Thursday, 5th April 2007

INFO BOX

Digital Data Storage
Source: Ken Radio, 19th March 2007

* Images – Images, captured by more than 1 billion devices in the world, from digital cameras and camera phones to medical scanners and security cameras, comprise the largest component of the digital universe.
* Digital Cameras – The number of images captured on consumer digital still cameras in 2006 exceeded 150 billion worldwide, while the number of images captured on cell phones hit almost 100 billion. Forecasts show the more than 500 billion images by 2010.
* Camcorders – Camcorder usage should double in total minutes of use between now and 2010.
* E-mail – The number of e-mail mailboxes has grown from 253 million in 1998 to nearly 1.6 billion in 2006. During the same period, the number of e-mails sent grew three times faster than the number of people e-mailing; in 2006 just the e-mail traffic from one person to another – i.e., excluding spam – accounted for 6 exabytes.
* Instant Messaging – There will be 250 million IM accounts by 2010, including consumer accounts from which business IMs are sent.
* Broadband – Today over 60% of Internet users have access to broadband circuits, either at home, at work or at school.
* Internet – In 1996 there were only 48 million people routinely using the Internet. The Worldwide Web was just two years old. By 2006, there were 1.1 billion users on the Internet. By 2010 another 500 million users to come online.
* Unstructured Data – Over 95% of the digital universe is unstructured data. In organizations, unstructured data accounts for more than 80% of all information.
* Compliance and Security – Today, 20% of the digital universe is subject to compliance rules and standards and about 30% is potentially subject to security applications.
* Classification – IDC estimates that today less than 10% of organizational information is “classified,” or ranked according to value. Estimates show the amount of classified data to grow better than 50% a year.
* Emerging Economies – These now account for 10% of the digital universe but will grow 30-40% faster than mature economies.


SPORTS SHORTS

* AirAsia appoints Havas Sports to manage the activation work for its partnership with Manchester United and any future sponsorship. Havas Sports is working with AirAsia to create a range of activities that build understanding and awareness of the brand and drive sales as new routes are opened up. Tony Fernandes, Chief Executive of Air Asia hopes to expand internationally and is investing heavily in sponsorship as a communication strategy to build a global airline. Source: Sport Business, 5th April, 2007

* Thailand's government blocked access to YouTube after it declined to withdraw a video clip mocking the country's monarch. Communications Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom told Reuters he ordered a block of the entire site after the ministry's attempts to block the offending page last week failed. The 44-second clip ridicules King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest reigning monarch revered by Thais. Source: Advanced Television, The Times UK, Total Content + Media, 4th April 2007

* Races from US motor racing’s Champ Car World Series will be shown in China as it prepares to stage its first regular-season event in the country. The deal hatched by Sino Sports & Entertainment, the US company which owns the event and television rights to the series in China, will see races screened nationwide, beginning with 15 television stations covering various regions including Beijing, Guangdong Province and Shanghai. The season starts in Las Vegas and China is scheduled to stage its first Champ Car race in Zhuhai on May 20. Source: Sportcal, WhoWon.com, Motorsport.com, 4th April 2007

* Korean telco, KT Corp has expanded its mobile WiMax network to cover the whole of Seoul. KT Corp uses a Korean variant of WiMax called WiBro. The Korean developers claim that WiBro and WiMax devices and networks are interoperable, and will be fully compatible by next year given suitable driver software and firmware. However, it is unclear whether these claims have been independently tested. WiMax is an internet access technology similar to Wi-Fi, but with a much wider range and higher speed. Source: Ken Radio, 4th April 2007

* F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone is considering holding one Asian Grand Prix at night, and would attract bigger TV audiences as it would be shown during the day in Europe rather than in the early hours of the morning. Ecclestone also reiterates his desire to extend the calendar from 17 to 20 GPs, saying Mexico, India, Russia, South Korea could hold races. Source: Sport Business, 5th April, 2007

* Telstra is to sue Fox Sports over rugby league media rights. Telstra says Fox Sports is in breach of Telstra’s A$90 million six-year rights agreement with the National Rugby League. Fox Sports is making highlights clips available via its website and via mobile phone. Telstra is seeking an urgent ruling to restrict Fox Sports to using limited footage for news reports, pending a full trial. Source: Sport Business, Paid Content, Stuff NZ, 4th April 2007

* Global IPTV subscribers will rise to 103 million in 2011, expanding at Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 92.5 percent up from 3.9 million in 2006, iSuppli Corp. predicts. This translates into $39.1 billion in revenue, up by a factor of more than 40 from $960.5 million in 2006. Frank Dickson, principal analyst for iSuppli said, "Because of the wide variety of services offered by the technology, companies from various industries are being drawn into the IPTV/triple-play fight, sparking intensified competition among market participants." Source: Advanced Television, 4th April 2007

* Juniper Research believes broadcast services are set to dominate the Mobile TV space, reaching revenues of $3 billion by 2009 at the expense of streamed video services and downloads. This will be driven, in part, by increasing amounts of quality TV content becoming available. The value-added content services. Mobile channels are a way of offering value adds that help extend its brand, build brand loyalty and, hopefully, also earn some secondary revenue. Source: Content Futures, 4th April 2007

* Spanish club Barcelona has launched a “channel” on YouTube, where fans will be able to recapture and download videos of its matches. It is the first Spanish soccer club to link directly to fans in this fashion. The new site will include a selection of Barça TV programs. Barça TV is FC Barcelona's pay TV channel broadcasting on satellite “to the world”. The site’s address is http://www.youtube.com/fcbarcelona. Source: Rapid TV News, 4th April 2007

* Coca-Cola League One promotion chaser Oldham Athletic will be the subject of a documentary to be screened by Channel 4 in the UK. Television cameras will have open access to all areas of Boundary Park, including dressing room, over a four-month period. Channel 4 producers want an in-depth look at how a typical football club operates both on and off the field, including the fans, and the Oldham board has given the go-ahead following extensive talks last week. The documentary is expected to be screened before Christmas. Source: Football Insider, 4th April 2007


MORE NEWS

Asia/New Media: ASEAN Recommends DVB-T

All ten members of the ASEAN have agreed to recommend adopting DVB-T as the common digital-terrestrial broadcasting standard. The move comes ahead of a meeting of the ASEAN ministers responsible for information in Indonesia in May and was the result of the 4th ASEAN Digital Broadcasting meeting held this week in Kuala Lumpur.

Of the ten countries – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – all except Cambodia have already tested or launched DVB-T services. Malaysia formally adopted the standard last week, while Thailand, Laos, Indonesia and Brunei have undertaken test broadcasts. The remaining countries have already adopted DVB-T as their standard. Source: Rapid TV News, 4th April 2007

Elsewhere/Rights/Business: UEFA Cup Set for Success

UEFA has announced a series of developments within the new package of centralised media and marketing rights for the UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup. The package involves the UEFA Cup quarter-finals, as well as the UEFA Super Cup, which is contested at the start of each season by the reigning UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup holders.

European football's governing body has given constant attention to its second major club competition, the UEFA Cup, to enhance its image and prestige. Consequently, far broader distribution of matches, better promotion, higher revenues and a prominent group of broadcaster and sponsor partners are part of the new package.

With worldwide promotion the key, local partnerships are also in place in important strategic markets - China (SMG), Brazil (Rede Record), India (Zee TV) and Australia (SBS). There is also widespread distribution in other territories outside Europe with top broadcasters including ESPN (Latin America and Oceania), Fox Sports (North America), Al Jazeera (Middle East) and Supersport (sub-Saharan Africa).

Moving to new media, live simultaneous internet streaming of UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup matches on broadcasters' websites will allow broadband internet users to enjoy the best of these competitions. Source: Uefa Official, 4th April 2007