DID YOU KNOW…?
The Stade de France celebrated its 10th birthday on Tuesday and its management has unveiled an innovative scheme to mark the occasion. All children born in 1998 will be provided with a free ticket for an event at the ground, while a further 100,000 tickets for all events have been made available at a price of Eur10. The 80,000-capacity, Eur350 million stadium in Paris was designed as the cornerstone of France's staging of the 1998 FIFA World Cup and was inaugurated perfectly as the national team defeated Brazil 3-0 in the final itself. "The Stade de France has a special place in the heart of every Frenchman, not just because of its spectacular structure but also because of the great memories which we created in 1998," Laurent Blanc, part of the side that won the World Cup. Football Insider, 30th Jan 2008
SPORTS SHORTS
* The Bangladesh Cricket Board is close to a record television rights deal with Nimbus Sport International after adjustments to a five-and-a-half-year deal originally agreed in November 2006. The $57-million deal was suspended after the Bangladesh government questioned its transparency. The deal covered 40 test matches and over 100 one-day internationals that Bangladesh were expected to play at home between late 2006 and the end of March 2012. The rights were previously held by ESPN Star Sports in a five-year deal worth $11.75 million, which expired in April 2006. Sportcal, 30th Jan 2008
* European football fans will soon be able to watch the next Kaka or Ronaldinho in action after Globo TV Sports agreed a deal that will bring Brazilian domestic football to Internet and mobile phone users throughout the continent. Globo will distribute the top games of the 2008 season from the Campeonato Brasileiro and São Paulo state championships. The 82 games from the Brazilian Magic Football package will be transmitted in English and in other local languages to 51 countries throughout Europe. The new agreement means that Globo TV Sports will now be distributing the best of Brazilian football to more than 130 countries around the world in 2008. Football Insider, 30th Jan 2008
* The International Archery Federation (FITA) has made all its videos and archives available on YouTube. All the videos, ranging from the last Meteksan Archery World Cup Final Dubai 2007 to the archives of the World Championships in 1957, have been uploaded to www.youtube.com/archerytv . FITA will continue to upload videos such as 26-minute highlights, medal matches, feature stories or interviews of stars archers. The initiative is designed to "attract millions of fans and the younger generation" to the sport, according to a FITA statement. In 2007, FITA has reached a cumulative 952 million TV viewers. Sports Media, 30th Jan 2008
* SportsDirect Inc. has linked with interactive content provider Horse Racing Simulation (HRS) to develop and launch a new channel. SportsDirect provides sports gaming statistics, odds and news and will offer the new channel through it's premier web property, www.covers.com . HRS will provide the primary content in the form of an educational-entertainment game platform that will allow users to experience horse racing through a virtual 3-D experience. The product will be similar to the one HRS launched for the Breeders' Cup event last year. Users will be able to jockey, train and fictitiously bet on races containing some of the greatest historic horses of all time, as well as upcoming major feature races such as the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes. Sports Media, 30th Jan 2008
* Eurosport has been named as the most-watched pan-European channel across all genres for the 13th year running. Eurosport topped two league tables published by European Media and Market Surveys, the bi-annual international media consumption report, one which studied households within the top 20% earnings bracket and one which covered the top 3% of earners. The EMS winter poll gave Eurosport a weekly reach of 31.2% among the top 20% earners, ahead of MTV, the music channel, which polled 26.6%. Eurosport topped the top 3% earners table, having polled a weekly reach of 34.2%. The EMS report included all pan-European television channels across news, music, sport, business, documentaries and travel. Eurosport has a reach in Europe of 112 million homes across 59 countries. Sportcal, 30th Jan 2008
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Singapore/General: Comcast-Spectacor subsidiary in Singapore sports complex venture
Global Spectrum, Comcast-Spectacor's facility management subsidiary, is expanding into Asia through its participation in a consortium to design, finance, build and manage the Singapore Sports Hub.
Philadelphia-based Global Spectrum, which manages about 70 stadiums, arenas and other public meeting venues in North America, is an equity partner in the $1.25 billion project, which will include a 55,000-seat multipurpose stadium with a retractable roof that lights up at night and doubles as a projection screen for special effects.
"After almost two years of a highly competitive process, we're thrilled to have been selected to be a part of the largest public-private partnership for a sports and entertainment complex in the world," said Comcast-Spectacor President and Global Spectrum Chairman Peter Luukko. "This is an incredible project and our company is excited to be working closely with the Singapore government and many partners in building this fabulous multipurpose sports complex for Singapore."
The Singapore Sports Hub will be built on a 87-acre site on the city's waterfront. The complex includes an aquatic center with Olympic and recreational pools; a water sports center for dragon boat racing, rowing, and kayaking; two-multipurpose indoor halls capable of hosting nine different sports simultaneously; a shopping mall; an office building; a sports medical center; a sports museum and library; and the existing Singapore Indoor Stadium, a 12,000-seat arena. It will also include an Olympic and recreational white water rafting course and a 500-room hotel.
The Singapore Sports Hub Consortium is led by Dragages Singapore and includes the HSBC Infrastructure Fund, Singapore asset management company United Premas Pte. Ltd. and Asian sports marketing and management agency World Sport Group. Comcast-Spectacor, which controls the Philadelphia Flyers and 76ers and the Wachovia Center arena where the teams play, is planning a mixed use development at the South Philadelphia sports complex. Comcast-Spectacor is a division of cable giant Comcast Corp. Bizjournal.com, 30th Jan 2008
Middle East/TV Rights: All Mid-East TV channels to be licensed
A Cairo top-level Ministerial meeting is about to consider fresh regulations covering broadcasting over the Middle East. The current problem is that in many Mid-East countries there is little or no need to be formally licensed to start broadcasting a satellite channel. A meeting of the Arab world’s Information and Broadcasting Ministers in Cairo on Feb 12-13 will consider a pan-Arab approach to the problem, exacerbated because the responsibility for policing broadcasters is increasingly falling on satellite broadcasters.
Amin Bassouni, chairman of Nilesat is also head of the Permanent Committee for Mass Media, reporting to the Ministerial meeting. He says that a study was started last June to bring regulation to the Middle East. “We decided not to reinvent the wheel and so we collected the various sets of rules that existed elsewhere in the world including America, Canada, Europe and the countries within Europe, and China. Oddly enough the last batch of media legislation that we have looked at is the new legislation given to Iraq.”
He says his sub-committee has now made a series of recommendations. “We very much want to respect freedom of expression, not just in the spoken word but also in art and culture, the theatre and cinema. But we also want to bring about an opportunity to demand that a broadcaster corrects on air something which is incorrect. The good broadcaster does this already. We want to make this a mandatory obligation and for stations to mutually respect not only the home where the station is viewed but a broadcaster’s neighbouring countries and regions.”
Salah Hamza, CEO at Nilesat (pictured, above), says the lack of licensing in some countries places satellite operators in a difficult position. “The lack of regulation means we have to be judge and jury when complaints are made. Moreover we think that proper regulation similar to that in place in Europe and elsewhere under the Television Without Frontiers system will actually be beneficial, not harmful. We think that once people understand the rules and regulations we will have more growth, not less.” RapidTV, 30th Jan 2008
Global/General: IOC Says No On-Screen TV Advertising During Olympic Events
The International Olympic Committee has denied reports that NBC, the US national television network, has been given dispensation to carry advertising on screen during events at this year’s Olympic Games in Beijing. The IOC told Sportcal.com that it was ‘not true’ that NBC, its main broadcasting partner, will be able to use up to one-fifth of the screen to show advertisements, but clarified that there are different rules for the internet. It was responding to a recent report by US magazine TelevisionWeek, which claimed that the IOC had agreed to allot NBC and other commercial broadcasters 20 per cent of the screen for still-frame and limited-motion advertising messages.
The IOC does not allow advertising at Olympic venues, even by official sponsors, and this ban extends to the television coverage of events. There is more leeway for internet rights holders, which are permitted to use around one-sixth of each website page for advertising purposes, although restrictions apply. These will be the first Olympics to feature comprehensive online video coverage and the IOC is eager to encourage the medium without exposing internet viewers to a stream of commercial messages. It said: ‘On the internet, the rights holders are allowed 15% of the screen for advertising, but not the actual video screen.
NBC will still have ample opportunity to capitalise on its Olympic coverage through lucrative advertising breaks and is estimated to have raised between $750 million and $800 million from the sale of spots, well on the way to its target of at least $1.1 billion. High-profile advertisers already signed up include Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, AT&T, Anheuser-Busch, General Motors, Visa, Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson, Nike and Hilton Hotels.
Over the 17 days of coverage, NBC has pledged to air 3,600 hours of coverage on its various platforms, and, despite the unfavourable time difference with China, a significant proportion will be live action. The network has already taken steps to maximise audiences for key events by negotiating with the IOC to have the swimming finals held in the morning rather than the evening in Beijing. Dick Ebersol, the chairman of NBC Universal and the Olympics, said: ‘The average night for us will be 75% live, and that’s unheard of for an Olympics in the Far East. By delivering the best events for US audiences live, it’s the ultimate knockout for the Olympics audience base, and advertisers are responding to that.’
Prime time slots are said to be worth 10 per cent more than at the last games in Athens in 2004. In all, NBC plans to offer 212 hours of Olympic coverage per day, three times as much as four years ago. The television coverage will be spread across the main NBC channel, cable networks USA, CNBC and MSNBC and Spanish-language network Telemundo. NBC has also concluded a deal with software corporation Microsoft, which will involve NBCOlympics.com being designated as the official US online home of the Beijing games. Internet viewers will have access to more than 3,000 hours of live and on-demand content and NBC and Microsoft will share online advertising revenue. Sportcal, 30th Jan 2008
Wednesday, 30th January 2008
SPORTS SHORTS
* MP & Silva and ONE O ONE secured key broadcast deals for the inaugural Speedcar Series in over 50 countries in Middle East and Asia with several key regional broadcasters, STAR Sports, Al Jazeera Sports Channel, Showtime, Dubai Sports Channel, and Indonesian terrestrial, TRANS TV. Over 50 territories across Middle East and Asia will be covered by the concluded deals, including China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and most countries in Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The series, which will span across countries in the Middle East and Asia, will feature ex-F1 drivers, Jean Alesi, Johnny Herbert, Stefan Johansson and Narain Karthikeyan. Sport Business, 29th Jan 2008
* In cooperation with the Sumo Association, bid committee, TOKYO 2016 has recently been engaged in several promotional activities at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament from 13 to 27 January at Tokyo’s Kokugikan Arena, the proposed venue for the Olympic boxing matches in TOKYO 2016's novel Olympic Games proposal. As part of a unique approach to promoting awareness and support of its bid, TOKYO 2016 set up an information booth at the lobby and also sponsored a tour to bring 15 winning families to view sumo at the tournament on 20 January. Sports e-Media, 29th Jan 2008
* Kia Motors Corporation has extended its sponsorship of the Australian Open in a multi-year deal that will include broadcasting the tournament to fans at public locations in China and Australia. The five-year agreement includes plans to install three big screens at 'Kia Live Sites' in Shanghai at Century Square, outside Melbourne Park and at the Overseas Passenger Terminal located near the Sydney Opera House during future tournaments. This year's Australian Open concluded at the weekend, with Novak Djokovic lifting the men's trophy and Maria Sharapova winning in the women's event. Sports Media, 29th Jan 2008
* The Board of Control for Cricket in India has set a base price of $6 million per year for bids from companies looking to sponsor the Indian Premier League, its new Twenty20 competition. The winner will be announced on February 6 and the BCCI has said it is interested in hearing from firms outside India, as well as domestic companies. With the television rights having been awarded to a group including Indian broadcaster Sony Entertainment Television and sports agency World Sport Group and the competing teams having been snapped up by eight eager bidders, the IPL is now taking shape and the BCCI believes it will have international appeal. Sportcal, 29th Jan 2008
* Digvijay Singh, chief executive of Nimbus Sport International, has been promoted to chief executive of its parent company, Nimbus Communications, headquartered in Mumbai. Singh’s new job means that he will oversee all of the groups’ activities in sport, entertainment, new media, home video and related activities. The appointment is part of a reorganisation of the group’s leadership structure, according to Singh, in which the present managing director Akash Khurana will continue in the position, but with special responsibility for human resources, evolution of best practices, corporate governance and guiding the company’s ‘strategic think tank.’ Sportcal, 29th Jan 2008
* South Africa’s Premier Soccer League believes that their legal battle with broadcaster SABC is "now history" following the conclusion of arbitration proceedings. The PSL was forced to respond on two SABC applications for urgent interdicts attempting to prevent the League from going to market with its broadcast rights. The PSL announced in June that pay-TV platform Supersport had won exclusive TV rights to air matches from the League. SABC was also in the running for the contract, which covers domestic competition before and after the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The 5-year agreement between Supersport and PSL was reportedly worth over R1 billion (US$140 million). Football Insider, Sport Business, Sportcal, 29th Jan 2008
* Global Sportnet is exclusively marketing the international TV rights to the 'Cristiano Ronaldo documentary' - produced by Portuguese broadcaster SIC. Global Sportnet has a two-year deal with SIC to distribute the inside story of the Portugal and Manchester United forward. So far, broadcaster agreements outside of Portugal have been reached with ITV in the UK, TVE in Spain and many other countries such as the Netherlands, Iceland, Romania, Brazil, South Korea, China and Malaysia. "A number of deals are expected to be signed in the first quarter of 2008," reported a statement from Global Sportnet. Football Insider, 29th Jan 2008
* Five new continental cup competitions are to be introduced to existing series in the international triathlon calendar this season, says the International Triathlon Union. Two of the new events will take place in Europe, two in Africa and one in Asia. The new Asian event in Seoul, the first ITU-sanctioned event to be held in the South Korean capital, brings to 13 the number of Asian Cup events. The event, which will offer prize money of $50,000, will help to prepare the city for its bid to stage the ITU Triathlon World Championships in 2012. The continental cup events are important for athletes aiming to gain points to compete in the top-tier annual World Cup series. Sportcal, 29th Jan 2008
MORE NEWS
India/Broadcaster: Ads and Not Subs Good Business for Zee
Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zee), operator of the Zee group of channels in india, has seen advertising revenues rise by a quarter over the last year. Ad revenues for the three months to December 31 2007 rose 25.3% to Rs2,638 million (US$67 million) compared with the same quarter 2006. However, revenues from subscriptions to Zee’s channels fell 0.3% to Rs1,950 million. Zee said that the increase in advertising was a reflection of the success of its channels, highlighting the growth of its flagship service Zee TV. Over the quarter the channel grew its audience share from 30% to 31% (although as the figures are rounded, the growth could actually be under one percentage point).
Subhash Chandra, Chairman of Zee (pictured, left), said: “We have recorded a robust 24.1% growth in operating revenue which is led by advertising revenues growth of 25.3%. Our television broadcasting business continues to lead industry in converting rating success into strong revenue growth. The performance reflects our ability to deliver sustained growth despite lower traction in subscription revenues. We look forward to a strong finish to this year and we are confident of our growth prospects for FY2009.”
Total operating revenues at the group rose 24.1% on the corresponding period 2006 to Rs5,182 million, although expenditure rose also, up 28.2% at Rs3,613 million. Both were affected by Ten Sports’ (Zee’s sports network) coverage of the new I-League cricket competition, with syndicated sales good, but higher costs due to broadcasting of events. Expenses increases were also partly due to the launch of new youth-oriented channel Zee Next during the quarter. Operating income rose 15.6% to Rs1,569 million, also impacted by the launch of Zee Next, with profit after tax at Rs1,135 million, a rise of 18.4%. Rapid TV News, 29th Jan 2008
China/New Media: China's mobile phone penetration rate reaches 41.6%
Thanks to the sharp reduction in mobile call charge in the recent years, the number of mobile phone users has entered a high growth period in China. According to the latest statistics released by the Ministry of Information, the mobile phone penetration rate reached 41.6% at the end of 2007, with the number of mobile phone users hitting 547 million, an increase of 86.228 million over the end of the previous year and increasing nearly 7.19 million monthly on average.
The volume of mobile phone text message sent last year also witnessed a year on year rise of 37.8%. The sustained high growth of mobile phone users protrudes the predicament of fixed-line telecom operators. Data shows that the number of fixed-line phone users of China Telecom decreased 1.48 million in December to 220.3 million and it has declined for five consecutive months; and that of China Netcom had a net reduction of 2.53 million in December to be 111 million and it has scored a net loss of users for six months running.
China's two major mobile telecom operators, China Mobile and China Unicom, chalk up a steady growth in new users. According to the published data, China Mobile recruited additional 6.556 million users in December, a little bigger than November's figure of 6.517 million, raising the base of its total users to 369 million; and China Unicom enrolled 1.361 million new mobile phone users, including 1.035 million GSM mobile phone users and 327,000 CDMA mobile phone users, to bring its total mobile phone users to 160 million. telecomasia.net, 30th Jan 2008
China/New Media: China Mobile seeking more acquisitions overseas
China Mobile, the country's top wireless operator, plans to take advantage of the global stock market downturn to acquire overseas telecom firms that have now become cheaper, an AFP report said. "(China Mobile) would like to acquire high-quality and profit-making telecommunications enterprises overseas," Lei Yu, a spokeswoman of China Mobile's Hong Kong-listed unit, was quoted by the AFP report as saying. She declined to provide any timetable for the expansion, the AFP report said.
The official China Securities Journal reported that the company was eyeing some relatively small telecom companies in other Asian markets as declining stock market had resulted in lower prices, the report said. So far China Mobile has made only one overseas takeover, buying an 88.86% stake in Pakistan's fifth-largest mobile operator Paktel for $284 million in January 2007, the AFP report further said. telecomasia.net, 30th Jan 2008
Hong Kong/New Media: Views sought on Hong Kong mobile TV
The Office of the Telecommunications Authority has launched its second consultation on the development of mobile television services in Hong Kong. It proposes to allocate one multiplex in the UHF Band and two multiplexes in Band III for deployment of broadcast-type mobile TV services.
For the allocation of the multiplexes in UHF Band and Band III, it proposes to adopt a pro-mobile TV approach. At least 50% of the transmission capacity should be used to carry mobile TV content, while the remainder can be used to provide other ancillary services. To give operators flexibility the 50 per cent mandatory percentage of transmission capacity dedicated for mobile TV content will be subject to review five years after the service launch. ATV, 30th Jan 2008
Korea/New Media: Hollywood goes to South Korea
Two new content deals show that South Korea has become a neat territory for global content providers pushing into new technologies. Sony Pictures Television International has become the first Hollywood major to offer full-length movies and TV shows on SK Telecom’s mobile TV platform. SK Telecom, one of South Korea’s mobile operators, offers on-demand mobile platforms, Nate and June. The operator has some 22 million subscribers. Under the agreement, a selection of Sony’s TV series plus movies from Columbia and TriStar will be available on demand to SK Telecom’s mobile TV platform customers at between Won1,000 and Won2,000 a time, plus data fees.
Content includes at launch Spider-Man, Kung Fu Hustle and series The Tudors. Soo Hyeok Lee, VP of music business office at SK Telecom promised more content would follow. “We will continue to expand our partnership with media companies to enrich mobile-based video content services,” he said. The platform already offers series from HBO but has now become the first South Korean operator to offer feature-length content on mobiles.
SK Telecom is ramping up its TV activities, having agreed last year to buy Hanarotelecom, which operates the Hana TV IPTV service. Hana TV said today it had signed another major up to its on-demand IPTV platform, with Walt Disney agreeing to provide its movies such as Finding Nemo and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise to the platform. Disney becomes the seventh international movie producer to offer its fare on Hana TV, with others including Warner Bros, Universal Pictures and Sony.
Hana TV is also developing its “real-time” IPTV channel service, to launch later in 2008. The Korean Parliament passed legislation allowing IPTV operators to branch out from on-demand offerings at the end of last year. Rapid TV News, 29th Jan 2008
Korea/New Media: Korea's Encoder Deployed
Harmonic Inc. today announced that C&M Co., Ltd., a leading cable TV operator in Korea with more than two million subscribers, has deployed Harmonic's DiviCom(R) Electra(TM) 7000 encoder for Asia's first live high definition (HD) MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) video service in a cable environment. Introduced in September 2006, the industry-leading Electra 7000 has been selected by top tier satellite, telco and cable operators in North America, Europe and Asia to provide the highest quality, ultra-low bit-rate compression for more than 1,500 HD H.264 channels.
The increasing availability of HD content, affordable HDTV sets and set-top boxes is strengthening consumer demand for HD services in Korea, as in many countries around the world. This trend, combined with intensifying competition from satellite direct-to-home providers and the expansion of video-over-DSL services, necessitates the addition of more HD programming by cable operators such as C&M. BroadcastNewsRoom, Harmonic, 29th Jan 2008
Elsewhere/General: Concacaf Prepares for Launch of Own Champions League
Concacaf, the governing body for soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean, has revealed the format for its new Champions League, which will get under way in August. The 24-team tournament is modelled on the Uefa Champions League, the top European clubs competition, and will replace the Concacaf Champions Cup, which has determined the top team in the region since 1962.
The Concacaf Champions League will be more representative than the eight-team Champions Cup, which currently involves two teams from each of Mexico and the USA, three from Central America and one from the Caribbean. Mexico and the USA will each be represented by four teams in the new competition, which will also feature three from the Caribbean and two each from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama and one from each of Canada, Belize and Nicaragua.
Eight teams will be seeded, including two each from Mexico and the USA and one from each of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, and progress directly to the first round of the Concacaf Champions League. The remaining 16 teams will play home and away ties in the preliminary round in late August and early September.
The group stage will comprise 16 teams divided into four groups of four. Two teams from each group will qualify for the quarter finals and the tournament culminates with the final, held over two legs, next April. The winning team earns a place at the Fifa Club World Cup held at the end of the calendar year. Sportcal, 29th Jan 2008
* MP & Silva and ONE O ONE secured key broadcast deals for the inaugural Speedcar Series in over 50 countries in Middle East and Asia with several key regional broadcasters, STAR Sports, Al Jazeera Sports Channel, Showtime, Dubai Sports Channel, and Indonesian terrestrial, TRANS TV. Over 50 territories across Middle East and Asia will be covered by the concluded deals, including China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and most countries in Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The series, which will span across countries in the Middle East and Asia, will feature ex-F1 drivers, Jean Alesi, Johnny Herbert, Stefan Johansson and Narain Karthikeyan. Sport Business, 29th Jan 2008
* In cooperation with the Sumo Association, bid committee, TOKYO 2016 has recently been engaged in several promotional activities at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament from 13 to 27 January at Tokyo’s Kokugikan Arena, the proposed venue for the Olympic boxing matches in TOKYO 2016's novel Olympic Games proposal. As part of a unique approach to promoting awareness and support of its bid, TOKYO 2016 set up an information booth at the lobby and also sponsored a tour to bring 15 winning families to view sumo at the tournament on 20 January. Sports e-Media, 29th Jan 2008
* Kia Motors Corporation has extended its sponsorship of the Australian Open in a multi-year deal that will include broadcasting the tournament to fans at public locations in China and Australia. The five-year agreement includes plans to install three big screens at 'Kia Live Sites' in Shanghai at Century Square, outside Melbourne Park and at the Overseas Passenger Terminal located near the Sydney Opera House during future tournaments. This year's Australian Open concluded at the weekend, with Novak Djokovic lifting the men's trophy and Maria Sharapova winning in the women's event. Sports Media, 29th Jan 2008
* The Board of Control for Cricket in India has set a base price of $6 million per year for bids from companies looking to sponsor the Indian Premier League, its new Twenty20 competition. The winner will be announced on February 6 and the BCCI has said it is interested in hearing from firms outside India, as well as domestic companies. With the television rights having been awarded to a group including Indian broadcaster Sony Entertainment Television and sports agency World Sport Group and the competing teams having been snapped up by eight eager bidders, the IPL is now taking shape and the BCCI believes it will have international appeal. Sportcal, 29th Jan 2008
* Digvijay Singh, chief executive of Nimbus Sport International, has been promoted to chief executive of its parent company, Nimbus Communications, headquartered in Mumbai. Singh’s new job means that he will oversee all of the groups’ activities in sport, entertainment, new media, home video and related activities. The appointment is part of a reorganisation of the group’s leadership structure, according to Singh, in which the present managing director Akash Khurana will continue in the position, but with special responsibility for human resources, evolution of best practices, corporate governance and guiding the company’s ‘strategic think tank.’ Sportcal, 29th Jan 2008
* South Africa’s Premier Soccer League believes that their legal battle with broadcaster SABC is "now history" following the conclusion of arbitration proceedings. The PSL was forced to respond on two SABC applications for urgent interdicts attempting to prevent the League from going to market with its broadcast rights. The PSL announced in June that pay-TV platform Supersport had won exclusive TV rights to air matches from the League. SABC was also in the running for the contract, which covers domestic competition before and after the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The 5-year agreement between Supersport and PSL was reportedly worth over R1 billion (US$140 million). Football Insider, Sport Business, Sportcal, 29th Jan 2008
* Global Sportnet is exclusively marketing the international TV rights to the 'Cristiano Ronaldo documentary' - produced by Portuguese broadcaster SIC. Global Sportnet has a two-year deal with SIC to distribute the inside story of the Portugal and Manchester United forward. So far, broadcaster agreements outside of Portugal have been reached with ITV in the UK, TVE in Spain and many other countries such as the Netherlands, Iceland, Romania, Brazil, South Korea, China and Malaysia. "A number of deals are expected to be signed in the first quarter of 2008," reported a statement from Global Sportnet. Football Insider, 29th Jan 2008
* Five new continental cup competitions are to be introduced to existing series in the international triathlon calendar this season, says the International Triathlon Union. Two of the new events will take place in Europe, two in Africa and one in Asia. The new Asian event in Seoul, the first ITU-sanctioned event to be held in the South Korean capital, brings to 13 the number of Asian Cup events. The event, which will offer prize money of $50,000, will help to prepare the city for its bid to stage the ITU Triathlon World Championships in 2012. The continental cup events are important for athletes aiming to gain points to compete in the top-tier annual World Cup series. Sportcal, 29th Jan 2008
MORE NEWS
India/Broadcaster: Ads and Not Subs Good Business for Zee
Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zee), operator of the Zee group of channels in india, has seen advertising revenues rise by a quarter over the last year. Ad revenues for the three months to December 31 2007 rose 25.3% to Rs2,638 million (US$67 million) compared with the same quarter 2006. However, revenues from subscriptions to Zee’s channels fell 0.3% to Rs1,950 million. Zee said that the increase in advertising was a reflection of the success of its channels, highlighting the growth of its flagship service Zee TV. Over the quarter the channel grew its audience share from 30% to 31% (although as the figures are rounded, the growth could actually be under one percentage point).
Subhash Chandra, Chairman of Zee (pictured, left), said: “We have recorded a robust 24.1% growth in operating revenue which is led by advertising revenues growth of 25.3%. Our television broadcasting business continues to lead industry in converting rating success into strong revenue growth. The performance reflects our ability to deliver sustained growth despite lower traction in subscription revenues. We look forward to a strong finish to this year and we are confident of our growth prospects for FY2009.”
Total operating revenues at the group rose 24.1% on the corresponding period 2006 to Rs5,182 million, although expenditure rose also, up 28.2% at Rs3,613 million. Both were affected by Ten Sports’ (Zee’s sports network) coverage of the new I-League cricket competition, with syndicated sales good, but higher costs due to broadcasting of events. Expenses increases were also partly due to the launch of new youth-oriented channel Zee Next during the quarter. Operating income rose 15.6% to Rs1,569 million, also impacted by the launch of Zee Next, with profit after tax at Rs1,135 million, a rise of 18.4%. Rapid TV News, 29th Jan 2008
China/New Media: China's mobile phone penetration rate reaches 41.6%
Thanks to the sharp reduction in mobile call charge in the recent years, the number of mobile phone users has entered a high growth period in China. According to the latest statistics released by the Ministry of Information, the mobile phone penetration rate reached 41.6% at the end of 2007, with the number of mobile phone users hitting 547 million, an increase of 86.228 million over the end of the previous year and increasing nearly 7.19 million monthly on average.
The volume of mobile phone text message sent last year also witnessed a year on year rise of 37.8%. The sustained high growth of mobile phone users protrudes the predicament of fixed-line telecom operators. Data shows that the number of fixed-line phone users of China Telecom decreased 1.48 million in December to 220.3 million and it has declined for five consecutive months; and that of China Netcom had a net reduction of 2.53 million in December to be 111 million and it has scored a net loss of users for six months running.
China's two major mobile telecom operators, China Mobile and China Unicom, chalk up a steady growth in new users. According to the published data, China Mobile recruited additional 6.556 million users in December, a little bigger than November's figure of 6.517 million, raising the base of its total users to 369 million; and China Unicom enrolled 1.361 million new mobile phone users, including 1.035 million GSM mobile phone users and 327,000 CDMA mobile phone users, to bring its total mobile phone users to 160 million. telecomasia.net, 30th Jan 2008
China/New Media: China Mobile seeking more acquisitions overseas
China Mobile, the country's top wireless operator, plans to take advantage of the global stock market downturn to acquire overseas telecom firms that have now become cheaper, an AFP report said. "(China Mobile) would like to acquire high-quality and profit-making telecommunications enterprises overseas," Lei Yu, a spokeswoman of China Mobile's Hong Kong-listed unit, was quoted by the AFP report as saying. She declined to provide any timetable for the expansion, the AFP report said.
The official China Securities Journal reported that the company was eyeing some relatively small telecom companies in other Asian markets as declining stock market had resulted in lower prices, the report said. So far China Mobile has made only one overseas takeover, buying an 88.86% stake in Pakistan's fifth-largest mobile operator Paktel for $284 million in January 2007, the AFP report further said. telecomasia.net, 30th Jan 2008
Hong Kong/New Media: Views sought on Hong Kong mobile TV
The Office of the Telecommunications Authority has launched its second consultation on the development of mobile television services in Hong Kong. It proposes to allocate one multiplex in the UHF Band and two multiplexes in Band III for deployment of broadcast-type mobile TV services.
For the allocation of the multiplexes in UHF Band and Band III, it proposes to adopt a pro-mobile TV approach. At least 50% of the transmission capacity should be used to carry mobile TV content, while the remainder can be used to provide other ancillary services. To give operators flexibility the 50 per cent mandatory percentage of transmission capacity dedicated for mobile TV content will be subject to review five years after the service launch. ATV, 30th Jan 2008
Korea/New Media: Hollywood goes to South Korea
Two new content deals show that South Korea has become a neat territory for global content providers pushing into new technologies. Sony Pictures Television International has become the first Hollywood major to offer full-length movies and TV shows on SK Telecom’s mobile TV platform. SK Telecom, one of South Korea’s mobile operators, offers on-demand mobile platforms, Nate and June. The operator has some 22 million subscribers. Under the agreement, a selection of Sony’s TV series plus movies from Columbia and TriStar will be available on demand to SK Telecom’s mobile TV platform customers at between Won1,000 and Won2,000 a time, plus data fees.
Content includes at launch Spider-Man, Kung Fu Hustle and series The Tudors. Soo Hyeok Lee, VP of music business office at SK Telecom promised more content would follow. “We will continue to expand our partnership with media companies to enrich mobile-based video content services,” he said. The platform already offers series from HBO but has now become the first South Korean operator to offer feature-length content on mobiles.
SK Telecom is ramping up its TV activities, having agreed last year to buy Hanarotelecom, which operates the Hana TV IPTV service. Hana TV said today it had signed another major up to its on-demand IPTV platform, with Walt Disney agreeing to provide its movies such as Finding Nemo and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise to the platform. Disney becomes the seventh international movie producer to offer its fare on Hana TV, with others including Warner Bros, Universal Pictures and Sony.
Hana TV is also developing its “real-time” IPTV channel service, to launch later in 2008. The Korean Parliament passed legislation allowing IPTV operators to branch out from on-demand offerings at the end of last year. Rapid TV News, 29th Jan 2008
Korea/New Media: Korea's Encoder Deployed
Harmonic Inc. today announced that C&M Co., Ltd., a leading cable TV operator in Korea with more than two million subscribers, has deployed Harmonic's DiviCom(R) Electra(TM) 7000 encoder for Asia's first live high definition (HD) MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) video service in a cable environment. Introduced in September 2006, the industry-leading Electra 7000 has been selected by top tier satellite, telco and cable operators in North America, Europe and Asia to provide the highest quality, ultra-low bit-rate compression for more than 1,500 HD H.264 channels.
The increasing availability of HD content, affordable HDTV sets and set-top boxes is strengthening consumer demand for HD services in Korea, as in many countries around the world. This trend, combined with intensifying competition from satellite direct-to-home providers and the expansion of video-over-DSL services, necessitates the addition of more HD programming by cable operators such as C&M. BroadcastNewsRoom, Harmonic, 29th Jan 2008
Elsewhere/General: Concacaf Prepares for Launch of Own Champions League
Concacaf, the governing body for soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean, has revealed the format for its new Champions League, which will get under way in August. The 24-team tournament is modelled on the Uefa Champions League, the top European clubs competition, and will replace the Concacaf Champions Cup, which has determined the top team in the region since 1962.
The Concacaf Champions League will be more representative than the eight-team Champions Cup, which currently involves two teams from each of Mexico and the USA, three from Central America and one from the Caribbean. Mexico and the USA will each be represented by four teams in the new competition, which will also feature three from the Caribbean and two each from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama and one from each of Canada, Belize and Nicaragua.
Eight teams will be seeded, including two each from Mexico and the USA and one from each of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, and progress directly to the first round of the Concacaf Champions League. The remaining 16 teams will play home and away ties in the preliminary round in late August and early September.
The group stage will comprise 16 teams divided into four groups of four. Two teams from each group will qualify for the quarter finals and the tournament culminates with the final, held over two legs, next April. The winning team earns a place at the Fifa Club World Cup held at the end of the calendar year. Sportcal, 29th Jan 2008
Tuesday, 29th January 2008
WHAT’S THE BUZZ?
Premier League Leaders to Meet in FA Cup Showdown
Manchester United have been drawn at home to fellow Premier League giants Arsenal in the fifth round of the FA Cup, English soccer’s leading cup competition. United and Arsenal, currently joint leaders of the league, will meet at Old Trafford on February 16 or 17. It is the only all-Premier League tie and a repeat of the 2005 final, which Arsenal won on penalties after a 0-0 draw. Of the four other Premier League clubs, cup holders Chelsea and 2006 winners Liverpool have been drawn at home to Huddersfield Town and Barnsley respectively, while Middlesbrough face a trip to Sheffield United and Portsmouth go to Preston North End. Sportcal, 28th Jan 2008
INFO BOX
The past weekend started the intense 2008 season that’s set to propel Trident Racing towards a busy schedule around Europe and Asia. The team will be committed to three different paths, starting from brand-new GP2 Asia Series, to the GP2 Main Series and the International Formula Master.
Last Friday, the long-awaited GP2 Asia Series finally kicked off at Dubai with a maiden double race. The race proved to be an event itself, putting an huge spotlight on the Series and - as a matter of fact - on Trident Racing, thanks to an outstanding worldwide TV coverage. Starting from 2008, the GP2 Main Series will be televised in a record 178 countries. As it concerns the GP2 Asia Series, the races are broadcasted LIVE on Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2, ITV1 and ITV4 (UK), TV2 (Denmark), ESPN Sport Asia, Sky New Zealand, 10 Sports (India) and Supersport TV
The GP2 Main Series will be broadcasted LIVE by Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2, Sky Sport (including qualifying sessions) and Rai 2 in Italy, Art and Orf in Austria, TV3 and Telecinco in Spain, TV2 in Denmark, RTL and NTV in Germany, SBS in the Netherlands, ITV in the UK, Venevision in Venezuela, Speed in the USA, Rete Globo in Brazil and Argentina, Fuji TV in Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan.
During the 2007 Season, the share of the GP2 Series’ Races raised by 16%, rounding a total worldwide audience of almost 150 million viewers, with an average 11 million viewers per race. In the sole Italy, the series was covered by 40 hours of broadcasting.
Thanks to the recent expansion of Trident Racing, and the addition of a new operation in the Formula Master, the team owned by Maurizio Salvadori is set to benefit from an additional live TV coverage in 59 countries. The involvement of Eurosport and Eurosport International, paired by a number of local stations, brought a powerful increase in the audience’s figures, with an average 2 million viewers per race and a 18 million viewers overall. Paddocktalk, 28th Jan 2008
The Numbers Of Trident Racing:
TOTAL VIEWERS: 168.000.000 (GP2 Series: 150.000.000, F.Master 18.000.000)
COUNTRIES: 238 (GP2 Series: 179, F.Master: 59)
RACE COUNT: 47 (GP2 Asia Series: 10, GP2 Main Series: 11, F.Master: 16)
ON-TRACK VIEWERS: 2.242.000 (GP2 Series: 1.875.000, F.Master: 367.000)
SPORTS SHORTS
* A new Nokia-backed DVB-H mobile TV service has been promised for Indonesia before the end of July. Nokia Siemens Networks is linking with local media and telecoms group Global Mediacom for what the company called “the biggest DVB-H agreement signed by Nokia Siemens Networks globally”. Nokia Siemens Networks Indonesia will provide end-to-end systems and services, although the companies have yet to agree terms for Nokia to provide DVB-H devices and joint marketing. Global Mediacom owns stakes in companies including broadcaster RCTI and producer MNC, satellite pay-TV platform Indovision’s operator MNC Sky Vision and mobile provider Mobile-8 Telecom. Rapid TV News, 28th Jan 2008
* Malaysia's Astro All Asia Networks (AAAN) has announced that its Chief Executive Officer, Robert Odendaal, has decided to resign, citing personal and lifestyle reasons. However, Mr Odendaal has agreed to continue serving the organisation and providing leadership on several key initiatives until mid-April while succession plans are implemented. Mr Odendaal said: "I am grateful for the opportunity to have served AAAN over the past year and I believe that the company is in a strong position to grow and develop its business further. I wish the company every success in the future and have offered to assist in any possible way leading up to my departure." ABU, 25th Jan 2008
* Jump Games, a subsidiary of Indian company Reliance Entertainment, has signed a three-year deal to produce mobile phone games for Manchester United, the champions of English soccer’s top-tier Premier League. Under the arrangement, said to be worth around $100 million, Jump will design, develop and distribute games for the club. The first game, Manchester United Word It!, will be a puzzle based on the club’s history and is due out in March. A soccer action game will follow in April or May. Jump expects to release six games every year for United and generate 10 to 15 per cent of its revenues from the tie-up. Sportcal, 28th Jan 2008
* SK Telecom, South Korean mobile carrier, has signed a deal with Sony Pictures Television International to provide the latest movie content to its mobile service users. Under the deal, SK Telecom will provide its 22 million customers with a wide range of TV and film offerings held by Sony's affiliates such as Columbia and Tristar. SK Telecom customers will be able to view the latest video content through its mobile multimedia service platforms, NATE and June. ATV, 29th Jan 2008
* More than 40 enterprises will join forces to create the China Terrestrial Digital HDTV IPR Protection Alliance on January 31st. The alliance will have the mandate to manage patents for the Chinese standard for terrestrial digital HDTV, and could potentially become a body like the IGRS (Intelligent Grouping and Resource Sharing) Working Group by setting standards for how and in what amount patent licence fees are to be paid. Reportedly, Chinese television manufacturers pay a $31 licensing fee to the US on every television set made using the American HDTV standard. ATV, 29th Jan 2008
* Los Angeles Galaxy, of US Major League Soccer, are arranging matches against teams in South Korea and China as part of the team’s pre-season tour of Asia in March. Seoul’s World Cup stadium is set to host a match between the Galaxy and FC Seoul on March 1 and there are plans for a match in Shanghai against East Asia on March 5. It is thought that the MLS outfit, whose star player is former England captain David Beckham, could organise another match in China before returning to the USA for the start of the domestic season on March 29. Sportcal, 28th Jan 2008
* The president of the Namibian Football Association (NFA) has confirmed several of the team's players were offered money to throw their match against Guinea at the MTN African Cup of Nations. John Muinjo claims players were offered US$30,000 each by a syndicate to lose their final group game in the tournament on Monday. Muinjo believes his country's players could have been targeted because Namibia is a less-fancied team in the competition. Namibia has never progressed past the first round of the Cup of Nations and lost its opening game 5-1 to Morocco. Muinjo added: "They may think we are vulnerable and we are easy targets. But the players from Namibia, a lot of them are semi-professional, so people don't realise that a lot of players are playing for pride and they won't even consider getting involved in this." Football Insider, Sportcal, 28th Jan 2008
* A Senegalese court has ordered local private commercial station, Walf-TV, to cease broadcast of the Africa Cup of Nations, presently under way in Ghana, after a complaint from RTS, the public-service broadcaster. RTS, which claims to be the exclusive rights holder in Senegal, sent a summons to Walf-TV after its rival used the live RTS signal to broadcast games from the tournament in Ghana. The court ruled that Walf-TV must stop televising the competition unless it agrees to pay around €15,250 ($22,453) for every match it broadcasts from now on. Although RTS was claiming around €1.05 million in compensation from Walf-TV, the court ruling did not take in to account matches already shown by the private broadcaster. Sportcal, 28th Jan 2008
* The Monte Carlo Rally will form part of the Intercontinental Rally (IRC) in 2009. In the deal announced by Michel Boeri, the President of the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM), and Jacques Behar, the President of Intercontinental Rally Challenge promoter Eurosport Events, the 77th Monte Carlo Rally will open the IRC series in January next year, at the start of a season that will take in between 10 and 12 rallies over three different continents. Launched in 2007, the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) is an international rally series authorised by the FIA and organised by Eurosport Events. During its first full season, the IRC took in nine rallies with the participation of six registered manufacturers. Sport Business, 28th Jan 2008
MORE NEWS
Thailand/General: CDC Games Launches New Online Game `16Pounds' in Thailand
CDC Games, a business unit of CDC Corporation and pioneer of the "free-to-play, pay for merchandise" model for online games in China, announced today the commercial launch of its new game, 16Pounds, in Thailand through its local distribution partner, Silver Coins Co. Ltd. CDC Games also announced that its upcoming new game for the U.S. market, Lunia Online, was voted by the fans of mmosite.com as one of the top five games in the "Best New Game" category.
16Pounds is a casual online bowling game with more than 40 unique characters rendered in full 3D cartoon animation. The user interface for 16Pounds is designed for broad audiences regardless of gender and age, requiring minimal learning or prior games skills. The game has been sub-licensed to Silver Coins, by CDC Games International (CGI), a subsidiary of CDC Games. Silver Coins is one of the fastest growing online games publishers in Thailand, and its first online game peaked with the second highest number of concurrent players at the time. Silver Coins also has a well established distribution channel and strong partnerships with local media.
CGI was established in 2007 to leverage the domain expertise of CDC Games to seek out licensing opportunities that are intended to help the company enter targeted global markets including Japan, North America and southeast Asia. CGI intends to launch new online MMO games in Japan and North America through its own operations. CGI has now launched Minna de Battle in Japan, and 16Pounds in Thailand.
"We have successfully launched our first two games outside of China including the launch of Minna de Battle last December in Japan, and 16Pounds this month in Thailand," said Jeff Longoria, president of CDC Games International. "We are also on track to launch Lunia Online in North America later this quarter. With the momentum we are building in China with new games such as Special Force, and our growing portfolio of games within CGI, we are establishing ourselves as one of the global leaders in online games."
Lunia Online, developed by Korea-based ALLM Co., Ltd., is based on the manga style of Japanese comics which is widely popular throughout the world. This style of Japanese comics is currently a more than $200 million industry in the U.S. according to Publishers Weekly. "We are excited that Lunia Online is receiving such impressive recognition and anticipation from the fans of one of the most popular games portals," said Ron Williams, general manager of CDC Games USA. "Not only is Lunia Online considered one of the top five best new games on mmosite.com, but it also was nominated as the 'Favorite F2P (free to play) Game,' as well." Centraldaily, 28th Jan 2008
India/General: ROK Signs Mobile Distribution Deal with China Mobile in Pakistan
ROK Entertainment Group Inc., the UK-based mobile technologies, applications and entertainment development company, today announces that through it's partners BPS, it has signed a contract with China Mobile Pakistan (CMPak), to supply a portfolio of Pakistani and international content.
Under the terms of the agreement, subscribers will be able to watch the content over ROK's Live TV product - a mobile streaming service where the consumer can watch a range of live content streamed to their mobile handset - due to be launched in the first quarter of 2008, as well as ROK Talk, which enables users to make multi-person calls from their mobile. ROK and CMPak will share the revenue earned from the distribution with the charge-out to be agreed.
The move represents ROK's second deployment in Pakistan. CMPak is owned by China Mobile following an US$400 million buy-in of incumbent operator Paktel with plans of investing another US$400 million on running expenses and network expansion. BroadcastNews, 29th Jan 2008
India/General: On the Indian Premier League Cricket
Media Companies Ensure Key Role In Indian Premier League
Media organisations have secured central roles in the new Indian Premier League after becoming owners of two competing cricket teams in the tournament late last week. The competition, backed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), will have eight franchises across India battling against each other in the popular Twenty20 format of the sport. Emerging Media teamed up with Lachlan Murdoch, son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, to acquire the Jaipur franchise as co-owners for US$67 million, and the Deccan Chronicle, an English language newspaper published in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu in India, has taken control of the Hyderabad franchise after succeeding with a $107 million bid.
UK-based Emerging Media is already involved in cricket via its Investors in Cricket (IIC) subsidiary. Emerging Media has been a significant and long-standing investor in cricket through its subsidiary Investors in Cricket (IIC). The group has a partnership with Leicestershire County Cricket Club in England and staged the first international club Twenty20 championship in 2006. In India, the company is best known for launching the Cricket Star reality programme on Doordarshan last year. "I am delighted to be participating in such an exciting venture, and believe that the potential for Indian domestic cricket has never looked better," said Lachlan Murdoch. A number of Bollywood stars and leading business figures purchased the other franchises.
As reported in Sports Media earlier this month, a consortium comprising Sony Television and World Sports Group splashed out more than $1 billion to acquire the telecast rights to the Twenty20 cricket tournament for the next 10 years. The inaugural 44-day tournament will start on April 18 and feature eight teams of 16 players each, with the games taking place late in the afternoon to maximise TV exposure. Numerous leading stars, including Ricky Ponting, Daniel Vettori, Shoaib Malik and Graeme Smith, will take part in the tournament. Sports Media, 28th Jan 2008
IPL title sponsorship up for grabs
The title sponsorship of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is open to brands from all over the world, according to a top official with the IPL and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). IPL chairman and BCCI VP Lalit Modi told the Economic Times newspaper: “We don’t want to limit the sponsorship to companies already operating in India, considering the interest level the tournament has generated and the profile of our franchisee and broadcasting partners. We want to reach out to even those companies which want to enter the Indian market.”
The BCCI has set a base price of $6 million per year for bids from potential title sponsors. The winning bid for the five-year title sponsorship will be announced on February 6. The Economic Time said that that PepsiCo, Bharti Airtel, R-ADAG, Vodafone, Emaar-MGF, LG Electronics and DLF are among potential Indian bidders for the title rights. Earlier this month, World Sports Group and Sony Entertainment Television combined to win the broadcast rights for $918m. Sport Business, 28th Jan 2008
Murdoch outbids other for Twenty20 IPL franchise
Lachlan Murdoch has emerged as the mystery figure behind a successful 67 million dollars bid for one of the eight Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket franchises .He has beaten a long list of celebrity bidders to emerge as the mystery buyer of an Indian Premier League cricket franchise. Murdoch teamed with the London firm Emerging Media to buy the Jaipur franchise in the Twenty20 Premier League.
Earlier, he had announced his intention to privatise Consolidated Media Holdings in partnership with James Packer. The 67 million dollars purchase price was the lowest of all the franchises. “That is my home team, and we are obviously delighted with the result,” said Lalit Modi, Chairman of the IPL.
I have been in regular email contact with Lachlan throughout the (bidding) process, and he has big plans for the Jaipur team. Some other Australians had expressed some interest, but Lachlan was the leader,” he added. The IPL made headlines recently when 11 top Australian players were attracted by the lucrative contracts offered, rumoured to be as much as one million dollar for just a few weeks of cricket. Murdoch’s bidding partner, Emerging Media, has made several moves into Indian cricket, including the reality programme Cricket Star. Thaindian, 28th Jan 2008
Elsewhere/General: Speedcar Series Secures Broad Exposure
MP & Silva (MP&S) has agreed distribution deals with several broadcasters in Asia for coverage of the inaugural Speedcar Series. ESPN Star Sports, Al Jazeera Sports Channel, Showtime, Dubai Sports Channel and Indonesian terrestrial network Trans TV have all struck deals after UK-based media group One O One, which holds the rights to the Series, appointed MP&S as the exclusive distribution agency for the Middle East and Asia-Pacific region. More than 50 territories across Middle East and Asia will be covered by the deals, including China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and most countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
According to a press release from MP&S, a number of other terrestrial broadcasters will also be airing the first race on February 16-17 at the Sentul International Circuit in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Series will span across countries in the Middle East and Asia and will feature ex-Formula One drivers Jean Alesi, Johnny Herbert and Stefan Johansson, and several up-and-coming young stars from Asian countries.
"The team has been working very closely with all broadcasters from around the region and the number of countries covered through the distribution deals reflects the strong interest in the series," said MP&S CEO Andrea Radrizzani. One O One director Massimo Satta added: "Motorsports is one of the fastest growing sports in the Middle East and Asia, and it is clearly evident by the great feedback received by broadcasters in the region." Sports Media, 28th Jan 2008
New Media: Mobile Set to Surpass Online TV Delivery
Mobile delivery of TV and music will exceed online delivery by 2010, international authors group CISAC has reported. CISAC, the worldwide organisation of copyright societies, said that consumption of audiovisual content on mobile devices will grow 68 per cent per year through 2010.
Driven mainly by mobile TV, it will reach a total market value of $3 billion. By comparison, online Internet TV is expected to reach $2.7 billion by 2010. Musical content will follow a similar trend, the CISAC study said: with a projected 4.2 billion mobile subscribers worldwide by 2010 - up from 3.3 billion in 2007 - the global market value of the mobile consumption of digital music content is expected to reach $6 billion while online delivery will reach $5 billion.
The study said the mobile surge will be driven by the Asia-Pacific region, which will generate more than half of the total global income from mobile music downloads by 2010, surpassing both North America and Europe. ATV, 29th Jan 2008
Monday, 28th Jan 2008
WHAT’S THE BUZZ?
AXN Begins Casting for Amazing Race Asia 3
AXN is gearing up for a third season of the original reality competition series The Amazing Race Asia, the pan-regional version of the hit Emmy-winning CBS show. The Amazing Race Asia 3 will once again send teams of two through the world’s most exciting locales and experiences. A host of exciting pit-stop prizes and the grand prize of $100,000 awaits the first couple that crosses the finishing line. The Amazing Race Asia 2 is currently airing on the Sony-owned action/adventure network. No broadcast date has been announced for the third edition. Worldscreen, 25th Jan 2008
INFO BOX
Mobile TV subscribers 462m by 2012
As mobile TV services expand over the next five years, ABI Research sees the total number of subscribers growing to 462 million, driven in large part by the expansion of 3G networks, and flat-rate plans for mobile video. The build-out of mobile video delivery networks and an increase in the amount of available content will also contribute to the market’s growth. "Mobile operators’ sustained investment in video delivery will continue to be rewarded by subscribers’ growing adoption rates, particularly as they upgrade to new video-capable handsets," says research director Mike Wolf. "Consumers are being increasingly enticed by better experiences through more powerful and larger screens as well as by a widening array of subscription options."
ABI Research sees the Asia-Pacific region as the overall leader in the adoption of mobile video services. The number of subscribers to mobile video services in Asia-Pacific will grow from 24 million in 2007 to more than 260 million by 2012. High levels of penetration will occur in both Japan and South Korea while China and India will both contribute significantly to the overall total due to very large subscriber populations, even though the overall penetration of video services will remain much lower than in more technologically advanced countries. "South Korea and Japan will continue to lead worldwide, while some countries in Western Europe will also continue to see strong growth," notes Wolf. "North America will also see some strong uptake as more services become available in 2008 with the launch of AT&T’s MediaFLO service, the continued expansion of Verizon Wireless’ MediaFLO subscriber base, and the growth of on-demand mobile video services." ATV, 28th Jan 2008
SPORTS SHORTS
* Zee-backed Dish TV DTH platform is now in 2.7 million Indian homes, adding 297,000 new subscribers in the last quarter of 2007. Growth rose from 278,000 net adds in the previous quarter. Operating revenues rose a solid 48% over the previous quarter, from Rs755 million to Rs1,125 million. But losses rose too. Net loss for the quarter was Rs1,160 million, compared with the previous quarter’s Rs919 million. Dish TV now counts a new competitor, Sun Direct, in India’s southern states, as well as TataSky, against whom the platform competes across the country. Rapid TV News, 25th Jan 2008
* Pakistan has authorised 12 additional TV channels, taking the nation’s total to 48. However, add in those DTH channels for which “landing rights” have been issued and the total rises to about 80 (plus 106 FM radio stations). One of the new channels is Star Asia which had already been operating in Pakistan pending the issue of a licence. Aaj, Punjab and Star Asia, KTN and Kashish, which have been operating for some time, were formally awarded licences to operate on a regular basis. Local reports say that the Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Senator Nisar Memon, said that Pakistan is entering a new political phase for the media, and that the government was opening up media in the spirit of democracy. Rapid TV News, 25th Jan 2008
* The Asian Handball Federation has filed a petition at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne in a deepening row over a decision by the International Handball Federation to order a replay of a controversial Asian Olympic handball qualifying tournament. The AHF, which has threatened to expel teams participating in the replay – only Japan and South Korea have said they will take part so far – is to hold an emergency meeting in Kuwait on Sunday to discuss the dispute. The replay is scheduled for January 29 and 30. The qualifiers involved Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in the men’s competition, and Japan, South Korea, Kazakhstan and Qatar in the women’s event. Sportcal, 25th Jan 2008
* The Los Angeles Galaxy will head to the Far East on a pre-season tour in March. The schedule is yet to be finalized but the Major League Soccer team will visit a number of countries to play friendly games, with Korea expected to be included on the schedule. The tour will allow Galaxy to tap into David Beckham's popularity in Asia. Manchester United and Real Madrid, were frequent visitors to the region in his time with them. In November, MLS commissioner Don Garber said the Galaxy had sold 700 times as many jerseys this season as last, with the increase almost exclusively down to Beckham's famous No.23 shirt. Many of those jerseys were sold in Asia, where MLS games are now shown live. Football Insider, 25th Jan 2008
* Meanwhile, Tokyo-based tech company MLJ has acquired the exclusive rights to use and distribute Major League Soccer content via mobile phones and the Internet. The agreement will result in the first-ever MLS mobile content site being launched in Japan - MLS's first such venture in Asia. The MLS mobile site will feature results, event information, player biographies and highlight videos, with MLJ able to tap into an "extensive" existing base of subscribers in Japan. MLS and MLJ will both work on the promotion of the site, which launched on the NTT Docomo network on Monday. The site launched on KDDI last week, and the Softbank phone carrier will take the site from February 1. Football Insider, 25th Jan 2008
* State Street will be an official partner of MLB's Ricoh Japan Opening Series 2008. The world champion Boston Red Sox team will open the regular season against the Oakland A's on March 25 in Tokyo. State Street will sponsor the two-game series as well as two other exhibition games against Japanese teams. Ronald Logue, State Street's chairman and CEO, said: "Given our partnership with the Red Sox right here at Fenway Park, it was a logical next step for State Street to sponsor the Red Sox opener in Japan." Sports Media, 25th Jan 2008
* Japan stepped up its bid for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games with the launch of its new website. The site is available in three languages and designed to act as a window to the international community, broadcasting the latest Tokyo 2016 bidding news as well as interviews with internationally renowned Olympians and Paralympians. The website - www.tokyo2016.or.jp - is available in French, English and Japanese languages. Sportsbusiness.com, 25th Jan 2008
* Sandra Carter Global (SCG) and Sandra Carter International (SCI) will merge with Lightworks Program Distribution (LPD), with SCG’s founder and principal, Sandra Carter, to join Lightworks as executive VP of business development. John Cuddihy, LPD’s president and managing director, will head up the combined operations. In her new role at LPD, Carter will work with Cuddihy to continue to bring a variety of new programming into the marketplace. Worldscreen, 25th Jan 2008
* France's three mobile network operators; Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom, have told president Nicolas Sarkozy that they would back his concept of eliminating advertising on public TV by levying a tax on mobile TV operators (and ISPs) in return for a guarantee there will be no more 3G operators. This would leave Iliad's Free subsidiary and other potential mobile entrants out in the cold. The Attali Commission's long-awaited report on economic liberalisation in France argues in favour of the emergence of a fourth UMTS network operator to stimulate competition and lower end-user prices. It also supports aggressive efforts to accelerate high speed network rollouts. ATV, 28th Jan 2008
* Google is interested to set up operations in Malaysia, citing the country's technology infrastructure and strategic location, newspapers reported on Sunday. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Google has started discussions with Malaysia's Multimedia Development Corp on establishing a base in the country. "They want to make their presence felt in Malaysia. It will be a big boost for our ICT industry," he told reporters after meeting Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Abdullah said Malaysia ranked as the top users of Google in Southeast Asia, which was another reason why it would make sense to use the country as a base for its operations. In Asia, Google has offices in China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. Reuters, 27th Jan 2008
MORE NEWS
Global/General: Adspend to Hit $479 Billion in 2008
A new study from WPP’s GroupM says that global advertising spending in measured media will increase 6.8 percent to $479 billion in 2008, up from an estimated 6-percent gain in 2007. The study, This Year, Next Year, found that television and the Internet will represent the vast majority of additional new investment in 2008. The rate of growth in the U.S. continues to lag behind the rest of the world, with a 2.8-percent increase last year and only a 3.7-percent projected gain in 2008. Global adspend in North America will hit nearly $181 billion in 2008, while revenues will reach $168.6 billion in the U.S. this year.
“We expect half of 2008’s new ad dollars to find their way onto TV, which dominates advertising in emerging markets and is the lead medium in U.S. elections and Olympics coverage,” said Adam Smith, the director of GroupM Futures who oversees all This Year, Next Year reports. “We predict Internet will soak up 28 percent of new investment and lead advertising growth in the developed world, particularly Western Europe. The Internet is far less important to growth in emerging markets, where TV advertising does the most of build brands and a consumer economy.”
Western Europe is the second-largest media bloc, representing about 27 percent of total media investment, but GroupM predicts that its contribution to 2008 global ad growth will only be 16 percent, well below the expected economic growth. Adspend in Western Europe will decrease to 4.3 percent, with revenues of $127.2 billion. Meanwhile, spending in China will rise 25 percent, a slight decline from the previous year’s 29-percent growth. In the Asia-Pacific, total ad revenue will reach $114.8 billion in 2008, a 10-percent gain over the previous year.
According to GroupM, China still contributes 21 percent of new-media dollars in the company’s 2008 forecast and is ahead of the U.S. with 20 percent, as well as Russia and Brazil with 6 percent each. “Encircling economic gloom has not affected GroupM’s view of marketing investment in 2008, which is supported by events including the American elections, the Beijing Olympics, and the European soccer championship,” said Smith. “Expectations of media growth in North America, Western Europe and Japan, which combined represent nearly three-quarters of the global media economy, are in any case conservative.” Worldscreen, 25th Jan 2008
AXN Begins Casting for Amazing Race Asia 3
AXN is gearing up for a third season of the original reality competition series The Amazing Race Asia, the pan-regional version of the hit Emmy-winning CBS show. The Amazing Race Asia 3 will once again send teams of two through the world’s most exciting locales and experiences. A host of exciting pit-stop prizes and the grand prize of $100,000 awaits the first couple that crosses the finishing line. The Amazing Race Asia 2 is currently airing on the Sony-owned action/adventure network. No broadcast date has been announced for the third edition. Worldscreen, 25th Jan 2008
INFO BOX
Mobile TV subscribers 462m by 2012
As mobile TV services expand over the next five years, ABI Research sees the total number of subscribers growing to 462 million, driven in large part by the expansion of 3G networks, and flat-rate plans for mobile video. The build-out of mobile video delivery networks and an increase in the amount of available content will also contribute to the market’s growth. "Mobile operators’ sustained investment in video delivery will continue to be rewarded by subscribers’ growing adoption rates, particularly as they upgrade to new video-capable handsets," says research director Mike Wolf. "Consumers are being increasingly enticed by better experiences through more powerful and larger screens as well as by a widening array of subscription options."
ABI Research sees the Asia-Pacific region as the overall leader in the adoption of mobile video services. The number of subscribers to mobile video services in Asia-Pacific will grow from 24 million in 2007 to more than 260 million by 2012. High levels of penetration will occur in both Japan and South Korea while China and India will both contribute significantly to the overall total due to very large subscriber populations, even though the overall penetration of video services will remain much lower than in more technologically advanced countries. "South Korea and Japan will continue to lead worldwide, while some countries in Western Europe will also continue to see strong growth," notes Wolf. "North America will also see some strong uptake as more services become available in 2008 with the launch of AT&T’s MediaFLO service, the continued expansion of Verizon Wireless’ MediaFLO subscriber base, and the growth of on-demand mobile video services." ATV, 28th Jan 2008
SPORTS SHORTS
* Zee-backed Dish TV DTH platform is now in 2.7 million Indian homes, adding 297,000 new subscribers in the last quarter of 2007. Growth rose from 278,000 net adds in the previous quarter. Operating revenues rose a solid 48% over the previous quarter, from Rs755 million to Rs1,125 million. But losses rose too. Net loss for the quarter was Rs1,160 million, compared with the previous quarter’s Rs919 million. Dish TV now counts a new competitor, Sun Direct, in India’s southern states, as well as TataSky, against whom the platform competes across the country. Rapid TV News, 25th Jan 2008
* Pakistan has authorised 12 additional TV channels, taking the nation’s total to 48. However, add in those DTH channels for which “landing rights” have been issued and the total rises to about 80 (plus 106 FM radio stations). One of the new channels is Star Asia which had already been operating in Pakistan pending the issue of a licence. Aaj, Punjab and Star Asia, KTN and Kashish, which have been operating for some time, were formally awarded licences to operate on a regular basis. Local reports say that the Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Senator Nisar Memon, said that Pakistan is entering a new political phase for the media, and that the government was opening up media in the spirit of democracy. Rapid TV News, 25th Jan 2008
* The Asian Handball Federation has filed a petition at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne in a deepening row over a decision by the International Handball Federation to order a replay of a controversial Asian Olympic handball qualifying tournament. The AHF, which has threatened to expel teams participating in the replay – only Japan and South Korea have said they will take part so far – is to hold an emergency meeting in Kuwait on Sunday to discuss the dispute. The replay is scheduled for January 29 and 30. The qualifiers involved Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in the men’s competition, and Japan, South Korea, Kazakhstan and Qatar in the women’s event. Sportcal, 25th Jan 2008
* The Los Angeles Galaxy will head to the Far East on a pre-season tour in March. The schedule is yet to be finalized but the Major League Soccer team will visit a number of countries to play friendly games, with Korea expected to be included on the schedule. The tour will allow Galaxy to tap into David Beckham's popularity in Asia. Manchester United and Real Madrid, were frequent visitors to the region in his time with them. In November, MLS commissioner Don Garber said the Galaxy had sold 700 times as many jerseys this season as last, with the increase almost exclusively down to Beckham's famous No.23 shirt. Many of those jerseys were sold in Asia, where MLS games are now shown live. Football Insider, 25th Jan 2008
* Meanwhile, Tokyo-based tech company MLJ has acquired the exclusive rights to use and distribute Major League Soccer content via mobile phones and the Internet. The agreement will result in the first-ever MLS mobile content site being launched in Japan - MLS's first such venture in Asia. The MLS mobile site will feature results, event information, player biographies and highlight videos, with MLJ able to tap into an "extensive" existing base of subscribers in Japan. MLS and MLJ will both work on the promotion of the site, which launched on the NTT Docomo network on Monday. The site launched on KDDI last week, and the Softbank phone carrier will take the site from February 1. Football Insider, 25th Jan 2008
* State Street will be an official partner of MLB's Ricoh Japan Opening Series 2008. The world champion Boston Red Sox team will open the regular season against the Oakland A's on March 25 in Tokyo. State Street will sponsor the two-game series as well as two other exhibition games against Japanese teams. Ronald Logue, State Street's chairman and CEO, said: "Given our partnership with the Red Sox right here at Fenway Park, it was a logical next step for State Street to sponsor the Red Sox opener in Japan." Sports Media, 25th Jan 2008
* Japan stepped up its bid for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games with the launch of its new website. The site is available in three languages and designed to act as a window to the international community, broadcasting the latest Tokyo 2016 bidding news as well as interviews with internationally renowned Olympians and Paralympians. The website - www.tokyo2016.or.jp - is available in French, English and Japanese languages. Sportsbusiness.com, 25th Jan 2008
* Sandra Carter Global (SCG) and Sandra Carter International (SCI) will merge with Lightworks Program Distribution (LPD), with SCG’s founder and principal, Sandra Carter, to join Lightworks as executive VP of business development. John Cuddihy, LPD’s president and managing director, will head up the combined operations. In her new role at LPD, Carter will work with Cuddihy to continue to bring a variety of new programming into the marketplace. Worldscreen, 25th Jan 2008
* France's three mobile network operators; Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom, have told president Nicolas Sarkozy that they would back his concept of eliminating advertising on public TV by levying a tax on mobile TV operators (and ISPs) in return for a guarantee there will be no more 3G operators. This would leave Iliad's Free subsidiary and other potential mobile entrants out in the cold. The Attali Commission's long-awaited report on economic liberalisation in France argues in favour of the emergence of a fourth UMTS network operator to stimulate competition and lower end-user prices. It also supports aggressive efforts to accelerate high speed network rollouts. ATV, 28th Jan 2008
* Google is interested to set up operations in Malaysia, citing the country's technology infrastructure and strategic location, newspapers reported on Sunday. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Google has started discussions with Malaysia's Multimedia Development Corp on establishing a base in the country. "They want to make their presence felt in Malaysia. It will be a big boost for our ICT industry," he told reporters after meeting Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Abdullah said Malaysia ranked as the top users of Google in Southeast Asia, which was another reason why it would make sense to use the country as a base for its operations. In Asia, Google has offices in China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. Reuters, 27th Jan 2008
MORE NEWS
Global/General: Adspend to Hit $479 Billion in 2008
A new study from WPP’s GroupM says that global advertising spending in measured media will increase 6.8 percent to $479 billion in 2008, up from an estimated 6-percent gain in 2007. The study, This Year, Next Year, found that television and the Internet will represent the vast majority of additional new investment in 2008. The rate of growth in the U.S. continues to lag behind the rest of the world, with a 2.8-percent increase last year and only a 3.7-percent projected gain in 2008. Global adspend in North America will hit nearly $181 billion in 2008, while revenues will reach $168.6 billion in the U.S. this year.
“We expect half of 2008’s new ad dollars to find their way onto TV, which dominates advertising in emerging markets and is the lead medium in U.S. elections and Olympics coverage,” said Adam Smith, the director of GroupM Futures who oversees all This Year, Next Year reports. “We predict Internet will soak up 28 percent of new investment and lead advertising growth in the developed world, particularly Western Europe. The Internet is far less important to growth in emerging markets, where TV advertising does the most of build brands and a consumer economy.”
Western Europe is the second-largest media bloc, representing about 27 percent of total media investment, but GroupM predicts that its contribution to 2008 global ad growth will only be 16 percent, well below the expected economic growth. Adspend in Western Europe will decrease to 4.3 percent, with revenues of $127.2 billion. Meanwhile, spending in China will rise 25 percent, a slight decline from the previous year’s 29-percent growth. In the Asia-Pacific, total ad revenue will reach $114.8 billion in 2008, a 10-percent gain over the previous year.
According to GroupM, China still contributes 21 percent of new-media dollars in the company’s 2008 forecast and is ahead of the U.S. with 20 percent, as well as Russia and Brazil with 6 percent each. “Encircling economic gloom has not affected GroupM’s view of marketing investment in 2008, which is supported by events including the American elections, the Beijing Olympics, and the European soccer championship,” said Smith. “Expectations of media growth in North America, Western Europe and Japan, which combined represent nearly three-quarters of the global media economy, are in any case conservative.” Worldscreen, 25th Jan 2008
Friday, 25th January 2007
DID YOU KNOW…?
Members of MyFootballClub on Wednesday approved the takeover of Ebbsfleet United, with over 95.9% of the 18,112 members voting in favour of going ahead with the deal. The agreement marks the first website community takeover of a football club. Since August 2007, members of MyFootballClub from more than 80 countries have raised over £1 million in order to buy an English professional football club. Ebbsfleet is currently ninth in the Blue Square Premier, three points off a play-off place for entry to the Football League, and the £635,000 deal has purchased a 75% stake in the club. Football Insider, 24th Jan 2008
INFO BOX
Superbowl Ad Spending
Info IQ, 24th Jan 2008
Chatter surrounding Super Bowl XLII is escalating on the cost of a 30-sec commercial spot. TV commercials that will appear during the game are the subject of growing speculation. Advertising during the Super Bowl game has translated into $1.84 billion of network sales during the past 20 years (1988-20 07) from over 200 different advertisers. On Feb. 3, Fox will air the National Football League's Super Bowl XLII. The Bowl has always been a major TV event. Last year, 93.2 million viewers tuned in to the game, which aired on CBS, and marketers paid as much as $2.6 million for a 30-second spot. This year, Fox has gotten some marketers to pay as much as $2.7 million to $3 million per 30 seconds to appear in the game.
The top five Super Bowl advertisers of the past 20 years have spent $659 million on advertising during the game, accounting for 36 percent of total advertising dollars spent in the game. Anheuser Busch and Pepsico, which have appeared in every game during this period, lead the pack, followed by General Motors, Time Warner and Walt Disney. Each year, about 62% of the network TV ad money invested in the game comes from incumbent marketers who ran commercials the previous year. While that’s a very high retention rate, it’s actually lower than the comparable rate for two other showcase TV events. Over the past 10 years, the average dollar retention rate has been 75% for the Academy Awards and 67% for the World Series.
The cost of an advertisement in the Super Bowl has nearly quadrupled in the past 20 years. After reaching $2.5 million in 2006 for a 30-second unit, the price fell back last year to just under $2.4 million. For the 2008 game, Fox is reportedly seeking $2.7 million for each 30-second spot.
What kinds of products are most frequently advertised on the Super Bowl?
The popular perception is that beer, soft drinks and autos are the prime ad categories, given their annual presence in the game. Actually, the perennial leader is promotional advertising from the network itself. In a typical Super Bowl, 15-20% of all commercial time is a plug by the network for its own programming. In 2007, the value of this air time exceeded $46 million.
How Big is the Super Bowl Versus Other Sporting Events?
The Major League Baseball’s World Series and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship are two other high-profile sporting events that attract significant interest from TV advertisers. The World Series is four to seven games. March Madness peaks with the semi-finals and championship on its final weekend, a total of three games. The Super Bowl, of course, is a single telecast. In recent years, the Super Bowl and World Series have been running neck-and-neck in total ad spending. In 2007, for the first time, the collegians surpassed the pros as the final weekend of the Men’s tournament generated $168.4 million in network TV ad spending.
SPORTS SHORTS
* Korea-based Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) will broadcast the 2008 Evergrande Real Estate World Table Tennis Championships in Guangzhou, China, the International Table Tennis Federation's marketing partner TMS has announced. "We are pleased to have agreed terms with MBC Korea for coverage of the Championships to Korean table tennis fans," said TMS managing director Anders Thunstrom. "At the last World Table Tennis Championships, there was no Korean TV-rights holder. So we welcome MBC back, as they covered the 2005 and 2006 World Championships." Sports Media, 24th Jan 2008
* New media coverage will attract the "young generation" to the Beijing Olympic Games this summer, according to CCTV's vice-president Sun Yusheng. China’s state broadcaster CCTV picked up the official Internet and mobile phone rights to the Games late last year. Sun and several of his colleagues spoke about coverage of the event. "The fact that CCTV obtained new media broadcasting right of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games attests the importance that CCTV attaches to the development of Olympic communication and new media. New media, which is bound to play a significant role in the Beijing 2008, will attract the young generation of audience." Sports Media, 24th Jan 2008
* The National Basketball Association will stage its first event in India with Basketball without Borders, the league’s global basketball development and community outreach programme. A series of activities will be held in New Delhi from July 3–6, the NBA, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) announced. The Basketball without Borders camp will use basketball to influence positive social change and feature dozens of current and former NBA players and team personnel working as camp coaches. Top young basketball players (ages 19 and under) from across Asia will come together in New Delhi to take part in basketball instruction and competition. They will also participate in motivational and life-skills seminars that promote education, leadership, character development and healthy living. Sport Business, Sportcal, 14th Jan 2008
* Samsonite has been unveiled as a major sponsor of motor racing’s new GP2 Asia Series. The deal comes into effect for this weekend’s first round in Dubai and the company will use the partnership to promote its high-end Samsonite Black Label collection. Samsonite’s logo will appear on the 26 cars, representing 13 teams, at all five rounds. The series also visits Indonesia, Malaysia and Bahrain concludes back in Dubai on the second weekend in April. The GP2 Asia Series is an offshoot of GP2, the support series to Formula 1, and the Malaysia and Bahrain races will be held on the same weekends as grand prix events. Sportcal, 14th Jan 2008
* The organizing committee of the Bali Asian Beach Games has added three more sports -- wrestling, kabbadi and pencak silat -- to the event, which will be held on the island from Oct. 18-26. Organizing committee deputy director-general for operations, Djoko Pramono, said Tuesday the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) had requested the addition of wrestling and kabbadi (a sport originally from the Indian subcontinent, consisting of seven players on each team) at the first-ever Asian Beach Games. TheJakartaPost.com, 25th Jan 2008
* The introduction of a new field hockey series between teams representing Asia and Europe has been unanimously endorsed by the Asian Hockey Federation. The six-match ‘Hockey Classics’ series will oppose the ‘Asian All Stars’ and the ‘European All Stars,’ with three games to be played on each continent next year. The decision was made at the AHF council meeting in Oman this week. The AHF also launched the bidding process for the 2009 Asia Cup and 2009 Asian Champions Trophy, adding that the hosts will be announced in the middle of this year. The top four teams from the 2009 Asia Cup will qualify for the Asian Champions Trophy, from which the Asian All Stars will be selected. Sportcal, 24th Jan 2008
* Golf’s Ladies European Tour is to have its first event in Korea in November. The Korean Ladies Masters is to be co-sanctioned by the LET and the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association for the next three years. The event will be promoted by international sports marketing company Parallel Media Group, Korean sports marketing firm Sportizen and Joongang Broadcasting Corporation, which will provide television coverage on its JGolf channel. The inaugural tournament will take place from November 13 to 15, at a venue to be confirmed, and include an equal number of LET and KLPGA players. The addition of the Korean Ladies Masters takes the number of events on the 2008 LET schedule to 29. Sportcal, 24th Jan 2008
* Sportfive has launched the official Internet TV service for the 2008 MTN African Cup of Nations in Ghana at www.Ghana2008.tv offering video streams of all 32 matches in the tournament, live or on-demand. Each match is provided with commentary in English and French. Viewers can tune in to individual matches for US$5.99, while a package including all games in the pool stage is available for $29.99 and a package featuring all the highlights is on offer for $1.99. All matches in the final stage may be purchased later for $14.99. The service is available worldwide, except in Africa and the Middle East. On the first day of competition, more than 10,000 people signed up for the service. Sports Media, 24th Jan 2008
* Turner Sports has announced the relaunch of PGA.com , the official site of The PGA of America. PGA.com, which in 2007 earned an Emmy nomination from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for its PGA.com Pipeline coverage, has been redesigned to include the PGA Pro Finder search function, a comprehensive instructional library, complete golf tournament coverage and exclusive video content. PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka said: "PGA.com is a 24/7 resource to the achievements of more than 28,000 men and women PGA Professionals, who work to grow the game and the business of golf." Sports Media, 24th Jan 2008
* CONMEBOL has publicly backed the Bolivian Football Federation in its battle against FIFA's crackdown against games played at high altitude. CONMEBOL has given the go-ahead for Bolivia to play its home games for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers at La Paz's Hernando Siles stadium. CONMEBOL has decided to allow matches to be staged at more than 2,750 metres above sea level, something that FIFA has taken exception to since the end of last year. FIFA had set periods of adaptation for matches played at altitude and the ruling led to protests from a number of South American countries including Bolivia, with La Paz located more than 3,600m above sea level. Football Insider, 24th Jan 2008
* FC Moscow will not be allowed to play a Russian Premier Liga match in London after the head of the Russian Football Union (RFU) branded the idea senseless. Backed by marketing company IMG, the club had hoped to contest its 'home' league fixture against champion Zenit St Petersburg in London. It would have been the first time in the history of Russian football that a league game has been played outside of Russian territory. But RFU chief Vitaly Mutko confirmed the proposal had been rejected at a meeting of the governing body on Tuesday. Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea and its Russian owner Roman Abramovich, had been mooted as a possible venue for the game. Football Insider, 24th Jan 2008
MORE NEWS
Asia/General: Time to Buy Media Stocks?
Consultancy Media Partners Asia (MPA) has identified a number of stocks which represent good value since the markets in Asia, as elsewhere, took a hammering earlier this week. MPA said: “The correction has been fairly indiscriminate and the worst hit have been media and communications companies in Indonesia, India, Greater China, Japan and Asian ADRs trading in the US. Earnings growth for most of the companies we cover remains robust enough, which suggests buying opportunities certainly amongst major media plays in key markets.”
The company highlights in particular India’s Dish TV, whose share price has fallen a whopping 42% since the start of the year. Other stocks representing good value are Japan’s Jupiter Telecommunications (J:Com) which has lost over nine per cent and is trading at “an undemanding” 6.4x FY 08 EBITDA, and the News Corp-backed Sky TV New Zealand, which is trading at 8x. But MPA warns that some of the big media companies in the region, such as Malaysia’s Astro and Hong Kong’s TVB, have been relatively unscathed by the nosediving markets, so may only be buying opportunities if the fall continues. Rapid TV News, 24th Jan 2008
Asia/New Media: 10 'To Do's' for Mobile TV
A new report from Casbaa has identified 10 key factors for mobile TV in Asia. Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Assocation of Asia (Casbaa’s) report, Mobile TV in Asia, condenses the challenges into a checklist of 10 “to do’s” for budding mobile TV operators to address. “For anyone interested in investing more in this space – the critical question is knowing when to act, and what the right engagement model should be,” says the report. “To address that issue we have organised the insights from our research into a simple checklist, designed to explore what the DNA of commercial success in the Mobile TV space might look like.”
1. The Network
2. Ease of Use
3. The Ecosystem
4. Devices
5. Coverage
6. Revenue
7. Regulation
8. Content
9. Advertising
10. Lifestyle
Among the less-obvious pointers, the Ecosystem is key, says the report. “Having a healthy Mobile TV ecosystem means that the integration between content providers, network operators and device manufacturers is sufficiently robust that it results in both a viable commercial model and a seamless service experience for audiences.” And lifestyle too will be a factor, with some cities (eg Hong Kong) likely to have more problems (high density, tall buildings causing interference issues) whereas others (flat Beijing) are likely to have fewer issues.
Author Mike Walsh throws in one caveat – that the internet should be “a powerful reminder of the power of the internet as a work around to the best laid plans of media companies…It is perhaps ironic that when it comes to mobile TV, so many of us already assume that the most interactive device ever invented – the mobile – will in the hands of the new generation become a passive broadcast device.” Rapid TV News, Worldscreen, 24th Jan 2008
India/General: BCCI the Big Winner as Business and Bollywood Win IPL Teams
A mix of industrial groups and film stars have today been awarded rights to own teams in the Indian Premier League, the country’s new Twenty20 competition, following a bidding process which will earn the national governing body more than $700 million. The most expensive franchise was that in the southern city of Mumbai, which was won by India’s richest person Mukesh Ambani, the head of Reliance Industries, with a bid of $111.9 million.
Ambani pipped Vijay Mallya, the chairman of United Breweries Group and Kingfisher Airlines, who did however secure the Bangalore team for $111.6 million. Mallya is also making waves in Formula 1 motor racing having joined forces with Dutch businessman Michiel de Mol to acquire the Spyker team, which will compete as Force India in 2008. The IPL is proving to be a lucrative project for the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which has generated $723.6 million from the 10-year licences to run teams. This is in addition to the $1.026 billion to be raised from the sale of the television rights to a group including broadcaster Sony Entertainment Television and sports agency World Sport Group.
The BCCI was said to have set a base price of $50 million for each franchise, but all of the winning bids were well above this figure. The owners are obliged to pay 10 per cent of the overall price they agreed every year. Lalit Modi, the vice-president of the BCCI and chairman of the IPL, said: ‘We can say that all the hard work fructified and the IPL is here to say.’ The high-profile owners will include Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, who teamed up with actress Juhi Chawla and industrialist Jay Mehta to win the bid for the Kolkata team for $75.09 million. Another celebrated actress, Preita Zinta, and her boyfriend Ness Wadia are paying $76 million for the Mohali franchise.
Other successful bidders included the Deccan Chronicle newspaper, India Cements, GMR Holdings and UK-based company Emerging Media. However, the bids from Indian financial group ICICI, business conglomerate Sahara and Futures Group were disqualified. The first edition of the IPL will comprise 59 matches over 44 days, beginning on April 18, and feature a host of overseas stars, as well as the best Indian talent. The prize fund will total $3 million and the franchises receive a share of the television and sponsorship revenue over a 10-year period.
Twenty20 cricket has been slow to develop in India, the country which accounts for 70 per cent of the sport’s global revenue, but the process has been accelerated by the launch of the unofficial Indian Cricket League, which held its first Twenty20 competition in November and December, and the national team’s victory in last year’s inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa.
Indian Premier League Team Owners
City Winning Owner Bid ($m)
Mumbai Mukesh Ambani 111.9
Bangalore Vijay Mallya 111.6
Hyderabad Deccan Chronicle 107.01
Chennai India Cements 91
Delhi GMR Holdings 84
Mohali Preity Zinta 76
Kolkata Shah Rukh Khan 75.09
Jaipur Emerging Media 67
Sportcal, 24th Jan 2008
China/ General: Women's Ice Hockey Team Melts Away
China's women's hockey team is struggling to find adequate players largely because no one is willing to pay them, an ice hockey official has said. "The sport's governing body in the provinces does not pay any attention to the sport, and even the full-time players only have a monthly income of about 1,000 yuan ($138)," Yu Tiande, head of the ice hockey department of the Winter Sports Administrative Center, told Beijing Youth Daily. "So the number of professional players is shrinking terribly in recent years."
From its fourth-place finish at the 1998 Nagano Olympics ona team with 15 part-time players out of the total 23-member squad, the team has hit rock bottom and lags far behind the rest of the world. In China, full-time players serve their contracts with the sport's governing body in their registered provinces so they are provided with a consistent income. Part-time players must cover all costs by themselves without any compensation.
"The current situation of the sport in China is terrible," Yu said. "Twenty-three is the minimum number (of players) required for a national team. We cannot find any more good players to join in. There are only 8 professional and full-time players on the team." Yu said the fourth place at the 1998 Winter Olympics was not the highest ranking the Chinese women have achieved, but it was their last good memory. The national team used to be the best in Asia but was stunned in consecutive losses to Japan and Kazakhstan for a third-place finish at last year's Asian Winter Games in China. It was the team's second straight setback in the Games dating back from the 2003 edition in Aomori, Japan. China Daily, 24th Jan 2008
Global/New Media: Mobile TV Subscribers to Hit 462 Million by 2012
A new study from ABI Research says that the total number of mobile TV subscribers will rise to 462 million by 2012, driven largely by the expansion of 3G networks and flat-rate plans for mobile video. The study, titled Mobile TV Services, provides an overview of the mobile TV and video industry. The build-out of mobile video delivery networks and an increase in the amount of available content will also contribute to the growth of mobile television.
“Mobile operators’ sustained investment in video delivery will continue to be rewarded by subscribers’ growing adoption rates, particularly as they upgrade to new video-capable handsets,” said Mike Wolf, the research director at ABI Research. “Consumers are being increasingly enticed by better experiences through more powerful and larger screens as well as by a widening array of subscription options.”
ABI Research notes that the Asia-Pacific region will lead the way in the growth of mobile television, with the number of subscribers to grow from 24 million in 2007 to more than 260 million by 2012. High levels of penetration will occur in both Japan and South Korea. Meanwhile, both China and India are expected to contribute significantly to the overall total due to very large subscriber
populations, even though the overall penetration of video services will remain much lower than in more technologically advanced countries.
“South Korea and Japan will continue to lead worldwide, while some countries in Western Europe will also continue to see strong growth,” noted Wolf. “North America will also see some strong uptake as more services become available in 2008 with the launch of AT&T’s MediaFLO service, the continued expansion of Verizon Wireless’ MediaFLO subscriber base, and the growth of on-demand mobile video services.” Worldscreen, 24th Jan 2008
Elsewhere/Rights: France Télévisions Bags Africa Cup of Nations Final Rights
France Télévisions, the public-service broadcaster, will screen the final of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations after agreeing a deal with Sportfive, the international sports marketing agency. The final, which takes place in Accra, Ghana, on February 10, will be aired live on the broadcaster’s France 2 channel after a reported fee of between €250,000 ($365,439) and €300,000 was agreed with Sportfive. Coverage will switch to France Télévisions’ France 3 channel should extra time and penalty kicks be required. Eurosport, the pan-European cable and satellite broadcaster with rights to the whole tournament, will also broadcast the final live. The last Africa Cup of Nations final in 2006 was broadcast live in France by TF1, the French commercial broadcaster which owns Eurosport.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, the national broadcaster in Kenya, has finally signed a deal for the Africa Cup of Nations rights after receiving financial help from the government. The state broadcaster had previously complained that it could not meet the $430,000 rights fee being demanded by LC2 Medias FA, the company contracted to sell the rights on behalf of Sportfive. However, a deal was agreed and the broadcaster kicked off its tournament coverage with the clash between Nigeria and the Ivory Coast on Monday.
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, the state broadcaster in Zimbabwe, had still not finalised a deal by the middle of this week. ZBC officials remained confident, however, that it could meet the asking fee for rights, reportedly just over $900,000. Robson Mhandu, ZBC’s acting chief executive, said at the weekend that if the broadcaster could not seal a deal with the appropriate agency then it might attempt to reach a deal with Supersport, the South-African based pay-television broadcaster with rights to the tournament. National broadcasters in Zambia, Namibia, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda have all bemoaned the high cost of rights fees being asked for the tournament. Sportcal, 24th Jan 2008
Members of MyFootballClub on Wednesday approved the takeover of Ebbsfleet United, with over 95.9% of the 18,112 members voting in favour of going ahead with the deal. The agreement marks the first website community takeover of a football club. Since August 2007, members of MyFootballClub from more than 80 countries have raised over £1 million in order to buy an English professional football club. Ebbsfleet is currently ninth in the Blue Square Premier, three points off a play-off place for entry to the Football League, and the £635,000 deal has purchased a 75% stake in the club. Football Insider, 24th Jan 2008
INFO BOX
Superbowl Ad Spending
Info IQ, 24th Jan 2008
Chatter surrounding Super Bowl XLII is escalating on the cost of a 30-sec commercial spot. TV commercials that will appear during the game are the subject of growing speculation. Advertising during the Super Bowl game has translated into $1.84 billion of network sales during the past 20 years (1988-20 07) from over 200 different advertisers. On Feb. 3, Fox will air the National Football League's Super Bowl XLII. The Bowl has always been a major TV event. Last year, 93.2 million viewers tuned in to the game, which aired on CBS, and marketers paid as much as $2.6 million for a 30-second spot. This year, Fox has gotten some marketers to pay as much as $2.7 million to $3 million per 30 seconds to appear in the game.
The top five Super Bowl advertisers of the past 20 years have spent $659 million on advertising during the game, accounting for 36 percent of total advertising dollars spent in the game. Anheuser Busch and Pepsico, which have appeared in every game during this period, lead the pack, followed by General Motors, Time Warner and Walt Disney. Each year, about 62% of the network TV ad money invested in the game comes from incumbent marketers who ran commercials the previous year. While that’s a very high retention rate, it’s actually lower than the comparable rate for two other showcase TV events. Over the past 10 years, the average dollar retention rate has been 75% for the Academy Awards and 67% for the World Series.
The cost of an advertisement in the Super Bowl has nearly quadrupled in the past 20 years. After reaching $2.5 million in 2006 for a 30-second unit, the price fell back last year to just under $2.4 million. For the 2008 game, Fox is reportedly seeking $2.7 million for each 30-second spot.
What kinds of products are most frequently advertised on the Super Bowl?
The popular perception is that beer, soft drinks and autos are the prime ad categories, given their annual presence in the game. Actually, the perennial leader is promotional advertising from the network itself. In a typical Super Bowl, 15-20% of all commercial time is a plug by the network for its own programming. In 2007, the value of this air time exceeded $46 million.
How Big is the Super Bowl Versus Other Sporting Events?
The Major League Baseball’s World Series and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship are two other high-profile sporting events that attract significant interest from TV advertisers. The World Series is four to seven games. March Madness peaks with the semi-finals and championship on its final weekend, a total of three games. The Super Bowl, of course, is a single telecast. In recent years, the Super Bowl and World Series have been running neck-and-neck in total ad spending. In 2007, for the first time, the collegians surpassed the pros as the final weekend of the Men’s tournament generated $168.4 million in network TV ad spending.
SPORTS SHORTS
* Korea-based Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) will broadcast the 2008 Evergrande Real Estate World Table Tennis Championships in Guangzhou, China, the International Table Tennis Federation's marketing partner TMS has announced. "We are pleased to have agreed terms with MBC Korea for coverage of the Championships to Korean table tennis fans," said TMS managing director Anders Thunstrom. "At the last World Table Tennis Championships, there was no Korean TV-rights holder. So we welcome MBC back, as they covered the 2005 and 2006 World Championships." Sports Media, 24th Jan 2008
* New media coverage will attract the "young generation" to the Beijing Olympic Games this summer, according to CCTV's vice-president Sun Yusheng. China’s state broadcaster CCTV picked up the official Internet and mobile phone rights to the Games late last year. Sun and several of his colleagues spoke about coverage of the event. "The fact that CCTV obtained new media broadcasting right of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games attests the importance that CCTV attaches to the development of Olympic communication and new media. New media, which is bound to play a significant role in the Beijing 2008, will attract the young generation of audience." Sports Media, 24th Jan 2008
* The National Basketball Association will stage its first event in India with Basketball without Borders, the league’s global basketball development and community outreach programme. A series of activities will be held in New Delhi from July 3–6, the NBA, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) announced. The Basketball without Borders camp will use basketball to influence positive social change and feature dozens of current and former NBA players and team personnel working as camp coaches. Top young basketball players (ages 19 and under) from across Asia will come together in New Delhi to take part in basketball instruction and competition. They will also participate in motivational and life-skills seminars that promote education, leadership, character development and healthy living. Sport Business, Sportcal, 14th Jan 2008
* Samsonite has been unveiled as a major sponsor of motor racing’s new GP2 Asia Series. The deal comes into effect for this weekend’s first round in Dubai and the company will use the partnership to promote its high-end Samsonite Black Label collection. Samsonite’s logo will appear on the 26 cars, representing 13 teams, at all five rounds. The series also visits Indonesia, Malaysia and Bahrain concludes back in Dubai on the second weekend in April. The GP2 Asia Series is an offshoot of GP2, the support series to Formula 1, and the Malaysia and Bahrain races will be held on the same weekends as grand prix events. Sportcal, 14th Jan 2008
* The organizing committee of the Bali Asian Beach Games has added three more sports -- wrestling, kabbadi and pencak silat -- to the event, which will be held on the island from Oct. 18-26. Organizing committee deputy director-general for operations, Djoko Pramono, said Tuesday the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) had requested the addition of wrestling and kabbadi (a sport originally from the Indian subcontinent, consisting of seven players on each team) at the first-ever Asian Beach Games. TheJakartaPost.com, 25th Jan 2008
* The introduction of a new field hockey series between teams representing Asia and Europe has been unanimously endorsed by the Asian Hockey Federation. The six-match ‘Hockey Classics’ series will oppose the ‘Asian All Stars’ and the ‘European All Stars,’ with three games to be played on each continent next year. The decision was made at the AHF council meeting in Oman this week. The AHF also launched the bidding process for the 2009 Asia Cup and 2009 Asian Champions Trophy, adding that the hosts will be announced in the middle of this year. The top four teams from the 2009 Asia Cup will qualify for the Asian Champions Trophy, from which the Asian All Stars will be selected. Sportcal, 24th Jan 2008
* Golf’s Ladies European Tour is to have its first event in Korea in November. The Korean Ladies Masters is to be co-sanctioned by the LET and the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association for the next three years. The event will be promoted by international sports marketing company Parallel Media Group, Korean sports marketing firm Sportizen and Joongang Broadcasting Corporation, which will provide television coverage on its JGolf channel. The inaugural tournament will take place from November 13 to 15, at a venue to be confirmed, and include an equal number of LET and KLPGA players. The addition of the Korean Ladies Masters takes the number of events on the 2008 LET schedule to 29. Sportcal, 24th Jan 2008
* Sportfive has launched the official Internet TV service for the 2008 MTN African Cup of Nations in Ghana at www.Ghana2008.tv offering video streams of all 32 matches in the tournament, live or on-demand. Each match is provided with commentary in English and French. Viewers can tune in to individual matches for US$5.99, while a package including all games in the pool stage is available for $29.99 and a package featuring all the highlights is on offer for $1.99. All matches in the final stage may be purchased later for $14.99. The service is available worldwide, except in Africa and the Middle East. On the first day of competition, more than 10,000 people signed up for the service. Sports Media, 24th Jan 2008
* Turner Sports has announced the relaunch of PGA.com , the official site of The PGA of America. PGA.com, which in 2007 earned an Emmy nomination from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for its PGA.com Pipeline coverage, has been redesigned to include the PGA Pro Finder search function, a comprehensive instructional library, complete golf tournament coverage and exclusive video content. PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka said: "PGA.com is a 24/7 resource to the achievements of more than 28,000 men and women PGA Professionals, who work to grow the game and the business of golf." Sports Media, 24th Jan 2008
* CONMEBOL has publicly backed the Bolivian Football Federation in its battle against FIFA's crackdown against games played at high altitude. CONMEBOL has given the go-ahead for Bolivia to play its home games for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers at La Paz's Hernando Siles stadium. CONMEBOL has decided to allow matches to be staged at more than 2,750 metres above sea level, something that FIFA has taken exception to since the end of last year. FIFA had set periods of adaptation for matches played at altitude and the ruling led to protests from a number of South American countries including Bolivia, with La Paz located more than 3,600m above sea level. Football Insider, 24th Jan 2008
* FC Moscow will not be allowed to play a Russian Premier Liga match in London after the head of the Russian Football Union (RFU) branded the idea senseless. Backed by marketing company IMG, the club had hoped to contest its 'home' league fixture against champion Zenit St Petersburg in London. It would have been the first time in the history of Russian football that a league game has been played outside of Russian territory. But RFU chief Vitaly Mutko confirmed the proposal had been rejected at a meeting of the governing body on Tuesday. Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea and its Russian owner Roman Abramovich, had been mooted as a possible venue for the game. Football Insider, 24th Jan 2008
MORE NEWS
Asia/General: Time to Buy Media Stocks?
Consultancy Media Partners Asia (MPA) has identified a number of stocks which represent good value since the markets in Asia, as elsewhere, took a hammering earlier this week. MPA said: “The correction has been fairly indiscriminate and the worst hit have been media and communications companies in Indonesia, India, Greater China, Japan and Asian ADRs trading in the US. Earnings growth for most of the companies we cover remains robust enough, which suggests buying opportunities certainly amongst major media plays in key markets.”
The company highlights in particular India’s Dish TV, whose share price has fallen a whopping 42% since the start of the year. Other stocks representing good value are Japan’s Jupiter Telecommunications (J:Com) which has lost over nine per cent and is trading at “an undemanding” 6.4x FY 08 EBITDA, and the News Corp-backed Sky TV New Zealand, which is trading at 8x. But MPA warns that some of the big media companies in the region, such as Malaysia’s Astro and Hong Kong’s TVB, have been relatively unscathed by the nosediving markets, so may only be buying opportunities if the fall continues. Rapid TV News, 24th Jan 2008
Asia/New Media: 10 'To Do's' for Mobile TV
A new report from Casbaa has identified 10 key factors for mobile TV in Asia. Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Assocation of Asia (Casbaa’s) report, Mobile TV in Asia, condenses the challenges into a checklist of 10 “to do’s” for budding mobile TV operators to address. “For anyone interested in investing more in this space – the critical question is knowing when to act, and what the right engagement model should be,” says the report. “To address that issue we have organised the insights from our research into a simple checklist, designed to explore what the DNA of commercial success in the Mobile TV space might look like.”
1. The Network
2. Ease of Use
3. The Ecosystem
4. Devices
5. Coverage
6. Revenue
7. Regulation
8. Content
9. Advertising
10. Lifestyle
Among the less-obvious pointers, the Ecosystem is key, says the report. “Having a healthy Mobile TV ecosystem means that the integration between content providers, network operators and device manufacturers is sufficiently robust that it results in both a viable commercial model and a seamless service experience for audiences.” And lifestyle too will be a factor, with some cities (eg Hong Kong) likely to have more problems (high density, tall buildings causing interference issues) whereas others (flat Beijing) are likely to have fewer issues.
Author Mike Walsh throws in one caveat – that the internet should be “a powerful reminder of the power of the internet as a work around to the best laid plans of media companies…It is perhaps ironic that when it comes to mobile TV, so many of us already assume that the most interactive device ever invented – the mobile – will in the hands of the new generation become a passive broadcast device.” Rapid TV News, Worldscreen, 24th Jan 2008
India/General: BCCI the Big Winner as Business and Bollywood Win IPL Teams
A mix of industrial groups and film stars have today been awarded rights to own teams in the Indian Premier League, the country’s new Twenty20 competition, following a bidding process which will earn the national governing body more than $700 million. The most expensive franchise was that in the southern city of Mumbai, which was won by India’s richest person Mukesh Ambani, the head of Reliance Industries, with a bid of $111.9 million.
Ambani pipped Vijay Mallya, the chairman of United Breweries Group and Kingfisher Airlines, who did however secure the Bangalore team for $111.6 million. Mallya is also making waves in Formula 1 motor racing having joined forces with Dutch businessman Michiel de Mol to acquire the Spyker team, which will compete as Force India in 2008. The IPL is proving to be a lucrative project for the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which has generated $723.6 million from the 10-year licences to run teams. This is in addition to the $1.026 billion to be raised from the sale of the television rights to a group including broadcaster Sony Entertainment Television and sports agency World Sport Group.
The BCCI was said to have set a base price of $50 million for each franchise, but all of the winning bids were well above this figure. The owners are obliged to pay 10 per cent of the overall price they agreed every year. Lalit Modi, the vice-president of the BCCI and chairman of the IPL, said: ‘We can say that all the hard work fructified and the IPL is here to say.’ The high-profile owners will include Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, who teamed up with actress Juhi Chawla and industrialist Jay Mehta to win the bid for the Kolkata team for $75.09 million. Another celebrated actress, Preita Zinta, and her boyfriend Ness Wadia are paying $76 million for the Mohali franchise.
Other successful bidders included the Deccan Chronicle newspaper, India Cements, GMR Holdings and UK-based company Emerging Media. However, the bids from Indian financial group ICICI, business conglomerate Sahara and Futures Group were disqualified. The first edition of the IPL will comprise 59 matches over 44 days, beginning on April 18, and feature a host of overseas stars, as well as the best Indian talent. The prize fund will total $3 million and the franchises receive a share of the television and sponsorship revenue over a 10-year period.
Twenty20 cricket has been slow to develop in India, the country which accounts for 70 per cent of the sport’s global revenue, but the process has been accelerated by the launch of the unofficial Indian Cricket League, which held its first Twenty20 competition in November and December, and the national team’s victory in last year’s inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa.
Indian Premier League Team Owners
City Winning Owner Bid ($m)
Mumbai Mukesh Ambani 111.9
Bangalore Vijay Mallya 111.6
Hyderabad Deccan Chronicle 107.01
Chennai India Cements 91
Delhi GMR Holdings 84
Mohali Preity Zinta 76
Kolkata Shah Rukh Khan 75.09
Jaipur Emerging Media 67
Sportcal, 24th Jan 2008
China/ General: Women's Ice Hockey Team Melts Away
China's women's hockey team is struggling to find adequate players largely because no one is willing to pay them, an ice hockey official has said. "The sport's governing body in the provinces does not pay any attention to the sport, and even the full-time players only have a monthly income of about 1,000 yuan ($138)," Yu Tiande, head of the ice hockey department of the Winter Sports Administrative Center, told Beijing Youth Daily. "So the number of professional players is shrinking terribly in recent years."
From its fourth-place finish at the 1998 Nagano Olympics ona team with 15 part-time players out of the total 23-member squad, the team has hit rock bottom and lags far behind the rest of the world. In China, full-time players serve their contracts with the sport's governing body in their registered provinces so they are provided with a consistent income. Part-time players must cover all costs by themselves without any compensation.
"The current situation of the sport in China is terrible," Yu said. "Twenty-three is the minimum number (of players) required for a national team. We cannot find any more good players to join in. There are only 8 professional and full-time players on the team." Yu said the fourth place at the 1998 Winter Olympics was not the highest ranking the Chinese women have achieved, but it was their last good memory. The national team used to be the best in Asia but was stunned in consecutive losses to Japan and Kazakhstan for a third-place finish at last year's Asian Winter Games in China. It was the team's second straight setback in the Games dating back from the 2003 edition in Aomori, Japan. China Daily, 24th Jan 2008
Global/New Media: Mobile TV Subscribers to Hit 462 Million by 2012
A new study from ABI Research says that the total number of mobile TV subscribers will rise to 462 million by 2012, driven largely by the expansion of 3G networks and flat-rate plans for mobile video. The study, titled Mobile TV Services, provides an overview of the mobile TV and video industry. The build-out of mobile video delivery networks and an increase in the amount of available content will also contribute to the growth of mobile television.
“Mobile operators’ sustained investment in video delivery will continue to be rewarded by subscribers’ growing adoption rates, particularly as they upgrade to new video-capable handsets,” said Mike Wolf, the research director at ABI Research. “Consumers are being increasingly enticed by better experiences through more powerful and larger screens as well as by a widening array of subscription options.”
ABI Research notes that the Asia-Pacific region will lead the way in the growth of mobile television, with the number of subscribers to grow from 24 million in 2007 to more than 260 million by 2012. High levels of penetration will occur in both Japan and South Korea. Meanwhile, both China and India are expected to contribute significantly to the overall total due to very large subscriber
populations, even though the overall penetration of video services will remain much lower than in more technologically advanced countries.
“South Korea and Japan will continue to lead worldwide, while some countries in Western Europe will also continue to see strong growth,” noted Wolf. “North America will also see some strong uptake as more services become available in 2008 with the launch of AT&T’s MediaFLO service, the continued expansion of Verizon Wireless’ MediaFLO subscriber base, and the growth of on-demand mobile video services.” Worldscreen, 24th Jan 2008
Elsewhere/Rights: France Télévisions Bags Africa Cup of Nations Final Rights
France Télévisions, the public-service broadcaster, will screen the final of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations after agreeing a deal with Sportfive, the international sports marketing agency. The final, which takes place in Accra, Ghana, on February 10, will be aired live on the broadcaster’s France 2 channel after a reported fee of between €250,000 ($365,439) and €300,000 was agreed with Sportfive. Coverage will switch to France Télévisions’ France 3 channel should extra time and penalty kicks be required. Eurosport, the pan-European cable and satellite broadcaster with rights to the whole tournament, will also broadcast the final live. The last Africa Cup of Nations final in 2006 was broadcast live in France by TF1, the French commercial broadcaster which owns Eurosport.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, the national broadcaster in Kenya, has finally signed a deal for the Africa Cup of Nations rights after receiving financial help from the government. The state broadcaster had previously complained that it could not meet the $430,000 rights fee being demanded by LC2 Medias FA, the company contracted to sell the rights on behalf of Sportfive. However, a deal was agreed and the broadcaster kicked off its tournament coverage with the clash between Nigeria and the Ivory Coast on Monday.
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, the state broadcaster in Zimbabwe, had still not finalised a deal by the middle of this week. ZBC officials remained confident, however, that it could meet the asking fee for rights, reportedly just over $900,000. Robson Mhandu, ZBC’s acting chief executive, said at the weekend that if the broadcaster could not seal a deal with the appropriate agency then it might attempt to reach a deal with Supersport, the South-African based pay-television broadcaster with rights to the tournament. National broadcasters in Zambia, Namibia, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda have all bemoaned the high cost of rights fees being asked for the tournament. Sportcal, 24th Jan 2008