What the Sunday papers said

10,000 pubs across the UK could close if a smoking ban is introduced, says John McNamara, chief executive of the BII. "[A ban] would be bloody fatal for British pubs," he says. "They can't stand to lose 10 to 15 per cent of their turnover. The last thing we want to see is 10,000 pubs closing." The industry was also worried about pubs having to choose between serving food or catering for smokers. Taking food out, especially with concerns about binge drinking, "is just thoughtless", said an 'insider' at Mitchells & Butlers. It has been suggested that between 30 and 50 per cent of the 60,000 pubs in England and Wales would convert to non-food under current proposals. - Independent On Sunday​

More than 100 special zones have been mapped out as part of the zero-tolerance crackdown on underage drinking and alcohol-related violence in cities throughout England. Police are rushing to apply for special licences which ban troublemakers from specific areas with threats of fines of £2,500 or a prison sentence for anyone breaking the curfew. - Independent On Sunday​

The European Commission has proposed that Sky TV loses half of its live Premier League football rights. The current exclusive coverage has formed a crucial part of Sky's growth strategy. However the Commission is demanding that the rights be split in order to increase competition in the marketplace. The exclusive rights cost the broadcaster around £330m a year. - Sunday Telegraph​

Whitbread will report continued weak trading in an update due Tuesday. The pub-restaurants chain, which includes Beefeater and what was once Brewsters, is still being hit by the downturn in consumer trading. Chief executive Alan Parker's report to shareholders follows the poor trading update for April, when group like-for-like sales growth slowed for its third quarter from three per cent to just over one per cent in its fourth. Venture capitalists were said to have been sounded out regarding an off-loading of the Whitbread-owned David Lloyd Leisure business, while Greene King is thought to have been approached about taking on its pubs business. - The Business​

The Constellations Brands-led consortium is expected to use all the time it has left in order to deliver a knockout bid for Allied Domecq and see off its rivals for the group, Pernod-Ricard. Backed by venture capital firms Blackstone and Lion Capital, the consortium is preparing to make a counterbid for the UK drinks giant before the deadline of June 29. Diageo backed Pernod's approach for Allied last week when it agreed to buy Irish whiskey brand Bushmills and other assets from the French company, provided Pernod was successful in its bid for Allied. - The Business​

Europe is preparing for a bumper year of mergers as companies such as Pernod Ricard geared up for expansion by acquisition. Investors in French drinks group Pernod Ricard will soon have to decide on whether to issue shares to help fund the company's agreed £7.4bn takeover of Allied Domecq. Europe's mergers-and-acquisition specialists hope the deal, along with others, will trigger a wave of cross-border transactions that will encourage more corporate activity on the Continent. - Sunday Times​

The US has developed a taste for Newcastle Brown. More than half of the beer's production crosses the Atlantic, where in places like Atlanta, Georgia, it is drunk chilled and on draught, according to ex-pat Geordie and bar owner, Tom Catherall. 'Newky' Brown is due to undergo a £2m UK relaunch later this year, aimed at younger drinkers and believed to include a draught option, which is currently only available in a handful of Tyneside pubs. - Sunday Times​

A French biochemist has invented a device, called Dream Taste, that chemically 'cleans up' corked wine. It is estimated that as many as one in 10 bottles of wine are spoiled by the chemical compounds that are generated when a cork is washed. Such contamination is believed to cost the wine industry and consumers around £340m a year. Dream Taste will cost £40 when it is launched in the UK, plus £3 for each of the chemical treatments needed to for each bottle. - Sunday Times​