Tuesday, 1st July 2008

INFO BOX

Global Adspend Forecast to Rise 6.6%
ZenithOptimedia Adex Forecast published on Worldscreen, 30th Jun 2008

ZenithOptimedia forecasts that global advertising expenditure will rise 6.6% this year to $517.5 billion, driven by gains in the Asia Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and other developing markets. The research firm has downgraded its 2008 growth forecasts for North America and Western Europe to 3.5% and 3.7%, respectively, while projections for the rest of the world were upgraded from 11.1% to 11.8%. The growth rate is forecast to be 8.5% for the Asia Pacific, 17.4% for Central and Eastern Europe, 17.5% for Latin America and 12.8% for Africa, the Middle East and the rest of the world.

The North American ad market will be worth $195 billion this year, ZenithOptimedia says, followed by Western Europe with $124.4 billion. Asia Pacific is expected to generate $111.5 billion in ad revenues, while $37 billion is expected for Central and Eastern Europe. Adspend in Latin America is forecast to hit $30.9 billion. In Africa, the Middle East and the rest of the world, adspend is projected to reach $18.6 billion.

Developing markets will contribute 62% of ad expenditure growth between 2007 and 2010, and increase their share of the global ad market from 27% to 33%. The U.S. will remain the biggest contributor to global adspend growth in this period, with $17.7 billion, reflecting a 9.9-percent growth rate. Second will be China with $10.2 billion and a 63.5-percent growth rate, followed by Russia with $8.2 billion and a 92.1-percent growth. Rounding out the top five are Brazil with $7.7 billion and 79.6-percent growth and the U.K. with $5.8 billion and 22.8-percent growth. Also in the top ten are India, Japan, South Korea, South Africa and the Philippines.

The U.S. will also remain the biggest ad market by 2010, followed by Japan in third place. The U.K. is expected to move up to third place, with Germany in fourth and China in fifth. The other countries ranked among the top ten ad markets in 2010 will be Brazil, Russia, France, Italy and South Korea.

Television advertising revenues will reach $192 billion this year, $201.9 billion in 2009 and $213.2 billion in 2010, with its share of the market at around 37%. The Internet, meanwhile, is expected to expand its share from 10.2% this year to 13.6% in 2010.


SPORTS SHORTS

* Communications satellite service AsiaSat has been contracted by Eurovision, the distributor of sports and news content for the world's top broadcast and media platforms, to supply multiple transponders on AsiaSat 2 during the Beijing Olympic Games. Eurovision has been using AsiaSat 2 as part of its global network since 1999 to transmit regular and ad hoc live video contribution and distribution feeds to its members and customers between Asia, Australasia and Europe. Televisionpoint.com, 30th June 2008

* About 80 youths attended the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games Youth Creative Retreat June 27-28 and shared with the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee how they envisioned the world’s first youth Olympic Games would be. They also brainstormed on how young people could get involved in the Youth Games. The 80 youths who attended the two-day retreat came from local secondary schools, junior colleges, institutes of higher learning, and other education centres and youth organizations. There were also students attending from Thailand, Vietnam Korea, the Philippines, China, Indonesia and Italy. Sports City, 30th Jun 2008

* Officials from FIBA, the international basketball federation, will be in New Delhi to discuss possible tie-ups with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) as part of its ‘basketball without borders’ initiative. Led by FIBA president Bob Elphinston, the delegation will meet top Indian officials, including sport minister MS Gill and Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi. BFI secretary general Harish Sharma said the FIBA visit should help to raise the profile of the game in India. Sportcal, 30th Jun 2008

* Multi-platform new media company GoTV Networks has signed a syndication and distribution agreement with Destroy Entertainment to bring Destroy's programming to broadband and mobile audiences through GoTV's technology and distribution reach. Destroy's content, which focuses on street culture and action sports, can be easily placed according to GoTV Networks. Daniel Tibbets, executive vice-president and studio chief for GoTV Networks, said: "Destroy Entertainment produces highly targetable short-form content that is an exceptional fit for new media platforms. Taking a wide look at their audience, Destroy produces content that goes beyond the basics of extreme sports and delivers a compelling library, including fringe content, that is sought by their audience." Sports Media, 30th Jun 2008

* Belgian incumbent telco Belgacom has released details of new football packages to be offered to subscribers of its "Belgacom TV" IPTV service, following the company's recent purchase of the broadcasting rights for the national Jupiler League for the next three seasons. Belgacom reports that it had 349,000 customers for Belgacom TV at the end of the first quarter of this year, representing an increase of 44,000 customers during these three months. IPTV-News.com, 30th June 2008

* The first ISAF Sailing World Cup is set to launch at the end of 2008 bringing a new annual series of sailing to the international sports calendar. The World Cup will be open to the sailing events chosen for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions. Sailors from ISAF’s Athletes’ Commission have given the World Cup a resounding thumbs up, whilst ISAF’s TV rights holders from last year’s ISAF Sailing World Championships in Cascais indicated an annual series is a great proposition for their schedules. An ISAF Sailing World Cup Title Sponsor opportunity is now available offering a broad range of excellent benefits with ISAF and across the well established professional events that make up the series. Sports City, Sport Business, Sportcal, 30th Jun 2008

* French riders have backed the FFC, the French cycling federation, in its battle with the UCI, the sport’s world governing body, as the sport prepares for the Tour de France, due to begin on July 5. The French riders yesterday sent a message of ‘support and solidarity’ to the FFC and its president, Jean Pitallier, via the UNCP, the union of professional cyclists. Jean-Claude Ducasse, the former president of the UNCP, said that the riders wanted a ‘return to the voice of wisdom and of dialogue in the interest of all, and especially of cycling.’ Ducasse was succeeded by the former professional rider Pascal Chanteur as president of the UNCP on Saturday. Sportcal, 30th Jun 2008

* The European Championship finals will almost certainly be increased to 24 teams from 2016 after the idea was unanimously agreed by senior officials of all 53 UEFA member nations on Saturday. The recommendation was made at a meeting of the presidents and general secretaries of UEFA members. It came after UEFA president Michel Platini said earlier on Saturday that increasing the size of the European Championship to 20 or 24 teams from 16 finalists would not necessarily diminish the quality of the competition. Sports City, 30th Jun 2008


MORE NEWS

Elsewhere/Broadcast: MotoGP Targets Free-To-Air Exposure

MotoGP rights-holder Dorna Sports has announced a change in strategy that will see the event taken to free-to-air broadcasters. It means that Eurosport, which has traditionally carried the coverage, will cease showing the event at the end of the 2009 season. This means that in the UK, the BBC will screen exclusive coverage of MotoGP next year, while in Spain and Italy, where MotoGP has long-term agreements with TVE and Mediaset respectively, negotiations are ongoing about extending coverage to more hours during the weekend. In Germany, a deal has been signed with a privately owned free-to-air channel, giving the commercial network exclusive coverage for three years until 2011. Meanwhile, negotiations are ongoing in France and other European territories. Dorna Sports confirmed further details would be announced shortly.

A Dorna statement read: “After many years of successful collaboration, MotoGP rights-holders Dorna Sports would like to announce that coverage of the MotoGP World Championships will no longer be available on Eurosport from the 2009 season. Dorna would like to thank Eurosport for a partnership which has been of mutual benefit for several years, having helped take MotoGP to new levels of popularity and coverage whilst also offering the pan-European broadcaster impressive viewing figures. The decision is part of Dorna’s new strategy of working with national network broadcasters around Europe, always focusing first and foremost on free-to-air coverage to bring MotoGP to wider audiences.” Sports Media, Sports Business, 30th Jun 2008

Elsewhere/Rights: Setanta Extends Scottish Premier League Connection in Record Deal

The Scottish Premier League, the top soccer league in Scotland, has more than doubled the value of its domestic television rights after agreeing a four-year, £125-million ($248.8-million) extension with Setanta, the pay-TV operator. Setanta has retained the rights from the start of the 2010-11 season to the end of the 2013-14 season, having previously agreed a £54.5-million deal to show live games until the end of the 2009-10 campaign.

The new deal with Setanta, which works out at an average of £31.3 million per season, is the biggest in the history of the SPL, and Lex Gold, the league’s executive chairman, said it would allow the 12 top flight clubs ‘to reinvest to make the Scottish game even stronger.’ As with the present contract with Setanta, 60 games will be broadcast live each season in the UK and Ireland.

Gold said, ‘No commercial deal comes close to matching what has been achieved today by the SPL and Setanta Sports for our game. We have moved forward with Setanta Sports over the past four years. We look forward to working with them to continue building and developing our league.’

Setanta made its breakthrough in sports rights with the acquisition in 2002 of live SPL games, a property previously held by BSkyB, the rival pay-TV operator. Its output now includes 46 live games per season from England's top-tier Premier League, while BSkyB shows 92.

The BBC, the public-service broadcaster, has a contract until 2012 to broadcast SPL match highlights on television and online via the BBC Sport website. Highlights have also been broadcast by commercial network STV, but this arrangement will not be continuing next season. Sportcal, 30th Jun 2008