WWE have announced the appointment of Eric Pankowski as Senior Vice President, site Creative and Development.

Pankowski, previously a senior executive at Reveille and Warner Bros., will report to WWE Executive Vice President of Creative, Stephanie McMahon. In this role, he will be responsible for the creative development of all television content including concepts that go beyond in-ring such as reality and kids programming; the management of WWE’s creative writing teams; and selling programming to major cable and broadcast networks, studios and other content distributors.

“Eric is a creative veteran whose knowledge and experience will be a tremendous asset in both the creation of new WWE content as well as enhancing our core product,” said Stephanie McMahon.

Prior to joining WWE, Pankowski was the Senior Vice President, Creative Affairs for Reveille charged with launching a department that focused on daytime, access and late night programming in syndication and cable. Pankowski spent more than 12 years of his career working for Warner Bros., most recently serving as the Senior Vice President of paraMedia inc., Jim Paratore’s production company. Pankowski oversaw paraMedia’s development slate which included the development, launch and production of Lopez Tonight where he worked closely with the creative, promotion and product integration teams; managed pilots and sales presentations for all projects including TMZ; and produced and pitched original show ideas to broadcast and cable networks.

Prior to paraMedia, Pankowski served as Director of Programming for Telepictures where he oversaw The Ellen DeGeneres Show and several other shows. Pankowski started his career at Warner Bros. Corporate Media Research Department as a Junior Analyst, quickly becoming Manager.

Pankowski holds a Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University Bloomington.

World Sports Law Report is proud to announce that Nick Tofiluk, Director of Regulation at the Gambling Commission; Andy Cunningham, Head of Integrity at Betfair, Simon Taylor, General Secretary of the Professional Players Federation (PPF) and Danny Townsend, President of EMEA & South Asia at Repucom, among others, will speak at Sport & Gambling 2011, which will take place on 29 September in Central London.

Recent betting and match-fixing scandals have lead to a re-evaluation of the commercial and financial links between sports and gambling, threatening the sustainability of this mutually beneficial relationship. While sports organisations need increasing amounts of revenue to tackle corruption and investment in grassroots sports, gambling operators see their own revenues eroding against a fast-evolving array of threats and restrictions.

Sporting organisations are eager to demand revenue from gambling operators to fund legitimate objectives, such as tackling corruption and investment in grassroots sport. Gambling operators, meanwhile, are being forced to defend their revenues and rights against a fast-evolving array of threats.

Sport & Gambling 2011 will provide both gambling operators and sports organisations with an in-depth and up-to-the-minute understanding of the fast-paced, complex legal and regulatory structure that underpins their relationship. 

Sports rights, betting rights, advertising and combating corruption are just some of the key issues that will be addressed by our team of expert speakers. 

This essential event will analyse new opportunities and challenges in an increasingly global and intricate legal landscape, and provide expert opinion and advice on the implications of recent developments, allowing you and your organisation to comply and excel in today’s fast-paced environment. 

We will bring together leading sports betting experts, market analysts and pioneers in betting integrity, making Sport & Gambling 2011 the must-attend event of the year. 

This is an essential event for all:

• Betting Operators
• National Governing Bodies
• International Federations
• Government Officials
• Agents
• Gambling Authorities
• Sports Clubs
• Disciplinary & Governance Professionals
• Legal & Business Advisors
• Market Analysts

This essential fixture in the conference calendar identifies the latest developments in the relationship between sports organisations and gambling operators.

For more information, please contact David Longford at +44 (0) 207 012 1385 or at david.longford@e-comlaw.com

Cala Corp trading under the stock symbol CCAA announced today that the company has purchased 79% of the outstanding shares of Serie D side Calcio Lecco 1912.

Calcio Lecco has been a major Italian soccer club since 1912. However, over the past two decades the club has been owned and managed by amateur operators. Therefore, it is the company’s plan to bring back Calcio Lecco to its glory days by playing in the Italian Premier League known as Serie A. Currently the club plays in the Italian Soccer League fourth division.

However, the company strongly believes that with the right management, it will win its division year after year until reaching the ultimate goal of the Italian Premier League. 

The company’s long-term plan is to build a world-class stadium adjacent to shopping centers, hotels, a convention center, unlimited parking, a class A office building, hospitals, a college and a soccer beach. Currently, three additional clubs are trading in the Italian stock exchange and those clubs are Juventus, Roma  and Lazio.

United Football League, a professional American Football League has announced commissioner Michael Huyghue has resigned.

Huyghue has been the second-tier pro league’s commissioner since its inception in 2009.

Huyghue said in a statement Tuesday that the UFL has “experienced significant funding issues” and that it seems “most prudent” that he step aside while owners attempt to raise funds for the 2012 season.

UFL majority owner and founder Bill Hambrecht said he and other owners are committed to playing a fourth season.

The 2011 season ended prematurely, with each team playing four of its six scheduled games. The UFL has lost more than $100 million the past two years.

The league, whose headquarters are in Jacksonville, Fla., had teams in 2011 in Las Vegas; Norfolk, Va.; Omaha, Neb.; and Sacramento, Calif.

A delegation from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today wrapped up a successful orientation seminar (29-31 August) with representatives of PyeongChang 2018, less than two months after the South Korean city was elected host of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Led by the Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for the PyeongChang 2018 Games, Gunilla Lindberg, and Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli, the IOC group spoke to the local delegation about the management of the Olympic Games and the key milestones that occur during the lifecycle of an Organising Committee. They also laid out the framework of partnership that will guide preparations for the next seven years and outlined some best practices from previous Games.

Speaking after the seminar, Lindberg said: “We are excited to be here so soon after PyeongChang was awarded the right to host the 2018 Games. Our Games Management process helps cities to get up and running quickly and effectively, which is highly beneficial because, as PyeongChang will discover, the seven years between now and the Games will go by rapidly.

“The city has already benefited from the transfer of knowledge from past Games and from their previous bids and we can see how well-prepared and eager they are already,” she continued. “We were pleased with the presence of all levels of government during our visit, as we met Minister Choung from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Governor Choi; and the mayors of the host communities. This underlines the strong ties between the Games stakeholders and the commitment of the country to these Games.”

The PyeongChang 2018 delegation at the orientation seminar was headed by Bid Committee Chairman Yang Ho Cho and included Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) President Y.S. Park, IOC member from Korea Dae Sung Moon and Ki Hong Kim, Director General of the Sports Bureau, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Yang Ho Cho, Chairman and CEO of PyeongChang2018, said: “We are very happy to have welcomed Ms Lindberg and the IOC representatives to PyeongChang again. As we wrap up the IOC Orientation Seminar, I feel that we are off to a very good start. We are learning a great deal from the IOC’s expertise and experience, and the information we have received during this Seminar will serve as the foundation for our preparations. For the next seven years, we will work closely with the IOC, and all of their guidance, counsel, and friendship will ensure that we host a successful Winter Games in 2018.”

As part of its transfer of knowledge programmes, the IOC runs an orientation seminar shortly after the election of each host city. The aim of the seminar is to help the newly elected city make the transition from bidding for the Games to being a Games organiser. It explains in detail the preparation phases and the operations that will need to be finalised over the next seven years, while building upon the transfer of knowledge that the cities receive from the IOC during the bid stages. The seminar also helps the organisers to decide where they should focus their efforts during the start-up phase and is an opportunity for the IOC to share its Games management philosophy with them. This enables everyone to understand what is expected of them and ensures that the collaboration is as efficient as possible right from the outset.

BT Sport have signed a three-year deal to broadcast the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which starts this August.

The partnership will see all of UFC’s live and taped programming broadcast on the BT Sport channels and, for the first time, will include originally produced programming for the UK and Irish audience with exclusive access, all of which will result in up to 400 hours of TV programming to UFC’s loyal fanbase. BT produced primetime magazine shows and highlight programming aimed at introducing the sport of MMA to a new audience are also part of the deal.

“UFC athletes are the most committed and dedicated in the world of sport and this new relationship will help people gain a more in depth understanding of the sport and our brand,” said Garry Cook, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of UFC EMEA. “This agreement is a landmark step in the UFC’s development in the UK as it will increase our exposure to a much wider and more mainstream sporting audience. It means that the UK joins USA, Canada, Australia and Brazil as one of our largest TV broadcast markets.”

“BT Sport certainly shares our vision for the premium quality broadcast of elite performance sport for our UK audience and we’re very excited about the strategic partnership we’ve entered into. We look forward to working alongside them and showing a wider fan base how exciting and engaging the UFC is.”

News Corp-owned Fox International Channels (FIC) has acquired a majority stake in Endemol’s Dutch football broadcaster Eredivisie Media & Marketing (EMM).

EMM was established in 2008 by the 18 clubs in the top division of Dutch football (Eredivisie) and global prodco Endemol. It handles corporate media and sponsorship rights on behalf of the clubs and has its own dedicated channel, viagra | Eredivisie Live.

FIC, advice which operates channels including 24Kitchen and Nat Geo Wild in the Netherlands, has now acquired a 51% stake in EMM. This will bring Eredivisie Live into its portfolio and gives it the right to show Dutch football live in the Netherlands. The clubs will retain a 49% stake.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has based its pay-TV success in the UK, Italy and elsewhere on long-term broadcasting rights to the domestic and European football competitions through its Sky brand. It is unclear whether Eredivisie Live will be rebranded as a Fox or Sky channel.

Financial details were not disclosed by FIC, but according to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf the deal is worth €1bn (US$1.23bn) over 12 years, running from the 2013/14 season through to the end of the 2024/25 campaign. The deal will see FIC pay €60m in its first year, €80m in its second and €100m thereafter, and underwrite the €60m debt currently carried by Eredivisie Live.

The deal was unanimously agreed to by the 18 clubs and Endemol, according to a statement from FIC.

Alex Tielbeke, director of media and marketing for Eredivisie, said: “FIC is part of an international network of successful sports channels in the US, Latin America, Asia and now Europe. We plan to use that knowledge and expertise as we continue to grow the success of Eredivisie Live.”

President and CEO of FIC Hernan Lopez said the move, which is subject to approval by the Dutch Competition Authority, was part of a continuing drive by his company into sports broadcasting worldwide.

Karen Webb the Olympic Park Legacy Company’s (OPLC) executive director of marketing and communications has left her role to become an independent consultant while already beginning proceedings with her first client, Westfield, a Tier Three sponsor of the Games and shopping centre just outside the Olympic Park.

Having first made her name at Sydney 2000 where she was in charge of media and marketing communications, Webb joined the International Olympic Committee (IOC) where she was vice-president for image and marketing communications.

Webb stayed at the IOC for eight years before moving to England where she worked for Vero Communciations and the Greater London Authority, and then to the OPLC, where she was a key figure in London’s successful bid to host the 2017 World Athletics Championships. 


Webb’s decision to leave the OPLC coincides with the decision by London Mayor Boris Johnson to incorporate them into a new company, the Mayoral Development Corporation, but the two are not believed to be connected.

One World Sports (OWS), North America’s leading Asian sports provider, has secured exclusive broadcasting rights for the North American region for a wide-ranging series of football matches from the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) third round of qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup from World Sport Group (WSG).

OWS will show some games live and same day delayed matches from the Asian football qualifying rounds in English.

The first series of games will be broadcast through OWS on September 2 featuring China versus Singapore, Australia versus Thailand and Tajikistan versus Uzbekistan. Four days later, on September 6, OWS will broadcast a series of two games including Uzbekistan versus Japan and Indonesia versus Bahrain.

OWS’ live and exclusive exhibition of select Asian football qualifying matches follows its successful transmission of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™, Asia’s top event and the AFC Champions League 2011, the region’s premier club competition as well as other top-level international and professional football. OWS is now available on DISH Network and local cable.

Preston Bornman, Chief Operating Officer, One World Sports, said: “The Asian qualifying matches are a fantastic addition to our live and exclusive multi-screen sports rights. The qualification matches for the 2014 FIFA World Cup showcase football on a global basis, and we are proud to offer these games halfway around the globe.”

Mark Hardess, President, ASEAN and Australia, World Sport Group, said: “World Sport Group and One World Sports are working closely to introduce U.S. football fans to the excitement and quality of Asian football which is growing steadily in North America. One World Sports provides the ideal platform to deliver the very best football from Asia to fans in the U.S.”