Friday, 6th July 2007

RESULTS

Source: Reuters, 6th Jul 2007
Colombia salvaged some pride at the Copa America by beating the United States 1-0 in their final Group C match. Both teams had had lost their first two games to Argentina and Paraguay and had no chance of advancing past the group stage. Midfielder Jaime Castrillon headed the only goal in the 15th minute while team mate Hugo Rodallega missed a penalty before halftime. Rodallega ended up in goal when Colombia goalkeeper Robinson Zapata was sent off in the 86th minute after receiving two yellow cards, both for time-wasting. Colombia had already made their three permitted substitutions by then. Zapata argued furiously over the decision and it took two minutes for his team mates to persuade him to leave the pitch.

Source: Reuters, 5th Jul 2007
Javier Mascherano scored his first goal for Argentina to give them a 1-0 win over Paraguay and top spot in their Copa America group. Mascherano picked up a loose ball on the edge of the area and scored with a cleverly-placed shot into the bottom left-hand corner of Aldo Bobadilla's goal shortly after coming on as substitute for his 27th appearance. The win meant Argentina avoided a difficult quarter-final against Mexico and will instead face Peru, a theoretically easier game, on Sunday. Argentina topped Group C with nine points from three games, the only 100% record in the tournament. Paraguay, who will now be Mexico's opponents on Sunday, were second with six.


THIS WEEK

Sat, 7th Jul 2007
Masters Football: Central Masters
Copa America 2007: QF1 - Venezuela v Uruguay, San Cristobal
Copa America 2007: QF2 - Chile v Brazil, Puerto La Cruz

Sun, 8th Jul 2007
AVP Crocs Tour: Seaside Heights Open, Final Day
Copa America 2007: QF3 - Mexico v Paraguay, Maturin
Copa America 2007: QF4 - Argentina v Peru, Barquisimeto


INFO BOX

China's Consumer Power
Source: Info IQ, 28th Jun 2007

New research by the McKinsey Global Institute highlights the emergence of a larger, more complex segment-the urban middle class in China, whose spending power will redefine the Chinese market. Consumers in China's urban-affluent segment earn more than 100,000 renminbi (about $12,500 US) a year and command 500 billion renminbi, nearly 10% of urban disposable income, despite accounting for just 1% of the total population.

Over the next 20 years more people will migrate to China's cities for higher-paying jobs. These working consumers, once the country's poorest, will steadily climb the income ladder, creating a new and massive middle class. The rising economy in China will lift hundreds of millions of households out of poverty.

Today 77% of urban Chinese households live on less than 25,000 renminbi a year; by 2025 that figure will drop to 10% says the study. By then, urban households in China will make up one of the largest consumer markets in the world, spending about 20 trillion renminbi annually. Since these estimates were calculated at today's tightly managed exchange rates, they may significantly underestimate China's future consumer purchasing power.

Two features of China's emerging middle class are already particularly notable:

* It will be unusually young. In the United States income generally peaks between the ages of 45 to 54.9 Since higher-paying jobs require a higher level of education and training, the Chinese government currently makes substantial investments in higher education for the younger cohorts, meaning that the country's wealthiest consumers will be from 25 to 44 years old.

* The urban middle class will dwarf the current urban-affluent segment in both size and total spending power. The biggest opportunity for companies selling mass-consumer goods and services will be the newly empowered middle class. To serve these households successfully, companies will need to understand how the saving and spending patterns of consumers change as their incomes increase.

Annual Income (one Chinese renminbi equals approximately 13 U.S. cents)
• Global Affluent (>200,000 renminbi annually)
• Mass Affluent (100,001-200,000 ren)
• Upper Middle Class (40,001-100,000 ren)
• Lower Middle Class (25,001-40,000 ren)
• Poor (< 25,000 ren)


SPORTS SHORTS

* A court injunction has been obtained to stop the Badminton World Federation's inquiry panel from deliberating on P. Ganga Rao's suspension as the chief operating officer (COO). Ganga's lawyers filed for the injunction at the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday and served a sealed copy of the court order to the BWF at their office at 10.30am. Ganga is at odds with BWF's deputy president, Datuk Punch Gunalan. And under his suspension, Punch is in charge of the federation's administration. Source: The Star MY, 5th Jul 2007

* India could have seven DTH satellite platforms by next year, with Videocon, a US$2.5 billion Indian consumer electronics firm, reportedly applying for a licence. Videocon would join three platforms already operating and another three which are planned before the end of the year. Already up and running are two pay-TV platforms – Star-backed TataSky and Zee-backed Dish TV – and free-to-air bouquet DD Direct. But doubts have emerged on whether there will be enough satellite capacity to support all competing channels and platforms. Source: Rapid TV News, 5th Jul 2007

* The Asian and European Golf Tours have run into another spat over the European Tour's announcement to stage the inaugural Ballantine's Championship in South Korea next year. The Korea PGA and the European Tour announced the inaugural US$2.6 million ($3.9m) Ballantine's Championship at Pinx Golf Club on the island of Jeju from 13 to 16 March next year. Last month, the European Tour announced a new Indian event to take place in New Delhi next year without the involvement of the Asian Tour. The Asian Tour engaged the European Tour in discussions to seek an acceptable solution to this Indian tournament which proved futile. Source: The Electric Paper SG, 5th Jul 2007

* TiVo’s has inked a joint venture deal in the Asia-Pacific region with PacificNet iMobile to market TiVo PVR products in China, specifically in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and other large cities. PacificNet, a provider of gaming technology, e-commerce and customer relationship management services, will promote and distribute the TiVo boxes. The company’s iMobile unit has around 200 staff in China and claims the largest mobile phone “user community” to market to, with over 3.4 million registered users. Source: Rapid TV News, 5th Jul 2007

* A late bid by Australia to stage the Asian Cup in 2011 looks destined to fail after Mohamed bin Hammam, president of the AFC, said that Qatar, the only bidder to have submitted its official candidature by the deadline, would host the event if it met the AFC’s criteria. However, Football Federation Australia, is being encouraged to submit a bid to host the 2015 event instead. Iran and India had been expected to vie with Qatar to host the 2011 event but both missed the deadline to submit their bids. Source: Sportcal, 5th Jul 2007

* By end July 2007, global mobile phone use will pass the 3 billion mark - equivalent to half the world's population - as cell phone demand booms in China, India and Africa, a survey said. Mobile operators will have notched up over 3.25 billion subscriptions worldwide by the end of the year. Analysts forecast that 65% of all handsets made this year will be sold in emerging markets. The figures cited in the survey take account of multiple mobile subscriptions by customers. Research source unknown, Story Source: Ken Radio, 27th Jun 2007

* Negotiations between German pay-TV, Premiere, and Bundesliga rights holder Arena with the cartel office over planned marketing agreements for pay-TV subscriptions has taken a surprise turn: Arena now wants to sell on the Bundesliga rights to Premiere. The Munich-based subscription broadcaster could therefore, as in previous years, again produce and transmit the games. Arena holds the Bundesliga rights for the next two seasons, for which it has agreed to pay German football league DFL around EUR 220 million per season. Source: Rapid TV News, 5th Jul 2007

* At the 119th Session in Guatemala City, the IOC approved the project that foresees the first editions for the Youth Olympic Summer Games in 2010 and for the Youth Olympic Winter Games in 2012. The Youth Olympic Games – age group 14 to 18 - will bring together 3,200 athletes and 800 officials for the Summer Games and 1,000 athletes and 580 officials for the Winter Games. The Games will encompass all sports on the programme of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and the 2012 Summer Games with a limited number of disciplines and events. Proposals from Sports Federations to integrate youth-driven disciplines that are not part of the Olympic Games may be accepted. Source: IOC Official, 5th Jul 2007


MORE NEWS

Elsewhere/Rights: Spanish Giants Kick Off Soccer War

A new soccer war has broken out in Spain between Sogecable, the country's biggest pay TV operator, and Spanish production and services giant Mediapro. On Thursday evening, in the presence of Ramon Calderon and Joan Laporta, proxies of Real Madrid and Barcelona soccer clubs, Mediapro's top execs Jaume Roures and Tatxo Benet announced that they had tied down TV rights to 39 Spanish soccer teams.

Two hours later, Sogecable, which controls soccer rights, declared that it would file criminal charges against Roures and any other party supporting its claims. Via soccer rights brokering company Audiovisual Sport, Sogecable asserted that it holds down "numerous contracts with soccer clubs running through 2013." Sogecable's strident reaction to Mediapro's staged announcement sets the scene for what looks like a long-term soccer spat-fest between Spain's two biggest media giants.

At stake is Sogecable's continuing dominance of pay TV, for which it needs exclusive soccer rights, and the market growth of start-up broadcaster La Sexta, in which Mediapro has a controlling stake. If Mediapro manages to exploit rights to the swathe of soccer clubs it has announced, it is likely to charge a huge price for the commercialization in Spain's pay TV and video-on-demand distribution, which, Roures said, is their natural market. Source: Variety, 5th Jul 2007

Elsewhere/General: South African Cricket Chief Spells out Lure of India

Gerald Majola, chief executive of Cricket South Africa, justified the country’s involvement in a recent one-day international series in Ireland, claiming that it generated more money than can be expected from the home matches later this year. There was widespread criticism of the decision to send a team to play India in a three-match one-day international series, the Future Cup, in Belfast because it added to the already large workload of the players. However, matches against India guarantee large television audiences and the revenues were a major consideration.

Cricket SA earned R140 million ($20 million) from the sale of television rights in the last financial year, largely due to the India tour, but will only receive R18 million this year when New Zealand and the West Indies are the visitors. Majola said: ‘It is my duty as CEO to find a way to increase our income during the lean years. That is why we fought so hard to be appointed as the hosts for the first Twenty20 World Cup tournament [in September].’ Source: Sportcal, 5th Jul 2007