Tuesday, 5th February 2008

INFO BOX

Mobile TV a Potential $2bn Market

If implemented quickly, mobile DTV broadcast services could be a $2 billion market for the industry by 2012 according to a report unveiled during NAB’s TV board meeting. The report, from BIA Financial Network, was commissioned by the association as part of its ‘FASTROAD’ (Flexible Advanced Services for Television & Radio On All Devices) technology advocacy group.

BIA Financial Network said that in order to achieve these figures (which would be a mix of ad revenues and subscription fees), the broadcast industry should focus its efforts on establishing a single standard for mobile TV (currently under consideration by the ATSC) by the summer of 2008. The technology should be ready for roll-out a year from now to correspond with the analogue shut-off; content protection issues be resolved; audience measurement parameters be established; and that consumer devices be broadly available by Christmas 2009. The company said it based its predictions on the assumption that 130 million mobile receive devices and an additional 50 million MP3 devices include M/H capability by 2012. ATV, 5th Feb 2008

Super Bowl Advertsing Slots Cost an Average of $2.7m

Advertisers paid Fox, the US television network that broadcast NFL American football’s Super Bowl last night, an average of $2.7 million per 30-second advertising slot during the games. Last year, the average price for a 30-second slot was $2.39 million. Advertisers for last night’s game, in which the New England Patriots were surprisingly beaten 17-14 by the New York Giants included Anheuser-Busch, Toyota, Pepsi and Procter & Gamble. Sportcal, Reuters, 4th Feb 2008


SPORTS SHORTS

* Google has said it finds Microsoft's $44.6 billion bid to buy rival Yahoo "troubling" and wants regulators to scrutinise the proposed deal. Google said the tie-up could unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors' email and instant messaging services. It said Microsoft had previously sought "to establish proprietary monopolies". "Microsoft's hostile bid for Yahoo raises troubling questions," said David Drummond, Google's senior vice president for corporate development and chief legal officer. "This is about more than simply a financial transaction, one company taking over another. It's about preserving the underlying principles of the Internet: openness and innovation," he said in a company blog. ATV, 5th Feb 2008

* Cairo-based Nilesat says the Middle East should have 1200 satellite channels by 2015. Nilesat is one of two major players in the Middle East, with Arabsat the other. While there’s some duplication of services between the two Arab-focused satellite operators, Nilesat expects the total channel count to grow from today’s near-900 channels (of which Nilesat has the lion’s share) to nearer 1200 by 2015. HDTV has been slow to happen in the Mid-East, with the three pay-TV rivals not taking the expected lead in broadcasting HD. RapidTV, 5th Feb2008


MORE NEWS

China/Rights: NMTV broadcasts The 2008 Super Bowl in China

China's leading diversified financial media group Xinhua Finance Media today announced that Inner Mongolia Satellite TV (known as ''NMTV'') was the only nationwide broadcaster in China to relay the 2008 Super Bowl across the country on February 4th Beijing time.

XFMedia CEO Ms Fredy Bush said that the broadcast rights represent a unique opportunity to enhance the visibility of NMTV while helping to build interest amongst Chinese viewers in the NFL. The NBA series has become hugely successful in China in recent years, leading to interest in other American sports. According to data announced by the NBA, the 2006-07 season attracted 1.2 billion viewers in China.

NMTV reaches 105 cities across China, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and has a potential viewership of an estimated 225 million. Through the strategic alliance with Shanghai Camera Media Investment Co., Ltd, XFMedia provides consulting and advertising services to NMTV. Broadcast Newsroom, 4th Feb 2008

India/Rights: Cable TV players get I&B nod for IPTV

Cable TV operators can now compete with telcos to offer IPTV services. The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry approved sector regulator TRAI’s recommendations for facilitating IPTV services. This implies cable TV operators registered under the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act 1995 can provide IPTV services without requiring any further licence. IPTV is fast becoming a popular value-added service in many countries. The rapid development in telecom technologies, enormous capabilities of the IP platform and increasing digitalisation of broadcasting is driving services like IPTV.

More importantly, the foreign direct investment in players who provide IPTV services will continue to remain as per the existing structure. This implies, telcos and ISPs will have an advantage as the cap in these sectors is 74% while the FDI limit for cable operators is 49%. TRAI has repetedly been demanding that the the FDI for cable operators be raised to 74%, but the government is yet to act on this issue. TheEconomicTimes , 5th Feb 2008

Africa/General: WiMAX Could Spur DTV growth in Africa

The penetration of digital TV services in Africa will begin to accelerate due to the proliferation of new technologies such as WiMAX. WiMAX has emerged as a serious player in underdeveloped regions where low bandwidth and inadequate infrastructure have limited the growth of broadband and digital TV services. In October 2007 there were an estimated 30,000 WiMAX subscribers in the Middle East and Africa, which is three times higher than numbers reported at the end of 2006.

"WiMAX deployments are critical in Africa because they enable networking in regions lacking fixed fibre infrastructure," says analyst Anna Maxbauer, author of the IMS Research study ‘Emerging DTV Markets: Africa & The Middle East’. WiMAX facilitates connectivity in rural areas at low cost, delivering live IPTV and VOD transmissions in the absence of expensive DSL infrastructure build-outs. This is especially important for regions such as East Africa, where the lack of infrastructure has led to some of the highest connectivity costs in the world… Local and regional operators should capitalise on low-cost technologies such as WiMAX in order to expand their coverage footprints and launch advanced services to previously unreachable African markets." ATV, 5th Feb

Elsewhere/General: Futures of Spanish and Australian Grand Prix at Risk

Formula 1 motor racing’s Spanish Grand Prix risks being dropped from the calendar after Lewis Hamilton, the UK’s black McLaren driver was subjected to racial abuse during testing in Barcelona at the weekend. Track officials had to order spectators to remove offensive banners from the grandstands.

The FIA, motor sport’s world governing body, responded: ‘The FIA are surprised and disappointed at the abuse directed against Lewis Hamilton. Abuse of this kind is a clear breach of the principles enshrined in the FIA statutes and any repetition will result in sanctions.’ Meanwhile, organisers of the Australian Grand Prix have expressed confidence that the race will continue to find a place on the Formula 1 calendar, despite series promoter Bernie Ecclestone questioning its future after the present contract expires in 2010.

Ron Walker, the chairman of the race organiser, said: ‘When you look at other grands prix around the world in China, Dubai and Malaysia they don’t get anything like the attendances we get in Melbourne. ‘This will just blow over and negotiations will take place in a normal fashion.’ Ecclestone had suggested that alternatives in India, Russia and South Korea were all more attractive because they would generate higher television and sponsorship revenues, adding: ‘Our costs are very high in Australia and we get a lot less money.’ Sportcal.com, 4th Feb 2008

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone warned that Australia could lose its Formula One Grand Prix and said he was under "quite a lot" of pressure from other countries to take the Melbourne Grand Prix elsewhere. Melbourne has a contract to host the race until 2010, but according to Australian media reports, Ecclestone criticised Victorian Premier John Brumby for giving the event "scant support" and said he wanted to pursue better money, sponsorship and television audiences in other parts of the world. Ecclestone also ruled out any chance of the Gold coast taking the high profile event from Melbourne saying, “our costs are very high in Australia and we get a lot less money. It's bloody bad for us. We've got quite a few places on the list which would like to have Formula One and as it seems your guy (John Brumby) down there doesn't want Formula One, we can make him happy and make the other people happy". The grand prix is expected to move to either India, Russia or Korea should a deal with Melbourne not be renewed. Sportsbusiness, 4th Feb 2008