Monday, 23rd April 2007

HEADLINES OF THE DAY

WWE Ends Relationship with Deep South Wrestling

WWE has severed ties with developmental territory Deep South Wrestling, the company announced on its website. “World Wrestling Entertainment has ended its relationship with Deep South Wrestling. For the past two years, DSW has served as one of WWE's developmental territories. Check back here as more information becomes available,” stated the posting on WWE.com.

The Atlanta based promotion is owned by “The Assassin” Jody Hamilton and ran weekly shows as well as events at Six Flags Amusement parks. The promotion and WWE had issues last year when WWE released Bill Demott as trainer and brought Tom Pritchard to handle training.

The announcement leaves Louisville, Kentucky’s Ohio Valley Wrestling as the only developmental territory at this point. Mike Johnson at PWInsider.com reported that the talents based in Atlanta have been told that they are not going to be released, and that the talent may be sent to OVW as well as Booker T’s Texas based PWA promotion and Steve Keirn’s Tampa, Florida wrestling school.

Many current WWE stars trained in Deep South Wrestling, including The Great Khali, The Miz, MVP, Matt Striker and Deuce and Domino. DSW has also been a place for established talents to work including Dave Taylor, William Regal, and Jamie Noble. Current talents include Sonny Siaki, Kofi Kingston, TJ Wilson, Nattie Neidhart, Angel Williams, Ace Steel and Krissy Vaine. Source: Slam Sports Canada, Wrestling News, 20th April 2007


DID YOU KNOW?

According to the World Squash Federation, it is compulsory for all players under the age of 19 years to protect their eyes with special plastic glasses. The regulations came into force around eight years ago after a number of junior players around the world suffered eye injuries. "It's important that the players use these glasses to avoid potential danger to their eyes," said tournament referee for the first Arab Squash (Under-13) Championship, Ibrahim Jamal. Source: Gulf News, 21st April 2007


INFO BOX

Badminton World Rankings
Source: Badminton World Federation Official, 19th April 2007

Men’s singles:
1 Lin Dan (Chn) 80393 pts;
2 Bao Chunlai (Chn) 63,199.8;
3 Chen Jin (Chn) 62142.8;
4 Chen Hong (Chn) 59,871;
5 Lee Chong Wei (Mas) 57175.8;
6 Chen Yu (Chn) 54,820.5;
7 Peter Gade Christensen (Den) 51,322.6;
8 Kenneth Jonassen (Den) 47,550.8;
9 Hafiz Hashim (Mas) 45492.6;
10 Taufik Hidayat (Ina) 42,108.8.

Other Malaysians: 16 Lee Tsuen Seng 33,490; 18 Roslin Hashim 32,880; 22 Sairul Amar Ayob 31,240; 25 Yeoh Kay Bin 30,890; 37 Wong Choong Hann 23,255; 38 Kuan Beng Hong 22,335; 47 Tan Chun Seang 19,740.

Men's Doubles:
1 Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun (Chn) 68,282;
2 Jens Eriksen-Martin Lundgaard Hansen (Den) 58,997;
3 Jung Jae Sung-Lee Yong Dae (Kor) 56,078;
4 Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan (Ina) 52,144;
5 Candra Wijaya-Tony Gunawan (Ina-US) 49,010;
6 Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah (Mas) 48,926;
7 Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong (Mas) 46,786;
8 Rian Sukmawan-Eng Hian (Ina) 41,471;
9 Lee Jae Jin-Hwang Ji Man (Kor) 38,240;
10 Anthony Clark- Robert Blair (Eng) 38,230.

Other Malaysians: 18 Tan Bin Shen-Ong Soon Hock 32,260; 56 Chan Chong Ming-Hoon Thien How 14,950.


SPORTS SHORTS

* Portfolio Entertainment has licensed all seven seasons of Top Dogs, featuring worldwide sports for canines, to True Visions Public Company Limited (formerly UBC) in Thailand. The deal for 84 episodes is Portfolio’s first with the Thai platform, and its first sale of the series since acquiring it from Polar Bear Entertainment in 2006. “When we saw Top Dogs for the first time at MIPCOM, we believed the series would resonate with our viewers,” added Nisa Sittasrivong, program acquisitions officer at True Visions Public Company Limited. Source: Worldscreen, 20th April 2007

* V8 Supercars Australia chairman Tony Cochrane crowed about the ever- growing success of his series. Since shifting to a different TV network, viewing figures this year were up 47%, he said. "We're one of the big four sports in Australia now," he said. He recalled when he tried to sell TV rights in New Zealand 10 years ago, he had trouble getting an appointment and eventually sold the rights to TV1 for $30,000 a year. Source: Stuff NZ, 22nd April 2007

* The U.S. Figure Skating Association got a $12 million-a-year rights fee in the final eight years of the ABC/ESPN contract that ended in April. Given both a 60 percent drop in ratings over the past decade for the women's final at the U.S. Championships and changes in the TV marketplace, the USFSA did well to get what is a revenue-sharing deal with NBC. Both parties will profit once advertising revenue reaches a predetermined level. Source: Sports on Chicago Tribune, 21st April 2007

* German pay-TV Arena has announced a loss of €132 million for first five months of operation. Arena has live rights to the 1.Bundesliga. Premiere has suspended marketing of the Arena football and entertainment package after the German Cartel Office announced an investigation. Arena, owned by Unity Media, gained over a million subscribers in its first five months, with its pre-launch activities costing €31 million. The losses were revealed within Unity Media’s results for 2006, and are in line with the company’s expectations. Source: Sports Media, 20th April 2007

* BBC One’s flagship football highlights programme, Match of the Day, welcomes a woman into the commentator’s booth for the first time. Jacqui Oatley will take to the mike for the Premiership clash between Fulham and Blackburn Rovers at Craven Cottage. There have been a number of female presenters for football programmes in the past, this is the first time on UK television that a female has commentated on a football match. Women have commentated on top flight football matches for several years in Italy. Source: Sports Media, 20th April 2007

* France's chances of hosting UEFA Euro 2016 have been boosted by the decision to award Ukraine and Poland the 2012 tournament, according to French Football Federation (FFF) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes who revealed that France is contemplating bidding for Euro 2016, but admitted any decision would be based on the vote for the 2012 event. France would have little chance if Italy had won 2012, since UEFA would opt to give 2016 to an eastern European country. Source: Football Insider, 20th April 2007

* The Women’s International Squash Players’ Association has signed a 3-year deal with Stolwijk & Eichhorn, the Netherlands-based management company, to stage and promote the annual Women’s World Championship, the centrepiece of the WISPA World Tour, from 2009 to 2011. The event will offer a minimum prize fund of close to $500,000 and will involve total investment of $1.5 million. The announcement follows an earlier decision that this year’s edition will be held in Madrid, while the 2008 event will take place in Manchester. Source: Sportcal, 20th April 2007


MORE NEWS

Don King: Spinks Ready for Middleweight Champion Jermain Taylor

IBF junior middleweight champion Cory “The Next Generation” Spinks cleared a WBC “30-day weigh in” at 168.75 pounds today at the Don King Productions headquarters in Deerfield Beach, FL. Spinks is moving up to middleweight to challenge WBC and World Boxing Organization champion Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn., on May 19 in a match televised on HBO’s World Championship Boxing at 10:15pm ET/7:15pm PT.

WBC rules require all fighters to be within 10 percent of the contracted weight 30 days prior to championship matches, in this case up to 16 pounds over the 160-pound middleweight limit. “I feel good,” Spinks said. “I’m right where I need to be and I’m really looking forward to this fight.” Source: Boxing Press on Saddoboxing, 20th April 2007

Asia/General: Asian Quad-Cup Hosting Plan was Too 'Idealistic'

Choosing to host soccer’s Asian Cup in four different countries this year was a mistake, admits the president of the Asian Football Confederation. The event, scheduled for July 7 to 29, hosted jointly by Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, and Mohamed bin Hammam told Reuters: ‘It involves a lot of marketing and energy. You get something from one government, but not another. Most of them are amateurs hardly committed to their associations, maybe just an hour a day. We have to have commitment. If one country fulfils its obligations and another one doesn’t, this is no good to us.’

Both Thailand and Malaysia have provoked the confederation’s ire for failure to respect the required preparations. Hammam described the rationale behind the quadruple hosting award as ‘idealistic,’ adding: ‘We wanted to give everyone a chance to host this event and give people a chance to enjoy the tournament. One country is more appropriate in terms of logistics. Dealing with one national association and one government, it’s like dealing with one mind.’

Hammam said that the confederation would review a decision to rotate hosting of the tournament between four zones: West Asia, Central and South Asia, East Asia and ASEAN. Bidders to host the event in 2011 are restricted to West Asia and Central and South Asia, with bids having been received from three countries so far: India, Qatar and Iran. The confederation plans to select the 2011 host country on July 28. Source: Sportcal, 20th April 2007

China/General: Volvo Ocean Race to Sail to China in 2009

The Volvo Ocean Race will visit China, stopping in two cities, in early 2009 along a new route that will include stopovers in the middle-east, India and Asia. Favourites to host the Chinese stopovers are Qingdao, which will hold the sailing events during the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, and Shanghai. The 2008-2009 race will start from Alicante Port, Spain in October 2008, going through Africa, Middle East, Asia, South America, North America, Europe to a Baltic port finish.

The 10-member crews race aboard the Volvo Open 70, the fastest monohull ocean racing yacht in the world. The fleet will arrive in China around the spring festival in 2009 and stay for about three weeks during which various activities such as in-port race between the fleet will take place. Source: Sport Business, 20th April 2007

Elsewhere/New Media: ITV Partners With Premium TV For UEFA Cup Simulcast

ITV.com has partnered with Premium TV for a UEFA Cup simulcast. The broadcaster will screen all UEFA Cup games over broadband through to the end of the competition, with the final taking place in Glasgow, Scotland on May 16. For the first time, broadband coverage will exceed that shown on television and Premium TV will stream the live coverage of the prestigious competition for the network at UEFACup.ITV.com.

The UEFA Cup project is the latest in a line of joint simulcast ventures planned by ITV.com and Premium TV, and follows on from ITV's UEFA Champions League simulcast, which saw Premium TV provide the live streaming. The two companies also joined up to broadcast the 153rd Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race Live online earlier this month. Source Sports Media, Sport Business, Advanced Television, 20th April 2007

Elsewhere/General: French and English Rugby Form Alliance

French rugby’s national league (LNR) and England’s Premier Rugby formed an official alliance during a meeting yesterday. Both have pulled out of rugby’s premier European competition, the Heineken Cup next season. In a statement the LNR and Premier Rugby said, "the representatives of Premier Rugby and LNR noted a unanimous agreement on matters of common interest and decided to materialise this agreement by forging a formal alliance."

"This alliance will aim to perpetuate the professional clubs. The French and English leagues reaffirmed their indissociable position expressed in October 2006 regarding a new agreement on the organisation of The European competitions." French and English clubs pulled out of the Heineken Cup over a dispute around shares in the European Rugby Cup (ERC). Source: Sport Business, Sportcal, 20th April 2007

Elsewhere/Business: Beckham Sparks $13.3 Million in Sales for Galaxy

David Beckham already has brought Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy an additional $13.3 million in revenue, more than enough to cover his salary for two years. Beckham, who won't play until July, signed a five-year contract with the Galaxy in January that will pay him an MLS- record base salary of $5.5 million annually and might be worth as much as $250 million with his cut from jersey sales, endorsements and sponsorships.

Beckham's current contract with Madrid expires June 30. He said he'll join the Galaxy, whose season began April 8, in July after a short break. In the two years after he joined Real Madrid, the club’s annual sponsorship and advertising income more than doubled to 45.9 million euros ($62.3 million) from contracts with companies including Siemens AG and Adidas AG. Sales of jerseys and other merchandising jumped 62 percent to 54.1 million euros.

Tim Leiweke, CEO of AEG, the owner of the Galaxy said Beckham's celebrity has sold an additional 7,000 season tickets. The average price is $700. That translates into $4.9 million in new revenue. The team doesn't release total season-ticket sales figures. The club boosted the price of premium seats 48% to $4,000 from $2,700 for its 20 home games. It sold 1,000 seats for the season, up 25% from 2006, to generate an additional $800,000. Ticket revenue is expected to double this season to about $10 million.

Beckham will also make his presence felt on ESPN2, which has a contract to show MLS games. ESON2 will broadcast six Galaxy games this season, five after Beckham joins the team. Television audiences for Galaxy games likely will rise between 25- 50% from the MLS average of 197,000 U.S. households last season, said John Skipper, ESPN's executive vice president of content. Source: Bloomberg, 19th April 2007


ARTICLES, COMMENTS & OPINIONS

MPA Report Reveals Growth of Asia Pacific Pay-TV, Broadband Markets

According to Media Partners Asia, pay-TV and broadband revenues in Asia-Pacific will grow from $44 billion today to $102 billion by 2015, with a compound annual growth rate of 11 percent. The MPA report, entitled Asia-Pacific Pay-TV and Broadband Markets 2007, measures the growing consumption and value of multichannel video and broadband services over multiple distribution networks, including cable, satellite, fixed-line and wireless, across 16 territories in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to the report, the growth in digital set-top box (STB) deployment in Asia is reaching significant levels. The MPA predicts that net new digital subscriptions will hit an absolute peak of 30 million in Asia by 2010, fuelled by explosive growth in China and India; gradual transition in Korea; continued expansion in Japan and Australia; and full-scale digital migration in most ASEAN markets.

By 2015, almost 50% of pay-TV households will have digital STB versus 11% in 2006. According to MPA, total pay-TV subscriptions reached 255 million in Asia last year and will climb to 446 million by 2015. Broadband household penetration, averaging 13% in 2006, could grow to 24% by 2012 and 31% by 2015.

Penetration levels in Korea, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia will peak at 80-90% on average, while penetration in China will continue to climb, approaching 40% by 2015. Malaysia will lead the ASEAN region with almost 50 percent broadband household penetration by 2015, while penetration levels in India will remain modest at 11 percent by 2015.

In 2006, revenue opportunity for pay-TV channels in Asia was estimated at $9.2 billion. This could grow to $18 billion by 2011 and top $24 billion by 2015. In terms of volume of revenue generated, Japan, China, India and Korea lead the way. Japan’s broadband sector will generate approximately $19 billion in turnover by 2015 and the overall broadband pay-TV market will be worth a sizable $28 billion in revenue.

In China, total digital subscriptions are expected to scale from 10 million in 2006 to 70 million by 2011 and reach 107 million by 2015. This should provide a foundation for pay-TV growth that is spurred by the production of higher quality content, along with services such as HDTV, PVR and VOD. For the first time, English Premier League Soccer matches will be shown on a first-run basis on digital pay-TV in SD and HD formats, starting this year, followed by the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Boosted by cable’s rollout of conditional access systems and aggressive subscriber acquisition by two DTH satellite pay-TV platforms, India’s digital migration is also gaining momentum with almost 1.2 million new digital pay-TV customers added during the first quarter of this year (March quarter) alone. However, the report notes that while India will lead the Asia-Pacific region in pay-TV industry revenue generation, it still lags most of its neighbors in broadband.

Korea’s broadband pay-TV sector will generate $10 billion in revenue by 2015 with broadband contributing 51 percent and pay-TV growing its contribution to 49 percent versus 32 percent in 2006.

Cash generation and profitability are rising in Asia’s pay-TV and broadcasting sectors, causing investors, especially private equity firms, to rush into the ownership of brands and platforms with dependable cash flow. As a result, M&A levels reached a record $8.7 billion in 2006, and will continue to grow, driven by activity in Greater China, India and Korea as consolidation and investment gains pace. Source: Worldscreen, 20th April 2007