Thursday, 8th May 2008

INFO BOX

TV and Web Combo Ads More Effective
Source: ATV, 8th May 2008

Research from Thinkbox and the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) has shown that using TV and online together in advertising campaigns is significantly more effective for advertisers than using either in isolation. Their combined use produces major benefits for advertisers, including increased positive brand perception amongst consumers – some 50 per cent higher – as well as significantly greater likelihood of purchase.

Conducted by Q Media Research, the UK sample focused specifically on ‘digital consumers’; people who own a digital TV and use broadband Internet, and are medium to heavy users of each. Because the study focuses on the most ‘tech-savvy’ of the UK population – around 25 per cent of its total – the results provide an indication of how future media consumption and consumer behaviour may develop. In terms of their precise media usage, 64 per cent of the sample stated that they sometimes watch TV while using the Internet, whilst 48 per cent stated that they did this most days.

Key findings from the study revealed that using TV and online together results in 47 per cent more positivity about a brand than using either in isolation. The likelihood of buying or using a product increases by more than 50 per cent when TV and online are used together.

Online Spending Hits $172m
Source: Marketing-interactive.com, 7th May 2008

Marketers online advertising spend reached $172 million in the first quarter of 2008, led strongly by the computer & electronics sector. Nielsen Online's quarterly AdRelevance report reveals more than 1,000 advertisers in Hong Kong promoted their brands online in the first three months in 2008, with more than 2,800 advertising campaigns and more than 5.5 billion ad impressions.

On a category basis, computers & electrical accounted for 17% of the total online advertising pie, closely followed by finance at 15%. In third place was the education & learning sector at 12%, with entertainment coming in with a 9% share. Across all categories, Citicorp Group was the largest advertiser in the first quarter in 2008, spending HK$10.3 million on online advertising, with ad impressions of more than 330 million. Coming in at second place was eBay, spending HK$8 million online with 254 million ad impressions.

Joseph Kam, commercial director at Nielsen Online said more and more marketers are using cyber space as a supplementary channel to traditional media. "The Internet provides marketers with a boundless medium to reach an increasingly Internet-savvy and highly mobile audience, giving the online advertising market huge room for growth," he said.

Two Go head-to-head for Singapore Net
Source: Rapid TV News, 7th May 2008

Just two consortia will face off for the right to operate Singapore’s proposed fibre-to-the-home 1Gbps Next Generation National Broadband Network, with incumbent SingTel just a minority player. The winning bidder will get a grant of up to S$250 million to design, build and operate the active infrastructure of the network. Although Singapore’s Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) pre-qualified 11 companies to bid, just two consortia responded to the Request for Proposals – the OpenNet Consortium and the Infinity Consortium.

Companies who registered an interest but did not bid included Alcatel-Lucent, BT Singapore, Deutsche Telekom Asia and Nokia Siemens Networks. SingTel is part of the OpenNet consortium, led by Canada’s Axia NetMedia, an IP services and solutions provider. Axia NetMedia and SingTel both hold 30% of the venture, with media company Singapore Press Holdings and SP Telecommunications owning 25% and 15% respectively.

OpenNet’s proposal involves leveraging SingTel’s exisitng ducting network, which will be turned into an ultra-fast broadband network. And the consortia says its proposal exceeds the government’s requirements, particularly in areas such as timeline (with completion scheduled two and a half years ahead of the government schedule, by June 2010) and design. SingTel’s exiting infrastructure is “critical” but its lack of control is also a positive bonus, says the company.

“It will deliver pristine open access, which is accomplished through: (i) No individual parties having control over OpenNet (ii) Three of the four OpenNet owners are not integrated telecommunications players hence there are no conflicting interests (iii) Network is specifically designed to enable choice by OpenNet customers, large and small (iv) Interests are aligned as OpenNet’s commercial success depends on its customers’ success.”

Art Price, Chairman and CEO of Axia NetMedia, said: “Axia successfully operates Open Access next generation networks in Alberta, Canada and France which give us a unique perspective. We have been very impressed with the sophisticated approach taken by the IDA and our partners in this consortium. “ But rival bidder Infinity Consortium has seized upon the presence of SingTel and is highlighting its own “extensive experience in competing with entrenched incumbents”.

Infinity is owned by Hong Kong’s City Telecom, Singaporean mobile operator M1 and StarHub, which operates pay-TV and telecoms services, including fixed and mobile telephony and cable TV. Terry Clontz, CEO of StarHub, said: “In addition to the Infinity Consortium having the necessary competencies and a genuine commitment to the establishment of an open access regime, it also offers the industry the best, and maybe the last, opportunity for ownership diversification of critical multi-media broadband infrastructure in Singapore.”

Aussies Watch Cricket More Than Any Other Sport on TV
Source: Newkerala.com, 7th May 2008

Australians love cricket more than any other game, at least when it comes to watching sport on TV, according to new research figures out Wednesday. As many as 47 percent Australians watch cricket on TV as against 41 percent who watch Australian Football League (AFL); 33 percent watch tennis, 25 percent watch National Rugby League, 18 percent watch golf, and 10 percent watch Rugby Union.

The research figures are from a sample of about 50,000 Australians interviewed by Roy Morgan, an Australian market research company headquartered in Melbourne. Cricket Australia (CA) CEO James Sutherland said it was encouraging to see the new Roy Morgan research findings. The data coincides with CA's own research showing that the Australian cricket team is very popular. That research rated the team and all of its individual players very highly and noted that 83 percent of respondents regarded them as good role models for children.



"That (CA) research, part of our regular measurement of cricket as a brand, combined with our data on public interest in cricket and also combined with new cricket census figures showing record numbers playing formal, organised cricket, tells us that cricket is in good shape," Sutherland said. "But drilling into the data shows that cricket, and indeed all sports, need to do more work to win female support," he added. The figures showed only 36 percent of women watched cricket on TV, 34 percent watched AFL, 33 percent watched tennis and 12 percent watched golf.

Australian cricket, at national and state cricket association levels, has identified better engagement of females of women and girls in all aspects of cricket as a strategic priority. This includes making the game more accessible for female players, developing Twenty20 cricket with an eye to catching the attention of new female fans, reviewing event presentation at venues, understanding and addressing the specific consumer needs of females, and lobbying media to provide greater coverage to women's cricket.



Australia also bid aggressively to win the right to defend its title as International Cricket Council Women's World Cup holder on Australian soil next year. The ICC Women's World Cup will be staged in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, with eight teams contesting the title in a series of one-day internationals to be played in March 2009.


SPORT SHORTS

* The final domestic tickets for the events in Beijing and Hong Kong at this year's Olympic Games sold out today. The last batch of 1.38 million tickets were snapped up in just three days this week. However, the Beijing organising committee said that tickets remain for the venues in co-host cities Shanghai, Shenyang, Tianjin and Qinhuangdao, where soccer matches will be played. The latest ticket window opened on Monday and in a one-hour period the website recorded 27 million hits. There were complaints that the system was running slowly although the organisers maintained that the site coped with the heavy demand. The organising committee was left embarrassed last October when the computer system crashed, forcing tickets to be sold on a lottery basis. Sportcal.com, 7th May 2008

* Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom will set up a $30 million internet data joint venture with Vietnam's Viettel, as part of its efforts to expand overseas. The carrier hopes to grow its business with overseas investments and projects as Taiwan's home market slows with the saturation of the island's mobile market. Viettel will own a 70% stake while CT will take the remaining 30% stake. The company started investments in Vietnam and Thailand and plans to expand in Southeast Asian. Viettel, owned by the Vietnam military, has become a dominant operator in the country, taking up a third of the mobile phone market. In 2006, it became Vietnam's first telecoms firm to invest abroad when it started VOIP services in Cambodia, then mobile phone, fixed-line and internet services. Viettel competes with Vinaphone and MobiFone, both mobile phone providers owned by state-run Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications. telecomasia.net, 8th May 2008

* Singapore’s integrated telecom carrier StarHub is to launch a six-month trial of femtocell technology to deliver 3G/3.5 mobile services at home. Anil Nihalani, head of StarHub mobile services, said about 200 customers who are using both the company’s mobile and residential broadband services will take part in the trail, the first of its kind in Singapore. They will be able to use various mobile services, including voice and video call, SMS, MMS and other data services, delivered through a plug-and-play femtocell access point which will be connected to their residential broadband at home. Nihalani said only W-CDMA and HSPA terminals are supported by the femtocells and StarHub will provide the services and the access point for free. Chinese vendors Huawei Technologies and ZTE will supply the femtocell solution for the trial. telecomasia.net, 8th May 2008

* Sharing of country-specific videos online is easier now with the popular YouTube donning the Indian avatar -- YouTube.co.in -- from Wednesday. "India is one of the fastest growing market for us. In one year it has become the 15th fastest growing user of YouTube,'' YouTube International Manager Sakina Arsiwala said. YouTube India would feature a localised homepage and search functions, allowing users to create and share and discover videos relevant in India and connect with other Indian and global users, she added. The content uploaded by users in India would show up as 'top favourite' and 'recommended content' on the local YouTube site. The Web site also aims to facilitate connections among large Indian NRI community, Ms Arsiwala added. The Hindu Business Line, 7th May 2008

* The Australian market for IPTV and Internet video is less developed than many other international markets, with fewer than five IPTV providers and fifteen Internet video providers offering full-length professional content directly to consumers, according to a report by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. Industry participants interviewed for the study believed that IPTV and Internet video will become more common in Australia in the future but there was disagreement over the actual timeframe, with estimates ranging from 18 months to three years. Internet video providers believed that capped plans for broadband access and the cost of downloads were important barriers to take-up and deployment. Capital expenditure requirements were cited as a major barrier for potential IPTV deployments, although this may become less important with a national fibre to the node (FTTN) network rollout. ATV, 8th May 2008

* The World Taekwondo Federation has become the second international sports federation to adopt the 2009 edition of the World Anti-Doping Code. The code, which was approved by the World Anti-Doping Agency, last autumn will be implemented into the rules of the WTF on January 1. FINA, the international swimming federation, has already confirmed that it will adhere to the code from the start of next year. The code was approved at the general assembly of the WTF in Cesme, Turkey yesterday ahead of the WTF World Junior Taekwondo Championships. Sportcal.com, 7th May 2008

* Meanwhile, Mexico was awarded the 2010 Taekwondo World Junior Championships, which will be held in the state of Baja California. Meanwhile, WTF president Chungwon Choue announced that Turkey will host the 3rd WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships this December. Taekwondo poomsae has also been included on the official programme of the 2009 World University Games in Belgrade, along with taekwondo kyorugi. Five countries were officially accepted as new members of the WTF, taking the total membership to 188. The new entrants are Gambia, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Montenegro and Uganda. Sportcal.com, 7th May 2008

* Freecaster.tv will begin broadcasting live coverage of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup after reaching an agreement with the UCI, cycling’s world governing body. Freecaster will offer extensive action from the major World Cup events, in addition to daily reports throughout the 2008 season. However, viewers in the USA will not be able to access the live coverage due to geo-blocking restrictions. Fraser Britton, who will head up the production team, said he hoped the Freecaster streaming would ‘show potential outside sponsors that mountain biking is a viable advertising outlet.’ In September, Freecaster offered its live coverage of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships for the first time. It had previously only offered highlights of the event. Freecaster’s World Cup coverage starts today with the first round in Maribor, Slovenia. Sportcal.com, 7th May 2008


MORE NEWS

Indonesia/Broadcast: Pay-TV Growing

Indonesia has almost shockingly-low pay-TV penetration, at just two per cent of the country’s 40 million-plus TV homes, according to new research. But while still low, the report says that subscriptions have doubled over the last year, with growth “brisk” and up to 785,000. Major pay-TV operators include front-runner Indovision, a DTH operator, and rivals Kabelvision and Telkomvision. Released to coincide with its round-table on Indonesia’s pay-TV industry, the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) has updated its Indonesia in View report.

Casbaa said: “A newly competitive environment has seen operators differentiate consumer offerings through premium content, while some have secured new channels and launched additional local-language programming such as a new Muslim channel and music channels. The launch of low cost pre-paid services has also driven pay-TV take up,” adds the report. Nevertheless, the report continues, “unauthorized redistribution remains a significant issue, although regulator KPI is attempting to curb the problem through announcements in two provinces that unauthorized distributors must become resellers for licensed pay-TV operators or face legal sanctions.”

Competition over the next year should pick up further, with five preliminary licenses for satellite-delivered pay-TV issued in September 2007. There are a further 28 companies waiting to hear whether their applications have been successful. Rapid TV News, Indian Television, 7th May 2008

India/Broadcast: Cineplexes Keen on Screening IPL, F1 Series

In a bid to derisk their business model, multiplex owners are turning to sports to generate an alternate source of revenues. While PVR Cinemas would test-pilot the screening of the entire F1 series and Euro 2008, others like Adlabs and Inox are also keen on screening sports content like the Indian Premier League (IPL) to sustain occupancies. PVR Cinemas has acquired the theatrical rights from Star India to showcase the entire F1 series. In addition the multiplex chain would show some of the key matches of soccer series — Euro 2008. PVR Cinemedia CEO Gautam Dutta said: “We are partnering the UB Group (Kingfisher brand) for the live screening of F1 series in select cities from May 11.

It will be our first experiment with live sports series. We believe that as a multiplex player we need to transform ourselves into a complete entertainment brand.” UB Group, which owns Force India, would partner with PVR and sponsor some of these races by inviting F1 enthusiasts to watch the races. Mr Dutta added that initially the revenue stream through sports content would be low, given the fact that F1 has niche audience. However, it has the potential to become a significant alternate revenue stream.

Adlabs Cinemas, which is in the process of building megaplexes in 15 cities, has said in the past that it would look at screening sports and other genre of content. This would be necessary as it will be unviable to screen only films in these megaplexes, believe experts. The Indian Premier League has already caught the fancy of multiplex players. High costs per screen is currently making it economically unviable for cineplexes to show the entire series. However, all multiplexes are in the fray to screen at least the last key matches. Inox Leisure COO Alok Tandon said: “We are looking for the best viable options to be able to screen sports content, as and when they happen. We are even in talks to screen IPL matches and would like to show at lease the last few matches.”

With real estate prices going on an overdrive and movie producers asking for higher margins, sports could emerge as an interesting alternative. Says AT Kearney principal Debashish Mukherjee: “Movies would be the primary source of revenues for multiplex players. Sports, if well timed, can also bring in good revenue for movie exhibition players.” Mr Mukherjee added that usually movie producers release their movies during summer, Diwali or in the Christmas season. “If sports content can help fill in the gaps for cineplexes, it can be an add-on source of revenue,” he said. Indian Times, 8th May 2008