RIGHTS FEES
=> The South African FA is looking for between R130 mil ($18.7 mil) and R150 mil /year from a new domestic broadcast rights deal. The figure was based on analysis of audience potential and that it is looking to strike a deal with a free-to-air network, likely pubcaster, SABC. A deal between R130 to R150 mil would include 60 matches /year and a magazine show called Safa TV.
=> The Bulgarian A League finally agreed to a new domestic broadcast deal ahead of the 2011/12 season as pubcaster BNT and cable TV7, secured coverage. The deals with BNT and TV7 are worth Lv6 mil ($4.4 mil) /season, with TV7 paying about two thirds of the total, although BNT will have the first choice live game each week. The annual value of the previous deal was initially Lv6.4 mil /season but dropped last year when BTV Media Group’s Pro.BG and Ring.BG channels renegotiated their contracts. The 2011/12 Bulgarian A League season has planned for a TV blackout of foreign matches in Bulgaria in weekend timeslots to boost interest, attendances and commercial income for the domestic league.
BROADCAST & RIGHTS DISTRIBUTION
=> The TRACE Sports HD channel is now available on AsiaSat 5 in the Asia Pacific. The channel launched Aug 1 on Hong Kong Broadband Network's bbtv, with more carriage agreements in Asia coming soon. TRACE Sports HD features factual and lifestyle entertainment content about sports celebrities. The channel will feature behind the scenes interviews with teams for the 2012 London Olympics. The channel is broadcast in English with subtitles in Mandarin and Korean. It is available on cable, DTH, broadband and mobile platforms.
=> HBO has won rights to produce and broadcast the fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas on Nov 12. HBO lost Pacquiao's last fight in May against Shane Mosley to rival pay-TV Showtime but HBO has now secured a deal with promoters Top Rank for the WBO welterweight champion to return to its network for his next fight. The Pacquiao-Marquez fight is to be publicised by the different broadcast platforms of HBO’s parent company Time Warner, including TBS, TNT and CNN. Showtime drew 1.4 mil pay-per-views for the Pacquiao-Mosley fight in May.
BIZ & BITES
=> Singapore’s StarHub reported a 34% rise in Q2 net profit although pay-TV revenue fell by close to 16%. The company reported net profit of S$78 mil ($64 mil) from Apr to Jun, compared to S$58.1 mil the same period in 2010. Operating revenue was S$569 mil for Q2 2011, around the same 12 months ago. Net profit for the first half of the year was up 46% to S$147 mil. StarHub’s pay-TV revenue fell 15.7% to S$92.3 mil, the result of price reduction on the sports package last year from S$25 /month to S$12 /month after losing rights to the English Premier League to rival SingTel. StarHub’s average revenue per user for pay-TV fell to S$49 /month but the customer base increased to 544,000.
Monday, 8th August 2011
BROADCAST & RIGHTS DISTRIBUTION
=> The death of linear TV viewing has been predicted ever since the invention of TiVo and other video recording (DVR) systems, but is being postponed by the success of high-definition television (HDTV). In the USA, DVR, video on demand (VOD), online video streaming and other nonlinear TV programming account for just over 10% of all TV viewing. In 2015, that figure is expected to grow to under 16%, according to IHS Screen Digest TV Intelligence Service. UK predictions are no different, with nonlinear TV forecast to account for less than 13% of TV watching by 2015.
=> China Central Television has acquired 3D TV broadcast rights to the London Olympics, to be used to test 3D TV broadcasts in Q3 2012. China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television called for 10 3D TV stations to be launched during China's 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015). Meanwhile, SARFT has also approved Internet TV licences for HunanTV.com, making it China's fifth Internet TV content and Internet TV integrated service license.
STATS & DATA
=> Leading Chinese ad agency, Charm Communications, says research it conducted revealed TV as still the most popular media for advertisers in China. In Q1 2011, TV ads generated 81.4% (Y121 bil/US$18.8 bil) of total advertising revenue. An increase in viewers led to increase in the price of provincial channel advertisement slots. Demand for CCTV’s airtime generated 9% (Y40 bil /US$6.2 bil) of TV ad revenue. However, 200 mil Internet users watch TV less frequently than before although TV is still the first choice for advertisers because it still enjoys a larger audience base, better credibility and shows better original programmes.
EVENTS
=> Asian mixed martial arts events and media company, ONE Fighting Championship, has been launched by media veteran, Victor Cui. Over the next 12 months, the company based in Singapore, will hold 8 events across Asia, including national qualifiers and a reality TV show on martial arts. The first event, Champion vs Champion: Asia’s Greatest Battle of Champions, will take place on Sep 3 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, featuring 17 world champions. Cui, who was previously with ESPN STAR Sports for 6 years said martial arts is popular on American TV, but is still in its infancy when it comes to Asian TV.
=> India is poised for rugby, with the first women’s Asian Rugby Sevens ranking tournament slotted for Oct and a host of other domestic and international events to follow with the next being the Asian Men’s Rugby Sevens tourney in mid-Nov. Japan, China and Thailand are sending women’s squads for the Asian Sevens but Japan will not be at the men’s event since they would be in the midst of the Dubai Challenge. Meanwhile, on Aug 26 and 27, the women’s domestic tournament will be hosted in Pune, and from there the national probables will be selected.
=> BMW Asia has agreed to sponsor the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2011, which takes place on Dec 4. BMW Asia and the Singapore Sports Council will run a series of promotions leading up to the race, including giving participants a chance to win a BMW, the official car, while BMW provides medical logistics and support on the day of the event. The Standard Chartered Bank title-sponsorship runs until 2013 and, at S$10 ($6.9 million) over 4 years and is reportedly the most lucrative sponsorship deal ever made for a mass-participation event in Singapore.
BIZ & BITES
=> WWE has posted Q2 2011 revenues of $142.6 mil, a 33% increase on the same period last year as the organisation was boosted by over 1 million pay-per-view buys worldwide for the flagship WrestleMania event. WWE’s Q2 net income was $14.3 mil, more than double the $6.3 mil recorded in the same period in 2010. WrestleMania took place at the beginning of April this year, instead of in its traditional March slot, and contributed a record $35.9 mil in revenue.
=> The death of linear TV viewing has been predicted ever since the invention of TiVo and other video recording (DVR) systems, but is being postponed by the success of high-definition television (HDTV). In the USA, DVR, video on demand (VOD), online video streaming and other nonlinear TV programming account for just over 10% of all TV viewing. In 2015, that figure is expected to grow to under 16%, according to IHS Screen Digest TV Intelligence Service. UK predictions are no different, with nonlinear TV forecast to account for less than 13% of TV watching by 2015.
=> China Central Television has acquired 3D TV broadcast rights to the London Olympics, to be used to test 3D TV broadcasts in Q3 2012. China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television called for 10 3D TV stations to be launched during China's 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015). Meanwhile, SARFT has also approved Internet TV licences for HunanTV.com, making it China's fifth Internet TV content and Internet TV integrated service license.
STATS & DATA
=> Leading Chinese ad agency, Charm Communications, says research it conducted revealed TV as still the most popular media for advertisers in China. In Q1 2011, TV ads generated 81.4% (Y121 bil/US$18.8 bil) of total advertising revenue. An increase in viewers led to increase in the price of provincial channel advertisement slots. Demand for CCTV’s airtime generated 9% (Y40 bil /US$6.2 bil) of TV ad revenue. However, 200 mil Internet users watch TV less frequently than before although TV is still the first choice for advertisers because it still enjoys a larger audience base, better credibility and shows better original programmes.
EVENTS
=> Asian mixed martial arts events and media company, ONE Fighting Championship, has been launched by media veteran, Victor Cui. Over the next 12 months, the company based in Singapore, will hold 8 events across Asia, including national qualifiers and a reality TV show on martial arts. The first event, Champion vs Champion: Asia’s Greatest Battle of Champions, will take place on Sep 3 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, featuring 17 world champions. Cui, who was previously with ESPN STAR Sports for 6 years said martial arts is popular on American TV, but is still in its infancy when it comes to Asian TV.
=> India is poised for rugby, with the first women’s Asian Rugby Sevens ranking tournament slotted for Oct and a host of other domestic and international events to follow with the next being the Asian Men’s Rugby Sevens tourney in mid-Nov. Japan, China and Thailand are sending women’s squads for the Asian Sevens but Japan will not be at the men’s event since they would be in the midst of the Dubai Challenge. Meanwhile, on Aug 26 and 27, the women’s domestic tournament will be hosted in Pune, and from there the national probables will be selected.
=> BMW Asia has agreed to sponsor the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2011, which takes place on Dec 4. BMW Asia and the Singapore Sports Council will run a series of promotions leading up to the race, including giving participants a chance to win a BMW, the official car, while BMW provides medical logistics and support on the day of the event. The Standard Chartered Bank title-sponsorship runs until 2013 and, at S$10 ($6.9 million) over 4 years and is reportedly the most lucrative sponsorship deal ever made for a mass-participation event in Singapore.
BIZ & BITES
=> WWE has posted Q2 2011 revenues of $142.6 mil, a 33% increase on the same period last year as the organisation was boosted by over 1 million pay-per-view buys worldwide for the flagship WrestleMania event. WWE’s Q2 net income was $14.3 mil, more than double the $6.3 mil recorded in the same period in 2010. WrestleMania took place at the beginning of April this year, instead of in its traditional March slot, and contributed a record $35.9 mil in revenue.
Friday, 5th August 2011
RIGHTS FEES
=> Domestic TV rights for Australia’s 2011 cricket tour of Sri Lanka have been awarded by Sri Lanka Cricket to national network, Rupavahini, in a record deal worth Rs22 mil (US$200,600). The initial offer made by Rupavahini was Rs17 mil (US$155,010), which was topped by rival bidder, Carlton Sports Network, with Rs20.1 mil (US$183,277). The final price settled by Rupavahini is the highest ever for local TV rights received by SLC. Meanwhile, local radio rights were awarded to Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation for Rs750,000 (US$6,840), also the highest received for rights of its kind. Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka begins 6th Aug. The tour consists of two Twenty20 matches, five ODIs and three Tests, with the final Test to playbetween 16th-20th Sep.
=> The French soccer federation (FFF) awarded domestic rights to the France’s Division 1 Féminine to France Télévisions (FT) and Eurosport starting with the 2011/12 season. FT is to show 6 matches while Eurosport will broadcast 5 live matches and 6 further games in co-production with FT. The two paid a total of €110,000 ($155,940) for rights. Meanwhile, the men's league has launched an iPhone application ahead of the new season. The application will offer news and alerts for games from Ligue 1, Ligue 2 and the Coupe de la Ligue competition, including team line-ups one hour before kick-off.
BROADCAST & RIGHTS DISTRIBUTION
=> Sportfive has agreed deals with 7 national soccer associations in Europe to sell international broadcast rights respective home qualifiers for the FIFA 2014 World Cup; Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Switzerland. Sportfive now directly or indirectly represent 37 of the 53 member countries of UEFA for the WC2014 qualifiers. Meanwhile, five of the teams represented by Kentaro have been drawn in the same World Cup qualification group as Germany. Sweden, the Rep. of Ireland, Austria, Kazakhstan and the Faroe Islands are in Group C along with Germany.
=> Domestic TV rights for Australia’s 2011 cricket tour of Sri Lanka have been awarded by Sri Lanka Cricket to national network, Rupavahini, in a record deal worth Rs22 mil (US$200,600). The initial offer made by Rupavahini was Rs17 mil (US$155,010), which was topped by rival bidder, Carlton Sports Network, with Rs20.1 mil (US$183,277). The final price settled by Rupavahini is the highest ever for local TV rights received by SLC. Meanwhile, local radio rights were awarded to Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation for Rs750,000 (US$6,840), also the highest received for rights of its kind. Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka begins 6th Aug. The tour consists of two Twenty20 matches, five ODIs and three Tests, with the final Test to playbetween 16th-20th Sep.
=> The French soccer federation (FFF) awarded domestic rights to the France’s Division 1 Féminine to France Télévisions (FT) and Eurosport starting with the 2011/12 season. FT is to show 6 matches while Eurosport will broadcast 5 live matches and 6 further games in co-production with FT. The two paid a total of €110,000 ($155,940) for rights. Meanwhile, the men's league has launched an iPhone application ahead of the new season. The application will offer news and alerts for games from Ligue 1, Ligue 2 and the Coupe de la Ligue competition, including team line-ups one hour before kick-off.
BROADCAST & RIGHTS DISTRIBUTION
=> Sportfive has agreed deals with 7 national soccer associations in Europe to sell international broadcast rights respective home qualifiers for the FIFA 2014 World Cup; Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Switzerland. Sportfive now directly or indirectly represent 37 of the 53 member countries of UEFA for the WC2014 qualifiers. Meanwhile, five of the teams represented by Kentaro have been drawn in the same World Cup qualification group as Germany. Sweden, the Rep. of Ireland, Austria, Kazakhstan and the Faroe Islands are in Group C along with Germany.
Thursday, 4th August 2011
RIGHTS FEES
=> UK’s BSkyB has extended exclusive live rights for English rugby’s Super League by 5 years until 2016. England’s Rugby Football League now extends their relationship with BSkyB’s to 21 years. BSkyB will show 70 live games, including all play off matches and the Grand Final, each season. The 5-yr deal is worth over £90 mil ($146 mil), meaning the 14 Super League clubs are set to earn £1.25 mil /year, a 12% increase on the current domestic broadcasting deal, expiring end 2011 season and is worth £50 mil over 3 years, with clubs earning £1.1 mil /year.
BROADCAST & RIGHTS DISTRIBUTION
=> Spain’s Liga ACB basketball league will air in Japan for the first time next season after MP & Silva signed a rights deal with pay-TV, Sky A. Sky A becomes the 5th in Asia to secure coverage of the league, following regional Chinese networks Guangzhou TV and Jiangsu TV, Singapore’s StarHub and Solar TV in the Philippines. There is also coverage in the Middle East and North Africa via Al Jazeera and in sub-Saharan Africa through Setanta Sports. The 2011-12 Liga ACB season starts in October.
=> IEC in Sports has signed a deal to exclusively distribute international TV rights for basketball's FIBA Stankovic Continental Cup, the annual men's national team competition played in China. CCTV 5, a channel of the Chinese national broadcaster, will produce the feed for the tournament, which will be aired globally. New Zealand’s Sky Network has already secured rights to show all Kiwi games in the Stankovic Continental Cup, as well as the bronze medal game and final. The Stankovic Continental Cup was launched in 2005 to boost basketball in China and named in honour of Serbian Borislav Stankovic, FIBA's secretary general emeritus, for his significant contribution to the sport.
=> Dubai's Orbit Showtime Network will broadcast Rugby World Cup 2011 in high definition in the Middle East and North Africa. The event in New Zealand kicks off on OSN Sports 1 HD on 9 Sep through to the final on 23 Oct. OSN's team of presenters for the tournament will be anchored by Jim Rosenthal and joined by former players including Jeremy Guscott, Scott Gibbs, Joost van der Westhuizen and Jonathan Davis. OSN will exclusively broadcast the Tri-Nations and Rugby World Cup 2011 warm-up matches through to 27 August before the start of the Rugby World Cup.
=> Traffic Sports has secured deals in Belgium and Israel to air Argentinian home matches in the South American WC2014 Qualifiers with Belgian telecom, Telenet and Israel’s Charlton group. Early in 2011, Traffic also inked deals with Norway’s TV2 and sub-Saharan, Supersport in Africa. Argentina plays their first WC2014 qualifier in Oct against Chile, vs Bolivia (Nov), Ecuador (Jun 2012), Paraguay (Sep 2012), Uruguay (Oct 2012), Venezuela (Mar 2013), Colombia (Jun 2013) and Peru (Oct 2013).
=> Meanwhile, rights in Portugal to the Copa Sudamericana, have been sold by Traffic to Benfica TV, the channel of Portuguese club Benfica, and sports agency. Benfica is on a rights buying spree for sports content as it bids to break the monopoly held in Portugal by sports broadcaster Sport TV. It has already acquired rights to 180 live and delayed club and national team matches in Europe taking place from this summer until Dec. Benfica TV is a basic channel available to over 1 mil TV households across Portugal. Sport TV already holds rights in Portugal to the Copa Libertadores and the Copa do Brasil, the national cup competition in Brazil.
NEW MEDIA
=> World Snooker has signed a 5-yr deal with Perform under which all professional tournaments will be streamed live online. A new website - www.liveworldsnooker.tv - has been launched to show all ranking event qualifiers and Players Tour Championship events. Qualifying matches for the ongoing Shanghai Masters are already being streamed on the website. Streaming will not be available in territories where live broadcasts of the tournaments are already available. Fans can sign up to the site starting with a basic subscription of £2.99 ($4.90) per month or £29.99 per year.
STATS & DATA
=> Maria Sharapova was the highest-paid female athlete again in 2010, although she faces a challenge to her position from Chinese player Li Na. For the 7th straight year, Sharapova topped Forbes annual list despite not winning a 'grand slam' tournament since 2008. Sharapova's earnings, mostly from off-court endorsements, were estimated at $25 mil , double her nearest rival, Denmark's current world number one, Caroline Wozniacki. Li came 8th, with earnings of $8 mil last year, but is expected to earn six times as much by 2013 following a raft of new endorsement deals this year. Since the start of 2011, Li, represented by IMG, has signed seven sponsorship deals worth over $42 mil over a 3-yr period. Non-tennis players in the top 10 were US racing driver Danica Patrick (3rd place - $12 mil), South Korean figure skater Kim Yuna (7th) and US golfer Paula Creamer (10th).
BIZ & BITES
=> Real Madrid have agreed a partnership with Chinese Super League leaders Guangzhou Evergrande, intended to pave the way for player exchanges between the clubs and the opening of a player academy in China. Real Madrid are presently on a tour of China and are eager to promote their brand to China's population of 1.3 bil. Real Madrid and Evergrande signed a 'letter of intent' to co-operate on player exchanges, brand promotion and the opening of the largest soccer academy in Asia. The academy intends to enrol 3,000 students and be run by the Chinese club, with Real Madrid coaching staff to assist with the teaching programme.
=> The English Premier League’s Richard Scudamore called on FIFA to open a dialogue to ease rising tensions within governance of the game, while arguing that a revolution, as threatened by Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, is not the answer. Plans for more dates for international matches threaten to further clutter the fixture list and infuriate clubs and Scudamore wants FIFA to be "collegiate" in its approach to change. Scudamore also criticised UEFA for dictating terms to domestic soccer leagues when it comes to Champions and Europa Leagues by suddenly deciding to play the respective quarter-finals over 4 weeks instead of two which leaves clubs less weeks to squeeze in 380 matches.
=> The Premier League has said cutting-edge 'immersive TV' could be in use within 5 years allowing fans anywhere to 'virtually' attend stadia and watch games live as if they were there. A year after its first 3D broadcast, the PL is looking at the latest technology that allows supporters to sit in front of their TV, pick a game to watch from the menu, choose where to sit in the stadium, start chatting with friends and then immerse themselves in the match. The PL is in talks with Sony and Electronic Arts which are, respectively, already developing super-wide panoramic views that would allow viewers to watch from different angles, and working on 3D holographic technology, initially for highlights packages, but which will eventually be used in real time coverage.
=> UK’s BSkyB has extended exclusive live rights for English rugby’s Super League by 5 years until 2016. England’s Rugby Football League now extends their relationship with BSkyB’s to 21 years. BSkyB will show 70 live games, including all play off matches and the Grand Final, each season. The 5-yr deal is worth over £90 mil ($146 mil), meaning the 14 Super League clubs are set to earn £1.25 mil /year, a 12% increase on the current domestic broadcasting deal, expiring end 2011 season and is worth £50 mil over 3 years, with clubs earning £1.1 mil /year.
BROADCAST & RIGHTS DISTRIBUTION
=> Spain’s Liga ACB basketball league will air in Japan for the first time next season after MP & Silva signed a rights deal with pay-TV, Sky A. Sky A becomes the 5th in Asia to secure coverage of the league, following regional Chinese networks Guangzhou TV and Jiangsu TV, Singapore’s StarHub and Solar TV in the Philippines. There is also coverage in the Middle East and North Africa via Al Jazeera and in sub-Saharan Africa through Setanta Sports. The 2011-12 Liga ACB season starts in October.
=> IEC in Sports has signed a deal to exclusively distribute international TV rights for basketball's FIBA Stankovic Continental Cup, the annual men's national team competition played in China. CCTV 5, a channel of the Chinese national broadcaster, will produce the feed for the tournament, which will be aired globally. New Zealand’s Sky Network has already secured rights to show all Kiwi games in the Stankovic Continental Cup, as well as the bronze medal game and final. The Stankovic Continental Cup was launched in 2005 to boost basketball in China and named in honour of Serbian Borislav Stankovic, FIBA's secretary general emeritus, for his significant contribution to the sport.
=> Dubai's Orbit Showtime Network will broadcast Rugby World Cup 2011 in high definition in the Middle East and North Africa. The event in New Zealand kicks off on OSN Sports 1 HD on 9 Sep through to the final on 23 Oct. OSN's team of presenters for the tournament will be anchored by Jim Rosenthal and joined by former players including Jeremy Guscott, Scott Gibbs, Joost van der Westhuizen and Jonathan Davis. OSN will exclusively broadcast the Tri-Nations and Rugby World Cup 2011 warm-up matches through to 27 August before the start of the Rugby World Cup.
=> Traffic Sports has secured deals in Belgium and Israel to air Argentinian home matches in the South American WC2014 Qualifiers with Belgian telecom, Telenet and Israel’s Charlton group. Early in 2011, Traffic also inked deals with Norway’s TV2 and sub-Saharan, Supersport in Africa. Argentina plays their first WC2014 qualifier in Oct against Chile, vs Bolivia (Nov), Ecuador (Jun 2012), Paraguay (Sep 2012), Uruguay (Oct 2012), Venezuela (Mar 2013), Colombia (Jun 2013) and Peru (Oct 2013).
=> Meanwhile, rights in Portugal to the Copa Sudamericana, have been sold by Traffic to Benfica TV, the channel of Portuguese club Benfica, and sports agency. Benfica is on a rights buying spree for sports content as it bids to break the monopoly held in Portugal by sports broadcaster Sport TV. It has already acquired rights to 180 live and delayed club and national team matches in Europe taking place from this summer until Dec. Benfica TV is a basic channel available to over 1 mil TV households across Portugal. Sport TV already holds rights in Portugal to the Copa Libertadores and the Copa do Brasil, the national cup competition in Brazil.
NEW MEDIA
=> World Snooker has signed a 5-yr deal with Perform under which all professional tournaments will be streamed live online. A new website - www.liveworldsnooker.tv - has been launched to show all ranking event qualifiers and Players Tour Championship events. Qualifying matches for the ongoing Shanghai Masters are already being streamed on the website. Streaming will not be available in territories where live broadcasts of the tournaments are already available. Fans can sign up to the site starting with a basic subscription of £2.99 ($4.90) per month or £29.99 per year.
STATS & DATA
=> Maria Sharapova was the highest-paid female athlete again in 2010, although she faces a challenge to her position from Chinese player Li Na. For the 7th straight year, Sharapova topped Forbes annual list despite not winning a 'grand slam' tournament since 2008. Sharapova's earnings, mostly from off-court endorsements, were estimated at $25 mil , double her nearest rival, Denmark's current world number one, Caroline Wozniacki. Li came 8th, with earnings of $8 mil last year, but is expected to earn six times as much by 2013 following a raft of new endorsement deals this year. Since the start of 2011, Li, represented by IMG, has signed seven sponsorship deals worth over $42 mil over a 3-yr period. Non-tennis players in the top 10 were US racing driver Danica Patrick (3rd place - $12 mil), South Korean figure skater Kim Yuna (7th) and US golfer Paula Creamer (10th).
BIZ & BITES
=> Real Madrid have agreed a partnership with Chinese Super League leaders Guangzhou Evergrande, intended to pave the way for player exchanges between the clubs and the opening of a player academy in China. Real Madrid are presently on a tour of China and are eager to promote their brand to China's population of 1.3 bil. Real Madrid and Evergrande signed a 'letter of intent' to co-operate on player exchanges, brand promotion and the opening of the largest soccer academy in Asia. The academy intends to enrol 3,000 students and be run by the Chinese club, with Real Madrid coaching staff to assist with the teaching programme.
=> The English Premier League’s Richard Scudamore called on FIFA to open a dialogue to ease rising tensions within governance of the game, while arguing that a revolution, as threatened by Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, is not the answer. Plans for more dates for international matches threaten to further clutter the fixture list and infuriate clubs and Scudamore wants FIFA to be "collegiate" in its approach to change. Scudamore also criticised UEFA for dictating terms to domestic soccer leagues when it comes to Champions and Europa Leagues by suddenly deciding to play the respective quarter-finals over 4 weeks instead of two which leaves clubs less weeks to squeeze in 380 matches.
=> The Premier League has said cutting-edge 'immersive TV' could be in use within 5 years allowing fans anywhere to 'virtually' attend stadia and watch games live as if they were there. A year after its first 3D broadcast, the PL is looking at the latest technology that allows supporters to sit in front of their TV, pick a game to watch from the menu, choose where to sit in the stadium, start chatting with friends and then immerse themselves in the match. The PL is in talks with Sony and Electronic Arts which are, respectively, already developing super-wide panoramic views that would allow viewers to watch from different angles, and working on 3D holographic technology, initially for highlights packages, but which will eventually be used in real time coverage.
Wednesday, 3rd August 2011
RIGHTS FEES
=> The deal that Neo Sports struck with Sportfive for TV rights to the 2012 European Championships is said to be worth around Rs1bil ($22.6 mil), covering India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. Neo’s deal includes 2013 European U-21 and Women’s Euro 2013 Championships. The acquisition of Euro 2012 rights is the latest deal agreed by Neo Sports away from its main sport of cricket. Events acquired have included 2011 Copa America, tennis' French Open and the 2011 Rugby World Cup. It is claimed that Neo Sports has earmarked Rs2.5 bil this year to acquire sports rights outside cricket.
=> The Argentinian soccer federation abandoned a controversial plan to merge the top two leagues for the start of the 2012/13 season following hostile responses from stakeholders. The association accused the media, TV rights owners and politicians of leading a campaign against the merger. The merger plan was seen as an attempt by the AFA to avoid financial upheaval after River Plate, one of Argentina’s most popular clubs, was relegated to the second tier. The AFA planned to create a new company, with a TV rights budget of 1.2 bil pesos ($278 mil) /year, double the present 600 mil pesos, to launch AFA TV, a new pay-TV channel, to show matches. The 2011/12 season is set to kick off this weekend.
=> Western USA’s college athletic conference, Pac-12, unveiled plans to create Pac-12 Networks that will air hundreds of events from the collegiate athletics programme. The agreement, beginning Aug 2012, will see Pac-12 team with Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Comm. and Bright House Networks to launch a national service and 6 regional channels, including features of 35 football and 140 basketball games and 150 Olympic sports events. The deal complements a national broadcast and cable deal announced by Pac-12 in May with ESPN and Fox; the 12-year, US$3 bil deal saw the networks gain shared rights to college football and men’s basketball games, with ESPN also able to show some Olympic sports.
BROADCAST & RIGHTS DISTRIBUTION
=> African broadcaster, Star Times, were granted FTA rights for UEFA Champions League and Europa League in sub-Saharan Africa, from 2012 to 2015. Star Times will distribute media rights to FTA broadcasters in the region, exc. South Africa. The deal also covers the Super Cup. At present pan-African Canal France International has exclusive FTA rights to show Champions League in sub-Saharan Africa, excluding both South Africa and Sudan, while regional Afnex has the Europa League in the region, exc. South Africa, Sudan and Nigeria. However, these deals expire at the end of the 2011-12 season.
EVENTS
=> The Asian Tour welcomes The Thailand Golf Championship in Dec with Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarkeand Lee Westwood headlining the $ 1 mil showpiece. The event will be a full-field Asian Tour event and will take up a prestigious position as the Tour’s season-ending tournament, where the battle for the Order of Merit crown will culminate. The event will be broadcast live over 4 days on the Tour’s global TV platform reaching 200 countries and over 800 mil homes. The winner of this event will earn $158,500 and a spot in the World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational 2012.
=> Japanese manufacturer, Yamaha, will exit FIM Superbike World Championship at the end of this season, citing poor bike sales in Europe. Yamaha riders Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty, currently third and fourth in this year's championship standings, will now be forced to find new teams. When Yamaha won the world title in 2009 it was sponsored by Italian food giant, Sterilgarda Alimenti, but has been without a title sponsor for the last two seasons.
BIZ & BITES
=> Octagon has been appointed by the China LPGA Tour, now in its third year, to aid commercial development. As CLPGA Tour’s partner, Octagon will bring in commercial partners and contribute to strategy development and planning. The CLPGA was launched by the Chinese Golf Association in 2009 with 8 tournaments and has expanded to18 events this season. The tour has been dominated by Thai players although CLPGA is keen to increase experience of Chinese players before golf returns to the Olympics in Rio 2016. Asia accounts for a large number of the world’s top women’s golfers, notably world number one Yani Tseng of Taiwan, who won her 2nd consecutive British Open, and China’s Shanshan Feng, ranked 47, who competes on US LPGA Tour.
=> The deal that Neo Sports struck with Sportfive for TV rights to the 2012 European Championships is said to be worth around Rs1bil ($22.6 mil), covering India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. Neo’s deal includes 2013 European U-21 and Women’s Euro 2013 Championships. The acquisition of Euro 2012 rights is the latest deal agreed by Neo Sports away from its main sport of cricket. Events acquired have included 2011 Copa America, tennis' French Open and the 2011 Rugby World Cup. It is claimed that Neo Sports has earmarked Rs2.5 bil this year to acquire sports rights outside cricket.
=> The Argentinian soccer federation abandoned a controversial plan to merge the top two leagues for the start of the 2012/13 season following hostile responses from stakeholders. The association accused the media, TV rights owners and politicians of leading a campaign against the merger. The merger plan was seen as an attempt by the AFA to avoid financial upheaval after River Plate, one of Argentina’s most popular clubs, was relegated to the second tier. The AFA planned to create a new company, with a TV rights budget of 1.2 bil pesos ($278 mil) /year, double the present 600 mil pesos, to launch AFA TV, a new pay-TV channel, to show matches. The 2011/12 season is set to kick off this weekend.
=> Western USA’s college athletic conference, Pac-12, unveiled plans to create Pac-12 Networks that will air hundreds of events from the collegiate athletics programme. The agreement, beginning Aug 2012, will see Pac-12 team with Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Comm. and Bright House Networks to launch a national service and 6 regional channels, including features of 35 football and 140 basketball games and 150 Olympic sports events. The deal complements a national broadcast and cable deal announced by Pac-12 in May with ESPN and Fox; the 12-year, US$3 bil deal saw the networks gain shared rights to college football and men’s basketball games, with ESPN also able to show some Olympic sports.
BROADCAST & RIGHTS DISTRIBUTION
=> African broadcaster, Star Times, were granted FTA rights for UEFA Champions League and Europa League in sub-Saharan Africa, from 2012 to 2015. Star Times will distribute media rights to FTA broadcasters in the region, exc. South Africa. The deal also covers the Super Cup. At present pan-African Canal France International has exclusive FTA rights to show Champions League in sub-Saharan Africa, excluding both South Africa and Sudan, while regional Afnex has the Europa League in the region, exc. South Africa, Sudan and Nigeria. However, these deals expire at the end of the 2011-12 season.
EVENTS
=> The Asian Tour welcomes The Thailand Golf Championship in Dec with Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarkeand Lee Westwood headlining the $ 1 mil showpiece. The event will be a full-field Asian Tour event and will take up a prestigious position as the Tour’s season-ending tournament, where the battle for the Order of Merit crown will culminate. The event will be broadcast live over 4 days on the Tour’s global TV platform reaching 200 countries and over 800 mil homes. The winner of this event will earn $158,500 and a spot in the World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational 2012.
=> Japanese manufacturer, Yamaha, will exit FIM Superbike World Championship at the end of this season, citing poor bike sales in Europe. Yamaha riders Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty, currently third and fourth in this year's championship standings, will now be forced to find new teams. When Yamaha won the world title in 2009 it was sponsored by Italian food giant, Sterilgarda Alimenti, but has been without a title sponsor for the last two seasons.
BIZ & BITES
=> Octagon has been appointed by the China LPGA Tour, now in its third year, to aid commercial development. As CLPGA Tour’s partner, Octagon will bring in commercial partners and contribute to strategy development and planning. The CLPGA was launched by the Chinese Golf Association in 2009 with 8 tournaments and has expanded to18 events this season. The tour has been dominated by Thai players although CLPGA is keen to increase experience of Chinese players before golf returns to the Olympics in Rio 2016. Asia accounts for a large number of the world’s top women’s golfers, notably world number one Yani Tseng of Taiwan, who won her 2nd consecutive British Open, and China’s Shanshan Feng, ranked 47, who competes on US LPGA Tour.
Monday, 1st August 2011
RIGHTS FEES
=> BSkyB will be the only domestic broadcaster showing live coverage of every F1 race from next year, following a newly-negotiated 7-yr deal in which rights will be shared with the BBC, who will show only half of the races live. The BBC presently holds exclusive rights to F1 in a 2009 deal, but is under pressure to cut costs. The new deal runs from 2012 to 2018 and BSkyB will cover every practice, qualifying and race sessions, with the BBC will show half of the races and accompanying sessions live. In 2009, the BBC replaced commercial broadcaster ITV as the UK home of F1 in an exclusive 5-yr deal worth £200 mil ($326 mil).
=> Meanwhile, the BBC claimed that sacrificing live coverage of 50% of F1 the races was necessary to ensure that it can continue to show the sport in future. The BBC is coming in for criticism from motor racing fans accustomed to accessing every GP live on FTA TV after it renegotiated its exclusive rights deal, on which there are still two years to run, to share coverage with BSkyB, from 2012 until 2018. The combined deal is worth up to £60 mil ($98 mil) /year, a 50% increase on previous arrangements. The move was necessary as the BBC seeks to make cost savings of 20% from its budget after a freeze on licence fee, with the public broadcaster arguing that it would have been forced to drop coverage altogether if it had not teamed up with BSkyB.
=> Belgian telecom, Telenet, upped its full-year revenue outlook by predicting growth of 6% after acquiring rights to Belgian soccer’s Jupiler Pro League. Pro League announced the domestic broadcast rights agreement from 2011/12 to 13/14 as Telenet acquired top rights packages and incumbent holder and rival Belgacom lost a large share of its live rights in new deals worth just under €166 mil over 3 seasons. The agreement is worth €55.25 mil /season, around €10 mil /season more than the rights deal from 2008/09 to 10/11. Telenet has said it will broadcast all matches from the Belgian top flight from 2012/13 onwards by acquiring an extra package of non-exclusive rights (already held by Belgacom) to add to its recently-acquired rights for the top league matches.
BROADCAST & RIGHTS DISTRIBUTION
=> A INR100 crore makeover of the overseas arm of India’s state TV, Doordarshan (DD) is underway, after the Info and Broadcasting Ministry announced it should be repositioned to appeal more to Indians overseas. Stronger coordination between the Ministry and external affairs ministries has been called for by the I&B minister in order to update DD India and to expand its global reach to 100 countries. DD India is available in up to 35 countries but its global popularity with Indians abroad is eclipsed by privately run satellite TV channels from Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Star India, Viacom 18 and NDTV. Previously known as DD World, DD India was launched in 1995.
=> Australian subscription TV's ad revenue has increased 7% in the first half of 2011, according to a report by Ernst & Young, to net ad revenue of over A$180 mil (US$198 mil) from 1 Jan to 30 Jun. Total ad revenue for 2011 fiscal year exceeded A$385 mil (US$424 mil). Over 6 mil people tune into subscription TV weekly, to watch over 200 genre channels ranging from documentaries to sports. It continues to be one of the fastest growing media with ad revenue up by more than 22.3% since 2008.
EVENTS
=> Red Bull China has become an official supplier of the Yonex BWF World Badminton Championships, London 2011, after agreeing a deal with Badminton England. The energy drinks brand will enjoy extensive advertising presence courtside and throughout the venue at Wembley Arena, which will host badminton events at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The World Championships in will be played from 8th to 14th Aug and aired on Sky Sports (UK) and CCTV (China) and by other broadcasters around the world.
=> 95% of tickets for the squash’s finale weekend combined World Open in Rotterdam, featuring 112 best men and 72 best women in the world, have already been sold. The first six days of the tournament will take place at Rotterdam’s Victoria Squash Club before the final four days are switched to an all-glass court situated on the podium of the city’s New Luxor Theatre, which has a capacity of 1,400 spectators. The World Squash Open is the culmination of the top-tier men’s PSA and women’s WISPA tours and offers a record $418,000 prize fund. The event is scheduled for October 28 to November 6.
=> Japan coach John Kirwan believes Asia will eventually become a major force in rugby union, a sport dominated by Europe and southern-hemisphere nations like South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. Japan won the Pacific Nations Cup two weeks ago after a fourth straight success in the HSBC Asian 5 Nations title in May and Kirwan is now preparing his side for the Rugby World Cup which starts in September in New Zealand, where the former All Black won the tournament as a player in 1987. While teaching youngsters in this year’s HSBC ARFU Rugby Coaching Tour, the former winger is convinced that Asia has begun a long-term process that will eventually take it to the sport’s top table.
=> Meanwhile, plans for 3D coverage of this year’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand have been scrapped after leading 3D broadcast technology firm producer, 3DLive, said it was unable to meet its production commitments. The provision of 3D broadcasts was to cost 3DLive between NZ$4 mil ($3.49 mil) and NZ$5 mil. 3DLive also signed contracts with international broadcasters to provide a 3D feed, while Sky New Zealand and tournament host broadcaster, had promised to be the first broadcaster in New Zealand to deliver 3D programming. RWCL has, however, confirmed that all 48 games of the tournament will be available in high-definition.
BIZ & BITES
=> China's Zhang Jilong will remain the head of the Asian Football Confederation until the organisation's congress in May 2012. As recommended by the AFC's legal committee, an extraordinary congress for the election of president can be convened if the office of president falls vacant for more than one year. This means that a congress cannot be convened until after 30 May, 2012. At a meeting of the AFC executive committee, Zhang was unanimously nominated by the committee for the Asian seat on the FIFA executive committee.
=> BSkyB will be the only domestic broadcaster showing live coverage of every F1 race from next year, following a newly-negotiated 7-yr deal in which rights will be shared with the BBC, who will show only half of the races live. The BBC presently holds exclusive rights to F1 in a 2009 deal, but is under pressure to cut costs. The new deal runs from 2012 to 2018 and BSkyB will cover every practice, qualifying and race sessions, with the BBC will show half of the races and accompanying sessions live. In 2009, the BBC replaced commercial broadcaster ITV as the UK home of F1 in an exclusive 5-yr deal worth £200 mil ($326 mil).
=> Meanwhile, the BBC claimed that sacrificing live coverage of 50% of F1 the races was necessary to ensure that it can continue to show the sport in future. The BBC is coming in for criticism from motor racing fans accustomed to accessing every GP live on FTA TV after it renegotiated its exclusive rights deal, on which there are still two years to run, to share coverage with BSkyB, from 2012 until 2018. The combined deal is worth up to £60 mil ($98 mil) /year, a 50% increase on previous arrangements. The move was necessary as the BBC seeks to make cost savings of 20% from its budget after a freeze on licence fee, with the public broadcaster arguing that it would have been forced to drop coverage altogether if it had not teamed up with BSkyB.
=> Belgian telecom, Telenet, upped its full-year revenue outlook by predicting growth of 6% after acquiring rights to Belgian soccer’s Jupiler Pro League. Pro League announced the domestic broadcast rights agreement from 2011/12 to 13/14 as Telenet acquired top rights packages and incumbent holder and rival Belgacom lost a large share of its live rights in new deals worth just under €166 mil over 3 seasons. The agreement is worth €55.25 mil /season, around €10 mil /season more than the rights deal from 2008/09 to 10/11. Telenet has said it will broadcast all matches from the Belgian top flight from 2012/13 onwards by acquiring an extra package of non-exclusive rights (already held by Belgacom) to add to its recently-acquired rights for the top league matches.
BROADCAST & RIGHTS DISTRIBUTION
=> A INR100 crore makeover of the overseas arm of India’s state TV, Doordarshan (DD) is underway, after the Info and Broadcasting Ministry announced it should be repositioned to appeal more to Indians overseas. Stronger coordination between the Ministry and external affairs ministries has been called for by the I&B minister in order to update DD India and to expand its global reach to 100 countries. DD India is available in up to 35 countries but its global popularity with Indians abroad is eclipsed by privately run satellite TV channels from Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Star India, Viacom 18 and NDTV. Previously known as DD World, DD India was launched in 1995.
=> Australian subscription TV's ad revenue has increased 7% in the first half of 2011, according to a report by Ernst & Young, to net ad revenue of over A$180 mil (US$198 mil) from 1 Jan to 30 Jun. Total ad revenue for 2011 fiscal year exceeded A$385 mil (US$424 mil). Over 6 mil people tune into subscription TV weekly, to watch over 200 genre channels ranging from documentaries to sports. It continues to be one of the fastest growing media with ad revenue up by more than 22.3% since 2008.
EVENTS
=> Red Bull China has become an official supplier of the Yonex BWF World Badminton Championships, London 2011, after agreeing a deal with Badminton England. The energy drinks brand will enjoy extensive advertising presence courtside and throughout the venue at Wembley Arena, which will host badminton events at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The World Championships in will be played from 8th to 14th Aug and aired on Sky Sports (UK) and CCTV (China) and by other broadcasters around the world.
=> 95% of tickets for the squash’s finale weekend combined World Open in Rotterdam, featuring 112 best men and 72 best women in the world, have already been sold. The first six days of the tournament will take place at Rotterdam’s Victoria Squash Club before the final four days are switched to an all-glass court situated on the podium of the city’s New Luxor Theatre, which has a capacity of 1,400 spectators. The World Squash Open is the culmination of the top-tier men’s PSA and women’s WISPA tours and offers a record $418,000 prize fund. The event is scheduled for October 28 to November 6.
=> Japan coach John Kirwan believes Asia will eventually become a major force in rugby union, a sport dominated by Europe and southern-hemisphere nations like South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. Japan won the Pacific Nations Cup two weeks ago after a fourth straight success in the HSBC Asian 5 Nations title in May and Kirwan is now preparing his side for the Rugby World Cup which starts in September in New Zealand, where the former All Black won the tournament as a player in 1987. While teaching youngsters in this year’s HSBC ARFU Rugby Coaching Tour, the former winger is convinced that Asia has begun a long-term process that will eventually take it to the sport’s top table.
=> Meanwhile, plans for 3D coverage of this year’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand have been scrapped after leading 3D broadcast technology firm producer, 3DLive, said it was unable to meet its production commitments. The provision of 3D broadcasts was to cost 3DLive between NZ$4 mil ($3.49 mil) and NZ$5 mil. 3DLive also signed contracts with international broadcasters to provide a 3D feed, while Sky New Zealand and tournament host broadcaster, had promised to be the first broadcaster in New Zealand to deliver 3D programming. RWCL has, however, confirmed that all 48 games of the tournament will be available in high-definition.
BIZ & BITES
=> China's Zhang Jilong will remain the head of the Asian Football Confederation until the organisation's congress in May 2012. As recommended by the AFC's legal committee, an extraordinary congress for the election of president can be convened if the office of president falls vacant for more than one year. This means that a congress cannot be convened until after 30 May, 2012. At a meeting of the AFC executive committee, Zhang was unanimously nominated by the committee for the Asian seat on the FIFA executive committee.
Friday, 29th July 2011
RIGHTS FEES
=> Pitch Int. has been retained by English Football League to distribute international rights to for 5 years beginning 2012/13. The league said that the “record five-year overseas broadcasting deal” had been concluded after a “highly competitive sales process.” Pitch sold rights in Middle East in the present 3-yr period, expiring at end 2011/12, with IMG handling rights in other regions outside the UK and Ireland. However, the Carling Cup (and the 3 lower divisions), has returned to having a single agency partner for the worldwide distribution of rights. Previous overseas rights deals were worth £24 mil ($39 mil) over 3 seasons covering 96 countries. The longer-term international deal will help compensate for a decline in the value of its UK media rights after the declined to extend live rights beyond the 2011/12. British Sky Broadcasting agreed to pay £195 mil for exclusive UK live rights to the Football League and Carling Cup for 2012/13 to 14/15 compared with the £264 mil the clubs share in the current 3-yr deal with BSkyB and the BBC.
=> UK’s ITV, holders of rights to broadcast the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, is to show the matches live via iPhones and iPads, allowing UK viewers to watch games on their way to work, due to time-difference. The Rugby World Cup is scheduled for September 9 to October 23. This was revealed as ITV revealed an 86% rise in half-year profits to £204 mil ($334 mil). The increase came even though ad revenues were down 6% in the second quarter. Revenues from Jan to Jun rose to £1.03 bil from £987 mil.
BROADCAST & RIGHTS DISTRIBUTION
=> Endemol Sport, organiser of the Dublin Super Cup, announced that the friendly tournament will be broadcast to over 160 territories worldwide through agreements for over 20 new broadcast deals. The inaugural tournament takes place in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium over the Irish Bank Holiday weekend and was launched as a result of a 10-year deal struck in 2010 between Endemol Sport and The Football Association of Ireland. The first tournament will feature England's Manchester City, Italy's Internazionale, Scotland's Celtic and a team representing the Airtricity League of Ireland. Endemol Sports previously signed 3-yr broadcast deals with Sky Sports in the UK, Fox Soccer in USA and SuperSport in Africa. Further deals have now been reached around the globe taking the total number of broadcasters to over 25.
EVENTS
=> Nimbus Sport, marketing for the Indian Hockey Federation, announced plans to invest Rs 2.5 bil (US$56.5 mil) in the World Series Hockey, but which is yet to be officially sanctioned by the International Hockey Federation. The announcement comes after the confirmation of eight franchises agreeing to participate in the 5-wk event starting 15 Dec. The inaugural series will consist of 61 matches, with each teams playing 14 league matches. The tournament offers US$2 mil in prize money and will involve around 40 overseas players, with all of the players, captains and coaches distributed among the franchises via a draft system.
=> FIFA is confident that Brazil will stage a successful World Cup in 2014 despite work still required on infrastructure. The federation has been critical of the pace of preparations, notably with regard to stadia and transport links. There were fears that Sao Paulo would be unable to provide a venue capable of hosting the opening match and other major fixtures at the World Cup, but Sao Paolo club Corinthians recently announced building a new R$820 mil ($528 mil) stadium which will serve this purpose. Meanwhile, the iconic Maracana Stadium is undergoing renovation to host the WC final, and the opening and closing ceremonies and soccer matches of the 2016 Olympics. The 2014 World Cup will take place from June 12 to July 13.
BIZ & BITES
=> Revenues for cricket-related TV advertising in India exceeded INR 2,000 crore this year, with ad slots accounting for 20% of the total TV marketing budget in 2011. According to Financial Express, ad revenues of about INR 1,500 crore were generated by ICC Cricket World Cup and the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournaments. The 5 top sports channels in 2010 cricket generated a total of INR 1,300 crore in ad revenue. With India’s tour of England, this year’s cricketing bonanza is set to continue on TV. ESPN Star Sports, rights holder for the England v India cricket series, has commitment worth INR 180-200 crore from over 40 brands. During the tour India and England will play four test matches, five one day internationals and one T20 game.
=> FIFA has given Caribbean officials who attended a meeting in May at which bribes were allegedly offered by presidential candidate, Mohamed Bin Hammam, 48 hours to provide relevant and accurate information on the event. FIFA said that individuals who have information but fail to come forward “will be subject to the full range of sanctions.” On Saturday, Bin Hammam, the president of the Asian Football Confederation, was banned for life from soccer after being found guilty on bribery charges. He is refusing to step down as AFC chief, although there have been calls for elections to appoint a replacement. China’s Zhang Jilong has been serving as acting AFC chief since Bin Hammam was suspended and AFC is set to discuss the leadership situation at a meeting on Friday.
=> Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, chairman of the European Club Association, upped the ante in a power struggle between the clubs and FIFA by calling for a “revolution” against the world body, suggesting that there could be a breakaway concerns are not addressed over corruption and fixture congestion. Rummenigge is exasperated at the scandals engulfing FIFA, saying: “It [football] is a nice game decided by people who are corrupt and I am ready for a revolution if that is the only way to come to a clean and serious football family.” The ECA represents over 200 European clubs and has raised concerns over the demands placed on international players, a theme taken on by Rummenigge, who pointed out that the EURO will expand to 24 teams in 2016, compared with 8 in 1980, and that the World Cup now involves 32 teams, up from 16 in the 1970s.
=> Meanwhile, Sepp Blatter denies being too much influence in running of FIFA and the sport and pledges to oversee reforms over the next nine months to fight corruption. Blatter, head of FIFA since 1998, has been criticized by banned exco member, Mohd Bin Hammam and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, chairman of European Club Association, over his leadership, both claiming that he is resistant to change. Bin Hammam has accused Blatter of silencing people opposed to his way of running FIFA while Rummenigge questioned Blatter’s preparedness to clean up the sport. However, Blatter said that anti-corruption measures would be drawn up over the next months and the federation had been in contact with those working on anti-corruption systems with the United Nations.
=> Pitch Int. has been retained by English Football League to distribute international rights to for 5 years beginning 2012/13. The league said that the “record five-year overseas broadcasting deal” had been concluded after a “highly competitive sales process.” Pitch sold rights in Middle East in the present 3-yr period, expiring at end 2011/12, with IMG handling rights in other regions outside the UK and Ireland. However, the Carling Cup (and the 3 lower divisions), has returned to having a single agency partner for the worldwide distribution of rights. Previous overseas rights deals were worth £24 mil ($39 mil) over 3 seasons covering 96 countries. The longer-term international deal will help compensate for a decline in the value of its UK media rights after the declined to extend live rights beyond the 2011/12. British Sky Broadcasting agreed to pay £195 mil for exclusive UK live rights to the Football League and Carling Cup for 2012/13 to 14/15 compared with the £264 mil the clubs share in the current 3-yr deal with BSkyB and the BBC.
=> UK’s ITV, holders of rights to broadcast the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, is to show the matches live via iPhones and iPads, allowing UK viewers to watch games on their way to work, due to time-difference. The Rugby World Cup is scheduled for September 9 to October 23. This was revealed as ITV revealed an 86% rise in half-year profits to £204 mil ($334 mil). The increase came even though ad revenues were down 6% in the second quarter. Revenues from Jan to Jun rose to £1.03 bil from £987 mil.
BROADCAST & RIGHTS DISTRIBUTION
=> Endemol Sport, organiser of the Dublin Super Cup, announced that the friendly tournament will be broadcast to over 160 territories worldwide through agreements for over 20 new broadcast deals. The inaugural tournament takes place in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium over the Irish Bank Holiday weekend and was launched as a result of a 10-year deal struck in 2010 between Endemol Sport and The Football Association of Ireland. The first tournament will feature England's Manchester City, Italy's Internazionale, Scotland's Celtic and a team representing the Airtricity League of Ireland. Endemol Sports previously signed 3-yr broadcast deals with Sky Sports in the UK, Fox Soccer in USA and SuperSport in Africa. Further deals have now been reached around the globe taking the total number of broadcasters to over 25.
EVENTS
=> Nimbus Sport, marketing for the Indian Hockey Federation, announced plans to invest Rs 2.5 bil (US$56.5 mil) in the World Series Hockey, but which is yet to be officially sanctioned by the International Hockey Federation. The announcement comes after the confirmation of eight franchises agreeing to participate in the 5-wk event starting 15 Dec. The inaugural series will consist of 61 matches, with each teams playing 14 league matches. The tournament offers US$2 mil in prize money and will involve around 40 overseas players, with all of the players, captains and coaches distributed among the franchises via a draft system.
=> FIFA is confident that Brazil will stage a successful World Cup in 2014 despite work still required on infrastructure. The federation has been critical of the pace of preparations, notably with regard to stadia and transport links. There were fears that Sao Paulo would be unable to provide a venue capable of hosting the opening match and other major fixtures at the World Cup, but Sao Paolo club Corinthians recently announced building a new R$820 mil ($528 mil) stadium which will serve this purpose. Meanwhile, the iconic Maracana Stadium is undergoing renovation to host the WC final, and the opening and closing ceremonies and soccer matches of the 2016 Olympics. The 2014 World Cup will take place from June 12 to July 13.
BIZ & BITES
=> Revenues for cricket-related TV advertising in India exceeded INR 2,000 crore this year, with ad slots accounting for 20% of the total TV marketing budget in 2011. According to Financial Express, ad revenues of about INR 1,500 crore were generated by ICC Cricket World Cup and the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournaments. The 5 top sports channels in 2010 cricket generated a total of INR 1,300 crore in ad revenue. With India’s tour of England, this year’s cricketing bonanza is set to continue on TV. ESPN Star Sports, rights holder for the England v India cricket series, has commitment worth INR 180-200 crore from over 40 brands. During the tour India and England will play four test matches, five one day internationals and one T20 game.
=> FIFA has given Caribbean officials who attended a meeting in May at which bribes were allegedly offered by presidential candidate, Mohamed Bin Hammam, 48 hours to provide relevant and accurate information on the event. FIFA said that individuals who have information but fail to come forward “will be subject to the full range of sanctions.” On Saturday, Bin Hammam, the president of the Asian Football Confederation, was banned for life from soccer after being found guilty on bribery charges. He is refusing to step down as AFC chief, although there have been calls for elections to appoint a replacement. China’s Zhang Jilong has been serving as acting AFC chief since Bin Hammam was suspended and AFC is set to discuss the leadership situation at a meeting on Friday.
=> Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, chairman of the European Club Association, upped the ante in a power struggle between the clubs and FIFA by calling for a “revolution” against the world body, suggesting that there could be a breakaway concerns are not addressed over corruption and fixture congestion. Rummenigge is exasperated at the scandals engulfing FIFA, saying: “It [football] is a nice game decided by people who are corrupt and I am ready for a revolution if that is the only way to come to a clean and serious football family.” The ECA represents over 200 European clubs and has raised concerns over the demands placed on international players, a theme taken on by Rummenigge, who pointed out that the EURO will expand to 24 teams in 2016, compared with 8 in 1980, and that the World Cup now involves 32 teams, up from 16 in the 1970s.
=> Meanwhile, Sepp Blatter denies being too much influence in running of FIFA and the sport and pledges to oversee reforms over the next nine months to fight corruption. Blatter, head of FIFA since 1998, has been criticized by banned exco member, Mohd Bin Hammam and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, chairman of European Club Association, over his leadership, both claiming that he is resistant to change. Bin Hammam has accused Blatter of silencing people opposed to his way of running FIFA while Rummenigge questioned Blatter’s preparedness to clean up the sport. However, Blatter said that anti-corruption measures would be drawn up over the next months and the federation had been in contact with those working on anti-corruption systems with the United Nations.