A Florida appeals court has upheld a previous ruling that broadcaster ESPN did not defame legendary boxing promoter Don King.
An episode of ‘Sports Century’ shown on the channel included allegations that King cheated a hospital out of money from a benefit fight, owed money to boxer Meldrick Taylor and threatened to have him killed, and convinced doctors to invest in a film on King’s life that was never made.
King subsequently sued ESPN, ABC and Disney for defamation, but the case was dismissed when it was found he failed to present evidence that the network acted with actual malice, a legal requirement when proving defamation.
King appealed the initial decision, saying emails between ESPN producers showed they wanted to portray him as a “huckster”, a “thug” and an “evil mob-connected guy”.
However, the original ruling was upheld, with Judge Dorian Damoorgian saying in his decision: “Nothing in the record shows that ESPN purposefully made false statements about King in order to bolster the theme of the programme or to inflict harm on King.”
The online betting site Sportingbet has announced it has signed a deal to become the official betting sponsor of the England Test Match grounds for the next two years, as well as signing up former England player Alec Stewart as a brand ambassador.
The partnership will allow Sportingbet to push their ‘inplay’ market, where fans can bet live, ball by ball, or minute by minute.
As well as the cricket and ambassador partnerships, Sportingbet has also teamed up with Sportsmedia and Sportsbeat.
The Over-The-Top (OTT) market is becoming increasingly popular with seemingly every company – sports or otherwise – offering an online video platform.
One of the front-runners in this market is the NBA who have provided fans of the sport with NBA LEAGUE PASS, allergist where they can access – in addition to games – unmatched library content and NBA studio shows.
With other rival sports having their own OTT formats – whether that be NHL NETWORK or EUROLEAGUE TV.
Xavier Bidault, medicine is Senior Director of Digital at the NBA EMEA, he explains what they have to do to stand out as on OTT platform.
He said: “We don’t compare NBA LEAGUE PASS to any other products but rather concentrate on how we can improve our offering to fans on a constant basis.”
“Since we were one of the first professional sports leagues to offer a subscription product internationally we have been able to improve over the past couple of years based on the experience we have been able to gather.
“For example, we made a lot of progress with the different packages we offer.
“We have also refined how we market the service with free preview windows at key moments of the season, promotional packages around big events such as a NBA All-Star package or a Christmas Day pass and price discounts throughout the year.”
The control that the NBA has over creating its own OTT product means it can offer these deals, packages and passes exclusively to benefit their fans and increase demand and uptake in their LEAGUE PASS model.
Bidault; as an expert in the field, explains the benefits of the model to the fanbase.
He added: “We have up to 1,300 NBA games per season and up to 15 games per day so our TV partners can only show a fraction of that.
“The main benefit for fans is the ability to watch every game played during the entire NBA Season.
“Another benefit is the flexibility NBA LEAGUE PASS offers to fans. Games are available live or on demand for up to 3 seasons.
“Once subscribed, you can access NBA LEAGUE PASS on computers, tablets, mobile phones and connected devices.”
According to Kris Nagel, a Senior Vice-President at payment service provider Vindicia, one of the most important factors in creating a successful OTT product is the personalisation of the product.
This is something he believes the NBA have used successfully.
He said: “The thing about OTT services is the competition is absolutely intense, the adoption rate is accelerating but so are the number of players in the market and the number of choices for customers on where they spend their viewing hours.
“Offering personalisation is very key; Over the Top TV is wonderful for giving you the data to make better business decisions.
“NBA has been providing an OTT offering and they own their rights to stream, but they have modified the ways users can purchase a particular game in a particular market at a particular time.
“They’ve done a wonderful job of evaluating their data from the video platform and billing platform to determine what offers to give to customers.”
But what does the future hold for the OTT market and particularly for the NBA LEAGUE PASS model?
Bidault continues: “We are always looking to improve our product offering.
“That is why every year we send a survey to our fans to get their opinion about the service and see what we can improve.
“Next year we are planning to re-launch our NBA app to make it truly local and customized.
“We are also looking to make NBA LEAGUE PASS to more platforms and improve its customization by offering more local payment solutions and more local content.”
With the increased platforms and increasing demand for OTT, it appears the market will continue to grow, through personalisation, financial deals and free tasters bringing in new customers. As the next generation grow-up in a multi-platform and on-demand world, surely OTT can only continue to expand.
Ryder Cup Europe has signed a partnership with GL Events Owen Brown for the temporary structure provider to create the hospitality facilities at The 2014 Ryder Cup in conjunction with Scottish partner Field & Lawn.
Owen Brown, part of the newly-formed GL Events UK Group, will build a trio of hospitality suites at the start of the action on the first hole of the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles Golf Resort, Scotland.
The state-of-the-art single-, double- and triple-deck structures from its Absolute range will offer hospitality guests views of The Ryder Cup’s first tee atmosphere as Europe embarks on its quest to retain the famous trophy against the United States.
Edward Kitson, Europe’s Ryder Cup match director, said: “We are delighted to continue to work with GL Events Owen Brown on The 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. Having worked with them at several European tour events and previous Ryder Cups we have a strong relationship with them and we are certain they will deliver a high-quality product befitting the stature of The Ryder Cup.”
Scott Hayward, managing director of GL Events UK Group, added: “We’re thrilled to be working with The Ryder Cup organisers again and at such an auspicious venue.”
GL Events’ partner Field & Lawn will supply the infrastructure for the public facilities such as walkways, courtesy bus terminals and the waiting areas for the park and ride facilities.
Designs for a new 60, price cheap 000-seat stadium for the 2022 Qatar World Cup have been unveiled.
The stadium , vcialis 40mg which is a proposed semi-final venue for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, have been launched in Al Khor.
Early works have started on the stadium and surrounding precinct, to be officially known as Al Bayt, Al Khor City, and the project is due to be complete in 2018.
Hassan Al Thawadi, secretary general of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), said: “The launch of Al Bayt Stadium & Precinct will honour Qatar’s past while fully embracing the country’s global future. The launch of the design for our second proposed stadium for the 2022 FIFA World Cup is another milestone of progress, demonstrating our deep commitment to delivering an amazing experience in 2022 and beyond.”
A modular design, it includes an upper tier of removable seats. After the 2022 World Cup, the tier will be removed and the capacity of the stadium will be reduced to 32,000 seats. In consultation with FIFA and the global football community, the removed seats will be reconfigured and donated to other countries to leave a legacy for international football development.
Surrounding the stadium, a new precinct will serve the wider Al Khor community.
In addition to retail space and restaurants, the precinct will include landscaped paths for residents to use as horseriding, cycling and jogging tracks. There will also be dedicated women-only facilities.
Hilal Al-Kuwari, president of the Aspire Zone Foundation, said: “Just as Bayt Al Sha’ar continue to remain central to family life in Qatar today, the precinct surrounding Al Bayt Stadium – which will include space for local businesses and restaurants as well as landscaped paths for the community for exercise – will become a focal point of community life long after the 2022 FIFA World Cup has concluded.”
Sports rights media agency MP & Silva has signed a worldwide rights distribution deal until 2019 with the Kuwait Football Association.
The exclusive package comprises friendly and qualifying home matches of the Kuwait National Team for all international competitions including the preliminary qualifying matches for the World Cup 2018 in Russia and 2019 AFC Asian Cup and all friendly and other matches by the National Team U2 and the National “A” Team
MP & Silva has a strong media rights portfolio in MENA and Asia that includes Asia Football Confederation, patient the Gulf Cup and the Olympic Council of Asia.
Peter Hutton, MP & Silva Joint-CEO, said: “We are very happy to extend our relationship with the Kuwaiti football association, and look forward to working together to improve their international profile and to assist the association to grow football in the country”.
Also as part of the deal, MP & Silva will be the exclusive distributor of the Kuwait Football Association rights across cable, satellite, betting, terrestrial, Web TV, IPTV and mobile platforms.
Azerbaijan is set to host a Formula 1 race next year in Baku according to reports.
The country’s Youth and Sports Ministry spokeswoman Samaya Mammadova revealed the deal is set to be signed at the end of May.
“Formula One will be held in Baku in autumn 2015,” she told The Associated Press.
Mammadova said the race will be held shortly after Baku hosts the inaugural European Games multi-sports event in June. Baku has hosted sports-car racing on a street circuit every year since 2012.
Azerbaijan joins Russia as the second ex-Soviet country to hold an F1 race after the inaugural Russian Grand Prix this October in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
The 2014 F1 calendar will contain 19 races, and additional events in New Jersey, Mexico and India have been proposed for next season which could take the total of races next season to over the record of 20 races in a season, set in 2012.
Worcestershire County Cricket Club have announced today a pre-tax surplus of £59,833 for the year ending 30th September 2013.
In that year the club saw the Australian touring team in July and the opening of the Club’s new “View” conference and banqueting facilities in mid-September.
Chief Executive David Leatherdale commented “We are delighted to show a surplus for the 4th consecutive year despite considerable disruption during the construction of the now completed “View” development scheme.
“5 winter floods and the coldest March for many years severely affected the early construction phase resulting in a 3 month delay and a shortfall against budgeted revenue of in excess of £500,000. This was particularly noticeable across the catering and commercial areas due to the expected new facilities and seating being unavailable for our key 4 day Australia tourist match in July and the whole of the home T20 campaign.
“However, The launch of our new membership packages for the 2014 season in September 2013 saw the new elite “View” membership facility sell out in less than 4 weeks and with the recent opening of the adjoining 120 bedroom Premier Inn hotel expecting in excess of 35,000 visitors per year, it is fair to say we now have facilities to admire which will be of real benefit to members, spectators and the City alike.
“This can only help the Club achieve our aim of being a truly 365 day a year business generating new and sustainable cricket and non-cricket revenue which can be re-invested back in the team and the club over the years to come.”
The Indianapolis Colts have avoided a local TV blackout for their playoff game against Kansas City Chiefs after selling their remaining tickets for Saturday’s game.
They sold their allotted allocation after Meijer, a corporate sponsor, purchased the final 1,200 tickets to the Colts’ game and has donated them to local military families, the team said in a statement.
The NFL has a blackout policy that states that a home game cannot be televised locally if it is not sold out 72 hours prior to its start time. The Colts were granted a extension yesterday by the NFL while the Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers still have Friday to meet the ticket-sale deadline extension from the NFL.
The Colts have now sold out 138 of their past 139 games.
The Packers were granted a second extension by the NFL on Thursday after they came up about 3,000 tickets short of selling out 80,750-seat Lambeau Field for Sunday’s NFC wild-card playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers.
A Packers spokesperson said the league gave them until 5 p.m. ET on Friday to sell the remaining tickets and avoid a television blackout in their home market, which includes both the Green Bay and Milwaukee areas.
The Packers began the week with 40,000 tickets available.
The Bengals have until 4 p.m. ET Friday to sell the remaining tickets to Sunday’s first-round AFC playoff game against the San Diego Chargers.
Late Thursday afternoon, there was no official word as to how many Bengals tickets were left. The team’s Twitter account accidentally floated the number 3,500 before being quickly deleted. Team officials later said they weren’t able to provide an exact figure, only noting that it was low enough for an extension to be granted.
Many of the Bengals tickets purchased Thursday came from local businesses that are planning to donate them to local military families. By the end of business Wednesday, Bengals director of sales and public affairs Jeff Berding said about 8,000 tickets remained.
Maria Sharapova has been named the richest sportswoman in the world during the past year, according to Forbes.
Sharapova earned $29m (£18.9m) ending June this year while the American magazine also placed seven of the 10 richest sportswomen in the world as tennis players
The Russian secured majority of her money off the court in endorsement deals worth $23m dwarfing the $6m she collected in prize-money.
Much of her income came from sportswear manufacturers Head and Nike, while the 26-year-old has also launched her own brand of sweets called Sugarpova.
Second in the list of leading female earners was Serena Williams of the United States ($20.5m), followed by China’s Li Na ($18.2m) and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus ($15.7m).
Other tennis players in the top 10 are Caroline Wozniacki ($13.6m), Agnieszka Radwanska ($7.4m) and Ana Ivanovic ($7m).
The only three non-tennis players in the women’s top-10 are American Nascar driver Danica Patrick ($15m), South Korean figure skater Kim Yuna ($14m) and US golfer Paula Creamer ($5.5m).
Sharapova earned more than male tennis counterparts Novak Djokovic ($26.9m) and Rafa Nadal ($26.4m).
However, her yearly earnings were bettered by 21 men, with American golfer Tiger Woods the highest paid athlete on the planet with $78.1m of which $65m came from endorsements.
Swiss tennis player Roger Federer ($71.5m) is second followed by American bastkeball player Kobe Bryant ($61.9m).
Overall, only three women – Sharapova, Williams and Na – made the overall top-100.
