SPORTS DIGEST: The Super Bowl, championship European soccer and Formula One's Canadian Grand Prix each drew more than 50 million viewers in 2005, proving that top sports programmes are among the few remaining in a fragmenting TV landscape to deliver large global audiences for advertisers.
Ninety-three million people tuned in to watch Super Bowl XXXIX between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles, but 98 per cent of them were from North America, according to data released by media buying and planning firm Initiative.
By comparison, Liverpool's 3-2 penalty shoot-out victory over AC Milan in the Uefa Champions League final attracted an average audience of 73 million viewers, spread across dozens of countries. The Canadian Grand Prix drew 51 million.
The remaining seven events in the top 10 - which included the men's 100 metres final in the World Athletics Championships, pro basketball's NBA finals, baseball's World Series and cycling's Tour de France, all had audiences less than half that of the Grand Prix.
In even-numbered years, when either the World Cup or the European Championships are played, they outdraw the Super Bowl. Euro 2004, for example, boasted an audience of 153 million.
Pakistan have switched the venues for the first two one-day internationals against India in February for security reasons, the director of operations for the Pakistan Cricket Board, Saleem Altaf, said yesterday.
India are due to tour Pakistan from January 5th and play Tests at Lahore, Faisalabad and Karachi before one-day internationals in Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Lahore, Multan and Karachi.
Altaf said the first match would be played in Rawalpindi on February 6th and the second in Peshawar two days later.
The first match was originally scheduled for Peshawar and the second for Pindi.
Altaf said police in Pindi had informed the board they did not have enough people to staff the match.
English sprinter Daniel Caines is targeting a successful 2006 after moving to America to train with coach Jeff Howser.
The 26-year-old had been coached by his father Joe in Birmingham, but is now working with Howser alongside world 400 metres hurdles champion Bershawn Jackson.
"I am happy with my coach and training group and I've really enjoyed the first phase of training," said Caines, a former world indoor 400 metres champion.
"I'm looking forward to competing injury-free in a successful season."
Caines broke on to the world stage four years ago but has been plagued by knee injuries.
Last season he raced only twice, coming home in fifth place on his comeback at the Glasgow International in June.
The two German Formula One circuits are considering holding one race per season in a bid to avert financial concerns.
At present, Hockenheim stages the German Grand Prix and the Nurburgring is the venue for the European Grand Prix.
Hockenheim is thought to be heavily in debt and reports have suggested they could face insolvency in April.
The Nurburgring boasted 350,000 fans in 2002, but crowds have since dwindled and they have approached F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone over the merge plans.
Ecclestone, who is thought to have been in favour of the idea to alternate between the two venues, has striven to take the sport into new areas, China, Bahrain and Turkey all being recent additions.
Hockenheim has a contract to stage the German race until 2008.
