Wednesday, 6th December 2006

HEADLINES OF THE DAY

Real Madrid TV kicks Off in The UK Via Satellite

Real Madrid TV has struck a deal with leading content management and delivery company GlobeCast to deliver the football club’s English language infotainment channel to Sky’s digital platform using GlobeCast’s capacity on the Eurobird satellite. Real Madrid TV is the official television channel of Real Madrid, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious sports clubs. The English language version of the channel aims to be an information and entertainment portal for Real Madrid fans throughout the UK and Ireland and features Real Madrid football matches, club news, player and coach interviews, as well as news and interviews from the club’s successful basketball team.

GlobeCast has tailored a unique solution for Real Madrid TV which includes satellite downlink of the channel from the Hotbird satellite to GlobeCast’s London Technical Operations Centre, where the signals are uplinked to the Sky Digital platform via the Eurobird satellite at 28.5ºE. GlobeCast and its partners already deliver Real Madrid TV to Asia, the Middle East and other parts of Europe. Its addition to the Eurobird platform means that the broadcaster will join over 50 video and 11 radio channels on the platform, including major television broadcasters such as EuroNews, Abu Dhabi TV, Extreme Sports, CCTV 9, Audi TV and others. Source: Sports e-Media, 5th December 2006

Blatter Advocates Move to Summer Calendar

Sepp Blatter, the president of Fifa, soccer’s world governing body, has called for a revolutionary change to the European calendar which would see domestic leagues run from February to November. It is thought that this would end club versus country conflicts by giving clubs a longer winter break and freeing up more time for World Cup and European Championship qualifiers. Blatter believes that doing away with the traditional August to May timetable would help to harmonise the world calendar and claims his proposal has the support of ‘the major European clubs.’

The Fifa president believes fixture congestion could also be eased by having more European groups with fewer teams in World Cup qualifying. Leagues in Scandinavia and Ireland already run through the summer to avoid cold weather and bring out fans but it is uncertain under Blatter’s plan when the finals of the World Cup and European Championship, normally held in June and July, would take place. But England’s top-tier Premier League gave an icy response to the proposal for a February to November calendar saying: ‘It is not something that would be welcomed by our clubs, fans or other sports.’

Blatter reiterated his desire to restrict the number of foreign players in European club teams by gradually introducing a ‘6+5’ regulation, which would force them to field at least six ‘home-grown’ players. He says he has the support of FIFPro, the worldwide players union, but a way would have to be found to circumvent existing European employment legislation if the rule is to come into force. Source: Sportcal, Football Insider, EUFootball.biz, 5th December 2006


INFO DIGEST

Combat Sports Events at Doha 2006 - Did You Know?
* Boxing: There is more than 40kg difference between the highest and lowest weight classes for the Doha 2006 boxing competition. Light Fly Weight boxers will weigh in at 48kg while the scales for the Super Heavyweight boxers will top 91kg.
* Judo: The word ‘ju’ means ‘gentle’ and ‘do’ means ‘the way’, giving judo a literal translation of the gentle way, which reflects the sport’s non-aggressive and non-forceful method of approach.
* Karate: The two Japanese characters for ‘karate’ translates into ‘empty hands’ and reflects karate’s origins as a system of self-defense for those who are unarmed.
* Kabaddi: The term ‘kabaddi’ is the Hindu word meaning ‘holding of breath’. When raiding the opposing team, players must hold their breath – and prove it be chanting ‘kabaddi’.
* Taekwondo: In Korean ‘tae’ means ‘to kick or destroy with the foot’, ‘kwon’ means fist and ‘do means ‘way’ or ‘art’, hence ‘the art of hand and foot’.
* Wushu: Jet Li is possibly the most famous wushu practitioner in the world, gained local fame when he took China’s national wushu champion five times.
Source: Doha 2006 Gold Magazine


SPORTS SHORTS

* Bahrain and Qatar could one day combine to bid to host soccer’s World Cup, Bahrain’s president of the General Organisation for Youth and Sports Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa has told the Bahrain Tribune newspaper. South Africa will host the 2010 World Cup, while the 2014 event is set to be awarded to a South American country, probably Brazil. Possible bidders to host the event in 2018 include Australia, England, Mexico, Spain, Portugal and a joint bid from Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Source: Sportcal, 29th November 2006

* Real Madrid, the Spanish soccer giants, is in talks to follow in the footsteps of their arch-rivals Barcelona by owning a rugby club as part of plans to expand the club brand. Real are negotiating a deal to sponsor CRC Madrid Noroeste, which play in the same league as FC Barcelona Rugby, with a view to an eventual takeover. Source: Sportcal, 30th November 2006

* Arena, the German cable and satellite broadcaster which has live rights to soccer's top-tier Bundesliga, has reached its target of one million subscribers ahead of schedule. According to estimates, Arena has around 250,000 paying subscribers receiving a signal via satellite, with the remainder watching through cable. Arena was launched this year having acquired the Bundesliga rights for the next three seasons for €230 million ($306.5 million) a year. It has since increased its sports coverage by showing the men's and women's volleyball world championships and agreeing deals to broadcast top-flight soccer from both Spain and Italy. Source: Sportcal, 5th December 2006

* The president of public broadcaster France Télévisions, parent of the channels that will carry coverage of the Summer Olympic Games in 2008, has jumped into the controversy over the switching of the starting times of events in Beijing. Patrick de Carolis in an interview in the newspaper L’Equipe, referred to the shifting of swimming and gymnastics events to morning starts to coincide with prime time on NBC in the USA. The France TV president indicated the EBU was not ruling out any avenues of action but expressed hope that the controversy would not turn into a show of force with the IOC. Source: Sports Media, 5th December 2006

* Disney’s ESPN has agreed to buy NASN from Irish sports broadcaster Setanta and private equity company Benchmark Capital Europe for an estimated $120m (£60.7m). Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close early in 2007 subject to regulatory approvals. NASN is the only network in Europe completely dedicated to North American Sports, airing over 800 live and as-live sports events each year from the NHL, NFL, and the All-Star Baseball League. The channel today reaches over six million households in 26 European countries. Reports suggest that Setanta is to raise about €320 million in equity and debt in order to help fund its £392 million (€580) live English Premier League coverage and acquisition of golf’s PGA Tour rights. Source: Brand Republic, Sports Media, 5th December 2006, Advanced Television, Worldscreen, MSNBC, 6th December 2006

* Limelight Networks, a content delivery network for digital media, has opened its Asia-Pacific headquarters office in Singapore. The office is headed by Matthew H Sturgess, vice president, Asia Pacific. The new office will provide a point of contact for the company's customer and partner base in the region. Sturgess said that there is demand in Asia for a high performance, scalable solution to deliver video, music, games and software downloads and social media content over the internet. The company's next generation Content Delivery Network is expected to meet the needs of regional media companies in delivering libraries of content. Source: Digital Media Asia, 5th December 2006


MORE NEWS

WWE: Paul Heyman Departs World Wrestling Entertainment

In what likely will send shockwaves through the ECW brand, Paul Heyman has been sent home by World Wrestling Entertainment after Sunday night's "December to Dismember" Pay-Per-View. World Wrestling Entertainment posted an article on their website, noting that Heyman was sent home (but not released), citing, "The WWE Chairman cited slumping television ratings and a disgruntled talent roster as causes for Mr. Heyman’s dismissal."

Dave Scherer of PWInsider.com is reporting that Vince McMahon was irate about how awful the PPV was last night and wanted to pin the blame on Heyman for it. Anyone who knows anything about how the Creative end of the business works surely knows that Heyman isn't completely at fault. Sources have said that Vince McMahon is more to blame than Heyman, but Heyman got pinned with the blame for it with the theory being that "he is caught in the past and doesn't understand the new vision of ECW".

Paul Heyman shot one last promo backstage for this Tuesday's broadcast of ECW on Sci-Fi that basically has him saying that he's "done with ECW" after Big Show lost the title on Sunday to Bobby Lashley. We'll continue to follow this story as it develops further, but for the meantime, it looks like the "Messiah of Mayhem" is gone from the company he once proudly ran. Source: WWE Site, PW Insider, Wrestlemag, The Wrestling Post, 4th December 2006

Singapore/Broadcaster: HDTV Channels to Launch Next Year

High-definition (HD) TV programmes in Singapore will be broadcast by StarHub and the city state’s terrestrial broadcaster MediaCorp, by middle of next year, the Straits Times reports. StarHub will launch two HD English channels by May. MediaCorp has yet to decide on whether to launch a new channel or include HD shows on existing channels. The moves were announced by the country’s Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, Lee Boon Yang.

The move to offer HD programming here has been long awaited. Countries such as the United States, Britain and China began such broadcasts as early as 1996. By contrast, Singapore's foray into HD began only in June this year, when StarHub and MediaCorp started trials to test transmission technology and audience reception. StarHub's trials, involving some 1,000 households, will wrap up at year-end. MediaCorp's trials, involving 800 households, will end in March next year. Source: Asia Pacific Broadcast Union, 2nd December 2006

India/Programming: DD, Zee, Miditech in Cricket Based Reality Show

With new sports channels coming in it is inevitable that new formats will also come in. One such format is a cricket based reality show called Cricket Star. This is an initiative to find a budding cricket star who has been bypassed by the system. The idea is the brainchild of Investors In Cricket (IIC) a firm that looks at sports rights relevant to the Asian subcontinent. This will be in the form of a reality hunt and will air as a television event for 11 weeks from 14 January 2007 on DD and Zee. DD and Zee Sports will each week simulcast three episodes. Zee TV will air an episode each week. Miditech has been roped in to produce the show. Airtel and HLL are the presenting sponsors.

Eight selection centres are open and one has to showcase one's skills there, whether it is batting, bowling or wicket keeping. From there the chosen ones go to a pre academy phase. Finally 23 contestants will go to the Academy. There will be a countdown and thus an elimination process to find the winner. The channel has roped in Kapil Dev and Saurav Ganguly as judges. The flamboyant Ajay Jadeja will be the expert analyst.

The winner gets an all expenses paid contract with Leicestershire County Cricket Club and cash. The final 11 contestants will also get a chance to participate in the rollout of Cricket Star in the UK next Summer and in Pakistan. Also, Cricket Star aspirants will play a series of 20:20 matches.These will air on Zee Sports. When the 23 chosen contestants enter the cricket Star Academy each week the judges will nominate the four bottom performers out of whom two will be evicted by the participants. When it is down to the final 11 viewers will be able to vote by phone or through SMS. The final episode airs at the end of March 2007. Source: Indian Television, 5th December 2006

Elsewhere/Rights: Rights fights to stall our V8s

THE hugely popular V8 Supercars are in danger of being lost to the Surfers Paradise Indy because of a nasty wrangle over TV and race rights. A bitter showdown is looming between key Queensland motorsport figures after Network Seven last week pulled out of its contract with the Gold Coast Motor Events Company to televise the Champ Cars at next year's Indy festival. Instead, it has committed to only televising the V8 Supercars, which share equal billing on the Indy program with the US-based Champ Cars. This would cut broadcasting coverage of the Indy festival from 11 to three hours.

The brawl over the Gold Coast Indy follows a decision yesterday by the Queensland Government to reject a grandiose plan from V8 Supercars for a marquee race through the streets of Townsville. Commenting on the Cabinet decision not to proceed with Townsville, V8 Supercar boss Tony Cochrane dropped a bombshell about the future of the V8s on the Gold Coast, citing concerns with the Gold Coast Motor Events Company.

For the past decade, Network Ten has held the TV rights to the Champ Car and V8 races at Indy but Network Seven won the rights to broadcast the V8s in a $160 million, six-year deal stitched up earlier this year. Under the terms of the new contract, V8 Supercars will take over the production of the TV coverage, under the supervision of Seven's sports boss Saul Shtein. The Gold Coast Indy festival attracts 316,000 spectators over the four days, making it a marquee event for V8s, right up there with Bathurst and the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide. Source: The Gold Coast Bulletin, 6th December 2006

Elsewhere/Rights: Timeframe Set for New NBA Television Deal

David Stern, the National Basketball Association commissioner, has said that he expects to sign a new television rights deal before the end of the 2006-07 season. The new agreement is set to represent a ‘healthy’ increase on the present $4.6-billion deal, which expires after the 2007-08 season. Stern, speaking at the Reuters Media Summit on Tuesday, said that the NBA was in talks with existing broadcast and cable partners about a new contract. The Walt Disney-owned sports channel ESPN and Time Warner’s TNT are entering the fifth season of a six-year deal and Stern is eager to get extensions agreed when possible.

ESPN is said to have paid $2.4 billion for its existing rights, which include coverage on Disney-owned national network ABC, while TNT spent $2.2 billion. The NBA is also considering selling a stake in its digital assets, which include a cable television network and a website, and establishing an NBA-sponsored league in China, Stern added. He said the new television deal is likely to be an expansion of the current contract to include digital assets and overseas markets, and will once again run over six years.

Time Warner owns a 2-per-cent stake in NBA TV and Stern said discussions were in progress about an increase in ownership. NBA TV, launched in 1999, airs some 100 NBA games a season. It is available in 70 million US homes and has 12 million subscribers. The league's NBA.com website averaged over 2.6 million daily visits last year, up 35 per cent from the previous year. About 20 per cent of the traffic originates from the league's Mandarin website, Stern said. Source: Sportcal, 30th November 2006

Elsewhere/Rights: Television Rights to Club World Cup Sold in Spain

Mediapro, the Spanish media rights agency, has reached an agreement to provide television coverage in its domestic market of this year’s Fifa Club World Cup, which features home side Barcelona. The deal was signed with iSe, the Switzerland-based sports marketing agency, which has been handling the sale of rights on behalf of soccer’s world governing body Fifa. Mediapro, an established partner of Barcelona, has been awarded the exclusive rights in Spain to the Club World Cup for all forms of television. The company has signed long-term television deals with both Barcelona and Real Madrid this season and is one of the main investors in fledgling Spanish commercial broadcaster La Sexta.Barcelona qualified for the six-team Club World Cup by winning the Uefa Champions League, European soccer’s top clubs competition, last season and will make their entry in the last four on December 14 against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC of South Korea or Club America of Mexico. The competition is being held in Japan for the second successive year and begins on Sunday. Source: Sportcal, 5th December 2006

Elsewhere/New Media: Ban on web coverage of cricket World Cup

Over-by-over internet coverage of next year’s cricket World Cup in the West Indies could be under threat from new rules issued by the International Cricket Council. Many national newspapers and other publishers with internet outlets have built up large and dedicated online audiences with their often off-beat coverage of Test cricket. But as television and other broadcast and internet rights become ever more competitive, and their revenues all the more vital, so the ICC has opted to tighten its control of World Cup rights in a move not dissimilar to that applied by the International Olympic Committee since 2000. The ICC’s terms and conditions for journalists covering the World Cup states that news organisations offering over-by-over coverage could lose ther press accreditations altogether.

With Hutchison’s 3 mobile network investing large sums in its purchase of the rights for the current Ashes Test series in Australia, it seems inevitable that the ICC would ultimately move to protect the rights for its member boards, broadcasters and other partners. For instance, Cricket Australia has launched its own online TV service for the Ashes to offer paid-for video streaming and commentary to serve those territories which do not have television coverage of the series. The live streaming service is priced at £2.58 per match to £13 for all the Tests. Highlights are also available on the 3 mobile phone network.

Cricket Australia even extended its “rights area” from the field of play and into the post-match press conferences for the Ashes Tests, preventing correspondents from non-Australian newspapers from creating any audio-visual content for use on the internet. It is a business model which the ICC clearly is looking to protect ahead of the World Cup, especially given the continuing financial concerns surrounding the commercial outlook for the tournament in the Caribbean. Talks are already underway with the International Rugby Board over web coverage and rights issues at the rugby World Cup in France next year. Source: Sports Journalists Association, Guardian Unlimited, 6th December 2006

Elsewhere/New Media: Rugby World Cup Finds New Media Production Partner

Groupe Sporever, the French media group and audiovisual production company, has been chosen to manage the production of footage of rugby’s 2007 World Cup transmitted on the internet and via mobile phones. Sporever will be responsible for the technical production of video footage on RWC Plus, the broadband subscription service of the official tournament website, rugbyworldcup.com, and the technical delivery of mobile video clips offered by telecommunications companies who acquire rights to the tournament.

The deal with Sporever is separate from the tender that has been issued by Rugby World Cup Limited and its exclusive commercial representative IMG Media, for a broadband subscription service provider for the official website. This tender is open until December 7 and applies to the provision of the technical infrastructure required for online video subscription services, including the payment system, and the development of marketing strategies in all appropriate territories.

RWC Plus, the broadband subscription service of the rugbyworldcup.com website, is to offer highlights and full-length re-runs of games at the tournament, as well as match previews, interviews and live audio commentary. The 2007 Rugby World Cup takes place in September and October and will be based in France, with some games in Scotland and Wales. Source: Sportcal, 1st December 2006

Elsewhere/New Media: Exponentia and NHL Sign Multi-Year Rights Agreement for Live Mobile Action

Exponentia and the National Hockey League (NHL) today announced the signing of a multi-year rights deal to provide live mobile interactivity for fans of NHL action across North America. Exponentia's mobile game PlayAction enables NHL fans to make live predictions via their mobile phone from wherever they are; whether at home; at the sports bar; or at the game. Players challenge their friends, create their own leagues and compete for team jerseys and other great prizes.

To play, fans simply text the name of the team they support to the short code 24365 on their phones. Players receive trivia or multiple choice questions about game outcomes via text messaging as the game progresses. Live results and leader boards are available on the phone and on-line at www.playaction.tv. PlayAction follows the game live. Exponentia Producers who are true sports fans themselves administer the game, creating questions that arise from the action and follow the story of game broadcasts, such as: "Will the home team regain the lead before the end of the period?" Source: Telephony World, 5th December 2006

Elsewhere/General: ZenithOptimedia Releases Ad Forecast

According to ZenithOptimedia, global television advertising will rise to $184.5 billion in 2009, from this year’s $160.4 billion, while its share of total ad spend will fall from this year’s 37.8 percent to 37.2 percent in 2009. Internet adspend, meanwhile, will almost double to $42.7 billion by 2009, from $24.5 billion this year, with its share rising from 5.8 percent to 8.6 percent. Total adspend is expected to hit $495.4 billion in 2009 from $423.8 billion this year.

Ad spend in North America will rise to $205.7 billion in 2009, a 12 percent gain from this year. In Western Europe, ad spend will rise to $114.4 billion in 2009 from $101.5 billion. Asia Pacific ad spend is expected to rise 21 percent to $109.4 billion. In Central and Eastern Europe, ad spend will be up to $41 billion by 2009. In Latin America, it will grow from $19.7 billion in 2006 to $22.6 billion in 2009. Source: Worldscreen, 5th December 2006


ARTICLES, COMMENTS & OPINIONS

China Surpasses U.S. as Biggest Driver of Global Ad Growth

China will surpass the U.S. as the single biggest contributor to global advertising growth for the first time at the end of 2006, foresees Adam Smith, futures director of Group M, WPP Group's media unit. China's investment in major media in 2006 will rise to $4.2 billion vs. the U.S.'s $4 billion.

Mr. Smith, who joined WPP last January from Publicis Groupe's ZenithOptimedia Group, predicted global media-spending growth rates will remain essentially flat in 2007. This year media spending will be up 5.3% from 2005 at $395 billion; next year he predicted another increase, but not at the same rate, as media spending will jump 5% over this year to reach $414 billion. In the U.S., Mr. Smith anticipates media growth in 2006 will rise a modest 2.7% over last year to $151 billion, but for 2007 the increase will be an even more modest 2.4% to $154 billion.

Globally, TV is "by far the largest source of media growth, and the predominant source of growth in emerging economies, while the internet is picking up," said Mr. Smith. TV will continue to be the biggest medium globally, garnering half of all media investment growth. In North Asia, TV is still the largest source of media growth, and a key agency skill in the market is "price analysis," Mr. Smith said. Excerpts of Interview by Lisa Sanders in AdAge, 4th December 2006

My-censored-Space in China

At first blush, it seems ironic that MySpace -- the quintessential publishing platform for democratized user-generated content -- is trying to set up a beachhead in China. This is particularly true given the Chinese government's hostility to public and published criticism, and the restrictions it has placed on U.S. Internet companies such as Google. News Corp's MySpace thrives on giving a megaphone to its 115 million members so their unfiltered voices can be heard on topics ranging from sex and drugs, to religion and politics. "What happens when an anonymous MySpace China user writes something critical of, for example, China's human rights record?" asked Kurt Opsahl, an attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who specializes in China. "Will MySpace provide identity information upon China's request?"

These are thorny questions that MySpace will have to address by the time it launches in China. One or two outspoken political bloggers on MySpace could be the only reason Chinese authorities need to shut down the entire service. The fact that the Chinese government censors content will probably have a lot less to do with the success, or lack thereof, of MySpace in China than the fact that the social network is not based there. After all, none of the major U.S. Internet companies have had much luck dominating the market. Another reason that it might be difficult for MySpace to dominate in China is that it's unclear what it or any U.S. company can offer that's any different than what's already being birthed there. There is a flurry of Web 2.0 activity in China as dozens of Chinese video-sharing sites are emerging in hopes of mimicking YouTube's success.

All this said, U.S. companies can have some success in China. Microsoft's MSN Spaces is apparently doing pretty well there. Microsoft would not say, however, how many spaces of the total 70 million MSN spaces were created in China. It also appears that MySpace will try to minimize risk by partnering with a local entity. MySpace is in discussions with IDG-Accel Partners to jointly operate a social network service in China. And, the China market is still in its infancy. Anything can happen between now and the time social networks start making real money.

In 2007, MySpace is estimated to generate between $400 million and $500 million in revenue, depending on how effectively it can target ads and on whether MySpace can get ads on its videos, according to Richard Greenfield, analysts at Pali Capital. That means that the advertising dollars that will be placed on MySpace alone are just a tad shy of all the advertisements going across all of China's Web sites today. Commentary by Bambi Francisco on Dow Jones’ Market Watch, 5th December 2006

Liverpool Investment Would Diversify DIC's Interests

Dubai International Capital’s (DIC) interest in taking over Liverpool can be attributed to the oil-rich state’s need to diversify its interests, according to a football finance expert. The group is one of half a dozen private equity firms buying up investments around the world on behalf of Dubai Holdings, which is owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates. The Middle Eastern state’s vast oil reserves have established it as an economic powerhouse, but with this natural resource running short, it has looked to invest to secure its future. DIC’s investment portfolio includes the likes of DaimlerChrysler, the Tussauds Group and Doncasters Group Limited, and Henk Potts, an equity strategist for Barclays Stockbrokers, believes its interest in Liverpool forms part of Dubai’s new outlook.

“I think Dubai International Capital is looking to diversify away from their reliance on oil,” Potts told Football Insider. “Oil in Dubai is set to be exhausted over the next 20 years so there has been a big rush from this private equity firm to diversify. They have bought groups like Travelodge Hotels and Madame Tussards, so they have been buying travel and leisure assets. One would suspect that the Premier League is going through a revolution in the way that it is going to be presented on the international stage. The reality is that you have got some very big global businessmen looking at how to maximise the potential from the Premier League and there are a number of other clubs that are going to benefit from this.”

The takeover would represent a significant step in Liverpool’s plans for a 60,000-capacity stadium at Stanley Park, a development that Potts feels is essential if the club is to keep up with the Premiership’s major players. “Liverpool needs the money, it’s as simple as that. If you look at the amount of money that Ars enal has invested in its new stadium, it’s been said that the increase in capacity will boost sales by £35 million a year. In order to compete for the best players it comes down to financial firepower. The missing gap is the need to increase their capacity and sales, and that would require a new stadium.” Source: Football Insider, 5th December 2006