SPORT SHORTS
* Malaysian media conglomerate Media Prima has launched a search for a chief executive to head up its new Philippines’ subsidiary, Primedia. The company says its ideal candidate will be “a person with extensive experience working in an MNC within the creative industry.” Primedia has a block airtime and consultancy agreement with free-TV network ABC5 TV. Media Prima’s interest in the Philippines is part of its regional expansion and investment, which will be driven by a US$100-million media fund, MPB Strategic Media Fund Limited Partnership, currently being set up. Content Asia, 28th Apr 2008
* Malaysia’s Astro is said to be exploring the possibility of expanding in the Philippines. There is no official confirmation from the Kuala Lumpur based direct-broadcast satellite network, which is still mired in unpleasantries over its DirectVision joint venture in Indonesia. DTH hasn’t so far been a hit in the Philippines, which suffers some of the region’s most serious piracy problems. But hope, clearly, springs eternal. Two more platforms, including one backed by the Philippines Long Distance Telephone company (PLDT), are said to be looking at joining Dream in the skies above these 7,017 islands. Content Asia, 29th Apr 2008
* Taiwan-based mobile communication service provider Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET) on April 28 announced the launch of its FET Sports Channel to provide mobile sports news and commentary as well as FET Mobile TV to provide mobile audio/video streaming services, according to the company. FET is offering the 3.5G Nokia 6124 Classic in conjunction with the launch of Sports Channel, FET indicated. According to industry sources, the launch of the channel is FET's first step in a bid to provide peripheral services for a sports lottery in Taiwan, which will include mobile-based betting. A sports lottery in Taiwan is scheduled to kick off on May 2, the sources pointed out. FET is also offering the Sharp WX-T92 in conjunction with the FET Mobile TV service, the company indicated. The mobile TV platform can accommodate 80 channels with nine channels currently in operation, FET pointed out. Digitimes.com, 29th Apr 2008
* Malaysia's smallest mobile phone firm, DiGi.com , reported a 17.9% rise in first-quarter net profit on higher revenue driven by more subscribers and greater phone usage, a Reuters report said. DiGi, controlled by Norway's Telenor, posted net profit of 290.14 million ringgit ($92 million) for the three months ended March 31, compared with 246 million ringgit a year earlier, the Reuters report said. telecomasia.net, 30th Apr 2008
* The number of Internet users in the Chinese countryside surged 127.7% last year, thanks to double-digit economic growth and fast expanding rural network construction, state media said Friday. The number of rural Internet users, most of them boys in middle or high school, grew to 52.6 million in 2007, the Xinhua news agency said, citing the China Internet Network Information Centre, a government think-tank. Due to lower incomes and less education in the countryside, rural users still only make up a relatively small proportion of China's total online population. China now has 221 million people online, more than in the United States, according to recent reports in the local media. Among rural residents who have yet to go online, 53.3 percent do not know how to use computers or the Internet, while 23.1 percent lack Internet facilities, the centre said. Yehey.com, 29th Apr 2008
* The Korea Football Association (KFA) officially announced on Monday that a new club from Gangwon Province will be added to the K-League for the start of the 2009 season. A yet-to-be-named club from the north-eastern province will become the 15th team in Asia's oldest professional league and its first new addition since Gyeongnam FC in 2006 when it begins play next season. It was announced in Seoul that the new team will play matches in all three of the region's biggest cities - Chuncheon, Wonju and Gangneung. Gangwon is currently the only province in South Korea without a K-League team and the new team will become the fifth civic-owned club alongside Incheon United, Daejeon Citizen, Daegu FC and Gyeongnam. Football Insider, 29th Apr 2008
* The Tsingtao Brewery Group has stepped up its publicity drive ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games this summer. The company is one of the two official domestic beer sponsors of the Games. Tsingtao last year teamed up with CCTV-2 and the National Geographic Channel to create a programme about Chinese cities, which is being aired this year. The show, which is called 'Qing-Guo-Qing-Cheng', will run through 2008 and features business leaders, city officials, media organisations and celebrities discussing the character and nature of Chinese cities ahead of the tourist invasion. The panel of guests has been allowed to offer recommendations on how each city can improve its image. Sports Media, 29th Apr 2008
* The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) has granted MTV Networks China permission to broadcast in the Olympic Village at the Beijing Olympics 2008, becoming the only approved international music television channel to televise in the venue. The 24-hour MTV China channel will go on air on June 24, broadcasting over the private Olympic CATV network to all of the Olympic-related competition venues and hotels. MTV China will air the programs MTV Burr and 100 MTV Ways To Rock The Olympic Games, the 2-minute-long MTV Burr and 100 MTV Ways To Rock The Olympic Games. The 100-day period from May 1 to August 8, marks an on-air and off-air nationwide contest for viewers to send in photos and videos that best represent the Olympic spirit. Selected works will be shown on MTV China and its website, www.mtvchina.com. World Screen, 29th Apr 2008
* Dubai-based publishing house, The Media Factory (TMF), will launch a Middle Eastern version of the popular UK monthly football magazine, FourFourTwo. The magazine will be the third Haymarket publication on TMF's portfolio, and will be the first magazine in the region to be dedicated to local football, as well as offering news from the international scene. TMF will produce a special edition of the magazine ahead of UEFA Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland this summer, and will thereafter release the publication on a monthly basis. Haymarket produces a number of other sports magazines, including Racer, F1 Racing (published in 20 languages) and Autosport magazine. Sports Media, 29th Apr 2008
* A leading Australian motor racing association will investigate whether a Sydney race track can be upgraded to host a Formula One grand prix. The Australian Racing Drivers' Club said it would determine whether its Eastern Creek circuit in Sydney could host a domestic grand prix if Melbourne's contract is not renewed upon expiry in 2010. ARDC president John Cotter said that the study was "an essential first step in plans to ensure Australia remained relevant in world motorsport". "Strong competition from emerging nations to secure major motorsport events threaten to marginalise Australia, with a resulting loss in status and tourism potential," he said. British-based Apex Circuit Design Ltd will carry out the study into Eastern Creek, which was built in 1990. Sportbusiness.com, Sportcal.com, 29th Apr 2008
* The market for premium mobile content platforms grew almost 20% in 2007, resulting in a $3.4 billion share of the $18.5 billion of revenue generated by the mobile premium content market, according to recent research by MultiMedia Intelligence. As mobile phone subscribers worldwide increasingly look for personalisation and enhanced entertainment content on their handsets, subscribers are continuing to purchase more premium content, such as ringtones, music, mobile games and video. ATV, 30th Apr 2008
* Telegent Systems, provider of mobile TV solutions, has revealed key findings of the industry’s first post-sale mobile TV survey. The survey shows that mobile TV can have a significant impact on handset sales, with 85% of respondents stating that the primary influence driving their handset purchase decision was the built-in free-to-air TV feature, as opposed to screen size, camera, music capability, or fashion. The study, conducted in China where there are now more than three million users of free-to-air mobile TV, also reveals that free-to-air TV continues to be a compelling feature after purchase, with 74% of respondents watching television on their handset for thirty minutes or more at a time, and 54% watching five times a week. ATV, 30th Apr 2008
MORE NEWS
Global/New Media: Local Mobile Search Finds Favour
Almost 30% of the global mobile subscriber base, around 1.3 billion users, are expected to be using local mobile search services by 2013, according to analyst figures released Tuesday. Juniper Research believes that advertising supported local search will be the key to driving this sector, with the caveat that the effectiveness of advertising in this sector will vary widely according to local conditions. One of the key factors will be the availability and quality of locally based directories and content, as well as the presence of the necessary location based infrastructure.
The best equipped regions for the delivery of mobile local search are thought to be Western Europe and North America, as countries within these regions predominantly have good local digital information suppliers, such as yellow and white pages, as well as good mapping data. Although Western Europe currently accounts for the greatest volume of mobile search queries, a surge of adoption in China will soon cause the Far East & China region to overtake.
Local search is expected to account for 43% of cumulative mobile search advertising revenues between 2008 and 2013, with user response rates to local search advertising expected to be significantly higher than for advertising on general mobile web search. Total mobile search revenues are forecast to reach $4.8bn by 2013 but Juniper cautions that an "advertising overload" might act as a disincentive to consumers. In the end, the analyst said, it will be the quality of the user experience that will be of paramount importance. Telecoms.com, 29th Apr 2008
China/General: MTV China to Broadcast in Olympic Village
The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) has granted MTV Networks China permission to broadcast in the Olympic Village at the Beijing Olympics 2008, becoming the only approved international music television channel to televise in the venue. The 24-hour MTV China channel will go on air on June 24, broadcasting over the private Olympic CATV network to all of the Olympic-related competition venues and hotels. MTV China will air the programs MTV Burr and 100 MTV Ways To Rock The Olympic Games during the special coverage period. The two-minute-long MTV Burr, airing from July 8 to September 24, will provide viewers with an entertainment guide to Beijing in 20 episodes, while 100 MTV Ways To Rock The Olympic Games, airing over a 100-day period from May 1 to August 8, is an on-air and off-air nationwide contest for viewers to send in photos and videos that best represent the Olympic spirit. Selected works will be shown on MTV China and its website, www.mtvchina.com.
Thousands of viewers will receive MTV China’s programming through the Olympic CATV network. The programs will be broadcast at all the Beijing competition venues and over all the facilities and areas at the following sites: the Olympic Village, the Olympic Headquarters Hotel, the Main Press Centre (MPC), the International Broadcasting Centre (IBC), and the Media Villages for the Beijing Olympic Games and the BOCOG Building.
Li Yifei, the executive VP and managing director of MTV Networks Greater China, commented: “We are very pleased that MTV is invited to televise in the Olympic Villages. Athletes and journalists from the world who are staying in the Olympic Village will be able to watch MTV’s compelling programming as well as to experience Beijing through MTV during the Games. With the new MTV Burr, viewers will be introduced to a truly local take on the culture, food and entertainment of Beijing.” World Screen, 29th Apr 2008
Global/General: Olympic Sponsors Win High Interest in China
Average worldwide interest in the Olympic Games is at 52% according to a new survey from SPORT+MARKT and unprompted awareness of Olympic Sponsors in China shows high interest and good results, especially for international brands. SPORT+MARKT found that global interest in the Games was at 52%, with 54% of Americans interested in the games, 48% of the population in the top five European markets showing strong interest, 63% in central and Eastern Europe, 56% in Central and South America and 51% in Africa and Australia. The percentage dropped to 42% in Asia, but in China itself, research showed that 53% of respondents were ‘very interested’ in the Summer Olympic Games, with a further 36%’ interested’.
Unprompted awareness of Olympic Sponsors in China also showed high interest and good results according to the SPORT+MARKT’s Online study. Chinese brand Lenovo came top with 38% awareness, followed by Coca-Cola with 36% and China Mobile with 30%. Samsung and Yiligroup had 18% awareness, Bank of China 17% and adidas, Haier, Johnson & Johnson are all on 14%.
The interest level in the Olympic Games, says SPORT+MARKT shows the enormous anticipation of the Chinese. “The riots in Tibet and worldwide protests have not reduced the interest so far. Intensive work by sponsors in China to activate their engagements before the start of the games has led to very good results in China. Especially international brands such as Coca-Cola, Samsung, adidas and also China sponsor VW have reached very good awareness levels. This strengthens the point that most sponsorship engagements work in the home country. The question is, whether this penetration can also be reached internationally.
With regards to the impact the current situation could have on sponsors, with protests against China’s position in Tibet, Hartmut Zastrow, Executive Director SPORT+MARKT said: “We cannot speak of a loss of image for the sponsors yet, as sponsorship engagements have not been widely communicated globally in the campaigns. Currently, there is a certain understanding among the population of most countries for the situation of the sponsoring companies, but we cannot predict the dynamics of the upcoming weeks. Right now, China is still the villain in the eye of the public.”
“Olympic Games have always been a platform for activists, e.g. Catalans at the Olympics 1992 in Barcelona, the African American movement in Atlanta 1996, or Aborigines minority issues in 2000. Nevertheless sponsors have never suffered a loss of image. Consumers can distinguish between political situations of hosting countries and the engagement of a sponsor in a great international sporting event.”
“The value of sponsorship engagements of official sponsors of the Olympics will decrease by half, as sponsors are not able to activate their Olympic campaigns outside of China in the given situation. Considering Olympic Games are free of ads, classical advertisement is their only way to display their engagement – a possibility which was taken from sponsors for western countries. No sponsor could possibly exploit the Olympic spirit in their campaigns right now, except for in China. This could mean a loss of millions of investment as sponsors currently find themselves trapped: either they intimidate the Chinese, which represent an important economic strength, or they risk the reputation of being a China sympathiser among the western population. All sponsors can do right now is wait and see.”
Tuesday, 29th April 2008
DID YOU KNOW?
* Malaysian Airlines System (MAS) tops Air Asia and Singapore Airlines in Reader's Digest's survey of most trusted brands in Malaysia. Rolex and Seiko are favourite watch brands while favourite jewellers are Habib Jewels and Poh Kong. The survey claims to identify which brands appeal most to affluent Asian consumers. The survey was carried out by The Nielsen Company through questionnaires distributed in Reader's Digest as well as through telephone interviews of randomly selected consumers. Marketing-interactive.com, 29th Apr 2008
* The action might not stand up to legal scrutiny but it seems some Chinese are fighting back against what they see as biased media coverage of the Olympic Torch Relay. Two Chinese, a New York beautician and a Beijing school teacher, were so irked by comments made on air by CNN anchor Jack Cafferty back on April 9 that they have clubbed together in order to mount a legal action in New York federal court alleging slander. Cafferty described China’s leaders as “goons and thugs”. The lawsuit claims $1.3bn (“one dollar for every Chinese”) against CNN. Another legal action is taking place in China, mounted a little more seriously by a group of 14 lawyers, arguing much the same case – but asking only for 100 Yuan ($14) each in compensation. CNN has countered by saying that Cafferty was merely expressing an opinion about China’s leadership. The Reporters Without Borders organisation says China is 163rd out of 169th in its press freedom index, in the company of other bastions of enlightenment (so we don’t get sued) such as North Korea, Burma, Vietnam, Pakistan and Eritrea. Rapid TV News, 28th Apr 2008
SPORT SHORTS
* Chinese internet portal, Sohu, that is an official sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, has recorded a fivefold jump in profits. Net income rose to $21.6 million from $4.5 million a year earlier, the Beijing-based company said in a statement. Traffic on the site has been boosted by Beijing Olympic news, pictures, and videos, spurring companies such as Samsung and Adidas to buy more advertising space. Sales more than doubled to $84.8 million from $33.1 million, exceeding analysts' estimates. Online coverage of the games in China has been a source of contention between Sohu.com and bitter rival Sina.com, with the former claiming to have exclusivity to carry Olympic imagery on its site. Sina.com, however, continues to carry Beijing games imagery and is planning comprehensive coverage of the event, using a 450-strong team to cover them in Chinese, English, French, German, Spanish and Arabic. State broadcaster CCTV saw off competition from both companies for the internet and mobile rights to the games in China. Sportcal.com, 28th Apr 2008
* The Indian pay-television industry is projected to generate revenues of $11.2 billion by 2012, according to a report by Media Partners Asia. By 2017, this is expected to grow to $18.5 billion, with revenues from subscriptions and advertising accounting $12.3 billion and $6.2 billion respectively. Subscriber base is also expected to expand by 137 million by 2012, and 163.8 million by 2017, with an annual growth of 10.9 per cent for the first five years and 7.2 per cent for the remaining five. In 2007, total pay-television revenues in India amounted to $5.25 billion, of which subscription revenue was $3.77 billion and advertising accounted for $1.48 billion, with a subscriber base of 81.67 million. Sportbusiness.com, 28th Apr 2008
* Belgium and the Netherlands are considering forming a new league called the BeNe Liga. The proposed competition would include best sides of each country. PSV Eindhoven, Ajax, Feyenoord, Anderlecht, Brugge and Standard Liege are likely to be involved Anderlecht board member Michel Verschueren is said to be a passionate supporter of the idea, but the mastermind behind the plan is fellow Belgian Alain Courtois. The 56-year-old politician, who is running the FIFA 2018 World Cup joint bid, has already talked about the BeNe Liga with UEFA president Michel Platini, who “reacted with enthusiasm and said that he would support a move like that.” Last year the American Major League and the Mexican Primera División formed the North American SuperLiga, while sides from Denmark, Sweden and Norway are competing in the Royal League since 2004 although the latest edition was cancelled for financial reasons. Soccer Investor, 28th Apr 2008
* USA-based cable sports broadcaster, ESPN, is reported to have completed a clean sweep of the rights for tennis' four annual 'grand slam' events by agreeing a deal to show the US Open, beginning with next year's tournament. ESPN will take over the cable rights previously held by the rival NBC-owned cable broadcaster USA Network, which are due to expire this year, according to tennisweek.com. Network rights are held by CBS. The deal follows ESPN's televising of the US Open Series, a series of tournaments leading up to the US Open itself, since its inception. It is expected that the deal will ensure greater exposure for the US Open than ever before, thanks to ESPN's ability to feature matches on any of three channels: ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Classic. Sportcal, 28th Apr 2008
* The number of mobile phones in use in Australia has surged to a record high and now exceeds the nation's population. For the first time, there is now more than one mobile for every Australian, with 21.26 million mobile phones now in operation - an increase of 7.6 percent from the year before. There are more than 4.5 million 3G phones in Australia, a 192 percent increase between 30 June 2006 and 30 June 2007. The number of fixed-line services, meanwhile, dropped from 11.26 million to 10.92 million. The number of payphones in operation in Australia -- both Telstra-operated and privately-operated - dropped by 8,368, to 49,862. The figures are contained in the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) 2006-07 communications report tabled in parliament today by Communications Minister Stephen Conroy. The report also shows the number of Internet subscribers has grown to 6.43 million, made up of 2.09 million with narrowband and 4.33 million with broadband connections. Znet.com.au, 29th Apr 2008
* The England and Wales Cricket Board is set to launch four new Twenty20 tournaments. According to UK press reports the ECB is looking into starting: an annual series of one-off Twenty20 matches in Antigua between England and a West Indies XI; a $1 million four-team annual Twenty20 tournament at Lord's; a revamped domestic Twenty20 league; and the Champions' League, involving the Twenty20 leaders from four countries playing for $1 million. The ECB is reported to be set to sign agreements with the West Indies Cricket Board and American billionaire Sir Allen Stanford to create two of the new multi-million dollar international Twenty20 competitions, the annual series in Antigua and the Lords based event. Sportbusiness.com, 28th Apr 2008
* Organisers of the 2012 London Olympics Games have block-booked nearly 2,000 luxury hotel rooms for international delegates attending the games at a cost of £10 million ($19.9 million). The International Olympic Committee indicated that it was surprised to hear of the block booking, believed to be the most expensive in Olympic history. The 1,925 rooms are in some of the UK capital’s most exclusive hotels, with officials being allocated suites costing up to £3,000 a night in six five-star hotels. Half the bill will be covered by the organising committee. In Beijing, officials will have only two five-star hotels, with the rest staying in more modest accommodation. Financial details of the hotel bookings were included in London’s original bid document, but last week were missing from the document on the official London 2012 website. Sportcal.com, 28th Apr 2008
MORE NEWS
Singapore/General: Online Google Searches Reflect Offline Buzz
What goes on in the real world is mirrored online and more or less in real time, according to a new hour-by-hour tracking device from Google Singapore. A month-long trial showed that searches on the Internet for the terrorist-fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari started climbing on Monday as news about how he escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre filtered out of Parliament. By Tuesday night, a new term, 'Wong Kan Seng', had joined a list of 20 buzz words for the day. The role and responsibilities of the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister had been discussed and defended by the Prime Minister earlier. Google Singapore's tracker also showed how online searches mirrored the offline buzz. In the few days before the deadline to file income tax returns, 'Iras' (the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore), 'my tax' and 'gst offsets' were the hottest terms. Rolled out yesterday, Google Hot Trends (www.google.com.sg/trends), appears to be the most comprehensive tracking tool for local searches so far.
Previous trackers had offered only a short list of top searches and were updated only a few times a week. The online giant, which claims over 60 per cent of the market here, measured the number of times a term was searched every hour. The spikes also showed that people often went online to run their searches in the evenings, after work. Mr Derek Callow, Google's marketing manager for the region, said the buzz words were ones which showed spikes in interest, besides the usual popular terms such as 'sex'.
But if online buzz gathers fast, Google's results also showed how quickly it can fizzle. When a New Paper article on former top Hong Kong actress Yammie Lam soliciting outside a bar appeared on April 4, her name was on the list of top 20 search terms for only the next three days before dropping off. Said Assistant Professor Lim Sun Sun from the National University of Singapore: 'It's a reflection of information overload as well as the constant desire to have fresh news. 'When there is news in the traditional media and it is not enough, people go online to listen to more views and gossip.' Besides Google, Yahoo also offers a list of top search terms. On its Singapore website (www.yahoo.com.sg), Mas Selamat was the second most searched term on Wednesday afternoon after Liu Yifei, the Chinese actress starring in the Forbidden Kingdom movie. Asia Media, 25th Apr 2008
Elsewhere/General: The History Channel Celebrates Australian sports
The History Channel on FOXTEL in Australia has commissioned a new series of locally produced documentary specials titled The Spirit of Australian Sport to showcase the country’s most popular sports including Australian football, rugby league, swimming and horse racing. To be produced by Bennett Creative Services for The History Channel, the series will be presented by star athletes from the respective sport, to trace the sports’ rise to popularity as well as to feature volunteers contributing to the sport and fans attending the games.
The first of the specials, The Spirit of Australian Sport – Australian Football, scheduled to premiere in June 2008, will celebrate 150 years that the indigenous football game is played by exploring the history of ‘Aussie Rules’ through archival footage and interviews with current and ex-players, as well as fans of the game. Details to the rest of the documentary series including the line-up of athlete presenters will be announced by The History Channel in due course. Television Asia, 28th Apr 2008
ARTICLES, COMMENTS, INTERVIEWS & OPINIONS
3G Mobile Broadband Set for Growth
The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), and the GSMA (GSM Association), the global trade group for the mobile industry, partnered to present a seminar on “3G Mobile Broadband for All” today in Bangalore. A host of industry leaders from the mobile eco-system and India’ IT industry participated in the event. GSMA senior director of services Jaikishan Rajaraman gave the keynote perspectives on the international 3G landscape and the potential for Mobile Broadband, with particular emphasis on the social and economic advantages it would bring for India.
The agenda consisted of a number of experts from India as well as abroad who provided insights on the benefits of mobile broadband by sharing their experiences and expertise in mobile broadband deployment. These included, Vodafone Director, group public policy Neil Gough; Nokia India Head of go to market software and services, context and advertising Navdeep Manaktala; Infineon Technologies India principal - concept engineering Balachandar Santhanam; Dialog Mobile – Sri Lanka CEO Supun Weerasinghe; Qualcomm senior director-QCT Mohit Bhushan; Microsoft director of mobile operator business development David O’Byrne, and Gartner principal analyst Naresh Singh.
In his opening remarks, COAI director general TV Ramachandran said that “India represented the finest example of public-private partnership and how telecom has benefited society.” He also said that it was time now for the industry to crack the code of mobile broadband, and that in India, mobile broadband was required in the rural areas.
Ramachandran reiterated that the Industry has been able to achieve much due to the initiatives of the government, by providing a very competitive scenario, emphasis on affordability, and a conducive regulatory / policy environment for the Industry to grow at a stupendous pace.
Ramchandran also shared with the audience quotes of India’s minister of communications and IT A Raja during his inaugural address given during a similar seminar held at New Delhi 25 April. The minister had lauded the growth of the GSM industry and noted the many milestones that the industry had crossed during the last one year. April 2008 saw India become the second largest wireless market in the world. Raja emphasized on the need for the industry to now focus on improved rural penetration saying that “Mobile broadband will be the most desirable and preferred way to increase broadband penetration”. Raja announced that the Government would very shortly come out with its detailed guidelines in respect of 3G as also mobile broadband access.
The seminar included a presentation on mobile broadband applications by Ericsson, which showcased its Gramjyoti project demonstrating on how 3G mobile broadband could change and enhance the lives of people and communities. The presentation included clips on mobile education, e-governance, tele medicine and how the eco-system can be harnessed to deliver these applications on a sustainable basis. Ericsson’s head of core networks and system solutions and general manager – 3G program for market unit India and Sri Lanka Bo Ribbing said that Gramjyoti could be scaled up to cover 200,000 villages where GSM towers already existed and that there was a very viable model for using mobile communications to bridge the digital divide.
The event also included a Workshop conducted by Microsoft on “Connecting Customers & Communities”. Microsoft India’s Gupta gave the delegates an overview of Mobile Broadband applications with Microsoft and also gave a demonstration of services.
Some facts about 3G mobile broadband that were revealed at the seminar:
* 3G Mobile Broadband services are taking off exponentially in the rest of the world
* As of April 2008, there are over 168 networks in 73 countries that have opted for mobile broadband (HSPA). As of March 2008, there are more than 32 million mobile broadband (HSPA) connections worldwide, a ten-fold increase in the last one-year alone. This is forecast to grow to 700 million by 2012
* There are a number of 3G mobile broadband devices available in the market today. It is estimated that more than 470 devices had been commercialized by 102 vendors by April 2008. These devices include handsets, notebooks, USB modems, PC cards and wireless routers.
* In the last four years, the prices of WCDMA handsets have dropped by almost 80 per cent, signaling the ever-improving affordability of the service.
* It is estimated that the sale of 3G mobile broadband devices will increase from around 170 million in 2007 to nearly 800 million in 2013. Indiantelevision.com, 28th Apr 2008
* Malaysian Airlines System (MAS) tops Air Asia and Singapore Airlines in Reader's Digest's survey of most trusted brands in Malaysia. Rolex and Seiko are favourite watch brands while favourite jewellers are Habib Jewels and Poh Kong. The survey claims to identify which brands appeal most to affluent Asian consumers. The survey was carried out by The Nielsen Company through questionnaires distributed in Reader's Digest as well as through telephone interviews of randomly selected consumers. Marketing-interactive.com, 29th Apr 2008
* The action might not stand up to legal scrutiny but it seems some Chinese are fighting back against what they see as biased media coverage of the Olympic Torch Relay. Two Chinese, a New York beautician and a Beijing school teacher, were so irked by comments made on air by CNN anchor Jack Cafferty back on April 9 that they have clubbed together in order to mount a legal action in New York federal court alleging slander. Cafferty described China’s leaders as “goons and thugs”. The lawsuit claims $1.3bn (“one dollar for every Chinese”) against CNN. Another legal action is taking place in China, mounted a little more seriously by a group of 14 lawyers, arguing much the same case – but asking only for 100 Yuan ($14) each in compensation. CNN has countered by saying that Cafferty was merely expressing an opinion about China’s leadership. The Reporters Without Borders organisation says China is 163rd out of 169th in its press freedom index, in the company of other bastions of enlightenment (so we don’t get sued) such as North Korea, Burma, Vietnam, Pakistan and Eritrea. Rapid TV News, 28th Apr 2008
SPORT SHORTS
* Chinese internet portal, Sohu, that is an official sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, has recorded a fivefold jump in profits. Net income rose to $21.6 million from $4.5 million a year earlier, the Beijing-based company said in a statement. Traffic on the site has been boosted by Beijing Olympic news, pictures, and videos, spurring companies such as Samsung and Adidas to buy more advertising space. Sales more than doubled to $84.8 million from $33.1 million, exceeding analysts' estimates. Online coverage of the games in China has been a source of contention between Sohu.com and bitter rival Sina.com, with the former claiming to have exclusivity to carry Olympic imagery on its site. Sina.com, however, continues to carry Beijing games imagery and is planning comprehensive coverage of the event, using a 450-strong team to cover them in Chinese, English, French, German, Spanish and Arabic. State broadcaster CCTV saw off competition from both companies for the internet and mobile rights to the games in China. Sportcal.com, 28th Apr 2008
* The Indian pay-television industry is projected to generate revenues of $11.2 billion by 2012, according to a report by Media Partners Asia. By 2017, this is expected to grow to $18.5 billion, with revenues from subscriptions and advertising accounting $12.3 billion and $6.2 billion respectively. Subscriber base is also expected to expand by 137 million by 2012, and 163.8 million by 2017, with an annual growth of 10.9 per cent for the first five years and 7.2 per cent for the remaining five. In 2007, total pay-television revenues in India amounted to $5.25 billion, of which subscription revenue was $3.77 billion and advertising accounted for $1.48 billion, with a subscriber base of 81.67 million. Sportbusiness.com, 28th Apr 2008
* Belgium and the Netherlands are considering forming a new league called the BeNe Liga. The proposed competition would include best sides of each country. PSV Eindhoven, Ajax, Feyenoord, Anderlecht, Brugge and Standard Liege are likely to be involved Anderlecht board member Michel Verschueren is said to be a passionate supporter of the idea, but the mastermind behind the plan is fellow Belgian Alain Courtois. The 56-year-old politician, who is running the FIFA 2018 World Cup joint bid, has already talked about the BeNe Liga with UEFA president Michel Platini, who “reacted with enthusiasm and said that he would support a move like that.” Last year the American Major League and the Mexican Primera División formed the North American SuperLiga, while sides from Denmark, Sweden and Norway are competing in the Royal League since 2004 although the latest edition was cancelled for financial reasons. Soccer Investor, 28th Apr 2008
* USA-based cable sports broadcaster, ESPN, is reported to have completed a clean sweep of the rights for tennis' four annual 'grand slam' events by agreeing a deal to show the US Open, beginning with next year's tournament. ESPN will take over the cable rights previously held by the rival NBC-owned cable broadcaster USA Network, which are due to expire this year, according to tennisweek.com. Network rights are held by CBS. The deal follows ESPN's televising of the US Open Series, a series of tournaments leading up to the US Open itself, since its inception. It is expected that the deal will ensure greater exposure for the US Open than ever before, thanks to ESPN's ability to feature matches on any of three channels: ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Classic. Sportcal, 28th Apr 2008
* The number of mobile phones in use in Australia has surged to a record high and now exceeds the nation's population. For the first time, there is now more than one mobile for every Australian, with 21.26 million mobile phones now in operation - an increase of 7.6 percent from the year before. There are more than 4.5 million 3G phones in Australia, a 192 percent increase between 30 June 2006 and 30 June 2007. The number of fixed-line services, meanwhile, dropped from 11.26 million to 10.92 million. The number of payphones in operation in Australia -- both Telstra-operated and privately-operated - dropped by 8,368, to 49,862. The figures are contained in the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) 2006-07 communications report tabled in parliament today by Communications Minister Stephen Conroy. The report also shows the number of Internet subscribers has grown to 6.43 million, made up of 2.09 million with narrowband and 4.33 million with broadband connections. Znet.com.au, 29th Apr 2008
* The England and Wales Cricket Board is set to launch four new Twenty20 tournaments. According to UK press reports the ECB is looking into starting: an annual series of one-off Twenty20 matches in Antigua between England and a West Indies XI; a $1 million four-team annual Twenty20 tournament at Lord's; a revamped domestic Twenty20 league; and the Champions' League, involving the Twenty20 leaders from four countries playing for $1 million. The ECB is reported to be set to sign agreements with the West Indies Cricket Board and American billionaire Sir Allen Stanford to create two of the new multi-million dollar international Twenty20 competitions, the annual series in Antigua and the Lords based event. Sportbusiness.com, 28th Apr 2008
* Organisers of the 2012 London Olympics Games have block-booked nearly 2,000 luxury hotel rooms for international delegates attending the games at a cost of £10 million ($19.9 million). The International Olympic Committee indicated that it was surprised to hear of the block booking, believed to be the most expensive in Olympic history. The 1,925 rooms are in some of the UK capital’s most exclusive hotels, with officials being allocated suites costing up to £3,000 a night in six five-star hotels. Half the bill will be covered by the organising committee. In Beijing, officials will have only two five-star hotels, with the rest staying in more modest accommodation. Financial details of the hotel bookings were included in London’s original bid document, but last week were missing from the document on the official London 2012 website. Sportcal.com, 28th Apr 2008
MORE NEWS
Singapore/General: Online Google Searches Reflect Offline Buzz
What goes on in the real world is mirrored online and more or less in real time, according to a new hour-by-hour tracking device from Google Singapore. A month-long trial showed that searches on the Internet for the terrorist-fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari started climbing on Monday as news about how he escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre filtered out of Parliament. By Tuesday night, a new term, 'Wong Kan Seng', had joined a list of 20 buzz words for the day. The role and responsibilities of the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister had been discussed and defended by the Prime Minister earlier. Google Singapore's tracker also showed how online searches mirrored the offline buzz. In the few days before the deadline to file income tax returns, 'Iras' (the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore), 'my tax' and 'gst offsets' were the hottest terms. Rolled out yesterday, Google Hot Trends (www.google.com.sg/trends), appears to be the most comprehensive tracking tool for local searches so far.
Previous trackers had offered only a short list of top searches and were updated only a few times a week. The online giant, which claims over 60 per cent of the market here, measured the number of times a term was searched every hour. The spikes also showed that people often went online to run their searches in the evenings, after work. Mr Derek Callow, Google's marketing manager for the region, said the buzz words were ones which showed spikes in interest, besides the usual popular terms such as 'sex'.
But if online buzz gathers fast, Google's results also showed how quickly it can fizzle. When a New Paper article on former top Hong Kong actress Yammie Lam soliciting outside a bar appeared on April 4, her name was on the list of top 20 search terms for only the next three days before dropping off. Said Assistant Professor Lim Sun Sun from the National University of Singapore: 'It's a reflection of information overload as well as the constant desire to have fresh news. 'When there is news in the traditional media and it is not enough, people go online to listen to more views and gossip.' Besides Google, Yahoo also offers a list of top search terms. On its Singapore website (www.yahoo.com.sg), Mas Selamat was the second most searched term on Wednesday afternoon after Liu Yifei, the Chinese actress starring in the Forbidden Kingdom movie. Asia Media, 25th Apr 2008
Elsewhere/General: The History Channel Celebrates Australian sports
The History Channel on FOXTEL in Australia has commissioned a new series of locally produced documentary specials titled The Spirit of Australian Sport to showcase the country’s most popular sports including Australian football, rugby league, swimming and horse racing. To be produced by Bennett Creative Services for The History Channel, the series will be presented by star athletes from the respective sport, to trace the sports’ rise to popularity as well as to feature volunteers contributing to the sport and fans attending the games.
The first of the specials, The Spirit of Australian Sport – Australian Football, scheduled to premiere in June 2008, will celebrate 150 years that the indigenous football game is played by exploring the history of ‘Aussie Rules’ through archival footage and interviews with current and ex-players, as well as fans of the game. Details to the rest of the documentary series including the line-up of athlete presenters will be announced by The History Channel in due course. Television Asia, 28th Apr 2008
ARTICLES, COMMENTS, INTERVIEWS & OPINIONS
3G Mobile Broadband Set for Growth
The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), and the GSMA (GSM Association), the global trade group for the mobile industry, partnered to present a seminar on “3G Mobile Broadband for All” today in Bangalore. A host of industry leaders from the mobile eco-system and India’ IT industry participated in the event. GSMA senior director of services Jaikishan Rajaraman gave the keynote perspectives on the international 3G landscape and the potential for Mobile Broadband, with particular emphasis on the social and economic advantages it would bring for India.
The agenda consisted of a number of experts from India as well as abroad who provided insights on the benefits of mobile broadband by sharing their experiences and expertise in mobile broadband deployment. These included, Vodafone Director, group public policy Neil Gough; Nokia India Head of go to market software and services, context and advertising Navdeep Manaktala; Infineon Technologies India principal - concept engineering Balachandar Santhanam; Dialog Mobile – Sri Lanka CEO Supun Weerasinghe; Qualcomm senior director-QCT Mohit Bhushan; Microsoft director of mobile operator business development David O’Byrne, and Gartner principal analyst Naresh Singh.
In his opening remarks, COAI director general TV Ramachandran said that “India represented the finest example of public-private partnership and how telecom has benefited society.” He also said that it was time now for the industry to crack the code of mobile broadband, and that in India, mobile broadband was required in the rural areas.
Ramachandran reiterated that the Industry has been able to achieve much due to the initiatives of the government, by providing a very competitive scenario, emphasis on affordability, and a conducive regulatory / policy environment for the Industry to grow at a stupendous pace.
Ramchandran also shared with the audience quotes of India’s minister of communications and IT A Raja during his inaugural address given during a similar seminar held at New Delhi 25 April. The minister had lauded the growth of the GSM industry and noted the many milestones that the industry had crossed during the last one year. April 2008 saw India become the second largest wireless market in the world. Raja emphasized on the need for the industry to now focus on improved rural penetration saying that “Mobile broadband will be the most desirable and preferred way to increase broadband penetration”. Raja announced that the Government would very shortly come out with its detailed guidelines in respect of 3G as also mobile broadband access.
The seminar included a presentation on mobile broadband applications by Ericsson, which showcased its Gramjyoti project demonstrating on how 3G mobile broadband could change and enhance the lives of people and communities. The presentation included clips on mobile education, e-governance, tele medicine and how the eco-system can be harnessed to deliver these applications on a sustainable basis. Ericsson’s head of core networks and system solutions and general manager – 3G program for market unit India and Sri Lanka Bo Ribbing said that Gramjyoti could be scaled up to cover 200,000 villages where GSM towers already existed and that there was a very viable model for using mobile communications to bridge the digital divide.
The event also included a Workshop conducted by Microsoft on “Connecting Customers & Communities”. Microsoft India’s Gupta gave the delegates an overview of Mobile Broadband applications with Microsoft and also gave a demonstration of services.
Some facts about 3G mobile broadband that were revealed at the seminar:
* 3G Mobile Broadband services are taking off exponentially in the rest of the world
* As of April 2008, there are over 168 networks in 73 countries that have opted for mobile broadband (HSPA). As of March 2008, there are more than 32 million mobile broadband (HSPA) connections worldwide, a ten-fold increase in the last one-year alone. This is forecast to grow to 700 million by 2012
* There are a number of 3G mobile broadband devices available in the market today. It is estimated that more than 470 devices had been commercialized by 102 vendors by April 2008. These devices include handsets, notebooks, USB modems, PC cards and wireless routers.
* In the last four years, the prices of WCDMA handsets have dropped by almost 80 per cent, signaling the ever-improving affordability of the service.
* It is estimated that the sale of 3G mobile broadband devices will increase from around 170 million in 2007 to nearly 800 million in 2013. Indiantelevision.com, 28th Apr 2008
Monday, 28th April 2008
INFO BOX
India is Second Largest Wireless Network in the World
Indiantelevision.com, Financialexpress.com, allheadlinesnews.com, retailnu.wordpress.com, 26th Apr 2008
India has become second largest wireless network in the world after China by overtaking USA, according to CTIA (International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry):
* Total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA & WLL(F)) stood at 261.09 million, at end March 2008
* 10.16 million wireless subscribers have been added in March 2008 as against 8.53 million wireless subscribers added in February 2008
* 10.40 million telephone connections (Wireline and Wireless) have been added during March 2008 as compared to 8.49 million connections added in February 2008
* The total number of telephone connections reaches 300.51 million at the end of March 2008 as compared to 290.11 million in February 2008
* The overall tele-density is 26.22% at the end of March 2008 as against 25.31% in February 2008. In the wireline segment, the subscriber base has increased to 39.42 million in the month of March 2008 as against 39.18 million subscribers in February 2008.
SPORT SHORTS
* Eurosport has acquired the rights to broadcast the 2008 HSBC Asian Five Nations (A5N), a newly formed rugby tournament featuring five 15-a-side Asian teams. Teams competing in the inaugural event include the Arabian Gulf, Hong Kong, Japan, Kazakhstan and Korea. Select matches will be broadcast LIVE on Eurosport for four weekends, starting with tomorrow’s opening match between Korea and Japan. Japan and Korea are the two top teams in Asia, ranking #18 and #23, respectively, on the IRB World Rankings. Hong Kong ranks at #30, followed by Kazakhstan at #32 and the Arabian Gulf at #36. The A5N is part of the four newly formed tiers of elite competition involving 25 Asian rugby teams and is considered a key channel for promoting, developing and expanding rugby throughout Asia. It will give players in this region the chance to perform in front of a significantly expanded TV audience. Sportcal, 25th Apr 2008
* Chinese state media says the country has 574 million cell phone users, equal to about 44% of its population. The official Xinhua News Agency says the number of mobile phone users at the end of March grew by 27.3 million since the end of 2007, as fixed-line users switched to mobile services because of lower rates. It quoted the Ministry of Industry and Information as saying Saturday China's fixed-line operators lost 4.4 million subscribers in the first quarter, leaving 361 million fixed-line users. China has 1.3 billion people. telecomasia.net, 28th April 2008
* Heavy marketing of South Korean telco KT’s Mega TV on-demand IPTV service is continuing to hit the company’s profit margins. With KT spending a reported 16% extra on marketing, Mega TV’s subs base rose 75% to 567,230. The company is aiming for 1.5 million by the end of 2008. Heavy spending on marketing new services such as IPTV is being seen as the way to drive growth in a market where broadband penetration stands at over 90%. Mega TV’s major competitor, HanaTV, is also pumping cash into its service and is not expecting to see returns on its investment for a while. CEO of Hana TV’s owner, Hanarotelecom, Cho Shin said that the company would have to wait three to five years before IPTV became profitable, with break even set at 2 million subscribers. HanaTV had 860,000 subs at the end of March and is forecasting 1.6 million by year-end. But both have even more investment to make, with real-time broadcasting expected to launch in the coming months. Rapid TV News, 27th Apr 2008
* India’s Dish TV has reached 2.5 million net subs, with 500,000 more signed up and waiting for connections. The DTH operator added 285,000 new subscribers in the three months to the end of March, meaning 1.04 million added over the past year. Dish said its service accounts for 59% of the gross Indian pay-DTH market. Zee-backed Dish said that carriage fees from channels would be one of the company’s new revenue streams in its next financial year, along with gaming. ARPU drivers will be higher channel offerings and the launch of niche channel bouquets. Meanwhile, the company’s board of directors has approved capital raising of Rs12 billion (US$298 million). That rights issue would be in addition to debt of Rs4 billion already lined up. Dish needs the cash to fund its expansion as the sector grows more competitive. Rapid TV News, 27th Apr 2008
* StarHub has launched a location-based mobile advertising service that offers marketers an advertising platform targeting consumers in key locations across Singapore. The service, using Nokia Siemens Networks’ solution, allows marketers to push specific marketing SMS to StarHub’s customers when they are in the proximity of pre-defined zones, such as a shopping mall. Germaine Ng Ferguson, StarHub assistant general manager of advertising sales, said the service would be attractive to advertisers in consumer retail and entertainment sectors and be most useful to those conduct frequent road shows around the island. StarHub is the latest operator in Singapore to jump on the mobile ad bandwagon. Rival M1 launched a similar service with Singapore Press Holdings last November covering more than 70 shopping malls in the city-state. telecomasia.net, 28th April 2008
* FC Barcelona has established a new football school in Hong Kong, its first such development in Asia. The school has been set up in association with Hong Kong club Kitchee and the Primera División club's official sponsor Fortis. The main objective of the new football school is to train and develop promising youngsters between the ages of six and 11 by applying Barcelona's sports model and training methods. Barcelona already has schools in Mexico, Egypt, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and new sites will shortly be inaugurated in the USA and Dubai. Football Insider, 25th Apr 2008
* World Wrestling Entertainment has announced that WrestleMania XXIV will be the first Sports category title ever to be released on Blu-ray disc in the US, Europe, Australia and Canada. The double disc set goes on sale on 20 May 2008, the same day as a three-disc DVD version. WWE home entertainment and books VP Joel Satin says, “It’s natural that WrestleMania 24, the biggest sports entertainment event of the year, is not only the first WWE® title but the first Sports title to be released on Blu-ray. This Blu-ray two disc release includes the entire four hour WrestleMania XXIV event in Orlando, Fla., and the complete 2008 Hall of Fame induction ceremony, plus the never-before-televised 24-man Battle Royal. Indiantelevision.com, 26th Apr 2008
* Major League Baseball (MLB) will officially launch its new cable network on January 1, 2009. MLB Network will broadcast baseball programming 24 hours a day, including 26 live Saturday night games during the regular season. The network, approved by the owners last year, is expected to be available in 47 million cable and satellite homes when it launches. MLB will have a 66.7% ownership stake, with the remaining shares to be held in a partnership with Time Warner Cable, DirectTV and Cox and Comcast. Sports Media, 25th Apr 2008
* A Swedish appeals court today reversed an earlier court decision relating to television broadcasts of Swedish soccer’s top-tier Allsvenskan, in a ruling that represents a blow to Kentaro who is half-way through a five-year deal to distribute the rights. The court issued a ruling blocking, Swedish free-to-air commercial broadcaster, TV4 from showing the 36 matches a season that are the subject of a damages claim worth SKr100 million ($15.4 million) from pay-television broadcaster, Canal Plus. Kentaro risks a fine of SKr4 million a game if TV4 shows any more of the disputed games, pending arbitration decision on the case. Canal Plus, which accuses Kentaro of 'selling the same rights twice,' had asked the court to issue an interim injunction to prevent TV4 from showing any of the 36 matches until a ruling on the case is made. Sportcal, 25th Apr 2008
* The five sports that tried unsuccessfully to join the Olympics for 2012, plus baseball and softball, the two sports ejected from the programme for those games, have been given an opportunity by the International Olympic Committee to make their case for inclusion in the 2016 games. The news comes after the IOC this week sent the seven sports, including golf, karate, roller sports, rugby union sevens and squash, a letter confirming that they would form a shortlist of sports to be considered to join the programme for the 2016 games. The federations representing the sports will have the opportunity to make a presentation to the IOC's executive board in June next year. The executive board will then make a recommendation to the IOC congress in October 2009 in Copenhagen at which the sports programme for the 2016 games will be decided. Sportcal, 25th Apr 2008
MORE NEWS
Asia/Broadcast: Pay TV and Broadband Revenues to Reach US$120 Billion by 2017
Leveraging economic growth, investment and competition, Asia’s pay-TV and broadband industries have grown at an average annual rate of 22% in the past five years, and generated more than US$53b in sales in 2007. The figure is projected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11% to hit US$86b by 2012, and on a longer term, to grow at a CAGR of 8% to reach US$120b by 2017.
That’s according to Media Partners Asia’s (MPA) recently-released Asia Pacific Pay-TV and Broadband Markets 2008 report which measures consumption and value of multi-channel video and broadband services over distribution networks including cable, satellite, fiber, ADSL and mobile, across 16 markets in the region.
MPA executive director Vivek Couto said, “Digitization and broadband penetration is growing rapidly in Asia, boosted by growing economies of scale in platform operation; technological change and lower equipment costs; and the availability of wider programming options. Near-term risks include softening economic growth as well as deteriorating global credit conditions and equity markets, while longer-term risks converge around regulation. Encouragingly, the broad fundamentals of the region in general, and markets such as India in particular, remain strong.”
The report also suggests that in the short term, lower economic growth may dampen pay-TV and broadband demand in mature markets and restrict advertising growth, as global financial concerns are likely to reduce available capital in emerging markets. It also states that the risks may be averted with robust regional economic growth which will bolster demand, advertising prospects, financing options, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
In addition, findings indicate that there is scope for progressive change to regulations which have continued to limit rewards and returns for media investors and distributors as well as profitable growth and investment, and increase uncertainty in the long term in key regional markets including Taiwan, China and India. Television Asia, 28th Apr 2008
China/New Media: May Day for Chinese HDTV
Forget Torch Relay demonstrations. The Beijing Olympics are already here, especially for those wealthy Chinese who own HDTV sets. China Central TV will launch its HDTV service on May 1, a national holiday in the country, and as part of the build-up to the Olympics. The channel, called CCTV-HD, will air sports, TV plays, features, documentaries, entertainment, music and financial programmes 24 hours a day. It aims to be a high-quality channel to promote Chinese culture, the spokesman said. Ahead of the Games, the audience in China can enjoy the live broadcast of the UEFA European Football Championship on the HD channel in June. During the Games, the channel will broadcast as the "Olympic HD Channel" and offer live broadcasts of all events and the opening and closing ceremonies.
By 2015, China says it plans to cover the whole country with wired, wireless or satellite HDTV signals and end analog broadcasting, according to officials. About 90% of the population is to receive HD channels via wireless digital TV technology within a few years. BBC Monitoring, reporting the local Xinhua news agency, says at present only eight cities, namely Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, can receive HDTV programmes. Rapid TV News, 27th Apr 2008
Asia/General: Asia’s Turn for Olympic Places
There are 17 Beijing Olympic qualification spots available. There will be 23 very happy athletes at the end of the Asian Olympic Qualification Regatta being held this weekend in Shanghai, China. Many have just finished taking part in an Olympic Solidarity and FISA Supported Talent Identification Camp that was organized through the Chinese Rowing Association and Shanghai Water Sports Centre. The training camp had 21 nations take part and was managed by three “FISA Coaches”, Stani Slavova Andreas Leichtfuss and Frank Rogall. Chris Perry, FISA Development Consultant for Asia who oversaw the camp was impressed by the enthusiasm of the teams taking part and the synergy they developed with the coaches who each had a group of athletes they worked with. “The coaches did a great job with the teams and there was a really positive atmosphere,” stated Perry.
The size of the camp meant that the Shanghai Water Sports Centre had to call in additional equipment in cooperation with the Chinese Rowing Association to make the event possible and deal with the various logistical issues of hosting such a large number of athletes and coaches. These teams are now focused on a first day of heats and repechages. The ever increasing rowing talent in Asia has meant that for the first time seeding of athletes has become a necessity. Competing for spots in four events, the men’s single (six places), lightweight men’s double (three places), women’s single (five places) and lightweight women’s double (three places), athletes from 24 countries will be getting to know the Shanghai Water Sports Centre intimately. Perry explained that it is the biggest number of entries ever at a qualification event and there is considerable depth of talent including 23 entries in the men’s single. “The semis and finals are going to be tough. We should have some really exciting racing.” says Perry.
Riding on the results from last year’s international races and recent training, Japan’s lightweight women’s double of Misaki Kumakura and Akiko Iwamoto are looking good as is Iraq’s men’s single representative Haidar Nozad. The Iraqi team of three has been training in Tunisia before heading to Shanghai. Despite Iran’s short competitive rowing history, they have been coming along in leaps and bounds under former Romanian Olympic coach Nicolae Gioga. Iran used the Seville training centre for their qualification build-up and have entered teams in all four events.
China qualified boats at last year’s World Rowing Championships and in Shanghai they hope to add a men’s single to their growing Olympic team. Liang Zhang is a hot favourite in the men’s single. Palestine is sending Mark Gerban to qualify in the men’s single. Gerban, who usually races as a lightweight rower, has been a regular on the international scene over the last three years and has used Germany as his training base for much of this time. Hong Kong and Singapore both have strong entries in the women’s single. Ka Man Lee will be racing for Hong Kong and Singapore is boating Kim Hiok Elesie Lim. Aiming for her third Olympic Games, but this time in the lightweight women’s double, Thailand’s Phuttharaksa Nikree will join Anupong Thianjam to aim for one of the three double’s spots.
A total of 94 athletes are competing, 54 men and 40 women. Racing starts with heats on Friday 25 April with repechages and semifinals taking place on Saturday followed by finals on Sunday 27 April. Worldrowing.com, 25th Apr 2008
ARTICLES, COMMENTS, INTERVIEWS & OPINIONS
Indian Premier League Also a Hit Among Overseas Audience
The hype and the glitz around Indian Premier League (IPL) is not limited to India. Around eight million people from countries across the world are glued to the game that is essentially being played between eight Indian teams on the Indian soil. “The international viewership of IPL from Asia, Middle East, the UK and the US so far can be estimated to be around 7-8 million people (per match),” said Venu Nair, president, South Asia, World Sports Group (WSG), the sports marketing and management agency that won the international media distribution rights of IPL from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Nair claims to have generated $100 million (Rs402 crore) by selling telecast rights to various companies across these markets. WSG has paid BCCI $1.026 billion for has the next 10 years for these rights. “The kind of response IPL among generated overseas audience is (usually) seen only during tournaments such as the (Cricket) World Cup,” he added.
In Australia, each match has attracted up to around 3,50,000 viewers. According to Australian telecast rights for sports channel Network Ten, which won the IPL Australian $10-15 approximately million for five years, the viewership from the five metros of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, has ranged between 81,000 and 360,000 viewers in the past one week. “The IPL viewership has exceeded our expectations,” said Gus Seebeck, sport marketing and publicity manager, Network Ten. “Maybe it was because Australian players performed well. The overall excitement that was built around IPL also got many people interested,” he added. The free-to-air channel that generates revenues primarily through advertisements, claims to have received impressive response from advertisers. While telecommunications company Primus Telecommunications’ brand iPrimus came on board as the primary sponsor, fast food chain McDonalds Corp., media conglomerate Sony Corp. and retail chain Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd joined in as on-air sponsors.
In the UK too, IPL has been a huge hit. Setanta Sports GB Ltd, a leading sports broadcaster in Europe had more than 100,000 viewers watching each IPL match on the first weekend. The channel is subscription-based where viewers have to download packages for 10 pounds a month. The channel so far focused mainly on Rugby and football but it added cricket to its offerings for the first time with IPL. “IPL is a new entity and we didn’t know what to expect of it in the UK, especially since it does not have any English player but we find that nearly 10% of our homes are watching IPL,” said Richard Brooke, director, Setanta Sports. Apart from the subscription money, the network has also found Blue Square, a British gaming and betting company to sponsor the telecast. “With the kind of response we have received from IPL, we are going to get into cricket more seriously now,” added Brooke.
Comic Business Shreyas Navare Dubai-based Arab Digital Distribution (ADD) that won the 10-year telecast rights to IPL for its sports channel ART Prime Sports, is also pleased with its long-term decision. The network, so far, charged viewers Rs740 per subscription but it doubled the amount to Rs1,530 a month for the packaged that included IPL. “There has been a 10-15% surge in our subscriber base of 120,000 in the Middle East for the month of April and May because of IPL,” said V. Shivkumar, head of channel distribution, ART Prime Sports. The network has also signed up a leading construction company Al Barakah as their presenting sponsor.
In the US, IPL is being aired on the two leading direct-to-home platforms Dish Network and Direct TV for $59 a month. Although the viewership numbers were not ready yet, the executives said they were expecting a tremendous response. “After India lost in the last cricket World Cup, the morale was down among Indian cricket lovers. Initially, there was not a great response among cricket loyalists in the US,” said Rohinton Maloo, managing director, Cutting Edge Media, a division of MediaScore Associates, an advertising sales and strategy company. “But after the first weekend, there is a huge demand for IPL matches on the television and Internet,” he added.
The Internet has proved to be a popular medium for non-resident Indians. According to WSG’s Nair, the official IPL website received more than 3.5 million hits in the first weekend by users overseas. In addition, Willow TV Pvt. Ltd, a portal streaming IPL matches live to North America, claims to have got a remarkable response from users. The website charges users $59 for the service and has a active user base of approximately 150,000. “The user response has been much better than the T20 World Cup and a hundred times better than ICL,” said Manish Bagga, vice-president, Willow TV.
In India, Sony Entertainment Television, the official broadcast partner of IPL, has already surpassed the overall average television ratings of the Twenty20 World Cup held in September 2000. According to estimates by TAM Media Research, the Mumbai-based television audience measurement agency, average television rating during the first three days of IPL was around 6.5, while the average rating during T20 World Cup was 4.14. livemint.com, 26th Apr 2008
India is Second Largest Wireless Network in the World
Indiantelevision.com, Financialexpress.com, allheadlinesnews.com, retailnu.wordpress.com, 26th Apr 2008
India has become second largest wireless network in the world after China by overtaking USA, according to CTIA (International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry):
* Total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA & WLL(F)) stood at 261.09 million, at end March 2008
* 10.16 million wireless subscribers have been added in March 2008 as against 8.53 million wireless subscribers added in February 2008
* 10.40 million telephone connections (Wireline and Wireless) have been added during March 2008 as compared to 8.49 million connections added in February 2008
* The total number of telephone connections reaches 300.51 million at the end of March 2008 as compared to 290.11 million in February 2008
* The overall tele-density is 26.22% at the end of March 2008 as against 25.31% in February 2008. In the wireline segment, the subscriber base has increased to 39.42 million in the month of March 2008 as against 39.18 million subscribers in February 2008.
SPORT SHORTS
* Eurosport has acquired the rights to broadcast the 2008 HSBC Asian Five Nations (A5N), a newly formed rugby tournament featuring five 15-a-side Asian teams. Teams competing in the inaugural event include the Arabian Gulf, Hong Kong, Japan, Kazakhstan and Korea. Select matches will be broadcast LIVE on Eurosport for four weekends, starting with tomorrow’s opening match between Korea and Japan. Japan and Korea are the two top teams in Asia, ranking #18 and #23, respectively, on the IRB World Rankings. Hong Kong ranks at #30, followed by Kazakhstan at #32 and the Arabian Gulf at #36. The A5N is part of the four newly formed tiers of elite competition involving 25 Asian rugby teams and is considered a key channel for promoting, developing and expanding rugby throughout Asia. It will give players in this region the chance to perform in front of a significantly expanded TV audience. Sportcal, 25th Apr 2008
* Chinese state media says the country has 574 million cell phone users, equal to about 44% of its population. The official Xinhua News Agency says the number of mobile phone users at the end of March grew by 27.3 million since the end of 2007, as fixed-line users switched to mobile services because of lower rates. It quoted the Ministry of Industry and Information as saying Saturday China's fixed-line operators lost 4.4 million subscribers in the first quarter, leaving 361 million fixed-line users. China has 1.3 billion people. telecomasia.net, 28th April 2008
* Heavy marketing of South Korean telco KT’s Mega TV on-demand IPTV service is continuing to hit the company’s profit margins. With KT spending a reported 16% extra on marketing, Mega TV’s subs base rose 75% to 567,230. The company is aiming for 1.5 million by the end of 2008. Heavy spending on marketing new services such as IPTV is being seen as the way to drive growth in a market where broadband penetration stands at over 90%. Mega TV’s major competitor, HanaTV, is also pumping cash into its service and is not expecting to see returns on its investment for a while. CEO of Hana TV’s owner, Hanarotelecom, Cho Shin said that the company would have to wait three to five years before IPTV became profitable, with break even set at 2 million subscribers. HanaTV had 860,000 subs at the end of March and is forecasting 1.6 million by year-end. But both have even more investment to make, with real-time broadcasting expected to launch in the coming months. Rapid TV News, 27th Apr 2008
* India’s Dish TV has reached 2.5 million net subs, with 500,000 more signed up and waiting for connections. The DTH operator added 285,000 new subscribers in the three months to the end of March, meaning 1.04 million added over the past year. Dish said its service accounts for 59% of the gross Indian pay-DTH market. Zee-backed Dish said that carriage fees from channels would be one of the company’s new revenue streams in its next financial year, along with gaming. ARPU drivers will be higher channel offerings and the launch of niche channel bouquets. Meanwhile, the company’s board of directors has approved capital raising of Rs12 billion (US$298 million). That rights issue would be in addition to debt of Rs4 billion already lined up. Dish needs the cash to fund its expansion as the sector grows more competitive. Rapid TV News, 27th Apr 2008
* StarHub has launched a location-based mobile advertising service that offers marketers an advertising platform targeting consumers in key locations across Singapore. The service, using Nokia Siemens Networks’ solution, allows marketers to push specific marketing SMS to StarHub’s customers when they are in the proximity of pre-defined zones, such as a shopping mall. Germaine Ng Ferguson, StarHub assistant general manager of advertising sales, said the service would be attractive to advertisers in consumer retail and entertainment sectors and be most useful to those conduct frequent road shows around the island. StarHub is the latest operator in Singapore to jump on the mobile ad bandwagon. Rival M1 launched a similar service with Singapore Press Holdings last November covering more than 70 shopping malls in the city-state. telecomasia.net, 28th April 2008
* FC Barcelona has established a new football school in Hong Kong, its first such development in Asia. The school has been set up in association with Hong Kong club Kitchee and the Primera División club's official sponsor Fortis. The main objective of the new football school is to train and develop promising youngsters between the ages of six and 11 by applying Barcelona's sports model and training methods. Barcelona already has schools in Mexico, Egypt, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and new sites will shortly be inaugurated in the USA and Dubai. Football Insider, 25th Apr 2008
* World Wrestling Entertainment has announced that WrestleMania XXIV will be the first Sports category title ever to be released on Blu-ray disc in the US, Europe, Australia and Canada. The double disc set goes on sale on 20 May 2008, the same day as a three-disc DVD version. WWE home entertainment and books VP Joel Satin says, “It’s natural that WrestleMania 24, the biggest sports entertainment event of the year, is not only the first WWE® title but the first Sports title to be released on Blu-ray. This Blu-ray two disc release includes the entire four hour WrestleMania XXIV event in Orlando, Fla., and the complete 2008 Hall of Fame induction ceremony, plus the never-before-televised 24-man Battle Royal. Indiantelevision.com, 26th Apr 2008
* Major League Baseball (MLB) will officially launch its new cable network on January 1, 2009. MLB Network will broadcast baseball programming 24 hours a day, including 26 live Saturday night games during the regular season. The network, approved by the owners last year, is expected to be available in 47 million cable and satellite homes when it launches. MLB will have a 66.7% ownership stake, with the remaining shares to be held in a partnership with Time Warner Cable, DirectTV and Cox and Comcast. Sports Media, 25th Apr 2008
* A Swedish appeals court today reversed an earlier court decision relating to television broadcasts of Swedish soccer’s top-tier Allsvenskan, in a ruling that represents a blow to Kentaro who is half-way through a five-year deal to distribute the rights. The court issued a ruling blocking, Swedish free-to-air commercial broadcaster, TV4 from showing the 36 matches a season that are the subject of a damages claim worth SKr100 million ($15.4 million) from pay-television broadcaster, Canal Plus. Kentaro risks a fine of SKr4 million a game if TV4 shows any more of the disputed games, pending arbitration decision on the case. Canal Plus, which accuses Kentaro of 'selling the same rights twice,' had asked the court to issue an interim injunction to prevent TV4 from showing any of the 36 matches until a ruling on the case is made. Sportcal, 25th Apr 2008
* The five sports that tried unsuccessfully to join the Olympics for 2012, plus baseball and softball, the two sports ejected from the programme for those games, have been given an opportunity by the International Olympic Committee to make their case for inclusion in the 2016 games. The news comes after the IOC this week sent the seven sports, including golf, karate, roller sports, rugby union sevens and squash, a letter confirming that they would form a shortlist of sports to be considered to join the programme for the 2016 games. The federations representing the sports will have the opportunity to make a presentation to the IOC's executive board in June next year. The executive board will then make a recommendation to the IOC congress in October 2009 in Copenhagen at which the sports programme for the 2016 games will be decided. Sportcal, 25th Apr 2008
MORE NEWS
Asia/Broadcast: Pay TV and Broadband Revenues to Reach US$120 Billion by 2017
Leveraging economic growth, investment and competition, Asia’s pay-TV and broadband industries have grown at an average annual rate of 22% in the past five years, and generated more than US$53b in sales in 2007. The figure is projected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11% to hit US$86b by 2012, and on a longer term, to grow at a CAGR of 8% to reach US$120b by 2017.
That’s according to Media Partners Asia’s (MPA) recently-released Asia Pacific Pay-TV and Broadband Markets 2008 report which measures consumption and value of multi-channel video and broadband services over distribution networks including cable, satellite, fiber, ADSL and mobile, across 16 markets in the region.
MPA executive director Vivek Couto said, “Digitization and broadband penetration is growing rapidly in Asia, boosted by growing economies of scale in platform operation; technological change and lower equipment costs; and the availability of wider programming options. Near-term risks include softening economic growth as well as deteriorating global credit conditions and equity markets, while longer-term risks converge around regulation. Encouragingly, the broad fundamentals of the region in general, and markets such as India in particular, remain strong.”
The report also suggests that in the short term, lower economic growth may dampen pay-TV and broadband demand in mature markets and restrict advertising growth, as global financial concerns are likely to reduce available capital in emerging markets. It also states that the risks may be averted with robust regional economic growth which will bolster demand, advertising prospects, financing options, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
In addition, findings indicate that there is scope for progressive change to regulations which have continued to limit rewards and returns for media investors and distributors as well as profitable growth and investment, and increase uncertainty in the long term in key regional markets including Taiwan, China and India. Television Asia, 28th Apr 2008
China/New Media: May Day for Chinese HDTV
Forget Torch Relay demonstrations. The Beijing Olympics are already here, especially for those wealthy Chinese who own HDTV sets. China Central TV will launch its HDTV service on May 1, a national holiday in the country, and as part of the build-up to the Olympics. The channel, called CCTV-HD, will air sports, TV plays, features, documentaries, entertainment, music and financial programmes 24 hours a day. It aims to be a high-quality channel to promote Chinese culture, the spokesman said. Ahead of the Games, the audience in China can enjoy the live broadcast of the UEFA European Football Championship on the HD channel in June. During the Games, the channel will broadcast as the "Olympic HD Channel" and offer live broadcasts of all events and the opening and closing ceremonies.
By 2015, China says it plans to cover the whole country with wired, wireless or satellite HDTV signals and end analog broadcasting, according to officials. About 90% of the population is to receive HD channels via wireless digital TV technology within a few years. BBC Monitoring, reporting the local Xinhua news agency, says at present only eight cities, namely Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, can receive HDTV programmes. Rapid TV News, 27th Apr 2008
Asia/General: Asia’s Turn for Olympic Places
There are 17 Beijing Olympic qualification spots available. There will be 23 very happy athletes at the end of the Asian Olympic Qualification Regatta being held this weekend in Shanghai, China. Many have just finished taking part in an Olympic Solidarity and FISA Supported Talent Identification Camp that was organized through the Chinese Rowing Association and Shanghai Water Sports Centre. The training camp had 21 nations take part and was managed by three “FISA Coaches”, Stani Slavova Andreas Leichtfuss and Frank Rogall. Chris Perry, FISA Development Consultant for Asia who oversaw the camp was impressed by the enthusiasm of the teams taking part and the synergy they developed with the coaches who each had a group of athletes they worked with. “The coaches did a great job with the teams and there was a really positive atmosphere,” stated Perry.
The size of the camp meant that the Shanghai Water Sports Centre had to call in additional equipment in cooperation with the Chinese Rowing Association to make the event possible and deal with the various logistical issues of hosting such a large number of athletes and coaches. These teams are now focused on a first day of heats and repechages. The ever increasing rowing talent in Asia has meant that for the first time seeding of athletes has become a necessity. Competing for spots in four events, the men’s single (six places), lightweight men’s double (three places), women’s single (five places) and lightweight women’s double (three places), athletes from 24 countries will be getting to know the Shanghai Water Sports Centre intimately. Perry explained that it is the biggest number of entries ever at a qualification event and there is considerable depth of talent including 23 entries in the men’s single. “The semis and finals are going to be tough. We should have some really exciting racing.” says Perry.
Riding on the results from last year’s international races and recent training, Japan’s lightweight women’s double of Misaki Kumakura and Akiko Iwamoto are looking good as is Iraq’s men’s single representative Haidar Nozad. The Iraqi team of three has been training in Tunisia before heading to Shanghai. Despite Iran’s short competitive rowing history, they have been coming along in leaps and bounds under former Romanian Olympic coach Nicolae Gioga. Iran used the Seville training centre for their qualification build-up and have entered teams in all four events.
China qualified boats at last year’s World Rowing Championships and in Shanghai they hope to add a men’s single to their growing Olympic team. Liang Zhang is a hot favourite in the men’s single. Palestine is sending Mark Gerban to qualify in the men’s single. Gerban, who usually races as a lightweight rower, has been a regular on the international scene over the last three years and has used Germany as his training base for much of this time. Hong Kong and Singapore both have strong entries in the women’s single. Ka Man Lee will be racing for Hong Kong and Singapore is boating Kim Hiok Elesie Lim. Aiming for her third Olympic Games, but this time in the lightweight women’s double, Thailand’s Phuttharaksa Nikree will join Anupong Thianjam to aim for one of the three double’s spots.
A total of 94 athletes are competing, 54 men and 40 women. Racing starts with heats on Friday 25 April with repechages and semifinals taking place on Saturday followed by finals on Sunday 27 April. Worldrowing.com, 25th Apr 2008
ARTICLES, COMMENTS, INTERVIEWS & OPINIONS
Indian Premier League Also a Hit Among Overseas Audience
The hype and the glitz around Indian Premier League (IPL) is not limited to India. Around eight million people from countries across the world are glued to the game that is essentially being played between eight Indian teams on the Indian soil. “The international viewership of IPL from Asia, Middle East, the UK and the US so far can be estimated to be around 7-8 million people (per match),” said Venu Nair, president, South Asia, World Sports Group (WSG), the sports marketing and management agency that won the international media distribution rights of IPL from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Nair claims to have generated $100 million (Rs402 crore) by selling telecast rights to various companies across these markets. WSG has paid BCCI $1.026 billion for has the next 10 years for these rights. “The kind of response IPL among generated overseas audience is (usually) seen only during tournaments such as the (Cricket) World Cup,” he added.
In Australia, each match has attracted up to around 3,50,000 viewers. According to Australian telecast rights for sports channel Network Ten, which won the IPL Australian $10-15 approximately million for five years, the viewership from the five metros of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, has ranged between 81,000 and 360,000 viewers in the past one week. “The IPL viewership has exceeded our expectations,” said Gus Seebeck, sport marketing and publicity manager, Network Ten. “Maybe it was because Australian players performed well. The overall excitement that was built around IPL also got many people interested,” he added. The free-to-air channel that generates revenues primarily through advertisements, claims to have received impressive response from advertisers. While telecommunications company Primus Telecommunications’ brand iPrimus came on board as the primary sponsor, fast food chain McDonalds Corp., media conglomerate Sony Corp. and retail chain Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd joined in as on-air sponsors.
In the UK too, IPL has been a huge hit. Setanta Sports GB Ltd, a leading sports broadcaster in Europe had more than 100,000 viewers watching each IPL match on the first weekend. The channel is subscription-based where viewers have to download packages for 10 pounds a month. The channel so far focused mainly on Rugby and football but it added cricket to its offerings for the first time with IPL. “IPL is a new entity and we didn’t know what to expect of it in the UK, especially since it does not have any English player but we find that nearly 10% of our homes are watching IPL,” said Richard Brooke, director, Setanta Sports. Apart from the subscription money, the network has also found Blue Square, a British gaming and betting company to sponsor the telecast. “With the kind of response we have received from IPL, we are going to get into cricket more seriously now,” added Brooke.
Comic Business Shreyas Navare Dubai-based Arab Digital Distribution (ADD) that won the 10-year telecast rights to IPL for its sports channel ART Prime Sports, is also pleased with its long-term decision. The network, so far, charged viewers Rs740 per subscription but it doubled the amount to Rs1,530 a month for the packaged that included IPL. “There has been a 10-15% surge in our subscriber base of 120,000 in the Middle East for the month of April and May because of IPL,” said V. Shivkumar, head of channel distribution, ART Prime Sports. The network has also signed up a leading construction company Al Barakah as their presenting sponsor.
In the US, IPL is being aired on the two leading direct-to-home platforms Dish Network and Direct TV for $59 a month. Although the viewership numbers were not ready yet, the executives said they were expecting a tremendous response. “After India lost in the last cricket World Cup, the morale was down among Indian cricket lovers. Initially, there was not a great response among cricket loyalists in the US,” said Rohinton Maloo, managing director, Cutting Edge Media, a division of MediaScore Associates, an advertising sales and strategy company. “But after the first weekend, there is a huge demand for IPL matches on the television and Internet,” he added.
The Internet has proved to be a popular medium for non-resident Indians. According to WSG’s Nair, the official IPL website received more than 3.5 million hits in the first weekend by users overseas. In addition, Willow TV Pvt. Ltd, a portal streaming IPL matches live to North America, claims to have got a remarkable response from users. The website charges users $59 for the service and has a active user base of approximately 150,000. “The user response has been much better than the T20 World Cup and a hundred times better than ICL,” said Manish Bagga, vice-president, Willow TV.
In India, Sony Entertainment Television, the official broadcast partner of IPL, has already surpassed the overall average television ratings of the Twenty20 World Cup held in September 2000. According to estimates by TAM Media Research, the Mumbai-based television audience measurement agency, average television rating during the first three days of IPL was around 6.5, while the average rating during T20 World Cup was 4.14. livemint.com, 26th Apr 2008
Friday, 25th April 2008
SPORT SHORTS
* i-Cable has struck a two-year deal with World Sports Group to broadcast the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket competition in Hong Kong. World Sports Group, which, along with Sony Television, paid more than US$1 billion for the IPL TV rights for 10 years. i-Cable's Cable TV will broadcast the fifty-one remaining matches from today (24 April). The news comes just weeks after i-Cable announced it had secured broadcast rights for the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup in Hong Kong from 2009. Marketing-Interactive.com, 24th Apr 2008
* Asia Television has tasked MindShare to promote its newly launched digital channels as the free-to-air network reports strong advertising revenue on both its Home and World channels. The channel will employ a number of different mediums including house ads, outdoor campaigns, a road show and print campaigns in major Chinese newspapers to promote its programming line up. The company's five digital channels, Business, His Channel, Her Channel, Plus-TV, HD TV, and CCTV, are still finding momentum in the local market, according to sales executive Ono Chan. Chan added that viewership remained low as only a small portion of local viewers have access to the digital signal. Marketing-Interactive.com, 24th Apr 2008
* German public-service broadcasters ARD and ZDF, and pay-broadcaster Premiere, acquired the TV rights for the German domestic football cup in a three-year deal, worth €50 million per year. The deal was agreed by the 36 first and second division Bundesliga clubs through their central marketing system. This method of selling rights is currently under investigation by the German competition authorities, which suspect it stifles competition. The Bundesliga clubs agree TV rights deals centrally, and split the revenues between them. The current anti-trust investigation in Germany could potentially affect the six-season, €3 billion deal for the league TV rights, agreed with Sirius, a joint venture media rights and production company owned by Leo Kirch and the German league. Sportbusiness.com, 24th Apr 2008
MORE NEWS
China/General: HDTV laptops to arrive in China for Olympics
When the Beijing Olympic Games begin in August this year, many viewers will be able to watch live High Definition (HD) broadcasts of the games on their laptops. The move, an initiative between Legend Silicon and Intel, is part of the evolution of digital television (DTV) in China, where the new Digital Terrestrial TV Broadcasting (DTTB) standard supports both fixed HDTV (High Definition TV) sets as well as viewing on mobile devices. Legend Silicon developed the core technology behind China's DTTB standard.
In August 2006, China launched its DTTB standard, GB20600-2006, demonstrating the country's capacity for innovation. In 2007, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced an allocation of funds for further DTV research, development and industrialisation. Over $100 million will be used for the development of DTTB in China. The Chinese government's DTV policy fosters the further development of DTTB. Plans have been initiated calling for the country to adopt DTTB in 2008 and to obtain the capacity to broadcast multiple HDTV programs by 2010. The country expects that the increasing prevalence of the DTTB standard will stimulate further technology innovations.
The 2008 Olympic Games are viewed as an important opportunity for the growth of HDTV in China. The Olympics will be delivered live via HDTV to audiences around the world. On 1 January '08, CCTV launched DTTB in the Beijing area in preparation for the Olympics. Other Olympics host cities, including Tianjin, Shanghai, Shengyang, Qingdao and Qinhuangdao along with Guangzhou and Shenzhen, will introduce free HDTV programming before the Olympic Games start in August.
Local residents will be able to watch the Olympics live through many types of HDTV reception devices. Many mobile consumer electronic devices have been designed for HDTV, including a small USB Dongle DTTB receiver, designed by Legend Silicon and China's Aigo that allows viewers to watch HDTV on their laptops. Legend Silicon and Intel have begun working with laptop computer manufacturers and USB dongle receiver manufacturers to build an ecosystem that promotes "HDTV on your Laptop", providing viewers with a portable HDTV viewing experience. Indiantelevision.com, 24th Apr 2008
* i-Cable has struck a two-year deal with World Sports Group to broadcast the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket competition in Hong Kong. World Sports Group, which, along with Sony Television, paid more than US$1 billion for the IPL TV rights for 10 years. i-Cable's Cable TV will broadcast the fifty-one remaining matches from today (24 April). The news comes just weeks after i-Cable announced it had secured broadcast rights for the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup in Hong Kong from 2009. Marketing-Interactive.com, 24th Apr 2008
* Asia Television has tasked MindShare to promote its newly launched digital channels as the free-to-air network reports strong advertising revenue on both its Home and World channels. The channel will employ a number of different mediums including house ads, outdoor campaigns, a road show and print campaigns in major Chinese newspapers to promote its programming line up. The company's five digital channels, Business, His Channel, Her Channel, Plus-TV, HD TV, and CCTV, are still finding momentum in the local market, according to sales executive Ono Chan. Chan added that viewership remained low as only a small portion of local viewers have access to the digital signal. Marketing-Interactive.com, 24th Apr 2008
* German public-service broadcasters ARD and ZDF, and pay-broadcaster Premiere, acquired the TV rights for the German domestic football cup in a three-year deal, worth €50 million per year. The deal was agreed by the 36 first and second division Bundesliga clubs through their central marketing system. This method of selling rights is currently under investigation by the German competition authorities, which suspect it stifles competition. The Bundesliga clubs agree TV rights deals centrally, and split the revenues between them. The current anti-trust investigation in Germany could potentially affect the six-season, €3 billion deal for the league TV rights, agreed with Sirius, a joint venture media rights and production company owned by Leo Kirch and the German league. Sportbusiness.com, 24th Apr 2008
MORE NEWS
China/General: HDTV laptops to arrive in China for Olympics
When the Beijing Olympic Games begin in August this year, many viewers will be able to watch live High Definition (HD) broadcasts of the games on their laptops. The move, an initiative between Legend Silicon and Intel, is part of the evolution of digital television (DTV) in China, where the new Digital Terrestrial TV Broadcasting (DTTB) standard supports both fixed HDTV (High Definition TV) sets as well as viewing on mobile devices. Legend Silicon developed the core technology behind China's DTTB standard.
In August 2006, China launched its DTTB standard, GB20600-2006, demonstrating the country's capacity for innovation. In 2007, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced an allocation of funds for further DTV research, development and industrialisation. Over $100 million will be used for the development of DTTB in China. The Chinese government's DTV policy fosters the further development of DTTB. Plans have been initiated calling for the country to adopt DTTB in 2008 and to obtain the capacity to broadcast multiple HDTV programs by 2010. The country expects that the increasing prevalence of the DTTB standard will stimulate further technology innovations.
The 2008 Olympic Games are viewed as an important opportunity for the growth of HDTV in China. The Olympics will be delivered live via HDTV to audiences around the world. On 1 January '08, CCTV launched DTTB in the Beijing area in preparation for the Olympics. Other Olympics host cities, including Tianjin, Shanghai, Shengyang, Qingdao and Qinhuangdao along with Guangzhou and Shenzhen, will introduce free HDTV programming before the Olympic Games start in August.
Local residents will be able to watch the Olympics live through many types of HDTV reception devices. Many mobile consumer electronic devices have been designed for HDTV, including a small USB Dongle DTTB receiver, designed by Legend Silicon and China's Aigo that allows viewers to watch HDTV on their laptops. Legend Silicon and Intel have begun working with laptop computer manufacturers and USB dongle receiver manufacturers to build an ecosystem that promotes "HDTV on your Laptop", providing viewers with a portable HDTV viewing experience. Indiantelevision.com, 24th Apr 2008
Thursday, 24th April 2008
INFO BOX
Asia Pacific Leads in Sports Sponsorship
Source: Marketing-interactive.com, 24th Apr 2008
When it comes to experiential media, Asia Pacific leads the world in leveraging sports sponsorship and celebrity endorsement, according to ZenithOptimedia's Touchpoints ROI Tracker study. The project identifies the power of individual consumer contact points and how they deliver brand communication ROI from over 300, 000 consumer interviews across 34 countries and more than 4,000 brands.
The study revealed in traditional media, TV advertising is still important at 18% more influential in Asia Pacific than in USA. In digital for internet advertising, Asia Pacific is 26% more influential than Europe and 54% more influential in mobile promotions than in North America. The touchpoints report also revealed word of mouth is more influential than traditional media at 12% more than TV in Asia Pacific. In China, product placement is 39% more influential than global norm with advertorials and infomercials 15% more influential in China than globally. Event sponsorship is 21% more influential in China versus the global norm with sports sponsorship at 17% and TV program sponsorship at 24% respectively.
ZenithOptimedia's Touchpoints ROI Tracker identifies and quantifies the value of every customer point of contact for a category and its brands, examining the role of each contact point in building brand preference and purchase intent.
SPORT SHORTS
* Muaythai is set to get global exposure after Mark Burnett produced a reality show offering the highest prize money ever given out in the history of the sport. Burnett has now produced 'The Contender Asia', an unscripted drama about the lives, fears, triumphs, dreams, and hopes of the 16 muaythai fighters from 12 countries. Singapore hosted the two-month reality show. The series took on the format of weekly elimination fights until a best fighter emerged as the champion of The Contender Asia. The series offered a total prize pool of S$500,000 (US$370,000). Programmes are being shown in 27 Asian countries and will be aired to more than 50 countries to an estimated audience of over 400 million people. Sport Insider, 23rd Apr 2008
* The opening match of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament attracted twice as many Indian television viewers as expected. Played in Bangalore between the local Royal Challenger and the Kolkata Knight Riders, 12.5 million viewers tuned in, giving the broadcast 8.21 ‘Television Rating Points’. By comparison, coverage of last summer's Indian cricket tour of Australia scored 4-6 Television Rating Points. In Australia, viewing figures were good, but not exceptional, and were probably impacted by late-night scheduling. After the first match, rating points for IPL coverage dropped to between 4.97 and 5.58. Sport Business, 23rd Apr 2008
* The Saudi Arabia Basketball Federation and the Qatar Basketball Federation have become the fifth and sixth candidates to express an interest in bidding to host the 2014 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Championship. FIBA opened the bidding process for the 2014 event back in January, and has given interested Federations a deadline of late next week to deliver their letters of intent. Saudi Arabia and Qatar join Spain, France, Denmark and Russia in the group of candidates interested in staging the tournament. FIBA's flagship championship was staged in Japan in 2006 and will take place in Turkey in 2010. Sport Insider, 23rd Apr 2008
* SingTel, as title sponsor for the upcoming Singapore F1, has unveiled its integrated marketing effort for the race which includes launching two custom-built F1 race car simulators which replicate the experience of being in the driver's seat of an F1 car racing through the much-hyped street circuit. The experience is named the SingTel Ultimate Race which has also been turned into a downloadable online game on the telco's new official F1 website. The site features user-generated content and celebrity blogging from Jaymee Ong and Glenn Ong as well as information on F1 races. SingTel will also launch a F1 mobile game that its customers can download for free as well as a 4-ep 30-min reality TV show on MediaCorp's CH 5 which pits forty-eight young girls against each other to become one of the twenty chosen SingTel Grid Girls for the race. The winner also walks away with $20,000. Marketing-interactive.com, 23rd Apr 2008
* Motorstv.co.uk has been relaunched . The new site promises "hundreds of videos" of action from the V8 Supercars, the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM), Le Mans Series, American Le Mans Series, F3 Euroseries, World Motocross Championship and World Superbikes, while also featuring on-board camera footage and car and bike tests from the channel's editorial staff. Each of the covered events have their own specific sections complete with series information, a race calendar, news from each of the respective circuits, videos and screening times of the broadcasts. Additionally, the site includes surveys and competitions, while the discussion forum has been retained. Sports Media, 23rd Apr 2008
* Tennis' French Open at Roland Garros will this year offer prize money of over €15.5 million ($24.7 million), a 2% increase on last year. Women and men will get equal prize money, with the winners of both singles championships receiving €1 million at the tournament, which begins on May 25. Sportcal, 23rd Apr 2008
* Barcelona are already on their way to distributing the 21,000 tickets they will receive if they reach the UEFA Champions League final in Moscow on 21 May by defeating English Premier League club Manchester United in the semi-finals. The tickets have been distributed between members, fans and organisations with whom the Catalan club has commitments. Each member can request four tickets and must reserve the ticket with a credit card payment. The money will be charged if and when Barca beat United. "UEFA are the ones who oblige the four clubs in the semi-finals to acquire the places before the club knows if they’re going to be in the final in order to minimise bureaucratic problems,” a statement read. Barça will offer a special travel package for fans travelling to the game. Soccer Investor, 23rd Apr 2008
* FC Barcelona has agreed a deal that makes it the first football club to partner with video search engine Blinkx. The agreement will see content from the Primera División giant's official television station, Barca TV, broadcast on the club's official channel on Blinkx, www.blinkx.com/videos/channel:FCBarcelona . Fans will be able to search for videos and official content from the club, with some content limited to users in Spain. The content will include summaries of press conferences, exclusive interviews with players, news concerning every section of the club and Barca Toons videos, all available for free. Football Insider, 23rd Apr 2008
* FIFA president Sepp Blatter is convinced that the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup will act as a catalyst for the further growth of the game and believes that television coverage will play an important part. Germany's leading women players will defend the crown they won last year in China, with the event marking the first time that the country has hosted the tournament. While women's football is already high profile in countries such as Germany, Blatter feels FIFA's decision to incorporate World Cup 2011 television rights into the package for the men's event in 2014 will ensure that the tournament gains worldwide exposure. Football Insider, 23rd Apr 2008
MORE NEWS
Thailand/New Media: GSM Group Urges Thailand to Speed up 3G Licenses
The GSMA, the global trade association for the mobile industry, urged the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) of Thailand to license the 2100MHz spectrum band for 3G services by August. The introduction of 3G, enhanced by HSPA (high speed packet access), is intended to greatly improve the availability of broadband services in Thailand. Only 2.2 of households now have broadband and the country lags many of its neighbours in this respect.
Laying new fixed-line connections is expensive and inefficient so high-speed mobile networks are Thailand's best bet to realise the many social and economic benefits of widespread access to broadband services, said Ricardo Tavares, senior vice-president for public policy of the GSMA.
All three GSM mobile operators in Thailand, AIS, DTAC, and True Move, believe the market is ready for 3G. Thailand has a mature 2G market with 56.2 million subscribers or 88.3% of the population. HSPA is an upgrade to 3G networks that use the W-CDMA air interface. The GSMA represents more than 700 GSM mobile phone operators in 218 markets with 2.5 billion customers, or 85% of the world's mobile phone users. telecomasia.net, 24th Apr 2008
China/New Media: China Netcom Launches Broadband Video Platform
China Netcom has launched its broadband video platform, which will allow users to watch certain TV programs over the Internet, the company announced yesterday. "The broadband video content platform is an important start in our strategy to develop Internet video. We signed content cooperation agreements with eight partners [on Tuesday]. This strategy will be our focus in 2008, and more and more partners, both content and hardware suppliers, will take part," Zuo Feng, the deputy chief engineer at China Netcom, told Interfax today.
Zuo said the eight initial partners include the Guizhou TV Station, the Qinghai TV Station, CCID Media, the Hubei Film and Television Arts Center, the Interactive TV Commission of the China Television Artists Association, and other media and content suppliers. Zuo said China Netcom's broadband subscribers will be able to install a free software platform called an "Internet TV set" on their PCs to choose the programs they like from these partners.
China Netcom is in charge of the operating system of the broadband video content platform, including program distribution, broadcasting, billing, bandwidth distribution and server maintenance. The partners are responsible for generating content and for property protection. The programs on the platform are currently all free of charge. Zuo said that China Netcom plans to collect service fees from media and content suppliers in the future, while media and content suppliers will be able to charge subscribers for watching their programming, as well as charge for advertisements. Interfax.com, 23rd Apr 2008
ARTICLES, COMMENTS, INTERVIEWS & OPINIONS
World players find burgeoning India too hard to resist
An Indian media revenue pie that is likely to reach $30 billion by 2012 is luring a raft of international entrants keen for a share of one of the world's fastest-growing media markets. Overseas investors in Indian media include merchant banks Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers, the Singapore Government's Temasek Holdings, astute individuals such as George Soros, and media groups Pearson, Time Warner, Independent News & Media, Daily Mail & General Trust, and News Corp (owner of The Australian). Joining this list next could be Fairfax Media, which last week was reported to be eyeing a stake in The Hindu, one of India's leading English-language newspapers. If the deal eventuates, Fairfax will enter a crowded Indian media environment that is undergoing both massive growth and technological change.
There are more than 40 non-stop TV news channels, broadcasting in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and a host of other languages; another 200-plus entertainment channels available on cable and satellite; scores of mass-circulation newspapers and magazines with readerships in the millions; hundreds of new radio stations, a fast-moving online sector and a film industry that is already the world's largest in terms of titles produced.
Over the next five years, media distribution over digital and mobile platforms is seen as a key driver of the sector, setting the scene for new alliances and cross-media ownership. India currently restricts overseas investors to 26 per cent of print and broadcast news media. Pearson Group, Britain-based owner of the Financial Times, for example, has just sold its existing 14 per cent stake in Mumbai's Business Standard newspaper, to clear the decks for FT's launch later this year of a new financial daily in partnership with one of the most vibrant of the new Indian media players, the Network 18 television group.
Singapore's Temasek Holdings outlayed almost $300 million last year for a stake in TV broadcaster INX Media, while George Soros paid $106 million in February this year for 3 per cent of Reliance Entertainment, a media and entertainment company controlled by Anil Ambani, India's second richest man.
Media is undoubtedly among the hottest sectors of the Indian economy, with a growth outlook of 18 per cent a year between 2007 and 2012, according to a report released last month by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers. That means the sector is expanding at twice the pace of the overall Indian economy. Turnover for print media companies in 2007 was $4 billion, a figure likely to rise to $7.5 billion by 2012. Revenue for TV broadcasters was $6 billion and is expected to grow to almost $16billion by 2012. Radio and online revenues, though much smaller, are showing even higher growth rates.
The reason for the bullish media outlook is not hard to find. India is on track to become one of the world's five largest consumer markets within 15 years, and its media output is finding fresh audiences in the Middle East, North America, Europe and Asia. It already has the world's largest population aged under 25: 600million people, many of whom are technologically literate, upwardly mobile and primed to spend. They are joining a burgeoning middle class that wants more of the good things in life, rather than just the basics of roti, kapda aur makaan (food, clothing and shelter). Entertainment options are springing up to serve the leisure-time needs of these consumers: niche magazines, cinema multiplexes, videogame arcades, and online activities such as sports programs, gaming and social networking.
In cricket-mad India, the advent of high-powered televised events such as the Indian Premier League has quickly drawn the interest of big business groups and heavyweight advertisers looking for the right media outlets. Many of India's richest tycoons have made their money in media. They include Subhash Chandra, founder of the country's first cable and satellite network, Zee TV, and Chennai-based Kalanithi Maran, who runs the country's single most valuable network, Sun TV.
Another wealthy media family is led by Indu Jain, who with her sons Samir and Vineet, controls the unlisted Bennett, Coleman Company Ltd. This group runs The Times of India and The Economic Times newspapers, plus a host of smaller media enterprises. A great rival to BCCL is the listed HT Media, controlled by industrialist K.K. Birla. HT Media publishes the Hindustan Times, and launched a business daily, Mint, in 2007 with the backing of The Wall Street Journal. Another aggressive competitor is T. Venkattram Reddy, publisher of the Deccan Chronicle and owner of the Hyderabad-based IPL franchise, the Deccan Chargers.
That pits him against Sydney-based media player Lachlan Murdoch, who has a stake in the IPL's Jaipur-based franchise, the Rajasthan Royals team led by captain-coach Shane Warne. Murdoch also has a share in an Indian talent management agency that is part of the Percept group. Theaustraliannews.com.au, 23rd Apr 2008
Asia Pacific Leads in Sports Sponsorship
Source: Marketing-interactive.com, 24th Apr 2008
When it comes to experiential media, Asia Pacific leads the world in leveraging sports sponsorship and celebrity endorsement, according to ZenithOptimedia's Touchpoints ROI Tracker study. The project identifies the power of individual consumer contact points and how they deliver brand communication ROI from over 300, 000 consumer interviews across 34 countries and more than 4,000 brands.
The study revealed in traditional media, TV advertising is still important at 18% more influential in Asia Pacific than in USA. In digital for internet advertising, Asia Pacific is 26% more influential than Europe and 54% more influential in mobile promotions than in North America. The touchpoints report also revealed word of mouth is more influential than traditional media at 12% more than TV in Asia Pacific. In China, product placement is 39% more influential than global norm with advertorials and infomercials 15% more influential in China than globally. Event sponsorship is 21% more influential in China versus the global norm with sports sponsorship at 17% and TV program sponsorship at 24% respectively.
ZenithOptimedia's Touchpoints ROI Tracker identifies and quantifies the value of every customer point of contact for a category and its brands, examining the role of each contact point in building brand preference and purchase intent.
SPORT SHORTS
* Muaythai is set to get global exposure after Mark Burnett produced a reality show offering the highest prize money ever given out in the history of the sport. Burnett has now produced 'The Contender Asia', an unscripted drama about the lives, fears, triumphs, dreams, and hopes of the 16 muaythai fighters from 12 countries. Singapore hosted the two-month reality show. The series took on the format of weekly elimination fights until a best fighter emerged as the champion of The Contender Asia. The series offered a total prize pool of S$500,000 (US$370,000). Programmes are being shown in 27 Asian countries and will be aired to more than 50 countries to an estimated audience of over 400 million people. Sport Insider, 23rd Apr 2008
* The opening match of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament attracted twice as many Indian television viewers as expected. Played in Bangalore between the local Royal Challenger and the Kolkata Knight Riders, 12.5 million viewers tuned in, giving the broadcast 8.21 ‘Television Rating Points’. By comparison, coverage of last summer's Indian cricket tour of Australia scored 4-6 Television Rating Points. In Australia, viewing figures were good, but not exceptional, and were probably impacted by late-night scheduling. After the first match, rating points for IPL coverage dropped to between 4.97 and 5.58. Sport Business, 23rd Apr 2008
* The Saudi Arabia Basketball Federation and the Qatar Basketball Federation have become the fifth and sixth candidates to express an interest in bidding to host the 2014 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Championship. FIBA opened the bidding process for the 2014 event back in January, and has given interested Federations a deadline of late next week to deliver their letters of intent. Saudi Arabia and Qatar join Spain, France, Denmark and Russia in the group of candidates interested in staging the tournament. FIBA's flagship championship was staged in Japan in 2006 and will take place in Turkey in 2010. Sport Insider, 23rd Apr 2008
* SingTel, as title sponsor for the upcoming Singapore F1, has unveiled its integrated marketing effort for the race which includes launching two custom-built F1 race car simulators which replicate the experience of being in the driver's seat of an F1 car racing through the much-hyped street circuit. The experience is named the SingTel Ultimate Race which has also been turned into a downloadable online game on the telco's new official F1 website. The site features user-generated content and celebrity blogging from Jaymee Ong and Glenn Ong as well as information on F1 races. SingTel will also launch a F1 mobile game that its customers can download for free as well as a 4-ep 30-min reality TV show on MediaCorp's CH 5 which pits forty-eight young girls against each other to become one of the twenty chosen SingTel Grid Girls for the race. The winner also walks away with $20,000. Marketing-interactive.com, 23rd Apr 2008
* Motorstv.co.uk has been relaunched . The new site promises "hundreds of videos" of action from the V8 Supercars, the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM), Le Mans Series, American Le Mans Series, F3 Euroseries, World Motocross Championship and World Superbikes, while also featuring on-board camera footage and car and bike tests from the channel's editorial staff. Each of the covered events have their own specific sections complete with series information, a race calendar, news from each of the respective circuits, videos and screening times of the broadcasts. Additionally, the site includes surveys and competitions, while the discussion forum has been retained. Sports Media, 23rd Apr 2008
* Tennis' French Open at Roland Garros will this year offer prize money of over €15.5 million ($24.7 million), a 2% increase on last year. Women and men will get equal prize money, with the winners of both singles championships receiving €1 million at the tournament, which begins on May 25. Sportcal, 23rd Apr 2008
* Barcelona are already on their way to distributing the 21,000 tickets they will receive if they reach the UEFA Champions League final in Moscow on 21 May by defeating English Premier League club Manchester United in the semi-finals. The tickets have been distributed between members, fans and organisations with whom the Catalan club has commitments. Each member can request four tickets and must reserve the ticket with a credit card payment. The money will be charged if and when Barca beat United. "UEFA are the ones who oblige the four clubs in the semi-finals to acquire the places before the club knows if they’re going to be in the final in order to minimise bureaucratic problems,” a statement read. Barça will offer a special travel package for fans travelling to the game. Soccer Investor, 23rd Apr 2008
* FC Barcelona has agreed a deal that makes it the first football club to partner with video search engine Blinkx. The agreement will see content from the Primera División giant's official television station, Barca TV, broadcast on the club's official channel on Blinkx, www.blinkx.com/videos/channel:FCBarcelona . Fans will be able to search for videos and official content from the club, with some content limited to users in Spain. The content will include summaries of press conferences, exclusive interviews with players, news concerning every section of the club and Barca Toons videos, all available for free. Football Insider, 23rd Apr 2008
* FIFA president Sepp Blatter is convinced that the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup will act as a catalyst for the further growth of the game and believes that television coverage will play an important part. Germany's leading women players will defend the crown they won last year in China, with the event marking the first time that the country has hosted the tournament. While women's football is already high profile in countries such as Germany, Blatter feels FIFA's decision to incorporate World Cup 2011 television rights into the package for the men's event in 2014 will ensure that the tournament gains worldwide exposure. Football Insider, 23rd Apr 2008
MORE NEWS
Thailand/New Media: GSM Group Urges Thailand to Speed up 3G Licenses
The GSMA, the global trade association for the mobile industry, urged the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) of Thailand to license the 2100MHz spectrum band for 3G services by August. The introduction of 3G, enhanced by HSPA (high speed packet access), is intended to greatly improve the availability of broadband services in Thailand. Only 2.2 of households now have broadband and the country lags many of its neighbours in this respect.
Laying new fixed-line connections is expensive and inefficient so high-speed mobile networks are Thailand's best bet to realise the many social and economic benefits of widespread access to broadband services, said Ricardo Tavares, senior vice-president for public policy of the GSMA.
All three GSM mobile operators in Thailand, AIS, DTAC, and True Move, believe the market is ready for 3G. Thailand has a mature 2G market with 56.2 million subscribers or 88.3% of the population. HSPA is an upgrade to 3G networks that use the W-CDMA air interface. The GSMA represents more than 700 GSM mobile phone operators in 218 markets with 2.5 billion customers, or 85% of the world's mobile phone users. telecomasia.net, 24th Apr 2008
China/New Media: China Netcom Launches Broadband Video Platform
China Netcom has launched its broadband video platform, which will allow users to watch certain TV programs over the Internet, the company announced yesterday. "The broadband video content platform is an important start in our strategy to develop Internet video. We signed content cooperation agreements with eight partners [on Tuesday]. This strategy will be our focus in 2008, and more and more partners, both content and hardware suppliers, will take part," Zuo Feng, the deputy chief engineer at China Netcom, told Interfax today.
Zuo said the eight initial partners include the Guizhou TV Station, the Qinghai TV Station, CCID Media, the Hubei Film and Television Arts Center, the Interactive TV Commission of the China Television Artists Association, and other media and content suppliers. Zuo said China Netcom's broadband subscribers will be able to install a free software platform called an "Internet TV set" on their PCs to choose the programs they like from these partners.
China Netcom is in charge of the operating system of the broadband video content platform, including program distribution, broadcasting, billing, bandwidth distribution and server maintenance. The partners are responsible for generating content and for property protection. The programs on the platform are currently all free of charge. Zuo said that China Netcom plans to collect service fees from media and content suppliers in the future, while media and content suppliers will be able to charge subscribers for watching their programming, as well as charge for advertisements. Interfax.com, 23rd Apr 2008
ARTICLES, COMMENTS, INTERVIEWS & OPINIONS
World players find burgeoning India too hard to resist
An Indian media revenue pie that is likely to reach $30 billion by 2012 is luring a raft of international entrants keen for a share of one of the world's fastest-growing media markets. Overseas investors in Indian media include merchant banks Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers, the Singapore Government's Temasek Holdings, astute individuals such as George Soros, and media groups Pearson, Time Warner, Independent News & Media, Daily Mail & General Trust, and News Corp (owner of The Australian). Joining this list next could be Fairfax Media, which last week was reported to be eyeing a stake in The Hindu, one of India's leading English-language newspapers. If the deal eventuates, Fairfax will enter a crowded Indian media environment that is undergoing both massive growth and technological change.
There are more than 40 non-stop TV news channels, broadcasting in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and a host of other languages; another 200-plus entertainment channels available on cable and satellite; scores of mass-circulation newspapers and magazines with readerships in the millions; hundreds of new radio stations, a fast-moving online sector and a film industry that is already the world's largest in terms of titles produced.
Over the next five years, media distribution over digital and mobile platforms is seen as a key driver of the sector, setting the scene for new alliances and cross-media ownership. India currently restricts overseas investors to 26 per cent of print and broadcast news media. Pearson Group, Britain-based owner of the Financial Times, for example, has just sold its existing 14 per cent stake in Mumbai's Business Standard newspaper, to clear the decks for FT's launch later this year of a new financial daily in partnership with one of the most vibrant of the new Indian media players, the Network 18 television group.
Singapore's Temasek Holdings outlayed almost $300 million last year for a stake in TV broadcaster INX Media, while George Soros paid $106 million in February this year for 3 per cent of Reliance Entertainment, a media and entertainment company controlled by Anil Ambani, India's second richest man.
Media is undoubtedly among the hottest sectors of the Indian economy, with a growth outlook of 18 per cent a year between 2007 and 2012, according to a report released last month by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers. That means the sector is expanding at twice the pace of the overall Indian economy. Turnover for print media companies in 2007 was $4 billion, a figure likely to rise to $7.5 billion by 2012. Revenue for TV broadcasters was $6 billion and is expected to grow to almost $16billion by 2012. Radio and online revenues, though much smaller, are showing even higher growth rates.
The reason for the bullish media outlook is not hard to find. India is on track to become one of the world's five largest consumer markets within 15 years, and its media output is finding fresh audiences in the Middle East, North America, Europe and Asia. It already has the world's largest population aged under 25: 600million people, many of whom are technologically literate, upwardly mobile and primed to spend. They are joining a burgeoning middle class that wants more of the good things in life, rather than just the basics of roti, kapda aur makaan (food, clothing and shelter). Entertainment options are springing up to serve the leisure-time needs of these consumers: niche magazines, cinema multiplexes, videogame arcades, and online activities such as sports programs, gaming and social networking.
In cricket-mad India, the advent of high-powered televised events such as the Indian Premier League has quickly drawn the interest of big business groups and heavyweight advertisers looking for the right media outlets. Many of India's richest tycoons have made their money in media. They include Subhash Chandra, founder of the country's first cable and satellite network, Zee TV, and Chennai-based Kalanithi Maran, who runs the country's single most valuable network, Sun TV.
Another wealthy media family is led by Indu Jain, who with her sons Samir and Vineet, controls the unlisted Bennett, Coleman Company Ltd. This group runs The Times of India and The Economic Times newspapers, plus a host of smaller media enterprises. A great rival to BCCL is the listed HT Media, controlled by industrialist K.K. Birla. HT Media publishes the Hindustan Times, and launched a business daily, Mint, in 2007 with the backing of The Wall Street Journal. Another aggressive competitor is T. Venkattram Reddy, publisher of the Deccan Chronicle and owner of the Hyderabad-based IPL franchise, the Deccan Chargers.
That pits him against Sydney-based media player Lachlan Murdoch, who has a stake in the IPL's Jaipur-based franchise, the Rajasthan Royals team led by captain-coach Shane Warne. Murdoch also has a share in an Indian talent management agency that is part of the Percept group. Theaustraliannews.com.au, 23rd Apr 2008
Wednesday, 23rd April 2008
INFO BOX
The World's Broadband
Info IQ, 18th Apr 2008
Four European Union (EU) nations have the best broadband deployment rates in the world. The Single Telecoms Market Progress Report has shown that Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden saw penetration rates in excess of 30 per cent at the end of last year. Along with the UK, Belgium, Luxembourg and France, these countries saw higher rates than the US in 2007, with some 19 million EU broadband lines added last year. Below are Asian regions extracted from the report:
Japan: Japan has an average broadband speed of 93Mbps according to the OECD, but this falls to 10.6Mbps according to speedtest.net, which could be indicative of the fact that fiber is concentrated in the towns and cities. Cable broadband is quite strong in Japan but the biggest market is in fiber to the home. This has proved so popular with consumers that DSL is actually in decline. Companies are so advanced with fiber delivery that they are beginning to find DSL surplus to requirements. The speeds fiber provides means applications such as sharing video files are standard. Fiber also dramatically improves upload speeds, making it much more suitable for web 2.0 communication, with individuals contributing back to the internet with pictures and videos.
South Korea: South Korea's average broadband speed is 43Mbps. In South Korea there has also been a very strong fiber rollout, which has been enabled, at least in part, by state contributions. Often regarded as something of a gold standard when it comes to super-fast broadband, an amazing 90% of homes have a broadband connection of between 50 and 100Mbps. They also pay the lowest rates in the world. There are pilot services offering connections starting at 1,000Mbps. The big driver for fast broadband here is gaming and 43% of the population has a personal profile in the virtual world Cyworld, which recorded $10m worth of trade per month last year.
China: ITU data puts China's broadband speed at 1Mbps. China is fast becoming the world's largest broadband economy. It is laying quite a lot of fiber which is a less disruptive option in China because of the amount of new building work being done. It already has 14 million fiber lines, compared to 9.6 million in Japan, 1.7m in the US and just a few thousand in the UK but it doesn't generate the same speeds as in other Asian countries because the fiber tends to feed into blocks of flats rather than individual dwellings.
SPORT SHORTS
* A Chinese research firm said China has surpassed the United States as the world's largest Internet market based on number of users. BDA, a firm based in Beijing, said data from the China Internet Network Information Center indicated China had an Internet population of 210 million at the end of last year, compared to 216 million in the United States. Based on these sources and the assumption that these markets have continued to grow in 2008 to date at the same rates that they grew in 2007, we can conclude that China has by now comfortably surpassed the United States as the world's largest Internet population, Bin Liu, BDA's chief media analyst, said in a statement. BDA estimated revenues from China's online games sector totaled $1.88 billion last year. Moldova.org, 22nd Apr 2008
* Intel Corp will invest $500 million in Taiwan over the next five years, targeted at the island's WiMax sector. Intel Corp said there are still technical challenges that need to be solved for the new super-high-speed wireless standard, but that the firm has been encouraged by the development of WiMax in the last two years. Late last year, Taiwan's government said it planned to spend $664 million in the next few years on the WiMax technology -- seen as the more advanced standard to WiFi, which only works near a transmitter. WiMax allows anyone with a WiMax enabled laptop or media device to download songs, movies and business presentations over distances of up to 30 miles. "Japan will probably launch the first (WiMax standard in Asia), since they have already invested lots of money and Taiwan and India could follow suit," said Lil Mohan, managing director of Intel's WiMax program. Ciol.com, 22nd Apr 2008
* The Asian Football Confederation has stood firm on its insistence that the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) adopts new statutes that would reduce the number of members eligible to vote in the organisation's forthcoming elections. The AFC rejected the PSSI's request to maintain the current system, which would allow 627 members to vote for their new president, who would then have the right to appoint the members of its executive committee. Under the new statutes, those executive committee members would also be elected during the organisation's congress. A PSSI delegation met with AFC president Mohamed Bin Hammam but their appeal was rejected with the AFC emphasising the importance of bringing its statutes in line with FIFA's standard statutes. Football Insider, 22nd Apr 2008
* French football clubs have agreed a new revenue split following the recent broadcast rights deals with Canal Plus and Orange. The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) struck deals with the two entities across several platforms worth a combined total of €668 million back in February, and the clubs in Ligue 1 Orange and Ligue 2 Orange have now agreed how the revenues will be split. Clubs in the top tier will receive €566.2 million over the four years, while Ligue 2 teams will be given €101.8 million. In Ligue 1, 50% of the revenues will be split evenly between the 20 competing clubs, while 30% will be paid out on the basis of the teams' final positions in the league table. The remaining 20% will be split according to how many times the teams' games are aired on Canal Plus and Orange, with Olympique de Marseille, Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain set to benefit the most. Sports Media, 21st Apr 2008
* Google has topped a list of the world's most powerful brands, with new research estimating its value to be $86 billion. WPP-owned research company Millward Brown puts Google at number one in its annual top 100 global brand power list for the second year in a row with a 30 per cent year-on-year increase in its value. Google beat General Electric to the top spot, with the NBC Universal owner's brand value estimated at $71.4 billion. The next most valuable brands are Microsoft at $70.89 billion, Coca-Cola at $58.2 billion and China Mobile at $57.2 billion, according to Millward Brown. ATV, 23rd Apr 2008
MORE NEWS
China/New Media: AsiaInfo Signs Contract to Upgrade China Mobile's WLAN Systems
AsiaInfo Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of telecom software solutions and IT security products and services in China, today announced that it has signed a contract with China Mobile to upgrade its Wireless Local Area Network ("WLAN") authentication and billing system to satisfy increased subscriber demand expected during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
China Mobile's WLAN business has gradually gained customer acceptance since 2002, and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are expected to increase demand for WLAN services. As partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, China Mobile will provide a communications network and related services for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Journalists, athletes and tourists are expected to be the primary users of the service during the Olympic Games. The upgraded system will have the capacity to support 5 million users and can support both static and dynamic password authentication technology.
The Olympic WLAN network is a high speed wireless data transmission network constructed by China Mobile for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The network will provide high-speed wireless Internet access for end users in Olympic gymnasiums, stadiums and surrounding areas in Olympic cities including Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai. Yahoo! Biz, 22nd Apr 2008
Philippine/New Media: Mobile Users to Hit 73m
Mobile service users in the Philippines are expected to grow at an annual growth rate of 15% to reach 73 million by 2010, a report from UK-based online firm Report Buyer said. Like Indonesia, mobile communications, SMS text messaging in particular, is growing faster than fixed-line telephony because of the country's geographical features, the report said. ReportBuyer said the rapid expansion of the mobile market will be possible as the two leaders in the market, Smart Communications and Globe Telecom, are improving the service quality to win the competition, and mobile broadband market is projected to expand rapidly due to the slow spread of fixed-line telephony.
In addition, more and more people want to use contents in English via the mobile internet as most Filipinos are familiar with using English. The report shows that as of now, 55 million, or 60% of the population, have subscribed to mobile services. There is a cut-throat competition between the two dominant service providers, PLDT's Smart Communications and Globe Telecom of Ayala Group. The combined market share of these two companies occupies as much as 80% of the entire mobile market.
The report also noted that another unique characteristic of the Philippines mobile market is that there are many services available for overseas Filipino workers as the country's economy relies heavily on their remittance. As the key customer base, they are continuously contributing to the improvement in the communications revenue. Furthermore, enhanced roaming and remittance services for the overseas Filipino workers will be introduced. telecomasia.net, 23rd Apr 2008
Global/New Media: 60 Million IPTV Subscribers by 2010
There will be nearly 60 million Internet Protocol television (IPTV) subscribers worldwide by the end of 2010, according to the latest report from Telecommunications Management Group (TMG). IPTV has been doubling each year since its commercial introduction in 2002, said the report titled IPTV: The Killer Broadband Application. There were 9.9 million IPTV subscribers around the world at the end of 2007, more than double the previous year, and TMG projects more than a 500 per cent increase over the next three years. According to TMG senior market analyst and lead author of the report Michael Minges, "IPTV is revolutionising the television market by introducing greater competition and providing consumers with a plethora of customizable content, viewable any time."
Other points of interest in the report include the finding that IPTV has succeeded in countries with relatively low pay television, but high broadband penetration. This is characteristic of some countries in Europe, which has the largest number of IPTV subscribers and where there are few regulatory obstacles, nationwide telecommunications operators and widely available broadband networks.
Europe had 5.3 million IPTV subscribers in 2007 while Asia had 3.3 million and Americas have 1.3 million subscribers. France Telecom is the largest IPTV operator in the world with 1.1 million subscribers at the end of 2007, followed by Verizon's Fios television service in the US. With over 50 per cent of its broadband subscribers using its "now" broadband TV service, Hong Kong's PCCW has the most successful overall uptake.
IPTV is not limited to high-income economies. China and India have launched IPTV, as have several countries in Africa. TMG forecasts that China and the US will be the world's largest IPTV markets by 2010. Indiantelevision.com, 22nd Apr 2007
Global/General: Social Media Challenging Traditional Media
Social media – and blogs in particular – are becoming a more important part of global media consumption for Internet users than some traditional media channels, according to the findings of a recent survey by media agency Universal McCann. Globally 73 per cent of Internet users are reading blogs with 48 per cent including these consumer-generated content in their weekly media diet. TV too is facing similar competition for eyeballs with 83 per cent of Internet users having watched a video clip and 59 per cent viewing at least one clip every week.
According to Universal McCann, the latest survey – the third it has carried out - shows no signs of a pause in the explosive growth of social media. Video clips, blogs, podcasts, social networks and RSS are all essential components of the online media diet. While not all markets are as developed, in each of the 29 countries surveyed social media is becoming a key constituent of global media consumption.
Key findings from Wave 3 include: 83 per cent watch video clips, up from 62 per cent in the last study in June 2007; 78 per cent read blogs, up from 66 per cent; 57 per cent of Internet users are now members of a social network; RSS consumption is growing rapidly up from 15 per cent to 39 per cent; Podcasts are now mainstream digital content, listened to by 48 per cent.
"Social media is a mass medium for many Internet users. Brands and marketers need to adjust rapidly to this revolution in way consumers are creating and digesting content. With every wave of research, our Social Media Tracker is noting greater and greater growth for channels such as blogging, video clips and social networks," reported Tom Smith, EMEA research manager at Universal McCann. ATV, 23rd Apr 2008
The World's Broadband
Info IQ, 18th Apr 2008
Four European Union (EU) nations have the best broadband deployment rates in the world. The Single Telecoms Market Progress Report has shown that Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden saw penetration rates in excess of 30 per cent at the end of last year. Along with the UK, Belgium, Luxembourg and France, these countries saw higher rates than the US in 2007, with some 19 million EU broadband lines added last year. Below are Asian regions extracted from the report:
Japan: Japan has an average broadband speed of 93Mbps according to the OECD, but this falls to 10.6Mbps according to speedtest.net, which could be indicative of the fact that fiber is concentrated in the towns and cities. Cable broadband is quite strong in Japan but the biggest market is in fiber to the home. This has proved so popular with consumers that DSL is actually in decline. Companies are so advanced with fiber delivery that they are beginning to find DSL surplus to requirements. The speeds fiber provides means applications such as sharing video files are standard. Fiber also dramatically improves upload speeds, making it much more suitable for web 2.0 communication, with individuals contributing back to the internet with pictures and videos.
South Korea: South Korea's average broadband speed is 43Mbps. In South Korea there has also been a very strong fiber rollout, which has been enabled, at least in part, by state contributions. Often regarded as something of a gold standard when it comes to super-fast broadband, an amazing 90% of homes have a broadband connection of between 50 and 100Mbps. They also pay the lowest rates in the world. There are pilot services offering connections starting at 1,000Mbps. The big driver for fast broadband here is gaming and 43% of the population has a personal profile in the virtual world Cyworld, which recorded $10m worth of trade per month last year.
China: ITU data puts China's broadband speed at 1Mbps. China is fast becoming the world's largest broadband economy. It is laying quite a lot of fiber which is a less disruptive option in China because of the amount of new building work being done. It already has 14 million fiber lines, compared to 9.6 million in Japan, 1.7m in the US and just a few thousand in the UK but it doesn't generate the same speeds as in other Asian countries because the fiber tends to feed into blocks of flats rather than individual dwellings.
SPORT SHORTS
* A Chinese research firm said China has surpassed the United States as the world's largest Internet market based on number of users. BDA, a firm based in Beijing, said data from the China Internet Network Information Center indicated China had an Internet population of 210 million at the end of last year, compared to 216 million in the United States. Based on these sources and the assumption that these markets have continued to grow in 2008 to date at the same rates that they grew in 2007, we can conclude that China has by now comfortably surpassed the United States as the world's largest Internet population, Bin Liu, BDA's chief media analyst, said in a statement. BDA estimated revenues from China's online games sector totaled $1.88 billion last year. Moldova.org, 22nd Apr 2008
* Intel Corp will invest $500 million in Taiwan over the next five years, targeted at the island's WiMax sector. Intel Corp said there are still technical challenges that need to be solved for the new super-high-speed wireless standard, but that the firm has been encouraged by the development of WiMax in the last two years. Late last year, Taiwan's government said it planned to spend $664 million in the next few years on the WiMax technology -- seen as the more advanced standard to WiFi, which only works near a transmitter. WiMax allows anyone with a WiMax enabled laptop or media device to download songs, movies and business presentations over distances of up to 30 miles. "Japan will probably launch the first (WiMax standard in Asia), since they have already invested lots of money and Taiwan and India could follow suit," said Lil Mohan, managing director of Intel's WiMax program. Ciol.com, 22nd Apr 2008
* The Asian Football Confederation has stood firm on its insistence that the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) adopts new statutes that would reduce the number of members eligible to vote in the organisation's forthcoming elections. The AFC rejected the PSSI's request to maintain the current system, which would allow 627 members to vote for their new president, who would then have the right to appoint the members of its executive committee. Under the new statutes, those executive committee members would also be elected during the organisation's congress. A PSSI delegation met with AFC president Mohamed Bin Hammam but their appeal was rejected with the AFC emphasising the importance of bringing its statutes in line with FIFA's standard statutes. Football Insider, 22nd Apr 2008
* French football clubs have agreed a new revenue split following the recent broadcast rights deals with Canal Plus and Orange. The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) struck deals with the two entities across several platforms worth a combined total of €668 million back in February, and the clubs in Ligue 1 Orange and Ligue 2 Orange have now agreed how the revenues will be split. Clubs in the top tier will receive €566.2 million over the four years, while Ligue 2 teams will be given €101.8 million. In Ligue 1, 50% of the revenues will be split evenly between the 20 competing clubs, while 30% will be paid out on the basis of the teams' final positions in the league table. The remaining 20% will be split according to how many times the teams' games are aired on Canal Plus and Orange, with Olympique de Marseille, Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain set to benefit the most. Sports Media, 21st Apr 2008
* Google has topped a list of the world's most powerful brands, with new research estimating its value to be $86 billion. WPP-owned research company Millward Brown puts Google at number one in its annual top 100 global brand power list for the second year in a row with a 30 per cent year-on-year increase in its value. Google beat General Electric to the top spot, with the NBC Universal owner's brand value estimated at $71.4 billion. The next most valuable brands are Microsoft at $70.89 billion, Coca-Cola at $58.2 billion and China Mobile at $57.2 billion, according to Millward Brown. ATV, 23rd Apr 2008
MORE NEWS
China/New Media: AsiaInfo Signs Contract to Upgrade China Mobile's WLAN Systems
AsiaInfo Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of telecom software solutions and IT security products and services in China, today announced that it has signed a contract with China Mobile to upgrade its Wireless Local Area Network ("WLAN") authentication and billing system to satisfy increased subscriber demand expected during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
China Mobile's WLAN business has gradually gained customer acceptance since 2002, and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are expected to increase demand for WLAN services. As partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, China Mobile will provide a communications network and related services for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Journalists, athletes and tourists are expected to be the primary users of the service during the Olympic Games. The upgraded system will have the capacity to support 5 million users and can support both static and dynamic password authentication technology.
The Olympic WLAN network is a high speed wireless data transmission network constructed by China Mobile for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The network will provide high-speed wireless Internet access for end users in Olympic gymnasiums, stadiums and surrounding areas in Olympic cities including Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai. Yahoo! Biz, 22nd Apr 2008
Philippine/New Media: Mobile Users to Hit 73m
Mobile service users in the Philippines are expected to grow at an annual growth rate of 15% to reach 73 million by 2010, a report from UK-based online firm Report Buyer said. Like Indonesia, mobile communications, SMS text messaging in particular, is growing faster than fixed-line telephony because of the country's geographical features, the report said. ReportBuyer said the rapid expansion of the mobile market will be possible as the two leaders in the market, Smart Communications and Globe Telecom, are improving the service quality to win the competition, and mobile broadband market is projected to expand rapidly due to the slow spread of fixed-line telephony.
In addition, more and more people want to use contents in English via the mobile internet as most Filipinos are familiar with using English. The report shows that as of now, 55 million, or 60% of the population, have subscribed to mobile services. There is a cut-throat competition between the two dominant service providers, PLDT's Smart Communications and Globe Telecom of Ayala Group. The combined market share of these two companies occupies as much as 80% of the entire mobile market.
The report also noted that another unique characteristic of the Philippines mobile market is that there are many services available for overseas Filipino workers as the country's economy relies heavily on their remittance. As the key customer base, they are continuously contributing to the improvement in the communications revenue. Furthermore, enhanced roaming and remittance services for the overseas Filipino workers will be introduced. telecomasia.net, 23rd Apr 2008
Global/New Media: 60 Million IPTV Subscribers by 2010
There will be nearly 60 million Internet Protocol television (IPTV) subscribers worldwide by the end of 2010, according to the latest report from Telecommunications Management Group (TMG). IPTV has been doubling each year since its commercial introduction in 2002, said the report titled IPTV: The Killer Broadband Application. There were 9.9 million IPTV subscribers around the world at the end of 2007, more than double the previous year, and TMG projects more than a 500 per cent increase over the next three years. According to TMG senior market analyst and lead author of the report Michael Minges, "IPTV is revolutionising the television market by introducing greater competition and providing consumers with a plethora of customizable content, viewable any time."
Other points of interest in the report include the finding that IPTV has succeeded in countries with relatively low pay television, but high broadband penetration. This is characteristic of some countries in Europe, which has the largest number of IPTV subscribers and where there are few regulatory obstacles, nationwide telecommunications operators and widely available broadband networks.
Europe had 5.3 million IPTV subscribers in 2007 while Asia had 3.3 million and Americas have 1.3 million subscribers. France Telecom is the largest IPTV operator in the world with 1.1 million subscribers at the end of 2007, followed by Verizon's Fios television service in the US. With over 50 per cent of its broadband subscribers using its "now" broadband TV service, Hong Kong's PCCW has the most successful overall uptake.
IPTV is not limited to high-income economies. China and India have launched IPTV, as have several countries in Africa. TMG forecasts that China and the US will be the world's largest IPTV markets by 2010. Indiantelevision.com, 22nd Apr 2007
Global/General: Social Media Challenging Traditional Media
Social media – and blogs in particular – are becoming a more important part of global media consumption for Internet users than some traditional media channels, according to the findings of a recent survey by media agency Universal McCann. Globally 73 per cent of Internet users are reading blogs with 48 per cent including these consumer-generated content in their weekly media diet. TV too is facing similar competition for eyeballs with 83 per cent of Internet users having watched a video clip and 59 per cent viewing at least one clip every week.
According to Universal McCann, the latest survey – the third it has carried out - shows no signs of a pause in the explosive growth of social media. Video clips, blogs, podcasts, social networks and RSS are all essential components of the online media diet. While not all markets are as developed, in each of the 29 countries surveyed social media is becoming a key constituent of global media consumption.
Key findings from Wave 3 include: 83 per cent watch video clips, up from 62 per cent in the last study in June 2007; 78 per cent read blogs, up from 66 per cent; 57 per cent of Internet users are now members of a social network; RSS consumption is growing rapidly up from 15 per cent to 39 per cent; Podcasts are now mainstream digital content, listened to by 48 per cent.
"Social media is a mass medium for many Internet users. Brands and marketers need to adjust rapidly to this revolution in way consumers are creating and digesting content. With every wave of research, our Social Media Tracker is noting greater and greater growth for channels such as blogging, video clips and social networks," reported Tom Smith, EMEA research manager at Universal McCann. ATV, 23rd Apr 2008