Wednesday, 14th February 2007

HEADLINES OF THE DAY

Record Turnover Forecast for Copa America

Traffic Sports, the Brazil-based sports agency that is the distributor of television rights, sponsorship and advertising for soccer's Copa America competition, said yesterday that over $500 million will be ‘spent around’ this year's tournament. The sum relates to the sale of media rights, sponsorship, construction and refurbishment of stadia and the impact on tourism in Venezuela, this year's host country.

Julio Mariz, Traffic’s president, said that the sum, together with the presence of global sponsors, prove that Copa America is growing in importance, claiming that the tournament in Venezuela would be the best ever. The competition involves South American national teams, plus USA and Mexico, and has been mainly staged in odd-numbered years.

Traffic expects that cumulative viewing figures of nearly 4 billion people for the last Copa America in Peru will be surpassed. Traffic expects that the number of countries showing television coverage will grow to 170 from 160 three years ago. The presence of USA as an invited team and plans to broadcast the event in the country in three different languages (English, Spanish and Portuguese) could attract an audience of 800 million people in the Americas.

This will be the first time that more than one broadcaster will show the competition in USA. Univision/Telefutura, the Spanish-language broadcaster, has acquired live rights, while Fox Sports en Español, another Spanish-language broadcaster aimed at the country's Hispanic population, has acquired delayed rights. Agreements to broadcast the tournament in English and Portuguese are also expected.

The 2004 Copa America’s quarter-final match between Mexico and Brazil and the final between Brazil and Argentina generated what were at the time the biggest audiences ever in the Hispanic market in USA, according to Enrique Sanz, Traffic's vice president. Copa America will be the first event staged in South America to be entirely broadcast in high definition. The tournament is scheduled for June 26 to July 15. Source: Sportcal, 13th February 2007


INFO DIGEST

Info Box – Handheld Stats
* $30 billion worth of TV phones to be sold in 2010
* Global handset market to reach $250 billion by 2011
* $4.3 billion of PDAs sold in 2004, average selling price was $353
* 14% of Korean mobile phones support TV
* 18.8 million smartphones sold in Asia Pacific in 2006
* 281 million Taiwanese handsets to ship in 2008
* 50 million DVB-H phones to be sold by 2010
* Top smartphone vendors in Q1 2006: Nokia, RIM, Palm
* Worldwide handheld market shares: Palm - 33.8%, HP - 23.6%, Acer - 11.2%
Source: Info IQ


SPORTS SHORTS

* According to Hong Kong Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA), Hong Kong leads the world with over 68% of households subscribing to broadband internet services by October 2006. Hong Kong also has the highest proliferation rate of IPTV at 33%. Total subscriber base has reached 700,000. Proliferation of mobile phones continues to rise in Hong Kong. There were 9.3 million users by end 2006, translating to a 133% proliferation. 3G wireless subscriber base accounted for 13% of these 9.3 million hooked on mobile phone services. Source: Entertainment Asia, 8th February 2007

* Singapore’s Football Association signed an MOU with Clube dos 13 comprising of top football clubs in Brazil which could see Brazilian teams play in Singapore for exhibition matches. The move is backed by the Singapore Sports Council. Details are still being worked out but the biggest Brazilian clubs are expected to take part in exhibition matches and clinics, and player and coach exchanges are on the cards. The aim is to see more Brazilian football on TV, as broadcasting rights and marketing opportunities are also being explored. Source: Sport Business, 7th February 2007

* Premiership champions Chelsea have announced plans for a tour of China in 2008. The Far East is seen as a potential growth market for the Chelsea brand and the club has a partnership with the Chinese Football Association to help develop the sport in the country. As part of the arrangement with Chelsea, the Chinese Olympic team have been in London this month but their visit has been marred by a mass brawl which forced the abandonment of a friendly against Queen’s Park Rangers last week. Source: Sportcal, 13th February 2007

* More than 20 broadcasters from around the world have already signed up the TV show Road to Beijing. The property, produced by IEC in Sports, was launched at Sportel Monaco in October of last year and a total of 93 episodes of the show will be produced, right up until the opening ceremony in Beijing 2008. The most recent deals have been put in place with VTV in Vietnam, Astro in Malaysia and CVM in Jamaica. Source: Sport Business, 26th January 2007

* Tennis Australia signed an exclusive four-year TV and internet deal with Eurosport for the rights to tennis’ Australian Open from 2008 to 2011. In addition to comprehensive television coverage, it will see matches on six courts streamed live over the internet via the Eurosport websites. In addition, Eurosport will be the distribution agent for the media rights across Europe. Eurosport is a significant partner for the sport of tennis, airing more than 1,100 hours of tennis from tournaments throughout the world in 2007. Source: Sport Business, 29th January 2007

* The Organisers for the XV Pan American Games Rio 2007 appointed Sportfive as its exclusive agent for the worldwide distribution of the media rights for this year’s Pan American Games. Sportfive will handle negotiations with broadcasters worldwide (excluding Brazil). The Pan American Games take place every four years, and are always held one year before the Olympic Games. Over more than 50 years, the Pan American Games never failed to occur. In Rio de Janeiro 5,500 athletes will represent 42 countries. Source: Sport Business, 2nd February 2007

* IEC in Sports expanded its relationship with the Swedish ATP Tournament, the Catella Swedish Open, in a new deal leading up to 2010. Under the new deal, IEC will take care of worldwide media distribution and all host broadcasting functions at the venue in Båstad. Under this newly signed contract with Catella Swedish Open IEC will also become one of the sponsor partners of the event which has been elected the best International Series event on the tour by the players no less than four times in a row. Source: Sport Business, 5th February 2007

* Sportel is adding more exhibition space to accommodate demand for stands at the 2007 Sportel America taking place from March 12-14, 2007 in Miami Beach. A third ballroom has been added for exhibitors at the Miami Beach Resort and Spa on Collins Avenue. David Tomatis, executive vice-president of Sportel, said: “We originally planned for about 50 stands but it looks as though we will need space for more than 60 stands. It’s a nice problem to have.” To date, top-level acquisitions executives have registered from 37 countries. Source: Sports Media, 13th February 2007


MORE NEWS

China/Rights: No More "Free Lunch" for Premier League Fans

China's 30 million English Premier League fans will no longer be able to watch live matches for free from next season. WinTV, run by Guangdong Provincial Television, have won the broadcasting rights for three years from September -- and it will charge viewers 188 yuan ($24) a month for the privilege. WinTV chief executive Song Zheng said "Let's say goodbye to free Premier League. No more free lunch in the future."

Chinese can currently watch games live on ESPN-Star, a joint venture of Walt Disney Co. and News Corp. , via a local cable TV broadcasting service which costs a fraction of the WinTV price. Chelsea are one of several Premier League clubs who have targeted the Chinese market and the English champions recently launched a Mandarin Web site.

Song, whose station has just 40,000 subscribers, said he was confident of winning over enough viewers among Chinese obsessed with football and the English top flight. WinTV will also provide coverage on mobile devices and the Internet along with live TV. "Fans can enjoy the games in various convenient ways," he said. "There's only one premise -- pay." Source: Yahoo! Sports, Sportcal, Variety, 13th February 2007

India/Rights: Cricket Rights Holder Told to Abide by Ordinance

Nimbus Communications, which holds the broadcasting rights to the Indian cricket team’s home matches, has been dealt a blow with the Delhi High Court refusing to suspend an ordinance which will force it to provide a live feed to state broadcaster Doordarshan. Nimbus had challenged the ordinance, describing it as ‘bad in law’, but its argument was yesterday rejected by the court, adjourning the matter until a further hearing on February 15.

The counsel for Doordarshan, claimed that the conditions to share coverage were laid out in the tender documents and known to Nimbus, which is paying $612 million for the rights to India’s games for four years until 2010. Prior to awarding to license to broadcasting matches in India, the government claimed to have informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India that whoever secured the rights would have to share them with Doordarshan and All India Radio.

The ordinance decrees that private broadcasters are obliged to share live and clean audio and video signals of their coverage of sports events of national importance with public service broadcasters. An additional solicitor representing the government said the Nimbus petition should be dismissed as it was not the fundamental right of Nimbus to monopolise the transmission of cricket matches and that it should abide by the contract and share the live feed.

During the recent one-day international series between India and the West Indies, Nimbus respected an interim court order to provide Doordarshan with coverage on a seven-minute delay and has continued to do so during the present series against Sri Lanka. However, it faces penalties ranging from a fine of Rs10 million ($227,000) to the suspension or loss of its broadcasting licence if it refuses to provide a live feed.

Under the terms of the ordinance, which takes retrospective effect from November 11, 2005, one-day internationals will have to be shown live by Doordarshan wherever they are played but only test matches played at home will be subject to this requirement, with highlights of away games sufficient. The consolation for rights holders is that they will receive 75 per cent of all the advertising revenue generated. Source: Sportcal, 13th February 2007

Elsewhere/Asia/Rights: National Lacrosse League Expands TV Deal

Eurosport2 has expanded its coverage of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) in a new deal running through 2008 – and added eight new territories to its global TV reach. NLL matches began airing in 42 countries throughout Europe on Eurosport2 last season, and coverage has now expanded to Australia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Maldives, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Singapore on Eurosport World, bringing the total to fifty.

NLL coverage on Eurosport began in early January and includes a televised game of the week for seventeen weeks, consisting of fifteen regular season games, plus the All-Star Game and Championship Game. The broadcasts will air into the month of May. The NLL and Eurosport have announced the extension of their broadcast agreements through the 2008 season. Source: Sport Business, 13th February 2007

Malaysia/IPTV: M2Btv to Offer 60 On-Demand Channels to Malaysian Subscribers

Amaru, Inc announced today that its subsidiary, M2B World Asia Pacific Pte Ltd (M2B Asia), has secured the distribution of its M2Btv PONY set-top boxes into the Malaysian market through a non-exclusive three-year deal for 50,000 units signed with the media arm of Malaysia-listed MOL AccessPortal.

Starting this March, upper middle-income condominium residences in Kuala Lumpur will be able to access 60 channels of M2Btv on-demand content comprising international as well as localized programs. "Premium Malaysia" and "Platinum Malaysia" will consist of 10 channels of tailored Asian language programs including Korean, Chinese and Malaysian dramas, variety and sports, in particular, highly popular regional football matches.

In addition to on-demand entertainment content, M2Btv subscribers also enjoy face-to-face video calls and messaging at no additional charge, on-demand shopping, casual interactive games such as Sudoko, and karaoke. Source: 24-7 Press Releases, 13th February 2007

Global/Programming: Equestrian Programme Gaining Worldwide Exposure

A year on from launch, TV magazine programme FEI Equestrian World has enjoyed increasing exposure. The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) stated that the programme is being broadcast by BBC World, which can be seen in 270 million homes in more than 200 countries and territories. The monthly half-hour programme concentrates on the spirit of the sport , the lifestyle surrounding it and the FEI’s efforts in key areas such as development.

Over the last 12 months the programme has become the FEI’s most valued television product. In Asia FEI Equestrian World is being aired on CNBC Asia, ESPN Star Sports and ESPN International in Japan. The programme is gaining exposure in Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and Canada on ESPN International. FEI Equestrian World is distributed worldwide by Trans World International (TWI). Source: Sports Media, 13th February 2007

Elsewhere/General: Liverpool Set To Look East

Liverpool will be expected to play promotional friendlies in Japan and China now the club has been taken over by US sports moguls Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Chief executive Rick Parry is likely to be told the “brand” needs to be promoted more in the Far East. In a National Post interview in Canada, Gillett has been expanding his theory of how to get the best from the £450 million total investment he and Hicks have made.

Gillett made it clear he sees Liverpool as one quarter of a four-sport franchise around the globe, taking in the Dallas Stars (ice hockey) and Texas Rangers (baseball) teams Hicks owns and his own Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club, plus motor racing. Gillett said: “We have the Texas Rangers in baseball, the Dallas Stars, the Montreal Canadiens, Liverpool and our family’s involvement with NASCAR. You’ve got four unbelievably popular sports with growing international interest.”

“If we get a hard-hitting marketing team that could provide potential sponsors with that array of opportunity, that’s something I don’t think has ever been put together before. There’s a unique opportunity because the market is demanding it. If you look at the new sponsors in the Premiership within the past five years, more than a third of them are from Asia.” Source: Football Insider, EUFootball.biz, 13th February 2007

Elsewhere/General: Quinn Appointed Head Of SUM

Doug Quinn, one of the foremost executives in American sport, has been named president of Soccer United Marketing (SUM), the commercial arm of Major League Soccer (MLS). The appointment completes the merging of Soccer United Marketing's two divisions - SUM Enterprises and SUM International. Quinn, formerly president of SUM Enterprises, will now oversee all operations of Soccer United Marketing.

Quinn was part of the SUM executive team that secured long-term national television agreements for MLS with ABC/ESPN, Univision, Fox Soccer Channel and HDNet. Most recently, he oversaw the creation of SuperLiga, the tournament between MLS and Mexico's First Division clubs that will begin in July. The integration of SUM Enterprises and SUM International into one cohesive organisation will allow the MLS to strategically manage and grow the business in a global marketplace. Source: Football Insider, 13th February 2007

Elsewhere/General: Spanish Clubs Top Football Money League

The Deloitte Football Money League shows the total revenue of the world’s Top 20 clubs is now over €3.3 billion with Real Madrid ahead of the competition with total revenue of £202 million (€ 292 million). The report shows Spain has the two biggest football clubs in the world based on revenue, with Barcelona joining their Spanish rivals in the top two. England has eight clubs in top 20.

Real Madrid retained the number one place it gained last year and Barcelona is this year’s biggest mover, up four places to second. Manchester United, which had headed the first eight editions of the Deloitte Football Money League, is the highest of eight Premiership clubs in the top 20. Analysis in the Football Money League is based on the latest financial information for the 2005/06 season.

The two Spanish clubs have had contrasting strategies, with Real focusing on driving commercial revenue from recruiting Galactico players and Barcelona having a more balanced revenue profile. With both the Spanish giants predicting revenues of over €300m in 2006/07, the same two clubs may stay at the top of the Money League in 2006/07. The total revenue of the Top 20 clubs was over €3.3 billion in 2005/06.

The global Top 20 is entirely populated by European clubs, with English clubs occupying eight of the positions, Italian clubs four positions, three from Germany, two from Spain, and one club from each of Scotland, France and Portugal. England’s highest representative is Manchester United, which slipped to fourth place this year.

Developments in the broadcast market have given some pointers to the composition of future Football Money Leagues. Revenue from the new French broadcasting deal has seen Olympique Lyonnais move up to their highest Money League position of 11th, while Real Madrid and Barcelona’s announcement of new deals should see them challenge at the top of the table in coming years. The Premier League’s recently concluded broadcasting deals may see English teams contribute half of the top 20 clubs in 2007/08. Source: Sport Business, 8th February 2007


ARTICLES, COMMENTS & OPINIONS

How Nascar Plans to Get Back on the Fast Track

Mark Martin, after winning a Nascar Craftsman Truck Series race in a car sponsored by Scott's Turf Builder, did "doughnuts" in his car that ripped up the infield lawn and then said on live TV, "That grass is gonna need some Scott's Turf Builder."

When last we left Nascar, the racing league was crowning 2006 champion Jimmie Johnson after a season in which TV ratings for 31 of the 36 Nextel Cup races were down from the previous year, and several races failed to sell out at the track. Even Nascar's 10-race "playoff," the Chase for the Cup, was down a total of 10% in TV ratings from the previous year. So every marketing step this year is geared toward finding a balance between pleasing Nascar's longtime fan base and attracting new fans.

The racing league is poised to take advantage of an unprecedented series of TV and marketing changes and is eager to prove 2006 was just a pit stop after years of meteoric growth. The changes include a new eight-year, $4.48 billion TV deal in which ESPN/ABC replaces NBC as one of two national broadcast partners (Fox is the other, while cable's TNT will also broadcast six races); the addition of Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya to the circuit, giving Nascar a chance to market to Hispanic fans; and the presence of Toyota, crashing the American automakers' formerly exclusive domain in Nascar.

HotPass is a creation that each race week will feature a dedicated channel for five selected drivers on DirecTV. HotPass creates yet another venue for Nascar's sponsors, many of which will pony up $18 million just to field a driver for a full 36 races this year and splash the company name across a uniform and the hood of a car. It's certainly a worthwhile venture. Nascar's sponsors received a total of $6.6 billion in TV exposure last year.

In addition, the infield-shredding (and sponsor-savvy) Mr. Martin pointed out the importance of having ESPN back in the intricate Nascar ecosystem. "There is a relationship all the way around between Nascar and the fans and the sponsors and television," Mr. Martin said. "That's why I'm glad ESPN is onboard again. That's like having an old friend back in your life." Rich Thomaselli comments on AdAge, 12th February 2007