Thursday, 3rd January 2008

SPORTS SHORTS

* The Badminton World Federation has awarded England the 19th World Championships which will be hosted in London, just a year before the 2012 Olympic Games. This adds to an already impressive line up of World and European level events coming to the UK. with the support of UK Sport’s World Class Events Programme. Saturday’s decision was a major coup for Badminton England and for the capital which will stage the World Individual Badminton Championships for the first time. Badminton England’s Chief Executive Adrian Christy and David Hornby, Commercial Director for Events for London, were in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur last week to make the final bid presentation to the BWF Council. UK Sport, 17th Dec 2007

* UFC announced that they would be offering a new mobile service to their fans called UFC Mobile. "We selected some of the best fight footage and images in the UFC, and we are making it available through UFC Mobile. The UFC provides the perfect content for a mobile device." said UFC President Dana White. UFC Mobile will allow users with WAP enabled phones to access content such as wallpapers, and ringtones, as well as fight videos, news and updates on live events and announcements from the UFC. More details will be made available in early 2008, including updates on special features that will be accessible to the members of the UFC Fight Club through UFC Mobile. 411mania, 1st Jan 2008

* China Central TV, China's largest broadcaster, started high-definition TV transmissions on January 1. CCTV's first high-def transmissions were in and around Beijing, and will be rolled out nationally over time. SARFT, China's media authority, said the broadcasts will be free to viewers although viewers had to buy suitable HD sets and set-top boxes. Six other channels (of standard-definition digital TV programming) also went on air January 1. They include four CCTV channels, one Beijing TV channel and China Education Channel. Rapid TV News, 2nd Jan 2008

* Hong Kong TV launched all-digital HDTV at 7pm on December 31. But the Hong Kong branch of Friends of the Earth say the new HDTV transmissions will mean local landfills will have to absorb around 20% of some 480,000 unwanted analogue sets, some only six years old. Hong Kong has annual sales of about 400,000 sets and is expected to see a growing enthusiasm for new flat-panel units, says Friends of the Earth. ATV and TVB will be accelerating their roll-out of HD, and targeting 75% of Hong Kong's population by early August in time for the opening of the Beijing Olympics. ATV will roll out seven digital channels and TVB five. Each broadcaster will have several standard channels and a high definition channel. Rapid TV News, 2nd Jan 2008

* IEC in Sports has added athletics’ IAAF Grand Prix Athens Tsiklitiria to its television distribution portfolio. Last year’s event was attended by 35,000 spectators and the meeting has a history of hosting world records, including Asafa Powell’s 100 metres world record in 2005. The event is one of over 30 athletics meetings a year for which IEC in Sports distributes television rights. Sportcal, 2nd Jan 2008

* Turf TV, the betting shop horse racing channel showing races from 31 UK racecourses, has picked off another of the country’s biggest bookmakers, after Ladbrokes agreed a deal to show the channel despite holding a stake in Satellite Information Services, which has a contract with the other 28 racecourses. Ladbrokes followed Gala Coral and the Tote, the state-owned bookmaker, in signing up with Turf TV, in a move that is expected to lead to the remaining bookmakers that hold a stake in SIS, William Hill and Betfred, following suit. Ladbrokes, William Hill and Coral had all initially refused to sign up, citing the cost involved. The Ladbrokes deal, which Turf TV said is for a minimum of five years, is thought to be worth £70 million ($139 million) over the period. Sportcal, 1st Jan 2008

* JumpTV took the Cotton Bowl around the world on New Year’s Day. A streaming concern based in Orlando, Fla., JumpTV�s sports division scored a deal with Fox Sports to distribute the Cotton Bowl internationally. JumpTV announced the arrangement in the days before the Jan. l game. Rights issues prevented online distribution in several Caribbean Island nations and some areas of Central and South America. It was also not streamed in the United States. Television Broadcast, 2nd Jan 2008

* The Australian Football League's stunning prosperity seems assured for the next decade, with Channel 9 certain to bid for the next television rights amid predictions of a five-year $1 billion term. There had been speculation the death of Kerry Packer and Nine's new ownership structure might see the network decide to opt out of the AFL rights race but Nine insiders say the network has already considered its options and will throw its resources at the rights, which could be decided much earlier than the end of this deal, which expires after the 2012 season. Frenzied bidding for the rights would ensure the AFL could continue its expansion plans into Queensland and Sydney, while still funding the 16 existing sides. While anti-siphoning rules mean Foxtel cannot seal a deal for all eight games, then sell off some games to rivals, it can still be a key player in negotiations. BigFooty.com, 18th Dec 2007


MORE NEWS

Korea/Broadcaster: Legal Hurdle Cleared for IPTV Launch

South Korea's National Assembly has passed a long-awaited bill clearing the way for a full launch of Internet Protocol TV (IPTV). Legislation, passed Dec. 28, establishes a regulatory framework for the new technology, which is expected to deliver a major shakeup to Korea's broadcasting sector. Telcos such as Hanarotelecom, KT, and LG Dacom have previously only been allowed to offer "pre-IPTV" services centered around video on demand. The new bill will clear the way for the addition of live broadcasting and streaming Internet plus interactive services like e-commerce, multimedia messaging, video conferencing and more.

The debut of full IPTV is expected to greatly boost subscriber numbers for the three current players and challenge conventional cable and satellite TV providers. Hanarotelecom's HanaTV, launched in July 2006, is the current IPTV market leader with 800,000 subscribers. A move by leading mobile operator SK Telecom to acquire a leading 39.8% stake in Hanarotelecom for $1.2 billion is being reviewed by the Fair Trade Commission.

KT, the country's leading fixed-line and broadband Internet provider, launched MegaTV in June and has signed up roughly 300,000 subscribers. The firm is aiming for 1.5 million subscribers by the end of 2008 and is co-operating with banks and the post office to introduce a variety of in-home financial services. Meanwhile a proposed merger between KT and mobile subsid KTF is likely to increase competition with its rival SK/Hanaro.

Recently launched myLGtv, from LG Dacom, has settled on a strategy emphasizing HD premium services, and aims to amass 200,000 subs in the coming year. Firms such as KT have been held back from launching IPTV for more than four years as the Korean Broadcasting Commission and the Ministry of Information and Communication vied to regulate the new technology. The recently passed legislation gives both bodies a hand in regulation, a situation that has some observers concerned about bureaucratic red tape. Variety Asia, 2nd Jan 2008

Elsewhere/Rights: Eredivisie Prepares For TV Race

The Eredivisie’s status as one of least heralded of the major leagues in European football could be set to change, with 2008 set to be a key year for the Dutch domestic game. In November, the Eredivisie revealed plans that will potentially see the Dutch top flight cut from 18 to 16 clubs. The change has been slated to take affect from the 2009-10 season in a bid to increase the competitiveness of the league and is just one of a number of new proposals. The Eredivisie is also seeking to establish its own television station, while reports have stated that clubs are hoping to establish a government licence allowing betting on football games to further boost their income streams.

However, perhaps the most important factor will be the league’s new television deal with the invitation to tender (ITT) for its latest media rights auction, starting from the 2008-09 season, now available to potential bidders. The Eredivisie has undertaken extensive preparation for the auction including detailed analysis into the Dutch media market and consulting with a wide range of broadcasters, network operators and industry investors. Spectrum Value Partners, an international strategy consultancy and leading expert on sports rights, has been advising the Eredivisie during this period.

“There is significant potential for the Eredivisie’s rights value to grow,” said William Field, partner and head of the sports practice at Spectrum. “This will be stimulated by the growth in the Dutch broadcast market as it becomes increasingly digital and allows for the development of pay-TV.” By the start of next season, when the new rights period begins, over 50% of all Dutch homes will have digital television, significantly boosting the market for pay-TV content. Field added: “Football is the most important content for any pay-TV proposition. This is demonstrated by the degree of interest, from within the Netherlands and internationally, for this auction.”

The Eredivisie is rated as the Netherlands’ most valuable media property. Consumer research conducted by the Eredivisie shows substantial demand for live televised Eredivisie matches and a willingness to pay for them. Fifty per cent of Eredivisie fans are also said to be willing to pay €15 per month for live matches. In addition to new opportunities for pay-TV bidders, the ITT also offers value to Open Net bidders. For the first time, they will have the opportunity to bid for one, or more of the top live matches each week, as well as the highlights programmes on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. Sports Media, 2nd Jan 2008

Elsewhere/Rights: Italian Soccer Gets Green Light to Return to Collective Selling

Italy’s cabinet has given its approval to a bill enabling Italian soccer to return to the collective selling of television rights from the 2010-11 season, in a move that, it is claimed, will help to close the financial gap between the rich and poor clubs of Serie A, the top-tier league. Identifying television rights as ‘the main source of finance for football,’ Giovanna Melandri, the country’s sports minister, said that the bill ‘will introduce more balance into football. At present the ratio between the top clubs of Serie A and those at the bottom, in terms of earnings, is of one to seven. ‘With this bill, we will get to a relationship of one to four.’

In October last year the Serie A clubs paved the way to a return to the collective selling of rights in 2010 by agreeing, through a majority vote, a formula for the distribution of television rights fees that is intended to favour the smaller clubs. Under the formula, 40% of revenues will be distributed equally, with 30% being determined by the performance of the teams (according to various past and future indicators) and the remaining 30 per cent allocated according to the size of each club’s fanbase (as indicated by specially-commissioned independent research).

The formula compares with the one operating in England’s Premier League, and used as a model by several other leagues, in which 50% of revenues is distributed equally, 25% according to league position and 25% according to the number of television appearances each club makes. Italian clubs have negotiated their television rights individually since 1999 but this system has benefited top clubs such as Juventus and AC Milan which have been able to command up to seven times as much from deals as smaller clubs.

Under the new system, a collective rights deal worth an anticipated €900 million ($1.3 billion) a season could mean a top club like Juventus receiving €87 million, about four times as much as a smaller club like Siena. Despite the adjustment in their favour, smaller clubs Siena, Atalanta, Cagliari and Palermo all voted against the plan. There is also opposition from some clubs in the second-tier Serie B which have threatened strike action if they do not receive what they consider to be a fair share of collectively-distributed television rights fees.

In January last year, the Italian antitrust authority recommended a return to the collective selling of broadcasting rights in a 170-page report in which the authority claimed that it was necessary to change the way the rights are sold to ensure a more competitive league. The authority said that an independent body should be responsible for the domestic and international sale of the rights. This could be the FIGC, the Italian soccer federation, but not the Italian football league. Sportcal, 2nd Jan 2008


ARTICLES, COMMENTS, INTERVIEWS & OPINIONS

Global Market for Cellphone Ring Tones Is Shrinking
Victoria Shanon writes for the New York Times, 31st Dec 2007

After years of double-digit growth rates, the global ring tone market appears to have come to the end of its crescendo, according to a variety of measures. In some parts of the world, ring tone sales are actually declining, and the former ring tone kings, like Jamba of Germany and Musiwave of France, are refocusing their businesses on other ways to personalize cellphones. A couple of years ago, there seemed to be no upper limit to the sale — for a couple of euros, or $3 to $4 — of snippets of music that blast out of cellphones. Billboard magazine created a “hot ring tones” chart in 2004 to track their popularity, and at one point in 2005, analysts predicted an $11 billion ring tone business by 2010.

But the market changed in unexpected ways. For one, more mobile phones were being made with the ability to create or record their own tunes. For another, record labels promoted so-called master ring tones — excerpts from the original pop recordings — for about the same price as the knockoffs but with higher royalty fees. And digital music stores like iTunes began packaging and selling ring tones alongside their 99-cent singles. All three trends lessened the profitability of ring tone aggregators, like Jamba, the Berlin-based marketer behind the popular “Crazy Frog” melody.

Jamba, known as Jamster in the United States, is still selling ring tones, but it has expanded into music, video and information services as well as graphics and games. The company was bought for $273 million in 2004 by VeriSign, which subsequently sold a controlling stake to the News Corporation in 2006. Similarly, the ring tone provider Musiwave announced last month that it was being purchased by Microsoft for $50 million to help the software company with its “connected entertainment” ambitions. Openwave Systems had bought the company, based in Paris, for $121 million in 2005.

Cheap chirps remain on the ascent in non-Western countries, said Paul Goode, a senior analyst in London with M:Metrics, a market research company based in Seattle. Mobile network providers are pushing “ringback” tones, which play over the phone as you wait for a call to connect, particularly in Asia. But in most of the countries that M:Metrics tracks — Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Italy — the percentage of mobile phone subscribers buying a ring tone in an average month has fallen consistently over the last 12 months, to a low of 3.4 % in Britain in October. In the United States, it was 9.3 %, higher than the 9 % of last October but below its January 2007 peak of 10 %.

Mark Mulligan, vice president at JupiterResearch in London, puts the ring tone share of the overall mobile content market in Europe at about 29 % this year, down from 33 % last year. The value of European ring tone sales is expected to be about $1.1 billion this year, about 10 % higher than 2006, while the value of mobile games sold will be $550 million, about 33 % above a year earlier, Mr. Mulligan said.

Ring tones still get the occasional headline, as when the Dave Matthews Band finally authorized digital ring tone sales of its music, or when fans downloaded the “Why don’t you shut up?” retort from the prime minister of Spain to the president of Venezuela last month. Jonathan Medved, chief executive of Vringo, said he believed his company had the next big thing in the ring tone wave: video ring tones. Vringo, based in Israel, offers sports clips, cartoons, music videos and other shorts so that your call shows the animation of your choice when it rings on your buddy’s phone. That would fit in with the ring tone pattern so far. “Ring tones are personal, and they are driven by hits,” Mr. Mulligan said. “Although many markets have reached saturation, there are still ring tone buyers who change their tunes once a week.”