First Russia in 2018 and now Qatar: the World Cup appears to be on a tour of the world’s least savoury destinations. There has been widespread condemnation of the exploitation and deaths of migrant construction workers – thought to number several thousand – in building new stadiums for the tournament and other major projects, and of Qatar’s criminalisation of same-sex sexual activity and severe restrictions on women’s rights.
Who will win this years BBC Sports Personality of the Year award? 2017 has been an exceptional year for all the contenders. Among the favorites to win this year are boxing superstar Anthony Joshua, goal scoring sensation Harry Kane and four-time Formula 1 world champion, Lewis Hamilton.
This week's top television includes the finale of comedy series The Detectorists, a documentary exploring a year in the life of deaf teenagers, a new French crime drama from Walter Presents, and a special two-part series of Taskmaster: Champion of Champions.
There has never been a better time to own a second-tier sports event. While first-tier contracts generate mountains of cash – such as the three-year, £5.14bn deal for the English Premier League – it is the market for second-tier sports rights that is currently the most dynamic.
My week starts at BBC Sport HQ in Salford at what is a very exciting time – the Olympics are under way. I walk to our ground-floor operation, where the BBC Breakfast set has been relocated for 17 days so that we can bring viewers all of the action from the previous night.
Join a morning conference call with colleagues in London before starting a day of back-to-back meetings, both with colleagues in Salford and liaising with those in Brazil – the four-hour time difference can make for a very long day.
Overall on Thursday, 14.6million browsers across the globe logged on to the BBC Sport website to see coverage of the Euro 2016 tournament, which included Northern Ireland's 2-0 win against Ukraine.
Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport, said: "Our enhanced service, in addition to our first class TV and radio coverage, puts audiences at the very heart of the Euro 2016 action wherever they are, allowing them to follow the action however they wish."
As the London 2012 Olympics concluded, the overwhelming emotion for the vast army of BBC executives, consumed for years by a project on the grandest of scales, was relief at a job well done.
Ant and Dec are nominated for the Entertainment Performance award and will battle it out against The Last Leg's Adam Hills and A League Of Their Own's Jack Whitehall. The Last Leg also receives a nomination for Entertainment programme where it will complete against Release the Hounds and The Graham Norton Show.
The BBC has terminated its contract with Formula One in order to help meet the £35 million in savings BBC Sport was asked to make by BBC Director-General Tony Hall.
In a first for a UK terrestrial commercial broadcaster, Channel 4 says no advertising breaks will take place through the duration of live races.
The channel will broadcast ten races per season live, with high definition highlights from all 21 races, including those shows live on Sky Sports F1.
