Thursday, 17th January 2008

INFO BOX

Television Statics

* 69% of Americans think PCs are more entertaining than TV
* 17 mln IPTV subscribers in China by 2011
* 90% of US cable operators offer HDTV
* Japanese and Americans watched 4.5 hours of TV a day in 2006
* 78% of mobile TV users are in Asia-Pacific
Info IQ, 15th Jan 2008


SPORTS SHORTS

* NexxNow China has penned an agreement to exclusively produce Continental Basketball Association (CBA) games and CBA-related programming exclusively for distribution to mainland China. US-based NexxNow is a media and marketing company that is focused on delivering sports content to mainland China. The CBA was founded in 1946, and is one of the oldest professional leagues in the United States. Over the years the league has provided more than 600 players for the NBA and is seen as a breeding ground for the big leagues. Sports Media, 16th Jan 2008

* Home Box Office (HBO), the premium channel operator owned by Time Warner, has bought out two of the four partners in its Asian business. NBC Universal and Sony Pictures Entertainment have sold their stakes in HBO Asia to HBO, leaving Paramount as the only other shareholder, with 25% of the business. HBO said it initiated the buy out and wants to expand what it claims is a business that has been performing strongly and has high brand recognition in Asia. HBO Asia operates five premium movie and drama channels (HBO, HBO Signature, HBO Hits, HBO Family and Cinemax) in 22 Asian countries, as well as a subscription video-on-demand service in Hong Kong. Rapid TV News, Worldscreen. 16th Jan 2008

* A deal has been agreed between FIFA, UEFA and top European clubs that is set to lead to the G-14 organisation disbanding and clubs being paid for their players appearing in the World Cup or European Championships. Hailed "an historic day for football", the grouping of the world's richest clubs will be dissolved and their court cases against FIFA withdrawn. It means the threat of a European breakaway league featuring the top clubs has been removed. FIFA and UEFA will make "financial contributions for players' participation in European Championships and World Cups". The details have yet to be worked out but both agreed to the principle. Football Insider, Sport Business, Sportcal, 16th Jan 2008

* The world's richest marathon, the 2008 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon, will be filmed exclusively by Dubai Sports Channel as part of a new five-year deal. The race will be seen by viewers of Sky Sports (UK and Ireland), Supersport (Africa), Fox Sports (Australia), Ten Sports (Indian subcontinent, Middle East, Indonesia and Hong Kong), Starhub Singapore and Showtime (Middle East and North Africa). A US$1 million bonus is being offered if someone can set a new world record. Sports Media, 16th Jan 2008

* The 2008 Australian Open has joined forces with UK digital company Perform in an effort to drive more traffic through its website. In the first move by Tennis Australia to commercialise the tournament's digital rights, the partnership will see 240 matches broadcast live online by the end of the event. The agreement is also expected to bring an extra 1.5 million users to the official tournament website and a further 10,000 subscribers to the site's dedicated broadband channel, www.australianopentv.com. Perform also markets the tournament to the digital community, including an agreement with YouTube to distribute footage. It also has content sharing agreements with 20 other affiliate sites around the world. Sports Media, 16th Jan 2008


MORE NEWS

Elsewhere/General: Olympus Pictures Perfect Partnership with US Open Series

Olympus America will be the first title sponsor of the US Open Series after agreeing a six-year deal with the US Tennis Association (USTA) reportedly worth more than $60 million. The circuit of 10 North American hard-court tournaments in the run up to the US Open tennis Grand Slam at the end of August every year will now be called the Olympus US Open Series. The camera technology company will also be a 'US Open Corporate Champion' for the duration of the contract. Olympus America's existing commercial partnership with the US Open and the US Open Series had been due to expire after this year's tournament.

Since its launch four years ago, TV viewing figures for the Series have doubled. In total, the 2007 US Open Series - including the US Open - generated a record 1.7 million attendees, more than 120 million television viewers, and over 32 million website visits. Olympus will be integrated into all broadcasts of the Series and will receive prominent on-court presence at all Series events as well as at the US Open. The Series currently receives more than 75 hours of live national television coverage on ESPN, CBS and NBC, with an additional 100 plus hours of coverage on Tennis Channel. Sports Media, Sport Business, 16th Jan 2008

Elsewhere/Rights: CEV Switches to Agency Approach for European Competitions

The CEV, the European Volleyball Confederation, has taken the decision to employ an agency, the Munich-based Sportsman Media Group, to market and distribute rights to a selection of its competitions, including the top-tier Indesit European Champions League. The rights to the men's and women's Champions League, second-tier CEV Cup and men's European League, the national teams competition, have previously been sold in-house, but the CEV will now rely on an outside organisation to sell the worldwide distribution rights for television, the internet and mobile phones. As part of the deal, the Sportsman will also offer live worldwide internet coverage of the games on Laola1.tv, its affiliated portal.

A separate deal between the CEV and the Sportsman covers beach volleyball's Nestea European Beach Tour, which the agency will market in conjunction with existing rights holder, Global Sports Marketing, the Swiss-based sports marketing agency.

The Sportsman and the CEV have not revealed the duration of the new partnership, but the agency told Sportcal.com that it was ‘medium term’ and ‘more than one year' in length. Commenting on the CEV’s decision to switch to an agency strategy, the Sportsman said: 'The federation didn’t have any specialists in that department to help them increase the [international] coverage.’ Until now, Champions League games have failed to attract significant coverage outside the countries of the participating teams. Rights to the CEV’s European club competitions have previously been sold on a game-by-game basis, with the rights allocated to the home club and its host broadcaster in the domestic market. Sportcal, 16th Jan 2008

Elsewhere/Rights: Uefa Kicks Off Rights Sales Process for Club Competitions

Uefa has today announced the start of media rights sales for its top club competitions for the period from 2009-10 to 2011-12, a process which will begin in Turkey and the Middle East next Monday. The invitation to submit offers for the top-tier Uefa Champions League, second-tier Uefa Cup and the Uefa Super Cup, the annual match between the winners of the two competitions will be made by Team Marketing, the Switzerland-based agency which is responsible for selling the rights on a market-by-market basis through a staggered sales process.

There are various changes in the next contract period, including the extension of central marketing of the Uefa Cup, which will now include the group stages. For the current three-year contract period, Uefa Cup rights were only marketed centrally from the quarter-finals onwards, with clubs owning the rights to their home matches in the earlier stages of the competition. As a result of the extension, the Uefa Cup media contents rights package now comprises 205 matches over 15 weeks in each season.

The Uefa Super Cup is now included in the rights deals for the Champions League, having previously been part of the Uefa Cup package. Significant modifications to the Champions League include:

* the switching of the Champions League final from a Wednesday night to a Saturday night from 2010
* the centralised marketing approach will henceforth include the third qualifying round;
* the extension of the first knock-out round matches over four match weeks instead of two.

Overall, a media rights package for the Champions League from 2009 includes 146 matches, compared to 125 for the current period, over 34 match nights, up from 25 at present. Uefa will release launch dates for the sales of Champions League and Uefa Cup rights in each market at uefa.com. its official website. Rights will be granted on a platform-neutral basis, offering successful bidders exclusivity across television, internet and mobile, as Uefa continues to recognise technological convergence. For the period from 2006-07 to 2008-09, the television rights sold to broadcasters in the European Union for the Uefa club competitions include the right to show matches simultaneously on the internet. Sportcal, 16th Jan 2008