Monday, 9th July 2007

RESULTS

Source: Earth Times, 9th Jul 2007
At this weekend’s Copa America matches, Argentina defeated Peru 4-0 Sunday to advance to the semifinals against Mexico, who thrashed Paraguay 6-0. Argentina and Mexico are set to clash Wednesday in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela, while Uruguay and Brazil will play the first semifinal Tuesday in Maracaibo. On Saturday, Uruguay defeated host Venezuela 4-1, and Brazil thrashed Chile 6-1.

Source: AVP Official, 9th Jul 2007
The Seaside Heights Open was the 10th AVP Crocs Tour event of the year. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh held onto the top spot on the women's rankings while Tyra Turner and Rachel Wacholder are still second, but saw their lead trimmed as Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs captured the Seaside Heights Open. On the men's side, Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser held onto their Crocs Cup lead despite dropping the final here. Sean Rosenthal and Jake Gibb finished third in Seaside, but remained in the second position while Mike Lambert and Stein Metzger won their third title this season and improved their ranking.


THIS WEEK

Tue, 10th Jul 2007
Copa America 2007: SF1 - Uruguay v Brazil, Maracaibo

Wed, 11th Jul 2007
Copa America 2007: SF2 - Argentina v Mexico, Puerto Ordaz

Sat, 14th Jul 2007
Masters Football: Scottish Masters

Sun, 15th Jul 2007
DTM 2007: Race Day, Mugello, Italy
BTCC 2007: Race Day, Donington Park, UK
Copa America 2007: Final – TBC


SPORTS SHORTS

* Singapore fans will miss WWE superstar wrestler Chris Benoit, who died in the US last week. Benoit was to perform at the WWE Smackdown SummerSlam Tour at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 28 July. While the show must go on, some fans plan to pay tribute to Benoit, and hope other wrestlers performing here will do the same. Organisers say Benoit's absence has not affected ticket sales, and fans can look forward to a great show. Source: Channel News Asia, 6th Jul 2007

* South Korea is considering allowing new wireless-service providers to enter the market to help cut mobile tariffs and promote competition, the Ministry of Information and Communication said. The government wants to introduce a system that would allow mobile-virtual-network operators to lease capacity on the networks of existing wireless companies. Politicians and civic groups have claimed the country's three mobile carriers -- SK Telecom, KT Freetel and LG Telecom -- are overcharging users. Source: Ken Radio, 6th Jul 2007

* Zinedine Zidane paid a visit to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the Jakarta as part of his tour to promote sport among children. Wearing a traditional Batik top and jeans, ZiZou accompanied members of Indonesia's under-13 team and juggled a ball in front of the president. The 35-year-old is scheduled to attend an international tournament for children sponsored by Danone during his July 6-8 visit. The trip coincides with the start of the Asian Cup, which Indonesia is co-hosting, on July 7. Source: Earth Times, 6th Jul 2007

* The Japan Sports Arbitration Agency today became the first organisation to be granted government approval to settle out-of-court arguments under an alternative dispute resolution law. The approval means that sports-related disputes, such as those involving the selection of Olympic athletes, can be settled more quickly and inexpensively than through the court system. The approval also acts as a guarantee that the organisation is neutral. It follows the enactment of the new law in April this year. Source: Sportcal, 6th Jul 2007

* Cable and satellite broadcaster, Premiere, is set for a comeback with German rights to the Bundesliga from pay-TV rival Arena, which is reported to be set to close its soccer channel. The two are close to finalising a deal in which Arena would sub-license its live rights to Premiere. This would spell an end to pay-TV competition in Germany created two years ago when Arena exploded onto the scene with the acquisition of live Bundesliga rights in a €240-million- ($326.3 million-) a-year deal between 2006-07 and 2008-09. Source: Sportcal, Worldscreen, Reuters, 6th Jul 2007

* Sat.1 has become Premiere’s free-to-air broadcast partner for the Uefa Champions League for the next two seasons. Sat.1 will show 13 live Champions League matches next season, with the coverage produced by Premiere with the ‘Champions TV’ branding. German television rights for the tournament between 2006-07 and 08-09 were acquired by Premiere for €200 million. Having no free-to-air outlet of its own, Premiere first turned to DSF, to make 13 live matches available on its free-to-air platform during the 2006-07 tournament. Source: Sportcal, 6th Jul 2007

* US national network NBC has extended its deal to broadcast the Wimbledon. With the agreement, estimated at $12 million-a-year, NBC will continue to show the tournament up to the 2011 event. NBC has been paying $13 million-a-year for the rights but negotiated new terms after ratings fell by about 20% in 2006. ESPN, whose four-year deal, worth $6.4 million annually, expires this year, is in the process of negotiating a contract renewal with the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Source: Sportcal, 6th Jul 2007

* UK’s Five will launch David Beckham’s Soccer USA, a series chronicling the star as he embarks on his new career with the LA Galaxy Major League Soccer team. The weekly series will have exclusive access to the Beckhams, hearing first-hand what he thinks of his new life. The series of 45-minute episodes is produced by 19, Beckham’s management company. Regular features of the show will highlight other MLS players, their glamorous wives and how celebrities like Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg have taken to game. Source: Worldscreen, 6th Jul 2007


MORE NEWS

Asia/Broadcaster: AFC Expecting Record Viewership in Asian Cup

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is optimistic on a record audience for this year’s AFC Asian Cup through television broadcast in almost every country across the Asia-Pacific region. According to the AFC media section, live coverage on ESPN/Star Sports, ART (Middle East), Fox Sports (Australia), CCTV (China), TV Asahi (Japan), SBS Sports (South Korea) and, in the host countries through RCTI, RTM, Channel 7 and VTC, virtually reaches every corner of Asia.

All the matches will be broadcast live around Asia with coverage also available in Iraq on Aliraqia TV and ART/Al Jazeera. The AFC media release, published recently, inform that the championship will also be going mobile with fans in Hong Kong and South Korea being able to view video clips of match highlights and receive daily scores and player information on their hand phones through a service being made available by operators Hutchison and TU Media respectively.

Australia, whose squad is full of top players from European leagues, will be making their debut in the AFC Asian Cup finals and there will be keen interest in their progress. Japan will be bidding for a hat-trick of titles following their wins in Lebanon 2000 and China 2004. In the final, three years ago in Beijing, their victory over home team China attracted a record television audience. Source: Kolkata Newsline, 8th Jul 2007

Elsewhere/Rights: Sogecable and Mediapro in War of Words over Rights

Sogecable is threatening legal action against Mediapro after the media rights agency claimed that it had secured exclusive television rights to 39 of the 42 teams in Spain’s top two soccer leagues starting from the 2009-10 season. At a briefing last night attended by Ramon Calderon and Joan Laporta, the presidents of top clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, Roures agitated Sogecable by saying: ‘We will exploit the rights on our own.’

Sogecable currently holds a majority of Spanish soccer television rights through Audiovisual Sports, in which it has an 80-per-cent stake, and claims to have ‘numerous contracts with soccer clubs running through to 2013.’ In a statement Sogecable expressed its ‘firm commitment to defending the rights and interests’ which it legitimately holds and has declared that it will file criminal charges against Roures and any other party supporting Mediapro’s claims.

In a further twist, Roures yesterday denied the widely-held belief that Mediapro has a 20% stake in the rights holder, saying: ‘We are not in Audiovisual nor do we plan to be.’ Mediapro, which has a stake in commercial broadcaster La Sexta, previously announced that it had secured rights to the league matches of Real Madrid and Barcelona (from 2008-09) in long-term deals worth more than €1 billion ($1.4 billion).
La Sexta presently shows one live match per week as part of a three-year deal worth €150 million-a-season, which expires at the end of the 2008-09 season. The absence of top-flight soccer rights would be a major blow to Sogecable and jeopardise its position as the leading Spanish pay-television company. Its shares were down nearly 5% in early trading today. Source: Sportcal, Worldscreen, Rapid TV News, 6th Jul 2007