Friday, 21st September 2007

SPORTS SHORTS

* Real Madrid is the ranked top of Top 25 Ranking of Europe's Most Valuable Football Associations according to research from BDO Consulting. With a brand value of €1,063 million, Real Madrid is the only association with a brand value which exceeds €1 billion. Second place, with a brand value of €948 millions, is FC Barcelona and third is Manchester United. The ranking is based on research, which determines brand value using current and future income flow and expert opinion. Source: Sport Business, Sportcal, 20th Sep 2007

* ESPN Star Sports today won an injunction in the Delhi High Court preventing cable operators in India from unauthorised carriage of the broadcaster’s coverage of the ICC World Twenty20. The broadcaster had claimed that cable operators were practising ‘rampant piracy’ of the signal for the competition, for which it holds exclusive rights. The lawsuit named 22 cable operators. Meanwhile, the ICC has dismissed claims that there are problems with the feed of the World Twenty20 being offered by ESPN Star Sports, after South Africa’s SABC suffered a series of blackouts of its coverage. The ICC pointed out that the ESPN Star Sports feed ‘is being broadcast in 100 countries, including China. Good cricket TV is one of our key products and we’ve had not a single complaint from anywhere in the world about the quality of the broadcast.’ Source: Sportcal, 20th Sep 2007

* The US Ladies Professional Golf Association (USLPGA) and Sports Marketing Japan Co. Ltd. (SMJ) will launch the USLPGA Official Japanese Website and Mobile Site, “LPGA Ladies Golf” on all three major mobile carriers in order to engage the USLPGA’s growing Japanese fan base. Starting Sept. 3, 2007 (Sept. 6 for KDDI au), fans will be able to enjoy news and real-time scoring of 2007 season USLPGA tournaments, as well as video interviews with popular players including Ai Miyazato, Annika Sorenstam, Lorena Ochoa and Paula Creamer via both the PC Web site and mobile site in Japan. Additional content such as downloadable wallpapers, player directory and statistics, ranking information, and special columns will be regularly available. Source: Sports e-Media, 20th Sep 2007

* East-West Center and Sports Marketing Japan Co. Ltd. announced the inaugural EAST WEST SPORTS SUMMIT, an international conference focusing on sports and the sports industry in the Asia Pacific Region and United States. The East West Sports Summit (EWSS) is designed for business, government, federation and media leaders of the Asia Pacific region and the United States who wish to acquire expertise and influence national and regional Asia Pacific sports issues. The first EWSS will take place on November 7 to 9, 2007 at the East-West Center's Imin International Conference Center in Honolulu, Hawai'i which is the most appropriate location given its position as a geographic and cultural meeting place between the United States and the Asia Pacific region. Source: Sports e-Media, 20th Sep 2007

* Insurance group Aviva is sponsoring two cars, driven by Colin Turkington and Duncan Huisman, in the last two rounds of the FIA World Touring Car Championship in Macau. The drivers will be in a BMW 320si E90, the same model which Andy Priaulx drove to win the WTCC driver's championship last year, for the races at the four-mile street circuit in downtown Macau. Aviva aims to develop awareness of its brand across the globe through the comprehensive TV rights deal that the WTCC has, with coverage in more than 30 countries. Huisman is a previous winner of a WTCC round, having won the second race of the 2005 season. Source: Brand Republic, 20th Sep 2007

* Uganda will host its first international badminton event next year after succeeding in a bid to attract a world-ranking tournament. The Uganda International Badminton Championship will take place on January 25-27 next year and cost USh18 million ($10,400) to organise. National badminton coordinator Simon Mugabi told Ugandan newspaper New Vision: ‘Our bid to host the world ranking tournament has been granted by Badminton World Federation. The USh8.5-million prize money will be shared among the men and women singles winners, the doubles and mixed doubles. The event will be held at the Lugogo Indoor Stadium in Kampala, with Roofings Uganda as the tournament sponsor. Source: Sportcal, 20th Sep 2007

* Adidas is to invest £100 million ($200 million) in the 2012 Olympic Games in London after being confirmed today as the third of nine top-tier partners of the event. The company will be the official sportswear partner of the games, receiving marketing and licensing rights, and provide clothing for officials, staff, volunteers and runners in the Olympic torch relay. Adidas will have exclusive licensing rights for branded and unbranded sportswear at London 2012 venues and stores and expects to provide the largest amount of merchandise revenue of any licensee or sponsor. The firm joins UK bank Lloyds TSB and French energy group EDF Energy as a tier one partner of the games. Source: Sportcal, Brand Republic, 20th Sep 2007


MORE NEWS

US Open: Records Set at US Open but Drop in TV Viewing

Tennis’ US Open earlier this month attracted record attendances, website traffic, concession sales and sponsorship activity, according to the US Tennis Association. However, television viewing figures were down, with over 75 million people watching all or part of the tournament on US television, compared with 95 million last year. CBS, the national network, and cable channel USA Networks, televised the event, with more than 45 million people watching all or part of CBS’s coverage, including nearly 17 million who watched the men’s final, won by Roger Federer.

The fall in viewing figures is perhaps explained by the fact that there were no US players in either the men’s or women’s finals this year, with Switzerland’s Federer beating Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, while Belgium’s Justine Henin beat Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova in the women’s final. Last year, USA’s Andy Roddick lost to Federer in the men’s final, while the women’s final was won by Russia’s Maria Sharapova, who beat Henin. Attendances exceeded 700,000 at 715,587 for the first time in the event’s history, this year, surpassing the previous record figure 659,538 set in 2005.

Meanwhile, traffic to the official website, USOpen.org, increased by 11 per cent over the 2006 total to 30 million visits. The site registered 7.3 million unique users, compared with 7 million in 2006. Concession sales exceeded the previous record by more than 20 per cent, with more than 75,000 US Open caps being sold, while more than 20 sponsors supported the event. Source: Sportcal, 20th Sep 2007

Malaysia/New Media: Enter a New 3G Operator

Local mobile operator U Mobile has officially unveiled plans to launch its 3G mobile services, expected to go live within the next two months. Speaking to the media at the official launch and re-branding of the company, Kenneth Chang, executive director of U Mobile, said its 3G mobile network is up and running and currently available in the Klang Valley and other major cities across the country.

Formerly known as MiTV Networks, U Mobile received its license to operate a 3G network from its parent company MiTV, in March 2006. 3G licenses in the country are issued by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). MiTV and another local player TTdotCom, beat out then-leading contender, DiGi Telecommunication, in a hotly contested 3G spectrum license bidding exercise.

Asked how many 3G subscribers U Mobile is targeting to bag in the next 12 months, Chang said: "It's too premature to announce this, but we are targeting segments which we believe are currently untapped. The surveys we've done show that consumers are looking for a new player to offer them new services, and we know what they need and how to price it," he said. Chang also revealed that U Mobile has signed a domestic roaming agreement with Celcom, which launched its 3G services in May 2005. Domestic roaming allows subscribers from one network to select another when there is no network coverage available in the location they are currently at.

"This agreement allows our subscribers to roam onto Celcom's network [in areas where] there is no U Mobile network coverage," Chang explained. "However, this does not preclude U Mobile [expanding] our own network as we will be busy improving our coverage. Our service is very close to being launched commercially," he said. "We have already completed our interconnection with Celcom and we're now waiting to finish up with Maxis and DiGi, after which we will be fully ready to go live."

However, new entrants such as U Mobile, will face significant challenges in its bid to capture Malaysia's 3G market, according to some industry analysts. "The situation for 3G is very different now to what it was two years ago, as costs are much lower and 3G handsets are no longer a major barrier," Nathan Burley, research analyst at Ovum, told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail interview. [New market] entrants need to build scale, and few have managed to gain significant market share following launches in established markets [in the region]," Burley noted.

Janice Chong, ICT practice telecom research manager at research house Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific, said U Mobile is expected to face significant challenges in building its subscriber base from scratch. "Amid Malaysia's high mobile penetration rate, acquiring a customer base would prove to be a costly exercise, particularly when constrained by limited network coverage, diseconomies of scale and the lack of financial flexibility compared to the [other] major mobile carriers," Chong said in an e-mail interview.

She added that without a proven track record, U Mobile is expected to face teething problems such as network coverage and interoperability issues, billing issues, and readiness to address customer complaints in an effective and timely manner. According to Frost & Sullivan, the number of 3G subscribers in Malaysia grew from 431,000 in December 2006 to 700,000 in June 2007. Chang declined to reveal how much U Mobile has invested in its 3G and mobile TV networks, noting only that the company has "invested hundreds of millions of ringgit into our networks". Source: ZDNet, 18th Sep 2007

Asia/Broadcaster: ESS will Broadcast Sport at Any Time, via Any Pipe

ESPN Star Sports’ huge, $1.1-billion, eight-year media rights deal with the International Cricket Council has got off to a good start, according to the broadcaster’s managing director Manu Sawhney, with the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 being shown in over 110 countries. These include countries in North America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Greece, Cyprus and Mauritius and, for the first time, China.

In an exclusive interview with Sportcal.com, following the announcement yesterday of his promotion to managing director, Sawhney said that ESPN Star Sports is ‘committed to serving the Asian sports fan by creating and distributing the best sports programming: any time, any place via any pipe and any device and thus making ESPN and STAR Sports a core part of his or her daily life.’ Asked how the broadcaster would recoup its massive investment in the ICC rights, he claimed that, with respect to its ICC World Twenty20 coverage, ‘We have received extremely positive feedback from our sponsors on both the tournament format and coverage… as they see a huge positive impact on their brands from the innovative coverage presented around this tournament.’

Sawhney said that growth over the next few years would come from ESPN Star Sports ‘investing in programming and partnerships through a healthy mix of acquired and original content, thus expanding opportunities to connect with the audience across the region.’ He added that digital media would also form a focus for growth, claiming to have had ‘significant success in the mobile platform with mobileESPN and online medium through our multi-lingual sites such as espnstar.com, espnstar.com.cn and espnstar.com.tw across Asia.’

Challenges for the broadcaster include ‘escalating acquisition costs, government regulations and policies, changing audience preferences’ and others, Sawhney said. He also admitted that ESPN Star Spots faces growing competition from new entrants into the Asian broadcasting market. These include Ten Sports, Zee Telefims, Sony and Nimbus Sport. However, he dismissed any suggestion that the broadcaster had been damaged by its recent loss of the rights to show English soccer’s top-tier Premier League in key territories such as Singapore, China and Thailand.

He said: ‘Loss of a single property in a few specific markets does not have a large impact on our business. We have a robust business model that is not dependent on one particular sport. We bring the best of the international sporting action from around the world to over 310 million sports viewers across Asia.’

Sawhney pointed out that ESPN Star Sports’ line-up includes: soccer’s Uefa Champions League, FA Cup and England home games; motor sport’s Formula 1, A1 Grand Prix, MotoGP and World Rally Championship; Wimbledon and ATP Masters tennis; golf’s US Masters, British Open and US Open; plus the Rugby World Cup presently under way in France, NBA basketball and international cricket matches of both England and Australia.

Sawhney added: ‘Competition is a reality in today’s dynamic business scenario and it is healthy for the industry as it helps in increasing the overall pie of the industry and we welcome the competition positively.’

Asked whether it still make sense from both a programming and advertising point of view for a broadcaster to take a pan-continental approach to such a diverse market as Asia, Sawhney replied: ‘As a leader in sports broadcasting in Asia, we are continuously evolving with our audience learning their preferences and changing viewing habits. Today, ESPN STAR Sports has 17 networks covering 24 countries, each localized to deliver differentiated world-class premier sports programming to Asian viewers.

‘We continue to serve our traditional “die hard” fans with in-depth analysis, data and information through our live action and programming and have been working towards growing this traditional fan base through a slew of interactive activities and programs. In addition, we are expanding the demographic base of our fans by targeting younger audience and female segment by creating content that is specifically designed for their needs and is presented in a lighter and more entertaining manner.’

Sawhney, who joined ESPN Star Sports in 1996 and played a leading role in the broadcaster’s growth in India, is stepping up from his present role as executive vice president of programming and marketing. He replaces Jamie Davis, who has resigned from the company, but will continue to act as a consultant. Source: Sportcal, 20th Sep 2007

Elsewhere/Rights: Sportfive Heads Kentaro in Marketing Clubs’ Uefa Cup TV Rights

Sportfive tops the list of broadcast rights distributors for clubs in soccer’s Uefa Cup first round, ahead of Kentaro, the Switzerland-based sports rights agency. Independent research by Sportcal.com has found that Sportfive is distributing the broadcast rights for the home matches of 35 of the 80 clubs competing in the Uefa Cup first round, while Kentaro is second with 10 clubs. Some 38 first-leg games are to be played this evening.

The 35 clubs represented by Sportfive in the first round span 20 countries, with a strong representation from France, Germany, Austria, Denmark and Russia in particular. However, the agency does not market the international rights for any of the competing teams from England, Spain or the Netherlands. In some cases, more than one agency is involved in the distribution of rights for the home matches of a particular club, such as when one company sells the ‘second-party rights’ (the rights in the away team’s territory) and another company sells the ‘third-party rights’ (the rights outside the two teams’ respective territories). The rights in the home club’s territory (‘the first-party rights’) are often sold by the clubs themselves.

Clubs competing in the Uefa Cup own the broadcast rights to their home matches until the quarter-final stage of the competition, when the rights are sold centrally by the Team Marketing agency on behalf of Uefa. Kentaro has enhanced its portfolio of soccer rights in recent years (it now includes the friendly matches of Brazil and Argentina). Its 10 Uefa Cup first-round matches include all five Swedish participants and two Swiss sides. Global Sportnet, the Germany-based sports marketing agency, and the IMG Media agency follow closely with seven teams each, although one of Global Sportnet’s deals is restricted to second-party rights only.

Infront Sports and Media (including Infront Italy, its Italian arm) is marketing the rights of three clubs, albeit only for the first round in the case of Germany’s Bayern Munich. Thereafter, the club will sell the international rights itself. Pitch International, the sport rights agency founded by former senior executives at Octagon CSI, has the rights for the home games of the English duo of Bolton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur. Eight more agencies have one club each, while seven teams are distributing the rights themselves, among them the Spanish trio of Athletico Madrid, Getafe and Real Zaragoza.

In terms of market share by country, Sportfive would appear to have a strong hold on its two home markets of France and Germany, with four of the five competing French clubs and three of the four German clubs. IMG Media Netherlands enjoys a monopoly of the Dutch market with all five teams under contract, while the Italian market would appear to be more fractured, with each of the four clubs involved with a different agency. In England, rights for the four participants are shared among Pitch International, Kentaro and Global Sportnet, while in Spain the clubs have opted mainly to market their own rights. Source: Sportcal, 20th Sep 2007

Elsewhere/Rights: Cable to sue over Copa America broadcast

Jamaica’s RJR Communication Group, through its cable company TVJ Sports Network (TVJ-SN) will be dragged before the courts for alleged infringement of intellectual property rights by regional sports cable giant, SportsMax. Highly-placed Observer sources indicate that Attorney Kwame Gordon of Frater, Ennis and Gordon will be filing documents with the Supreme Court in Kingston today on behalf of SportsMax against the RJR Group.

The breaches relate to alleged unauthorised broadcast of an international friendly match between England and Brazil in June, and the COPA America (South American Football Championships) in June and July on TVJ-SN. When contacted about the matter late last evening, president and CEO of SportsMax, Oliver McIntosh, confirmed that his company will today begin court proceedings against Jamaica's largest listed media conglomerate. McIntosh explained that the decision to take the matter to court was prompted by the RJR Group's alleged repeated infringement on his company's exclusive broadcast rights.

It is understood that the suit alleges that TVJ-SN broadcast content that belongs to SportsMax without authorisation, including the 2007 Copa America finals; which SportsMax is alleging was taken from an illegal feed of United States football broadcaster GOL-TV. The regional cable company is also alleging that TVJ-SN broadcast the 2007 international friendly between Brazil and England which SportsMax assumes was taken from Fox Soccer Channel. SportsMax, which is the rights holder of Fox Soccer Channel in Jamaica, is also the exclusive rights holder for the COPA America and England national football team home matches, through its parent company International Media Content. Source: Jamaica Observer, 19th Sep 2007

Elsewhere/Programming: ImaginAsian TV to Premiere MMA

ImaginAsian TV which promotes Asian American culture to mainstream America has announced that it will premiere a weekly mixed martial arts showcase, Pancrase Legends of Mixed Martial Arts, on 7 November, 2007. Mixed martial arts (MMA) heavyweight and current King of Pancrase Open Weight Champion Josh Barnett will provide expert knowledge of the action inside the ring as host of the new cable series. The outspoken Barnett – who made history in 2002 when he defeated Randy Couture and became the youngest UFC Heavyweight Champion at the age of 24 – will share commentary of classic Pancrase fights featuring such notable competitors as Sebastian “Bas” Rutten, Frank and Ken Shamrock, Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzuki, Yuki Kondo and others.

ImaginAsian TV senior VP production and programming David Chu says, “Mixed martial arts is a unique sport that combines the world’s most exciting combat disciplines and is growing in popularity everyday. “We are thrilled to bring these legendary fights to our viewers, showcasing Pancrase’s top fighters, many of whom are among the top-ranked in the world and have also been champions in UFC or Pride.”

The series features some of the greatest MMA fighters to grace the ring since Pancrase was formed in 1993 by Funaki, Suzuki and others . The name Pancrase comes from pankration, an ancient sport introduced in the Greek Olympic games in the 7th Century B.C., and the name of the organization and original rules were inspired by the shoot fighting style and philosophy of wrestling legend Karl Gotch. Champions in eight weight classes are referred to as “King of Pancrase,” and the first King of Pancrase Open Weight Champion – the title now held by Barnett – was UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock. Source: Indian Television, 20th Sep 2007


ARTICLES, COMMENTS & OPINIONS

Despite Imbalance, Rugby World Cup Cashes In
Brian Milner Comments on The Globe & Mail, 19th Sep 2007

Anyone doubting money does the talking in big-time sports need only cast an eye on the Rugby World Cup, which has come a long way since its inception 20 years ago. The 6th championship, now under way mainly in France, has yet to reach the halfway point of its six-week schedule and is still featuring too many games between a handful of legitimate contenders and a large number of outmatched also-rans. But despite the competitive imbalance and an early hiccup caused by an aborted media boycott, it is already an unqualified financial success thanks to record ticket sales and a huge increase in television revenue and sponsorship dollars, as broadcasters and marketers tap into the sport's growing appeal.

That might come as a surprise in Canada and the United States, where rugby is still a minor sport, but it is a big and increasingly lucrative draw in Europe and Asia, and not only in such hotbeds as Britain, France, New Zealand and South Africa. Networks and sponsors like it because it delivers loyal audiences of largely affluent young males. McDonald's France, one of the sponsors, is forecasting a 10-per-cent increase in sales directly stemming from its promotional tie-in to the event.

Organizers have raked in more than $140-million in TV rights revenue for this year's tournament, up substantially from about $95-million in 2003. British broadcaster ITV alone paid £30-million ($60.9-million), triple its cost for the 2003 event in Australia, although it acquired both in the same package. As recently as 1999, when the cup was staged on its home turf in Wales, ITV's price tag was only £12-million.

Yet ITV and other broadcasters aren't complaining. They expect to reap healthy profits from strong ad sales. Indeed, the British carrier sold out its available ad time more rapidly than for the FIFA World Cup of soccer. The International Rugby Board, which runs the event and derives most of its income from it, forecasts a record gain of its own of more than $180-million. With the marketing success has come the same sort of headaches faced by the much bigger Olympics, the soccer World Cup and other major sports events — namely, how to maintain control over content and squeeze as much money as possible out of it while balancing the interests of rights holders, sponsors and the media.

Rugby officials almost screwed up the juggling act just before the tournament began when a long-simmering dispute with news organizations and photo agencies over strict curbs on coverage boiled over. More than three dozen major news services, newspapers and photo agencies announced a boycott of the sport's highest-profile event. The potential damage hit home for the sponsors when Visa International held a press conference to introduce five rugby stars of yesteryear as its official spokesmen and almost no one showed up. That's not what a sponsor wants to see after forking out more than $7-million (a bargain by the standard of other major global sports events) for marketing rights.

Visa and such other key sponsors and suppliers as Adidas and French mobile phone company Orange quickly intervened. Calls were made, messages were sent, and the French government, which has a big financial stake in the success of the tournament, added its weight. "They made it clear that it was in the sponsors' best interests that all facets of the media be allowed to report," a person familiar with the discussions said. "They're the newcomer on the block and they're working their way through all of this." Needless to say, the sponsors got their way and the restrictions were lifted.

But the fact is that there will be more such confrontations in the future. The stakes are escalating dramatically thanks to the huge licensing fees and new methods of distributing content to consumers. As the rugby officials have discovered, it's all part of doing business when the big money is flowing.