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Posted: Fri., Oct. 21, 2011, 11:02am PT

Fox reportedly paid $425 million for the FIFA World Cups in 2018 and 2022.

The soccer broadcast landscape in the U.S. abruptly shifted Friday with all the subtlety of a golden goal.

Fox won the recent two-day bidding by handing FIFA (soccer's governing body) a check in the neighborhood of $425 million, with NBC's Spanish-language network Telemundo forking over about $600 million. That's a substantial increase from the previous rights agreement, which saw ESPN pay about $100 million and Univision $325 million.

Fox sports topper David Hill and president Eric Shanks have long been soccer supporters, and the money they didn't spend in losing out to NBC on the most recent Olympics bid played a part here.

The package figures to give the broadcast side a huge bump in ratings when the World Cups roll around, and it will greatly increase the exposure of cabler Fox Soccer, which has for years been trying to make its mark with viewers and is a priority for the conglom.

Pact also reps a major coup for Telemundo, which has seen its bigger rival Univision take over Spanish-lingo soccer rights each time they were available since 1978. Telemundo had the support of NBCU in its bid this time around.

With global soccer an avowed priority at ESPN the past several years, it was surprising the behemoth sports cabler wasn't able to extend its World Cup rights to the next two available events.

ESPN has always been about having exclusive content and owning marquee events -- the cabler recently scooped Wimbledon rights from NBC, paying $400 million for 12 years -- and with exec VP John Skipper such an enormous soccer proponent, the loss of future World Cups is an opportunity lost. ESPN would have liked nothing more than to have been branded the World Cup network, much as how NBC has become synonymous with the Olympics, for which it most recently paid $4.4 billion for a four-Games package through 2020.

Soccer was never a priority when Mark Shapiro ran the programming side for ESPN, but when Skipper took over, he made the sport as vital to the net's future as any of the American four major-team sports. For example, one of Skipper's biggest coups came when ESPN acquired the rights to Premier League soccer.As for not winning the World Cup rights, the cabler said in a statement: "We made a disciplined bid that would have been both valuable to FIFA and profitable for our company, while continuing to grow our unprecedented coverage of the World Cup and women's World Cup events. We were aggressive while remaining prudent from a business perspective."

Fox will not only have rights to the 2018 (Russia) and 2022 (Qatar) World Cup but also the two women's World Cup tourneys that take place from 2015-22, the time frame of the new pact.

The popularity of the women's game shouldn't be underestimated. This summer's final between the U.S. and Japan drew a very healthy 13.5 million -- the most ever to view a soccer match (men or women) on ESPN -- and the cumulative audience for the tournament was 52 million for the net. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

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Posted: Sat., Oct. 15, 2011, 4:00am PT

With the Big 12 surviving the NCAA conference shakeups, ESPN should find it easier to match its dedicated U. of Texas Longhorn Network with buyers.

When the Pac-12 announced its 12-year, $3 billion TV rights deal with ESPN and Fox in May, nearly every major sports-playing university saw dollar signs floating in the air, setting off a game of musical chairs among schools and collegiate athletic conferences that threatened to realign college sports into four super conferences of 16 teams each, reducing the number of rights-sellers and enriching the packages they had to sell.

Over the past few weeks, the music has stopped long enough for everyone to scramble for seats in this huge media rights game, and the winner may be … the broadcast, cable and regional sports networks that air the games.

The movement of teams from one conference to another has been far less than envisioned, and the Big 12 Conference, which many considered to be on the verge of failure, has survived. With the six majors all still doing business, winners and losers can be determined more on a conference-by-conference level based, perhaps unsurprisingly, by location more than by football prowess.

Of all the conferences involved, the Atlantic Coast Conference appears to have done the best in terms of improved earnings potential. The addition of the U. of Pittsburgh and Syracuse U. (both previously in the Big East) represents an important broadcasting opportunity for the conference. And while it may not feel as jarring to fans as the moves of the U. of Nebraska to the Big Ten or Texas A&M's plan to bolt from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference, in terms of sheer broadcasting dollars, it figures to have the most heft.

"From a TV perspective, Pittsburgh is a larger market than any other in the ACC other than Boston (with Boston College), Miami (U. of Miami) and Atlanta (Georgia Tech)," says sports media consultant Tom Buffolano, who chairs the College Sports Video Summit for the Sports Video Group.

And because of its strong New York City alumni fan base, Buffolano says Syracuse puts the ACC in the No. 1 market in the country. "Other than (New Jersey-based) Rutgers, there are no other schools that would allow the ACC to reach that market," he notes.

Last year's ACC championship football game between Virginia Tech and Florida State earned a lackluster 2.0 rating on ESPN; the SEC's title game between Auburn and South Carolina pulled in a 6.3 rating on CBS, and the Big 12's Oklahoma-Nebraska matchup scored a 5.3 on ABC. The ACC's draw was comparatively small even when accounting for its having aired on cable instead of broadcast TV.

With impressive football and basketball histories -- Syracuse and Pitt have won a combined 10 national football titles and have appeared five times in NCAA basketball's Final Four -- these universities will undoubtedly spur some changes to the ACC's already lucrative 12-year, $1.9 billion deal, which it signed with ESPN last July. But those changes won't be dramatic during the life of the current contract.

ESPN senior VP of college sports programming Burke Magnus says there's a provision in agreements between conferences and the cabler that allows for universities to come and go within the life of the contract. "It doesn't reopen a deal and it doesn't take an agreement that we had and make it null and void," he says.

It does, however, allow the conference to ask for more money, and it does let ESPN revisit such elements as preferred scheduling, broadcasting windows and increasing the number of the conference games it can broadcast. But based on experience, Magnus believes that while the conversation with the ACC will be complicated, it will not be one beset by brinkmanship.

The U. of Texas also has indirectly benefitted from this round of changes. While the departure of Texas A&M means an end to one of UT's biggest rivalries in the Big 12, which will engender modifications in rights fees (an increase for the SEC, a decrease for the Big 12), the lack of further movement of teams away from the Big 12 marks an end to the instability that has plagued that conference over the past year. With Texas' recent launch of its proprietary Longhorn Network, distributed via ESPN, it means a key reason the network had struggled to maximize distribution has been addressed.

"The realignment conversations … paralyzed conversations (with distributors)," Magnus says. "I think that has cleared up at this point. It is obvious the Big 12 wants to stay together."

The Big East, meanwhile, has been hit hard by the two defections. Earlier this year, the conference passed on an offer from ESPN for a TV deal reportedly worth $130 million a year for overall rights. Now, the league is in a much-weakened bargaining position when its current six-year $200 million deal with ABC/ESPN ends after next season. It was counting on powerhouse Texas Christian U. coming aboard in 2012, but the school has elected to join the Big 12, leaving the traditionally strong basketball conference suddenly thin on high-profile football programs. And while basketball programs are nothing to sneeze at, it's football that brings home the bacon when negotiating rights deals.

Despite the loss of Pitt and Syracuse, if the Big East is successful in courting enough football schools (estimates for what it will need range from four to six additional programs), its future may not be as dim as many think.

"They still have an opportunity because they are the last one to go into the marketplace," says Chris Bevilacqua, who served as adviser to the Pac 12 in their TV rights deal. "All the other product (from major conferences) has been bought for the next 10, 12 (and) 15 years so there is an opportunity for the Big East."

If that's the case, then this game of musical chairs may be far from over.

"College sports are now a mature industry," Bevilacqua says. "And when industries mature, businesses consolidate."

Bevilacqua says just as pay TV distributors have consolidated to gain greater buying power, content players like collegiate conferences must consolidate to maintain leverage at the bargaining table.

ESPN's Magnus agrees that more schools will change conference affiliation, but "it won't necessarily be the seismic shift that seemed inevitable over the last couple of months -- that march to 16 teams by at least four conferences. The Big 12 will need a 10th team and the SEC will need a 14th."

But for now, there are plenty of buyers -- and sellers -- to go around. n Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

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Nico Rosberg (Center), Lewis Hamilton (left) and Michael Schumacher to celebrate after the qualifying session. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Posted on Saturday 14 April 2012 09: 45

NICO Rosberg was the first Pole of his career at the end of the Formula 1-the place to ask the 111th time.

And the 26-year-old took it easily and at a series of spare parts for the Shanghai International Circuit, Chinese Grand Prix today.

Rosberg blitzed his first lap belt quickly, the top ten shoot-out on the course and do not bother the title again, Finishing half a second for McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

Mercedes is also the first column because they are back at the beginning of the year in F1 2010, 55 out of the sport.

Even if the second fastest Hamilton, he begins to drop five points today-the seventh amendment of the gearbox in the grid.

It means Michael Schumacher to join team-mate Rosberg in front of all of the Mercedes line when the competition gets under way.

Rosberg described his "very special feeling" in the countries of the pole, such as adding: "Now I am looking forward to start at the end of the first."

Asked where he found the time, Rosberg said: "the track was a reflection of the low temperatures were coming and the rear tyre started to work a little better.

"We have changed the car testing facility shortly before the last run, and then I had a full lap belt. It worked really well. "

However, so far only with the Mercedes scoring one point for two of the races-that, starting from the Schumacher-Rosberg know he is ready in today.

"For me this year, because there was a good start," he added. "It is quite clear that, race, we are not as good as intended, and we have done that to improve the cooperation in the field of hard, but is not one of a few weeks.

"It will take some time, but for the benefit of development and find it difficult to know if we are going to, but I'm going to race and make the most of it."

Having grown with Rosberg and against him was to provide his congratulations to the karting, Hamilton quickly.

Hamilton said: "I am a penalty, but I'm in a good position.

"For some good testing of the car, that feel good.

"It is going to have a hard, but a lot of good people and we have, but I may be pushing I can."

Also Rosberg Schumacher spoke of the "phenomenal", he is described as the period of the revolution, "a bit of a surprise."

Schumacher added: "he is known as a good extension, but no reason to be dissatisfied with. The opposite-I am happy for him, and it is going to have the appropriate Mercedes silver arrow, which is to take place tomorrow in the first front row. It is not good for Lewis, but it is good. "

Hamilton's penalty on the grid – because – Mercedes behind Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi for his highest card for the third place.

Lotus n Kimi Räikkösen begins with the fourth and fifth, followed by Jenson Button in his McLaren, Red Bull of Mark Webber-. Hamilton will on the back is the second Sauber Sergio Perez, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso the championship-leading and Lotus Romain Grosjean.

The second session was a disaster for reigning champion Sebastian Vettel, who may have access to only his Red Bull, not for the first time in 42 races to Q3 of the eleventh. It was The worst for the performance of the Brazil 2009, he had 15 days and that the maintenance work. Cannabis problems, and what to prove to the satisfaction of the most galling Vettel Mark Webber finished at the end of Q2 is the quickest.

Vettel behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa and the Williams duo of Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna, although both are currently impeding Heikki Kovalainen for the Caterham, and Pedro de la Rosa is a HRT incidents under investigation.

Paul di Resta Force India managed Scot team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, in the 15th and 16th, starting with Toro Rosso duo at the end of the 17th century, Daniel Ricciardo, in advance. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso led to the finishing of the 0.8 secs behind Ricciardo first 20 minutes qualifying session of the departees.

Underline gap, this eye-catching large more than two identical cars, the same period covers the Q1 17 drivers for him.

The battle is on the edge of America saw Kovalainen out of Vitaly Petrov in the grid in the 19th century, but the Finn three quarters of a second behind Vergne.

Glock will start 21st after comfortably at a faster pace than that of Marussia team-mate Charles Pic at the same time, the RESCUE TEAM, will start 24th and the last group Narain Karthikeyan-De la Rosa at the rear.

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Paul Di Resta: 'Massive result'. Picture: Getty

Published on Monday 23 April 2012 00:00

PAUL Di Resta delivered a flawless drive at the Bahrain Grand Prix yesterday to finish sixth, equalling his best-ever Formula 1 finish at Singapore last year.

Starting from tenth on the grid, Di Resta’s careful management of his Pirelli tyres allowed the Force India team to maximise a two-stop strategy, while the rest of the leading contenders did a three-stop race.

Afterwards, the Scot said: “The result today is massive for us. The team did an amazing job all weekend, the strategy came together and the pit-stops were perfect. We knew it would be a big ask to make only two stops and it was a close run thing at the end, because my tyres completely went away on the final lap.

“I had Fernando Alonso very close behind me but I saved a bit of KERS coming out of the final corner and managed to stay ahead. Apart from that, the car has been awesome. So we go away from here as a very happy team with a few weeks to reflect on things and determined to arrive in Barcelona in fighting form.”

Meanwhile, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone delivered a parting remark after the race passed without incident.

Last week protesters clashed with police, anti-government and anti-F1 rallies were staged, and one demonstrator was killed, the dissidents claim, by riot police.

The sport and the kingdom of Bahrain have both come in for fierce criticism but Ecclestone insisted the country and the Middle East remain important for F1. He said: “It’s growing all the time, and other places are interested. I think it will grow here for sure.”

Ecclestone added: “You know what they say, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. We will be back here next year, and for many years after.”

The Bahrain International Circuit claimed there were 28,000 paying customers inside the circuit, a surprise given the main grandstand – which appeared to be the only one in use – was only half-full. But, after staging a race many felt should have been cancelled, chairman Zayed Al Zayani was able to finally smile.

“Hosting such a big event would not be possible without the enormous hard work of all involved,” said Al Zayani.

“That includes the marshals, other volunteers and my team at the BIC, and I would like to thank all of them for their efforts.

“I’m pleased to say we have had a great level of support for this race weekend.”

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Published on Monday 16 April 2012 04:31

David Bogie and Kevin Rae powered to their third straight victory of 2012 at the Coltel Granite City Rally, the third round of the MSA Scottish Rally Championship.

However, the event was overshadowed by a serious accident involving spectators on the opening Durris stage. The stage was immediately cancelled and the 4WD competitors instructed to move on to the second stage, Fetteresso 1.

Triple Scottish champions Bogie and Rae threw down the gauntlet from the outset, blasting through the seven-miler in their Mitsubishi EVO 9, five seconds quicker than the Ford Focus WRC of Euan Thorburn and Paul Beaton, who finished as runners-up.

Cumbrian Paul Benn, back behind the wheel of his Focus for the first time in more than a year, was third fastest – just one second ahead of Banchory’s Bruce McCombie in a Subaru Impreza, and Invernessian Donnie Macdonald in an EVO 9.

Bogie was three seconds quicker than Thorburn through SS3 Drumtochty, with another Banchory-based competitor, Quintin Milne, co-driven by Martin Forrest, third fastest, and pipping local rival McCombie by two seconds.

There was all to play for going into the final 13 miles of Fetteresso 2, but Thorburn’s challenge ended when he went off at a hairpin and finished the stage 23 seconds adrift of Bogie. The Dumfries driver had concerns of his own – wrong tyre-choice making cornering difficult on the loose gravel. However, he ending the day 33 seconds ahead of the Duns man.

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By JIM McGILL
Published on Monday 16 April 2012 12:00

Bathgate driver Paul di Resta narrowly missed out on world championship points for the first time this season when he finished 12th in the Chinese Grand Prix.

But so close was the competition that not only did he finish eight seconds off seventh, but his Sahara Force India VJM05 was just 22sec off second place.

“It was an extremely close race and although we were able to keep ourselves in the hunt, we were just missing the pace to catch people and make up any more ground,” said Di Resta, who celebrates his 26th birthday today.

“It was a bit like the race in Australia where there were lots of cars running very close to each other and a lot of guys nursing their tyres.

“So we go away from here determined to get the car dialled in nicely for Bahrain next week.”

The race was won by Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg who claimed his first grand prix victory in 111 race starts. It was also the first time Mercedes had won an F1 race since 1955.

The German, who started the race from pole position, led from start-to-finish. McLaren’s Jenson Button was second, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton third. Hamilton leads the championship by two points from Button, with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, ninth in China, third, a further six points adrift.

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By JIM McGILL
Published on Friday 20 April 2012 12:07

Bathgate’s Paul di Resta heads into the controversial Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend admitting there’s “an edge” to the race following a firebomb incident, writes JIM McGILL.

The 26-year-old Scot’s comments came after two of his Sahara Force India team flew back to Britain.

Their decision follows an incident on Wednesday evening in which a Molotov cocktail exploded close to a car in which four team mechanics were being driven from the track.

Though none of the four were injured, the scare was enough to trigger a decision by two other members of the team to leave the insecurity of the Gulf State.

And Di Resta admitted there was now “an edge.”

“The team, like many others, has taken steps on security,” Di Resta, who scored points in the opening two grands prix, said yesterday. “Clearly something has happened and there has been an issue, and we’ve all said we’d take direction from the FIA because they said it is safe. We need to see how things develop. Is it safe? It’s a difficult one, isn’t it? I’m sure it’s affecting everybody at the moment, the actions that have happened.

“I’ve not spoken to everybody within the team, but there is some concern and some people have felt it a bit more than others.

“As for me, I’m pretty neutral. It’s how I’ve felt for the last couple of weeks, although there is an edge to things at the moment.

“It’s early into the weekend, and everybody is here. At the end of the day if there is a race on then I want to be racing.” In the wake of the firebomb incident, Di Resta’s shaken team-mate Nico Hulkenberg said: “It’s obviously not right that sort of stuff happens,”

Wednesday evening’s incident happened when four of the team’s mechanics were driving from the circuit to their hotel. As a clash between protesters and police erupted on the main motorway heading in to the capital, Manama, the mechanics’ unmarked hire car was caught in the disturbance. After being forced to stop, a Molotov cocktail exploded near their car. Fortunately no one was injured. The incident is the latest in the civil unrest which forced the cancellation of the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix and continues to threaten this year’s race.

However, Bahrain officials were quick to state the F1 mechanics were not specifically targeted, a point Bahrain International Circuit chairman Zayed R Alzayani highlighted. “It was an isolated incident,” he said. “The protesters were not targeting the cars, they just happened to be there. Nobody was injured.”

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