HEADLINE OF THE DAY
2010 Thomas and Uber Cup Venues Revealed
The venues have been announced for the 2010 Thomas and Uber Cup, the men's and women's badminton competitions. The tournaments will be held in separate cities for the first time since 1984 in a bid to boost the profile of the women’s game. However, Malaysia will be the host for both, with Kuala Lumpur staging the men’s event and Ipoh the venue for the women’s competition.
The decision was made at the Badminton World Federation annual meeting on Saturday. BWF vice-president Robin Bryant said: ‘The events were traditionally held together but they’ll be separated for the next period. Fundamentally, we’re attempting to build up the women’s side of the game, not the men’s side.’ The 2008 Thomas and Uber Cup will be held in Indonesia. Source: Sportcal, 18th Jun 2007
Malaysia Make Bid to Host 2010 Thomas Cup
Malaysia have made a bid to host the 2010 Thomas Cup Finals (world men's team championship). But they will not host the Uber Cup Finals (world women’s team championship) if the Badminton World Federation (BWF) decide to stage it separately. The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) secretary, Ganga Rao, said yesterday: “We submitted the bid in December last year and it was brought to the attention of the delegates at the annual general meeting (AGM) in Glasgow over the weekend.”
However, a final decision on the bid is expected to be made later in the year. Besides Malaysia, China and Brazil have applied to stage the Thomas Cup Finals while Japan are interested to play hosts to the Uber Cup Finals. The Thomas Cup was first staged in 1948 while the Uber Cup made its debut 1956. And both competitions were staged simultaneously biennially from 1984.
Indonesia hold the record of being the most successful country in the Thomas Cup, having won the event 13 times while China dominated the Uber Cup with nine championship to their name. Malaysia last hosted the Thomas Cup at the Putra Stadium in Kuala Lumpur in 2000 and was eliminated in the group stages. Malaysia have won the Thomas Cup six times with the last victory achieved when they were the hosts in 1992. Source: The Star Malaysia, 19th Jun 2007
THIS WEEK’S EVENTS
Wed, 20th Jun 2007
Copa Libertadores: Finals Leg 2 - Grêmio (BRA) v Boca Juniors (ARG)
Sat, 23rd Jun 2007
Masters Football: Yorkshire Masters
Sun, 24th Jun 2007
WWE Monthly Special: Vengeance, Houston, Texas
DTM 2007: Race Day, Norisring, Germany
BTCC 2007: Race Day, Oulton Parl, UK
INFO BOX
Asian Growth – Population & Economy
Source: Entertainment Asia, 18th Jun 2007
As of 2005, the Asia region comprised about 60% of the entire global population with almost 4 billion people, according to data collected by the US Census Bureau for 2005. India and China alone account for 2.4 billion people combined and represent 37% of the world population. It is predicted that Asia’s population will reach over 5.3 billion by 2050, completely dwarfing other regions in population.
In addition, the combined population of the A4 countries is expected to reach more than 3.3 billion by 2050, equaling almost 40% of the entire global population.
According to 2005 figures collected by the World Bank, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at current market exchange rates for the entire Asia region was approximately 9.83 trillion USD, representing 22.15% of the world’s total GDP. The A4 countries combined GDP at current market exchange rates was 8.3 trillion USD, accounting for 84.5% of Asia’s total GDP and 18.72% of the world’s total GDP.
Asia is on pace to become the center of the global economy, with the A4 countries expecting to wield the most influence. The combined GDP of the A4 nations will increase from 18.72% of the world’s total GDP to 37% by 2050. The Bank of Korea has forecast that China’s economy alone will represent almost one-fifth of the world’s economy by 2050. The US share of the global economy will be reduced from 30.8% in 2005 to 18.2% by 2040 and even further to 14.9% by 2050.
SPORTS SHORTS
* There were 298 million broadband service users worldwide by the end of March 2007, with China ranking 2nd place with its 56 million some broadband users, according to a recent global broadband service report by Point Topic. The United States still leads the world in total broadband user number with 60.4 million. Although ranked at 2nd, China is catching up to the US having closed the gap from 5.8 million by the end of 2006 to 4.1 million this March. Source: Entertainment Asia, 18th Jun 2007
* Worldwide mobile gaming end-user revenue will grow from $2.9 billion in 2006 to $9.6 billion in 2011, according to Gartner, Inc. Worldwide mobile gaming revenue is on pace to total $4.3 billion in 2007, a 49.9% increase from 2006. Mobile gaming in Asia/Pacific and Japan is forecast to surpass $1.8 billion in 2007, and reach $4.6 billion in 2011. High revenue correlates with higher data consumption in Asia and reflects the appetite for mobile gaming in the region. Analysts expect high-growth markets like China and India to bolster growth even further. Source: Business Wire, 18th Jun 2007
* The Pakistan Cricket Board has set an annual budget of $40 million to raise standards of domestic and international cricket teams. The PCB has earmarked the money to upgrade Pakistan’s Test venues. Following Pakistan’s first round defeat in the Cricket World Cup, the PCB also announced a radical new central contracts system in which 20 players would be given contracts based on performance, and not seniority. The state of domestic cricket has been held responsible for inconsistent performances at the international level. Source: Sport Business, Sportcal, 18th Jun 2007
* French cable television, Noos-Numéricable, has been awarded broadcasting rights to Ligue 2, in a three-year deal worth €15 million ($20 million). The deal provides one live match per round on Friday nights from next season. However, Eurosport will screen the first-choice match every week. Noos-Numericable is the biggest cable operator in France, covering 9.5 million homes, representing 40% of the country’s total. Rights to the top-tier Ligue 1 for three years, beginning with the 2008-09 season, go on sale in November. Source: Sportcal, 18th Jun 2007
* World Championship Sports Network, the US broadband internet website, announced distribution deals with the AOL video portal and YouTube, as it attempts to extend its international reach. WCSN will provide free video content from its portfolio of over 60 sports users via the sites, and will receive branding and advertising banners encouraging fans to subscribe at WCSN.com to live coverage of the various events. Events that are now available on the AOL and YouTube websites include in athletics, cycling, gymnastics, skiing, swimming and taekwondo. Source: Sportcal, 18th Jun 2007
* Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has signed the government guarantees required to stage soccer’s Fifa World Cup 2014 finals. Brazil is the lone candidate for the competition. The guarantees will be delivered on July 31 to Ricardo Teixeira, president of the CBF, the Brazilian soccer federation. The five-time World Cup winners have only hosted the tournament once before, in 1950, when the home team famously lost to Uruguay in the final. Source: Sportcal, 18th Jun 2007
* …and action! Distribution has sold the action drama Fast Track: No Limits, co-produced by Action Image and ProSieben, to France’s M6, Japan’s Comstock Group and China’s Beijing Time Entertainment. FT:NL is the first English-language action drama shot in Germany. Set in the world of urban street racing, it is a story of a group of characters who believe that car racing in abandoned industrial areas is the only way to know that they’re alive. FT:NL was written and executive produced by award-winning American showrunner, Lee Goldberg. Source: Worldscreen, 18th Jun 2007
* Yahoo! on Monday tapped co-founder Jerry Yang to replace Chief Executive Terry Semel, bowing to investor pressure as the Internet media company has failed to keep up with rival Google. Semel will take the role of the board's non-executive chairman, and the company named Susan Decker, its former chief financial officer, as president. She will head up the advertising and media business operations. Source: CNN, 18th Jun 2007
MORE NEWS
Malaysia/New Media: Nokia Set for Mobile TV Offering
Nokia is working with MiTV Corporation to launch a commercial mobile broadcast TV service, based on Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H) technology, in Malaysia in the second half of this year. Nokia Siemens Networks will provide MiTV's 018 mobile TV service with an end-to-end deployment process which includes implementation, integration, and application development services. They will also maintain MiTV's infrastructure on a turnkey basis.
Dato IR Hj. Rosman bin Ridzwan, the chairman of MiTV, noted: "This latest collaboration with Nokia marks another important milestone in our preparation to launch our high speed mobile 3G service in the second half of this year. With Nokia, this mobile TV experience utilizing the latest DVB-H technology will be an important component in delivering this promise. Soon, our customers will be able to watch TV anywhere, anytime directly on their mobile devices, bringing them closer to the information and entertainment that they value most.”
In the region, Nokia has led mobile TV technology showcases in countries such as Singapore, India, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Taiwan. Source: Worldscreen, Rapid TV News, Earth Times, Digital Media Asia, C21 Media, 18th Jun 2007
China/General: Internet and Digital Television Industry Anticipating Best Investment Period
At the 13th Shanghai Television Festival – China International New Media Industry Forum, Morgan Stanley Asian Pacific Executive Director Weidong Ji pointed out that China’s internet industry and digital television industry are growing much more rapidly than other industries in the nation. In the next two years, these two industries will enter their best investment periods.
According to Morgan Stanley’s latest analysis report, digital television industry, the fastest growing segment in China’s media consumption market, generated USD 0.24 billion in revenue in 2006, which represents a 95% increase from the previous year. It is followed by on-pay search service with USD 0.25 billion in revenue and at a growth rate of 60%, and online employment service with USD 0.16 billion and at a growth grate of 41%. Online gaming is ranked at fifth, with total revenue of USD 0.85 billion, an increase of 34% compared to that of 2005.
The report indicated that China’s internet and digital television industry will have a promising future. Local big players and upstarts will achieve a much higher profit rate than that of many competitors worldwide. Past experience has it that the best investment period for the majority of China’s new industries are when their market penetration rate is between 10% and 15%. “We anticipate that China’s internet industry and digital television industry will enter the best investment period in the next two years”, Ji said. Source: Entertainment Asia, 18th Jun 2007
Elsewhere/Rights: ARD and ZDF Finally Agree Euro 2008 Deal in Germany
ARD and ZDF, the German public service broadcasters, have today won the exclusive free-to-air rights for 27 of the 31 games at soccer’s 2008 European Championships, following protracted negotiations. Sportfive is reported to have accepted an offer of €115 million ($154.2 million) from SportA, the rights acquisition agency of ARD and ZDF, and the two broadcasters will now show the bulk of the tournament live.
The long-awaited agreement, which is subject to the approval of the boards of ARD and ZDF, allows the broadcasters to show all but four of the matches at Euro 2008 exclusively on free-to-air television. These will include all of Germany's games, the opening match, the quarter finals, the semi finals and the final. ARD and ZDF’s package also includes highlights of all 31 games and radio rights for ARD’s various stations.
The four matches not covered by the ARD/ZDF contract are the second-choice final group phase fixtures, which will take place at the same time as matches already being televised by the pair. Rights to these games are still available to both free-to-air and pay-television broadcasters.
The deal is only exclusive on the free-to-air platform, which means that a German pay-television operator still has the opportunity to broadcast all 31 matches if it can agree a contract with Sportfive. However, Premiere, the main player in this field, has ruled itself out of the running for the rights because of the lack of exclusivity on offer.
ARD’s chairman Fritz Raff said he was ‘glad’ to conclude a deal on ‘reasonable conditions‘ and ‘after such long negotiations.’ The reported fee of €115 million is equivalent to €4.26 million a match, exceeding the €3.75 million a game that ARD and ZDF paid to show 48 out of the 64 matches at the 2006 World Cup, and is nearly double the €60 million paid for all matches of the European Championships in Portugal in 2004. Source: Sportcal, Rapid TV News, 18th Jun 2007
Elsewhere/Rights: European Commission Doesn't Want IOC to Unbundle Rights
The European Commission has described as ‘completely false’ a UK newspaper report that it is considering demanding the International Olympic Committee ‘unbundles’ television rights, selling them sport-by-sport, instead of a single package. Jonathan Todd, the commission’s spokesman, told Sportcal: ‘The commission is not looking at the way the IOC is selling its media rights. By definition, the commission is not therefore asking IOC to unbundle its rights or anything else.’
The Guardian had reported ‘senior IOC figures’ lobbying the commission over the issue, quoting one who said: ‘It is none of the EC’s bloody business and they should back off.’ The Guardian also claimed that IOC president, Jacques Rogge, is pushing for a draft EU white paper on sport to be strengthened. The European federations of five sports last week criticised the draft, claiming that it does not go far enough in strengthening the legal status of sport.
However, the IOC told Sportcal: The IOC has not yet received the draft white paper. It is therefore difficult to make any detailed comment at this stage.’ There were hopes that recent negotiations would lead to establishment of a regulatory framework which would give sport some legal protection and freedom to adopt its own rules, including the collective selling of rights. The IOC had not yet received any feedback from the commission to a position it submitted in April. Source: Sportcal, 18th Jun 2007
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