Thursday, 3rd April 2008

INFO BOX

Mobile TV Unknown to Most

While the majority of wireless carriers now offer a mobile TV and/or video service, a QuickPlay Media survey shows that 47 per cent of consumers do not know whether or not their carrier offers such a service. "Mobile operators have done an excellent job addressing the cost concerns of consumers with the launch of ‘all you can eat’ data plans. Now, with the growing availability of advanced mobile devices, higher speed networks and high-quality mobile TV and video services, carriers have a further opportunity to drive service adoption by increasing marketing promotion of mobile media services," said Wayne Purboo, president and CEO of QuickPlay Media.

For consumers that are currently using mobile TV and video, the study shows that 71 per cent have a preference for mobile content "snacking" versus setting aside dedicated viewing times.

Forty-one per cent view content in between daily activities, 16 per cent while waiting in line and another 14 per cent while in commuting. Thirty-one per cent of people who have viewed mobile TV or video indicated that they have spent "less than five minutes" doing so and 58 per cent watch mobile TV and video at least 1 to 3 times per month. Fifty-seven per cent of those surveyed would consider the ability to pause and resume content a deciding factor in whether or not they would watch longer forms of content, such as a full-length movie, on a mobile device. ATV, 3rd April 2008


SPORTS SHORTS

* Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme’s (FIM) 2008 Motocross World Championship season will enjoy more television coverage than ever before. The likes of SuperSport, Sport Italia, TV New Zealand, Bandsports, Eurosport 2 and SNTV have all renewed partnerships until at least 2010, and a number of new broadcast partners have come on board for the coming campaign, which will get underway with the Grand Prix of the Netherlands at Valkenswaard on April 6. Motors TV, which is available in 79 countries, will be joined by Kalev Sport in Estonia, Sport TV in Slovenia, TV4 in Sweden, Trans7 in Indonesia and True Visions in Thailand in covering the event. The 2007 Championship attracted a total cumulative audience of 694 million. Sport Insider, 3rd Apr 2008

* Globe Telecom, the Philippines' second-largest phone company, said on Tuesday it expects slower revenue growth this year as rising oil and food prices soak up income used for texting and calling, according to Reuters. However, the possible economic slowdown has not dampened new mobile phone subscribers, which have grown in the first quarter at the same annual pace of 6% as the fourth quarter, Ablaza said. Globe, which has 38 % of the mobile industry against PLDT's 55 %, also said it was looking to raise 7.5 billion pesos in debt this year to partly finance capital expenditure of $400 million-$450 million, the Reuters report further said. telecomasia.net, 3rd April 2008

* ProtoStar has closed $245 million of debt and equity financing to complete the development of its second satellite for Asian DTH operators. The satellite, ProtoStar II, is expected to launch in early 2009 and will provide coverage to South Asia, South East Asia and Indochina. telecomasia.net, 3rd April 2008

* The top brass of the Indian Cricket League appear to be so overwhelmed by the response from cricket lovers in Hyderabad city, that just a day after shifting the second and third finals of the Edelweiss 20s Challenge from Panchkula to here, they have announced their next tournament and named Hyderabad as the venue. The ICL 20s World Series 2008 is a triangular series involving India, Pakistan and the Rest of the World and will be played at the Lal Bahadur Stadium. The seven-match tournament will be held from April 9 to 15. According to the format, each team will play the other twice and the top two teams will clash for the title. All the matches will begin at 7 pm and are to be telecast live on Ten Sports and Zee Sports. Televisionpoint.com, 2nd April 2008

* The unofficial Indian Cricket League has confirmed plans to stage a three-team Twenty20 tournament next month involving sides representing India, Pakistan and the Rest of the World. The 20s World Series will take place in Hyderabad from April 9 to 15, with each team playing the others twice before the top two sides meet in the finals. The ICL’s current Twenty20 competition, the Edelweiss 20s Challenge, which includes seven teams from India and one from Pakistan, is due to finish on Monday and the best players will feature in the international team event. Players taking part in ICL events face being excluded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India and other national boards. The ICL is backed by Essel Group, the owner of broadcaster Zee Telefilms, but is not sanctioned by the BCCI, whose own lucrative Twenty20 competition, the Indian Premier League, is due to start on April 18. Sportcal.com, 2nd April 2008

* The Fédération Internationale de Hockey (FIH) has stated that it is eyeing alternative host countries as doubts continue to build over India's staging of the men’s World Cup Men 2010. The Executive Board of the FIH held meetings last week in Lausanne, Switzerland, with one of the items on the agenda the project of 'Promoting Indian Hockey' and the organisation of the World Cup Men. Earlier this month the FIH warned the Indian Hockey Federation that if its national team's results did not improve then New Delhi will have its staging rights for the 2010 World Cup rescinded. Sport Insider, 2nd Apr 2008

* A consortium of Romanian broadcasters, Intact and communications company RCS RDS will pay €85 millions for the next tree years of broadcasting rights to Romania’s First League football matches from 2008/09 to 2010/11, in a public auction organized Monday by Football League Association. Starting bid at the auction was €54 millions or €18 millions per season. Intact, which controls commercial TV channel Antena 1, received a license for a sports channel earlier this year and RCS-RDS has a DTH platform with 600,000 subscribers. Intact [Antena 1] won in front of Kanal D [owned by Turkish group Dogan], which stopped at €75 million and Realitatea TV stopping at €84.5 million. Blog: Media Details, 1st Apr 2008

* The United States' governing body of figure skating has appointed Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment as its sponsorship and media sales agency. US Figure Skating, which issued a request for proposals (RFP) in January, revealed the deal covers multiple years, but did not disclose the exact length of the contract. "We were extremely pleased with the number and quality of responses we received to our RFP," said David Raith, executive director of U.S. Figure Skating. Sports Media, 2nd Apr 2008

* The International Water Ski Federation (IWSF) has plans to enhance media coverage of the World Cup and news releases will again be distributed to over 12,000 media contacts around the world for every stop. In 2007, reports produced for the IWSF by Mediadvice LLC and Videosol London estimated that the total worldwide TV news and edited TV shows of the World Cup series achieved 296 million viewers over 120 hours. The 2008 World Cup will get underway on July 24 in Dubna and will conclude in November in Hyderabad. Sport Insider, 2nd Apr 2008

* Fifa is reported to have set up a contingency fund of around $800 million to cover the possible collapse of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The fund has been built up because of fears over insurance support for the tournament, according to the UK's Guardian newspaper. In its recently-published financial review for 2007, Fifa said that it was ‘aiming at reserve capital of over $800 million by the end of 2010.’ Munich Re, the German insurance group that insured the 2006 World Cup, has expressed concern about the progress of preparations for the 2010 event. A spokesman for the group said: ‘The situation is quite difficult and fluid. The problem is they need 10 stadiums and some of these are rugby grounds that are run-down and in a very bad condition.’ Sportcal.com, 2nd April 2008

* FIFA and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) have struck a deal that will ensure the 2009 Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup will be distributed in South Africa for non-commercial public viewing. Under the agreement, pubs, clubs, restaurants and bars will not need to apply for a broadcasting licence, so long as they do not charge admission fees or participate in sponsorship activities. Sport Business, 2nd Apr 2008


MORE NEWS

Mid-East/General: A Pivotal Region to Motor Sport’s Future

The Middle East region will play a pivotal role in the future of the motor sport industry, said David Richards during his keynote address on the first day of the Motor Sport Business Forum Middle East. Richards, Chairman of Prodrive and Aston Martin, and a former team principal of the BAR and Benetton Formula One teams, talked about the history of motor sport in the Middle East and what the future holds for the region.

Speaking to a packed auditorium, gathered in the high-tech Ruf factory at the Bahrain International Circuit, he said: “From next year, this region will have six world class race circuits. It shows that the Gulf has become a significant focal point for the motor sport industry.” He added that these circuits have developed a new business model for racing facilities around the world, with the addition of subsidiary businesses to complement the main events on the track. This is evident in Bahrain with the planned creation of a multi-billlion dollar Technology Centre and in Abu Dhabi with the development of the Ferrari World amusement park.

His Excellency Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, chief executive of the Bahrain Economic Development board, talked about the huge impact the introduction of a Formula One Grand Prix has had on the region and on Bahrain in particular. A recent article in the Financial Times revealed that $11.3 billion has been spent on motor sport investment in the Middle East over the last five years.

Sh. Mohammed said that the Grand Prix has become a focal point not just for race fans but for businesses in the region. As he put it: “F1 will be the biggest sporting and social networking event in the Middle East this year.” The two-day Forum is being held at the Bahrain International Circuit, the Home of Motor Sport in the Middle East, in the run-up to this year’s Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. The event has raised enormous interest throughout the region and represents the first time it has taken place outside its traditional home in Monaco. Sportbusiness, 2nd April 2008


ARTICLES, COMMENTS, INTERVIEWS & OPINIONS

How Entertainment Industry Loses Out to Piracy?

There is a need to regulate the cable operators. Particularly, the ones who are illegally beaming newly released movies on their local channels. With the shortening of the window period for a video release to just six weeks after the theatrical release, the need is even more urgent. This is because today they have access to superior quality video. Saturday and Sunday evenings are almost becoming prime time today to beam the latest movies with insertion of advertisements. Such practices could prove unremunerative for the entire entertainment industry, more so for the home video companies and satellite channels.

The entertainment industry benefits as long as a movie buff watches it through a legal source. So if you go to a theatre, the multiplexes and single screen theatres benefit. If you buy a video outright, home video companies like Shemaroo, Moser Baer and Sony benefit. And if it is the idiot box, it is the satellite channels. But with the illegal beaming of cable operators, the entertainment industry as a whole loses. “Cable operators don’t pay for cable rights in India for beaming a movie, as it directly clashes with the satellite rights. Abroad, both these rights are sold separately, particularly in markets where the cable industry is well regulated,” says marketing head of a movie producing company.

The industry believes by regulating the cable industry, it’s quite possible that inflationary pressures on DVD prices could be eased, benefiting customers. This is possible since many movie buffs would plausibly migrate to buying DVDs. Or possibly watch TV benefitting satellite channels. Then, it could also create a level-playing ground for DTH (Direct to Home) providers to compete, since DTH providers buy movie rights for its video on demand service.

Today, there are 75,000 cable operators in the country. And many are seen regularly beaming video on the cable without holding rights. “It is the LCOs (local cable operators) who are responsible for 90% of illegal beaming,” says CEO of a home video company. While MSO (Multi Service operators) largely provide the technology and systems, LCOs have been known to run their own cable channels playing videos of movies and popular songs.

Illegal beaming of movies is not a new phenomenon. It is only that the shortening of the window period for a home video release has aggravated the problem. Even today, there is a parallel entertainment industry that thrives on piracy. So, typically, once the movie gets released on a Friday, the same evening camera prints are made available by the pirates. Subsequently, a downtown theatre is bribed to part with print for 12 hours after the late night show. Then, a master is made from it for release into the market by Saturday. After two weeks, international videos are released formally, which again are smuggled into the Indian market for making copies. Now, with domestic videos releasing early, a good print is avaiable within six weeks for the piracy market to duplicate.

While almost all home video companies have anti-piracy cells (that often work in unison with specialised agencies) to track cable piracy, it seems a lot needs to be done. Perhaps, the size of the cable and satellite homes is itself a concern. Today, there are 110 million homes that have a TV with 70 million having a cable connection. With such wide reach of the cable industry, there is little that companies could do on its own. Regulation is therefore the need of the hour. Perhaps the onus of it could be put on the MSOs. Economic Times, 2nd April 2008