SPORTS SHORTS
* Kongzhong and the National Basketball Association have announced a multi-year cooperation agreement and launched the official NBA Chinese mobile website, said to be the first-ever official NBA site on mobile phones. Under the agreement, Kongzhong will operate the official NBA Chinese mobile website, which users can visit on their mobile phones by directly inputting CN.NBA.COM. The mobile website will broadcast live selected NBA games in their entirety and provide video clips of NBA game highlights, the latest news, scores, game and player updates, player interviews, blogs, TV schedules, wallpaper, ring tones and other features. Basketball is a popular sport in China, and NBA enjoys increasing popularity as Chinese basketball players Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi, Mengke Bateer and Yi Jianlian are playing for it. Source: Digital Media Asia, 17th Sep 2007
* UTStarcom has reached a deal to supply its RollingStream end-to-end IPTV solution to India’s Bharti Airtel for the launch of a new service consisting of live broadcast television, time-shifted TV and video on demand bundled with the operator's existing broadband and voice services. Bharti Airtel, which has more than 46 million customers in India, expects to offer this new service bundle to customers in Gurgaon and the National Capital Region (NCR) by the end of the year. The service will also be rolled out in a phased manner across eight additional regions in the country. A single bill for the new service will be sent to customers at the end of each month. Source: Worldscreen, 17th Sep 2007
* Pakistan is to launch its own franchised teams cricket competition as part of the plans for an international Twenty20 Champions League. The first Pakistan Premier League will involve six teams and take place in October 2008, immediately after the ICC Champions Trophy that is due to be held in the country. The league will be similar in nature to the newly-announced Indian Premier League and have teams owned by corporations and featuring foreign players. At a news conference, Dr Nasim Ashraf, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, said: ‘The Pakistan Premier League is part of the international Champions League which is approved by the International Cricket Council and will be run by five boards.’ Source: Sportcal, 17th Sep 2007
* Formula One management has approved two potential sites for India to host its first Formula One Grand Prix in 2010. A circuit will be built on either of the two sites in the outskirts of New Delhi and race promoters, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), have been authorised to make the final choice of the venue. India has been keen to stage a Formula One race and the IOA announced in June they had received a letter from Formula 1 administration allowing them to stage the race as early as 2009, however after India was asked to meet many tough conditions and the deadline has now been extended. Source: Sport Business, Sportcal, 17th Sep 2007
* Soul-searching continues in India over Delhi’s defeat by Incheon in the voting to stage the 2014 Asian Games in April, with local press reports claiming that the defeat could have been caused by the Indian capital’s pollution and traffic congestion. The Hindustan Times quoted a passage from the Olympic Council of Asia’s evaluation committee’s report that reads: ‘A few areas of concern of the committee members, which was addressed to the bidding committee, was the question of pollution and traffic congestion. Forty five countries voted to choose the host city, with Delhi losing by 26 votes to 19. Source: Sportcal, 17th Sep 2007
* ESPN Classic, dedicated to showing the greatest sporting moments and legends on cable, satellite and ADSL, and Visiware, which works in the area of interactive gaming on television, have announced their cooperation in releasing Rugby Fun. This is a game currently being broadcast on Playin’TV, Visiware’s interactive games channel, which is launching a rugby game containing 10 mini-games, to be played on the TV by using the remote, and on this occasion will be displaying the colors of the sporting channel. The game, sponsored and promoted by ESPN Classic, will involve a series of increasingly wacky challenges which need to be completed to earn the coveted title of rugby team captain. This is set to thrill rugby fans everywhere, on the occasion of this year’s great sporting event. Source: Indian Television, 14th Sep 2007
* Bali will host a new season-ending Sony Ericsson WTA tour event - the Commonwealth Bank International Championship. The tournament is part of the WTA’s “Roadmap” plan, and the initial agreement is for Bali to hold the championships for three years, starting November 3-9, 2009. The $600,000 prize money event will feature the world’s best seven performers plus one wild card, who have not otherwise qualified for the Sony Ericsson Championship. The new system allows players who fail to reach the primary season-ending Championships on the WTA Tour the opportunity to compete in the new secondary event. Bali has hosted a successful Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournament since 2001 and the Commonwealth Bank International Championships will replace the regular season Bali event during the period 2009-2011. Source: Sport Business, 17th Sep 2007
* Sportfive is expected to announce Richard Worth is to become its new chief executive. Worth is believed to have been in talks with Sportfive about the post since February, but has been prevented for family and personal reasons from accepting the appointment until now. Worth stepped down in December 2005 from his previous position as chief executive of Team Marketing, which handles the commercial rights for the Uefa Champions League, European soccer’s top clubs competition. The Sportfive position has been vacant since February, when Philip Cordes left Sportfive amid a major reorganisation of the agency’s management. Source: Sportcal, 17th Sep 2007
* Daniella Kilim has been promoted to VP new media at Sandra Carter Global. For over 25 years, Sandra Carter Global has produced and distributed high definition programming for women with a special emphasis on entertainment, lifestyle, and sports. The company has produced over 30 first-run series, including the Emmy-nominated Women of the World, Mandela, Man of Vision, and Pope John Paul: Conscience of the World both New York and Chicago Film Festival Gold Medal Winners. Based in the company’s New York office, Kilim will be responsible for building strategic relationships with internet content aggregators and mobile and IPTV companies worldwide. She will report to Sandra Carter. Source: Indian Television, 14th Sep 2007
MORE NEWS
Thailand/New Media: Mobile Firms Foresee Slow Growth Next Year
Thailand's telecommunications industry is expecting sluggish growth in 2008 with companies adopting a wait-and-see attitude, major mobile phone operators said. The sector is also in transition, with major operators looking for clear government policies on long-delayed 3G mobile services from the regulator, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). At an industry forum, heads of the three major mobile operators -- AIS, DTAC and True Move, agreed that regulators would be the number-one factor for sector growth.
Athueck Asvanund, vice-chairman of True Corporation, said the local telecom industry is locked in a waiting period, pinning hopes on issuing 3G licences. He said regulators need to comply with the frequency allocation master plan, stating that 3G licences can be given out under the consideration of both the NTC and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), which has not yet been formed.
Thana Thienachariya, chief commercial officer of DTAC, said the delay of 3G licences was likely to have a strong impact on the industry in 2008. The mobile industry is expected to reach saturation next year, meaning that operators need to focus on 3G-based data communications services, he said. He added that 3G licences would be granted by the end of next year at the earliest, with commercial operations starting in late 2009. Thana supported the new telecom law that separates the industry policy guidelines to be overseen by the government from existing regulators.
Wichian Mektrakarn, the president of AIS was optimistic that the company would obtain a 3G license early next year. Investment on 3G would begin in the middle of next year, the operators further said. Source: Telecom Asia, 17th Sep 2007
Elsewhere/New Media: SBS in Deal with Nimbus to Show Premier League Internet Clips
Australian public-service broadcaster, SBS, has signed a deal to provide on-demand internet clips for English soccer’s top-tier Barclays Premier League via its website free of charge for the next three seasons. The deal was agreed with Nimbus Sport, the ambitious Indian sports marketing company, that was recently awarded the league’s new media distribution rights in 80 countries. From October, SBS will be able to offer highlights of all of the league’s matches via its dedicated online soccer portal www.theworldgame.com.au.
The agency is marketing mobile and internet clip rights for the next three seasons in a variety of countries worldwide, including major Asian territories such as China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, India and Pakistan, Middle Eastern and North African territories, such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece and Italy in Europe. The wide-reaching deal also includes Brazil, Australia and New Zealand. Source: Sportcal, 17th Sep 2007
Elsewhere/General: IFM´s Football Survey 2007/2008: Real Madrid is Most Popular
Real Madrid is the most popular foreign football club in Germany. This is the result of a comprehensive football market research study conducted by the sports sponsorship consultants of IFM in August 2007.
The representative survey among 1.000 German citizens demonstrates that for 16 percent of the surveyed Germans Real Madrid is the favourite foreign football club. The most successful Spanish club is followed by three English Premier League teams. Four percent each are supporting the present Premier League champion Manchester United, FC Liverpool or the FC Chelsea. Another three percent like FC Barcelona, the current UEFA Champions League winner AC Milan or Inter Milan.
Generally, football clubs from Spain, Italy or England are heading the popularity ranking. The 29-times Dutch champion Ajax Amsterdam follows in tenth place. Surprisingly US football club Los Angeles Galaxy is the best placed Non-European football club ranking 13th. The US team outpaces traditional clubs like Galatasaray Istanbul, AS Rome or FC Valencia. Ulrich Lacher, Managing Director of IFM International, sums up the results: “Real Madrid is synonymous to tradition, success as well as a lot of top-players. No other club polarizes like the team from the Spanish capital. Los Angeles Galaxy profits from the media hype on David Beckham.” Source: Sports e-Media, 17th Sep 2007
Elsewhere/General: Teams Share Out Proceeds from America's Cup
Alinghi, the Swiss holders of sailing’s America’s Cup, are set to receive €25.4 million ($35.2 million) from the profits of this year’s contest in Valencia. America’s Cup Management, the body responsible for organising the event, is now distributing the surplus from the event to enable the teams to prepare for the next event at the same location in 2009. The 2007 America’s Cup produced a profit of €66.5 million from total revenue of €240 million. The money was generated from the city bid and four-year sponsorship programme, television rights, hospitality and concessions and marinas at the host port.
Under the rules established in 2003, ACM keeps 10 per cent of the surplus, with 45 per cent going to Alinghi as the defender and 45 per cent to the other teams. Emirates New Zealand, the challenger defeated by Alinghi in this year’s final, is being awarded more than €9 million and the other participating teams will receive at least €1 million. On Saturday, designers from Alinghi and the five confirmed challengers were in Valencia for the first design consultation meeting for the 2009 America’s Cup.
However, the planning for the event is being disrupted by a legal case brought by the Golden Gate Yachting Club, the home of US team BMW Oracle, against Alinghi’s selection of Spain’s Club Nautico Espanol de la Vela, the base of Desafio Espanol, as the privileged Challenger of Record. The New York State Supreme Court has set a date of October 22 to hear arguments in the case. Source: Sportcal, 17th Sep 2007
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