Friday, 25th May 2007

HEADLINE OF THE DAY

Biaggi: I Might be Here Forever!

With almost half his debut World Superbike season complete, Max Biaggi has stated his desire to remain in the championship 'for some years' and that he now has only a passing interest in MotoGP. Biaggi concluded a 14-year grand prix career at the end of 2005, following a fall-out with Honda, and sat out the whole of 2006 before starting a new career in World Superbikes.

The former four-times 250cc world champion spectacularly won his first ever WSBK race and only lost second in the championship to Noriyuki Haga last time out at Monza, when the Roman nonetheless scored his eighth podium from twelve races. During his first WSBK event on home soil, Biaggi was asked by Worldsbk.tv if he wanted to return to MotoGP or stay in World Superbike.

"It's good [here]," replied Max. "I really enjoy it. I like this kind of atmosphere; the two race format is good and Superpole is really challenging. Nothing is wrong for me to be here for some time. I really like it and I want to be part of this for some years. It depends. I'm staying with Suzuki Corona Alstare for this year, but for the future nothing is decided yet; we'll see. I might be here forever, who knows!"

Biaggi was then asked if he'd followed MotoGP much this season; "A little," responded the #3. "Not much, really, because it doesn't make me so interested as before, but I watch a little bit. Ducati has been very fast, Yamaha too... Honda a little bit struggling, but the championship is only starting - so many races to go - so it's too early to say something." Biaggi will be back in action this weekend at Silverstone, when he will again be chasing his second SBK victory. Source: Crash.net, 24th May 2007


SPORTS SHORTS

* Casio Computer Co., Ltd., the world's leading manufacturers of consumer electronics products, has signed an agreement with CONMEBOL to become an official sponsor of Copa America 2007 Venezuela and Copa Nissan Sudamericana, two of the largest events in Latin American Football. Casio is an official sponsor of both events for timepieces, calculators, digital cameras and musical instruments. Source: Business Wire, Hispanic PR Wire, 23rd May 2007

* Next season's Trophee des Champions, the French domestic season’s curtain-raiser, could be played in China. Sochaux, the Coupe de France winner, will tackle Ligue 1 Orange champion Olympique Lyonnais. Sochaux's official website, FCSochaux.fr, claims the match could take place in China on July 24 and claims the French Football Federation and authorities in China are already in agreement, while the French league and France’s television stations will discuss the matter. The match would kick off at 21:00 in China (15:00 French time) and claims 250 million people will watch the game on Chinese television. Source: Football Insider, 24th May 2007

* 1.Bundesliga champion, VfB Stuttgart, has earned a major cash windfall this season. The club has earned an estimated 80% more from television revenue than for the whole of the 2005-06 season. This is due to a new lucrative broadcasting deal that came into force this season, which will net the Swabians €26.12 million, according to an Ernst & Young report. Stuttgart can also expect to earn around €20 million extra next season, having qualified for the UEFA Champions League. Source: Football Insider, 24th May 2007

* WCSN, a US broadband internet website, has agreed a deal to join IPTV services offered as part of the FISION IPTV basic line-up. WCSN’s 24-hour channel will launch in Houston and continue to roll out to other FISION markets, taking advantage of FISION’s combination of video, voice and high-speed internet services to deliver coverage of over 60 sports, concentrating on Olympic and lifestyle sports. WCSN covers world championships in athletics, rhythmic and artistic gymnastics, skiing and snowboarding and table tennis among others. Source: Sportcal, 24th May 2007

* A new study has shown that 35% of software installed in 2006 on personal computers globally was pirated. This leads up to an estimated USD 40 billion in losses. China was the hotbed of rampant piracy, however the country has seen a 10% reduction this year alone, the first time it has happened in three years. These results are drived by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) study conducted independently by IDC. Source: SDA Asia, 17th May 2007

* The Premier League will go ahead with preparations for next season’s fixture list despite agreeing to set up an arbitration tribunal to rule on relegated Sheffield United’s complaints over the Carlos Tevez affair which is not likely to conclude before the end of June. The League will publish fixtures for the new season on June 21 and is preparing to do so on the basis that Sheffield United has been relegated and West Ham remains in the top flight. Source: Football Insider, 24th May 2007

* Moscow has been awarded table tennis’ 2010 World Team Championships, following the withdrawal of the other candidate, Austria. Moscow’s bid called for a table tennis festival to be staged in Red Square. The tournament itself is scheduled to take place from May 23 to 30, 2010. The next world team championships will take place in Guangzhou, China from February 24 to March 2 next year. Meanwhile, Hohot in China has beaten competition from Sweden, France and New Zealand to win the right to host the 2010 world veteran championships. Source: Sportcal, 24th May 2007


MORE NEWS

Elsewhere/Rights: Sale of French Euro 2008 TV Rights Close to Fruition

Commercial broadcasters TF1 and M6 will be confirmed tomorrow as winners of French television rights to Euro 2008, soccer’s European Championships. French sports daily L’Equipe claims that Uefa will make an announcement on Friday, with TF1 and M6 set to pay €50 million ($67.4 million) each to share the rights to the tournament. The expected award comes after a lengthy stand-off over the cost of the rights.

It was first reported in December that TF1 and M6 were to split the rights in France after a second round of bidding failed to produce an outright winner. TF1 and M6 were the only two broadcasters to respond to the original tender but submitted offers deemed significantly lower than the fee required by the international sports agency Sportfive, which is marketing the European broadcast rights on behalf of Uefa.

Sportfive had targeted a fee of €100 million for the broadcast rights in France, which it now appears to have secured. It is understood that TF1 and M6 will have the rights to show simultaneous coverage of France's matches in the tournament, assuming the national team qualifies. Rights for the 2004 European Championships were shared between TF1 and France Télévisions, the public-service broadcaster, in a deal worth a reported €69 million. Source: Sportcal, 24th May 2007