Wednesday, 13th June 2007

HEADLINES OF THE DAY

WWE Changes Sponsorship Strategy
(also featured yesterday)

World Wrestling Entertainment is changing its sponsorship strategy to focus on umbrella sponsorships of WWE instead of individual events such as WrestleMania and SummerSlam. WWE aims to use its multi-platform assets to provide a diverse mix of opportunities for brands looking to develop year-round integrated marketing programmes, WWE said.

“WWE can combine its robust assets and rights with a wide variety of sponsorship opportunities to help multinational companies implement effective marketing programmes that will resonate with consumers. We are definitely a more economically-viable and efficient option to comparable sports and entertainment brands, such as NFL, MLB and NBA. Especially considering we have no off-season, no repeats and the weekly delivery of WWE.com.” said Basil V. DeVito Jr., WWE senior advisor.

Patricia Clark, vice president Digital Sales, and Ethan Green, vice president, Sponsorship and Talent Brands, will work together to develop the integrated marketing plan and take full advantage of WWE’s media platforms, including live events, pay-per-view, digital and mobile assets. Source: Sport Business, 12th Jun 2007

Business Shows Naivete in Sponsorship of Sports Event

Until Scotland went on court against Finland in the Sudirman Cup last night, one could have been forgiven for thinking that the World Team Badminton Championships had no title sponsor. Behind the scenes, organisers walked a tightrope, apparently feeling as if they were balancing over a pool full of circling predators, hungrily waiting to snatch their tournament from them for a pittance.

With the Glasgow 2014 evaluation commission from the Commonwealth Games Federation due to appear last night, to witness showcase matches, anything which hinted at organisation problems could have been devastating. If Glasgow can't organise one event without a crisis, what chance have they got when they are trying to stage 17 major sports champion-ships at one time, goes the rhetoric.

Whispers were that the event had lost its sponsor and was struggling to find a new one, and Badminton Scotland might have a £75,000 black hole in the event budget. That was the figure that had been agreed with a Malaysian-based international marketing agency, Sports Media Promotions (SMP), who purchase the rights to events and then sell them on. Since they are providing sponsorship for the 12-tournament world Super Series ($200,000 prize money per event, and $500,000 for the world final) there was no concern over their ability to deliver.

The deal had been agreed in principle last September, and more or less finalised by December. When SMP could not find a buyer, they said they were unable to act as title sponsors. As recently as Saturday, The Herald understands the championships were available to the highest bidder. Selling out for a pittance would not only have compromised future events in Scotland, it would have been little short of a betrayal.

Senior officers of the Badminton World Federation were in contact with international companies in the Far East, but their intervention was compromised by the suspension of the BWF chief operations manager, Mr Ganga Rao, who had been locked out of his office in Kuala Lumpur in what has been characterised as "a power struggle".

It was at the 11th hour, when China went on court against England yesterday evening, and the hosts met Finland, before the elusive sponsor branding appeared. Out came the boards bearing the legend: 361' - not instantly recognisable in Britain, but a major textile company in China. SMP also agreed to take boards as part of the package.

With Chinese TV covering the event, even if there is no live terrestrial UK coverage, rights in the exploding Far East economy are valuable. A year out from the Beijing Olympics, European companies appear to have been slow to grasp the scale of these market opportunities. They offered a financial institution, but we already have the Bank of Scotland. But by bringing 361 on board, that hole is now closed.

A string of agencies have vested interests: UK Sport, Event-scotland, Glasgow City Marketing and the city's 2014 bid, sportscotland and commercial entities like the bank, Yonex and Phoenix cars. Most are invaluable, but some are clearly trying to punch above their weight. Few things are more dangerous to a major event than over-prescriptive or greedy supporters. Source: The Scotland Herald, 13th Jun 2007


SPORTS SHORTS

* When nominations close, some 150 million across Asia will watch the run-up to the Asian Sports Awards Gala Night on Aug 11. ESPN STAR Sports will promote the programme through ESPN Sports Center. Additional exposure is planned through ESPN and Star Sports, where 1-min clips on nominees will air, as will a 90-min delayed telecast of the Gala night and two 30-min feature programmes reaching over 275 million viewers in Asia. Billed as the Oscars of Sports and fashioned on the Laureus Awards, the ASA is a collaborative effort between Stropt & Sports Limited and the Asian Sports Press Union, which has affiliates in 31 countries. ASPU is also the sanctioning body. Source: ADOI!, 13th Jun 2007

* The privately-funded, biennial Peace Cup Korea has announced that its 2007 invited participants are Reading and Bolton Wanderers (England), Seongnam (Korea), Shimizu S-Pulse (Japan), Olympique Lyon (France), Chivas de Guadalajara (Mexico), River Plate (Argentina) and Udinese (Italy). Tottenham Hotspurs declined to defend its 2005 title. The Peace Cup, set to be played 12-21 July in seven cities across South Korea with US$2.4 million in prize money on offer, overlaps the Asian Cup played 7-29 July in South East Asia. Source: Asian Football Business, 13th Jun 2007

* Seamus O'Brien of Singapore-based World Sport Group, tips further changes in the AFC Champions League format by 2009 including the expansion from 28 to 32 teams, the introduction of a round of 16, doubling the prize money for the winning team to US$1 million and, significantly for Australian and Japanese clubs, a relaxation of the entry deadlines. Because the A-League and Japan's Emperor's Cup overlap the calendar year, both countries currently are forced to enter teams from the previous season's competitions. Source: Asian Football Business, 13th Jun 2007

* Bruce Buck, Chairman of EPL club Chelsea, has confirmed that the club will make a pre-season tour to China in 2008. He emphasised, however, that the club's approach to the Chinese market includes unique and exclusive co-operation agreements with the AFC and the Chinese Football Association to promote grass roots and youth football. "For one thing we're not going to take our club to Asia when the Asian Cup is taking place. That's lesson Number 1," he said. Source: Asian Football Business, 13th Jun 2007

* FC Barcelona is reportedly set to receive US$1.6 million for playing a friendly against Hong Kong club Happy Valley on 10 August and also has a game scheduled in Beijing against China Super League club Beijing Guo'anon on 5 August - well after the Asian Cup final. Casper Stylsvig, Barcelona's regional manager, remarked that, in comparison, Manchester United was only thinking of its Asian supporters when it arranged its tour. Source: Asian Football Business, 13th Jun 2007

* The Premier League said the first round of its made-for-television, re-badged Barclays Asian Trophy will be played as a double-header at the 40,000-seat Hong Kong Stadium on 24 July with Portsmouth playing Fulham followed by Liverpool against the HK Football Association Cup winner. The final will be played on 27 July. Two broadcasters have been so far announced: all matches will be screened in Hong Kong by NOW TV and in the UK by Sky Sports. Source: Asian Football Business, 13th Jun 2007

* Virgin Media is reportedly talking to IMG Media about launching a sports news channel. IMG's production arm TWI has pitched for the contract, along with news broadcaster ITN. Virgin Media is thought to still be in talks with Setanta Sports, which was previously linked to the deal. Insiders say that the channel is likely to be launched by the end of the year and would replace Sky Sports News, which was removed from the platform as part of Virgin Media's ongoing carriage dispute with Sky. Source: Digital Spy, 12th Jun 2007

* YouTube will test a new technology that will help content owners identify pirated content. Trials of the video identification technology will be conducted with Time Warner and The Walt Disney Company. The video fingerprinting tools will be used to identify copyrighted material that is illegally posted to the site. YouTube is facing increasing pressure from media companies in the wake of Viacom’s lawsuit against the site. Viacom is seeking $1 billion in damages for the hundreds of thousands of pirated clips uploaded to YouTube. Source: Worldscreen, 12th Jun 2007

* A Russian set the trend, many Americans followed and now an Indian has emerged as the latest billionaire to show interest in buying a Premiership club when Lakshmi Mittal - the world's fifth-richest man - became a contender to buy newly promoted Birmingham City. The steel magnate, who is worth £19.25bn, has made an inquiry into the possibility of taking over the club and with that sort of wealth behind them Birmingham could contemplate a season aiming for Europe rather than fighting relegation. Source: The Independent, Sport Business, The Times Online, Sportcal, 12th Jun 2007

* Urs Linsi, the general secretary of Fifa, is leaving after almost five years in the role. Linsi was praised for his achievements in the period from 2003 to 2006 which included the restructuring of Fifa’s finances and the construction of the new headquarters in Zurich. However, there was speculation when it became clear Sepp Blatter would be re-elected unopposed as president that Linsi was on his way out. Linsi succeeded Michael Zen-Ruffinen who stepped down after a failed legal case against Blatter, which alleged mismanagement and corruption within Fifa. Source: Sportcal, 12th Jun 2007


MORE NEWS

India/General: LG Drops Cricket for Opportunities in Golf

LG Electronics said that it has decided not to renew its partnership with the International Cricket Council as it announced a new agreement to support golf in India. LG has been a major sponsor of the ICC for the past eight years but its deal expired after the recent World Cup in the West Indies and the company is now pursuing a different strategy.

Sandeep Tiwari, the head of marketing at LG India, said: ‘Cricket today has become a very expensive property and it’s not the right tool to deliver to niche segments, which we are looking at as part of our business strategy. That’s why we have chosen golf.’ LG said it was not ruling out further cricket tie-ups but would concentrate on golf and three other disciplines to promote its brand in India.

LG has agreed to sponsor the Indian Golf Union’s National Amateur Tour for the next three years as it seeks to target high-end customers with products such as LCD televisions, laptop computers and mobile phones.

The ICC is in the process of seeking new sponsors for the period from 2007 to 2015 and the Indian market is regarded as crucial, particularly as the 2011 World Cup will be held in the subcontinent. The governing body had been expected to earn more than $500 million from new deals, but may have been forced to lower its sights after events in the Caribbean. Source: Sportcal, 12th Jun 2007

Asia/General: Globecast Launches New Bouquet, Eyes Asia

Globecast has launched a South-Asian DTH platform in Europe via the Intelsat 905 satellite. The new bouquet duplicates the revenue-sharing model of its WorldTV service available in the US.

Dedicated to reach ethnic communities in Europe (with the exception of UK and Ireland, already well served) the bouquet of seven South-Asian channels includes Sony Entertainment Television Asia, Star Plus, Star One, Star Gold, Sag-hara One, Max and FILMY. Operated from Globecast’s new London Broadcast Centre on Grays Inn Road, it is accessible for a yearly €299 subscription fee.

At the end of this year, Globecast will launch in France the Connect City service, which will allow better exchange between live standard and high definition content. However, activities from new media platforms like mobile and ADSL TV are currently representing just three to five per cent of a global €360 million revenue in 2006. Source: Rapid TV News, 12th Jun 2007