Tuesday, 28th August 2007

RESULTS

U.S. Open 2007 – Day 1

Men’s Singles Results Highlights
* Roger Federer SUI (1) def. Scoville Jenkins USA 6-3 6-2 6-4
* Max Mirnyi BLR def. Marcos Baghdatis CYP (18) 6-3 7-5 3-6 7-6 (8-6)
* Nikolay Davydenko RUS (4) def. Jesse Levine USA 6-4 6-0 6-1
* Andy Murray GBR (19) def. Pablo Cuevas URU 6-2 6-3 6-0
* Lee Hyung-Taik KOR def. Dominik Hrbaty SVK 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-5 6-7 (6-8) 6-4
* Richard Gasquet FRA (13) def. Sergio Roitman ARG 7-5 6-1 6-2
* Tommy Haas GER (10) def. Steve Darcis BEL 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 6-3 6-4

Women’s Singles Results Highlights
* Justine henin-Hardenne (1) def. Julia Goerges GER 6-0 6-3
* Jelena Jankovic (3) SRB def. Jarmila Gajdosova SVK 6-2 7-6 (7-2)
* Venus Williams USA (12) def. Kira Nagy HUN 6-2 6-1
* Ana Ivanovic (5) SRB def. Aiko Nakamura JPN 6-1 6-1
* Sybille Bammer AUT def. TamarineTanasugarn THA 6-4 6-4
* Ai Sugiyama JPN (28) Andreja Klepac SLO 6-3 6-1
* Karin Knapp ITA def. Chan Yung-Jan TPE 6-2 6-0


COURTSIDE: AT THE US OPEN TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2007

Source: US Open Official, 14th Aug 2007
Instant replay makes a return to the 2007 US Open following successful debut last year. The 2006 US Open was the first Grand Slam to introduce electronic review technology and on-court player challenges. This breakthrough for the sport was developed to improve officiating for players, while increasing the interest and excitement for in-stadium fans and television viewers. Once a player challenges, the official review will be provided simultaneously to the television broadcast and in-stadium video boards, allowing the players, chair umpire, on-site fans and television viewers the opportunity to see the live results of a player challenge.

Source: US Open Official, 20th Aug 2007
For the first time, American Express Cardmembers will be able to check out a free personal television, dubbed “American Express Vision”, to watch live television coverage from any of five courts, as well as the network broadcasts of the US Open by CBS and USA Network. Fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium or on the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center grounds will be able to watch TV coverage from the outer courts, view instant replays, and access draws and player bios when and how they want, on their personal TV. The hand-held units are free for American Express cardholders.

Source: Daily Times, 28th August 2007
Jelena Jankovic and Nikolay Davydenko, both Grand Slam semi-finalists here a year ago, advanced to the second round of the US Open on Monday with straight-set victories. Serbian third seed Jankovic, nagged by a second-set problem with her left shoe, won her women’s best 68th match of the year but needed seven match points to finally subdue Slovakian Jarmila Gajdosova 6-2, 7-6 (7/2) after 80 minutes. Russian fourth seed Davydenko defeated Jesse Levine 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 in one hour and 40 minutes, taking full advantage of eight double faults and 47 unforced errors by the US wild card entrant. Davydenko, 26, will next face the winner of a later match between German Nicolas Kiefer or American Vince Spadea while fellow French Open semi-finalist Jankovic, 22, next meets Belarus’ Olga Govortsova who defeated Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.

Source: Yahoo! Sports, 27th Aug 2007
Venus Williams broke the main-draw record for the fastest women's serve with a 129mph bullet as she blasted past Hungarian qualifier Kira Nagy 6-2 6-1 in the first round of the U.S. Open on Monday. The Wimbledon champion, looking to win back-to-back grand slam titles, overpowered Nagy in just 54 minutes to set up a meeting with Iona Raluca Olaru of Romania. The 29-year-old Nagy, appearing in only her second grand slam match, seven years after her first, looked overawed as Williams roared to a 5-0 lead. The Hungarian broke Williams and held for 5-2 but the American served out and then breezed through the second set to advance. Williams's 129mph serve broke her own main-draw record, set at this year's French Open in Paris.

Source: Yahoo! Sports, 27th Aug 2007
About the only thing Roger Federer was in danger of losing at the U.S. Open on Monday was the coin toss to determine who served first. And once Scoville Jenkins called heads and the flip came up tails, Federer won that, too. Trying for his fourth straight championship at Flushing Meadows and 12th Grand Slam title overall, Federer overwhelmed the 319th-ranked qualifier 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Source: Reuters, 27th Aug 2007
Top seed Justine Henin cruised into the second round of the U.S. Open on Monday with a 6-0 6-3 victory over German qualifier Julia Goerges. The world number one, the winner in 2003 and runner-up to Maria Sharapova last year, eased through in just 62 minutes. World number 145 Goerges, who was making her grand-slam debut, fought hard in the second set but Henin broke twice to advance, clinching victory with a winning backhand return. Henin will now play another qualifier, Tsvetana Pironkova, of Bulgaria in the second round.Apart from her victory in 2003 and her run to the final last year, Henin has never been past the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.


THIS WEEK

Mon to Sun, 27th Aug to 1st Sep 2007
US Open Tennis Championships 2007: Early Rounds

Sun, 19th Aug 2007
AVP Crocs Tour 2007: Final Day – Cincinnati Open
DTM 2007: Race Day – Nurburgring, Germany
BTCC 2007: Race Day – Knockhill, UK


SPORTS SHORTS

* China's CCTV5 will become a 24-hr Olympic channel starting 1st January 2008. It will become the major media window on preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At the International Sports TV Forum, the executive director of CCTV5, Jiang Heping, presented general broadcasting plans on how the channel would cover the upcoming Olympic Games. It includes pre-Olympic programmes, coverage plans during the Olympics and other follow-up programmes after the Olympic Games. Meanwhile, other CCTV channels will cooperate with CCTV5 to meet viewer demands. According to Jiang, the sports channel will focus on the Chinese Olympic team's performance. Source: CCTV English, ABU, 27th Aug 2007

* The interim government of Fiji has approved free-to-air television broadcast licences for three more companies. The three companies are MAI TV Fiji Limited, Pacific Broadcasting Services Limited and Talei Vision. In a statement, the government said this brings the total free-to-air television broadcast licences issued to four to date. Channel 2 Fiji Limited has already been issued a licence. Interim Commerce Minister Taito Waradi said the issuance of the licences was in line with interim government's policy to facilitate competition in the television industry. Source: ABU Official, 23rd Aug 2007

* Japan's Rakuten Inc, embroiled in a takeover battle with TBS-Japan, reaffirmed intentions to boost its stake in the broadcaster to about 21%. Rakuten Deputy President Atsushi Kunishige said the proposed acquisition of additional TBS shares is aimed at making the broadcaster an equity-method affiliate of the Internet firm. The advisory panel for TBS, tasked with determining the legitimacy of exercising anti-takeover measures against Rakuten, is expected to conclude in mid-September whether the Internet firm is an "abusive" buyer that could damage its corporate value. Raising its stake in TBS to more than 20% will allow Rakuten, the largest TBS shareholder, to reflect the broadcaster's earnings in its consolidated accounting procedure in proportion to the size of its shareholding. Source: ABU Official, 22nd Aug 2007

* Shin Broadband Internet in Thailand has acquired satellite, HD and video on demand rights for Bennett’s entire library of programming, the Los Angeles - based distributor said earlier this month. Bennett did not say how many hours the deal involved. The library includes Bikini Destinations, Destination X, Xotic Xtreme, The Wild Side, Bikini Life Adventures, Beyond the List, Girls Fight Club, Renegade Road, Hawaiian Tropic Spring Break, Best of Hawaiian Tropic Girls, and Stag. In Korea, Bennett has sold DMB rights for Bikini Destinations, Beyond the List and Bikini Life Adventures to mobile broadcast platform TU Media. Source: Content Asia, 27th Aug 2007

* China’s IPTV users reached 736,000 by June this year, up more than 20% from the previous quarter, according to research company Analysys International. Henan, Shanghai and Heilongjiang were the top three areas, with more than 100,000 IPTV users. UTStarcom, Vcom and ZTE were the top three vendors in the market. New figures from Ovum and the GSM Association also say China is set to pass 500 million cellular connections by September this year. China Mobile leads with market share of nearly 70%, according to the “Wireless Intelligence” report. China adds about 19 million cellular connections every quarter, with market penetration at 35% in the second quarter of this year.

* Maxis, the Malaysian mobile sister company of Astro All Asia Networks, plans a DVB-H service in the first quarter of 2008 but the service is contingent on Astro winning spectrum from the government. Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Commission will award spectrum to players in the mobile and television sphere shortly. But whether Astro will be awarded enough spectrum to offer a service nationwide is unknown. Maxis has completed a three-month trial outside of Kuala Lumpur. Six television channels and three radio stations were offered to 100 users. Source: Rapid TV News, 27th Aug 2007

* China Mobile has been granted a license to operate mobile telecom networks in Pakistan's northern area, Xinhua Net reported. The company's Pakistan unit, Paktel, already has 3,000 base stations in the country. After several failed attempts, China Mobile bought Paktel, formerly owned by Luxembourg-based operator Millicom, early this year. The operation license is seen as important for China Mobile's communications network along the highway connecting China's Xinjiang region with northern Pakistan. Source: China Econ. Review, ABU, 27th Aug 2007

* The Board of Control for Cricket in India has agreed a reported Rs1.73 billion ($42.3 million) deal with World Sport Group for ground and title naming rights to 55 coming internationals. World Sport Group outbid Nimbus Communications and the Percept agency to win the rights for 55 test matches and one-day internationals until March 2010. The fourth bidder, 21st Century Media, was disqualified from the process after failing to submit the necessary documents. The rights for other matches held by the BCCI, including Twenty20 internationals to be played in India and domestic cricket, are 'still being negotiated' according to the BCCI marketing committee. Lalit Modi, BCCI vice-president and marketing committee chief executive, said WSG's winning bid was over three times the value of the last contracted bid of Rs10 million per match. Source: Sportcal, 27th Aug 2007

* The Delhi High Court today issued an interim order staying the termination of contracts between the Board of Control for Cricket in India and those players who have joined the Indian Cricket League. In the interest of cricket, it ruled that no action could be taken against players, adding that government organisations could not terminate or initiate disciplinary proceedings against the players. The court has said that the contracts would remain in place and no threats or intimidation should be issued against the players. The court heard the BCCI argument that the contracts with the players were exclusive in nature and stopped them from playing for anyone else. However, the court held that the argument would be heard later and in the, meantime, no action should be taken. Source: Indian Television, 27th Aug 2007

* The president of French pay-television Canal Plus, Bertrand Méheut, has warned that he is unwilling to match existing annual rights fee of €600 million ($819.6 million) for the French Ligue 1. Canal Plus' Ligue 1 contract expires with the 2007-08 season and the French professional soccer league, LFP, is looking to negotiate a new deal in November for three seasons from 2008-09 onwards, but Méheut has said that the broadcaster will not match the value of its current contract. He said that soccer had become less important for Canal Plus, admitting the broadcaster had been 'excessively dependant on football at the beginning,' but was now looking to concentrate on its six editorial mainstays - sport, cinema, fiction, documentaries, news and entertainment. Source: Sportcal, 27th Aug 2007

* English football, bankrolled by more than £2billion worth of TV deals, is facing a serious problem from pirate websites offering live football for free. The largest threat comes from highly sophisticated footballstreaming.info, for its download offerings of live games from the Premier League and football from around the globe. New rebel sites are popping up all the time, but footballstreaming, which doesn't require a subscription to join, is reckoned to be the most comprehensive website attraction for armchair supporters. The issue has became a major concern to the football authorities, whose financial health and that of their clubs depend wholly on those bonanza TV contracts, as well as the TV networks who want to protect their expensively purchased rights. Source: The Daily Mail UK, 26th Aug 2007

* UEFA president Michel Platini says he would like domestic cup winners in Europe to have a spot in the Champions League. Platini's new proposal is expected to be endorsed during the meeting of UEFA on Thursday. 16 cup winners will enter a separate qualifying competition to run parallel to the regular qualifiers for the group stage. Platini had wanted to reduce the maximum number of Champions League spots from four to three but the idea was opposed by the most powerful leagues and clubs in Europe. He now introduced the domestic cup option as a compromise. Only the winners of the domestic cup would qualify, and if the cup winner had already qualified through their league position the available spot would be granted to the next-placed club in the league. Platini's plan is likely to get the support of the English FA and Italian Federation. Source: EUFootball.biz, 27th Aug 2007

* Google is believed to be a fortnight away from the worldwide launch of its much-awaited Google Phone (Gphone) and has started talks with service providers in India for an exclusive launch on one of their networks. Talks are believed to be on-going with Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar, respectively India’s first and third-largest mobile telephony operators, and state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam. Sources said a simultaneous launch across the US and Europe is expected, and announcements would be sent to media firms in India and other parts of the world. US regulatory approval is the only hurdle that Google is waiting to cross. Google plans to invest $7-8 billion for its global telephony foray. Source: Business Standard, 24th Aug 2007


MORE NEWS

Hong Kong/The Philippines/Rights: CASBAA Cows Hong Kong Pirates

Regional pay-TV body, the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa), celebrated its biggest anti-signal theft fight ever in mid-August when three Hong Kong bars agreed to an out-of-court settlement for illegal broadcasts. The bars also agreed to issue public apologies. Meanwhile, the legal nightmare in the Philippines lives on, with the courts for the moment siding with cable operators in the argument over whether satellite channels should be protected – or not, as the case may be.

In July, Casbaa attempted to stop a Philippines appellate court from dropping intellectual property action against local cable operator, Telmarc Cable Corp. The motion for reconsideration was filed at the Court of Appeals in Manila following a decision to nullify search warrants issued against Telmarc. At the time, Casbaa said the warrants were issued based on “real probable cause of illegal and unauthorised decoding, rebroadcast and performance of copyrighted programmes” from major regional content providers such as Discovery Asia, HBO, AXN, CNN International, Star Group, National Geographic and ESPN Star Sports.

Casbaa has declined to comment on its latest battle in the Philippines, citing ongoing legal action. Casbaa chief executive, Simon Twiston Davies, said, however, that the Hong Kong win after a year of legal proceedings set a new benchmark for copyright cases. The Hong Kong settlements came after a Hong Kong judge derided and dismissed arguments from five bars about unauthorized broadcasts of the World Cup football tournament in June last year.

Three of the bars – Carnegies, the Bridge and the Coyote Bar & Grill – settled out of court with FIFA and local pay-TV operator Hong Kong Cable, which brought the action. Settlement figures were not disclosed, but are likely to have run into seven figures to cover costs. Two cases remain. These are against The White Stag and Devil’s Advocate. The bars argued that FIFA and
HK Cable had failed to supply sufficient evidence of exclusive distribution rights for Hong Kong. The judge threw out the argument, saying the bars had provided no reason to doubt the licensing arrangements. Source: Content Asia, 27th Aug 2007

India/Broadcaster: Ten Sports’ Campaign Takes Viewers on Tour

As part of its constant endeavour to grab eyeballs and viewership, Ten Sports has now brought forth a mega campaign that will span across six months and six different international locations. The ‘Idea & Ten Sports On Tour’ mega campaign will commence from August 25, 2007 and will continue till February 2008. The interactive contest is centred around each month’s most popular sporting event on the channel. Winners will get a chance to watch their favourite stars live at various venues worldwide.

The contest events range across a variety of sports, these include the WWE Smackdown to be held in Paris in September, followed by Moto GP in Malaysia in October, UEFA Champions League in Europe in November, the Sri Lanka versus England match in Sri Lanka in December, the South Africa versus West Indies match to be played in South Africa in January, and the Dubai Horse Racing event to be held in Dubai in February.

According to Rukin Kizilbash, General Manager, Taj TV India, “This is our most ambitious integrated marketing initiative till date. Never before has any sports broadcaster held a contest where winners get the opportunity to go to six different venues to see six different major live sporting events. We got a good response from Idea, Tata Sky and McDonald’s, who are patterning with us for this initiative.”

Viewers need to tune in to Ten Sports every day starting from August 25 till February next year, and answer a simple question based on that month’s sporting event. Every month lucky winners will travel to fascinating locations to see the sports event.

This contest is the latest addition to Tata Sky’s interactive services, and the ‘red button’ feature will enable its subscribers to participate in it. McDonald’s and Idea will have separate entry mechanisms, and the total number of winners will be 24. Every month, one winner each will be sent by McDonald’s and Tata Sky, while two winners will be sent by the partnership of Idea and Ten Sports.

Said Vikram Mehra, Chief Marketing Officer, Tata Sky, “Tata Sky subscribers have been enjoying a number of exclusive interactive applications with unique contests and promotions adding to their viewing experience. This contest will now be the latest addition to Tata Sky’s interactive services and will be available to its subscribers through the hugely popular ‘red button’ feature.” Besides promoting the mega campaign on Ten Sports throughout the length of six months, print campaigns will be visible in the three editions of Mid-Day, in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. Source: Exchange4Media, 27th Aug 2007

The Philippines/New Media: Mobile TV Platform Rolls Out

While regional programmers reel over a Philippines’ court decision that appears to sanction signal theft and continue to call the country the worst performing market in the region, the industry is keeping a close eye on dominant telco, the Philippines Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) and its television ambitions. These include the MyTV DVB-H platform. The new platform was launched at the end of July by MediaQuest Holdings’ subsidiary 360media in cooperation with PLDT subsidiary Smart. MediaQuest is a wholly owned subsidiary of the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund.

MyTV bosses expect the 10-channel platform, which is being offered free until the end of August, to attract 60,000 to 70,000 subscribers. The monthly subscription is Ps488/US$10. Channels include CNN, Cartoon Network, National Geographic, Pinoy Box Office, and The History Channel. The three-channel sports package includes Basketball TV, Solar Sports, and PBA. MyTV was touted by MediaQuest bosses as a no-brainer for markets like the Philippines, which has high TV viewing and even higher mobile usage. MyTV is currently available in Mega Manila, Cebu and four other regions. Expansion has been promised.

Currently, the only handset available in the market that supports MyTV is the Nokia N92. Other handsets with myTV capability will be available later this year. The Nokia handsets without specials and contracts costs Ps22,990/US$493. MediaQuest and Smart said studies conducted earlier this year showed that key mobile TV usage drivers included the flexibility of being able to watch TV anywhere, portability and clear audio/video qualities, and the entertainment/relaxation value. Trial participants said they could see themselves subscribing to myTV to monitor breaking news, keep abreast of sports events and soap operas, and fill dead time during long commutes, while stuck in traffic or waiting in line. Source: Content Asia, 27th Aug 2007

Global/Rights: IAAF Signs Ten-Year Extension with Dentsu

Dentsu, the Japanese advertising giant and sports marketing firm, has renewed its commercial partnership with the International Association of Athletics Federations until 2019. As a result, Dentsu will continue to operate as the IAAF's worldwide marketing partner for the IAAF World Athletics Series, including all IAAF World Championships and IAAF World Athletics Final events, and will also distribute media rights on behalf of the federation outside Europe (excluding sub-Saharan Africa). Dentsu's existing deal was due to expire in 2009 and the ten-year renewal will see the firm become the longest-serving commercial partner in the federation's history.

The IAAF said that the renewed contract would facilitate the implementation of 'its own products within clearly defined areas such as generic TV programming, publications and licensing.' Lamine Diack, IAAF president, boasted that 'there can be few, if any other, international sports association or federation which can presently offer a guarantee of financial security to their members such as the one provided by this new agreement with Dentsu which virtually extends to the end of the second decade of this century.' News of the ten-year renewal was made public as the world athletics championships taking place in Osaka - an event for which Dentsu distributes the marketing rights worldwide, in addition to the broadcast rights outside of Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. Source: Sportcal, 27th Aug 2007