Friday, 2nd May 2008

DID YOU KNOW?

UK Leads Europe for Watching Sport on TV
Source: Sportcal.com, 1st May 2008

People in the UK watch more sport on television than in any other European country, according to a survey by LG Electronics, the Korean electronics giant. Nearly one quarter of the population spend between nine and 30 hours a week watching sport on television. The study also found that half of Europeans will watch the Olympic Games, while just over one third will watch the 2008 European soccer Championships, reports HDTV news. Just over one in five will watch cycling’s Tour de France, with just under one in five planning to watch various tennis tournaments. Nine in 10 Europeans said they’d rather stay at home and watch sport than watch the event live or in a bar. Anthony Yang, general product manager for LG Electronics, said: ‘This research indicates that watching sport on TV is a key part of the average European's lifestyle, firmly embedded in their weekly routine. ‘With so many planning to follow the Olympics and Euro 2008 as well as other key sporting events from the comfort of their homes, TV will play a central role in enjoying this year's sporting activities.’


SPORT SHORTS

* The Japan Consortium, an association of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) and NAB (The National Association of Commercial Broadcasters in Japan), has acquired the Japanese broadcasting rights for the Vancouver 2010 and the London 2012 Olympic Games from the International Olympic Committee. The Japan Consortium was selected on its capacity to reach the broadest possible audience on a variety of broadcast platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription television and digital media, internet and mobile phone, and for its commitment to promoting the Olympic Games and the values of the Olympic Movement. The agreement also includes sublicensing of broadcast rights to specific platforms. Sportbusiness.com, Worldscreen, Sportcal, Sportcal, 4th Apr 2008

* Third-generation (3G) mobile phone service is ready for use in the upcoming Beijing Olympics. China Mobile and South Korean cell phone producer Samsung presented 15,000 3G handsets, plus data cards to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 29th Olympic Games last week. Work staff and volunteers of the Games can enjoy high-speed data transmissions, which allow them to watch televised games, play videos, and surf the internet on cell phones. The service is based on the Chinese 3G standard, TD-SCDMA. China Mobile has finished construction of the TD-SCDMA network in eight cities, five of which are to host events for the Olympics in August. The International Telecommunication Union has recognized TD-SCDMA as one of the world's three official 3G standards in 2000. The other two are Europe's W-CDMA and North America's cdma2000. telecomasia.net, 2nd May 2008

* CDMA operator Tata Teleservices Ltd on Thursday said it has crossed three million subscribers in Delhi and NCR. Delhi and NCR markets contribute over three million subscribers to the total user base of 10 million in the northern hub, the company said in a statement. In April to March period, it added 11.58 lakh subscribers in the region. "We will strengthen our presence across the north hub and our focus will always remain on providing superior communication experience to our customers," said the Circle Operating Of ficer (Delhi and NCR) of Tata Teleservices Mr Vineet Bhatia. The Hindu Business Line, 1st May 2008

* Mobile operator Tata Indicom has launched a range of value added services (VAS) around the Indian Premier League (IPL), offering match updates, and giving its subscribers a chance to win prizes by taking part in various contests.The mobile telephony market is showing a lot of promise, where VAS are increasingly a growth area. It is attracting wireless operators, handset manufacturers, content developers, music and film companies, cartoon artists, game makers and musicians for ring tones, music, gaming, sports, mobile imagery, WAP, wall papers, logos, SMS based contests and streaming audio and video. Television Point, 30th Apr 2008

* UAE telco Etisalat says it has earmarked up to US$4bn for either an acquisition, or license to operate, in India. Mohammed Omran, chairman of Etisalat, says the time is right for a purchase and indicated that Etisalat could spend between $1bn to $4bn depending on the opportunities and the percentage of a business that was available. Etisalat is already on record as saying it has held talks with several Indian businesses, including Spice Communications. Etisalat has had an operating monopoly in the UAE for many years, and also part-owns the nation’s second telco, Du. India is an extremely buoyant cellular market with around 8m new mobile subs being added each month. The nation has an estimated 250m mobile users. Rapid TV News.com, 1st May 2008

* The National Basketball Association (NBA) has tied up with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and is all set to organize the game's first ever global development and community outreach programme in India named 'Basketball without Borders' here from July 3. The camp will use basketball to influence positive social change in the country and involve current and former NBA players and team personnel to work as coaches. Top basketball players in the age group of 19 and under from across Asia will converge in the Capital to take part in the camp. The organizers also announced that Asia's leading broadcaster ESPN Star Sports will provide coverage of the camp and will have unique and exclusive behind the scenes access of the event. Since, the launch of its inaugural camp in 2001, 'Basketball without Borders' has been staged in nine countries and territories of five continents. Yahoo! News, 1st May 2008

* Fox Sports president Ed Goren said he is not worried about discussed changes to the format of college football's Bowl Championship Series (BCS). His network is entering the third year of a four-year, US$320-million deal with the BCS, which is considering a change to the way it structures its competition. However, Goren does not mind what the competition does so long as Fox covers it. Fox broadcasts the Sugar, Orange and Fiesta bowls, plus the national title games attached to those games in the double-host format. The Rose Bowl has a separate contract with ABC that runs through to the 2014 game. Sports Media, 1st May 2008

* Reliance Entertainment's online and offline movie rental service BigFlicks.com, and Willow TV, a portal for live Internet streaming of cricket in the US, have announced a partnership for offering Indian Premier League (IPL) match viewing in the US. The parties have announced a "Ticket to Cricket" offer. The joint offer started from 18 April, 2008 and will run until the finals of the IPL on 1 June, 2008 and will be available to all customers in the Americas. Indiantelevision.com, 30th Apr 2008

* Diego Maradona's daughter Dalma will star in a documentary about the passion of Boca Juniors fans . Producer Dario Naftulewicz came up with the idea of documenting the fans' passion for the Buenos Aires giant and Dalma has been chosen to front the project about the club, where her father used to play. The film will be called 'Boca, A Love Story' and the 21-year-old Dalma told the Clarin newspaper: "I always say that, even if my father hadn't made me a Boca fan, I would have been anyway. The idea is to record what people feel about Boca, how this love was born. It will consist of six episodes." The documentary will be watched around the world as rights have already been sold to a number of different countries. Football Insider, 30th Apr 2008

* Total prize money for this year’s Wimbledon will increase by 4.7% to £11,812,000, according to the All England Club. The men’s and women’s champions will receive £750,000 each, an increase of 7.1%, whilst prize money for each of the men's and women's doubles events will top £1 million pounds for the first time, with the winning pairs receiving £230,000. The AELTC also said building work to fit a retractable roof for the 2009 Championship was on schedule. The Championships have regularly run into the middle Sunday due to bad weather at the tour's grass court Grand Slam tournament, but organisers confirmed yesterday that they will stick with a 13-day schedule, despite strong arguments in favour of making `People’s Sunday` a permanent fixture. This year’s tournament runs from June 23 to July 6. Sport Business, Sportcal, 30th Apr 2008

* The World Squash Federation (WSF) has received a boost in its bid to get squash recognised as an Olympic sport. The sport, along with baseball, golf, karate, roller sports, rugby and softball, has been included on the shortlist of sports under consideration for the 2016 Games. Played by around 15 million people on all five continents, squash has vigorously campaigned to join the Olympic Games programme, but a series of near misses has kept it off the roster. In 2005, squash was voted into the London 2012 Games ahead of karate, roller sports, rugby and golf, but then failed to achieve the two-thirds majority required to become ratified as an Olympic sport. Now, following an extensive global campaign by the WSF, International Olympic Committee (IOC) Sports Director Christophe Dubi has notified WSF President Jahangir Khan that the sport will be considered for the 2016 Games. Sport Insider, 30th Apr 2008

* The International Cricket Council today issued a request for proposals from media companies to produce, market and distribute DVDs, videos and other so-called 'fixed media' featuring footage from ICC events, the first time that the ICC has sought to agree a long-term deal in this area. The ICC said that it plans to license the rights to use this intellectual property for the period up to 2012, 'in order to ensure that both ICC and its media company have a real incentive to invest in effective product and brand development.' The films will incorporate footage from ICC events including the Cricket World Cup, Champions Trophy and World Twenty20. The ICC said that the request for proposals 'is aimed at attracting media companies experienced in the production, marketing and distribution of sport films internationally. Sportcal.com, 1st May 2008


MORE NEWS

China/Rights: Beijing Internet Rights in China Sold for Below Market Value

CCTV, the Chinese state broadcaster, acquired the internet rights in China for this summer’s Beijing Olympics for well below the market value after the intervention of the Chinese government, it has been claimed. A senior source close to the International Olympic Committee told Sportcal.com that the IOC had been intent on an open bidding process, but that the domestic internet portal rivals Sohu.com, an official sponsor of the games, and Sina.com withdrew their bids under threat from the government.

The deal eventually signed by the IOC with CCTV last December, following months of negotiations, was said to be worth between $7 million and $8 million – half what was offered by one of the rival bidders. Besides the loss of income, there was said to be concern within the IOC that online broadcasting was not CCTV’s core competency, in the way that it is for Sina and Sohu,.

However, Timo Lumme, the IOC's director of television and marketing, played down the concerns, telling Sportcal.com: 'It was critical that the IOC worked with all bidders to make sure they understood the value of the rights and demonstrated that they would fully exploit these rights in mainland China, whilst also providing satisfactory guarantees of anti-piracy and security measures.

'The IOC wants to ensure that Olympic fans have access to the best possible Olympic coverage in 2008 and our partnership with CCTV.com will mean the digital broadcast rights holder will be able to do just that by developing exciting joint executions across all media platforms with CCTV.'

Lumme told Sportcal.com last December that the CCTV agreement represented a 'significant rights fee, in any terms,' in recognition of the value of the rights in the host territory and the competition for the rights. CCTV already holds the television rights for the games in a deal agreed in 1998 through its membership of the Asian Broadcasting Union. The broadcaster obtained the television rights relatively inexpensively, at a time when the hosting of the games had not yet been awarded to China.

Meanwhile, Sohu has announced a fivefold jump in profits, thanks in part to a boost in traffic created by Beijing Olympic news, pictures, and videos, which has in turn spurred companies such as Samsung and Adidas to buy more advertising space. Online coverage of the games in China has been a source of contention between Sohu.com and 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. Sohu also claims that its deal with organisers means that Olympic sponsors can only use Olympic marks on Sohu.com, but the IOC has rejected the claim, maintaining that all media can accept Olympic advertising. Sportcal, 1st May 2008

Malaysia/Broadcaster: Media Prima to Share Sports Broadcast Rights with RTM

Media Prima Bhd plans to collaborate with national broadcaster Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) to bid for and share broadcast rights of sports programmes. The idea for such a collaboration was mooted by RTM, and had received the support of the Ministry of Information, said Media Prima chairman Datuk Abdul Mutalib Mohamed Razak. “Instead of competing with each other, we are complementing each other. For example, if there are three or four matches a day, they can’t show all games. So, we can share the broadcast rights for the viewers’ benefit,” he told reporters after Media Prima’s AGM here yesterday.

Its group managing director and chief executive officer Abdul Rahman Ahmad stressed that the collaboration would be limited to the sharing of broadcast rights, and not in any form of joint ventures. On Media Prima’s proposed media fund of up to US$150 million (RM477 million), Abdul Rahman said it was in talks with five to seven private equity fund investors and international media companies that had expressed interest in participating in the fund. “The progress has been good. The feedback has been positive,” he said, adding that it would be able to close the fund latest by early third quarter.

On the current year’s earnings prospects, Abdul Rahman said that while the earnings growth would continue to be supported by its television network, the company would expand its radio networks, outdoor media and new media divisions more aggressively. He noted that global economic uncertainty would remain a challenge for the growth of advertising expenditure. “Generally, TV advertising growth tends to correlate closely to economy growth. We aspire to grow faster than the market and get more market share, but we are relying on the economic growth,” he said. The Edge Daily, 30th Apr 2008

Japan/General: Suspension of Japan Basketball Association to Be Lifted

FIBA, the international basketball federation, has said today that the suspension of the Japan Basketball Association will be lifted shortly and the national women's team can enter a qualification event for this year's Beijing Olympic Games. The JBA was suspended by the Japanese Olympic Committee on March 18 for failing to resolve internal conflicts and hold elections for the board for almost a year. This threw into doubt the women’s team’s participation in FIBA events, including the Olympic qualifying tournament in Madrid from June 9 to 15. However, following meetings with Japanese basketball officials in Tokyo and positive developments at the JBA’s extraordinary congress this week, FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann has said that the suspension will be lifted and the team can continue its preparations for forthcoming competitions. The JBA’s members have now selected nominees for board membership and approved the activity plans and financial reports for 2008.

The suspension will not be lifted until the next meeting of the JOC executive board, but, in the meantime, the Japanese women have been cleared to play in the Olympic qualifying event and the 2nd FIBA Diamond Bowl for Women in Haining, China from August 2 to 5. The Olympic Games run from August 14 to 28. Baumann, a member of the International Olympic Committee, said: ‘The institutional developments over the past couple of days have been long overdue and are very encouraging. ‘We expect now JBA to stop the infighting and appoint without delay a new president so that the relationships with both FIBA and the JOC can be normalised rapidly. FIBA will therefore closely monitor the compliance of JBA with their latest resolutions.’

At its meeting in Beijing last week, the FIBA central board received reports on the conflicts in Japan, Mexico and the Philippines. On the recommendation of FIBA Americas, the global body has decided to de-recognise the leadership of the Mexican Basketball Federation. However, it has reaffirmed its support for the national association in the Philippines, whose authority and performance has been questioned at home. Sportcal.com, 1st May 2008

Elsewhere/Rights: Football 'Worth More Than League'

The battle of Australia's football codes is not consigned to western Sydney, with football's TV rights tipped to rival that of the AFL when a new deal is nutted out in 2013. Leading media buyer and analyst Harold Mitchell claims that football's deal may surpass the NRL's $500 million deal and rub shoulders with the AFL. Mitchell, the man who advised the AFL when it signed the unprecedented $780 million TV deal, predicted that Football Federation Australia's bargaining power would top the $100 million-a-year mark by the time the rights are up for renewal.

"The soccer rights should be a $100 million-a-year sport by 2013," Mitchell said. "It could be equal to the AFL by then if it is properly presented. "No doubt it could surpass the NRL. The reason is it can grow into all the states, southern and western. Where the NRL is very strong in New South Wales and Queensland, soccer can grow into new areas more easily and readily. Also what's developing is that mums want their kids to play soccer. "They don't like thuggery so it's perfectly positioned as a family sport. It's minimal contact. It's of high appeal and it is a fast-moving game for TV. Plus it's short."

His argument is supported by the Professional Footballers Association, whose research indicates that football's TV rights - the A-League and Australia matches packaged together - will eventually surpass those of the NRL. PFA chief executive Brendan Schwab, a former vice-president of AFL club Richmond, believes the TV rights will be lucrative if A-League teams are introduced in western Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast before the next deal.

"The question is when, not if," Schwab said in reference to surpassing the NRL's TV rights. "We may not be No1, but the key is being the No.2 sport in every Australian market. "The Socceroos can be the No.1 national team in Australia, with a regular audience of one million and up to 3.5 million for big games. "Packaged together, these media rights can provide a commercial platform that will sit only behind the AFL in the medium to long term."

Football's current seven-year, $130 million deal with Fox Sports was lucrative at the time it was signed - after just one A-League season. But it was also signed on the eve of the 2006 World Cup, and Mitchell said the rights even now would be worth considerably more. In football's favour is the fact that FFA chief executive Ben Buckley was the man who brokered the AFL's $780 million deal. Foxsport, 16th Apr 2008

Elsewhere/General: Lagardere Eyes Top Spot in Sports

French media to aerospace group Lagardere (LAGA.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday it wanted to become the world leader in the fast-growing sports sector within three to five years but had no plans to own a French soccer club. Chief Executive Arnaud Lagardere also told the annual shareholders meeting that the group had not yet decided what it would do with its 20% stake in French pay-TV group Canal Plus. Lagardere confirmed at the meeting the group's guidance for 2008 underlying profit growth of between 3 percent and 7 percent for the media business.

"Sports is a very strong growth business that will consolidate in coming years. We are thinking of becoming the world leader in sports within three to five years, " he said. Asked if the company, which bought sports rights marketing firm SportFive last year, was considering buying troubled French soccer club Paris St Germain (PSG), Lagardere said, "Owning a French club, this is not in my thoughts, neither the PSG, nor Marseille, nor any other club."

On Lagardere's plans for its 20% stake in Canal Plus, he said: "We have not taken a decision yet. We can either go to 30 percent or sell it." The world's biggest publisher of consumer magazines such as Elle and Paris Match, Lagardere made a string of acquisitions in 2007 and early 2008 to expand its reach in the fast-growing sports and Internet sectors. Lagardere Active CEO Didier Quillot repeated that the group, which recently speeded up its Internet expansion with the purchase of Web content publisher Doctissimo, was now one year ahead of its goal to generate between 5 percent and 10 percent of its sales from the digital business in 2009. Reuters, 29th Apr 2008


ARTICLES, COMMENTS, INTERVIEWS & OPINIONS

Top 10 to Watch for at Olympics
By Greg Couch, Chicago Sun-Times Columnist, 30th Apr 2008

In China today, they're planning to celebrate. The countdown sign near Tiananmen Square goes to 100. Today is 100 days until the start of the Beijing Olympics. One hundred singers will perform a song marking the final countdown, and 10,000 runners are expected to compete in a marathon. The start of Olympic buzz? Well, yes. There. But in the United States, we usually start paying attention roughly 15 minutes before the Opening Ceremony. That means Aug. 8. Here's a list of 10 people or things you might be looking at then:

1. Kobe Bryant: His image is just about remade now, even though he'll always be the pretend Jordan to me. But Bryant finally can get the universal love he wants when he brings the basketball gold medal back to the United States. The team should win, and it had better. The whole idea of these last four years was to justify losing to Puerto Rico in Athens and settling for the bronze. The accepted argument? U.S. players are still better than everyone else, just not as interested or patriotic.

2. The Dalai Lama: He has stolen the Olympic spotlight. The protests in Tibet have led to protests around the world following the running of the Olympic Torch. The cry is over Tibet, Darfur and human-rights atrocities. Some countries likely will boycott the Opening Ceremony. Meanwhile, Chinese officials are blaming the Western world and media for trying to take cheap shots at them. How will protesters be dealt with? Will they be run off violently on international TV?

3. Americans on the (silver) medal stand: China is going to kick the world's butts in medal count. It has flooded its sports programs with money the last several years to look good this August. Some have suggested that China hasn't sent its A-team to international events, so it can spring surprise winners at the Olympics. ''I don't see China doing the clandestine, shadow team I've read about,'' Steve Roush, USOC chief of sport performance, said a few weeks ago in Chicago. ''Russia, China and the U.S. all [have] legitimate shots [at winning the medal count].'' But then he let the truth slip out about China. ''It's a country of 1.3 billion people,'' he said. ''It's all a numbers game. They have infused large amounts of resources.'' Then Roush, USOC CEO Jim Scherr and chairman Peter Ueberroth started to tell a sad tale of the United States needing help from its corporate sponsors. Yes, poor U.S. sports teams.

4. Michael Phelps: He's the U.S. star of the Games, not counting basketball. Phelps was supposed to be the next Mark Spitz in Athens in 2004. But when he didn't win a bunch of golds right off, it was a letdown. If you don't remember, he ended up winning eight medals, including six golds. Now, at 22, he's not a kid anymore. Now he really is the next Spitz.

5. Anyone you can make out: The pollution is so awful in Beijing that at times you can't see much of anything. Some U.S. teams plan to train in Japan in the final days before the Games. Haile Gebrselassie, the world's best distance runner, told Reuters he won't run the marathon in Beijing out of fear the pollution might damage his body. China is so concerned about bad PR from the pollution that it's instituting an exceedingly harsh plan to shut down industries, curtail driving and suspend construction projects. IOC chairman Jacques Rogge thought it necessary this month to announce that the air will not be harmful to athletes. U.S. team health officials are suggesting that the athletes wear special masks in the days before the Games. I asked U.S. swimmer Tara Kirk if you can train in a way that allows you to get used to the pollution. She joked that she could swim in a dirty pool.

6. The Lopez family: You won't have to look past a cereal box to see brothers Steven and Mark Lopez and sister Diana, from Sugar Land, Texas. They all have made the U.S. tae kwon do team, and they'll be coached in Beijing by older brother Jean. They're all good-looking, chatty and likable, too. In other words, a marketer's dream. ''Marky does his flips [when he wins],'' Diana said. ''Steve is the golden boy. Everyone's looking at him all the time.'' And you? ''I'm the tough one.''

7. The swimsuit: This thing already is getting out of hand. World records are falling, and the swim world is crediting/ blaming the new Speedo LZR, a modern suit that supposedly increases buoyancy. The claim is that it's cheating to wear one. The Italian swimming federation is having scientists study the suit. A swimsuit on steroids? Maybe. Or maybe there's another reason for performance enhancement.

8. Chicago 2016 people: In June, the IOC will produce its short list of potential host cities for the 2016 Summer Games. If Chicago makes it, the city will send a contingent to Beijing to monitor the Games/trumpet the city. Here's a guess: Chicago will be on the short list. The final site will be announced in October 2009. Another guess: Someone else will be named that day.

9. Chicago athletes: You have to look hard, but wrestlers Joe Williams of Chicago and Lindsey Durlacher of Buffalo Grove have a shot at a medal. Williams finished fifth in Athens, saying he lost focus at a crucial moment. That has been eating away at him. Diver Kelli Bryant is from Chatham, near Springfield. And softball pitcher Jennie Finch, a member of the Chicago Bandits, is almost sure to win gold.

10. The U.S. track team: It has become the face of the Olympic steroid problem, surpassing the old East German women's swim team. First Marion Jones was busted, and now the New York Times reports that several others are potentially about to fall, too. Olympic officials have plans for a seriously stepped-up testing program.