Tuesday, 14th August 2007

RESULTS

The Hindu, 14th Aug 2007
Anup Sridhar and Saina Nehwal cruised into singles second round but Shruti Kurian and Jwala Ghutta bowed out of women’s doubles at the World Badminton Championships on Monday. Sridhar has a tough challenge ahead as he faces Olympic Champion Taufiq Hidayat of Indonesia next. Saina will play either Juliane Schenk of Germany or Kristina Ludikova of Czech Republic. The country’s top women’s pairing of Jwala and Shruti went down fighting against Swedish pair of Elin Bergblom and Johanna Persson. The men’s National champion, Chetan Anand, was scheduled to launch his campaign with a first round encounter against ninth seed Sony Di Kuncoro of Indonesia on Tuesdsay. Trupti Murgunde was to play Pui Yin Yip of Hong Kong in women’s singles.

Badzine, 14th Aug 2007
The Japanese world number 17 pair of Tadashi Ohtsuka/Keita Masuda, who is unseeded at this World Championship, removed a local seed and effectively dashed Rexy Mainaky’s dream of an all-Malaysian men's doubles semi-final at the 16th World Championship. Under the guidance of former Malaysia coach and Korean men’s doubles legend Park Joo Bong, Ohtsuka/Masuda convincingly and passionately dismantled the world number 14 pair of Tan/Ong right from the beginning of the match.

The Star MY, 14th Aug 2007
For Malaysian men’s singles shuttler Mohd Hafiz Hashim, the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games brings good memories. He was a very confident player then. And yesterday, he had some of the same old feelings in his 21-8, 21-7 win in 22 minutes over New Zealand’s Stuart Gomez in the first match of his fourth appearance in the World Championships. Hafiz, who has come under fire for his lack of self-confidence, is gearing himself up for a possible third round match against Indonesian star Taufik Hidayat on Thursday. Hafiz will take on Ireland’s Scott Evans in the second round tomorrow while Taufik, who defeated Spaniard Jose Antonio Crespo 21-13, 21-7 in the first round yesterday, will take on Indian Anup Sridhar.

Vietnam News, 11th Aug 2007
Nguyen Tien Minh is Viet Nam’s sole representative at the 2007 World Badminton Championship, which is being held for the first time in public in Kuala Lumpur. Minh, who is ranked 46th in the world, received a bye next Monday’s first round, along with China’s Lin Dan and Bao Chunlai, England’s Pete Gade and Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia. Minh will play 16th seed Simon Santoso of Indonesia in his opening match. Minh was unlucky to come up against a seeded player in the first round, and has little chance of progressing further in the tournament, which wraps August 19. However, the Vietnamese champion will gain invaluable international competition experience and has a chance of making it into the World Badminton Federation’s top 40, who automatically qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.


NEWS FROM THE BADMINTON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2007

The Brunei Times, 14th Aug 2007
Olympic champion, Taufik Hidayat, took a swipe at the Badminton World Championships yesterday even before the first shuttle had been hit, branding the annual format boring. The Indonesian, known as badminton's bad boy for his occasional temper flares on court and outspoken views off, said the sport's governing body was wrong to change the showcase event from a biennial to an annual affair. "It used to be something the players look forward to every two years," the Indonesian, seeded eight here. "Imagine if World Cup football or the Olympics were held every year (instead of once every four years). They would lose much of their value," he said. "These world championships (in Kuala Lumpur) are all right because they will not be held in the Olympic year next year. But not after that."

The Star MY, 14th Aug 2007
THE Badminton World Federation (BWF) executive deputy president, Datuk Punch Gunalan, has defended their decision to make the World Championships an annual affair, saying that they need to look at the bigger picture like the commercial aspects of it. Punch was reacting to Olympics and Asian Games champion Taufik Hidayat, who said on Sunday that the annual championships had become boring. The championships, which offer no prize money, were introduced in 1977 and the first two editions were held three years apart before becoming a biennial affair. “We appreciate Taufik’s views on the sequence of the World Championships,” said Punch. “It’s a valid point. In fact, we have had such suggestions made to us in the past on whether we should host the championships yearly or biennially.

The New Straits Times MY, 14th Aug 2007
Badminton World Federation (BWF), in an attempt to bring some of the most memorable moments in badminton to the fans, have come up with seven DVDs which contains those moments from the Olympics, World Championships, Thomas Cup and other grand prix tournaments. Fans can purchase these collectors’ items for RM10 each at BWF’s temporary secretariat at Putra Stadium.

The New Straits Times MY, 14th Aug 2007
Acquiring profiles of shuttlers will no longer be a problem as the Badminton World Federation (BWF) is providing full details of the players, which started a few days ago, on its website. The players’ details and bio-data were collected by BWF staff and posted on its website www.internationalbadminton.org. The full players’ profile database will be available soon.


THIS WEEK

Mon to Thu, 13th to 16 Aug 2007
Badminton World Championships 2007: Preliminary Rounds

Fri, 17th Aug 2007
Badminton World Championships 2007: Quarter-finals

Sat, 18th Aug 2007
Badminton World Championships 2007: Semi-finals

Sun, 19th Aug 2007
Badminton World Championships 2007: Finals
AVP Crocs Tour 2007: Final Day – Boston Open
BTCC 2007: Race Day – Brands Hatch, UK


INFO BOX

7 Facts about Billiards
Source: Play 89 Billiards

* The origin of all billiard games is an outdoor game similar to croquet, used to be played in France on the 14th century. Due to the game popularity among royalty as well as common people and thanks to the capriciousness of the European weather, the billiard game was born as an indoor game. Billiard was played on a table covered with green felt in order to resemble the lawn on which the ancestor game was played.
* The billiard game was outlawed for many years and in different countries: still at the early days of billiard, the game was accused of being immoral. Therefore, this faulty activity and its devoted players were chased by the Church. On the early history of American billiards, when the term "pool room" was still a synonym for horse betting parlor, the game was illegal in many states. Even Thomas Jefferson had to hide a billiard table in his residency.
* Nevertheless, the first world championship in sports history was the 1873 World Billiards Championship. William Cook won the title. John Roberts was the runner up.
* Other historic celebrities who had owned a billiard table include King Louis XI and Mary the Queen of Scots (whose billiard table cloth was used by her assassins as cerements). Captain Mingaud, whose responsible for inventing the leather cue tip, had a billiard table in his prison cell.
* The first public pool hall in history was built in England during the end of the 18th century. The pool hall featured one billiard table with one pocket. The biggest pool hall in history was built in Detroit in the 1920s; it featured more than 100 tables in addition to an exhibition room attached to a 250-seats theatre hall.
* The term "billiard" is derived from the French word for mace – billiart. Before the cue stick was invented (the term "cue" also has French origins. Queue, is tail in French), a wooden mace with a handle, similar to a tail, was used to shoot the balls. For a long period after the cue stick invention, only men were allowed to use it; women billiard players were automatically accused of misusing the cue and ripping the table cloth.
* The first woman who won in World Billiard Champion was actually a man. The woman billiard champion, who was known by the name of Frances Anderson and for outplaying (almost) every man and woman in both the American and European billiards world throughout the first centuries of the 20th century, came out as a man that was born under the name of Orie and created quite a stir on the 1920s billiards circle.


SPORTS SHORTS

* An opinion poll in the digital version of Marca shows most "madridista" fans are pleased with signing Wesley Sneijder from Dutch side Ajax. By mid-morning on Monday 26,914 votes had been cast in the poll, reflecting interest provoked by the signing of the Dutch international. To the question "Do you think that Sneijder is what Real Madrid need?", 72.8% have voted "yes" and 27.2% "no". There has been criticism of the cost of the transfer, but Real fans seem to see the necessity for a midfield general after poor pre-season performances. Real paid Ajax €25.5mil euros (US$34.93mil) for the 23 year-old midfielder, who will sign a five-year contract. Source: Earth Times, 13th Aug 2007

* Hong Kong’s i-Cable saw its pay-TV revenues fall 14% for the six months ended June 30, hit by “lower yield subscriptions” and higher ad sales in the comparable period due to the soccer World Cup. Despite subscribers increasing by 43,000 or 6% in the first half to 830,000, revenues were down to HK$827 million, from HK$966 million for the same period in 2006. But the pay-TV unit still saw operating profit increase by 2% to HK$100 million. Operating costs decreased by 16% to HK$728 million, largely due to decreases in programming costs and marketing and sale spending. Source: Rapid TV News, 13th Aug 2007

* i-Cable has launched On Your Mark, a tabloid-sized paper featuring news of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, to be distributed free alongside Beijing Business Today. The 24-page newspaper with an initial circulation of over 100,000 copies will publish weekly after which it will increase publication frequency to twice a week from February 2008 and eventually daily in the final months of the countdown to the event in May to September next year. The paper is a joint venture between i-Cable Enterprises, a wholly-owned by i-Cable Communications, and the Beijing Daily Group, owner of Beijing Business Today. Source: Marketing Daily, 13th Aug 2007

* The Hockey Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held in Lahore, Pakistan in December 2007. At recent meetings, the International Hockey Federation considered the effect the unrest in Pakistan on the tournament. The FIH will consult with the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) and participating teams before a decision is taken not to hold the tournament in Pakistan. Australia has already withdrawn from the tournament. A decision on a replacement for Australia will be made after consulting the reserve countries. No further decisions are expected before early September 2007. Source: Sports e-Media, Sportcal, 13th Aug 2007

* The English Premier League has agreed a deal with British Forces Broadcasting Service allowing live coverage of Premier League matches free of charge. Helen Williams, controller of BFBS TV, said: ‘The Premier League has exempted us from land rights for the next three-year period, with the express wish that the money saved – around a quarter of a million pounds for TV and radio rights – be used to provide more and better services for the troops. Free coverage will be available on British ships through IMG Media, the television arm of the international sports agency. Source: Sportcal, 13th Aug 2007

* IPTV sports channel, Cycling.tv, partners with Unipublic, organisers and rights holders of La Vuelta Ciclista A Espana 2007, to stream the third of the three ‘Grand Tours’ live online on the Vuelta Channel on www.cycling.tv. This year Cycling.tv is offering free live coverage at up to 400 kbs in the Free2view channel. Full subscription to the Vuelta is €21 - under €1 per day, and a Day Pass is €5 per day. For €21 viewers will receive live streaming up to 1200 kbs, "as live" re-run available in video on demand 1 hour after each stage, and on demand highlights up 1800kbs. Source: Sport Business, 13th Aug 2007

* Google is set to stop selling and renting video content on Google Video, a year and a half since the service launched. Last January, Google Video launched its online marketplace with partners such as CBS, NBC and ITN. The move sees the company, which owns YouTube, shifting its focus to an ad-supported strategy that offers content for free. Paid content will cease being available on the site as of August 15. Content purchased from the site will no longer be viewable as of that date. Google is offering refunds in the forms of credits to be used on its online payment service, Checkout. Source: Worldscreen, 13th Aug 2007


MORE NEWS

Singapore/General: Businesses in Sports Industry up 15% Since 2004

The number of companies in the sports industry has grown by 15% since 2004, said the Singapore Sports Council. This is in line with the Committee on Sporting Singapore's target of doubling the industry, from the estimated S$600 million in 2001 to more than a billion dollars by 2010. To help companies that are engaged in the sports business to network, the Singapore Sports Council launched a sports directory in 2004. And since then, the listing has grown from 2,264 to 2,613 firms.

Oon Jin Teik, CEO of Singapore Sports Council, said: "Our role is to build the industry and the industry is not the government. The industry is capitalised by the government, but the opportunities have to be created. When the opportunity is created, we hope that the party would step forward." One party that has heeded the call is Enterprise Sports Group (ESG), a small homegrown company with big plans and big ambitions. ESG has been involved in mega sports events such as the Standard Chartered Marathon and the GE Women 10km Run.

Terence Khoo, Managing Director of Enterprise Sports Group, said: "We have had talks with regional federations and regional bodies, to see how we can use the Singapore template and our experiences to help enrich and grow some of the Asian properties." And helping ESG cast its net wider is Sesdaq-listed communications design company Kingsmen, which has taken a 30 percent stake in the firm.

Benedict Soh, Executive Chairman of Kingsmen, said: "ESG joining Kingsmen is not just for Singapore because we have 16 offices, including Singapore – 15 in Asia and one in the Middle East, Dubai. "Therefore, the opportunity of growth is not just here, it is all over Asia, including the Middle East. I think there will be huge compounded growth."

In fact, for the sports industry in Singapore alone, companies can expect a 25% growth, according to sports marketing giant IMG, which is expanding its Singapore operations to prepare for more business. "One of the areas we are expanding in Singapore is our television operations, but it is going to service the region and we are also adding head count in some other areas such as our consulting division," said IMG Singapore's Managing Director, Mark Adams. IMG also feels that smaller sports companies can create niche markets for themselves and complement the big players. Source: Channel News Asia, 12th Aug 2007

India/General: South Asian Cricket Boards Stand Firm against Rebel League

Cricket authorities in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have insisted that players will be barred from their domestic competitions should they sign up to take part in the Indian Cricket League, a rebel Twenty20, limited overs venture. The opposition has been led by the Board of Control for Cricket in India president Sharad Pawar who dismissed calls from some politicians to work alongside the ICL.

Describing the ICL as 'an out-and-out commercial venture,' he warned the players targeted with lucrative contracts by its organisers that 'if they choose to play for the ICL, it is only fair that they should not expect benefits and privileges from the BCCI.'
Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Kangadaran Mathivanan said that any such players 'would not be considered to play even domestic cricket, or hold administrative roles,' and extended the ban to any umpires or commentators who work with the ICL.

Pakistan Cricket Board chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi issued an almost-identical threat saying: 'We will not stop anyone [joining the ICL] and we can't do that, but the PCB has already announced its decision of banning such cricketers.' However there has been support for the ICL in other quarters, with Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the vice-president of India's opposition Bharatiya Janata Party supporting its challenge to the BCCI.

He told PTI: 'With the ICL, the bureaucratic attitude as well as the monopoly of the BCCI will break. Nowhere in the world does any association monopolise a game," Muk. The federal railways minister Lalu Prasad has also offered organisers use of ministry-owned stadia to stage matches. Source: Sportcal, 13th Aug 2007

India/General: India Inc. Deals With New Ball Game

They don’t sign on the dotted line in boardrooms any longer. Corporates across big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad now prefer to be in their tees and cargoes to discuss business over indoor cricket, soccer, hockey or even golf. If soccer-crazy Bengal-prompted Space Circle Clubs and Resorts gave Kolkata its second indoor arena last month, Mumbai-based golfers are gleeful over OptiGolf that would keep them out of the sun and yet allow them to play their master strokes.

The financial capital of the country is also expecting to attract corporates to its upcoming indoor arenas offering cricket, soccer and basketball. “Emulating the West, India Inc has now come out of their mundane board rooms and prefer to strike a cord with each other over a game of indoor cricket, soccer or golf.

This works fine with them considering they don’t have to sweat it out to do business in an informal environment,” MD of Neo International Sports Academy, Mushtaq Khan, told ET. Having joined hands with Australian International Sports Academy, Mr Khan will pump in $150 million in the next two years to set up 11 indoor sports facilities offering cricket, soccer, netball and golf across Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bangalore.

The concept itself is so enticing that two of India’s biggest corporate houses based in Mumbai and Surat have sought virtual golf installations for their headquarters. “They are keen to have the facility where they can hold discussions over the game,” Mr Khan said. Source: The Economic Times, 13th Aug 2007

Elsewhere/Rights: Setanta Steps up BSkyB Soccer Rights War with Tiscali Deal

Tiscali, the Italy-based company that is the UK’s fourth-largest broadband provider has signed a deal with Setanta, the international pay-television operator, to carry Setanta’s live coverage of English soccer’s top-tier Premier League on its Tiscali TV broadband television service. The deal is Setanta’s latest move in its bid to challenge the supremacy of British Sky Broadcasting, the UK’s News Corporation-controlled cable and satellite broadcaster, in the sports television market.

Setanta, which claimed that last month that 2.5 million people in the UK and Ireland have access to its sports coverage, agreed to pay £392 million ($) for the rights to 46 live Premier League matches per season for the next three years and is seeking to challenge the long-held domination of BSkyB, which has built up a subscriber base of 8.5 million. It had already signed deals for cable group Virgin Media and internet broadcaster BT Vision to carry its coverage.

Setanta’s coverage of the Premier League began yesterday, the first Sunday of the season, with the match between Aston Villa and Liverpool. Trevor East, Setanta’s director of sport, told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: ‘The biggest obstacle to overcome is trying to create clarity for the general public about the confusing line-up of opportunities to watch sport. Our message is simple – we’ve got a third of the Premier League games and you can get them on any platform.’

East added that Setanta’s ‘platform-neutral’ approach was direct threat to BSkyB, saying: ‘Sky are in a difficult position because one of their main jobs is to sell [satellite] dished. It doesn’t fit their business model to start putting all their best product onto another platform.’

BSkyB may have lost its monopoly of live Premier League action, but will still show 92 matches per season, including many of the most attractive fixtures, and 242 delayed games. It can also boast comprehensive coverage of the Uefa Champions League, the top European clubs competition, both domestic cup competitions, the second-tier Coca-Cola Football League and international soccer. Source: Sportcal, Times Online, 13th Aug 2007

Elsewhere/Rights: Media Boss Urges Rights Holders to Unite Against YouTube

Robert Waterman, head of online boxing portal SecondsOut.com, is urging other sports rights holders to join the FA Premier League’s class action against YouTube. Waterman’s SecondsOut.com joined the Rugby Football League, the Finnish Football League, the French Football League and the French Tennis Federation as well as several music associations, including the US National Music Publishers Association, in a legal fight to protect their content from exploitation on YouTube.

Waterman says that smaller rights owners should not be deterred from taking action which may help determine the media rights landscape for years to come. SecondsOut.com – through parent company Knockout Entertainment – is seeking to join the parties taking part in a Class Action against YouTube in the US courts. They claim they are being damaged because content which they have paid to own, is being made available free on YouTube, seriously compromising their business model.

Robert Waterman said: "This is not about size but principle. As the diversity of parties in this action demonstrates, the damage inflicted by the illegal broadcast of content on YouTube is not restricted to major leagues such as the FA Premier League which is acting to safeguard its own position and that of its rights holding broadcasters around the world.

Secondout.com became aware of the problem earlier this year. Having acquired exclusive rights to cover a world heavyweight championship fight in many territories worldwide, its pay per view operation was compromised by round-by-round coverage from German broadcaster RTL posted on YouTube. Germany was one of the few territories to which SecondsOut.com was not the exclusive rights-holder. Source: Sport Business, 13th Aug 2007

Elsewhere/Rights: 2007 Badminton World Championships Found Only on WCSN

World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) will provide coverage of the 2007 Badminton World Championships, taking place August 13 - 19 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Fans can watch WCSN TV or log on to http://www.wcsn.com/ to watch on-demand coverage as the world's leading players compete in the largest badminton tournament of the year. (All badminton video on WCSN is available for viewing in the United States and its territories, including Guam, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.)

To date, China has been the most successful country in the sport and continues to have a stronghold, with top-seeded athletes in all five badminton events. The men's competition this year will be intense, as defending champion and top ranked Lin Dan (China) will compete against his greatest rival and hometown favorite Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia). Along with coverage of the World Championships, fans can also watch Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei battle it out in the Sudirman Cup, with highlights and on-demand video available at www.WCSN.com/badminton.

Badminton enthusiasts can follow every minute of the action online with on-demand coverage, via a $4.95 monthly subscription, plus free access to results, video highlights, breaking news, behind-the-scenes features, and more. Visit http://www.wcsn.com/ for detailed schedules. Source: Sports e-Media, 13th Aug 2007

Elsewhere/General: World Squash Federation Denies London 2012 Campaign

The World Squash Federation today dismissed a report that its president, Pakistan's Jahangir Khan, is pushing for the sport’s inclusion in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The sports for the 2012 games are already decided and the WSF told Sportcal.com that the organisation was therefore focusing ‘100 per cent’ on the 2016 games, where it hopes that squash will be added to the sports programme.

A news agency report originating from Pakistan had suggested that Khan was to push for squash’s Olympic inclusion in 2012 when he visits the UK in December to receive an honorary doctorate of philosophy. Squash could only be added to the London programme if it were adopted as a discipline of an existing Olympic sport. Such a move is being followed by skateboarding authorities who are seeking ‘adoption’ by the UCI, cycling’s world governing body.

The WSF is to meet soon to plan squash’s campaign for inclusion in the 2016 games, and will look in particular at the repercussions of decisions made on the Olympic programme during last month’s International Olympic Committee session in Guatemala. Changes were unanimously approved for the IOC to establish a core programme of 26 sports for the 2016 Olympics, which would drop to 25 for the 2020 Olympics. The IOC will then have the option to add sports for each games, up to a limit of 28.

The WSF campaign will culminate in October 2009 when members of the International Olympic Committee will vote on the sports programme for the 2016 Olympics. Squash campaigned unsuccessfully to be added to the London programme of sports, alongside golf, karate, roller sports and rugby union. Baseball and softball were dropped. Source: Sportcal, 13th Aug 2007


ARTICLES, COMMENTS & OPINIONS

South Koreans Want Their M-TV!
Article by Moon Ihlwan in Business Week, 3rd Aug 2007

Mobile TV programming on cell phones and other digital devices is hot in South Korea, though turning the mania into profits is devilishly tough.

While Europe and the U.S. are trying to sort out technology standards and spectrum availability for mobile TV, a digitally advanced South Korea is watching soap operas, sitcoms, and news programs on the go. Some 7 million consumers (or one in every seven residents) regularly watch mobile TV programming just two years after Korea became the world's first country to broadcast such content to cell phones. "Pretty soon, phones doubling as TVs will be as ubiquitous as camera phones now," says Song Sang Hoon, director in charge of mobile TV at Seoul's Ministry of Information & Communication.

Indeed, the small cell-phone screen hasn't hampered mobile TV's spread in Korea. Fast technological progress has improved the quality of the video. And although more than half of mobile TV viewers use handsets, a growing number of people are watching programs through personal multimedia players, music players, handheld PCs, and increasingly, navigation systems mounted on cars.
Korean Government Took the Lead

The problem is no Korean operator is making money. Worse, they still need to pour more money into building networks to provide seamless television delivery. The case of Korea, which often serves as a test bed for new gizmos and services, could offer a few lessons to countries that are just rolling out mobile TV.

First, government initiatives played an important role. In Europe, for example, a fierce battle is still being waged over which mobile TV technology will be used to beam programming to cell phones. The European Union has already recognized three standards—DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting for Handheld) promoted by Finland's Nokia (NOK), MediaFLO by U.S. outfit Qualcomm (QCOM), and DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) by South Korea. Availability of spectrum could be an even bigger headache in Europe (see BusinessWeek.com, 7/31/07, "The Race for a Mobile TV Standard").

In contrast, the Korean government was quick to allocate spectrum and award licenses to six broadcasters in 2005 for terrestrial DMB, and to another for satellite-based DMB. That was shortly after the state-funded Electronics & Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) developed the mobile TV technology. Then Korean handset makers Samsung Electronics (SSNGY) and LG Electronics (LGEPF) lost no time in rolling out TV/cell-phone combos.
Free Service Helped Kick-Start the Craze

Then there was the controversial decision on pricing. The authorities allowed TU Media, a unit of SK Telecom (SKM), Korea's largest mobile carrier, to charge $14 a month (it was later lowered to $12) for its satellite-based service offering 16 video channels and 20 audio channels. But they required six terrestrial DMB operators to beam everything from soccer games and sitcoms to the evening news free of charge. "There's no question this free service was vital for mobile TV to take off," says Lee Jung Gu, a director at the ministry.

Operators, however, blame policymakers for their financial difficulties. "We are bleeding red ink because we have difficulty in increasing the subscriber base as we are racing against free services," says senior manager Heo Jae Young at TU Media. The company has 1.2 million paid subscribers, while TU says it needs at least 2.5 million users to break even in operation, even before recouping its $435 million investment in satellites and networks.

No one questions that free service helped accelerate the spread. "But I don't think low-priced monthly fees or a one-off initial charge would have made that much difference," says Eom Min Hyung, DMB project leader at KBS, or Korea Broadcasting System, one of the six terrestrial operators, each of which has piled up an accumulated loss of between $22 million and $33 million. "An initial charge of a few dollars would have speeded up network development, which will serve users better," he says.
Massive Investments Are Still Required

Sure. commuters in Seoul can watch TV news in the subway on their way to work, thanks to so-called gap fillers that relay signals underground. But that's because of a deal struck among broadcasters, mobile-phone operators, and cell-phone manufacturers. Agents for the mobile carriers agreed to collect an additional $3.30 from each buyer of a phone-TV combo to finance the building of a subway network for TV signals. Broadcastsers, in return, agreed to carry ads for phone manufacturers—and they want a similar arrangement for further infrastructure projects.

Government officials point out mobile TV is a nascent industry requiring massive initial investment, and new entrants would have to endure losses for the first few years. Industry executives argue that the investment requirement is exactly why service fees are necessary, at least until they develop sufficient economies of scale to attract advertising. They add that the fees should be affordable to avoid turning off consumers. The six terrestrial DMB operators together pulled in only $1.8 billion through advertising last year.

Perhaps most important is the need for cooperation between mobile-phone companies and broadcasters. As the bulk of mobile TV viewers are expected to be handset users, broadcasters need marketing help from carriers who fear TV programming could cannibalize on their video business that they hoped would increase traffic over telecom networks. "What's essential is to find a formula to share profits," says Eom at KBS.

To kick-start the alliance, Korean broadcasters relied on smaller carriers who used mobile TV as an incentive to get SK subscribers to defect. SK, with over half the market share, later cooperated with broadcasters as well. Eom cites services requiring two-way traffic, such as video-on-demand and mobile-TV shopping, as a win-win solution.

Despite early hardship, broadcasters remain confident they could eventually build profitable businesses from TV on the go. KBS says its recent traffic and travel information service offering such data as congestion spots, travel time, and parking availability to drivers is turning out to be a profitable project. ETRI expects the number of Korean mobile TV users to rise to 24 million, or half the population, by 2010, when the service will generate $3.2 billion worth of production in handsets and other equipment. "I think mobile TV will serve as a new growth engine," says ETRI senior researcher Byun Sang Kyu.