Wednesday, 19th January 2011

RIGHTS FEE


=>  The shocking announcement that Qatar would host the 2022 World Cup will see FIFA eyeing a considerable increase in revenue. The fact that 82% of the world’s time zones would receive Qatar 2022 during prime time, potentially pushing audiences past the 3 billion mark. Analysis firm, Grant Thornton, claims that football pay TV rights in the region will leap 30%, to US$ 550m but rival firm, Value Partners, think that estimate is conservative, which measures the industry of premium sports TV rights in the region at around US$ 450m in 2010 and by 2014, would have grown 12% to US$ 725m.

=>  The Philippine Basketball Association may take over TV production of all games and creating blocks of programming that it would offer to broadcasters. The move came after its TV partner, Solar Entertainment, said that it would not renew its 160-million-pesos ($3.6-million) -per-year rights deal, which expires at the end of the 2010-11 season. Solar currently shows coverage of PBA matches on a slight delay on its Basketball TV cable and satellite channel. Rival ABS-CBN is not likely to agree to a sub-licence any of its basketball content that Solar is keen on unless Solar gives up its option to renew on the PBA contract. ABS-CBN is still smarting from the loss of PBA rights in 2008, when Solar bid 480 million pesos for three seasons over their 350 million pesos. Last year, Solar asked PBA to reduce its annual 160-million-pesos rights fee by 25%.

=>  Fox TV Networks, which owns local TV rights to Dodgers games, had reportedly “advanced” Dodgers owner Frank McCourt money to cover the team's operating expenses. Fox’s loan to McCourt is about maintaining control of Dodgers TV rights. The Dodgers deal with Fox runs through to 2013 is reported worth $35-$39 million annually in the final three years of their current agreement.

=>  Sportfive has asked for submission of offers for selected broadcast rights in Switzerland and Liechtenstein for the 2014 winter Olympics and 2016 Olympic Games. Broadcast rights are presently held by Swiss pubcaster, SRG SSR, as part of a deal with EBU up to the 2012 Olympics. Sportfive is selling rights for 2014 and 2016 in all territories in Europe (exc. France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the UK) after agreeing a deal worth €250 million ($334.7 million) with the International Olympic Committee to end the body’s long-standing relationship with the EBU.


BROADCAST

=>  The Australian Open 2011 looks poised for a great viewership year, building on last year's 40 million viewers in Asia. In Malaysia alone, 32% of 15 to 24-year-old men with cable television tuned into the event, a growth of 39% over 2009. This year, Malaysian tennis fans can watch coverage of the Australian Open 2011 on ESPN Player and choose from a more than 260 LIVE games from seven courts over 14 days of competition. The Open's inaugural high-definition broadcast will be available on ESPN HD as well.


CONTENT

=>  Rhiti Sports has been picked as Endemol India’s partner for production of new sports-based format shows. A five year joint venture has been agreed between Endemol’s media arm, Inspired Entertainment, and the sports marketing agency which has Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni on its books. The alliance is expected to generate revenues of at least INR 250 crore in five years. Endemol, producer of Big Boss and its international counterpart Big Brother, runs 80 companies in 26 countries and makes a total of 40,000 hours of TV content a year.


NEW MEDIA

=>  Portuguese pay-TV, Meo, has launched an interactive service featuring football highlights from the top-flight Liga Zon Sagres. Widget Desporto shows goals, highlights and interviews on each match day, plus information on Uefa Champions League and Europa League. Meo is the commercial name of the pay-television services operated by telecoms firm Portugal Telecom and is the second biggest pay-television operator in the country, with over 770,000 subscribers to its triple-play offer of pay-television, telephony and internet services. It was launched in April 2008.


EVENT

=>  The Mahindra NBA Challenge has expanded in to the adult league in season 2. Conducted in partnership with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), 38 teams of men and women, ages 19 and over will receive basketball training over the course of 6 weeks culminating with a weekend-long celebration of basketball with activities from 24-26. With a 25% hike in participation, the program expanded to 4 divisions as compared to the two previously.


OTHER NEWS

=>  The Bombay High Court has extended the stay on issuing an ITT for global broadcast rights of the Indian Premier League. The rights under dispute for territories excluding the Indian subcontinent rights, which are held by MSM Sony. The stay was extended after World Sport Group (WSG) had challenged the dismissal of its plea against BCCI's decision to terminate their contract. WSG was given telecast rights of all IPL matches by BCCI in Jan 2008 and WSG's claim that a deal it has with MSM are independent of each other. The HC division bench has asked WSG to clarify whether the two contracts were independent of each other.

=>  India’s MS Gill & Jaipal Reddy, Sports and Urban Development minister respectively, are likely to be dismissed from Cabinet for the mismanagement of sports and the shambolic oversight of irregularities in the Commonwealth Games infrastructure. Gill had taken certain positions vis-à-vis the autonomy of the National Sports Federations which go against the Olympic Charter and IOC has said that if this continues, it would be forced to issue a ban on India participating in international sports.

=>  Spanish agency, Mediapro has won a battle for control of club soccer rights after reaching a landmark agreement in insolvency proceedings of a subsidiary that holds the media rights to domestic Liga matches. Mediaproducción SL, holds media rights to 40 of the 42 first and second division Liga clubs, will exit bankruptcy protection in the next few months after all its creditors but one approved its proposed settlement agreement. Mediaproducción was put into administration, delaying the payment of a €106-million court-imposed fine to Sogecable for another bitter rights battle. The strategy was seen as a "brilliant tactical move".

=>  The European Commission called on sports bodies to establish mechanisms for the collective sale of media rights, in a radical departure from the trend of a few years ago when it appeared to be encouraging the individual sale of rights. The commission acknowledged that collective selling of media rights “inherently restricts competition but argued that collective selling “is a good example of financial solidarity and redistribution mechanisms within sports” whereby grassroots sport can be supported financially by elite sport through the redistribution of media revenues.