Tuesday, 22nd July 2008

DATA BOX

Badminton #1 Racket Sport in England
Hallam Uni. Sport Industry Research Centre study results on Sport Business, 21st Jul 2008

Badminton is the number one racket sport in England according to research by the Sport Industry Research Centre (SIRC) at Sheffield Hallam University.

According to the figures, over four million people played badminton last year, around 8.6 per cent of the population, with 1.5 million of those playing on a regular basis. The report also found over 500,000 children played at least 10 times per year out of school with 12 per cent of secondary school pupils taking part regularly – which is five times the comparable adult participation rate.

Badminton England Chief Executive, Adrian Christy, said: “These figures reveal that badminton is a mass participation sport across England. We are bucking the trend, exhibiting strong growth across a variety of sectors and groups. Badminton is alive and kicking in England. This report provides proof that our game is growing as a sport for all, with our popularity to children building a large base of players from which we aim to produce future champions."

The findings support previous analysis by Sport England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which suggested that badminton bucked a trend of static sport participation rates between 2002 and 2006.

Asia-Pacific to Reach 171mn Broadband Subscribers by End-2008
Frost & Sullivan study results published on IPTV-News.com, 21st July 2008

The Asia-Pacific region will be home to 171mn broadband subscribers by the end of this year, up from 129.7mn at the end of 2007, according to a new study released by Frost & Sullivan. Growth in the region is expected to be driven by the increasing popularity of video on demand and video sharing websites, multiplayer online gaming and social networking services such as Facebook.

Asia-Pacific's broadband market, comprised of 13 countries including Singapore, South Korea, Japan, China and Hong Kong, is expected to grow at an annual compound rate of 19.9% through 2013, when it will reach 321.8mn subscribers. Total broadband revenue for the region reached US$28.1bn last year according to the study, and is expected to grow by 7.1% up to 2013 when it will reach US$42bn. Household penetration is expected to more than double from 15.2% at the end of last year to 33.7% by the end of 2013.


SPORTS SHORTS

* The pre-season soccer friendly match between Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt and Spanish giants Real Madrid has been guaranteed television coverage in Germany after a deal was reached with Hessischer Rundfunk, the regional public-service broadcaster. HR is to broadcast the match on August 12 on both television and radio. The deal was agreed with Sportfive, the international sports marketing agency promoting and marketing rights for the match. Sportcal, 21st Jul 2008

* Live Current Media Inc, the content and commerce destinations company, stated that IPLT20.com was the fourth most accessed site worldwide on mobile phones in May 2008. IPLT20.com is the official website of the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL), developed, managed and monetised by Live Current. The site remains ahead of ESPN.com and Cricinfo.com. Opera's report is based on users of Opera Mini mobile web browsers in 10 countries including India, US, China, UK and South Africa. Sports City, 21st Jul 2008

* The International Cricket Council (ICC) will decide whether September's Champions Trophy can take place in Pakistan. Reps of the eight nations due to take part in the tournament, including England, were briefed on the security situation in Dubai by the ICC’s own security consultants and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), according to Reuters. Although the PCB highlighted the successful staging of the Asia Cup, concerns remain over the ability to guarantee the safety of the teams involved. Several Australia and New Zealand cricketers previously said that they would not play in the tournament, although security experts who visited the venues declared them safe. Sport Business, Sports City, Sportcal, 21st Jul 2008

* Deutsche Fussball Liga (DFL) president Christian Seifert has warned that Cartel Office demands on the organisation's central marketing agreement with Sirius could lead to a bleak future for German football. The DFL had agreed a €3 billion deal with Sirius for the marketing of the Bundesliga TV rights for six seasons from the 2009-10 campaign. The country's Cartel Office, which has been investigating the deal, said free-to-air highlights should be given a "prompt" time slot before 20:00 CET on Saturday match days, adding that the proposal of airing highlights at 22:00 CET and carrying some matches live on free-TV on Sundays was "not suitable". Pay-TV platform Premiere had been hoping for a later slot for the free-to-air highlights programmes so it could offer greater exclusivity in its anticipated Bundesliga coverage. Sports Media, Sportcal, 21st Jul 2008

* Foxtel has hit back at critics who claim his network sold the National Rugby League (NRL) short in its recent television rights deal. The NRL has secured a record deal of A$500 million (US$486 million) over six years. However, Foxtel paid more for the rights to broadcast the Australian Football League (AFL), a move that has won little favour in rugby league circles given the code's rating dominance. An article by Roy Masters in the Sydney Morning Herald on July 17 claimed the NRL had seriously undersold its broadcasting rights. Foxtel said it paid more for AFL rights in order to make headway in South Australia, Western Australia and Victory, where the code enjoys its largest following. Sports Media, 21st Jul 2008

* The Fédération Tunisienne de Football has launched a tender for the domestic broadcast rights to the top two divisions and the home matches of the international team. The tender is broken up into five packages – home matches of the international team (inc. youth and women’s teams), the top-tier Ligue 1, the top match from the second-tier Ligue 2, the national cup competition and league games highlights. Ligue 1 rights have been further split; one package comprising two ‘premium’ games chosen by the broadcaster and the other consisting of two further games from the remaining five fixtures. The federation has specified that rights fee for the latter must be worth at least half that of the premium rights package. The FTF is looking to double the value of the present broadcast rights contract of TDr3 million ($2.6 million). Sportcal, 21st Jul 2008

* The International Rugby Board (IRB) Rugby Sevens World Series enjoyed improved television audience figures for its 2007-08 season. The series' eight tournaments in five continents reached 223 million homes in 135 countries representing a 10 million increase from 2006-07. ProActive Television, the IRB's production and distribution partner, revealed the potential global cumulative reach of the competition was 556 million, up 24 million on the previous year. Live coverage increased to 952 hours, while total television coverage increased by 32% to 1945 hours. The Series will celebrate its tenth anniversary when the 2008/09 Series kicks off in Dubai in late November at the brand new purpose built Sevens complex. Sports Media, 21st Jul 2008

* David Beckham insists his transfer to the Los Angeles Galaxy has been a success, but feels Major League Soccer (MLS) has much to do before it becomes a force in the world game. A year on from his first start for the Galaxy, Beckham said he was enjoying life in the MLS following an injury-hit start to his career in the USA. Beckham joined the Galaxy last July, after signing a five-year contract believed to be worth US$250 million the previous January. "Soccer's definitely changing in this country and it's getting bigger and it's growing but it's going to take time," said Beckham. "I said that at the start, it's not just going to happen in a year or two. The attendances are up 20%, shirt sales are up 780%, so it's going well." Football Insider, 21st Jul 2008

* International sports federations based in Switzerland have warned that they will leave the country if a proposed new tax law is adopted by the federal tax administration. The tax body is ready to end the system of tax exemption that the vast majority of sporting federations enjoy as public-service bodies. FIG, the int. gymnastics federation, and the FIVB, the int. volleyball federation, are among those who have warned of a move. The tax body confirmed that it is conducting a study ‘which affects the sporting federations and the question of direct federal taxation.’ The millions of Swiss francs generated, often for broadcast rights deals, have attracted interest of the Swiss fiscal authorities. Around 60 international and pan-European sports bodies are based in Switzerland. Sportcal, 21st Jul 2008


MORE NEWS

Asia/Rights: IOC Awards 2010, 2012 Olympic Broadcast Rights for Asia

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has inked agreements with the Asian Broadcasting Union (ABU) and ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) for the broadcast rights within certain Asian territories for the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic Games. The ABU has acquired terrestrial over-the-air TV and radio broadcast rights, while ESS has been granted the non-standard TV rights, including cable and satellite platforms. Both organizations will have certain simultaneous unaltered retransmission rights on other media platforms.

The deal covers select territories across Asia, including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Bhutan, Cambodia, East Timor, Iran, Laos, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka. The ESS agreement does not include Iran and Mauritius, but covers Macao and New Caledonia, only in English. ESS will also be broadcasting historic highlights of Olympic Games programming, taken from more than 30,000 hours of archives.

Manu Sawhney, the managing director of ESS, commented: “We are extremely pleased to partner with the International Olympic Committee. We are committed to promoting the spirit of the Olympic Games and we are delighted that our viewers can now be part of the excitement as they watch, share and celebrate the 2010 Winter Games, 2012 Summer Games and additional Olympic Games programming on our platforms.”

Added John Barton, the director of sport at the ABU: “The ABU continues to provide free-to-air coverage to an enormous population base throughout the Asia-Pacific region. We see our role, in partnership with the IOC, as being to promote the intrinsic values of the Olympic Games, the spirit of Olympism, and to support, through our reach to the biggest television audience in the world, the hopes and dreams of new Olympians.” Worldscreen, Sportcal, 21st Jul 2008

India/Broadcast: Bharti DTH Platform in Trouble?

Indian telco Bharti may have its licence to operate DTH services suspended by the government amid concerns over whether its ownership structure meets the country’s regulations. Bharti’s ownership is under investigation on two fronts – whether it meets cross-media ownership rules and whether it exceeds foreign direct investment (FDI) limits. The company needs to obtain approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) before it can launch its planned platform.

But Bharti claims that the company's ownership structures are within Indian government limits. While the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued Bharti’s media arm Bharti Telemedia with a show-cause notice last month, reports say the government has been unhappy with Bharti’s response. Bharti Telemedia has two investing companies, Bharti Airtel which owns 40% and Bharti Enterprises. Bharti Airtel has a foreign holding of 21.64%. FDI components of DTH operators must be under 20%.

Approval from the FIPB is now urgent as the company has already soft-launched its DTH platform and plans a commercial launch next month. Bharti Airtel also has a licence to operate cable TV services, but cable operators cannot own more than 20% of DTH operators. Rapid TV News, 21st Jul 2008

India/General: Seeking to Popularise Beach Volleyball

In a bid to popularize beach volleyball, Tamil Nadu capital Chennai played host to India's first ever-International Beach Volleyball Championship from July 15 to 20. Brazil won the title in the men's section while the eves from Thailand were crowned the winners in women's event. Klepper Feitosa and Luizao Correa of Brazil and Jarunee Sannok and Usa Tenpaksee from Thailand were crowned the winners.

The championship, which was organized by the Beach Volleyball Club, was held at the world famous Marina Beach in Chennai. It was sponsored by the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited. Eleven Indian teams, including four women teams, competed in a strong field of 60 teams from 21 countries.

'It is very good. We have been winners for the first time and it is for the first time that we have come here," said Sannok, Thailand team members. The six day long tournament offered a total prize money of 40,000 US dollars in the men's section and 6400 US dollars in the women's event.

"We are happy. We are first time in Chennai, India. This tournament is very important for us because this is second tournament together. We have to go back to Brazil because we have a tournament. This tournament is very different because the temperament, the people everything is different," said Luizao, the Men's Champion in the tournament. The President of Volleyball Federation, Sivanthi Adityan and Minister of State for Housing Development, Suba Thankavelan gave the awards to the winners. News.WebIndia123.com, 21st July 2008