Monday, 26th March 2007

HEADLINES OF THE DAY

Paffett Returns to DTM

Gary Paffett, 2005 DTM-Champion with the DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG-Mercedes C-Class, will return to the DTM after a one-year break. The 25-year-old Englishman, who has been a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes test driver in Formula One for more than a year, will drive the Persson team's 2006 AMG-Mercedes C-Class, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport announced today. The 2007 DTM incorporates ten races and will start at Hockenheim on 22 April.

In December 2006 the possibility of Gary's DTM comeback first arose. However, at that time the four HWA factory cars had been already allocated to DTM record champion Bernd Schneider (42), double Formula One World Champion Mika Häkkinen (38), 2006 DTM runner-up Bruno Spengler (23) and Jamie Green (24), 2004 Formula 3 Euro Series Champion.

Gary Paffett has enjoyed a longterm relationship with Mercedes-Benz and McLaren. He was promoted by the Champions of the Future kart racing programme for young talents, which had been launched by McLaren and Mercedes-Benz. In 1999, he won the "Young Driver of the Year" award, which had been established by McLaren, Autosport magazine and the British Racing Driver Club (BRDC).

Paffett started kart racing at the age of ten in 1991. In 1997, he won the Formula Vauxhall Junior Newcomers' Championship and in the following year, the Vauxhall Junior Championship title. In 1999, he won the Formula Vauxhall Championship. After a year in the British F3 Championship, when he won the Scholarship class, he entered the German Formula 3 Championship, which he won in 2002. From 2003 to 2005, he raced 30 DTM races and won nine. In that time, he started from pole position 5 times and posted the fastest race laps on 6 occasions. Source: DTM, Motorsport.com, 23rd March 2007


SPORTS SHORTS

* Taiwan aims to transfer all broadcast to high-definition by 2010, putting NT$5.2 billion (US$157 million) behind the project. Satellite HD tests will begin in 2007, with the Beijing Olympics targeted to be up and running. By 2010, five terrestrial channels will operate 30 digital channels on Taiwan’s digital-terrestrial spectrum. 14 DTT channels have been broadcasting since mid-2004. A target of 300,000 homes receiving HD within a year of launch has been set. Taiwan has around 5.2 million TV homes, of which a million have converted to DTT by July 2006. Source: Rapid TV, 20th March 2007

* Star has added two channels carried on PCCW’s Network Of the World (Now) platform in Hong Kong, aimed at attracting South Asian viewers living in Hong Kong. Star One and Tamil service Vijay will join Star Plus, Star News and Channel [V] India which are already carried by Now. But the new channels are relatively expensive – HK$78 a month each. Channels on Now aimed at the local population include Star Chinese Movies, Xing Kong, Channel [V] Mainland China, Star Sports and ESPN, Sky News and Fox News. Source: Rapid TV, 18th March 2007

* Chinese IPTV provider, UUSee has raised US$23.5 million to help develop new interactive services and boost content offering. UUSee offers nearly 60 channels of live TV programming and 350 channels of commerical content to 36 million mainland Chinese internet users. Broadcasters offering content through UUSee include CCTV, Beijing TV, satellite operator CSAT and SMG, who previously partnered UUSee to deliver live sports events. There were 137 million Chinese internet users by the end of 2006, of which 75% had broadband connections. There were 26 million new users in 2006, a growth of 23.4%, according to the China Internet Network Information Centre. Source: Rapid TV, 11th March 2007

* Investment in India’s cable TV infrastructure could boost the country’s national economic activity by 54.6 billion rupees ($1.2 billion) within five years, according to the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA). It also notes that India could gain 18 billion rupees in tax revenues by upgrading cable systems. However, India’s target of 20 million cable broadband subscribers by 2010 would still amount to less than half of China’s market. Source: Worldscreen, 23rd March 2007

* Doordarshan’s (DD’s) mobile television trials will supply four channels (including a news and sports service) onto DVB-H cellular mobiles in May, and increase the number to 10 and 15 channels over subsequent months. Tests had already been carried out in and around Delhi, which will be the first to receive the service followed by Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai. Tenders for the services were issued in January. DVB-H was adopted as India’s mobile TV standard in 1999. The channels will be supplied on an “operator neutral” basis. Source: Rapid TV, 26th March 2007

* Germany and Austria are discouraged by the asking fees for EURO 2008 rights. Sportfive is rumoured to want €150 million for German rights, an fee too high for broadcasters. ARD has made an offer below the Sportfive asking price. Speculation is growing that UEFA could be in trouble over its decision to distribute rights market-by-market, via Sportfive. Some €600 million is expected from TV rights, but might be too high even for football. Previously, rights were sold directly to the networks via the European Broadcasting Union. Source: EUFootball.biz, 26th March 2007

* German public-service broadcasters, ARD and ZDF, have agreed with FIFA to show all 64 matches of the World Cup 2014, elbowing out Premiere, the pay-television broadcaster which has exclusive rights to 18 matches of the 2010 World Cup. They have the option to sub-license exclusive rights for some matches to other broadcasters and non-exclusive coverage of all 64 matches to pay-television. The deal was negotiated by Dagmar Brandenstein, the managing director of SportA, the sports rights subsidiary of ARD and ZDF. Source: Sportcal, Rapid TV, Variety, 23rd March 2007

* Major League Soccer (MLS) announced the return of MLS Direct Kick, providing the opportunity to watch more than 100 MLS games through the television package. Starting April 7, DIRECTV, DISH Network and iN DEMAND Networks, will each present MLS regional telecasts. MLS Direct Kick will include regional broadcasts of MLS regular-season and select play-off games, including pre and post-game shows. All 195 games of the 2007 season, the MLS All-Star Game, play-offs and MLS Cup 2007 will also be available. Source: Football Insider, 23rd March 2007

* Major League Baseball has rejected a bid to keep its Extra Innings package on cable networks. Cable platforms In Demand and Dish Network have offered Extra Innings in the past. If other companies come on board, the fee would be shared. MLB has set a deadline of March 31. If none is forthcoming, the Extra Innings package will be available only via satellite platform, DirecTV, which would pay $100 million per year for an exclusive deal, according to press estimates. Source: Sports Media, Sports Video Group, 23rd March 2007

* Online video company GoFish has licensed hundreds of sports-related videos from extreme sport extertainment companies Adrenalina and Movie Made Productions. Under the agreements, GoFish users will have free access to a variety of original extreme and action sport programming such as American X, Movie Made Productions' extreme sports television show. Source: Digital Media Europe, 23rd March 2007

* Quattro Media has been appointed the official TV partner of the Decathlon for Everyone/Zehnkampf München event taking place on July 14-15 at the Olympic Stadium in Munich. The event is a combination of popular and competitive sports and entertainment, and up to 20,000 spectators are expected to take part in the competitions, which will see a selection of world-class athletes participate. 25 live music acts are also set to perform. Quattro will cover the competitions and the side events with TV footage. Source: Sports Media, 23rd March 2007


MORE NEWS

India/Rights: Cricket Board to Share Losses of Rights Owner

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has agreed to cover half of the loss in revenue sustained by the company which holds the television rights to the national team’s home matches after it was forced to share coverage with state broadcaster Doordarshan. Nimbus Communications, the sports marketing and media company, claimed that earnings would be 12 per cent less than anticipated and asked the board to compensate it accordingly.

The board’s working committee agreed in principle to the request from Nimbus but exact figures will be determined by auditors from the BCCI and the rights holder and a report is expected by the end of this month. Nimbus was said to be seeking a partial refund or cancellation of the $612-million contract to televise India’s games until March 2010 but BCCI’s Rajeev Shukla said an ‘amicable solution’ had now been reached and the deal would remain.

Having already paid Rs5.5 billion ($126 million) for matches played in 2006-07, Nimbus is withholding a bank guarantee of Rs9.6 billion for next season until concerns over unencrypted signals used by Doordarshan were addressed. Nimbus shows cricket on its Neo Sports pay channels and claims the fact that Doordashan’s signals can be picked up outside India on direct-to-home platforms, affecting revenues and has called on the government to take action. Source: Sportcal, 23rd March 2007

Indonesia/Broadcaster: Indonesia Costing Astro

Astro All-Asia Networks is being hit by its 20% stake in Indonesian DTH business PT Direct Vision, before the company has even been granted formal satellite landing rights. PT Direct Vision uses the Measat-2 satellite to broadcast its platform to Indonesia, which the Indonesian government has said is illegal. Landing rights are still in negotiation and Astro awaits formal authorization of satellite landing rights for PT Direct Vision.

While broadcasting since February 2006, the Indonesian operation has already accounted for RM230 million in investments from Astro. Astro said that for the year ending January 2007, losses amounted to an “estimated” RM157.4 million (US$45.5 million). That dragged Astro’s full-year profit down to RM160 million, compared with RM229 million the previous year, despite revenues rising 11% to RM2,224 million. Group EBITDA rose 50% to RM528 million.

Direct Vision is unlikely to become profitable before five to six years, the company’s chief financial officer Grant Ferguson reportedly said last week. But Astro remains committed to regional expansion. Ferguson cited India, China and Vietnam as countries that Astro is interested in – markets that do not already have developed pay-TV sectors.

But Astro’s home market remains its key business. Astro subscriptions in Malaysia rose to 2.016 million by the end of January, from 1.784 million the previous year. That represented 36.5% of Malaysian TV homes. ARPU fell marginally to RM78 as Astro targeted the mass market, but subscriber acquisition costs fell 11% to RM667 per sign-up as set-top box costs fell. The company kept content costs steady at 29.7% of revenues, compared with 289.3% the previous year. Source: Rapid TV, 26th March 2007

Asia/General: Sports Sponsorship Sees Upward Swing of 55%

Sports sponsorship activity in Asia saw a rise of 55% in 2006 over 2005 figures, according to IVCast, an Asian database that monitors sponsorship throughout Asia. The year-on-year increase translated to a sponsorship value of US$426 million.

“The evidence suggests sponsorship is becoming a more popular marketing channel in Asia, catching up with global sponsorship volumes, which are growing at a more sedate 10.5%, according to the IEG Sponsorship Report, and at a pace that is still quicker than traditional advertising at 5.3% according to Group M,” Ben Heyhoe Flint, GM, OgilvyAction Sports & Entertainment said.

The report found major events in Asia such as the Beijing Olympics and the Doha Asian Games have significant influence on the sponsorship industry, and the biggest spending categories were automobile at US$78 million and finance at US$63.8 million – automobile sponsorship was largely driven by Nissan’s annual sponsorship of the Yokohama Stadium in Japan, reported to be US$42.2 million per annum. Source: Marketing Singapore, 23rd March 2007

Elsewhere/Rights: BBC and BSkyB 'Set to Share FA Rights again'

The BBC and British Sky Broadcasting are set to renew deals to share the television rights for England international soccer matches and the FA Cup, following the end of a second round of bidding today, according to the Daily Telegraph newspaper. However, the BBC and BSkyB are predicted to split the rights again, with the BBC paying a similar amount to the present deal, but BSkyB increasing its payments in return for the rights to more matches.

Presently the BBC pays £60 million ($118 million) and BSkyB pays £15 million a season, in a deal worth £300 million over four years. However, BSkyB will increase its contribution to £30 million a season, according to the newspaper, meaning that the new four-year deal, which begins with the 2008-09 season, will be worth £90 million a season, or £360 million in total. This compares with the £400-million figure that the FA is said to have targeted.

Currently, the BBC gets the first three picks of FA Cup matches in each round and shares England’s home internationals with BSkyB. BSkyB shows one FA Cup match per round. Also a possibility, is that commercial broadcaster ITV could trump rivals with a £400-million bid for all matches. ITV’s current output is concentrated on Champions League and Uefa Cup, but previously televised FA Cup matches from 1998 to 2001. Source: Sportcal, 23rd March 2007

Elsewhere/General: France 98 Stars Back Futsal

Compared to Spain, Italy and Russia, France have tended to be among Europe's minnows in the small-sided game but that could all change after Sunday's RTL-Futsal meeting at the famous Palais Omnisport de Paris-Bercy. Stars from the late 1990s, when France were the world's No1 football power, have answered the call to put on a show in front of 15,000 fans with many more at home watching the five-hour televised event.

Among the competing teams will be one representing the France '98 association, comprising 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2000™ winners including Zinédine Zidane, Didier Deschamps, Laurent Blanc and Bixente Lizarazu, several of them playing futsal for the first time. The fourth contestant in the round-robin event is Club des Internationaux Français, an organisation for former French internationals which will benefit from the afternoon's activities. Source: Uefa.com, 23rd March 2007