Wednesday, 30th July 2008

DATA BOX

India & China’s Prospects Still Robust
Media Research Asia Report published on Rapid TV News, 29th Jul 2008

While the prospects for media expansion in both India and China “remain robust”, the situation in India has “some downside risks” according to a report from Media Research Asia (MRA). In China, new estimates from leading media buyer GroupM indicate that total advertising expenditure will climb by 22% in 2008 and by 19% in 2009, with TV, online and OOH media benefiting. Even without the Olympics, organic growth is strong for a number of media owners, especially those operating in online and OOH media as MPA analysis indicates.

In India, leading broadcasters Star and Zee are expected to grow at around 20-30% per annum but have warned about macro conditions eating into growth in 2H 2008 and 2009, says MRA. Growing macro concerns are adversely impacting the outlook for advertising growth in India this year. The economy is expected to grow by 7.5% this year and by 6.9% in 2009, below 8–9% trend-line growth over the past three years, says MDA.


SPORTS SHORTS

* Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has announced that the football club would soon be launching its own radio station. On the club's official website Monday, Calderon said radio would be on air in September. "This radio will be a vehicle to transmit information and will form a point of union between all of Real Madrid's club members and supporters," he said. The club already has its own TV station, Realmadrid TV, which broadcasts in Spanish for Spain and parts of Latin America and also in English for the rest of the world. News.WebIndia123.com, 29th July 2008

* Germany's Nürburgring motor racing circuit will continue to host races from the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) until at least 2011. The venue has negotiated an extension to its contract with Internationale Tourenwagenrennen (ITR), the DTM’s commercial rights holder and marketing arm. Hans Werner Aufrecht, ITR's chairman, said that the Nürburgring 'belongs to professional motorsport and to the DTM like hardly any other circuit. Therefore, the extension of the contract is an important step in the planning of the DTM.' Since DTM started in 1984, the Germany-based series has had at least one race at the Nürburgring every year. Sportcal, 29th Jul 2008

* The Arab Volleyball Federation (AVA) has signed an agreement with ART worth US$1 million which grants the broadcaster the television rights to all Arab volleyball competitions for the next five years. AVA president Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa and ART general supervisor Mohi El Deen bin Saleh Kamel confirmed the deal at a press conference in Manama along with other officials. The sport of volleyball has grown significantly in the region over recent years. The United Arab Emirates is set to host the 2009 intercontinental women's clubs volleyball championship, which features clubs from Europe, Asia, Africa and North, South and Central America. Sports Media 29th Jul 2008

* Indosat, Indonesia’s second largest mobile operator by subscribers, signed up 7.9 million subscribers in the first six months of this year, increasing it’s customer base by 32% from the end of 2007 to 32.4 million at the end of June 2008, reports Reuters. Whereas, the cellco had previously targeted eight million new additions in full-year 2008. Wireless Federation, 29th July 2008

* Mobile operators in The Philippines are preparing themselves for the already highest per person in the world, SMS traffic, after government ordered a 50% cut in prices. The price cuts are temporary and will last for just 90 days. The average price for SMSs in The Philippines is $0.02 (one pesos), but will now cost $0.01 (50 centavos). President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo made the announcement at the state of the nation address. The lower prices will be effective from July 28 until October 28 - and the regulator has noted that the operators may be willing to extend the offer, so long as their infrastructure can cope with the traffic. Wireless Federation, 29th July 2008

* China Telecom Corporation, the Hong Kong listed arm of the state-owned China Telecom Group, has set an aggressive target of doubling the subscriber base of the country’s CDMA network following the acquisition of the assets from China Unicom. Under the terms of the deal announced earlier, China Telecom Group is buying the CDMA network assets from China Unicom for 66.2 billion yuan, while the listed unit will pay 43.8 billion yuan for the CDMA business and operations. Following the completion of the deal - expected before the end of this year - the listed unit will leased network capacity from the parent company. Web20.TelecomTV.com, 29th July 2008

* Toshiba Corporation has decided to cease the mobile digital satellite broadcasting services at the end of March next year. Toshiba has been offering the services for specialised mobile equipment via its Mobile Broadcasting Corp. unit since October 2004. However, the paid services have not gained sufficient subscribers in part because of growing demand for free broadcasting services targeting mobile handsets. “The number of subscribers has not reached a sufficient level to sustain operations and, following a thorough review of operations, the company has decided to cease broadcasting,” says a company release. Toshiba expects the termination to leave the company with a loss of $233 million for the year ending next March. Indiantelevision.com, 29th July 2008

* The Emirates Cup will take place this weekend at the Emirates Stadium in London and is the highlight of Kentaro's portfolio of football pre-season events this summer. The Emirates Cup will feature Arsenal, Real Madrid, Juventus and Hamburger SV and the matches will be broadcast in virtually every TV territory around the globe. The action will be produced by BSkyB. "As the official marketing partner of the Emirates Cup, we are very proud to have played an integral role in creating a strong product which rewards the fans and the teams in equal measures," said Kentaro CEO Philipp Grothe. Kentaro also marketed Chelsea's tour of Asia this summer, Arsenal's trip to VfB Stuttgart for the grand opening of the Mercedes-Benz Arena and friendlies involving Liverpool, Manchester City, Everton, Celtic and Rangers. Sports Media 29th Jul 2008

* Sportfive Italia has struck a deal with, Serie A TIM club, Sampdoria for the forthcoming 2008-09 season. Sportfive will market a range of the Genoa-based club's advertising spaces and sponsorship packages plus hospitality activities, including business seats at its Stadio Luigi Ferraris. Giuseppe Marotta, CEO and COO of Sampdoria, said: "The partnership with Sportfive has been running for several years to our mutual satisfaction in the field of TV rights and the sale of advertising space. Intensification of this partnership is simply the natural consequence of mutual professional esteem." The agreement with Sampdoria strengthens Sportfive's presence in Serie A, with the company already enjoying relationships with the likes of Juventus, Fiorentina and Atalanta. Football Insider, Sportcal, Sports City, 29th Jul 2008

* Arsenal TV is set to increase its broadcasting time ahead of the new football season, so it can screen first team matches as soon after the final whistle as the domestic TV rights deals allow. The channel is currently in the middle of a busy pre-season programme, with live coverage of Arsenal's fixtures against Stuttgart and Huddersfield to be shown in the coming weeks, along with exclusive footage from the team's training camp in Austria. Arsenal TV is committed to adding a variety of programming to Arsenal TV's extensive pre and post-match analysis shows, which will now cover all midweek fixtures. Football Insider, 29th Jul 2008

* The German Tennis Federation has filed an antitrust lawsuit in US District Court against the ATP Tour for unfairly manipulating the control of star players to steer money to favoured tournaments at the expense of promoters in Hamburg, according to the New York Times. The case is expected to reveal the financial arrangements of a plan known as Brave New World - an effort by the ATP Tour to reinvigorate the sport. The outcome of the trial, expected to last two weeks, is likely to affect individual sports such as golf and skiing that do not feature organised teams and collective bargaining agreements. Sport Business, 29th Jul 2008

* Football Federation Australia, is set launch a new national competition for women, the W-League, in October. The eight team competition will feature sides from all seven men's A-League clubs, plus an ACT-based side to be known as Canberra United. The tournament will be sponsored by Westfield and is expected to feature a 10-round regular season and finals series. The W-League is expected to cost between $3 million and $4 million a year to run and the early focus will be on building the profile of the sport. There are currently 100,000 registered female football players in the country. Sport Business, Commentary on The Age AU, 29th Jul 2008

* CSI, the media rights business owned by international sports agency IMG, has extended its worldwide distribution deal with Cricket South Africa by four years. The deal, which comes into effect in the 2008-09 season, covers the rights outside Africa to test matches, one-day internationals and Twenty20 games played in the country and takes the partnership into a 20th year. In addition to representing Cricket South Africa, CSI has distributed media rights of Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket for more than 15 years. South Africa are currently ranked second in the world in both test match and one-day international cricket and CSI said it was glad to extend the association. Sportcal, Sports City, 29th Jul 2008


MORE NEWS

Asia/Broadcast: FIBA Diamond Ball Broadcast in Record Number of Countries

The 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball for Men begins in Nanjing, China, tomorrow and will be broadcast in over a record 80 territories. This event is the final FIBA preparation tournament for the men’s national teams before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Basketball Tournament and the six teams feature the Yao Ming led China team; the reigning Olympic Champions Argentina; three current Continental Champions, Angola (Africa), Australia (Oceania) and Iran (Asia); and the 2002 FIBA World Champions, Serbia. The four-day tournament ends on the 1st of August and each team will play three games.

In addition to watching on television, basketball fans can also log on to www.olympicbasketball.fiba.com for the game schedule, live scoring, interviews and reports. Asian territories and broadcasters are China (CCTV), Indonesia (First Media and The Philippines (Solar Entertainment). Sports City, 29th Jul 2008

Elsewhere/General: ECB Twenty20 Talks Continue

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive, David Collier, has confirmed that the board had received a firm and lucrative offer, believed to be from the Abu Dhabi royal family, to stage its own Champions League in the Middle East - distinct from the one mooted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

However, English involvement in India's Champions League, to be held in Jaipur, Mohali and Delhi from September 29 to October 8 has not yet been ruled out.

Officials from the Australian and South African cricket boards are scheduled to meet their Indian counterparts in Bombay tomorrow to discuss the league, which was to feature the top two teams from the Indian, English, Australian and South African domestic Twenty20 competitions. Collier said that the ECB had not ruled out attending the meeting.

The ECB announced last week that it secured a £750 million 10-year deal for its rival Twenty20 Champions League, which will accommodate both the English finalists. The finalists of the English tournament had originally been lined up to take part in the proposed Twenty20 Champions League this autumn, organised by the Indian board.

The ECB's event, backed by Middle Eastern investors, is scheduled to take place in Dubai or Sharjah in October and would guarantee a slot for both English finalists as well as teams from every senior Test-playing country. India would not be able to send any team over because of their Test series against Australia this year, but would be expected to take part in 2009. Sport Business, 29th Jul 2008