INFO BOX
China's online B2B transaction tops $292b in '07
Transaction volume of China's online business-to-business jumped 65.9% year on year to 2.1 trillion yuan ($292 billion) in 2007, according to a report released by i Research. The research firm contributed the surge to the country's booming economy and trade. Alibaba.com, the Hong Kong-listed online B2B giant, maintained its leading position and generated 2.3 billion yuan ($320 million) in revenues last year, an annual increase of 65.4%, said the consulting firm. As more and more small- and medium-sized enterprises are using online B2B transactions to reduce cost, revenues drawn from online B2B operations will jump to 13.8 billion yuan ($1.8 billion) in 2011, the company predicted. China's online B2B transaction volume was merely 76 billion yuan ($10.6 billion) in 2002, according to the company's data. telecomasia.net, 18th Feb 2008
Malaysian Adex for TV Growing Faster Than Newspaper
Advertising expenditure for TV is gaining at newspapers' expense, despite newspapers still grabbing the lion's share of the ad pie, according to updates by Carat Media. In 2007, free-to-air TV adex share of 33% was the largest achieved in 14 years, while newspapers adex share of 56% was the smallest in 12 years. TV adex grew by 22% compared to 12% for newspapers in 2007.
Contributing to TV adex growth is Media Prima, which improved its share of adex from 84% in 2006 to 90% in 2007. Factoring an estimated 15% rate increase for the one-tier up advertising rate from TV3 effective March 2008 will culminate in further ad revenue for TV3 in 2008, according to Carat Media.
Ad spend in the English and Malay press went up marginally by two percentage and one percentage point respectively. Ad spend in the Chinese press, on the other hand, suffered a three percentage points drop, according to research by Nielsen Media Research.
The announcement of Sin Chew Media Group acquiring Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press in 2006 have not apparently translated into increased market share for the acquired titles, Carat Media observed. Sin Chew Daily recorded an increment of one percentage point but Nanyang and China Press saw a drop in their market share.
As for The Sun's share of ad spend, its 8% is still small compared to The Star (70%) and New Straits Times (NST) (15%) despite its circulation numbers exceeding NST's - and which is increasingly closing the gap with The Star.
Meanwhile, the acquisition of majority shares in The Sun's owner Nexnews by Vincent Tan's Berjaya Corp, raises speculation that the sale was politically motivated despite denials by Tan. The paper's editor-in-chief, Ho Kay Tat, has moved back to The Edge. Ho and several senior journalists were often asked by government officials to explain the paper's independent coverage.
SPORTS SHORTS
* Nearly 1 million people have applied to become volunteers for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the organising committee has said. Some 70,000 volunteers are required for the Olympics and a further 30,000 for the Paralympics. Organisers said last year that they are looking for more foreign-language-speaking volunteers for the games. The Beijing Olympic Games are expected to provide services in 55 languages. Sportcal.com, 15th Feb 2008
* South Korea's Fair Trade Commission has approved, with conditions, the proposal by wireless operator SK Telecom to buy a large stake in the country's second-largest broadband service provider for $1.15 billion. The deal is still subject to final approval by the Ministry of Information and Communication, which is scheduled to deliberate on the commission's recommendation. Analysts say the acquisition would allow SK Telecom to bundle mobile with fixed-line services, helping it retain mobile market leadership while extending its influence into fixed-line and broadband turf. The conditions the trade commission imposed are intended to discourage a monopoly in the mobile, fixed-line and broadband service markets. telecomasia.net, 18th Feb 2008
* South Korea is in the running to stage two international university sports events in the next five years. Earlier this week, Gwangju officially presented its bidding dossier for the 2013 Summer Universiade, thereby becoming the first ‘candidate city.’ FISU, the international university sports federation, said that it would send an evaluation committee to South Korea shortly to inspect the proposed venues and accommodation facilities. A decision on the host city for the Universiade will be made in Brussels at the end of May. The venue for the equestrian event will be decided earlier, at the next executive committee meeting in Harbin at the end of this month. Sportcal.com, 15th Feb 2008
* Organisers of football's Pan-Pacific Championship (PPC) have secured international television distribution agreements to broadcast the inaugural tournament this year in Japan, Hong Kong and Malaysia. J.League broadcasters SKY PerfecTV! will broadcast three of the matches from the event in Japan, Hong Kong's i-Cable TV will also be covering the action in Honolulu, and satellite station Astro Sports will provide an exclusive broadcast of the tournament in Malaysia. The PPC is a four-team tournament contested by Houston Dynamo, Los Angeles Galaxy, Gamba Osaka and Sydney FC, which kicks off on February 20 in Hawaii. Sports Media, 15th Feb 2008
* The University of Oregon sold its multimedia marketing rights to Oregon Sports Network (OSN) and IMG College in a deal that will net it US$67.14 million over the next 10 years. The multi-media rights agreement will include management of the television and radio rights and programming, advertising, licensing video boards and signage. The deal provides $4 million upfront for capital investment in video boards and signage in the proposed basketball arena, Autzen Stadium and the new baseball park. In addition, IMG-OSN will guarantee the university $56.22 million in cash over 10 years, $2.5 million for the right to market the naming opportunity for the new baseball field, and $8.42 million for production services and infrastructure for video board and game day presentations, programmes, ticket purchase and other trade. Sports Media, 15th Feb 2008
* ‘Big TV' is the name of India's latest entrant into DTH, and is currently testing a 60-channel model, but promising 300. Reliance Communications is one of India's largest cellular operators, and part of the giant Ambani Group and is hoping to convert its mobile phone experience into DTH broadcasting. Big TV is testing a 60-channel system, mostly to employees who can buy boxes at the heavily subsidised rate of 1000 Rupees. Some reports suggest that this will also be the price for the mass-market, and is a significant discount for new MPEG4 boxes. Big TV says it will be carrying close to 300 channels when the service goes fully live in a few weeks. Besides existing services from Zee TV's Dish TV, and Tata-Sky, there's another cellular player entering the market in the shape of Bharti TV. Rapid TV News, 15th Feb 2008
* Visa today declared its support for Singapore’s bid to host the 2010 Youth Olympics, in an apparent breach of bid city rules that prevent the International Olympic Committee's sponsors from backing bid cities because of possible conflicts of interest. Visa is one of the IOC's top-tier TOP sponsors. The IOC today told Sportcal.com that it would 'look into the situation. 'Moscow is the only other bidder for the event, which will be awarded by the IOC next week. Mizuno, the Japanese sportswear and equipment company, was earlier this week forced to pull out of its sponsorship of Tokyo’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games after the IOC said that the sponsorship was in breach of its code of ethics. Mizuno is also an IOC supplier, and the IOC ruled that such a double involvement represented a possible conflict of interest. Sportcal, 15th Feb 2008
* Highlights of the Eredivisie, Dutch soccer’s top-tier league, could be set to return to NOS, the public service broadcaster, next season, following a second round of bidding this week. NOS is reported to have submitted an offer of €12 million ($17.6 million) per season for the rights, outbidding commercial network RTL, which shows the highlights at present The other major commercial broadcaster SBS again declined to bid, according to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. RTL is reported to be paying €35 million a season for primary and secondary highlights rights, which it acquired through the takeover last June of Dutch commercial broadcaster Tien. Sportcal, 15th Feb 2008
* The European Broadcasting Union has offered between 25% to 30% less money to renew its media rights contract with the cycling’s UCI than the present deal, which expires at the end of this year, is worth. The contract covers races run by the UCI, including world championships in all disciplines, such as road and track cycling, cyclo-cross and mountain biking. It also covers World Cup races in track cycling and cyclo-cross and some mountain bike World Cup races. The EBU has cited the high-profile doping scandals suffered by the sport in recent years as a reason that it is not prepared to match the value of its present deal. However, the UCI rejects this, pointing out that the scandals relate mainly to the Tour de France. Sportcal, 15th Feb 2008
* IMG has entered a ‘multi-year strategic partnership’ with EA Sports, the computer games software company behind top sports titles such as FIFA Soccer, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, NASCAR Racing, Madden NFL football and NBA Live basketball. Under the agreement, IMG will help EA Sports to license and market its brand in new product categories, which, EA said, ‘could include sports camps, gaming lounges, publishing products, performance apparel and more.’ Meanwhile, EA announced that it has extended its association with NFL American football until 2012. Sportcal, 15th Feb 2008
* President George W Bush has said that he will attend the Beijing 2008 Olympics as a political row over China’s role in the Sudan continues to impact on Beijing's preparations for the Summer Olympics. Bush said he viewed the Games as a ‘sporting event’ and that China's close ties with Sudan, where human rights violations are taking place in the Darfur region, would not affect his stance. Bush backed the Games after the resignation of Steven Spielberg from his role as artistic adviser to the Beijing Olympics. Spielberg had been brought in as artistic adviser for the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the Games, but said his conscience over the Darfur issue would not allow him to continue in the role. Sport Business, 15th Feb 2008
MORE NEWS
Singapore/General: Singapore Host Business Bigwigs
The inaugural Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore will give the island’s economy a significant boost. F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone is convinced the first night race on a downtown street circuit is where multi—billion—dollar business deals will be sealed from September. Apart from an estimated 40,000 tourists visiting the island during the race, the 77—year—old told TODAY in an exclusive interview from London that Singapore will play host to some of the world’s most influential captains of industry from team sponsors like ING, HP and Allianz.
Mr Ecclestone also noted that with Asia and Australia set to host seven races by 2010 (once South Korea and perhaps India get on the calendar), Singapore and the region stand to benefit from the kind of F1—centric 3—billion ($8.3—billion) motorsports industry enjoyed by the United Kingdom. "I wouldn’t be surprised to see that happen, within two or three years, for sure. You need a bit of time for that to happen," he said.
Singapore has been on his F1 radar screen since 1990, two years after he took control of the sport that was near begging, turning it into a US$4—billion ($5.7—billion) business. That was the year he first gave his old friend, hotel and property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, the rights to host F1 in Singapore. But the Government turned down a proposal to build a permanent racetrack, so in the late 1990s he took his idea elsewhere in Asia, adding Malaysia to the F1 calendar in 1999 and China five years later. As more countries queued for the F1 starting grid, Singapore’s interest was aroused once again, signalling it was keen on another bite of the F1 pie.
In May last year, Mr Ecclestone obliged, giving Mr Ong the green light to host a night race here a global first. The reason for the change of heart? "I am very bullish about the East," said Mr Ecclestone. "It has been so for more than 15 years (since talking to Ong), and hopefully I have been proven right because they have come on in that part of the world and now they are very strong and Singapore is obviously in that region." And Mr Ecclestone is confident that Singapore will eventually become a jewel in the F1 crown. Yahoo News, ChannelNewsAsia.com, 18th Feb 2008
Global/Rights: Many Rights Holders 'Still Very Unsophisticated' in Sponsorships
A large proportion of sports federations and other rights holders are ‘still very unsophisticated’ in terms of sponsorship activation and measurement, according to Havas Sports, the sports communication and brand management arm of the French advertising group. William Jefferson, the head of global brand development at Havas Sports, told Sportcal.com that ‘rights holders are, by and large, still very unsophisticated.’ He said, ‘They have rights to sell and a lot of the time they are just selling you tickets and visibility, depending on the sport.’
Jefferson said that it was often the smaller federations and rights holders that were working harder to help maximise sponsorship deals for their clients. ‘Some of the smaller guys are getting a lot more sophisticated in what they are trying to offer their clients as sponsors in order to activate, such as using their database or through loyalty programmes.’ He said that that rights holders had, however, improved in terms of looking after sponsor relations, compared to the past when, ‘they used to sell you the rights, you took your tickets, you took your rights package and you didn’t bother them.’
He also agreed with Jérôme de Chaunac, Havas Sports Network’s chief operating officer, who said that the top federations with the highest income had become ‘more creative’ in terms of servicing the brands. De Chaunac said, ‘The top guys like IOC, Fifa and Uefa are very good now, they have been investing so much in staff and sometimes in agencies [such as Uefa’s investment in the Team Marketing agency]. ‘Sponsors are becoming more and more demanding, so they had to become more mature – they couldn’t just give them a package and a price.’
The biggest improvement has come from the brands though, said Jefferson. ‘For the brands there has been a significant change. They are now saying that if they are buying a sponsorship for $20 million, they’ve got to be ready to spend $15 million to $20 million to exploit it.’ Havas Sports works mainly on behalf of brands in helping them activate and communicate their sponsorships in sport, but also works across the board with stakeholders, federations, associations and clubs. Sportcal, 15th Feb 2008
Elsewhere/New Media: Mobile TV Breaking Records in France.
Canal+ has two offerings: CanalSat Mobile and Canal+ Mobile. Combined they reached a total of 250,000 subscribing users watching via 3G/3G+ and Edge technologies via Canal's partner networks SFR and Bouygues Telecom.
Canal Plus Group says its subscribers has jumped an impressive 225% between 2006 and 2007. According to Canal+, such a success is the result of what is now considerable experience in the responding to the expectations of mobile TV consumers, and their seeking for "a strong branded channels offer, much appreciated by its DTH subscribers and perfectly adapted to mobile TV viewing"
Good as these numbers are, cellular company Orange is doing better. Orange, a subsidiary of France Telecom, claims it has more than 500,000 mobile TV subscribers. Subscribers to Canal+ Mobile are showing specific interest into the channel's strong themes such as films and series, entertainment, news and sport, and finally comedy. CanalSat Mobile offers 50 channels, 20 of which are exclusive. RapidTV, 17th Feb 2008
Elsewhere/General: Blatter Aims to Shoot Down Premier League's Overseas Plan
Plans by English soccer’s top-tier Premier League to play a round of matches in foreign cities appear to have been scuppered after Sepp Blatter, the president of Fifa, the sport’s world governing body, said he was committed to blocking the proposal. Blatter made his first public comments on the idea on Thursday, accusing the league of ‘abuse’ and insisting that the overseas games would never take place while he is in office. He also suggested that the affair could damage England’s bid for the 2018 World Cup.
Last week, Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore announced that the 20 clubs had agreed to explore the possibility of playing a 39th round of fixtures abroad from the 2010-11 season onwards. However, the concept has met with derision from English fans and the media, who believe it is financially-motivated, and various continental and national federations have expressed reservations.
Blatter has now joined the chorus of disapproval, telling the BBC: ‘This is abuse. The rich Premier League is trying to get richer and wants to expand the importance of that league. This does not take into consideration the fans of the clubs and it gives the impression that they just want to go on tour to make some money.’ The Premier League is hoping to meet Fifa to discuss its expansion plans, but seems unlikely to make much headway given Blatter’s unequivocal stance on the matter. He said: ‘This will never happen, at least as long as I am the president of Fifa.’
Scudamore had suggested that the league does not require Fifa’s approval to stage games, if it receives the backing of England’s Football Association. However, this claim was rejected by Blatter who said: ‘It is not true. Even if the FA did sanction it, all the national associations receiving these clubs would have to sanction it also. This will be very difficult. ‘In addition to that, the Fifa executive committee will apply article two of the Fifa statutes: ‘to prevent all methods or practices which might jeopardise the integrity of matches or competitions or give rise to abuse of association football.’
The FA may now be reluctant to support the Premier League’s project, especially as Blatter believes it could affect England’s chances of hosting the World Cup. He said: ‘When it comes to a decision of the executive committee concerning this matter of the 39th round, and I am sure they will be against it, then it will not have a positive impact on the bid from England for the World Cup in 2018.’ Following Blatter’s comments, the Premier League issued a brief statement saying that the clubs would ‘look forward to the opportunity to meet with Fifa in order to discuss this matter in full.
‘This was always the starting point in relation to the issue of sanction for the proposed international round, and as such we will be making no comment until after that time.’ The Fifa executive committee will not make a final decision on the plan until its meeting on March 14. Sportcal, 15th Feb 2008
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