RESULTS
U.S. Open 2007 – Day 2
Men’s Singles Results Highlights
* Andy Roddick USA (5) def. Justin Gimelstob USA 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 6-3
* James Blake (6) USA def. Michael Russell USA 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 7-6 (7-4)
* Novak Djokovic (3) SRB def. Robin Haase NED 6-2 6-1 6-3
* Wayne Odesnik def. Danai Udomchoke THA 6-7 (7-2) 6-3 6-1 3-6 7-6 (7-2)
Women’s Singles Results Highlights
* Maria Sharapova RUS (2) def. Roberta Vinci ITA 6-0 6-1
* Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (4) def. Klara Zakopalova CZE 6-2 6-3
* Julia Vakulenko UKR def. Daniela Hantuchova (9) SVK 6-4 3-6 6-1 UPSET!
* Sania Mirza IND (26) def. Kaia Kanepi EST 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-1
* Flavia Pennetta ITA def. Shuai Peng CHI 1-6 6-3 6-4
* Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP def. Cho Yoon Jeong KOR 3-6 6-3 6-3
* Agnieszka Radwanska POL (30) def. Akiko Morigami JPN 6-2 6-1
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
* ESPN Star Sports has kicked off auditions in Mumbai of Clinic All Clear Dream Job, a national talent hunt for a sports presenter. Based on a successful format followed in the US and Europe, Clinic All Clear Dream Job offers a 1-year contract with the broadcaster. The winner will become a presenter for Star Cricket. The Mumbai round saw sports enthusiasts queue up for auditions. The participants were taken through various rounds of spontaneous commentary and interviews in front of the celebrated jury that comprised expert cricket analyst and commentator, Alan Wilkins, noted actor and cricket presenter Mandira Bedi, and ESS executive producer, news Sharon Van Zwieten. Source: Indian Television, 28th Aug 2007
* A resolution between golf’s governing bodies the Asian Tour and European Tour is edging closer. The two have been at odds after the ET confirmed events on its calendar in India and South Korea. AT chiefs were angered at the move and publicly vented their anger at what they saw as the ET muscling in on their territory. But now Gerry Norquist, senior vice president of the AT, says talks have thawed between the two parties, although he warned peace had not yet broken out. He said: “We’ve held talks and relations are better, but there are still issues to be sorted out. The European Tour has admitted it breached protocol with the two events and we have accepted that.” Source: Sport Business, Sportcal, 28th Aug 2007
* Malaysia has finally signed an extension to continue hosting a round of motor racing’s Formula 1 World Championship until 2015. The deal paves the way for night races to be held in the Asian country. Malaysia’s existing contract runs until 2010 and an extension was agreed in April. However, the government delayed putting pen to paper while it considered the ramifications of a clause covering night races. Under the new deal, Sepang is committed to stage a grand prix at night ‘at any time upon notification’ from Formula One Management. The proposal still requires the official endorsement of the FIA, motor sport’s world governing body, and the Formula 1 authorities and teams. Source: Sportcal, 28th Aug 2007
* Local icon, Yao Ming, will meet in China next month for the first CBA - Euroleague Challenge 2007. The Challenge is first of its kind in China and one of the biggest basketball showcases in the run-up to the Beijing 2008 Olympics. The event brings teams from four countries for a pair of double-headers on September 30 and October 1. Euroleague runner-up CSKA Moscow will take on the Sydney Kings of Australia in the first game on Sep 30, followed by Team China vs. Benetton Treviso. On Oct 1, Benetton plays Sydney and Team China vs. CSKA. All games of the Challenge will be played in Kunshan in the modern complex "Kunshan New Stadium" with a capacity of 6,000 spectators. Source: Sports e-Media, 28th Aug 2007
* Irish state broadcaster RTE has been confirmed as a rights holder of soccer's 2008 European Championships. The deal with Uefa, European soccer’s governing body, will see all 31 Euro 2008 games screened free-to-air on RTE. As part of the deal, the broadcaster will also offer highlights of every match. It was reported earlier this year that RTE had agreed to pay a 'low seven-figure sum' for the rights. Sportfive, the international sports agency, is marketing the rights in Europe on behalf of Uefa. Source: Sportcal, 28th Aug 2007
* The International Water Ski Federation (IWSF), recognized as the sole Waterski authority by the IOC has an estimated 30,000,000 active participants and 52,000 competitors. The IWSF is all set for the 2007 Waterski World Championships in the city of Linz, Austria’s third largest City, situated in Upper Austria. Asian countries competing: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Lebanon, South Korea and Taiwan. The highly successful 2005 Waterski World Championships took place in Tianjin in China. Source: Sports e-Media, 28th Aug 2007
MORE NEWS
Asia/General: TV Hardware Market to Hit $22 Billion This Year
The total size of the television market in Asia is estimated to hit $22 billion for the full year 2007. In the first half of the year, LCD televisions comprised the largest television category in terms of value, capturing 60% of total consumer spend. This compares with conventional televisions which had a 22% share while plasma televisions took away 16% and rear projection televisions 1%. On a volume basis, LCD televisions are out-selling plasma televisions in retail channels at rates of six-to-one in Asia and 13-to-one in China.
GfK Asia has released its 2007 Half Year Pan Asian Consumer Electronics Data Summary, highlighting the trends in the region's consumer electronics sector. Gfk Asia notes that LCD TVs are literally flying off the shelves in China and all across Asia. "In Asia, it measures year-on-year growth rates 115% on a volume basis for LCD TVs. In the first half of the year, China registers LCD TV year-on-year growth above 100% on a value basis, with the market now forecast to be above $7 billion in 2007. Overall, it is a remarkable trend for LCD TV manufacturers and consumers alike," states the firm.
Sales of DVD portable players (battery-powered devices) are on the upswing across Asia. This is the only segment of the DVD player market that is on a growth trend, recording a 34% gain on a volume basis against the same time frame in 2006. The market value of DVD portable player sales across 12 countries in the Asian Region is forecast to reach nearly $200 million in 2007, representing around 12% of the overall DVD player market demand. On aggregate, the forecast is for almost 24 million DVD players to be sold in 2007 in the Asian Region.
On-demand portable video content is still quite limited. Several broadcast technologies suitable for mobile and portable video, for example DVB-H and DMB, will vie for widespread adoption. These technologies will put television in the palm of your hand. The current growth in portable video playback suggests that Asian consumers are ready for this future 'mobile TV' reality. In fact, that future has already arrived in South Korea.
Sales of MP4 digital portable video players are continuing to surge, growing by more than 40% year-on-year on a volume basis. MP4 digital portable video player sales are forecast to approach 10 million units. Overall, the digital portable player category is forecast to exceed 22 million units in 2007 and reach $2.3 billion in total demand. Source: Indian Television, 28th Aug 2007
Elsewhere/Rights: Feud Escalates as Sogecable Demands €200m from Mediapro
Sogecable, the Spanish television group, has claimed that it is owed €200 million ($273 million) by Mediapro, the Spanish media rights agency, in a continuing dispute over the broadcasting rights to Spanish soccer’s top-tier Primera Liga. Audiovisual Sport, which owns Sogecable, issued a statement yesterday calling on Mediapro to end its coverage of La Liga matches because it does not own the rights. The legal claim comes after Mediapro’s free-to-air channel La Sexta aired three matches over the weekend. Audiovisual Sport claims that Mediapro has been ‘systematically violating’ contracts between the two companies over the past few years.
In response, La Sexta said that it ‘had complied, is complying, and will comply thoroughly with the law in force.' It added: ‘As agreed in the contract we have, La Sexta is following its legal obligation to air each week at least one free-to-air match, despite the recent absurd actions by Audiovisual Sport. ‘La Sexta reiterates that it maintains it has a contract with Mediapro which was completed in a totally thorough way on behalf of both parties over a year ago.’ The claim for €200 million is on top of the €58 million that Audiovisual Sport said it was owed by Mediapro last week.
The relationship between the two companies broke down when Mediapro announced deals with 39 of the 42 teams in the country’s top two soccer leagues starting from the 2009-10 season. Sogecable threatened legal action over the claims, on the basis that it holds a majority of Spanish soccer television rights through Audiovisual Sport, in which it has an 80% stake. It claims to have ‘numerous contracts with soccer clubs running through to 2013.'
La Sexta added: ‘In relation to the conflict between Sogecable and Mediapro, La Sexta has been in touch with Mediapro, which has ratified the execution of the terms of the contract.’ It said that, according to the contract, La Sexta had the rights to one La Liga match per week throughout the 2007-08 season, as well as the highlights for the second-tier Segunda Divison. Sogecable’s Digital Plus pay-television service relies heavily on airing the Primera Liga to attract subscribers. The latest developments could represent a further blow after subscriber numbers already dropped slightly between April and June. The three matches aired on La Sexta last week-end were Sevilla-Getafe, Murcia-Zaragoza and Valencia-Villareal. Source: Sportcal, 28th Aug 2007
Elsewhere/General: France to Host 2008 Beach Soccer World Cup
Marseille in France has been chosen to host next year’s beach soccer World Cup, while it has been confirmed that Dubai will stage the event in 2009. It represents the first time the tournament will be held outside its birthplace Brazil. Mauritius, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Thailand, Tunisia and Turkey had all expressed an interest in staging the two editions.
Fifa general secretary Jérôme Valcke said: ‘What's happened in the last three years since the integration of beach soccer in the Fifa family has been fantastic. ‘I don't know if any other sport has ever made such rapid progress in such a short space of time – both on the pitch and in running the game. It is now a fascinating combination of organised football and lifestyle. By moving the event first to Marseille and then to Dubai, we are convinced that we will be taking yet another giant step in the dynamic world of beach soccer.’
Dubai, as was announced earlier this year, will also host the Asian beach soccer finals in 2007 and 2008, the qualifiers for the World Cup, as part of the deal. This year's beach soccer World Cup will be held in Brazil in November, and the draw for the competition was made in Marseille on Sunday. Russia will meet Mexico in the tournament’s opening match, and are joined in Group A by holders Brazil, along with the Solomon Islands. France, coached by former great Eric Cantona, will face United Arab Emirates, Nigeria and Argentina.
The full group line-up is:
Group A: Brazil, Solomon Islands, Russia, Mexico
Group B: USA, Spain, Portugal, Iran,
Group C: Japan, Senegal, Uruguay, Italy
Group D: UAE, France, Nigeria, Argentina
Source: Sportcal, 28th Aug 2007
ARTICLES, COMMENTS & OPINIONS
EPL Broadcasting Changes Offer Opportunities For Competitors In Asia
Geoffrey Gold, CEO of Sports Dynamics has his views published in Goal.com, 28th Aug 2007
THE SPORTS MEDIA LANDSCAPE IN ASIA changed dramatically on the weekend of 11-12 August as the English Premier League dropped from the schedules of many of its last remaining major free-to-air terrestrial television broadcasters. Promoters, who'd paid the EPL most of the record £625 million it received from foreign rights for 2007-2010, began to recoup their investment. In some markets, even Pay-TV stations were churned in the search for higher returns. In others, licensees are using the EPL as Rupert Murdoch's proverbial "battering ram" to lead fans to support new Pay TV operations.
IN CHINA, THE CHANGE TO PAY-TV had been well announced. "It's time to say goodbye to those TV channels that provided Premier League games free of charge," said WinTV Chief Executive Song Zheng in February after successfully bidding a reported US$50 million for PRC market. Song, whose station had just 40,000 subscribers, said he was confident of winning over viewers. "I know that most Chinese people have been getting used to viewing soccer matches on free channels. It will be difficult to change this habit in the beginning, but I believe that more and more people will choose pay-TV in the future." And yet, at kick-off for the new EPL season, subsidiary contracts with regional cable TV operators in major regions, including the largest city Shanghai, had yet to be concluded. A boon to a few companies offering live games via the internet, it was a scenario feared by some of England's biggest clubs who were reportedly "furious" that "limited Pay-TV audience may restrict the dynamic growth of English football in the world's most populous country."
IN INDONESIA THE CHANGE CAME AS A SHOCK. The week prior to the start of the EPL season, it was announced that ESPN-STAR Sports' arrangement with national FTA broadcaster Trans7 would not be continued. Trans7 said it "wouldn't be able to cover the cost of buying the rights even if we sold all the advertising spots, combined with other income from sponsors." But the hundreds of thousands of subscribers used to watching English football on the two ESS channels on established Pay-TV services Kabelvision and Indovision found they too would miss out. Paralleling the exclusive deal ESS made with Astro Supersport for the Malaysian market in 2001, Astro's brand new Indonesian subsidiary was suddenly announced as the new EPL sub-licensee for Asia's third largest nation for an undisclosed amount. "Our basic idea by bringing EPL into the country is to give Indonesian people access to watch the league," vice president for corporate affairs at PT Direct Vision's Astro Indonesia, Halim Mahfudz, confusingly told The Jakarta Post.
LAST-MINUTE BRINKMANSHIP also occurred in Japan where Pay-TV J Sports signed an exclusive three-year contract with Sportfive - after the first 10 games of the new Premiership season had been concluded. The Japan Times anticipated that fans would be forced to test the quality of internet transmissions or to watch illegal displays at pubs and bars and discovered venues would be tapping into a South African channel for their customers. This did not appear to concern the rights-holders. "The deal we agreed with J Sports represents a continuation of our excellent partnership in the past", said Sportfive executive vice president Robert Müller von Vultejus. EPL CEO Richard Scudamore praised the process. “We are very satisfied with the result of Sportfive’s distribution of our rights [and] welcome J Sports to the circle of partners of the English Premier League,” he said.
THE MANOEUVRINGS SHOW THE FORMIDABLE market power of the English Premier League throughout Asia but also provide a window of opportunity to competitors. The free-to-air broadcasters and non-EPL Pay-TV networks are filling their programming with other European football, notably Spanish, Italian and German and, increasingly domestic and regional competitions. But the EPL's competitors have significant weaknesses. How much better for La Liga marketing in Asia if Real Madrid and Barcelona collaborated? How much better for SerieA if it had a clean image for punters? How much better for Bundesliga if it hand-fed media with in-depth data and statistics?
CLAIRE KENNY TIPTON, THE AFC'S DIRECTOR of Marketing and Media and Communications pointed out that 61% of all football revenues in Asia goes to the English Premier League and, in South East Asia in particularly, the English Premiership is the most supported football product. She argued, however, against the proposition that the overwhelming broadcasting of European football somehow got fans involved in local football. “One of the problems in these countries, Indonesia excepted, is that fans don't go to stadiums. A generation of latent fans has been created. They've never been to a live football game. They don't play football. They don't have a passion for the game. They watch it on TV. They get together with their mates next door or in a coffee shop. They say they support Man United or Liverpool or Real Madrid but they'll buy the shirt and that’s it. That's where it begins and where it ends, “ she said.
The Asian Cup was brought to South East Asia “at great expense” so the Asian Football Confederation could say: “Malaysia, you can one day be as good as Japan if you put Malaysian football first; if you create a platform for domestic football. Same in Thailand and in Vietnam,” she said. It was easiest to attract spectators in Indonesia and Vietnam and difficult “as expected” in Malaysia and Thailand. But what was astonishing is that while the opening games of the group stages in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok were very poorly attended, the domestic TV ratings - with RTM in Malaysia and Channel 7 in Thailand, were huge. “The Thai matches on 7 were bigger than the World Cup ratings or the European Champions League ratings or the FA Cup final ratings,” she said.
This indicates “a culture of people who demonstrate their passion for the sport by watching it on TV,” she warned. “In South East Asia the numbers attending club matches has not increased, it has decreased. The number of children playing football has not increased. If anything in certain countries it has got worse. The commercial revenue has decreased and the television coverage has virtually disappeared.” So rather than inspiring local football, the foreign broadcasting “presses it down,” she said.
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