Tuesday, 29th July 2008

DATA BOX

The World's Population Connecting to the Internet in New Ways
Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast published on Info IQ, 28th Jul 2008

Nearly a quarter of the world's population – roughly 1.4 billion people – will use the Internet on a regular basis in 2008. This number is expected to surpass 1.9 billion unique users, or 30% of the world's population, in 2012. The Internet will have added its second billion users over a span of about eight years, a testament to both its universal appeal and its availability. By the end of 2008, the Internet will be more deeply integrated into the fabric of many users' personal and professional lives, enabling them to work, play, and socialize anytime from anywhere.

These trends will accelerate as the number of mobile users continues to soar and the Internet becomes truly ubiquitous. While the PC is currently the dominant means of gaining access to the Internet, the number of mobile devices accessing the Internet will surpass the number of online PCs by 2012. Once on the Internet, users will continue to spend time on Web 1.0 activities like searching, shopping, and sending email.

But Web 2.0 activities, such as watching user-generated videos (Youtube, MetaCafe), streaming media / VOD (Hulu, ABC.com), posting blogs (Blogger, Typepad), and participating in social networks(Facebook, Myspace), are quickly capturing the attention and time online of more and more Internet users. The latter will create new opportunities and challenges for online advertisers seeking to monetize the Internet experience, DC's Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast:

* Users will access the Internet through more than 1.5 billion devices worldwide in 2008, including PCs, mobile phones, and online videogame consoles. By 2012, the number of devices accessing the Internet will double to more than 3 billion, half of which will be mobile devices.
* China passed the United States in 2007 to become the country with the largest number of Internet users. China's online population is forecast to grow from 275 million users in 2008 to 375 million users in 2012.
* Nearly half of all Internet users will make online purchases in 2008. By 2012, there will be more than 1 billion online buyers worldwide making business to consumer (B2C) transactions worth $1.2 trillion. Business to business (B2B) eCommerce will be ten times larger, totalling $12.4 trillion worldwide in 2012.
* Worldwide spending on Internet advertising will total $65.2 billion in 2008, which is nearly 10% of all ad spending across all media. This share is expected to reach 13.6% by 2011 as Internet ad spending grows to $106.6 billion worldwide.
* Roughly 40% of all Internet users worldwide currently have mobile Internet access. The number of mobile Internet users will reach 546 million in 2008, nearly twice as many as in 2006, and is forecast to surpass 1.5 billion worldwide in 2012.
* The most popular online activities today are searching the Web, finding information for personal use, using Internet email, accessing news and sports information, and accessing financial or credit information. In addition to these activities, more than 50% of online users worldwide are using instant messaging and playing online games. The fastest growing online activities include accessing business applications, creating blogs, online gambling, accessing work-related email, and participating in online communities.
* Among mobile Internet users, the most popular online activities are searching the Web, accessing news and sports information, downloading music, videos, and ringtones, using instant messaging, and using Internet email. By 2012, downloading music, videos, and ringtones will become the number one activity among mobile Internet users worldwide.


SPORTS SHORTS

* China's leading fixed-line phone company, China Telecom said it will spend 80 billion yuan ($11.7 billion) in the next several years to expand the network of its new mobile phone business. The money will go toward base stations and other upgrades to its wireless infrastructure as the company pushes to bring on more customers, CEO Wang Xiaochu told reporters in Hong Kong. China Telecom should inherit about 43 million wireless subscribers, but it hopes to boost that to 100 million in the next two to three years with the help of a larger network, the company said. Telecomasia.net, 29th July 2008

* Korean telco KT reached 700,000 subscribers for its "MegaTV" IPTV service at the end of the second quarter of this year, up from 567,230 at the end of March, with 30% of this customer base bundled with broadband and 70% paying separately. The company also reported a 30% year-on-year fall in net profits for the three months to June 2008 to reach KRW160.5bn (US$158.9mn) and attributed the fall to dwindling fixed-line calls and losses connected to foreign currency debt. Revenues for the second quarter of this year reached KRW3.03bn, compared to KRW3bn in the first quarter of this year. IPTV-News.com, 28th July 2008

* Indian telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) will launch IPTV services in the city of Lucknow (capital of Uttar Pradesh state) "soon", according to reports in local daily The Times of India. The company's Managing Director, Kuldeep Goel, said that the service will be available by the end of the current financial year. "We are already in the process of having an agreement with various franchisee for providing the facility in Lucknow," said Mr. Goel. IPTV has already been introduced by BSNL in cities such as Bangalore, Pune and Kolkata. In total, around 98 Indian cities have been identified as future locations for the service. Mr. Goel also said that the company is continuing to increase its number of broadband customers and that over 50% of all broadband connections in the country are now provided by BSNL. IPTV-News.com, 28th July 2008

* Wong Swee Teng has been named the new managing director and chief representative of ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) China. Wong will be responsible for the strategic direction and growth of ESS’s operations in China as well as managing business relationships with partners and affiliates in the country. Prior to joining ESS, Wong served as a consultant for Bertelsmann China, where he helped expand the organization’s book publishing business and also oversaw the restructuring of Bertelsmann’s 14 companies in China. Marketing-Interactive.com, Worldscreen, Sportcal, Sports City, 28th Jul 2008

* The German Cartel Office ruled that a TV deal between the German Football League (DFL) and Leo Kirsch’s company Sirius was unfair and has all but ended a deal which would have potentially been worth around €3 billion over the next six seasons. The Kartelamt claimed that fans would be seriously disadvantaged due to having to wait until after 8pm for Bundesliga highlights. Those subscribing to the pay-TV channels would foot the bill for such a lucrative deal. The Kartelamt ruling will make the Sirius deal unattractive and Bundesliga clubs would in fact receive less that the €420 million is currently gets via the present TV deal. Compared to the Premiership for example, that is a paltry figure with the rights to the Premier League worth around €1.2 billion. Goal.com, 27th Jul 2008

* Australian network SBS has reported impressive viewing figures for its coverage of the Tour de France, which was won yesterday by Team CSC rider Carlos Sastre after a gruelling three-week race. Audiences increased steadily to an average of around 250,000 viewers, with peaks of more than 300,000 for the programmes, which ran from around 22:00 to 02:00. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Matt Campbell, SBS director of television and online content, estimates that 70% of viewers in Australia watch the Tour mainly for the race action while 30% tune in to look at the spectacular scenery that provides the backdrop for the event. Sports Media, 28th July 2008

* Eurosport has maintained its position at the top of the European Media and Marketing (EMS) Summer Survey after a year of strong growth. The group's flagship channel has topped the EMS poll for the past 13 years and its weekly and monthly reach figures increased to 47.7% (+3%) and 32% (+2%) respectively, which meant it enjoyed its highest year-on-year (YOY) progression since the survey began. Eurosport 2 recorded an impressive 12% growth YOY in weekly reach. Sports Media, 28th July 2008


MORE NEWS

India/Broadcast: Dish’s Free STB Boost Take-up by Half

Indian DTH operation Dish TV’s free set-top box offer has had an “immediate” effect, according to the company, producing a 50% growth in the platform’s acquisition rate. Internal research had indicated that awareness levels for the Dish TV brand were high but the large one-off cost of the box was a “restraining factor” keeping potential subscribers from adoption. Zee now offers a free set-top box for those signing up to its maxi package for a year.

The Zee-backed operation added 400,000 new subscribers in the three months to the end of June to reach 2.9 million net subs (3.4 million gross). That addition figure represents a 41% increase on the 285,000 added in the previous quarter. Revenues at Dish TV rose sharply in the quarter, but so too did the platform’s costs. Gross revenues stood at Rs1.64 billion, up 21% on the previous quarter as expenditure rose to Rs2.31 billion, up 18% from Rs1.95 billion in the previous quarter.

Cost of goods and expenses was up from Rs1.12 billion to Rs1.37 billion, while advertising expenses rose from Rs203 million to Rs261 million. EBIT loss stood at Rs1.11 billion while the company’s net loss rose from Rs1.15 billion to Rs1.25 billion. Rapid TV News, 28th Jul 2008


ARTICLES, COMMENTS, INTERVIEWS & OPINIONS

Cut Transmission Energy Costs by 50%

Broadcasters can save millions of dollars in digital broadcast transmission electricity costs by adopting new power modulator modules from Nujira, claims the company.

“The broadcast transmission network typically accounts for 75% of the total electricity used by a broadcaster and over half of this is used by the transmitter output power amplifier,” Nujira said. “The new Nujira solution will potentially double the efficiency of this circuit. For a typical European broadcast transmitter network with 50 transmitter sites, yearly energy consumption can be reduced from an estimated 105GWh to 51GWh, saving $6.2m per year at today’s energy prices, and reducing carbon emissions by 22,000 tonnes.”

Julian Hildersley, VP/Strategy & marketing, said: “The first product we are bringing to market is actually aimed at cellular base station transmitters, and we are now making a derivative product for broadcast applications. There’s very much a relationship between the two applications. Our new modules cut significantly the amount of wasted energy. In transmitting a signal over the air we encode the information to the video signal onto both the amplitude and the frequency of the radio frequency signal so the instantaneous power that is transmitted varies significantly with time. In a conventional transmitter the power going into the transmitter is basically constant. The voltage and amount of current going into the transmitter remain the same throughout the transmission even though the radio frequency power which is being transmitted at any instant is varying significantly.”

Hildersley claimed Nujira’s technology is unique and recognised as such by the world’s leading transmitter amplification companies, many of which Nujira is in contact with. “Our technique, which enables us to modify the power input, is new and is difficult because very fast control is needed. Our technology also has a relevance to those players coming into Europe with satellite radio services who are seeking terrestrial repeater technologies. Our technology can apply to almost any radio transmission.”

“We are in fairly advanced discussions with a number of broadcast transmitter manufacturers. We have signed non-binding MOUs with a couple of well-known names and we are in contract negotiation with others. I am not permitted to say who these potential clients are but the number of manufacturers in this sector is quite small. I can tell you that the response from the industry has been very positive and enthusiastic. For example we have already had significant interest from UK broadcasters and both Arqiva and National Grid Wireless have been extremely supportive of the technology and it is very likely that they will be early adopters of the technology.”

“There is a very major opportunity here for the broadcast industry to take on the challenge of improving energy consumption and yet maintaining the exact same kind of service. The opportunity that’s provided by digital switchover we see as being a global event, not just for a couple of nations.” RapidTVnews.com, 28th July 2008