CWG timing row: ABC denies wrongdoing

May 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Monday said it holds only the radio rights of the 2010 Commonwealth Games and never asked for a change in the timing of the event’s opening ceremony.

Timing of the opening ceremony became a bone of contention between the Organising Committee (OC) and the creative group which had conceived it. OC said its 2008 deal with the Australian broadcaster makes a 5.30 pm start imperative but the creative group insisted on a 7.30 om start, saying darkness was required for maximum effect since the ceremony involved laser show and pyrotechnics.

ABC on Monday said in a statement that neither it holds the TV rights for the Games in Australia, nor did it seek a 5.30 pm start for the ceremony.

“The Australian Broadcasting Corporation does not own the Australian Television Rights for the Games. The ABC owns the Radio Rights only. We have never asked the Games organisers to change the starting time of the Opening Ceremony,” ABC Director of Communications, Michael Millett said in a statement.

The TV broadcasters for the Commonwealth Games are Network Ten and Foxtel.

Millett said ABC was looking forward to catering sizeable Australian listeners with inputs from the October 3-14 Games.

“The ABC very much looks forward to bringing all the excitement of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi to a huge Australian audience,” he said.

The row over the opening ceremony timing was finally solved on Saturday in a Group of Ministers meeting where they agreed to a 7 pm start.

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Court rejects TV rights appeal against Sky Italia

May 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

An Italian court on Monday rejected an appeal against the sale of satellite TV soccer rights to News Corp unit Sky Italia, averting possible financial problems for Italian clubs.

The appeal was filed by Conto TV, a small satellite operator. Conto claimed the way Serie A rights for the next two seasons were sold to Sky Italia was unfair.

“It does not appear that Conto TV has suffered particular disadvantages,” Judge Claudio Marangoni of the business section of Milan’s court wrote in his ruling.

Conto TV had tried to bid for matches and said the 1.15 billion euro ($1.4 billion) deal with Sky Italia was made “without competition in the digital satellite sphere”.

The Italian soccer league had warned of dire consequences if Conto TV’s legal action was successful. Like other clubs in Europe, Italian sides rely heavily on spending by broadcasters. (Reporting by Manuela D’Alessandro; Editing by David Holmes)

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People see Brit boxer Amir Khan as a cash cow, claims his dad

May 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 18 (ANI): WBA light-welterweight champion Amir Khan has asked opponents to stop trying to gain monetary advantage from him by demanding inflated purses to get into the ring with him and then blaming him when the fights fall through.

Khan said Paulie Malignaggi threatened to pull out of Saturday’s clash in New York unless he got more cash.

He got 430,000 pounds from the US TV rights compared to Khan’s 650,000 pounds, The Mirror reports.

Khan’s dad Shah claims the British boxer feels his opponents should be more realistic in their negotiations: “Maybe some people see Amir as a bit of a cash cow because they all seem to want more when it comes to negotiating fees for a fight.”

“They know he is big box office and they want to cash in on him. As soon as his name is mentioned, they demand extra. John Murray twice talked himself out of a fight with Amir because of the demands he made.

“Jon Thaxton was the same and you have to look at where he is now. He could have retired a little bit richer than he did. Boxers should want to fight Amir regardless of all that. I’m not saying fight for nothing, but you have to be realistic,” Shah said.

“If you get tough and refuse to meet their demands, you see stories that Amir did not want the fight when nothing could be further from the truth,” he added. (ANI)

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Rebels will water down Super rugby: Jones

April 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

An extra Australian team should not have been added to the Super rugby competition, former Wallaby coach Eddie Jones says.

The Melbourne Rebels are the new franchise named to play in the inaugural Super 15 next year after SANZAR expanded the Super 14 tournament.

But Jones, who led the Brumbies to the 2001 Super 12 title and also coached the Queensland Reds in the Super 14, said the Rebels should not have been included.

“The addition of another Australian franchise is not good for Australian rugby nor for the competition,” he said.

“The reason they’re in is because of TV rights. The current 14-team competition is just starting to find its feet and this year is the most competitive it has been for a while, with eight or nine teams in contention.”

The man who steered the Wallabies to the 2003 World Cup final said the four existing Australian franchises had already been stretched to produce quality players.

“Another Australian side is just going to weaken the third and fourth teams,” he said.

“If you consider South Africa, they have a great number of players but can still only support four very good Super 14 sides.

“It’s unrealistic for Australia to have five teams and it will be bad for Wallaby rugby in the short term, for the next 10 to 15 years.”

Limited quality

The Melbourne Rebels have an exemption to sign 10 overseas players and have already brought in New South Wales Waratahs hooker and ex-Wallaby Adam Freier, former national captain Stirling Mortlock and England fly half Danny Cipriani.

But Jones said the Rebels would struggle due to a lack of top class players.

“They haven’t exactly signed a whole lot of quality players,” he said.

“There are only two areas in Australia that produce rugby union players – New South Wales and Queensland – and if you are a youngster from there and you have a choice between Melbourne or Perth to live in, it’s a no-brainer where you’ll go.

“So the Western Force are the side that will really be affected and they’re weak enough as it is.

“They spent huge amounts of money on players like Matt Giteau and Nathan Sharpe and now what?”.

The Force are 13th in the Super 14 standings, having won just one of their seven matches.

Jones did, however, praise the new law interpretations being used in Super 14, which he said have reduced the amount of kicking that caused so much frustration last season.

“It’s the best thing to happen to rugby. Last year we had 65 to 70 kicks per game and now it is down to 50 so there is a much greater balance between attack and defence,” he said.

“The quality of the rugby is much better.”

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IOC executive to meet amid Olympics money-sharing row

March 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Denver, Colorado – The International Olympic Committee’s executive board convenes in Denver Wednesday amid fresh controversy over a revenue-sharing agreement with the US Olympic Committee.

Senior IOC members are insisting the agreement gives the US an unfair share of television-contract and sponsorship money in a row which comes at a delicate time for Chicago’s bid to stage the 2016 summer Games.

On Tuesday, the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) urged the IOC to terminate its long-standing contract with the USOC and start negotiating a new one.

“The greed of this organization is unlimited. Totally unlimited,” Hein Verbruggen, former head of the International Cycling Union, said of the USOC. “It infuriates everybody and especially me.”

The present agreement, first signed in the late 1980s, allocates 12.75 per cent of the IOC’s US TV revenues to the USOC, and 20 per cent of revenues from the IOC’s top sponsorship programme.

The USOC has in the past argued that it is entitled to a larger share since US TV rights and sponsors provide the IOC with more than half of its revenues.

However in the run-up to the three-day IOC executive board meeting and SportAccord convention, key IOC members have made it clear they are running out of patience.

Denis Oswald, head of the International Rowing Federation, who was Tuesday re-elected president of the powerful ASOIF, accused the USOF of dragging its feet and not responding to proposals.

“I hope the IOC follows what we have recommended,” he said. “We are angry because we have been working on this for four years and there has been absolutely no progress. We want to be treated with more respect.”

More than 1,000 delegates are expected at the conference, which will feature key public presentations by the four candidates for the 2016 Olympics – Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.

Chicago bid organizers have moved to distance themselves from the revenue issue, although some US media reports have said the controversy could hurt the city’s 2016 chances.

Chicago 2016 chief executive CEO Pat Ryan has invited President Barack Obama to be in Copenhagen for its final presentation before the IOC general assembly in October in what would be a major boost for its chances.

The IOC will select the host city by secret ballot on October 2.

Meanwhile Bob Ctvrtlik, USOC vice-chairman for international relations, called for a “calm reasoned dialogue” and “a solution that benefits all members of the Olympic movement” on the revenues debate.

“We’re looking for a long-term solution and it’s probably not best to do it in an emotional or pressure environment,” he said.

“It’s not easy, it is complicated and I think we all need to do that in a nice calm manner.” (dpa)

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