MURDOCH LED GROUP BIDS FOR EUROPEAN OLYMPIC BROADCAST RIGHTS

     A consortium backed by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has made
a bid worth more than $2B for the European broadcasting rights
for the Winter and Summer Olympics between 2000 and 2008.  The
bid is the "fiercest challenge yet" to the European Broadcasting
Union, which "negotiates collectively" on behalf of Europe's
public service broadcasters for sports rights.  Until now, EBU
"has always won the contract."   The bid delivered to the IOC on
Monday was signed by Sam Chisholm, who is in charge of all News
Corp. TV interests outside the U.S. and CEO of British Sky
Broadcasting.  Other continental European broadcasters are
believed to be in the consortium, as "its aim would be to show
the Olympics on a mixture of subscription channels and
terrestrial television networks" (Raymond Snoddy, FINANCIAL
TIMES, 1/10).