IMS Group plans to offer a chunk of its Teamtalk.com soccer Internet venture on the London Stock Exchange in early April, with plans to raise $96 million. If the IPO goes according to plan, it would put the total market value of Teamtalk.com, whose Internet site www.teamtalk.com launched in October 1997, at $491 million. Teamtalk.com's sports division provides content for delivery over the Internet, mobile and fixed line phones, and satellite.
RADIO LINKS:
Top English soccer clubs are signing up to start their own 24-hour radio stations as part of a new national digital radio network. Radio First signed joint-venture deals with Aston Villa, Chelsea and Southampton to be part of The Fan Network. The network will provide advertisers with a one-stop shop to buy radio advertising across the country, with spots on the local club's station in its fan base area. Each new club station will get the right to market itself as the club's official digital radio station for a minimum of 12 years. Aston Villa hopes to get a license in time to start broadcasting for the start of the 2000-01 season.ITALIAN FASHION:
Italian sportswear manufacturer Kappa will sponsor the uniforms of English Nationwide League soccer club Blackburn Rovers starting next season. The deal is worth $2.8 million a year for four years if the team remains in the Nationwide League, with an increase if the club is promoted to the Premier League.Kappa also supplies the Italian national squad, plus Juventus in Italy, Feyenoord in Holland and Werder Bremen in Germany. Blackburn has a policy of changing its home uniform every second year, and a new away uniform comes out annually. The club is to produce a commemorative shirt next season to mark its 125th anniversary.
SPORTAL 2000:
Internet group Sportal is providing the official Web site for this summer's Euro 2000 soccer tournament. Sportal, one of 12 tournament commercial partners, was to launch the Web site last week. A team of 40 is working on its design and content.GAME LIMIT:
Starting in 2004, a new world soccer calendar will kick in under rules adopted by international governing body FIFA. It will limit clubs to 76 games a season and will set aside a four-week period for international activity.The 76 games are to be made up of:
• 46 games in the domestic competition (34 league matches, based on an 18-team league, plus 12 cup matches).
• 16 continental matches.
• 12 internationals (four of which can be exhibition friendlies).
•
2 other dates.
The fact that the number of domestic games is based on an 18-team league may put pressure on England's Premier League and the Football Association to lower the number of teams competing in the Premier League from 20 to 18, as in most other major countries.
GYM FALL:
Only one in 10 children in Britain now does two hours or more a week of physical education in school. The number of children ages 6 to 8 spending two or more hours in phys ed decreased from 32 percent in 1994 to 11 percent in 1999. For children ages 9 to 11, the 1994 figure of 46 percent dropped to 21 percent.PROFITS RISE:
The Manchester United soccer club, recently valued at $1.6 billion, reported pretax profits of $19.5 million for six months ended Jan. 31, up nearly 10 percent from $17.8 million a year earlier.— Jay Stuart
