Wednesday, 25th April 2007

HEADLINES OF THE DAY

ESPN Star Sports to Launch New Dedicated Cricket Channel

ESPN Star Sports, the pan-Asian sports broadcaster that was appointed the International Cricket Council’s global media and production partner late last year for its events from late 2007 to 2015, is to launch a new cricket-only channel. The new channel, to be known as Star Cricket, is set to launch in June.

RC Venkatesih, managing director, ESPN Software India, said: ‘The launch of Star Cricket is part of our long-term strategy to further strengthen our offering to the sports fans in the country. Star Cricket will showcase live India and non-India cricket for the passionate Indian cricket fan. We plan to add quality first-class cricket coverage from around the globe as well. The channel will also showcase feature programming on cricket, including reality shows, archival programming and magazine shows.’

ESPN Star Sports is reported to have paid $1.1 billion for the ICC’s rights, which include two Cricket World Cups to be held in the Asian sub-continent and in Australia and New Zealand. Source: Sportcal, Indian Television, Agencyfaqs, Exchange4Media, 24th April 2007

Related Excerpts: ESS Launches STAR Cricket

India PR Wire, 24th April 2007
ESPN Star Sports also has the rights from Test-playing nations like England and Australia and is looking at a total of 24 Test matches and 42 One Day internationals in 2007 alone. ESS will also showcase the ICC Twenty20 World Cup later this year featuring 27 matches. ESS also has an array of non cricket properties like F1 and A1 in Motor Sports, the Euro 2008, the English Premier League, La Liga, Grand Slam tennis from the Australian, French and Wimbledon, the Premier Hockey League and action from the world of Golf and Wrestling. With STAR Cricket coming on air in June, fans will be able to watch the India tour of England where they will play four tests and seven One Day Internationals.

Rediff India, 25th April 2007
Star Cricket will be the second 'only-cricket' channel after Neo Sports from Nimbus Communications, the company that has television rights for all first-class cricket being played in the country. In 2007-08, Neo Sports, the only cricket channel so far, expects to generate advertising in excess of Rs 1,200 crore for the forthcoming international series in India. With Star Cricket launched, media planners expect advertisers to spend big.

Economic Times, 25th April 2007
Despite its extensive cricket library, ESPN-Star has so far been unable to monetise its subscription revenues because of the existing norms for pay channels. Under TRAI norms, pricing for channels is calculated with a formula based on prevailing rates in December 2003. It means that ESPN is unable to charge a premium for cricket content. A new channel will give it a pricing leverage and an opportunity to bundle advertising sponsorships across its three channels. The two flagship ESPN-Star channels, which were beginning to flag, can now hope to ride on the strength of the new channel.


DID YOU KNOW…?

Two British newspapers related how Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho once allegedly hid in a laundry basket used for transporting the club's kit to get round a UEFA ban covering a big game. The Daily Mail said it happened two years ago when Mourinho had been barred from contact with his players during both legs of a quarter-final Champions League tie against Bayern Munich. He was being punished after indiscretions in the previous round with Barcelona.

On the night of the home leg, observers were convinced that Chelsea fitness coach Rui Faria used a hidden earpiece to communicate with the manager, the Mail said. Both the Mail and The Times said Mourinho arrived early at the ground, watched the game on a TV in a dressing room and delivered the pre-match and halftime talks. Both papers alleged that about 10 minutes before the end of the game, which Chelsea won 4-2, the manager climbed into one of the laundry skips. He was then wheeled away to Stamford Bridge leisure club where it was claimed he had spent the entire evening. Source: Reuters on The Star Malaysia, 25th April 2007


INFO BOX

Info Box – Worldwide Web Audience
Source: Info IQ, 20th March 2007

747 million people, aged fifteen and over, used the Internet worldwide in January 2007, a 10% increase on January 2006, according to a new report from comScore. Among the top 15 countries by penetration, Internet audiences in India, the Russian Federation and China increased the most in 2006, growing 33, 21 and 20%, respectively.

China now represents the second-largest Internet population in the world, with 86.8 million users, after the U.S., which rose 2% year-over-year to 153.4 million users age 15 or older in January 2007. Internet users outside the U.S. now account for 80% of the world's online population, with rapidly developing countries experiencing double-digit growth rates year-over-year.

Top 10 countries were ranked by average hours online per visitor for January 2007. Canada led the list with the average user spending 39.6 hours (and 41.3 hours/ month among broadband users) online during the month followed by Israel, South Korea, the U.S. and the U.K., countries with significantly high broadband penetration. In each of the top 10 countries, time spent online by users with broadband connection was substantially greater than time spent by users with a narrowband connection.


SPORTS SHORTS

* Hoping to cash in on cricket as the ICC World Cup enters its final stages, mobile application company Mobio Networks is offering free GPRS downloads in India. In association with Indiatimes, Mobio Networks' cricketing applications are available with no download charges. Mobio Cricket Centre – Live & Mobio Cricket Centre Fantasy are services on offer. Additionally, on Airtel Live there is no usage charge involved for remaining matches of the World Cup, including two semi-finals on 24 & 25 April & the final on 28 April. Source: Indian Television, 24th April 2007

* The co-founder of a Chinese telecom equipment vendor is predicting that China will soon be the largest IPTV market in the world, with as many as 1 million subscribers by year’s end, because it has overcome the significant barriers to deployment of the new technology. Ying Wu, co-founder of UTStarcom, said regulatory and market environments will enable the market to ramp up rapidly. UTStarcom deployed its IPTV system with China Netcom in Harpin and with China Telecom in Shanghai. Source: Advanced Television, 24th April 2007

* Malaysian U-17 striker Nazrin Baharuddin may play for an English Premier League club by November this year. Nazrin currently trains under the Ken Barnes Football Club and would be sent to England with several other players for trials soon. KBFC advisor Ken Barnes, former Manchester City and England player, believes Nazrin can make the grade in English football and could become the first Malaysian to play in the EPL. Barnes added that such exposure will help develop confidence , mental fitness and minimise the sense of fear when they faced older or more skilful opponents. Source: The Star Malaysia, 25th April 2007

* Injured Everton and Australia midfielder Tim Cahill is targeting a return to action at the Asian Cup in July. Cahill fractured a metatarsal in his left foot against Sheffield United in early March and has been sidelined ever since. But he said the bone was on the mend and he was desperate to return. Australia are in a Bangkok-based pool that includes Thailand, Oman and Iraq for the Asian Cup, with their first game against Oman on July 8. They play warm-up matches against Uruguay on June 2 and Singapore on June 30. Source: The Star Malaysia, 25th April 2007

* Sweden's national soccer team is to play a home friendly match against USA ahead of the home side’s important Euro 2008 European Championship qualifying match against Denmark. Sweden will play USA at the Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg on August 22, with the Denmark match set to take place at the city's Rasunda stadium on September 8. Sweden currently lie second in qualifying group F, but have played one game fewer than group leaders, Northern Ireland. Source: Sportcal, 24th April 2007

* Samsung has agreed to a new eight-year contract extension with the International Olympic Committee and remain in partnership with them until the Olympic Games in 2016. The partnership between the two, which began in 1997, was extended at a signing ceremony in Beijing yesterday, with IOC president Jacques Rogge and Samsung’s chairman Kun-hee Lee both in attendance. Source: Sports Media, Sport Business, 24th April 2007


MORE NEWS

Elsewhere/Business: Ranson Launches City Takeover Bid

In a new development, Manchester City has received a £90 million takeover bid from a British-based consortium headed by former player Ray Ranson. Ranson, who previously failed in an attempt to buy Aston Villa, lodged his offer last night and is awaiting a response. Stock Market rules prevent Ranson discussing his bid, but it is thought any deal would result in a £20 million transfer windfall for manager Stuart Pearce.

It has previously been suggested the City hierarchy would not be interested in doing business with Ranson because they did not want the club saddled with further debt. However, Ranson is thought to have the funds in place to pay off the £25 million owed to Wardle and Makin and also has plans in place to eventually wipe away £40 million owed to other creditors.

Ranson’s was associated with the financial catastrophe at Leeds United, with fans of the Championship struggler claiming it was the former England Under-21 defender’s complicated buy-and-lease-back plans which led to its downfall. He vigorously defended himself against those charges and, at a time when many Premiership clubs have fallen into foreign hands, will be eager to stress the British-ness of his bid. Source: Football Insider, Sport Business, 24th April 2007

Latest news on The Guardian Unlimited, 25th April 2007
Manchester City's future was last night shrouded in uncertainty after it emerged that the Premiership club have refused to enter into any talks with Ray Ranson despite the former City player submitting a takeover bid, believed to be in the region of £90m. Ranson confirmed yesterday that he has made "indicative proposals" with a view to ultimately assuming control although it is understood he has received no encouragement from the City board. Ranson is unlikely to lose interest despite the board's refusal to hold discussions.

Earlier in the day City - notably making no mention of Ranson's interest - issued a statement to the Stock Exchange reiterating that they remain in talks with potential buyers which "may or may not lead to a bid" for the club. The Thailand prime minister, Thaskin Shinwatra, who failed in a bid for Liverpool in 2004, has been linked with a takeover offer for City and there has also been speculation that an American consortium are preparing to make an offer.

Thailand/Broadcaster: iTV to Sue PM's Office in Retaliation

Executives of iTV Plc plan to sue the Office of the Prime Minister to indemnify the company against damages incurred in what they called an "illegal process". At the broadcaster's annual shareholders' meeting yesterday, executives said the PM's Office failed to submit to cabinet a contract clause that was inserted after the office and the station had already signed an agreement. That led to trouble that forced the station to stop broadcast last month.

At the time, iTV was controlled by Shin Corp, founded by Thaksin Shinawatra. After the PM's Office allowed state-owned Channel 11 to broadcast advertisements, previously not allowed, iTV went before an arbitration panel to seek compensation. The arbitrator ruled in favour of iTV, reducing its concession fee and increasing the proportion of entertainment content it could carry.

iTV still exists as a business and is listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand but shares, held by nearly 10,000 investors, are essentially worthless. SET officials have given iTV two years to work out a rehabilitation plan to avoid delisting. The Public Relations Department has now taken over the station, which is broadcasting under the name TITV. However, its fate is still uncertain. The additional clause said the station could seek compensation from the office if any state agencies grant concessions or contracts to others that hurt iTV. Source: Asia Media, Related news on Total Content + Media, 24th April 2007

Asia/General: Formula BMW Asia Season on May 5 in Malaysia

The youngest and most culturally-diverse field of drivers ever assembled since its inception in 2003 will line up for the start of the 22-round, 2007 Formula BMW Asia season on May 5 at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. New for this season, the Formula BMW Asia Nations Cup will allow drivers to score points for their country. For each round, points will be awarded to the highest placed driver from each nation in the top ten.

As Formula BMW Asia continues to strengthen its position as the region’s premier entry-level single seater series, three new teams join this season: Team Holzer PFX, which will run the three top graduates from the inaugural PETRONAS Formula Xperience (PFX) Racing School course, is headed by Günther and Ronald Holzer; Team TARADTM, an Indonesian outfit; and Engstler Bollywood Racing, an inspired pairing of Engstler Motorsport’s racing expertise and the glamour of Bollywood.

Championship-winning Malaysian-Irish outfit Team Meritus is back with a vengeance, fielding six cars, while Eurasia Motorsport has further strengthened its capabilities through a tie-up with the successful Raikkonen Robertson Racing (Double R Racing) Formula 3 team. South Korean outfit Team E-Rain, second in the Team Classification last year, fields the series’ first ever driver from the USA this year.

Five Formula BMW Asia Juniors, winners of scholarships following trials in Bahrain earlier this year, join a further seven drivers in the Rookie Cup category. A total of 16 drivers are currently registered from 11 countries and territories representing more than half the world’s population. Represented on the grid for 2007 are: China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Africa, Thailand, and the USA. Source: Auto Racing Daily, 24th April 2007

Asia/General: Bin Hammam Looks for More Sponsors

Asian Football Confederation president Mohamed bin Hammam hopes more sponsors will follow English club Chelsea and his aims to give a boost to his Vision China initiative. Earlier this year, the Premiership champion signed an agreement with Asia’s governing body becoming a financial backer of the development programme in the world’s most populous nation. China was the first to sign up for the Vision Asia project at the start of 2003 and Thursday saw the launch of new projects in the cities of Nanjing and Chengdu.

With Nanjing and Chengdu on board, the AFC is now instrumental in setting up amateur leagues in four of China’s major cities, with plans for more in the pipeline. Hammam hopes that, in addition to developing the game in China, the programme can play a key role in curbing social ills in the developing world. Hammam’s Vision Asia project has now expanded throughout the continent, taking in countries such as Bangladesh, India, Iran and Vietnam with the development of the game at school and amateur level a key component. Source: Football Insider, 24th April 2007

Elsewhere/General: Forbes Unveils MLB Rich List

Forbes Magazine estimated the value of the New York Yankees Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise at $1.2 billion, rising 17% from last year. Forbes’ annual valuations of all 30 franchises brought particularly good for the Yankees, which were valued at almost $500 million over second-placed team, cross-city rivals the New York Mets - at $736 million. Next was the Boston Red Sox at $724 million, the Los Angeles Dodgers at $632 million, and the Chicago Cubs at $592 million. The valuations do not take into account the shares some franchises have in local media networks.

The Yankees franchise, which was bought by owner George Steinbrenner for $10 million in 1973, made an operating loss of $25.2 million on its $302 million revenue last season - largely due to its excessive player payroll and luxury taxes. The loss also came after revenue-sharing payments were made to the League. The team has a new stadium on the way, which will likely see revenues increase further from its opening in 2009.

The Yankees also topped Forbes’ list of estimated media market revenue for MLB franchises, taking $91 million from the YES Network ($67 million) and other broadcasters. Next on the list was the Atlanta Braves franchise ($65 million), the New York Mets ($60 million), the Los Angeles Dodgers ($45 million), and the Chicago Cubs ($42 million). Source: Sports Media, 24th April 2007

Elsewhere/General: Handball World Championship Plan 'Ignores Developing Countries'

A proposal that handball’s World Championships to switch from a biennial to a quadrennial event ignores competitive opportunities for teams from Asia, Africa and the Americas, according to the Hassan Moustafa, president of the International Handball Federation. The proposal, from the European Handball Federation, is due to be voted on at the IHF’s congress beginning today in Madrid.

When asked about the consequences of a change to a quadrennial championship, Moustafa replied: ‘Above all, teams from Asia, Africa and Pan America would lose an important opportunity to compete and also the chance to keep up with participation in regularly staged international competitions. The boost of nations like Brazil and Angola would not be possible.’

The European and international federations have also been at loggerheads over other issues, with the European federation succeeding last week in its campaign to overturn a series of decisions made by the international federation last August, including a controversial new system of qualifying for the world championships and the Olympic Games.

The decision by the IHF's arbitration commission meant that the European federation would retain control over qualification and that the television and marketing rights associated with qualifying matches will remain in the hands of national federations. Other decisions to have been annulled by the commission related to the planned introduction by the IHF of a World Cup for club teams and the formation of a Challenge Trophy. Source: Sportcal, 24th April 2007


ARTICLES, COMMENTS & OPINIONS

IPTV Promise for Asia is Stronger Than Ever
By Jeffrey Soong, CEO of BNS Ltd on IPTV News, 24th April 2007

It is safe to say that IPTV has ‘turned the corner’ so to speak. Within a short period of time the service has moved from pioneering pavement to mainstream penthouse and is set to continue to head the wish list for telcos and service providers in the years to come.

While lately Europe has transformed itself into the global IPTV leader, IPTV has also made considerable headway in Asia and is predicted to outpace Europe in the not so distant future. That’s not particularly surprising, if you look at the enormous market potential of populous nations like China and India, which are in the midst of a tiger leap onto the economic world stage.

Asia’s IPTV Opportunity
However, one of the biggest arguments of those who doubt that Asia had a big IPTV future, is that with such a large economically disadvantaged population, IPTV would simply be too expensive to reach economies of scale any time soon.

But oddly enough, it has emerged that this is exactly where key opportunities lie for IPTV in Asia. A la carte models, first championed by PCCW’s Now service, have shown to break down the high-cost entry barrier normally associated with premium Pay TV services and their expensive channel bundles. This can make a big difference in countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, where affordability is an issue.

Of course, the IPTV sweet spot remains at the intersection of high broadband penetration and a weak Pay TV market, which to date only a handful of countries in Asia such as Australia, HK, Singapore and Japan can offer.

In countries with low broadband penetration but a strong Pay TV market, it is more of a challenge to make IPTV work, as simple multicast - a la carte or not - will not differentiate the service well enough to lure subscribers. Here operators should maximise IPTV’s interactive capabilities but also pay close attention to unmet content needs in their specific market.

Asian IPTV Business models
Since PCCW exploded on the world IPTV stage with Now Broadband TV in 2003, IPTV has experienced a steady spread through the Asia Pacific region’s collective of heterogeneous nations. IPTV has now been launched or is trialling in 12 nations, and some countries even run multiple services, such as Japan and Thailand, where the rural telco TT&T just recently announced the launch of its IPTV trial to combat eroding fixed-line revenues.

So what’s the collective wisdom that we can see among these deployments in Asia? From a business model perspective, five common threads have emerged:

Firstly, STB subsidies lower the entry barrier which is critical in driving service adoption and shows that finding a low-cost STB remains paramount for operators.

Secondly, as mentioned above, a la carte and/or mini-pack subscription models have shown to break down barriers of huge channel bundles with equally high monthly fees to make a service more affordable.

Thirdly, cable TV look-alike packages are still prevalent but local programming is rapidly becoming more important due to the diverse nature of Asia as a region where many languages, religions and cultures require very different programming approaches.

This goes hand in hand with the fourth point, which is a significant spread of the ‘niche channel concept’ throughout the region. The past months have seen more channels than ever before becoming available in Asia – including locally produced programs – which clearly points towards an explosive growth in the popularity of entertainment options that brings with it an increased appetite for content.

Fifth, time shifting has finally landed in the region which, together with interactivity and possibly User generated Content (UGC), promises to be one of the main drivers for IPTV going forward. UGC is still in its infancy, much the same as anywhere else, however it is definitely destined to eventually become critical for IPTV in Asia, although it is also set to raise fresh issues with the region’s still at times shaky regulatory environment.

Regulation: still a grey zone in some countries
Talking of regulation, this area remains fluid in many countries.

In South Korea, telcos are still not allowed to launch IPTV services except VoD and regulators continue to squabble over who has jurisdiction over IP-based television. So far Hanarotelecom has launched download-to-TV service Hana TV with over 200,000 subscribers, and Korea Telecom is readying its Megapass TV VoD service for launch in the first half of 2007. Hanarotelecom has announced ambitious subscriber targets of 1 million for 2007, which indicates the operator’s confidence that the conflicts will be resolved soon to allow the launch of a fully fledged IPTV service.

A similar situation still prevails in China, where a clear framework for IPTV regulation has still not been established. However, there has been some considerable movement particularly over the past year and licences have now been extended to four operators which are gradually increasing their coverage across the country. Promising is also the government’s indication that IPTV is their platform of choice which puts a definite positive spin on the future of IPTV in the country. So far, the most successful operator, the Shanghai Telecom/SMG service BesTV, reportedly has signed up 120,000 subscribers to its IPTV offering, almost a quarter of China’s total IPTV subscriber numbers, with a strong growth tendency.

Across the Taiwan Strait the news are less rosy though. Having always had a difficult standing against Taiwan’s highly competitive and protected Pay TV market, Chunghwa Telecom’s MOD service faces fresh challenges from the local regulator, who is requesting the telco transform its MOD business into an open platform available for use by ISPs, channel operators, digital content providers and operators of fixed-line telecommunication services, a move that may have serious implications and could jeopardise the future of the MOD service.

And finally Japan, one of the earliest adopters of IPTV in the region, where regulatory issues are still preventing operators to truly maximise their country’s ‘IPTV sweet spot’ status. Japan separates carriage and content and IP broadcast content is considered communication, not broadcast. This results in different rights to be granted to the organizations that transmit and the organizations that broadcast, which causes ongoing friction between all parties.

Asia’s IPTV wildcards
India and China have been coined the ‘wildcards of IPTV’ and there’s good reason for it. India for example has not only a roaring economy that rivals China’s but is also set to become the world’s third biggest Internet market, surpassing Japan, by the end of 2007. What’s more, 50% of the country’s telephony infrastructure is already IPTV ready. But there are still huge issues which could impact India’s ascendancy to becoming a serious IPTV player for years to come, such as low broadband penetration, cable TV having broader last mile access than Telcos and general affordability issues. Nonetheless, IPTV services have been launched by MTL and BSNL and Bharti, Reliance and Tata have all announced plans to follow suit soon.

The issues holding back IPTV in India resemble those in China, where broadband penetration and affordability – regulation aside - are significant hurdles to overcome for IPTV to gain mass appeal. But analysts consistently see China becoming the largest IPTV market as early as 2010, a prediction no doubt fuelled by the country being the fastest growing broadband market in Asia and hosting the Olympic Games next year which is expected to give IPTV a huge boost.

Asia: Set to Shape IPTV on a Global Scale
As I said many times before, only IPTV has the intrinsic flexibility and power to be the chief conduit of a person’s entertainment life, the place where TV, PC, Mobile TV and any other device that not doubt will emerge in the future will come together.

With its vast population and rapid economic emergence, coupled with people’s voracious appetite for content and readiness to pay for it, Asia is in pole position to lead the IPTV fray and shape IPTV’s further evolution on a global scale.