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