MLS commissioner Don Garber has said the league is still focused on basing its 20th franchise in New York.

At his 2011 State of the League teleconference, help Garber said  MLS has hired a full-time staff member, physician and a series of consultants, to investigate potential stadium sites in New York and focus on developing the expansion process.

There is a desire within the MLS organisation to create a team to rival the New York Red Bulls. The recent resurrection of the New York Cosmos franchise has led to them being widely-tipped to be awarded  an expansion franchise. Saudi Arabian company Sela Sport’s recent takeover of Cosmos, has complicated the issue and Garber has said they are not the only candidate for the 20th franchise.

Garber stated there is also interest from Orlando Las Vegas and Detroit.

Garber said: “We’ll continue to work with [the Cosmos], but also with many others,” he said. “I think people think we throw that out just to have leverage. People in New York know that there are several potential ownership groups and, until we’re further along in the process, we’re going to speak to as many people as we can because that’s the best way to ensure that we get an ownership group that will have resources and be able to make the commitments to be good partners in Major League Soccer.”

Garber has affirmed the addition of the Montreal Impact as league’s 19th team will not result in additional games due to the logistical challenges presented by such a move. Montreal Impact will make its competitive debut in March, but MLS will not change its 34-match schedule to accommodate its addition.

Garber said: “We will have a 34-game schedule and it will be unbalanced. It’s simple math: 389 games would almost be impossible for us to execute with the other competitions we’re required to play, the weather issues we have, the challenges in a handful of markets, the FIFA dates. All the things we have to do differently in the United States from a competitive standpoint, along with the travel impact that exists in our country.”

Eurosport Events, bronchi promoter of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), sale announced that SPEED Channel will televise the races from Sonoma on Sunday 23 September.

The coverage will be aired again on Monday 24 September at 06:00 hours PST.
Seen as a breakthrough deal for domestic television coverage of the WTCC in the USA, the deal follows on from an existing season-long agreement to air 26-minute highlights of all WTCC rounds on SPEED 2 and online in the USA.

SPEED has also committed to broadcast highlights of WTCC’s three remaining rounds in Japan, China and Macau, which will ensure that by the end of the season 12 hours of coverage of the WTCC will have been shown in the USA.

Erik Arneson, Vice President, Media Relations for SPEED Channel, said: “WTCC is made for TV, action packed and nicely produced by Eurosport Events. Sonoma will offer a great theatre for the WTCC’s first appearance in the USA. I’m certain North American motorsport fans will enjoy WTCC on SPEED Channel.”

Antonios Argyropoulos, Head of Media Rights Distribution, Eurosport Events, said: “We’re delighted to have strengthened our relationship with SPEED Channel and this is more great news for the WTCC Race of USA, which promises to be one of the highlights of the season.”

In addition to SPEED Channel, The WTCC Race of USA will be shown in 176 countries around the world, through 87 separate broadcasters in Europe and the Asia Pacific regions.

Manchester United today revealed their financial report for the first quarter of fiscal year ending June 2012 with a 16.6 per cent increase in total turnover.

The report measured the finances of the three months ending on September 30 2011.

Gross outstanding debt has also decreased from £516.7m ($819.3m) as of September 30, find 2010, buy cialis to £433.2m ($687m) on September 30, healing 2011.

Total turnover for the Red Football Group (holding company of Manchester United) during the three month period was up £10.5m ($16.6m) year-on-year from £63.3m ($100.5m) to £73.8m ($117m).

The figure included matchday revenue up 16.6 per cent from £19.7m ($31.2m) to £21.6m ($34.2m); media revenues up 16.5 per cent from £19.4m ($30.7m) to £22.6m ($35.8m) and commercial revenues up 22.3 per cent from £24.2m ($38.3m) to £29.6m ($49.6m).

However, total operating costs also increased year-on-year from £48.4m ($76.7m) to £54.5m ($86.4m).

The group said its commercial performance represented a “strong statement” of its financial position, with net assets of £804.8m ($1.27bn) and a cash balance of £65m ($103m).

The total spend on players during the period was up year-on-year from £8.2m ($13m) to £47.1m ($74.6m), with general capital expenditure up from £3.7m ($5.86m) to £13.8m ($21.8m).

The group recently earned approval for a partial flotation on the Singapore stock exchange.

Delayed as a result of the uncertain financial markets, the flotation is still expected to take place before the end of the year.

The Pac-12 conference have finally reached a multi-year deal with the DIsh Network that makes Dish the only satellite provider to offer sports programming.

Pac-12 Networks, drug which opened football coverage Aug. 30, symptoms is televising 15 nonconference games and 20 Pac-12 games this season. Game broadcasts on Dish Network can be seen on channel 445. Moreover, Dish is offering Pac-12 Networks as a free preview for a limited time to customers.

The new agreement also provides DISH with exclusive category sponsorship for Pac-12 athletic programs. The sponsorship includes stadium signage and logo rights with each of the member schools including: 

“DISH is delighted to offer our customers more than 800 sporting events available on Pac-12 Networks each year, while giving them a great value,” said Dave Shull, DISH senior vice president of programming. “This is a great partnership with the Pac-12 that goes beyond the TV screen to the campuses in the form of an exclusive sponsorship to support the programs and the students.”

“DISH wanted to deliver Pac-12 Networks to its customers and our fans will benefit,” said Gary Stevenson, President of Pac-12 Enterprises. “DISH’s line-up and ability to offer Pac-12 fans nationwide access to an unprecedented number of live quality sporting events make this a huge day for DISH customers and Pac-12 fans.”

Soccerex has announced the appointment of Designwerk as its new official design supporter.

The international creative agency has already worked with UEFA, the International Equestrian Federation, The America’s Cup Event Authority and Infront Sports and Media. Designwerk, which replaces Navyblue in the role, won the ‘Event Look’ category at the 2011 International Sports Event Management Awards for its work at this year’s UEFA Europa League Final, which was staged at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.

David Wright, Soccerex’s Marketing Director said: “We spoke to a number of agencies but felt that Designwerk really understood what Soccerex was about and shared our vision going forward. Their campaigns are not only original but they demonstrate a real understanding of sports marketing and events, especially within the world of football.”

Wright stated: “On behalf of everyone at Soccerex, I would like to thank Geoff Nicol and all at Navyblue for their huge contribution to developing the Soccerex brand over the last 10 years. Without their help the brand would not be as strong as it is now. I am confident however, that in Designwerk we have the right agency to take the Soccerex brand to new heights.”

Christian Cook, creative director of Designwerk, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Soccerex. Their brand is synonymous with bringing football and business together; we will work with the team to ensure they not only remain leaders in their field but help them to grow in new territories around the world.”

Sheffield & Hallamshire FA have had their plans for a new £4m ($6.4m) community football centre granted by Sheffield City Council.

The Westfield Community Football Centre will be built on the site of the former Westfield School and will provide the area with a sports and leisure facility that aims to engage and regenerate the community it serves through sport.  The 28 –acre site will also become the new home for Sheffield & Hallamshire FA.

James Hope-Gill, story SHCFA chief executive, ed said: “Receiving planning permission is a significant step forward and we can now concentrate fully on raising the funding and capital needed to make the project a reality.”

Funding for the community project is expected to come from grants via The Football Association, rx The Football Foundation, Sport England and the Rugby Football Union, plus capital raised by Sheffield & Hallamshire FA.

Currently the site, which used to house the old school sports centre, offers eight poorly drained pitches with vandalised changing facilities which are used by over 20 weekend football and rugby union teams.

Facilities on the site will include a full size artificial floodlit pitch, 5-a-side pitches, and up to eight grass pitches which will be used for football, rugby and American football.  There will also be a gym, jogging and cycle track, facilities for archery, a physiotherapy clinic, community multi-purpose meeting rooms/classrooms, a bar with cafe and changing rooms.

The relocation of the Sheffield & Hallamshire FA will centralize delivery of its activities including football governance and development, seminars, coaching, courses, tournaments, festivals, conferences and events.

The County FA aims to start building in 2012 once funding is finalised, with a view to the site opening in 2013.

North Korean TV channel KCTV “will reportedly broadcast German Bundesliga games, starting in mid-September,” according to Stefan Merx of the Wall Street Journal Deutschland.

DFL Sports Enterprises CEO Jörg Daubitzer, who is in charge of the Bundesliga’s foreign marketing, “confirmed the deal.”

Daubitzer said: “Our goal is to promote our product in North Korea, so the Bundesliga becomes more popular in that market. The deal does not provide an economic profit.” Daubitzer puts the surprising deal with the “new communist customer” in the category “nice-to-have.” Daubitzer said, “There are only two options in the North Korean market, either no coverage, or one type of coverage, which is sold under value.” Live coverage of the Bundesliga could start as early as the upcoming game day on Sept. 14-16. Details of the deal “have not been released.”

However, KCTV has the right to broadcast one Bundesliga or one 2nd Bundesliga game per week. In the case of Bundesliga games, KCTV can use satellite technique to broadcast games live. Second Bundesliga games, on the other hand, will only be available tape delayed to the North Korean audience. The TV rights deal “was brokered between the German Football League (DFL) and Tokyo-based sports marketing agency Evolution” in August. In addition, California-based sports rights agency KJ Sports n Media, which “owns the Bundesliga broadcasting rights for the North and South Korea regions,” was highly involved in the signing of the contract.

Real Madrid will start their match against Osasuna next Sunday at midday, their earliest ever kick off, as they look to accumulate supporters in a Premier League dominated Asian market.

The early start, 11am UK time, has been specifically aimed at the Asian market, with the match set for prime time coverage in markets such as China, Hong Kong and Singapore. The Premier League for years have enjoyed success of its lunchtime Sunday kick-offs, with the league’s international broadcast rights worth about four times La Liga’s overseas television income.

Florentino Perez, the Real Madrid president, told The Sun: “Kick-off times in today’s globalised markets are very important. You have to think of all Continents. The English do that. In Asia the Premier League has more appeal because they can watch it live there thanks to the early kick-off times. We have to put the games at the times that will give us the biggest amount of money. If we have to play at 1pm, like they do in England, then we will.”

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho added,: “From my experience in England, it was positive to play at noon. You finish at 2pm, go home and have a day with the family.”

Also, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has employed UFA Sports to exclusively market the Spanish national soccer team’s media rights in  China, India, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines

The Big 12 announced an agreement Friday with FOX Sports and ESPN on a 13-year contract reportedly worth $2.6 billion to televise football and men’s basketball through 2024-25.

As part of the agreement, both companies will jointly share the conference’s football air and cable rights.

FOX will have over-the-air access to Big 12 football with a minimum of six games annually on broadcast television and provides FOX with enhanced game selections through 2015.

“We’re very pleased to continue our long-running relationship with the Big 12, clearly one of the most successful and esteemed collegiate athletic conferences in America,” said Randy Freer, co-President and COO of FOX Sports Media Group, in a statement. “This expanded partnership gives FSMG several Big 12 football games to showcase as part of our first-ever over-the air schedule on FOX, while also providing a substantial number of games for our other platforms.

“It’s a win-win for everyone concerned.”

ESPN and FOX share rotating game selections beginning in 2016.

“The stability of the Big 12 Conference is cemented,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said in a statement. ”We are positioned with one of the best media rights arrangements in collegiate sports, providing the conference and its members unprecedented revenue growth, and sports programming over two networks.”