Sports BIZ Briefs

Nationwide and NASCAR Make it Official
(Howard Bloom) - NASCAR announced Wednesday that Nationwide Insurance will become title sponsor of the NASCAR Nationwide Series, replacing Anheuser-Busch's Busch brand at the start of the 2008 season. Nationwide Insurance will also become the official auto, home and life insurance provider of NASCAR. The seven-year agreement gives Nationwide Insurance the exclusive rights to tie its brand to the most popular form of motorsports in the U.S. Nationwide Insurance will enjoy the support of the most brand-loyal fans in all of sports, including 2.7 million who annually attend races of the series, which features 35 points events at 26 tracks across North America, including Mexico City and Montreal.

ESPN, MLB Agree on Set Placement
(AP) - ESPN and Major League Baseball reached an agreement that will allow the network to place its sets onsite during playoff games, while it will mention the other stations that are airing contests. With Disney-owned ESPN no longer showing playoff games under baseball's newest TV contract, all the contests are on Fox, TBS or TNT. "Every time we cover a major event, we work with our partner to determine set location," ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said. "We offered to MLB that we would provide network references, including ESPN Radio, as part of reports on the Division Series and LCS. We continue to work productively and in concert with MLB to serve fans."