Marketplace Round-Up

The William Morris Agency's consulting division has signed Premiere Retail Networks as a corporate client. The deal calls for WMA "to augment Premiere's customized in-store programming — now seen in 5,000 retail outlets" including Wal-Mart, Sears, Circuit City and Best Buy — with entertainment and sports content (DAILY VARIETY, 7/16).... AD AGE's Sanders & Friedman report Interpublic's Sports & Entertainment Marketing Group (SEMG) "is in discussions with top talent agencies," including L.A.-based Endeavor, "to acquire a stake." While "no deal is imminent, ... talks are ongoing." SEMG has retained N.Y.-based investment banking firm Allen & Co. "to investigate properties for possible acquisition" Sanders & Friedman note "no major holding company has yet taken a stake in a talent agency" (AD AGE, 7/15)....New Balance is sponsoring the Vierdaagse Nijmegen, or the Four-Day March, which began in 1908 as a military exercise. The event, which is held in the Netherlands, "is now one of the largest gatherings of walkers in the world" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/15).