Thursday, 17th May 2007

WHAT’S THE BUZZ?

Asian Countries Converge for Most Expensive Asian Production Ever

The trend towards pan-Asian co-productions continues with the new film, “The Battle of Red Cliff,” the biggest ever Asian co-production. The film is being produced by South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, and the United States. Producers of the film announced plans in Beijing on May 10. Key members of the cast, including the director, and officials from the production company, as well as 82 media outlets from China participated in the event.

Based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, “The Battle of Red Cliff” is about a war waged by two Chinese kingdoms at the Yangtze River in 208AD after the collapse of the Han Dynasty. The film will cost $70 million, the largest budget ever for an Asian film. “The Battle of Red Cliff” will be made by U.S. producer, Three Kingdoms, and will be jointly funded by South Korea's Showbox, Japan's Avex Entertainment, and Taiwan's CMC Entertainment. China will have a share in distribution and Showbox has secured a 10.5-percent stake.

“The Battle of Red Cliff” will be directed by John Woo and will feature Leung Chiu Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, and Chang Chen. The first and second parts of the film will be shot at the same time and then released in the summer and winter of 2008, respectively. China is already considering the film as the official film of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and has plans to release it before the opening ceremony of the Games.

Other pan-Asian co-productions, in addition to "The Battle of Red Cliff," are also on the way. CJ Entertainment will release "First Snow," its first joint project with a Japanese producer, in Japan next month. Taewon Entertainment is taking part in the production of "Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon" starring Hong Kong actor Andy Lau. The movie is due out in 2008. Source: Entertainment Asia, 15th May 2007


INFO BOX

Call to Tackle Pirated Software
Source: Info IQ, 16th May 2007

More than one-third of business software used by companies around the world is pirated. According to figures released by the Business Software Alliance 35% of the programs used by firms are illegal – a figure unchanged since 2003. Despite this, piracy watchdog say some nations, such as China, had made big inroads into the amount of illegal software companies were using. The BSA said governments had to do more to get firms using licenced software.

The static rates of piracy in the US (22%) and Western Europe (36%) stood in stark contrast to the declining rates in other countries, said Julie Strawson, vice-chair of the BSA in the UK. In only three years, she said, piracy rates in China had declined from 92% to 82%. " A commitment from the Chinese government to use licenced software itself and tougher regulations to make companies buy licences had helped to bring about the reduction, said Ms Strawson. "Governments can help a lot because as soon as they put it on their agenda, businesses do too."

PIRACY RATES
Asia - 55%
Central Europe - 68%
Latin America - 66%
Middle East/Africa - 60%
North America - 22%
Western Europe - 36%


SPORTS SHORTS

* GolTV, the 24/7 All Soccer Network in the U.S., has secured exclusive English broadcast rights to televise 26 matches of The Copa America Live in the U.S.A.. The exclusive rights were acquired from Traffic Sports Marketing and is considered another coup for this pioneer soccer Network who has scored many firsts for televised soccer. This will be the first and only opportunity for fans to catch the games live in their entirety for years, as the cup will only come around again in 2011. Source: PR Newswire, 16th May 2007

* Fox Sports en Español agreed a three-year deal with Nissan giving the car manufacturer exclusive title sponsorship for Fox’s Copa Sudamericana across the US, Latin America and the Caribbean. The multiplatform integrated sponsorship deal includes tournament naming rights, player of the game features, in-game animated graphics, in-programme brand integration and in-field signage. Nissan has sponsored the tournament since 2003. The Copa runs from August to December. Source: Sport Business, Mediaweek, 16th May 2007

* The NBA China Games 2007 will tip off on October 17, in a game between Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic in Shanghai. The event will then head to Macao, where there will be two games. On October 18, Magic will play with the Chinese Men's National Team, and a rematch between Magic and the Cavaliers will take place on October 20. At a press conference, NBA officially established a new multi-year partnership with DHL. DHL will deliver the hardware that impacts the basketball action for the NBA China Games 2007. Source: China Daily, 15th May 2007

* Growth of golf in China continues to reach new heights with the inaugural Midea China Classic set to tee off in September. The Asian Tour breaks new ground at the Royal Orchid International Golf Club in Guangzhou for the US$400,000 ($600,000) tournament from 13-16 Sept. It will be one of six Asian Tour tournaments staged in China this season. The Midea China Classic will be sanctioned by the Asian Tour and China Golf Association. Source: The Electric New Paper Singapore, 16th May 2007

* Ad revenues in India for the one-day international cricket series in Bangladesh have been even lower than expected, reflecting disillusionment in the national team after a disappointing World Cup. A 10-second slot on Neo Sports and state broadcaster Doordarshan are being sold for as low as Rs80,000 ($1,970). The slots normally go for between Rs120,000 and Rs150,000. Bangladesh are not the most glamorous opponents but observers attribute the drop to lack of interest after India crashed out of the World Cup in the first round. Source: Sportcal, 15th May 2007

* Brazilian commercial broadcaster, TV Record, is prepared to offer R$1 billion ($497,438) a year for TV rights of the top-tier Brazilian Campeonato Brasileiro from 2008. The bid is more than three times the R$300 million a season that the rival TV Globo pays for the rights under the present contract, and double the amount that it is understood that Globo planned to offer to renew the deal. The competition is creating an upward spiral in the value of the rights. Last week, reports said that Record had offered R$500 million a year for the rights. Source: Sportcal, 15th May 2007

* A settlement has been reached between Australian telecom Telstra and Foxtel over footage of National Rugby League games shown on websites and mobile phones. Telstra was withholding payment as part of its 6-year, A$90-million ($75-million) sponsorship deal with the NRL after Foxtel began streaming several minutes of game footage on its website and news packages it sold to Vodafone and Hutchison. The agreement with Telstra include new media rights, valued at A$5 million-a-year. Source: Sportcal, 15th May 2007

* Australia is reported to be considering bidding to host the 2011 Asian Cup. The host for the 2011 tournament will be announced during this year’s event, co-hosted by Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. But any bid would be contingent on the Asian Football Confederation changing its rotation policy. At present the AFC has said that only nations from west or south Asia were eligible for 2011, with Iran, Qatar and India having already formally submitting bids. Source: Sport Business, Sportcal, 16th May 2007

* ReelTime.com has entered into an agreement with World Wide Entertainment of Australia, for the VOD rights to World Wide's library of extreme sports, classic films, fashion, celebrities, and short clips among others. ReelTime users will have access to WWEnt's action-packed programming on subscription or pay-per-view basis. Programming clips include snowboard aerials and ski stunts, wild ocean windsurfing, motorbike madness, skateboarding radical ramps, skydive acrobatics, jet-ski surfing, BMX stunts, base-jumping, and more. Source: Market Wire, 15th May 2007

* Red Square TV will produce programming coverage of the King of Wake wakeboarding series, which will air on Fuel TV. Red Square is a television production company specialising in action and youth sports events. Fuel TV has teamed up with World Sports & Marketing (WSM) to give the programming the go-ahead. US cable and satellite network Fuel TV also covers skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, BMX and freestyle motocross. Source: Sports Media, 15th May 2007

* The Indy Racing League extended its deal with Just Marketing International to consult on all aspects of commercial rights packaging and sales for the IndyCar Series. The deal covers all aspects of commercial rights for teams, drivers, tracks, events and media. The deal is non-exclusive, multi-year consultancy. The IRL’s immediate goal is increasing corporate interest in the Series, drivers, teams and tracks. JMI will advise on business development related to sales strategy, packaging, intelligence and commercial value proposition. Source: Sport Business, Sportcal, 15th May 2007

* Real Madrid has agreed to an exhibition match against a combined Israeli-Palestinian team in Israel at the end of the Primera División season. The match will take place on June 19 and is organised by the Peres Center for Peace, a non-profit organisation whose aim is “to build infrastructure of peace and reconciliation by and for the people of the Middle East”. Similar matches have taken place in Seville last year when a Israeli-Palestinian side played a team of Andalusian-born players, while the previous year a match was played against FC Barcelona. Source: Football Insider, 15th May 2007

* The European Broadcasting Union and the BBC will team to produce a programme to cover the International DanceSport Federation’s Eurovision Dance Contest, held for the first time on September 1. The programme will be produced by Splash Media and Sunset + Vine. The programme will feature couples from 13 European countries, including the major television markets, with each couple performing two dances. Voting will be made by the public. Source: Sports Media, 16th May 2007

* ESPN is leveraging its sports content on more platforms as it launched its first free, downloadable video podcasts. The podcasts will be available daily via the ESPN PodCenter and soon via the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com). The first podcasts will include downloadable versions of SportsCenter Minute and ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption. Each podcast is between two and seven minutes. As with ESPN’s audio podcasts, the video podcasts will be advertising supported. Source: Sport Business, Media Post, 16th May 2007

* The 2007 Golden Foot has revealed the ten nominees for the award of Career Achievement. They are David Beckham, Cafu, Fabio Cannavaro, Luís Figo, Alessandro del Piero, Ryan Giggs, Thierry Henry, Paolo Maldini, Raúl Gonzáles Blanco and Roberto Carlos. Fans all over the world can vote for their favourite on the www.goldenfoot.com. The winner will be announced on 3rd September in Monte-Carlo and will place his footprints among other great players who have previously won the award. Source: Golden Foot Official, 15th May 2007

* FIFA may expand the women’s World Cup in 2011 from 16 to 24 teams, the organisation’s president Sepp Blatter revealed on Tuesday. Six countries - Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, Australia and Peru - are bidding to host the tournament and FIFA has postponed a decision from August until November. Source: Football Insider, 16th May 2007


MORE NEWS

WWE: High Definition Broadcasts Updates

The latest on World Wrestling Entertainment’s plans to begin producing its shows in High Definition is that Spring 2008 is being pencilled in, with Sunday, March 30, 2008 being the likely date that WWE in HD will debut at WrestleMania 24. WWE are scheduled to continue trialling HD throughout 2007, with concerns still being raised over several technical aspects of producing wrestling in HD quality.

Other concerns and issues that have been voiced during HD trials include costs involved with purchase of HD compatible equipment, how WWE talent will appear on TV in HD (including whether Divas will look as glamourous and some of the older stars such as Michaels and Flair will look “too old"), and if the sharpness and clarity of HD will result in weak spots (such as a punch missing it’s target) looking bad on TV. There’s talk of new camera angles to get around the issues HD trialists feel may be harmful, although everybody is confident that the final product will look great on TV.

Of the weekly programmes, Smackdown is the leading candidate to make the jump to HD first. Unlike USA Network, The CW Network is ready and able to put out HD programming and if WWE were in a position to, they would likely be broadcasting Smackdown in HD. USA are currently not in a position for RAW to be broadcast in HD although they will be by next Spring. The chances of ECW broadcasting in HD are slim with the Sci Fi deal set to expire at the end of 2007, it remains to be seen what will happen with ECW.

If WrestleMania 24 does end up being the debut of WWE in HD, PPV is expected to be available on two prices levels in the United States, with the HD broadcast commanding an extra charges than the standard definition broadcast. Source: Phil Lowe writes on Wrestle Mag, 13th May 2007

China/Broadcaster: Tiansheng Wins EPL Rights, Loses Fans

China's 30 million English Premier League (EPL) fans will now have to pay 188 yuan (US$24) per month or 1,880 yuan a year to watch matches starting from August this year, China.com reported Tuesday. Tiansheng TV or WinTV run by state-owned Guangdong Provincial Television won the broadcast rights over six other bidders with an offer of US$50 million for three seasons.

Win TV has 40,000 subscribers at the moment, but thinks with its new broadcast rights, Win TV is confident it can win over a legion of English football fans. It also will provide coverage on cell phones, online along with live TV. But this latest development has enraged English football fans in China who launched a nationwide "Pay Boycott" over the Internet against Tiansheng.

Tiansheng also denied a report saying it will invite former CCTV commentator Huang Jianxiang to host the EPL games.

Song Zheng, CEO of Tiansheng TV, said TTV won the rights over six other bidders by an offer of US$50 million for three seasons of the English Premier League. "Tiansheng's pay TV has to be transmitted via local cable TV networks. And as we know, the cable TV networks work closely with local TV stations in China. If they jointly reject Tiansheng's access to the networks, Tiansheng will suffer a big blow," an insider told a reporter. "I believe both Tiansheng and the local TV stations are willing to reach a deal."

Before the end of last season, China's 30 million Premiership addicts could watch games live on ESPN-Star, a joint venture between Walt Disney Co. and News Corp., via a local cable TV broadcasting service, at a much lower monthly cost. Tiansheng TV beat out CCTV and ESPN to win the rights. The company will also broadcast a range of European soccer matches, including the Premiership, Italy's Serie A, Spain's La Liga and Germany's Bundesliga. The network also covers league matches in Japan and South Korea. Source: China Daily, 16th May 2007

China/New Media: Approvals for Use of Foreign 3G Standards

China's Ministry of Information Industry approved the use foreign 3G mobile phone that rival China's homegrown TD-SCDMA. China's TD-SCDMA is called the "Chinese 3G standard", W-CDMA is European and cdma2000 is American. By adding the two foreign standards, the government has consolidated its "technology neutral" stance and offered an open market for different technologies.

China's 3G development depends primarily on strong demand for mobile data processing functions involving multimedia solutions and Internet connections. China's major four operators, China Netcom, China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom, have started training 3G talents, constituting a war chest and making technological preparations for a smooth transition from the existing mobile telecom networks or PHS networks to 3G. China's homegrown technology for 3G mobile communication passed a series of tests organized by the ministry last year. Source: Telecom Asia, 17th May 2007

Asia/Elsewhere/New Media: Live Badminton Action on the Net

This season's KLRC New Zealand Open has received a timely boost from title sponsor KLRC Bhd for the US$50,000 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Grand Prix status tournament. In a bid to create greater awareness and larger audience for the tournament, organisers have also embraced technology to reach badminton enthusiasts worldwide. The event is scheduled at the Auckland Badminton Hall in Gillies Avenue from 16th to 20th May 2007.

Via the Internet, fans will get live coverage of the biggest shuttle event in the Oceania region for the season. The first few days will be free and subscription for the three-day live screening connection from Friday to Sunday is US$10. Three cameras are set up at the three-court arena to capture the proceedings. For more details, visit www.klrcnzopen.com or www.planetstream.tv. Source: The Star Malaysia, Badminton New Zealand, 15th May 2007

Elsewhere/Rights: Grupo Clarín Swoops for Argentinian Soccer Rights

Argentinean media group Grupo Clarín has acquired the television rights of the AFA, the country's soccer association, until 2014 in a deal worth 180 million pesos ($59 million) a year. Teams in the top-tier league will receive a total of 150 million pesos, with second-tier sides picking up 20 million pesos and 10 million pesos going to clubs in the third-tier. If the coverage brings in more than 180 million pesos a year, the association will receive half of the profits.

The deal, which was negotiated by Tele Red Imagen (Trisa) and Televisión Satelital Codificada, will take effect on July 1. The AFA agreed a 25-year deal for its television rights with Trisa in 1989, but it was cut short in 2002 when Argentina was hit by an economic crisis. The deal for the period from 2002 to 2007 was worth 83 million pesos per year, substantially less than under the previous agreement. Source: Sportcal, 15th May 2007

Elsewhere/Rights: National Wrestling Alliance Signs with Big Vision

The National Wrestling Alliance, the oldest and most respected organization in the professional wrestling industry, has signed an exclusive 5 year deal with Big Vision Entertainment, an independent entertainment company and leader in independent wrestling distribution. The deal comes at the heels of the NWA stripping TNA Wrestling of the NWA titles and name and calls for Big Vision to act as NWA's media partner for home entertainment, Pay-Per-View, emerging technologies such as digital downloads and Video-On-Demand, and merchandising as well as television development and distribution.

The NWA has enjoyed continuous international exposure over the past 5 years as part of their agreement with the TNA organization. During this time, the NWA has continued, separately from TNA, to promote events across the world including in the United States, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Australia, and throughout Europe. NWA Pro Wrestling shows have been the most successful independent wrestling shows in the United States in 2007 drawing more fans and box office dollars than any other independent wrestling organization.

In addition to acting as the NWA's media partner, Big Vision will be looking to the NWA for development of talent for their current and upcoming professional wrestling projects including future seasons of Wrestling Society X.

ABOUT BIG VISION ENTERTAINMENT:
Big Vision Entertainment was founded in 2003 and is the number one special interest home video label in the USA. BVE titles can be found in every major retail outlet in the US including, WalMart, Target and Best Buy. In addition to home video, Big Vision Entertainment is also a leading production company and creator of alternative programming across a variety of genres. BVE’s CEO is Houston Curtis. Source: TWNP News, PW Insider, 16th May 2007

Elsewhere/Rights: LOC To Sign TV Deal

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) for CAN 2008 is close to signing a deal with an internationally-acclaimed company for the right to telecast the CAN 2008 matches globally. LOC Chairman, Dr Kofi Amoah, did not mention the name of the company. He said, however, that the deal would make Ghana a giant in the world football arena. He said that the company’s track record included expertise in the production of various UEFA Championships, international hockey and ice skating competitions.

The signing is expected to be a departure from the past where such deals focused only on the football arena.
As part of the deal, the two parties are expected to agree on a clause that will enable Ghanaian crew to be sent outside the country for training and help project Ghanaian production.

Aside the technology transfer, Dr Kofi Amoah said, the contract would be tied to investment promotion and drive which would benefit the entire economy. A preliminary discussion is to be held with heads of all TV stations to ascertain the number of cameras in the country and agree with the company on the number to be procured to make the tournament attractive and marketable. However, only one local TV station will officially partner the foreign company for the live telecasts, with the rest playing complementary roles.

The delay in getting the TV rights, lack of training pitches and standard airports to facilitate local travels were some of the worries expressed by a five-man inspection team from the Confederation of African Football (CAF). With just seven months to the start of the biennial African soccer showpiece, only one of the 16 training pitches earmaked has been constructed. Each of the four venues—Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and Sekondi— is to have four training pitches. Source: Graphic Ghana, 17th May 2007

Elsewhere/Business: Champions League Clubs Top Money Table

The Premier League’s top four clubs earned at least £14 million more than fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur from television cash and prize money in the 2006-07 season. Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and to a lesser extent Arsenal all cashed in on making it to the knockout rounds of the Champions League. And even with £2.2 billion flooding into the Premier League from a new television deal, which will mean every club in the top flight benefiting by at least an extra £12 million, the Champions League will still separate the ‘have-lots’ from the ‘have-less’.

Tom Cannon, dean of Buckingham University Business School and an expert in sport business, said: “The percentage difference might reduce because there’s so much money going into the Premier League but the absolute difference won’t reduce - in fact it might increase. A reasonable run in the Champions League is worth about £30 million and a comparable run in the UEFA Cup is probably worth £5 million.”

Manchester United’s American owners will be delighted to see the club re-establish itself at the top of the money league with a total of £62.92 million, not including gate money from Old Trafford, merchandise sales or club sponsorship deals. Chelsea also broke the £60 million mark while Liverpool’s run to the Champions League final will see it bring in at least £54.7 million - with a further £2 million should it beat AC Milan in next week’s final in Athens.

Arsenal’s failure to reach the quarter-finals of Europe’s top club competition cost it several millions - but its total figure of £44.14 mil lion was still £14 million more than north London rival Tottenham, which had a total of £30.55 million, and with UEFA Cup earnings more than £11 million less than Arsenal’s from Europe. Relegated Watford was the Barclays (sponsor) Premiership’s lowest earner, bringing in £17.98 million. Source: Football Insider, 15th May 2007

Global/New Media: sail.tv Begins Broadcast of 32nd America’s Cup

Sail TV will expand coverage of the 32nd America’s Cup in Valencia and broadcast the semi-final stages of the Louis Vuitton Cup Live on http://live.sail.tv. The service is offered as a subscription package to viewers, and will include live coverage of the LV Cup semis and finals, and the 32nd America’s Cup Match by Louis Vuitton. The offering will be available to viewers in countries where there are no exclusive TV Rights holder agreements in place.

Sail TV will broadcast coverage through their specially produced America’s Cup TV player. Live coverage will include access to the racing as it happens out on the course, complete with English commentary, as well as an ‘On Demand’ service. Additionally, there will be a live camera showing activity in Port America’s Cup.

Sail TV Managing Director, Andrew Steward, said, " Since April 1st, when we began the America’s Cup coverage, we have had 100,000 unique visitors from 161 countries, and over 630,000 launches of the players illustrating that viewing sailing on the internet is becoming increasingly popular, accepted as ‘standard entertainment’ and is extremely convenient for our viewers in being able to watch whenever and wherever they want. This together with traditional TV broadcasting clearly offers a powerful combination and an extended reach for events, sponsors and advertisers around the world." Source: Sport Business, 15th May 2007


ARTICLES, COMMENTS & OPINIONS

Increased Content to Drive the HD Wave in Asia
Bryan Wang, Managing Director of In-Stat Asia writes on Wireless Design & Development Asia, 15th May 2007

Asia/Pacific high-definition television set shipments in 2006 have increased by 79.5% over 2005, a total of 7.04 million sets sold. Content and programming services associated with HDTV have captured the imagination of a small, but growing, TV audience who rave about the clear and crisp picture quality. It also excites broadcasters and channel service providers with the potential to boost incremental monthly revenues.

At end 2006, there were 9.9 million TV households in the Asia/Pacific region that were subscribing to HDTV programming. However, the availability of HDTV content remains limited in this region. Besides Japan and Australia, which are mainly broadcasting self-developed content, there is a growing amount of content being broadcasted in China, Korea, and Singapore that originates from international content developers.

Increasing acceptance and influence of western culture in Asia means international content will offset the shortage of HD content developed regionally. International co-pro is becoming a popular trend, providing better economies of scale. Well-established sports channels, such as ESPN International, content developers like Warner Brothers, the Discovery Channel, and National Geographic are proactively targeting the Asia/Pacific market because of the strong indication of local demand for HD content. International HD content is expected to spread across the region in the next two years, starting with technology-leading countries like Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore, moving toward huge subscription bases, like that in China.

Most regional governments are set to welcome the arrival of HDTV. The Australian government has supported the development of HDTV nationwide by integrating HDTV programming into the initial digital terrestrial television (DTT) service plan that was started in 2002. The five national broadcasters, ABC, Nine, SBS, Seven, and Ten, are required to provide a minimum 20 hours of HD programs per week.

With both the state broadcaster CCTV and Shanghai Media Group having received licenses to broadcast in HD in China, both vendors have begun offering HD services. Hong Kong is expected to launch digital terrestrial television (DTT) HDTV broadcasting during 2007, and meanwhile, PCCW will introduce its IP-based HDTV service in the second half of the year. In Korea, at least 10 hours of HD content are required to be broadcasted on a weekly basis during the first year for each digital service provider.

Besides satisfying domestic consumers, Singapore’s Media Development Authority (MDA) believes that HD will position Singapore at the forefront of the media sector, both in the region and globally. In addition to HDTV broadcasting, Singapore is looking at establishing itself as a regional content hub, for content development and digital media marketplace. Increasing demand for HD programming in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong is seen to be driving programming initiatives. MDA and MediaCorp are eying the shortage of good Asian documentaries in the international market, and they have embarked on a multi-million dollar production, in line with MediaCorp¡¯s vision of expanding its content distribution outside Singapore.

With the contribution from the ecosystem, it is expected that the Asia HDTV revenue will grow significantly for the forecasted period until 2012. In-Stat expects China to contribute largely to the growth due to its huge pay-TV subscription base and strong government support. The markets in Korea and Singapore are expected to spike in 2008. With a well-established TV industry and distribution platform, Hong Kong may contribute significantly to markets such as China, Taiwan and Singapore with demand for Chinese programs.

However, we have to bear in mind that the adoption of a new service often takes longer than expected. Both HDTV equipment manufacturers and HDTV service providers need to be patient and not over optimistic, and they need to work with different parties in the value chain to achieve solid success.