Friday, 11th April 2008

INFO BOX

India Registers 272.87 Million Telephone Users

India has registered a total telecom subscriber base of 272.87 million for the quarter ending December 2007 as against 248.65 million for the quarter ending September 2007, shows the data released by the sector regulator. India, which is the world's fastest growing market for wireless subscribers, also recorded 233.62 million users in the segment during the quarter from 209.67 million in the quarter ending September last year.

India is expected to surpass the US as the world's second-biggest market, led by China. This has, however, negatively impacted the growth of wireline users, which decreased from 39.58 million during the quarter ending September last year to 39.25 million in quarter ending December, said the data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Similarly, in rural areas, the growth of wireless subscribers recorded a whopping 52.52 million users opposed to 43.98 million, while in case of wireline subscribers it declined from 11.99 million in the quarter ending September to 11.75 million in the quarter ending December.

The tele-density for the October-December 2007 quarter reached 23.87 compared to 21.87 for the quarter ending September, the authority said. The number of broadband subscribers was 3.13 million for the quarter ending December 2007 as against 2.67 million for the previous quarter. The Indian government has set a target of 500 million telecom connections by 2010, half of which was reached last year. It also has a target of 20 million broadband connections within the next three years. Web India123, The Hindu Business Line, 10th Apr 2008


SPORTS SHORTS

* Sports entertainment company AVP has signed a five-year contract extension with Wilson to make the sports equipment manufacturer the official game ball of beach volleyball's AVP Crocs Tour. Along with the exclusive sponsorship in the game ball category, the deal, which will expire at the end of the 2012 season, gives the Wilson brand and its products a significant on-site presence including a display booth, outer and inner court signage, marketing support, branding and onsite sponsorship activation. "After 11 years of a successful partnership, it was only natural that we would extend our relationship with the AVP through 2012," said Chris Considine, president for Wilson Sporting Goods Co. "We look forward to growing our relationship with the AVP, its players, and its fans throughout the next five years." Sports Media, 10th Apr 2008

* Overheard at MIPTV 2008: the Asian approach was one of hot topics of the show. Business related to Asia grows every market and promises to be the big thing for upcoming shows. Xavier Aristimuño, sales manager for Asia of Telemundo International (USA) comments: ‘We see a new generation of Asian buyers. In the past they didn’t manage information about foreign providers, you had to explain to them at the Palais who you were and your product. Now they are looking for formats so they study the providers before visiting them. They know well the market, they know who to visit depending of what they want’. Prensario International Newsletter, 10th Apr 2008

* im.tv, a platform delivering online audio/video services in Taiwan, on April 9 signed a two-year licensing agreement with MLBAM (Major League Baseball Advanced Media) to operate an official Chinese-language website of MLB.com, mlb.im.tv, in Taiwan, according to im.tv chairman FS Chiou. In addition to offering webcasts of condensed and selected parts of MLB games, im.tv will offer a mobile version of the service for users of handsets and other types of hand-held devices, Chiou indicated. However, the operation of the mobile service hinges on cooperation with mobile telecom operators and whether there is enough bandwidth, Chiou pointed out. According to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) newspaper, im.tw will capitalize on the operation of mlb.im.tv to push online sale of tickets to professional baseball games in Taiwan and related merchandise. Digitimes, 10th Apr 2008

* ART, the pan-Middle Eastern broadcast platform, is to carry NASN, the US sports channel, and ESPN Classic, the Walt-Disney-owned archive sports channel, after a deal was agreed with ESPN, the cable sports broadcaster. NASN and ESPN Classic have until now only been available in Europe, with the exception of the original ESPN Classic channel in USA, and will join the main ESPN channel on ART from May 1. ART is available to more than 2 million viewers in over 22 countries across the Middle East. At present, the ESPN Classic channel reaches more than 23 million households across Europe. Sportcal, 10th Apr 2008

* Tourism Australia is working with Malaysia’s TV3 to relaunch a travelogue, called My Aussie Adventure, to promote Australia as a holiday destination. Seven Aussie Ambassadors will be selected from members of the public and they would participate in adventure activities. The first season in 2006, My Australian Adventure recorded more than 1.2 million viewers and was ranked number one in viewership status on the evening Sunday slot on TV3. Tourism Australia reported that this programme resulted in thousands of hits to the website linked to the TV show and there was great interest in purchasing holiday packages to Australia. The online contest also received more than 3,000 entries. The first season was an eight episode travelogue series filmed by TV3 and also presented by local Malaysian TV hosts. The selected ambassadors would experience riding a Harley Davidson around Sydney, gliding across Tasmania's Hollybank Treetops, experiencing the gold rush era in Sovereign Hill, Melbourne, and so forth. Marketing-Interactive.com, 11th Apr 2008

* Australia Network will launch on Malaysia's Astro offering viewers Australian-made content and award winning dramas such as McLeod's Daughters, All Saints and Home and Away. Bruce Dover, CEO of Australia Network, said "Australia Network represents an enormous opportunity to establish a credible, authoritative Australian voice in the region as well as bring the very best of Australian television to audiences living and working in the most dynamic economies of the world today." Available on Channel 514, the Australia Network's flagship news program will be NewsHour with Jim Middleton. The show will focus on events of the day, panel discussions with key commentators and experts exploring the issues and perspectives of Australian and Asia Pacific region. Marketing-Interactive.com, 11th Apr 2008

* Turner International, a unit of Time Warner Inc , will launch more television channels and make animation films in India, which is set to become its top market in Asia-Pacific, a company official said on Thursday. Turner, which recently bought a minority stake in Indian production firm Miditech Pvt Ltd for regional-language general entertainment channels, is looking for more partnerships and acquisition opportunities in the fast-growing market, he said.The "multi-million dollar" unit will make animated films and live action television content targeted at kids and families. The new English-language entertainment channel, scheduled to go on air by year-end, will be a venture with group company Warner Brothers, Marcopoto said, a first for the company. India's TV industry revenues are forecast to more than double to $11.6 billion over the next four years, making it the most lucrative market in Asia, research firm Media Partners Asia said. Yahoo Biz!, 10th Apr 2008

* Motorola says it is working with UTStarcom and First International Telecom (Fitel), a telecomms operator in Taiwan, to deploy a WiMAX network as part of Fitel's commitment to the M-Taiwan project, a government initiative. telecomasia.net, 11th Apr 2008

* Qualcomm signs an agreement with Vietnamese operator S-Fone to launch BREW services on S-Fone's CDMA network. The introduction of BREW services will enable S-Fone subscribers to shop for and download a wide variety of value-added services. telecomasia.net, 11th Apr 2008

* SingTel will upgrade its broadband networks in Singapore and six other countries in a major move to make it easier for users to write blogs, share videos and stay connected on the go with web 2.0 services, a report the Straits Times, said. The report said SingTel expects to upgrade its wireless networks in the next two to three years to offer speeds of 40Mbps, or almost six times faster than current speeds. The upgrade would include not just Singapore but countries where SingTel has subsidiaries, for example, Australia and the Philippines. Telecomasia.net, 11Apr 2008

* FISI, the Italian Winter Sports Federation, is at odds with organisers over the share of commercial revenue it receives from skiing’s FIS Alpine World Cup event in Südtirol in northern Italy. FISI receives a small portion of the broadcast and sponsorship money generated by the event, while the revenue generated by World Cup events in Austria, France and Switzerland goes straight to the national federations, claims Giovanni Morzenti, the FISI president. Television rights for the World Cup stop in Südtirol are worth €13 million ($20.7 million), according to local media reports, and FISI is said to want to manage all television and sponsorship rights for the event in the future. Sportcal, 10th Apr 2008

* North American ice hockey’s National Hockey League today launched a new broadband media service, NHL Network Online, intended to offer fans more behind-the-scenes coverage of their favourite players and teams. Coverage will include The Hockey Show, offering daily updates on the NHL, NHL;Livewire, featuring live events and original programming from the NHL, and NHL and Stanley Cup highlights. The service is sponsored by NHL partners Bud Light, Cisco, Dodge and Verizon Wireless. Sportcal.com, 10th Apr 2008

* AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said the club is about to open talks with Spanish Liga side Barcelona about the possibility of signing Brazil forward Ronaldinho. "We'll speak to Barcelona in the next few weeks," Galliani told La Gazzetta dello Sport. Milan president Silvio Berlusconi repeated on Tuesday he was trying to buy Ronaldinho, though the forward's agent said the Brazilian was not looking to leave. Galliani, who said Milan's transfer spending would not be curtailed by failure to land a Champions League slot, also denied reports Milan had reached an agreement to sign Gianluca Zambrotta from Barcelona. Soccer Investor, 10th Apr 2008


MORE NEWS

Japan/New Media: Report Examines Market for Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband

Japan’s telecommunications sector is one of the most active markets in the world. The telecommunications regulatory authorities in Japan have been instrumental in shaping the industry and as a result, Japan has assumed a dynamic leadership role in many aspects of global and regional telecommunications. The control that the incumbent operator, NTT Corp, has continued to exert over virtually all local customers remains a particular challenge for the regulator. In addition, a growing concern has been the development (and lack) of cyber law in a society that is increasingly spending its time online.

Japan has been an early adopter of triple play models which provide TV, broadband Internet and voice telephony as packaged services from a single provider. This has been enabled through Japan being a world leader in broadband Internet. Though there is little hope of surpassing the US and China in terms of numbers; the market in Japan remains as eager as ever for broadband connection to the Internet. Japanese broadband subscribers comprised around 8.5% of the world subscriber base going into 2008.

Coming into 2008, the country was witnessing the continued growth of VoIP and triple-play services in particular. Strong competition was also apparent among the mobile operators in the 3G segment of the market. Especially noteworthy has been the uptake of FttH services (with a corresponding move away from DSL) and the big strides taken in developing digital and mobile broadcasting.

Japan is one of the world’s leading mobile telephone markets, not only in terms of size but also in terms of innovation and its ability to be early with the introduction of advanced technologies. Japan is one of the world’s top 3G markets, with over 80 million (80%) 3G subscribers by the end of 2007, as well as plans for 4G.

Key Highlights:

- The number of broadband lines in Japan has posted dramatic growth, more than tripling in size over the four years to March 2007. In terms of quality and affordability, Japan’s telecommunications infrastructure is significantly ahead of those in the US and Europe. Going into 2008, DSL subscribers were declining from the peak in 2006, as customers continued to shift to FttH. The DSL and FttH platforms support the bulk of the country’s broadband market, with other technologies such as cable modem and wireless making up less than 10% of the total market. For more information, see chapter 7, page 66.

- During 2007, the number of fixed subscribers declined below 50 million (less than 40% penetration), and that of mobile subscribers surpassed 100 million (just less than 80% penetration). This trend highlights the severe pressure that NTT is experiencing, faced with declining fixed-line subscribers, and high levels of competition and low price plans eating away at the mobile market dominance. For more information, see chapter 4, page 26.

- The local market’s other significant growth area coming into 2008 was in IP based telephony, taking up more than 10% of all telephony subscriptions. Here Softbank is a major player, with 30% of the total VoIP subscriber base by September 2007, although NTT showed considerable increases during 2007 to obtain over 50% market share. For more information, see chapter 6.9.3, page 65.

- 3G accounts for almost 80% of the mobile market in Japan, providing a strong base for the development of richer content. DoCoMo has introduced HSDPA and plans to offer HSUPA in 2008. The company is also one of the strongest drivers of the Long-Term Evolution standard, and is expected to launch around 2009/10 before the standard is complete.

- NTT DoCoMo became the first mobile operator, in December 2007, to adopt an MIC panel recommendation, to stop subsidising mobile phone prices through rebates. Other operators showed reluctance due to concerns that handset sales could decline, resulting in the possible closure of retail outlets.

- EMobile launched its 3G service in October 2007 and by end January 2008 the operator had 238,500 subscribers. The plan to offer voice telephony services were, however, put in jeopardy as a result of difficult and protracted negotiations with DoCoMo on a roaming deal.

- IPMobile was awarded a licence restricted to 2.0GHz bandwidth in November 2005. After investing over US$426 million, in 2007 IPMobile abandoned its plans to enter the mobile market due to financial difficulties. The company returned its 3G mobile licence and filed for bankruptcy with the Tokyo District Court. For more information, see chapter 9.1.4, page 111.

- The Radio Regulatory Council awarded licences to KDDI and PHS operator Willcom in December 2007. KDDI plans to introduce WiMAX in 2009, while Willcom hopes to launch its own high speed service, also in 2009, using next generation PHS technology.

- Popular valued added services continue to be i-mode for Internet access via mobile phones, music downloads facilitated by linkage between the content providers and the operators, and Osaifu-Keitai which is a mobile wallet allowing subscribers to pay for train tickets and the like with their mobile phones. Out of NTT DoCoMo’s 53 million subscribers by September 2007, nearly 48 million used the i-mode service and 27 million the mobile wallet, an increase of 100% for the latter over the previous year. Japanese subscribers are well accustomed to accepting rich content advertising messages. Mobile operators establish their own mobile advertising agencies to support operators’ business models for mobile advertisements. By 2012, the total value of all mobile advertising and marketing is expected to reach US$1.2 billion in Japan. For more information, see chapter 9, page 108.

- In March 2008 US brand Walt Disney launched as an MVNO on Softbank’s network. MVNOs are common outside Japan, though they have had mixed results. Disney last year hung up on an MVNO in the US that used Sprint Nextel Corp’s network, and in 2006 discontinued a similar service based on its ESPN sports TV network. For more information, see chapter 9.1.4.1, page 112. Yahoo Biz!, 10th Apr 2008

Elsewhere/General: FIFA's Freeze On Technology Stuns Tennis Chief

Football has missed a trick by turning its back on goal-line technology, according to a leading tennis figure. Ian Ritchie, chief executive of the All England Club which runs the Wimbledon championships, said its experience with Hawk-Eye had shown how difficult it was for officials to judge decisions. FIFA last month froze all further experiments on goal-line technology, including the Hawk-Eye system, and Ritchie (pictured right) believes that is a mistake.

Speaking at the Soccerex forum at Wembley, Ritchie said: "I think it was a great shame that there was an opportunity missed on something that is so important. If the technology exists and it definitely works, then why not use it? I thought it was surprising that it was ruled out so quickly without even a pilot or a test." Ritchie said Hawk-Eye demonstrated three out of 10 challenged calls showed the officials had made the wrong decision.

He added: "We introduced Hawk-Eye last year and showed that 70% of the time it proved that the linesman was right, the call was right and it actually demonstrated to most people how difficult the job is for officials and that the margin of in or out is very small and I think in many ways it was positive. Usually if we change anything at Wimbledon there's a torrent of letters from people saying 'you've done something different, we haven't had that in 70 years, why did you do that?' Yet we didn't get one single complaint about Hawk-Eye. Everybody thought it was fantastic. The audience thought it was fantastic on TV, the crowds in the stadium loved it and the players liked it as well. Our view was that, if the technology is available to help the referee or the umpire or the linesmen then I think you should do that." Football Insider, 10th Apr 2008

Elsewhere/General: German and Spanish Leagues Back 39th Match Plan

The English Premier League’s controversial plan to introduce an ‘international round’ was backed on Wednesday by leading officials from the Spanish and German Leagues. Speaking at the Soccerex Forum, Francisco Roca Perez, CEO of the Spanish league, said: "I thought it was a great idea, it seemed quite natural. I was really surprised by the reaction and many of the criticisms were misunderstandings of what the objectives are. I think this first step has reached a mass opposition but eventually it will become normal as this league and these teams are so well liked all over the world.”

Tom Bender, director of marketing for the Bundesliga, also backed the plan, but said it had been badly presented. "It was not sold very well. I think it's a great idea, commercially fantastic, but the repercussion was tremendous and they (the Premier League) did not fight back”, he said. Earlier this year the Premier League proposed to play an extra international round of fixtures, in five cities around the world from the 2010-11 season, but after a widespread opposition and a rejection from the FA, momentum has slowed. Sport Business, Sportcal, 10th Apr 2008