SPORTS SHORTS
* CJ Media, the South Korean cable and satellite broadcaster, has won a wide-ranging package of rights to the Uefa Champions League and the Uefa Cup, European soccer’s top-tier and second-tier clubs tournaments respectively, for three seasons from 2009-10 onwards. The broadcaster has been awarded rights for live, highlights, delayed and magazine programming, and will showcase coverage on Xports, its main pay-television channel, and the XTM and tvN channels. The deal represents a blow to ESPN Star Sports and MBC ESPN, its sports broadcaster in Korea, which shows the Champions League in Korea in a deal expiring at the end of the 2008-09 season. CJ Media has also acquired internet rights, to be exploited on its xportstv.com portal, and mobile rights, in addition to broadcast rights to the Uefa Super Cup, the annual match between the winners of the Champions League and the Uefa Cup, from 2009 to 2011. Sportcal.com, 9th Apr 2008
* Neo Sports Broadcast, the broadcasting arm of Nimbus Communications, has rebranded its two sports channels - Neo Sports and Neo Sports Plus, as Neo Cricket and Neo Sports respectively. Neo Cricket is now exclusively dedicated to cricket events, while Neo Sports will showcase all sports, including cricket, football, tennis, golf, motorsport, badminton, among others. Neo Cricket has the exclusive broadcast rights for all international and domestic cricket played in India. It also has rights for international cricket played in Bangladesh and Kenya as well as BCCI's offshore cricket series. Televisionpoint.com, Indiantelevision.com, 9th Apr 2008
* Broadcasters will soon have to offer to the direct-to-home (DTH) service providers their channels at a price which is at least 50% less than what they give cable networks in non-Cas (conditional access system) areas. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has warned that it would step in to regulate the tariff if broadcasters do not comply with the pricing that would in the regulator's terms push forward digitalisation. TRAI has also told broadcasters that they would have to offer to DTH similar number of bouquets that they were giving to cable operators in non-Cas areas. Broadcasters had submitted to TRAI a pricing of their channels which was higher than the cap suggested by the regulator. They had also offered single bouquets for DTH, contrary to what TRAI had stated. Indiantelevision.com, 9th Apr 2008
* India will be considered by the International Olympic Committee as the host country for the Olympic Games in 2020, claims Suresh Kalmadi, the president of the Indian Olympic Association. Kalmadi said: ‘We have talked with members of the IOC about hosting the games in 2020. IOC chief Jacques Rogge feels that India must get its turn for hosting the games, now that China is doing it.’ Beijing will host this summer’s games in August. New Delhi will host the Commonwealth Games in 2010 and Kalmadi said that India was keen to import Chinese coaches to improve the standards of its athletes for both the Commonwealth and Olympic Games. He said that the issue had been discussed with both the Chinese sports minister and the Chinese Olympic committee. Sportcal, 9th Apr 2008
* Thailand's aviation officials are considering lifting a ban on using mobile phones during flights as studies have indicated their signals do not interfere with aircraft navigation, news reports said Wednesday. "The use of mobile phones on planes may soon be a possibility," Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) deputy director-general Wuthichai Singhamanee told the Bangkok Post. The DCA is seeking more input on the matter from Airbus, Boeing and the pilot association before going ahead with removing a clause in the country's flight safety regulations that currently bans mobile phone use onboard. Several countries have reportedly already lifted their inflight hand phone bans as most aircraft now have shielding devices in their navigation systems that block electromagnetic interference. WebIndia123, 9th Apr 2008
* ARD and ZDF, the German public-service broadcasters, have agreed a deal for the four group games at soccer’s 2008 European Championships which had yet to be allocated in the German market. The two broadcasters had already agreed a €115-million ($181.7-million) deal for 27 of the 31 games and have now secured the four second-choice final group stage fixtures.The package was available to both free-to-air and pay-television broadcasters in Germany. Sportfive, the international sports marketing agency which is distributing media rights to Euro 2008, was originally said to be targeting a total of between €150 million and €160 million from the German market, but a lack of exclusivity for pay-television meant that the expected bidding war did not materialise. Sportcal.com, 9th Apr 2008
* Internet streaming broadcaster, Willow TV, has acquired the television, radio, broadband and Internet rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL) in North America. Headquartered in California, Willow TV has been providing live streaming video of major cricket events since 2003. "The Indian Premier League is the most exciting new development in world cricket and we are delighted to acquire these rights,” said Vijay Srinivasan, CEO, Willow TV. “Willow is pleased to bring this blockbuster event featuring the top stars in world cricket to viewers and listeners in the Americas." Live coverage of the 59-match inaugural season of IPL will start on April 18, 2008. Sportbusiness.com, 9th Apr 2008
* InterVision Network Corporation (IVNET) has joined forces with the World Extreme Fighting Championship (WEF) and Sunrise Studios, Inc. to offer live mixed martial arts events to a global online audience on a pay-per-view basis. Their first broadcast, distributed on the IVNET content delivery network (CDN) and airing on April 26, will feature delayed coverage of the 'King Of The Streets' fight card free of charge, before their second show is screened on a pay-per-view basis on June 21. "The free live webcast will give global exposure to our world-class CDN," said Richard A. Luthmann of IVNET. "We expect no less than 200,000 global users to view this free live MMA event and are looking at an explosive user growth projection." Sports Media, 9th Apr 2008
* Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko, the double world heavyweight champion, will make the next defence of his WBO belt when he takes on number one challenger Tony Thompson of the USA in Germany on July 12. The fight is set to take place at Hamburg’s Color Line Arena. Klitschko unified the WBO and IBF titles when he beat Russia’s Sultan Ibragimov in New York in February. The Thompson bout is yet to be cleared by the IBF as their official challenger is Russian Alexander Povetkin, is due to take on Klitschko later this year or in early 2009. Sportcal, 9th Apr 2008
* AOL, the internet company owned by US media giant Time Warner, has concluded a deal to offer game highlights and other content provided by cable sports broadcaster ESPN. The clips are available via the AOL Video and AOL Sports channels, marking the first time that ESPN is syndicating video content through an internet portal. The programming will include ‘SportsCenter Right Now’, the twice-daily round-up of sports stories, plus highlights and breaking news. In 2007, ESPN.com videos were viewed more than 1.2 billion times, a 54 per cent increase on the previous year. Sportcal.com, Sportbusiness.com, Televisionpoint.com , 9th Apr 2008
MORE NEWS
Asia/General: Telstra Claims Asia’s Top Telecom Honors
Australia’s biggest telco, Telstra, took top honors in the Telecom Asia Awards here tonight, claiming the trophies for Best Asian Carrier and Best Mobile Carrier. It is the first time the full-service provider has won either of the Awards, which have been presented annually to Asian service providers since 1998. Executives from eight carriers from across the Asia-Pacific region were presented with their trophies tonight in a ceremony at the Indigo Pearl in Phuket.
Bill Barney, CEO of Hong Kong-based Pacnet, was voted Telecom CEO of the Year for his role in making the carrier one of the region’s leading managed services and capacity providers. The new Telecom Innovation of the Year award went to Bangladesh cellular firm Grameenphone for its CellBazaar service, which enables users to trade goods and services via a mobile device.
In other awards, Japan’s NTT Communications was voted Best Wholesale Carrier, UK-based Inmarsat took home the Best Satellite Carrier prize, and the fast-growing mobile broadband standard HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access), was voted Best New Technology. Bharti Airtel claimed the Best Indian Carrier trophy. Hong Kong’s PCCW, a pioneer in IPTV, and Philippines incumbent PLDT won the Best Broadband and Best Emerging Markets categories respectively for the fourth year in a row, while BT Asia Pacific was voted Best Managed Services Provider for the third year in succession. The Telecom Asia Award winners were chosen by an independent judging panel for their financial, market, technology and corporate governance performance, backed by research by global IT and telecom consultancy firm Ovum. telecomasia.net, 8th Apr 2008
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