Thursday, 13th September 2007

RESULTS

Spain bounced back from a poor display at the weekend to move one step closer to qualification for next year's European Championships with victory over Latvia in Oviedo. Luis Aragonés' side dominated possession once again with a 2-0 win, but this time were able to net through Xavi and Fernando Torres to ensure that they secured all three points. There was still a lack of incisiveness in front of goal as all the short passing in the midfield rarely opened up the visitors and Andris Vanins did not have his busiest evening. That maybe a harsh assessment after a home win that puts Spain level on points at the top of Group F and it maybe that feeling that will not see them unanimously praised in the media.


THIS WEEK

Sun, 16th Sep 2007
WWE: Unforgiven: Memphis
AVP Crocs Tour 2007: Final Day – San Francisco Best of the Beach


SPORTS SHORTS

* Neo Sports is hoping for a large increase in viewers after announcing that the forthcoming one-day international series between India and Australia will be broadcast in three languages in addition to English; additional commentary feeds in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu will be available on Neo Sports Plus. Neo Sports claims that it is now available in 45% of cable and satellite homes across India having concluded distribution deals with Tata Sky and Amogh Broadband Services. The seven match India-Australia series begins on September 29. Source: Sportcal, The Hindu, 12th Sep 2007

* Much to the disappointment of Indian DD viewers in non-cable homes, Prasar Bharti’s negotiating skills have fallen short just one day ahead of India’s first Twenty20 match. With last-minute talks between broadcaster rights holder ESPN Star Sports (ESS) and Prasar Bharti falling through, viewers in non-cable homes will miss the action of the highly-publicised tournament — at least that’s the verdict till now. Prasar Bharti was confident of getting the shared feed till 10 days back, but ESS has managed to keep the event exclusive with the backing of the I&B Ministry. Sources close to the development told ET that Prasar Bharti officials were trying to sort out the matter till last night. Source: The Economic Times, 13th Sep 2007

* Phoenix TV’s online portal www.phoenixtv.com formed a strategic partnership with mainland China’s video sharing site www.6.cn. Under the agreement, www.6.cn will have exclusive online broadcast rights of all programs and contents from Phoenix TV among all Chinese video sharing sites. In return, Phoenix New Media, Phoenix TV’s wholly-owned subsidiary, will share profits from embedded advertising during Phoenix TV programs on the site. Partnership with www.6.cn is projected to increase PNM’s advertising earnings. Broadcasting Phoenix TV contents will help lift www.6.cn to a higher level from its original “Grass Roots” positioning and broaden its existing user base. Source: Entertainment Asia, 13th Sep 2007

* China’s first mobile television operator Shanghai Dragon New Media, subsidiary of Shanghai Media Group (SMG), slashed its monthly service charge from USD 1.33 to now USD 0.27 for Shanghai subscribers, effective September 2nd. Accompanying the service charge adjustment, SMG has renamed the service to “Shanghai Wan Xiang” with programs updated to fit in seamlessly with the average user’s daily life. SMG’s dramatic lowering of its service charge opens a more effective path to development of mobile television in the mainland; i.e. to expand subscriber base by offering at a low charge or free service, while improving network quality, content offering and user experience enhancements. Source: Entertainment Asia, 13th Sep 2007

* Du Baichuan, former CTO of China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has confirmed that "China will have two mobile TV standards by the end of this year: CMMB and TDBM". CMMB (China Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting) is based on a hybrid satellite and terrestrial network, originally developed by China's Academy of Broadcast Science and Sarft. TDMB is a mobile TV standard using China's home-grown 3G mobile telecommunication standard, TD-SCDMA (Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access). TDBM was developed by Datong Telecom, a research body of China's Ministry of Information and Industry (MII). Source: Advanced Television, 13th Sep 2007

* In an age of free news on the Internet, Hong Kong’s The Standard, a 58-year-old English-language daily newspaper, took a gamble Monday that underscores the challenges facing print publications everywhere. It joined the growing ranks of the free newspaper. On ferry piers, subway stations and street corners of this bustling financial center, distributors gave away an initial print run of 120,000 copies of The Standard, almost tripling its last paid-circulation and outperforming a major rival. By 8:30am, almost all copies were snapped up by the public. But the decision to eliminate the cover price of HK$6, or US$0.77, says more about the relentless impact of the Internet on traditional media than it does about turning adversity into opportunity. Source: Ken Radio, 12th Sep 2007

* The International Olympic Committee today poured cold water on a bid by Taiwan to persuade the IOC to mediate in a long-running dispute over the route of the Olympic torch relay for next year’s Olympic Games. Taiwan is to ask the IOC to intervene in a dispute about the island’s concerns that China would try to use Taiwan’s participation in the torch relay route to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty claims. However, the IOC today apparently forestalled the request, saying: ‘This is a matter for the two NOCs and BOCOG to try to resolve.’ Chinese Taipei's IOC member Ching-Kuo Wu today acknowledged the problems, but insisted that agreement was near, telling Sportcal.com: 'New issues have come up in the talks but we hope we are very close to a deal. Political interference always slows down the process.' Source: Sportcal, 12th Sep 2007

* Independent German sports company EM.Sport Media has grown its online business with two new development partnerships and the launch of an online community. The company aims to expand the market position of its online subsidiary Sport1, improving its user-generated and professional video content offering. Munich-based EM.Sport Media is the new name for EM.TV, which after deciding to sell off its kids division is dedicated to sports content and online business. Its latest bid for growth sees the company enter into a strategic partnership with investor European Founders Fund, which has taken a stake of up to 10% in Sport1. It has also purchased an 80% stake in community website creator Kupferwerk, through which it hopes to drum up new business using the online entrepreneur's existing assets. Source: C21 Media, 12th Sep 2007

* The result of the two-horse race for new chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board could have a bearing on whether the television rights for England’s home test matches return to free-to-air television. Michael Soper, the ECB’s deputy chairman, is sympathetic to a return to terrestrial television for English cricket. However, Giles Clarke, the chairman of Somerset County Cricket Club, who was involved in negotiating the present deal, is the favourite for the job. The live rights are presently exclusively held by pay-television’s British Sky Broadcasting in a controversial four-year deal ending in 2009. The deal is thought to be worth about £55 million ($112 million) a year over four years, a 10% increase on the rights fees the board received under its present deal. Source: Sportcal, 12th Sep 2007

* The Women’s International Squash Players’ Association has decided to group together new tournaments in a series to help raise the profile of the sport in developing markets. The WISPA Premiere Series will include competitions in their first year in a country or region where there has either never been a WISPA Tour event before, or at least not one for a long time. The association will offer advice and material to ensure that the events run smoothly and appeal to local media, spectators and players. The first WISPA Premiere Series event will be the Icelandair Group Classic in Reykjavik later this month. Source: Sportcal, 12th Sep 2007


MORE NEWS

Indonesia/Rights: Astro Hopes to Score with EPL

Pay-TV operator PT Astro Direct Vision had some 80,000 subscribers signed up as of the end of the first semester, and hopes to more than double that figure by the year-end now that it has secured the rights to broadcast the hugely-popular English Premier League (EPL). Astro Direct Vision, the local unit of Astro, a Malaysia-based pay-TV company, is now the sole holder of both the pay-TV and free-to-air TV rights to EPL matches. While it also offers other channels, Astro is pinning its hopes on the EPL to help the company sign up at least 200,000 subscribers by the end of the year.

The demand for Astro is so big that a would-be subscriber has to now wait for two weeks before the service can be installed. Before Astro purchased the EPL rights for the 2007-2008 season, Indonesians could watch the matches free on terrestrial TV. Now, EPL fans will have to pay around Rp 200,000 per month to subscribe to Astro -- in addition to a one-off Rp 200,000 installation fee -- if they want to watch their favorite teams. For the first three months, however, Astro will waive the monthly subscription fee.

While the company is hoping to benefit hugely from the EPL, some hurdles have emerged. On Tuesday, Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) chairman Sasa Djuarsa Sendjaja said the commission had sent a letter to Astro asking for the EPL coverage to be opened to the public. It had also asked the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) to examine whether Astro's exclusive rights had breached the antimonopoly law. Responding to that, Astro said they was currently negotiating with ESPN Star Sport (ESS), which holds the rights to broadcast the matches in Asia, to share access with Indonesian soccer fans. Source: Jakarta Post, 13th Sep 2007

China/General: Casbaa Sports TV Forum discusses China pay-TV market

The potential business opportunities for sports television in China were highlighted during the 24 August Casbaa sports TV forum in Beijing. With the theme 'All-win with the Olympics', the forum was hosted by the state administration of radio, film and television (SARFT) and co-organised by the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa) and China International Television Corporation (CITVC), the commercial arm of state broadcaster CCTV.

Over 300 representatives of Chinese and European sports bodies, along with global sports TV networks and sports management teams participated in the forum, exchanging insights on how sports TV can benefit the broadcasting industry and economic development within China, as well as the synergies between sports leagues and pay-TV. With speakers drawn from the Beijing Olympic Broadcasting, Sarft, CCTV and CITVC, the forum was keynoted by CCTV sports centre MD Jiang Heping followed by Beijing Organizing Committee for the games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) executive VP Jiang Xiaoyu, KBS Korea executive VP Lee Won-Kun, China Mobile's Zhou Yi and A1 GP's Richard Dorfman.

Casbaa CEO Simon Twiston Davies says, "The broadcasts of Beijing 2008 Olympics will be the first time for many people around the globe to see modern China and much better understand the country, its people and its culture. "There is no doubt that the broadcasting industry is a strong platform for any company to build brand awareness and reach the target audience in a short time. We believe the demand for expanded Olympics coverage will drive demand for pay-TV and serve as a launch pad for the industry."

Casbaa chairman Marcel Fenez says, "We wish the Games a great success in China. Through our third annual forum, we hope to further promote the sports TV industry, creating a win-win situation for both the TV sector and other business opportunities in China, such as building up the brand awareness for overseas sports leagues and creating a new brand of sports product in China market." Source: Indian Television, 12th Sep 2007

Asia/New Media: Japan’s SMS SuperTEXT to Expand Coverage

Indigo Corporation, an information network company, has plans to further expand its available coverage area for its “SuperTEXT” service, which allows mobile users to exchange short message service (SMS) messages with users in Japan and overseas at a reasonable price. The first stage of expansion of coverage will begin in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Mongolia, making SuperTEXT’s coverage area increase to eleven countries and two regions. The service is already available in China, South Korea, Philippines, United States, Canada, New Zealand, Brazil, Guam, and Saipan.

Indigo also has plans to expand coverage to approximately ten more countries in Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East (Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, among others) before year's end.

SuperTEXT first began in Japan in 2003 as a pioneering service that allowed all mobile users in Japan such as au by KDDI, NTT DoCoMo, SoftBank Mobile and WILLCOM to communicate with people overseas via e-mail-SMS conversion. SuperTEXT allows e-mail messages from mobile phones in Japan to be sent to overseas mobile phones in SMS format and also allows overseas SMS messages to be sent to Japanese mobile phones as an e-mail. The SuperTEXT service is billable through the KDDI Super World Card PLUS TEXT provided by KDDI Corporation. Source: Entertainment Asia, 13th Sep 2007

Elsewhere/General: Betfair to Unveil New 'Player' to Turbo Tennis

Online gaming company Betfair is to unveil a new 'player' to mark its sponsorship of the UK's first ever Turbo Tennis event, to be held at the O2 Arena on September 15. Taking its place alongside tennis legends like Tim Henman, Andy Murray and Goran Ivanisevic will be a hi-tech mobile exhibition vehicle showcasing the company's betting exchange concept to the thousands attending the fast-paced event.

The unit – custom-made by marketing roadshow specialists Event Marketing Solutions (EMS) – has has been completely re-branded to promote the Betfair Turbo Tennis event. Instead of its original, generic Betfair branding, the 9.7m by 6.6 m vehicle now carries a dramatic black and orange exterior – reflecting the Turbo Tennis brand – and key messages about the high-profile event. The interior is kitted out with 19 TV screens – including a giant 50" plasma screen – wireless internet access and live Sky Sports coverage.

Turbo Tennis is a completely new sporting event to the UK, designed to shake up the traditional game and increase its appeal. With a $100,000 top prize, matches last no longer than 30 minutes, with 'sudden death' replacing deuces, and players wear coloured clothes rather than whites. Source: Sport Business, 12th Sep 2007