Wednesday, 28th November 2007

SPORTS SHORTS

* Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Mohammed bin Hammam believes the continent has a chance to win the hosting rights for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but only if the region unites behind a solitary bid. Asia has hosted the World Cup on one occasion previously, when Japan and South Korea shared the rights in 2002, but Australia, Japan and China have all been linked with possible moves to hold the event after FIFA announced the end of its hosting rotation policy. Source: Football Insider, 27th Nov 2007

* Oliver Kahn is on a quest to look for new goalkeeper talent all over Asia – especially in China. He started his quest in Shanghai, last Friday. Oliver Kahn is used his new Chinese website, www.kingkahn.cn, to invite aspiring goalkeepers all over China to send in a short video of their skills. Winners of this video competition together with selected players from Tongji University and the Ping-Liang Lu Di Si Xiaoxue, were selected to get some insider tips from Kahn, during the practice session, last Friday. 162,000 visitors saw the Oliver Kahn webcast and there were TV specials on Oliver Kahn nationwide. CCTV followed every step of his visit. Shanghai Media Group (SMG) also did a 20-minute special feature on him. On Saturday, SOHU did a 1 ½ hour live web-casting. Source: Mass Distribution News Wire, 26th Nov 2007

* Singapore and the Philippines today entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to foster greater ties between their respective media industries. The agreement covers areas of media policy and information exchange, training and human resource development, co-production and mutual exchanges. It was signed ahead of the Asia TV Forum and fosters greater collaboration among the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Earlier, the region witnessed the launch of the ASEAN Media Portal, an online platform that showcases and facilitates the exchange of cultural information and media content among member states. Singapore has also sealed media co-operation MOUs with three other ASEAN countries: Brunei, Indonesia and Thailand. Source: Worldscreen, 27th Nov 2007

* French football’s Ligue de football professionnel (LFP) will launch its long-awaited domestic TV rights tender on Friday according to French media reports. The league’s present deal is worth €600 million a year with pay-broadcaster Canal Plus. The new deal will run from 2008-09 to 2011-12. The league can finally launch the tender after receiving permission to sell its rights for a four-year term from the French competition authority last week. According to French media reports, the league will offer 12 packages. Last time around the league sold its rights in just four packages. Source: Sport Business, 27th Nov 2007

* Setanta is close to a clean sweep of rights away qualifying games of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the 2010 soccer World Cup, in deals with the sports agencies Sportfive and Kentaro, who were acting on behalf of the soccer associations of the home teams. Setanta also acquired rights for all of England’s away games except their game against Ukraine. Other teams in England’s group are Croatia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra. Setanta earlier agreed a joint, four-year deal with ITV worth £425 million ($874 million) to show the England soccer team’s home international matches and the FA Cup, beginning in 2008-09. Setanta’s share of the rights fee is believed to be £150 million. Source: Sportcal, 27th Nov 2007

* A Celtic Cup involving Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland has moved a step closer to reality after all four national associations agreed “in principle” to a biennial tournament starting in 2009. The agreement commits the countries to arranging three tournaments, played on a league basis. Home and away games will be rotated from one tournament to the next, with each team playing three matches per tournament. Commercial arrangements and fixture dates are now being finalised. Earlier on Monday, Nationwide Building Society threw its weight behind such a tournament by offering an annual prize fund of £500,000 for an annual Home Nations Cup. Source: Football Insider, 27th Nov 2007

* The PGA Grand Slam of Golf, the event contested by the winners of the season’s four major tournaments, will take place on the island of Bermuda for the second successive year in 2008. The 36-hole stroke-play competition will again be held at The Mid Ocean Club in Tucker’s Town on October 14 to 15. The event was held in Hawaii from 1991 to 2006. This year’s tournament was won by US Open champion Angel Cabrera of Argentina who beat British Open winner Padraig Harrington of Ireland in a play-off. Source: Sportcal 27th Nov 2007

* Centrebet has launched what it says is the first mobile phone wagering product in Australia, allowing customers to place bets via their mobile phone. The company expects half of its clients will be regular users of its new mobile phone wagering service within two years, and hopes it will lead to increased betting turnover for Centrebet and a broadening of its customer base. The product, developed in collaboration with mobile technology specialist Mfuse, offers free software that lets a customer use their mobile phone to check the latest live sports and racing odds and place bets. Source: Sports Media, 27th Nov 2007


MORE NEWS

India/Rights: BCCI Sets Base Price for Indian Premier League Rights

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has set a reserve price of $59 million per year for the domestic media rights to the Indian Premier League, a new Twenty20 competition due to start in April. Asian media giants ESPN Star Sports, Nimbus Communications and Sony Entertainment Television are competing for the property and can bid for a five or ten-year period, according to BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi.

The broadcasters made presentations to the board on November 20 and tender documents will be issued in the next few days. Bids must be received by December 20 and, using the base price, the board can expect to earn at least $295 million over five years. By comparison, Nimbus paid $612 million for the rights to India’s home international matches for four years up to 2010.

The IPL will involve eight franchise teams, comprising top domestic and foreign players, competing in a total of 56 matches for $3 million in prize money. Two English soccer clubs are said to be among the bidders seeking to own a team, the price for which starts at $50 million.

Indian media company Zee Telefilms has been excluded from competing for the media rights after its parent company, Essel Group, launched its own Twenty20 competition under the banner of the Indian Cricket League.

The six-team tournament commences on Friday and also involves a mix of home-based and overseas players. However, it has undermined by the BCCI, which has refused to sanction the event and threatened to ban Indian players who turn out for the matches at Panchkula, near Chandigarh. The league’s biggest signing is former West Indian captain Brian Lara who has this week called for the competition to be recognised. It has emerged today that foreign stars who take part in the ICL could also be recruited by IPL teams, but no such provision is being made for Indian players. The ICL's Twenty20 competition runs until December 16. Source: Sportcal, Indian Television, 27th Nov 2007

South Korea/Broadcaster: KT Closer to IPTV

Korea Telecom (KT) could have a “full” IPTV service up and running in the first half of 2008. South Korea is now one step closer to “full” IPTV – linear channels, not just video-on-demand after a special committee of the National Assembly last week approved a bill allowing operators to offer real time channels over telecoms lines. The bill is expected to pass through a full sitting of Parliament before the end of 2007.

There are two on-demand services already on offer over telecoms lines from South Korean telcos – KT’s Mega TV and Hanaro Telecom’s Hana TV. Combined, the two have around 1 million subscribers already. Seong Jang-hyun, a manager with KT Media, told a Korean newspaper that a full IPTV service would be possible in the first half of next year. .

However, there will be limits on an IPTV operator’s growth, partly to help protect the cable TV sector. Each telecoms firm will be limited to providing IPTV to a third of information technology customers in each of the country’s 77 service zones. Korea’s cable association vigorously opposes the move to allow telecoms operators onto their turf. Source: Rapid TV News, 27th Nov 2007

Elsewhere/Rights: TV Record Puts Down a Marker with European Championships Deal

TV Record, the Brazilian commercial broadcaster, has today demonstrated its commitment to top-level soccer by agreeing a deal to televise next year’s European Championship in its home market. The network has secured the free-to-air rights to all 31 matches to be played in Austria and Switzerland and will also transmit the draw for the finals, highlights and magazine programmes.

A similar deal has been reached with Meridiano, a commercial broadcaster in Venezuela, where the popularity of international soccer has been boosted by the staging of this year’s Copa America. The negotiations were conducted by Sportfive, the international sports agency which is distributing the rights to Euro 2008 on behalf of Uefa, European soccer’s governing body.

Record is becoming increasingly competitive in the market for major sports rights and is said to have offered to pay R$500 million ($273 million) a year to replace TV Globo, the powerful Brazilian media group, as the broadcaster of the country’s top league from next year. The offer compares with the R$300 million a year that Globo pays under the present deal. Record has already agreed a deal worth around $60 million to televise the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver and the 2012 summer games in London. Source: Sportcal, 27th Nov 2007


ARTICLES, COMMENTS, INTERVIEWS & OPINIONS

Sports Broadcast Ad Market to Grow to Rs7 billion This Year
Ashwin Pinto & Sibabrata Das Interviews Rukin Kizilbash for Indian Television, 26th Nov 2007

It has been a busy and somewhat testing time for Ten Sports. Last year Zee took a 50% stake in its parent Taj Television while this year the channel has had to make do without any India cricket showcase. As a result, it has had to push other properties. Additionally, a plethora of cricket rights that it holds come up for bidding in the coming months. Interview excerpts:

How has not having India cricket this year impacted Ten Sports?
It has impacted us quite a bit. It is a fact of life that things are not as smooth without India cricket. For each India series you make in the region of Rs 700 million to Rs 1 billion. Last year, Ten Sports had one series. The year before, there were two. However our reach and GRPs have not been impacted. This is in part due to WWE (wrestling). Our reach is at 30%. Next year should be better though as we will have India's tour of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.

But wouldn't it be a crucial phase for Ten Sports as two prime properties - Pakistan and Sri Lanka boards - come up for bids next year?
It will be a crucial 12 months for us as the rights for Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies come up for renewal. But we expect to renew our contracts.

Will the acquisition price for these rights shoot up with Sony back in the race and the others showing hunger to pocket more cricket properties?
I don't think that the acquisition price will shoot up drastically. India, after all, visits them just once in four years. So when you buy board rights, you basically buy one India tour. It is not like the ICC events where India always participates.

Why is it that you recently bought the South Africa rights for just one year?
We got the rights for South Africa and Zimbabwe for one year. We will hopefully get these rights for five years once the current period gets over. India visits South Africa in 2010.

Is cricket saturated in terms of ad rates?
No! We believe that the spot rate can keep going up. To give you a parallel, in the US a 30-second spot for the Super Bowl sells for $2.5 million. For us it sounds unbelievable but in the US clients like Budweiser and Microsoft are willing to spend $25 million on one match. They create campaigns just for that event. An India series costs $4 million to sponsor. So there is room to grow. We sold the India Pakistan series last year for Rs 350,000 for a 10-second spot. I believe that ESPN Star Sports sold the final of the T20 World Cup for Rs 750,000 per 10 seconds. The next India versus Pakistan series could see spots sold for Rs 500,000 per 10 seconds - or even more. Advertisers realise that India cricket is the only way to reach the entire country at one shot. Even the highest rated soap does not reach the entire country. Its primary audience is the Hindi belt.

Which is why the sports broadcasting market is going to see ad revenue growth this year?
We expect the sports broadcast ad market to be in the region of approximately Rs 7 billion this year, up from Rs 4.5 billion a year ago.

In terms of rates, how do India cricket series stack up against each other?
India versus Pakistan would be number one, followed by the series against Australia. A series against South Africa would be third. Clients need India cricket to create a big bang. Also a lot of the ad rates depend on when a series is held. Is it coinciding with the summer season or Diwali?

To what extent did T20 rejuvenate cricket?
It turned the sport upside down. It is certainly worth a lot more from an advertisers perspective than a 50 over ODI. The ratings for the T20 World Cup were double what you got for the India Australia ODI series. There is a lot more viewer retention as it lasts for just three hours. The instant cricket that T20 offers fits in with today's lifestyle.

Have ratings gone up for other sports?
Not substantially. There has been some growth though for tennis, soccer. Moto GP has also shown a decent jump. We have gone from maybe 0.2 to 0.4.

And what about ad rates?
We are seeing a surge in football. When we telecast the World Cup in 2002, we got an ad revenue of $2.5 million. We believe ESPN Star Sports got around $8.5 million this World Cup. The ad revenue you get from a non-India series like Australia versus South Africa is probably about the same as what you make for a season of Uefa Champions League.

How do you view the opportunities for broadcasters to grow other sports in India?
The opportunities are there for other sports to grow. Soccer, hockey, tennis are doing quite well, which we are trying to develop. Having said that, Indian cricket drives the sports broadcasting space. The challenge is to take the other sports on par with India cricket. We have to figure out how to deliver more TRPs and revenues from these sports. India will evolve from being a one sports nation but it will take time - and a lot of marketing effort from sports broadcasters to push these properties.

Can you offer an example of a non cricket sports event that has grown through nurturing?
A good example of nurturing is the soccer World Cup. The response it got last year surpassed all expectations. When EPL first started airing in India not many people were familiar with it. It has developed over the years due to sustained coverage. We will be doing the same with our properties including motorsports.

What marketing innovations are being done by Ten Sports to push these events?
We are doing an On Tour innovation. This is a six-month on-air promotion and the sponsors are Tata Sky, Idea and McDonalds. We take four contest winners each month for a different event. We started off in September with WWE in Paris. In October we took them to Kuala Lumpur for the MotoGP. This month is the Uefa Champions League and next month is Sri Lanka Cricket. In January, we will be featuring South Africa cricket. In February, there will be horse racing in Dubai. And we are marketing them in different ways. I would rather say that the Olympics as an event was bigger in the 1970s and 1980s compared to now. For next year I have heard that ESPN is looking to air it, besides DD. If that happens then the event will get a bigger marketing push that usual. Still the fact that Indian participation in the Olympics as well as performance is limited means that interest will accordingly be limited.

What are the rights you have recently bagged?
We have bought the soccer rights to the Dutch and French leagues. We believe that if we nurture them they can over the next three years reach the status of EPL. In terms of upcoming rights, the Australian Open tennis Grand Slam rights are currently being bid for. Wimbledon rights come up next year.

There is a trend of sports broadcasters doing long-term deals with a few clients. Is Ten Sports examining this route?
No! We prefer to do yearly deals as we know exactly what is on our calendar. Also if you do a long-term deal, you do not know what the ad rates will be the next year and the year after that. You could be under-selling. Another issue is that if I say lock in Pepsi for three years, then I exclude Coca-Cola and who knows? Maybe next year Coca Cola ups their marketing budget and launches three new products. I miss out on that action. With long-term deals you run the risk of ticking off companies by blocking them completely off the channel. These companies will then be more than happy to hop on to a rival channel.

How do you see the ICL and IPL faring?
ICL will rock. At the moment there is some uncertainty as it is a new format. But once it starts, it will catch on in a big way. You have established names, good production values, good stadium facilities. There will be Bollywood glamour. So it will be a fun experience for the family. While it is early for me to say anything about IPL, I don't think that they will get in each other's way. One initiative is from the governing body while the other is from a private player trying to boost the game's popularity and reach. They can co-exist.

After acquiring stake, why did Zee decide to sell ads through Ten Sports for its own sports channel?
We already have a dedicated ad sales team in place. We are selling ICL for them. We are selling it on air while they are selling it on-ground. Sometimes we package some of Zee Sports' properties along with our channel. At other times like for Indian soccer, it is done separately. It also depends on the client. If say someone like an LG is spending Rs 10 million, he may want to split it between the two channels. So we work out a package. We have products that Zee Sports does not have and vice versa. So it helps us sell better. It is a joint effort in terms of sales.

Are you looking at organising a sports event at a grassroots level?
Yes! We are working with Zee. We have identified three sports and we are deciding how to go about things. We might create an event from scratch or we might associate with an existing one and take it to another level. Zee is working with soccer. ESPN is working with hockey. We too are looking at a sport.

In terms of other sports, do you see soccer or hockey becoming a number two sport?
It is difficult to say which will come out on top. Hockey has picked up with our recent win and the whole Chak De spirit. Unfortunately, we are not playing in the Champions Trophy. Hockey has had its ups and downs. In terms of soccer, the Champions League is taking off. Both sports will depend on how India fares at them. But currently, soccer is bigger than hockey.

How is Ten Sports gearing up for new media? And is marketing on the mobile going to go beyond just SMS?
We are planning to do this next year. We are talking with Idea and Reliance in terms of how to take this forward. We are looking for a bigger platform.

You did a film innovation last year where you aired sports films. Are you planning more of the same?
Absolutely! We are planning to have the next batch soon. It is a question of getting sports movies. We are currently showing a series Simply the Best. Each episode looks at a great sports person like Sir Donald Bradman, Jesse Owens. Mohammed Ali, Sachin Tendulkar.

Is a one-sport channel like a Golf channel economically viable with new distribution platforms like direct-to-home emerging?
I think that a couple of years down the line it will be. When DTH reaches 5 million homes, you will see niche channels dedicated to topics like cooking, golf, travel and action adventure coming up.

Tuesday, 27th November 2007

SPORTS SHORTS

* Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom Company, the country’s leading telecoms operator, has denied a report that it has acquired the rights to broadcast next year’s Beijing Olympic Games through IPTV and mobile phones. The company said that the deal is still under discussion and has not yet been finalised. If agreed, the deal is expected to bring in significant advertising revenues and boost subscribers to the company’s multimedia-on-demand service from the present level of 350,000 to 1 million. Source: Sportcal, 26th Nov 2007

* Pay-TV in India is growing at 10% pa, but fierce competition means shrinking ARPU. A Screen Digest study shows that pay-TV in India has grown 10% pa since 2005, helped by competition between two DTH players Dish TV (launched in 2005) and Tata Sky (late 2006). Satellite reception grew 70% last year, but prices are tumbling. Zee TV’s Dish TV system has dropped price of its basic bundle from Rs210 ($4.60) to just Rs100 ($2.20) to stay competitive. Its programming and operation costs rocketed, and lead to “huge losses” for the quarter year. Three more DTH platforms are either on air or about to launch. Sun Direct TV is due on soon, and has signed with OpenTV for middleware. Two other groups (Reliance and Airtel) will launch next year. To help stay competitive Dish TV is backing the building and launching of its own satellite (ProtoStar) due in orbit in May 2008. Source: Rapid TV News, 26th Nov 2007

* Two companies have expressed interest in the four mobile TV licences up for grabs in Singapore. PGK Media says it wants to launch a ‘TV2Go’ service supplying 10-15 channels. Innoxious Technologies says it will supply eight channels, targeting 15-35 year-olds. Singapore’s Media Development Authority will issue four licences for mobile TV, to be issued in the latter half of 2008. One of the controversial proposals for all mobile TV services (including 3G services) is that they come under current broadcasting content regulations. Ms Ling Pek Ling, MDA's director of media policy, said it wants operators to follow existing TV programming codes so that objectionable content is not shown to young phone users. There is also no obligation on operators to supply public channels. Source: Rapid TV News, 26th Nov 2007

* The Women’s International Squash Players’ Association has added a squash tournament in Vietnam to its WISPA Premiere Series 2008 calendar. The WISPA Vietnam Open will take place at the Hanoi Country Club in March. Prize money has been arranged centrally by WISPA and Andrew Shelley, WISPA’s chief executive, said: ‘Squash is so embryonic in Vietnam that there is no national squash federation and so we are hoping to encourage its initiation to add to the Asian Squash Federation membership while we are building the event to focus attention onto our sport.’ The news follows last week’s announcement of another new WISPA Premiere Series tournament in Hangzhou, China, in January. Source: Sportcal, 26th Nov 2007

* Asian countries should get behind a single bid, possibly that of Australia, if they want soccer’s World Cup to be staged in the region in 2018, according to the president of the Asian Football Confederation. A highly competitive contest is expected now that Fifa, the sport’s world governing body, has decided to end its short-lived continental rotation policy for deciding host countries and opened up the field for the next available tournament and Mohammed Bin Hammam believes it would be counter productive to present multiple bids. Speaking ahead of AFC meetings and an awards ceremony in Sydney, Hammam said: ‘If we have one bid, all Asia can go and fight for that country. If there’s two bids, it would be difficult. If there’s two or three, we have to be polite and see who has the best chance and try to convince the others of that.’ Source: Sportcal, 26th Nov 2007

* Asian police have made 423 arrests after uncovering illegal betting activity across China, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The operation, codenamed SOGA (short for soccer gambling), culminated in arrests in October and November. A total of 272 illegal betting rings were shut down by the police, with Interpol estimating that these 'underground gambling dens' were responsible for $680 million of illegal betting worldwide. Along with the arrests, police seized $680,000 in cash, plus computers, mobile phones, bankcards and cars. Source: Sportcal, 26th Nov 2007

* Satyam has been signed up as the latest sponsor of the FIFA World Cup, becoming the first Indian company to engage in such a partnership. The consulting and IT services provider has been awarded global rights for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the 2014 event in Brazil and the two Confederations Cups which fall within the 2007-14 period. As the official IT services provider to the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, Satyam will be involved in developing the core IT event management system for FIFA and its service partner for IT, accommodation and hospitality - MATCH AG - along with local organising committees during the next seven years. Source: Football Insider, Sportcal, 26th Nov 2007

* The Cable & Satellite B’casting Assoc. of Asia (CASBAA) welcomed a decision to preserve C-band satellite spectrum in the region for TV services. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) took the decision earlier in the month at the World Radio Conference WRC-07, which CASBAA said “recognized the central role that broadcasting - and in particular pay-TV services - plays within the Asian communications market”. Simon Twiston Davies, CEO of CASBAA, said: “The interference-free operation of C-band satellite services is essential for mainstream satellite TV and cable TV platforms, mobile communications, Internet delivery and disaster recovery communications.” Source: Rapid TV News, 26th Nov 2007

* Sepp Blatter has urged rights holders of the world's top leagues to think about the game's developing countries. South Africa is one country where the local league is struggling to develop and maintain quality players, and there are concerns that fans are preferring to stay at home and watch more popular foreign leagues on television rather than turn up at matches in person and pump money into the local game. Live coverage of the Barclays Premier League, for example, is shown on South African television on Saturday afternoons - at the same time the country's domestic league games are taking place. Source: Football Insider, 26th Nov 2007

* Brazilian football club Flamengo unveiled the 750 horsepower single seater racing car that will represent the club in Superleague Formula, the motor racing championship featuring football club brands. The new series will feature the world's leading football clubs doing battle on track - 20 high-tech racing cars fighting it out from August, 2008. Flamengo joins leading European clubs AC Milan, FC Porto, PSV Eindhoven, Olympiacos, RSC Anderlecht, Borussia Dortmund, FC Basel and Galatasaray SK as the first teams onto the grid. Following on from the Brazilian launch, the championship will unveil entries from RSC Anderlecht in Belgium and FC Basel in Switzerland in successive weeks. Source: Sport Business, 26th Nov 2007


MORE NEWS

Global/Broadcaster: Volleyball World Cup Coverage Reaching More Than 200 Countries

The ongoing Volleyball World Cup in Japan is generating record TV coverage for the event, the sport's world governing body (FIVB) has announced. The tournament started on November 18 and will run until December 2, and three teams in both the men's and women's events will book their places at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Fuji Television is producing the event and providing high-definition coverage of the World Cup for the first time, and many of the games aired in Japan are attracting audience shares of greater than 20%. Footage from the competition is being distributed to 205 countries and territories across five continents through live and news distribution.

According to the FIVB, the event will reach a potential audience of nearly 450 million people around the world. Among the European broadcasters to be covering the tournament are RTR/Planeta Sport (Russia), Canal + (Spain), RTS (Serbia), Telesport (Romania), Polsat (Poland), Sport TV (Portugal), BNT (Bulgaria), Ma Chaine Sport (France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg) and Sport5 (Israel). In the Asia-Pacific region, Fuji (Japan) is joined by Shanghai Media Group Great Sports Channel (China, Taiwan, Macau), PCCW (Hong Kong), Channel 7 (Thailand), VTV (Vietnam) and KBS N (Korea). There are also broadcast partners for the tournament in the Middle East (Al-Jazeera), Africa (ERTT Tunisia) and the Americas (NBC in the United States). Source: Sports Media, Sportcal, 26th Nov 2007

Elsewhere/General: FIFA Offers Free Tickets For Locals

FIFA will hand out 120,000 free tickets to South Africans for the 2010 World Cup. Furthermore, the cheapest tickets for the World Cup will cost US$20 - but will also only be available to South Africa residents. The free tickets will be provided by FIFA's commercial partners. To ensure that South Africans on low incomes will be able to afford to attend World Cup matches, FIFA have confirmed category four tickets will cost as little as $20 for group matches and $150 dollars for the final - the lowest prices since 1990. Between 15% and 20% of the seats will be designated category four tickets.

The most expensive category one tickets will cost $900 for the final, FIFA announced at a news conference in Durban. The cheapest tickets for overseas fans will start at $80. Meanwhile kick-off times for the tournament will be either 13:00, 16:00 and 20:00 local time. World Cup organisers said measures would be taken to ensure the free and cheap tickets would not be sold on to overseas fans - it has been suggested that ticket holders may have to also produce South African ID cards to gain access to the stadia.

FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke said: “We are working on measures to make sure there is no black market.” Danny Jordaan (pictured right), chief executive of the local organising committee, added: “We cannot announce the measures three years beforehand as people will try to develop counter-measures. Our target is the poor football fans in this country and if there is someone in an England shirt in that seat we will know something has gone wrong.”

FIFA president Sepp Blatter expressed his confidence that all the stadia would be ready in time and said that in order to minimise labour disruptions construction workers will be given an annual bonus if they do not strike. Blatter said: “We are not only confident but we are sure all the constructions will be ready for the 2010 World Cup. They are transparent and honest that not everything may be ready for the 2009 Confederations Cup but there are enough stadiums for that, and for 2010 everything will be ready. We are more than confident and trust the organisation here.” Source: Football Insider, 26th Nov 2007

Elsewhere/General: Premier League Invited to Brazil to Explain TV Revenue System

A group of five leading Brazilian soccer clubs has invited officials of English soccer’s top-tier Premier League to address the top Brazilian league as they try to persuade their fellow clubs to adopt a new, ‘fairer’ system for the distribution of television rights revenues. The clubs – Flamengo and Botafogo from Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo (from Sao Paulo), and Cruzeiro and Atletico Mineiro from Minas Gerais – believe that they represent a cross-section of the league’s larger and smaller clubs and are arguing for an end to the present, three-tier distribution system which, they say, has been influenced by political considerations.

They want the Premier League officials to explain the benefits of the league’s well-established and widely-mimicked system in which 50% of television revenues are distributed equally to all clubs, 25% according to league performance and 25% according to the number of television appearances each club makes. The Premier League system will, they believe, provide a ‘reference point’ for negotiations over a new television rights contract.

The present deal, in which the rights are held by TV Globo, the powerful Brazilian media group, is due to end in December next year. The clubs believe that the emergence of rival commercial broadcaster TV Record, which is said to have offered to pay R$500 million ($277 million) a year for the rights, offers them an opportunity to create genuine competition for the rights for the first time. TV Record’s offer compares with the R$300 million a year that Globo pays under the present deal.

Under the present, ‘politically-motivated’ distribution system, clubs are divided into three tiers, with the clubs in tier one receiving the most money and those in tier three receiving the least. The present deal consists of six separate contracts, all held by TV Globo. They are: free-to-air television; pay-television; international rights; stadium advertising; new media; and pay-per-view. The tiers are as follows:

# Tier one: Flamengo, Corinthians, Sao Paulo, Palmeiras, Vasco da Gama;
# Tier two: Santos;
# Tier three: All of the remaining clubs.
Source: Sportcal, 26th Nov 2007

Monday, 26th November 2007

HEADLINE NEWS

Australia, China, Iraq in Group of Death

Australia, China and Asian champions Iraq were drawn together in a 'group of death' for the 2010 World Cup on Sunday, meaning at least one will not get through qualifying. From an initial 41 teams, Asian representatives have been whittled down to 20 with the first and second in each group from the third round progressing to the fourth and final round on the road to South Africa. Joining Australia, China and Iraq in Group 1 are Asian Games champions Qatar.

Japan, arguably the football power on the continent and a team that has qualified for the last three World Cups, will take on Bahrain, Oman and Southeast Asian powerhouse Thailand in Group 2 when qualifying starts on February 6. Korea Republic, Asia's most successful team on the world stage having qualified for the past six World Cups, face a trip to neighbouring Pyongyang after being pitted with arch-rivals DPR Korea in Group 3. Korean Republic, who made the semi-finals in 2002 on home soil, will fancy their chances of making their seventh finals with Jordan and minnows Turkmenistan also in their group.

Saudi Arabia, the losing finalists to Iraq at the Asian Cup earlier this year, will face Uzbekistan, Lebanon and tiny Singapore, who have never been this far before. In the final group, Iran, whose credentials remain strong despite a number of senior players reaching the end of their international careers, take on Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Syria.

Group 1 threw up an intriguing scenario. Australia are still learning the ropes of how football is played in Asia after their shortfalls were exposed in their inaugural Asian Cup in June where heat sapped their strength and they failed to make it past the quarters. Their task of making their second successive World Cup -- they qualified through Oceania for Germany in 2006 -- has been made harder with long trips to face Qatar and Iraq. Both matches are likely to be in Doha given the security situation in Baghdad.

China also has plenty to prove, as one of the region's underachievers. They had a taste of the World Cup in 2002 but has never quite lived up to expectations since. Asian champions Iraq will be in South Africa for the Confederations Cup in 2009 but whether they can return the following year will depend on whether new coach Egil Olsen can unite the team. According to goalkeeper Noor Sabri, "there is chaos within the technical staff and squad", leaving the Norwegian with his hands full. But he is hugely experienced, helping his home nation qualify for the World Cups in the United States in 1994 and France four years later.

And at least Iraq has a coach, in contrast to Australia, South Korea, and Iran who are all rudderless. Asia's best finish ever at a World Cup was in 2002 when South Korea finished fourth in the continent's first ever hosting of the showpiece event. And they have an excellent chance of making the finals again.

Japan, whose Ivica Osim had a stroke earlier this month, should top their group, with Thailand facing a test of their character against Oman and a tough Bahraini side. Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan will be favourites in their pool, but Group 5 is more open with Iran, Kuwait, UAE and Syria all capable of progressing. The winners and runners up from each group move to round four where they will be split into two groups of five with the first and second placed teams qualifying for South Africa.

GROUPINGS

Group A: Qatar, Iraq, China, Australia
Group B: Thailand, Oman, Bahrain, Japan
Group C: Turkmenistan, Jordan, DPR Korea, Korea Republic
Group D: Singapore, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia
Group E: Syria, UAE, Kuwait, Iran
Source: Asian Football Confederation Official, 26th Nov 2007


DID YOU KNOW…?

Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang's legs have been insured for $13.3 million in the run-up to next year's Beijing Olympics. Liu, who describes his legs as ‘priceless’, is one of the country's most celebrated sports stars and Ping An Insurance has agreed to provide coverage as part of its sponsorship of the Chinese athletics team. Liu won the 110-metres hurdles at the 2004 Athens Olympics, set a new world record in 2006 and claimed the gold medal in this year's world athletics championships in Osaka. The final of his discipline at the Beijing Olympics is expected to be one of the most-watched events of the games. Source: Sportcal, 23rd Nov 2007


SPORTS SHORTS

* Several major networks will be showing live coverage of the Archery World Cup Final in Dubai tomorrow. The top 16 archers of the year are competing at a floating platform in a lake at the Madinat Jumeirah Souk, close to the famous seven-star hotel Burj Al Arab. Eurosport 2, CCTV in China, KBS N in Korea, RTR Sports in Russia, Powerkhnost in Ukraine, RAI in Italy, TRT in Turkey, ART in Arab countries and Zee Sports in India. The following week Eurosport 1 will show a 26-minute highlight as will many other channels such as ESPN Star Sport, Ten Sports, Sport+, Hong Kong TV, Czech Sports TV, Setanta Sports UK, Al Jazeera Sports, NTV+ in Russia, Bandeirantes in Brazil. Source: Sports Media, Sports e-Media, 23rd Nov 2007

* Screen Digest says Asia has more than 15m subscribers to mobile TV, but revenues are miserable. Mobile TV, at least the free-to-air version, is growing at a pace in Japan and South Korea. Japan has some 6.5m adherents, while Korea’s free version has almost 4m registered users (Korea’s pay version has about 2.4m subs). South Korea’s broadcasters have seen revenues of just $24,000 last year. SD says for meaningful revenues to be achieved in the mobile space alone (as distinct to ad-revenues for simulcast broadcasts) the number of users has to grow. SD supplies a list of monetising free-to-air mobile services, including interactive income, data-services which need a subscription and sharing revenues on handset sales. Source: Rapid TV News, 23rd Nov 2007

* India cricket’s BCCI, confirmed the owners of two English football clubs had joined the battle to buy one of eight clubs in its new Twenty20 premier league. BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi told The Sunday Times the club owners were among a group of British business-men interested in investing. He declined to reveal their identities, although widespread speculation says they are Stan Kroenke, the American who owns a 12% stake in Arsenal, and George Gillett and Tom Hicks, owners of Liverpool FC. If ownership rumours are true, they’ll be joining Russell Crowe, Shah Rukh Khan and Vijay Mallya. Sources close to Modi said the new Indian Premier League (IPL) could double BCCI’s revenues to about $2 billion (£970m) a year, with each of the eight new club franchises generating hundreds of millions more. Source: Times Online, 25th Nov 2007

* The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expected to issue tender forms for broadcasting rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the coming week. According to industry sources, the winner might have to fork out over Rs1,000 crore (approx. US$250 million) for a five year telecast rights. The IPL, which will kick off in April 2008, will host 56 matches in the Twenty20 format and will have international and domestic cricketers playing in eight teams. The tournament based on the soccer event English Premier League, each team will be owned by a corporate. The company will have to buy team ownership rights from BCCI for around $50 million. This apart, the company will have to deal separately with each cricketer it wants in its team. Source: Business Standard, 25th Nov 2007

* Kenyan soccer is in line for a financial boost after South African-based pay-TV, Supersport, signed a four-year deal to televise matches from its top league. Starting in 2008, Supersport will show live matches from the Kenya Premier League throughout Africa. Supersport is understood to have outbid GTV, the new pan-African pay-TV operator which is seeking to challenge its rival’s influence on the continent. GTV has already agreed a five-year deal worth more than $5 million to sponsor and broadcast soccer in Uganda and a similar-length deal worth $3.5 million with the Tanzanian Football Federation. It has also concluded a four-year deal worth $6 million covering the competitions of the Council for East and Central Africa Football Association. GTV offered Ks41 million ($633,625) a year to the KPL, only to be outmanoeuvred by Supersport. Source: Sportcal, Kenya Broadcasting Corp., 23rd Nov 2007

* Tennis Channel has the exclusive US telecast rights to the exhibition series between all-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras and the current threat to his crown, Roger Federer. Sampras is taking on Federer in a three match series in Asia. The event started in Seoul, South Korea, then to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and will concluded in Macau in China. “Tennis Channel is proud to offer tennis fans the opportunity to see this monumental event in sports, both live as it happens on the other side of the world, and again in prime time,” said Victoria Quoss, Tennis Channel’s executive vice-president of programming and network strategy. Rafael Nadal’s clash with Richard Gasquet in another Asian exhibition match, will be aired via broadband on www.tennischannel.com on December 4. Source: Sports Media, 23rd Nov 2007

* The German Football League (DFL) has decided to shelve next year’s League Cup, on account of the Euro 2008 finals taking place in Austria and Switzerland. The League Cup acts as the traditional season opener in Germany, with Bayern München having won six of the 11 tournaments played since its inauguration in 1997. However, DFL president Dr. Reinhard Rauball believes a 2008-09 competition would be devalued with many Bundesliga star players turning out just weeks earlier at Euro 2008. Rauball told the DFL’s official website: “The competition cannot take place in any sensible sporting fashion, due to Euro 2008. For that reason, we have decided not to run the League Cup.” Source: Football Insider, Sportcal, 23rd Nov 2007


MORE NEWS

Elsewhere/Rights: French League Increases Rights Packages to Maximise Revenue

The LFP, the French professional soccer league, has confirmed that its new broadcast rights tender will be split into 12 packages, compared to four in 2004, as it aims to attract new bidders. The league is to issue the tender on November 30 and is hoping that the separation of the rights, coupled with a recent move to extend contract lengths from three to four years, will entice more competitors to a market traditionally dominated by Canal Plus, the pay-television broadcaster.

Canal Plus is the present holder of the live rights to the top-tier Ligue 1, but has repeatedly warned that it is not willing to match its current €600 million- ($888.6 million-) a-year deal for the rights from 2008-09. Fees from other rights holders, including France Télévisions, the public service broadcaster which shows highlights, lift the LFP's annual broadcasting income to €653.5 million. The league is reportedly looking to secure a minimum of €750 million per season from new deals. Competition in the French pay-television market has decreased since Canal Plus’ merger with rival TPS.

By tripling the number of Ligue 1 packages, the LFP is hoping to bring new broadcasters and telecommunications companies to the market, rather than rely on a single deal with Canal Plus. The LFP has also succeeded in preventing the clubs from showing their own matches in full for 24 hours in order to sell delayed rights to broadcasters. France Télévisions, commercial network M6 and cable operator Numericable could all be interested in different packages, although TF1, another commercial broadcaster, is looking to reduce programming costs after a significant investment in the 2006 World Cup.

Orange France, the French telecommunications company, has previously stated that it is not in a position to compete with Canal Plus for the bulk of the Ligue 1 rights and that it would rather concentrate on renewing its mobile rights deal. However, the operator could yet be tempted by certain packages, including the video-on-demand rights. Other internet operators that could join the bidding include Neuf Cegetal, Free and Iliad. Source: Sportcal, 23rd Nov 2007

Elsewhere/General: Eredivisie Set To Undergo Streamlining

The Eredivisie is set to undergo a drastic overhaul that will see the Dutch top flight cut from 18 to 16 clubs, according to a report in AD Sportwereld. The changes will take affect from the 2009-10 season, according to an Eredivisie spokesman, in a bid to increase the competitiveness of the league, and the news is set to be confirmed on December 13. The new Eredivisie will see 16 clubs play 30 games apiece. Following the conclusion of this stage, the top eight clubs will play a mini-league of seven games from which the Dutch champion, and the recipient of the lucrative ticket to the UEFA Champions League, will be decided, along with UEFA Cup qualifiers.

The club finishing bottom after the first 30 games will be automatically relegated, while the club above it will face a promotion/relegation match against the team finishing second in the Jupiler League. PSV Eindhoven director Jan Reker is believed to be behind the plan, with the goal to provide the Eredivisie with more top games, a new form of play-offs and fewer clubs to share the TV money. However, the 20 Jupiler (sponsor) League clubs in the second tier will need to agree with the proposals, which would see their competition turned on its head.

A further two clubs would swell the League to an unacceptable size, with one proposal being to form a ‘Topklasse’ consisting of the top amateur teams and Jupiler League clubs. If this is not agreed then some clubs could be disbanded with the Eredivisie spokesman providing a stern reminder of the top flight’s ambitions. The spokesman told AD Sportwereld: “If the Jupiler League doesn’t want to go with us in this plan, the Eredivisie will end the payments out of our TV money to them. We now finance, for a large part, that division.” Source: Football Insider, 23rd Nov 2007

Elsewhere/General: SportsQuest title sponsors US Pro Golf Tour

The re-launched US Pro Golf Tour has secured a three-year presenting title sponsorship agreement with sports and entertainment marketing company SportsQuest. Under the agreement, SportsQuest will underwrite all purses and expenses for ‘official’ USPGT events through 2010, subject to certain performance conditions. In 2008, purses for ‘official’ USPGT events are expected to exceed $2.1 million.

"This agreement is one of the major steps toward the previously announced re-launch of the USPGT in 2008, said Thomas Kidd, CEO, SportsQuest. “With the recent addition of ZC Entertainment to our holdings, we now have the experienced operating and marketing resources to assist the USPGT in rebuilding to its former state, delivering value to USPGT partners and professionals.”

In 2008, four 'official' USPGT events carry a purse of $400,000 each, while the official Tour Championship purse is $500,000. Purse amounts and official tour events are scheduled to increase beginning in 2009. The US Pro Golf Tour Presented by SportsQuest will be managed by SportsQuest Golf, a division of SportsQuest. Source: Sports Media, 23rd Nov 2007

Friday, 23rd November 2007

WHAT’S THE BUZZ?

More Repercussions of England’s Loss in Euro 2008

* More than 11 million UK viewers watched the England soccer team fail to qualify for next year’s European Championships last night. The defeat means that England will miss their first major tournament since the 1994 World Cup and it is estimated that their absence could cost commercial broadcaster ITV between £10 million ($20.6 million) and £12 million in lost advertising. ITV is sharing the rights to Euro 2008 with the BBC, which does not carry advertising. Source: Sportcal, 22nd Nov 2007

* Sportswear makers and retailers in the UK expect a slowdown in business after the England soccer team failed to qualify for next year’s European Championships. Umbro, which supplies kit to the team, issued a trading statement today in which it warned that revenues would be hit by a ‘substantial reduction’ in expected sales of the new away shirt. Umbro is endeavouring to reduce its reliance on the domestic market and is likely to broaden its international activities if acquired by Nike, the US sportswear giant. Nike has made an offer of £285 million ($587 million), but this could be blocked by UK retailers Sports Direct and JJB Sports, which together own 38 per cent of Umbro. The country’s Takeover Panel is examining whether the two companies are acting in ‘concert’ to thwart Nike. Source: Sportcal, 22nd Nov 2007


DID YOU KNOW…?

UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying action proved popular in the Netherlands, but the national team’s latest match was kept off the top spot in the television ratings for the week ending November 18 by an unusual annual event. The hugely popular Domino Day is a world record attempt for the highest number of falling domino stones, and this year the event was held in Leeuwarde. A total number of 4.5 million dominoes were placed for the attempt, which ultimately proved fruitless as only 81.6% of stones fell. SBS 6 carried coverage of the event and the action peaked at 21:00 with 2.66 million viewers, giving the network a 36.8% share. By contrast, Saturday’s Euro 2008 qualifier between the Netherlands and Luxembourg attracted 2.57 million viewers at 20:25 for a 36.2% share. Source: Sports Media, 22nd Nov 2007


SPORTS SHORTS

* Singapore’s StarHub is to screen selected 2007/2008 Premier League matches ‘live’ in full high-definition on a new HD channel - HD Showcase. “Based on the very positive feedback we received regarding our trial HD broadcast of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, we are confident that HD SHOWCASE will be popular among soccer buffs who want an even more immersive experience of the Barclays Premier League,” said Patrick Lim, StarHub’s VP of Cable TV Services.Subscribers will be offered at least two ‘live’ Premier League matches per match-week, and up to 92 matches for the current Premier League season. Source: Sport Business, 22nd Nov 2007

* Indian soccer’s Indian Professional League, or I-League, launched yesterday with 10 teams set to play each other on a home-and-away basis, as the sport bids for a foothold in what is regarded as one of the world’s great untapped soccer markets. The aim is to expand the league to 16 teams within the next three years. The league replaces a semi-professional league which began in 1996 and is backed by Zee Television, whose channels will market and broadcast its matches. PR Dasmunsi, president of the All India Football Federation, said: ‘It is the beginning of a new journey we have undertaken to recapture the lost glory of football in India.’ Source: Sportcal, 22nd Nov 2007

* Two events originally dropped from next month’s Southeast Asian Games in Thailand have been reinstated. The equestrian discipline of eventing has been reinstated when Indonesia confirmed entry to join Thailand and Malaysia. Vietnam is to join Thailand and Malaysia in contesting the women’s downhill mountain biking event. The addition of the two events takes to 475 the number of gold medals on offer. Only gold and silver medals are to be awarded in events featuring just three competitors. The games will be held in Korat and Bangkokfrom December 6 to 16. Thailand took over from Singapore as host of the games after Singapore pulled out in 2003. Source: Sportcal, 22nd Nov 2007

* A Dubai company will start satellite-to-mobile TV transmissions next year. S2M says the transmissions will cover the whole of the Middle East and North Africa and carry TV and radio services in S-Band. Wejdi Harzallah, S2M’s VP commercial operations said. “Users can roam from one country to another seamlessly and they have a wide range of channels because of the bandwidth on S-band, which allows a far wider band than on a terrestrial network." It has not been revealed which satellite operator S2M will use. Source: Rapid TV News, 22nd Nov 2007

* The World Volleyball Federation, the rebel body that has set itself up in opposition to the established FIVB, claimed today that it expects to finalise its biggest-ever sponsorship deal ‘in the next week,’ worth at least SFr1 million ($910,000). Geneviève Mendoza, the federation’s vice president, told Sportcal.com that the new worldwide partner is a multi-national company but refused to reveal its identity or sector. She said that the WVBF already has ‘about 10’ worldwide backers, as well as specific sponsors for the WVFB ProSeries, a beach volleyball league launched in Europe this year. Its biggest deal at present is with Arte e Parquet, the Italian-based flooring company. Source: Sportcal, 22nd Nov 2007

* A company has released a tool designed to streamline the process of arranging friendlies for professional football clubs. Sportrade’s system works by providing each club with an online calendar where they can enter in preferred dates for their friendly fixtures. Other clubs can then search dates in their calendars to find fixtures that meet their requirements. Otherwise the user can select to publish the dates to any user-defined clubs and even if the defined club is not a Sportrade subscriber it will receive an email informing them that a club is looking to arrange a friendly fixture on the required date. Source: Football Insider, 22nd Nov 2007

* FC Barcelona will put pen to paper on another agreement with a United Nations body on Friday, with the conclusion of a collaboration partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The Primera División giant already enjoys an innovative shirt sponsorship deal with Unicef, and club president Joan Laporta will conclude the latest agreement with UNESCO general manager Koichiro Matsuura in Paris. The agreement will mark the first time that a sports club has signed a global agreement with UNESCO to promote universal education, one which will be especially aimed at children and the use of sport as an educational tool. Source: Football Insider, 22nd Nov 2007

* US PGA Tour CEO Tim Finchem says the European Tour's new £4.88m ($10m) Dubai World Championship will help end complaints that high prize money in America is harming golf. He described the he season-ending event, which launches in 2009, as “great for professional golf globally.” "It reduces the clamour that, because purses on the PGA Tour are high somehow the quality of golf is suffering,” he said. The European Tour hopes the big jump in prize money will stop talented young Europeans moving to the US Tour, where the financial rewards have traditionally been greater. Finchem believe the cash injection shows it is possible for golf to match the money available in international team sports. Source: Sport Business, 22nd Nov 2007

* The organisers of the America’s Cup, sailing’s blue riband event, have today confirmed that, due to an ongoing legal dispute, the 33rd edition cannot take place as planned in 2009. Alinghi, the Swiss team which successfully defended the trophy in Valencia this year had hoped to invite challengers back to the Spanish port in two years’ time. However, a court case initiated in New York by US syndicate BMW Oracle has complicated matters and forced a delay. Source: Sportcal, 22nd Nov 2007

* VfB Stuttgart, the reigning German Bundesliga champions, look set to be forced to rip up their sponsorship contract with Bwin, the Austria-based betting firm, over government restrictions on advertising designed to protect Germany's state gambling monopoly. Erwin Staudt, Stuttgart’s president, said that the partnership would be hard to fulfill given the expected signature of a new inter-state betting treaty in January designed to protect the state gambling monopoly until at least 2011. Bwin is one of Stuttgart’s exclusive club partners, paying around €1 million ($1.48 million) a year for the privilege, but is in negotiations with the club to end the deal, Staudt confirmed. Source: Sportcal, 22nd Nov 2007


MORE NEWS

Japan/Rights: Terrestrial Deals Augment Serie A Coverage

A trio of commercial broadcasters in Japan have signed deals to broadcast Italian soccer’s top-tier Serie A with the sports agency MP & Silva and Dentsu, the Japanese advertising giant. The three networks – Fuji Television Network, Nippon Television Network and Tokyo Broadcasting System – agreed contracts to supplement the existing deal with SkyPerfecTV, the pay-television broadcaster, and make Serie A matches available to a wider audience in Japan, thanks to their collective reach of over 144 million households.

Fuji TV is to offer live and delayed coverage of Serie A games, while Nippon Television has live and delayed rights to three AC Milan matches before the club visits Japan for the Fifa Club World Cup, the top inter-continental soccer clubs competition, in December. Tokyo Broadcasting System’s rights are for news access and footage clips alone, to be broadcast during Super Soccer, its weekly soccer programme, and on news and sports programmes across its 28 different stations.

Rights sold in Japan by MP & Silva and Dentsu are for the home matches of AC Milan, Cagliari, Catania, Fiorentina, Genoa, Internazionale, Juventus, Lazio, Roma and Torino. Dentsu and MP & Silva formed a partnership in 2006 to distribute live and delayed rights to Serie A matches in Asia for three years, beginning with the 2007-08 season. SkyPerfecTV has a deal to show the majority of Serie A games but the broadcaster’s reach is restricted to 150,000 subscribers. Additional Serie A coverage is available in Japan on livesport.jp, the newly-launched sports streaming internet portal. Source: Sportcal, 22nd Nov 2007

Singapore/New Media: Mobile TV Means Rules for 3G

Singapore’s Media Development Authority is proposing to bring content on existing third-generation mobile networks under the same rules as any future mobile TV operations. And both sectors may now have to meet existing broadcasting content requirements. The regulator has outlined its proposals for how mobile TV will be overseen. One of its proposals is “to require both [mobile TV service] operators and cellular mobile TV operators to obtain broadcast services licenses before transmitting TV services over their networks.

To date, 3G operators have not been required to have their channels approved by the regulator. StarHub, SingTel and M1 all offer 3G TV channels. But the MDA said that it was taken a “platform-neutral” approach to all mobile TV services, so would need to “regulate mobile TV services equally regardless of the technology platform (e.g. 3G, DVB-H, DMB)”.

Up for grabs are four 10-year multiplex licences which the MDA is putting out to tender. Each can support three to 20 TV channels. The MDA confirmed it would not mandate any particular standard, although DVB-H trials are underway. Multiplex operators would have to have minimum network coverage of 95% of the island state. MDA also proposes requiring all multiplex licensees to offer capacity to third parties on “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions”. Source: Sport Business, Rapid TV News, 22nd Nov 2007

Global/New Media: Euroleague Basketball Gets Mobile

Euroleague Basketball (EB) has announced the launch of its new official mobile service, Devotion Mobile. EB said in a statement it is keen to bring the action closer to the fans by using “all interactive platforms and new technologies". EB trialled the service during the Final Four tournament in May, which saw Greek team Panathinaikos beat defending champion CSKA Moscow from Russia 93-91 in the final. The service, which has been developed in collaboration with technical provider FullSix, allows fans to receive the latest information about their favourite teams direct to their mobile phones.

Devotion Mobile is now available for fans in 69 countries, with pictures, game reports and up-to-date information available. The four subscription packages to the service also allow fans to get the latest ULEB Cup information. The Platinum Pack, which provides three SMS text messages and two MMS (picture) messages per week, is available for €44.90. The Devotion Pack costs €29.90 and provides two SMS messages and one MMS message per week, while the €24.90 Challenge Pack gives subscribers one SMS text message and one MMS message per week. There is also a basic Team Pack package available for €14.90. Source: Sports Media, 22nd Nov 2007

Elsewhere/General: Superleague Formula Ready To Tour Europe

Superleague Formula has confirmed its inaugural 2008 calendar, with the series set to visit top circuits in six different European countries. Five of the six circuits have been confirmed for the new motorsport championship with races at Donington in the UK, Nürburgring in Germany, Zolder in Belgium, Estoril in Portugal and Jerez in Spain. The fourth round will be staged in Italy at a circuit to be determined. The schedule for the Barcelona-headquartered championship has been approved by the Spanish Motorsport Federation for inclusion in the official 2008 Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) calendar. This will be finally approved at the World Motor Sport Council in early December.

Each round of the championship will feature two races with the world’s leading football clubs displaying their colours on 750 horsepower, V-12 powered single seaters. Already, nine of the 20 clubs have been confirmed for the Superleague Formula including AC Milan (Italy), PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), FC Porto (Portugal), Olympiacos (Greece), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Flamengo (Brazil), RSC Anderlecht (Belgium), FC Basel (Switzerland) and Galatasaray SK (Turkey). Negotiations with other clubs from the UK, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Russia, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, China, Korea and the United States are continuing to complete the grid for the August kick-off.

Superleague Formula 2008 Calendar:
August 30-31: Donington, United Kingdom
September 20-21: Nürburgring, Germany
October 4-5: Zolder, Belgium
October 18-19: TBA, Italy
November 1-2: Estoril, Portugal
November 22-23: Jerez
Source: Football Insider, Sport Business, 22nd Nov 2007

Thursday, 22nd November 2007

HEADLINE NEWS

BWF and Marketing Partner in Race to Deliver Masters Final Venue

The Badminton World Federation, the sport’s international governing body, is putting pressure on its marketing partner to secure a venue for the Masters Final in its inaugural Super Series after Qatar said it was unable to raise the necessary funding to support next month's event. The climax to the season, featuring the top players from the season, was due to take place in the wealthy Gulf state from December 18 to 23, but the BWF has been informed by Sports Marketing Promotions, the Malaysian company responsible for organising and promoting the Super Series, that there was insufficient sponsorship in place.

The onus is on SMP to find a venue for the $500,000 event, according to Anne Smillie, a BWF executive board member and new chair of the events committee, who said: ‘The contractual responsibility lies with the company.’ Alor Star in Kedah, Malaysia has been put forward as an alternative host, but the proposed new dates of December 18 to 22 are impractical because Malaysia’s religious ceremony of Hari Raya Haji falls on December 20.

Smillie said: ‘In fairness to players, officials, and most of all the thousands of spectators who support our great game worldwide, BWF are in close and urgent discussions with SMP to resolve this situation but the contract places the responsibility for the event with SMP.’

The Super Series is due to draw to a close with the China Masters in Guangzhou, China and the Hong Kong Open in Wangchai, Hong Kong on the next two weekends, but the failure to have a venue in place for the Masters Final threatens to mar the inaugural season. It will also be difficult to reschedule the event given that it is due to take place so late in the year and the 2009 series commences with the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur from January 15.

The Super Series was launched this year to raise the profile of badminton and provide continuity on the global stage. It has brought together events, offering at least $200,000 in prize money, in Denmark, England, France, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and China (2 events).

BWF executive deputy president Datuk Punch Gunalan said: ‘We are delighted with the success of the first 10 tournaments in this new 12-event circuit. 'Naturally BWF is aware of the frustration of our member associations regarding the Super Series Masters Final. We would like to stress that we are working hard to ensure the tournament proceeds and that all the players who qualify for the Masters have adequate time to prepare. ‘We want it to be the big success it deserves, with big crowds, worldwide TV coverage and great badminton.’ Source: Sportcal, 21st Nov 2007


WHAT’S THE BUZZ?

EURO 2008 QUALIFIERS: ENGLAND 2 – 3 CROATIA

* Croatia demolished England's dreams of a place in the Euro 2008 finals with a dramatic 3-2 triumph at Wembley that sent Russia through as Group E runners-up. Croatia players celebrate their astonishing victory at Wembley which sent England crashing out. England coach Steve McClaren saw his selection gamble backfire in a big way when rookie goalkeeper Scott Carson handed Croatia a crucial early goal. And McClaren is almost certain to pay for the multi-million pound defeat with his job after England proved second best on the night in almost every department. McLaren sent off David Beckham for his 99th cap along with Jermaine Defoe at the start of the second half and they briefly featured in a revival that saw England draw level. Source: CNN, 22nd Nov 2007

* A packed house at rain-soaked Wembley Stadium in London watched as Croatia's Mladen Petric launched a game-winner from 25 yards away in the 77th minute to lead his country to a dramatic 3-2 victory over England. The Croatian victory, which effectively eliminated England from qualifying for the EURO 2008 Championship, sparked widespread celebrations among soccer fans in England, who had feared that Steve McClaren would be the English team's manager for the remainder of the decade. Fans rejoiced in watching McClaren prove their constant chatter about how terrible a manager he is to be correct. Rallying cries of, "You dropped points to Macedonia, you pratt!", were heard in several pubs throughout London. Source: AOL Sports, 22nd Nov 2007

* The Football Association (FA) would have earned between £12 million and £24 million in extra income had England qualified for the finals of UEFA Euro 2008 . England only needed a draw against Croatia at Wembley to go through to the finals in Austria and Switzerland next summer. The FA had 45 licensees including companies such as Tesco and Kellogg's, which would have deals kicked in when England qualified for World Cup or European Championship finals. Under the agreements, the companies are allowed to sell England-endorsed products and memorabilia and the deals will bring in around £8 million to the FA. Substantial prize money also awaits the 16 finalists with a minimum payment of around £4 million, and if England or any other team wins all its matches and the final, it can expect to earn a total of around £16 million. Source: Football Insider, 21st Nov 2007

* The consequence of England’s failure against Croatia at Wembley in the UEFA European qualifiers could be worth £1 billion. Figures from past World Cup and European Championship tournaments demonstrate there was a significant economic boost that would have accompanies England's participation. According to a study by the Centre for Economic and Business Research the effect of non-qualification could be as much as £1 billion, based on an examination of the impacts of the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2004. The report predicts that an England failure to reach Euro 2008 would lead to a dramatic drop in TV advertising revenues and a fall in revenues for betting companies. The CEBR suggestes that a successful tournament for England would have contributed to a boost of more than £285 million for pubs, clubs and off-licences. Prior to the game, the English Football Association said that the immediate financial impact of failure was manageable. Source: Sport Business, 21st Nov 2007


SPORTS SHORTS

* Fans who attend the Morumbi stadium today to support Brazil in its FIFA World Cup qualifier against Uruguay will have the opportunity to buy a new commemorative shirt. Nike , Brazil’s sportswear partner, has produced a special yellow shirt for fans in which the Morumbi is included in the design. This is the second edition of shirts released by Nike, with the first being released last month for Brazil’s clash with Ecuador at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium. The main goal behind the scheme is to attempt to battle counterfeiting with adult shirts available for US$28 and children shirts for $23. Source: Football Insider, 21st Nov 2007

* Uefa has announced new television rights deals for Euro 2008 in Indonesia and Vietnam. All 31 Euro 2008 matches will be shown live on free-to-air networks of Indonesia’s Media Nusantara Citra, RCTI, TPI and Global TV. The networks will also show daily highlights. Additional pay-television coverage will be available on Indovision, together with further radio and internet coverage and mobile phone coverage on MNC’s Mobile8. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, Vietnam Television has been awarded free-to-air and pay-television rights. Free-to-air channels VTV2 and VTV3 will show live coverage of all 31 matches, while VTV’s cable and satellite pay-television arm Vietnam Cable Television will show 27 matches live on VCTV3. Source: Sportcal, 21st Nov 2007

* Three German Bundesliga sides are to travel to Indonesia and China next month in a bid to raise the league’s profile in Asia. Borussia Dortmund will face the Indonesian national team in Jakarta on December 19 while Energie Cottbus will travel to China to play the national team and a Chinese Olympic select team on December 18 and 20 respectively. Arminia Bielefeld, which make up the trio of touring Bundesliga sides, are set to play matches in Wuhan, China, including one against a team from the country’s top-tier Super League. Joerg Daubitzer, director for rights and licensing at the DFL, the German Football League, said that the trip was designed to increase the league’s television presence in Asia. He said that the league’s television distribution into 169 countries was comparable with competitors, but that work must be done to try and create more airtime for the league. Source: Sportcal, 21st Nov 2007

* The Asia Cup, the one-day international cricket competition featuring national teams from the sport’s power base, will now take place in June 2008, according to Nasim Ashraf, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board. The event was due to be held in Karachi in April, but has been moved to avoid a clash with the inaugural Indian Premier League, a Twenty20 competition which will involve top players from various countries. The 2008 tournament will involved the continent’s four test-playing nations – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – plus Oman and the United Arab Emirates. The last Asia Cup was held in Sri Lanka in 2004 and won by the host nation. Source: Sportcal, 21st Nov 2007

* You could be forgiven that the market for videotape is dead. Not so in the professional market, and the EU have hit three Japanese suppliers hard for price fixing. The three firms, Sony, Fuji and (Hitachi) Maxell have been found guilty of controlling prices in the tape market between 1999 and 2002, and been hit with a €75m ($110m) fine. Sony’s slice of the fine is the largest at €47.1m. Fuji’s fine was reduced 40% because it co-operated with the EU investigation. Maxell also earned a discount of 20%. Fines are capped at 10% of global sales, in this case valued on the market for Betacam SP and Digital Betacam tapes which back in 2001 had sales of some €115m in Europe. Source: Rapid TV News, 21st Nov 2007

* Cricinfo has become the world’s first dedicated cricket website to enter the free-to-access mobile content sector with the launch of Cricinfo MobiCast, a live ball-by-ball update and score card application. With the services, fans will be able to select from a menu of match action to receive live updates from Cricinfo’s ball-by-ball coverage and scorecards for international games, including England’s Test match tour of Sri Lanka. The new application is compatible with over 500 internet/GPRS-enabled handsets. There are no subscription or user tariffs from Cricinfo for the service and data is compressed to minimise network charges that may apply, based on individual service contracts. Source: Sport Business, 21st Nov 2007


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Elsewhere/Rights: Sportfive Hopes to Raise €70m from Euro 2008 Rights in Spain

Sportfive, the international sports marketing giant, is reported to be looking to raise at least €70 million ($104 million) from the sale of broadcasting rights in Spain for soccer’s 2008 European Championships. Public-service broadcaster TVE and commercial channels La Sexta and Cuatro are expected to fight it out for the rights, according to the El Periodico de Catalunya newspaper. Sportfive is marketing the Euro 2008 broadcast rights in Europe on behalf of Uefa, European soccer’s governing body. Spain is the only market out of the big five in Europe yet to agree a broadcasting deal for the tournament, which takes place in Austria and Switzerland next June.

Uefa has targeted at least €600 million from the sale of European broadcast rights and around €410 million has already been generated in France, Germany, Italy and the UK. Sportfive has intensified efforts to seal in agreement in Spain since Saturday, when the national team qualified for the finals, and representatives from the agency are expected in the country in the next few days to talk to interested parties.

A TVE spokesperson admitted yesterday that the broadcaster was interested in televising Euro 2008, saying: ‘We’ll push for the rights, as long as it’s economical and that the price meets our expectations.’ Sources close to the negotiations suggest that TVE is considering sharing the rights with FORTA, the federation of autonomous radio and television bodies.

La Sexta has also confirmed its interest and althouth Cuatro is yet to comment, there are reports that it could share the rights with the Digital Plus satellite platform. La Sexta is owned by Mediapro, while Cuatro and Digital Plus are in the stable of Sogecable. Mediapro and Sogecable have been embroiled in a fierce row over the rights to Spanish soccer’s top-tier Primera Liga, which has disrupted the start of the 2007-08 season. Source: Sportcal, 21st Nov 2007