Friday, 29th April 2011

RIGHTS FEES

=>  Australia’s Seven, Foxtel and Telstra unveiled as winners for the rights to broadcast Australian Football League from 2012 to 2016, in a deal worth A$1.25 bil ($1.35 bil) over 5 years, beginning 2012. The new deal comprises a cash component of A$1.12 bil, with A$135 mil in contra arrangements. Seven will broadcast 4 matches in each 9-match round plus all finals, and can choose to sub-license any of the 4 games to other broadcasters, with Ch.10 or rival Nine Network set to acquire rights to some. Fox Sports will carry live coverage of every match, except the Toyota AFL Grand Final via subscription TV and IPTV. Foxtel will re-establish a dedicated AFL channel for the purpose. Telstra will show every match online, using its Telstra NextG service which can be viewed on mobile phones and iPads. FTAs are now also permitted to show matches live on secondary channels for the first time.

=>  South African-based SuperSport has won TV rights to UEFA Champions League, Super Cup and Europa League for the next 3 years. Deal covers sub-Saharan Africa and the adjacent islands, a geographical reach including South Africa and Nigeria. A similar deal, excluding Nigerian rights, was struck 3 years ago, the overall value of the package was estimated at US$31.5 million. The new, expanded deal is likely to be worth a significant amount more than that thanks to the inclusion of Nigeria, which is usually believed to account for 50% of the sub-Saharan market.


BROADCAST & RIGHTS DISTRIBUTION

=>  One World Sports has acquired exclusive broadcast rights in N.America to show Japanese top-tier J. League. OWS agreed a deal with World Sport Group to show TV, internet and mobile coverage of 2 games per week. In March, OWS broadcast the fundraiser between the Japanese national team and the J. League All Stars. It is the fourth deal struck this year between OWS and WSG.


STATS & DATA

=>  An Ogilvy study suggests shoppers become increasingly sophisticated in their use of mobile phones. Conducted among 1,500 shoppers in the US, UK and Singapore, the study revealed a category of advanced users of mobile phones in the retail space called Innovators, suggesting that 84% of these searched Google from a phone while in a store to get information on a product, while 61% of Innovators scanned a bar code or quick-response (QR) code with a mobile phone. 67% of Innovators looked at a product in-store and then ordered it from a phone while still in the retail environment. 59% of the early majority of smart phone users looked at a product in-store and ordered it online, only 27% ordered it from a phone.


BIZ & BITES

=>  The J. League resumed on Saturday after a 6-week suspension of play in the aftermath of the March 11 disaster. Players and fans at league stadia nationwide observed a moment's silence before kick-off to honour thousands who were lost in the tragedy. The Japanese Football Association said the country's football clubs are working hard to bounce back from the earthquake and tsunami. Many of the J. League Club's stadia suffered damage from the disaster and the president expressed great joy that it now seems that this season has the chance of becoming a successful one.

=>  An FC Barcelona executive said the controversial GBP150 mil ($218m) sponsorship deal the club signed with Qatar Foundation last December enabled it to keep hold of Lionel Messi. The club would have been forced to sell its best players without the deal. 'The arrival of Qatar Foundation on the jersey was necessary but did not please the romantics. But if we did not have this sponsorship, we would have had to sell." The Qatar Foundation - which is a philanthropic organisation run by the Emir's wife, Sheikha Mozah - signed the GBP30 mil /year deal with the Catalan giants last December.