Testing of IT systems is progressing as scheduled for the Beijing Olympic Games in one year’s time. International IT services company Atos Origin, the Worldwide IT Partner for the Olympic Games, has announced that it is now moving into the fourth of five test phases, which cover planning, designing, building, testing and operations. Atos Origin has been testing its systems, infrastructure and operational processes in live competition environments for 12 sports at 11 venues as part of the ‘Good Luck Beijing’ Test Events. Atos Origin has also announced phase two in its programme of long-term financial support for UK sporting hopefuls in the run up to Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010 and London 2012. The 'Olympic Champions and Challengers Bursary' scheme, developed with the support of the British Olympic Association (BOA), was started in2005 to offer support to young athletes who are the rising stars in their field. The scheme helps young athletes with practical initiatives such as buying kit (both clothing and equipment), paying training costs and funding competition expenses. Twelve Team GB athletes have worked with Atos Origin as Champions for the scheme (including Colin Jackson, pictured right courtesy of Getty Images Sport/ Ross Kinnaird), who, in turn, select a young 'Challenger' who they feel is particularly deserving of backing in their sport, to participate in the scheme. Meanwhile, NBC Universal has inked a deal with press agency the Associated Press to carry video links and other exclusive content from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in a premium online service.
ESPN joins the scrum
ESPN has acquired Scrum.com, a rugby news, scores and information portal. Launched in 1997, Scrum.com has established a strong and growing presence among worldwide rugby fans. The acquisition complements ESPN’s coverage of rugby across its other platforms in key territories and follows the broadcaster’s acquisition of cricinfo.com in June and the launch of French, German, Spanish and Italian versions of ESPNsoccernet.com.
Unibet hangs up bicycle clips
Swedish gambling company Unibet.com has announced it will be withdrawing from cycling sponsorship following a season burdened with legal problems. Meanwhile, the UK gambling industry has agreed a code of practice banning advertising on children's size replica sports shirts. Also, in other UK-related gambling news, Betfair, Bodog, Ladbrokes, Rank, the Telegraph Media Group and The Ritz Hotel are among nearly 500 companies at the time of writing that have applied for a Remote Gambling Operating Licence in the UK.
PA Sport beds Virgin
Sports information company PA Sport has signed a partnership agreement with Virgin Media to be the main content supplier to the latter’s new sports portal, www.virginmedia.com/sport. The content partnership is wide ranging, covering a variety of sports and including a large amount of 'real-time' score updates together with customised editorial content. Under the terms of the agreement, PA Sport will provide editorial and data covering more than 30 sports, ranging from soccer, cricket and rugby union to boxing, athletics and snooker. The service will be rolled-out over the next few months as different areas of the portal are introduced.
BBC Resources up for sale
The process for the sale of UK public service broadcaster the BBC’s commercial subsidiary, BBC Resources, has begun with advertisements appearing in UK newspapers the Financial Times and The Times and UK trade magazine Broadcast on Thursday, 16 August. The sale is subject to the necessary approvals by the BBC's Executive Board and the BBC Trust.
PSG gets webbed up
French Ligue One soccer club Paris St Germain (PSG) (pictured right courtesy of Getty Images Sport/ Mike Hewitt) has launched its own web TV channel. The www.psg.tv channel will broadcast delayed coverage of entire PSG matches from midnight following a match day. Archived action, behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with players and club officials will also be on offer. PSG follows in the footsteps of other top clubs in France with web TV channels including Olympique de Marseille, Olympique Lyonnais, St Etienne and Racing Club de Lens.
STATS goes European
US-based sports information provider STATS has formed STATS Europe in a joint venture with Warner Leach and JHB Publications, and will operate editorial and sales offices in The Hague, London, Barcelona, Milan and Münster, Germany. STATS Europe will provide UK and European soccer fans with live data, editorial, photos, statistics and fantasy game coverage. The Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga, Eredivisie, UEFA, Champions Leagues, many other European soccer leagues, and major country cup competitions will be covered initially, with extensive coverage of other sports to follow. STATS, which is partner to nearly all professional sports leagues in North America, is also a leading fantasy football sports provider internationally.
Cardless Reward system launched
European affinity group loyalty programmes company Reward has unveiled its latest online retailer reward innovation - Cardless Reward Technology (CRT). Through CRT, Reward is able to bypass the element ID (cookie) method which is currently the industry standard for tracking internet transactions. The advancement enables online retailers to reduce costs by eliminating 'virtual' and fraud transactions. This new technology also reduces the additional commissions paid to performance based online marketing agencies, such as affiliate networks.
New lacrosse network
US sports marketing company Level 2 Sports has created a college sports recruiting solution at Level2sports.com by building a network of high school student-athletes and coaches, NCAA college coaches and recruiters, showcase recruiting events, and strategic partnerships that provide sport-specific performance fitness assessment and training. The annual subscription-based membership programme enables student-athletes to create their online personal, academic and athletic profiles that include key metrics such as their grade point average, SAT and ACT test scores, primary and secondary contact information, honours, extra-curricular activities, speed, agility and power ratings. Student-athletes can upload athletic video clips, photos, letters' of recommendations, transcripts and athletic playing schedules. An advanced online tool allows student-athletes to search the database of NCAA college lacrosse coaches. This online tool can help members find the colleges and universities that match their academic and athletic ability, while allowing them to select a school size, cost and location.
Eagles on top in NFL
The Philadelphia Eagles (pictured right courtesy of Getty Images Sport/Drew Hallowell) brand tops all NFL teams in brand value, according to a report released in Forbes magazine. Forbes looked at 122 sports teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB whose team revenues (excluding those attributed to revenue sharing) from sponsorships, naming rights, local media, tickets and merchandise were considered in the calculations. Forbes cited the Eagles with a brand value of $90m, up 113%.
Page from ArkSports' Sport and Technology (www.sportandtechnology.com) on 2008-11-21 : News - August 2007 : http://www.sportandtechnology.com/page/0521.html
Testing of IT systems is progressing as scheduled for the Beijing Olympic Games in one year’s time. International IT services company Atos Origin, the Worldwide IT Partner for the Olympic Games, has announced that it is now moving into the fourth of five test phases, which cover planning, designing, building, testing and operations. Atos Origin has been testing its systems, infrastructure and operational processes in live competition environments for 12 sports at 11 venues as part of the ‘Good Luck Beijing’ Test Events. Atos Origin has also announced phase two in its programme of long-term financial support for UK sporting hopefuls in the run up to Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010 and London 2012. The 'Olympic Champions and Challengers Bursary' scheme, developed with the support of the British Olympic Association (BOA), was started in2005 to offer support to young athletes who are the rising stars in their field. The scheme helps young athletes with practical initiatives such as buying kit (both clothing and equipment), paying training costs and funding competition expenses. Twelve Team GB athletes have worked with Atos Origin as Champions for the scheme (including Colin Jackson, pictured right courtesy of Getty Images Sport/ Ross Kinnaird), who, in turn, select a young 'Challenger' who they feel is particularly deserving of backing in their sport, to participate in the scheme. Meanwhile, NBC Universal has inked a deal with press agency the Associated Press to carry video links and other exclusive content from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in a premium online service.
French Ligue One soccer club Paris St Germain (PSG) (pictured right courtesy of Getty Images Sport/ Mike Hewitt) has launched its own web TV channel. The 
The Philadelphia Eagles (pictured right courtesy of Getty Images Sport/Drew Hallowell) brand tops all NFL teams in brand value, according to a report released in Forbes magazine. Forbes looked at 122 sports teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB whose team revenues (excluding those attributed to revenue sharing) from sponsorships, naming rights, local media, tickets and merchandise were considered in the calculations. Forbes cited the Eagles with a brand value of $90m, up 113%.
