, Claude Ruibal, on the speaker roster this year to look ahead to London 2012 and discuss the future of the sports industry. 

Lucien Boyer, General Commissioner of the Global Sports Forum Barcelona, said: “Every year our event attracts many of the leading executives from the world of sport to learn, interact and discuss the hot topics that will shape the future of the sport as we know it.  With such a great line-up of speakers already confirmed for next year, it is my pleasure to officially open registrations for our fourth edition and invite delegates and members of the press to sign-up and attend.” 

“Since 2008, the GSFB has provided a year-long community for people to debate the latest issues and share opinions across our digital platforms, culminating in a lively three-day discussion with some of the most influential sporting figures in Barcelona.” 

Early-bird discount 
Anyone wishing to attend the Global Sports Forum Barcelona 2012 is invited to register online at the official website: http://globalsportsforum.mediactive.fr/ and follow the on-screen instructions.  A special early-bird discount is currently available to anyone registering before 29 January, 2012. 

Individual three-day passes are currently available to all delegates for €450 + VAT (25% discount), with Corporate passes for five people (€1,800 + VAT) and special discounts for NGO representatives and students (€250 + VAT) also available.  Members of the press are invited to attend free of charge. 

In 2011, the Forum was attended by more than 1,000 delegates from 54 countries, featuring the likes of global superstar Didier Drogba, Carlos Nuzman (Rio 2016), Sergei Bubka (IOC) and Guy-Laurent Epstein (UEFT) amongst its 40 different speakers from diversified backgrounds.