Monday, 9th June 2008

SPORTS SHORTS

* Direct-to-home (DTH) service provider Tata Sky has assured Delhi High Court that it will restore the three sports channel- ESPN, Star Cricket and Star Sports in 12 days time to its basic package. Earlier, Tata Sky had pulled out ESPN’s and BBC’s channels along with Ten Sports in the new offer launched on 1 June. As per ESPN Software India counsel Nanji Ganpathy, the commercial agreement between the DTH provider and the sports broadcaster expired on March 15. Following this, Tata Sky had moved to (Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal) TDSAT, which directed ESPN-Star not to disconnect its signals from the platform. This then resulted in ESPN Software India filing a petition in the Delhi HC on May 26, ESPN should not disconnect its channels on Tata Sky. Indiantelevision.com, Business Standard, 7th June 2008

* (Updated) TataSky will restore three sports channels from ESPN Star Sports to its basic package within the next 10 days, the Indian DTH operator told a Delhi court. The operator earlier removed ESPN, Star Sports and Star Cricket from its basic package to create an additional sports package as part of its new channel line-up and price reductions. The channels form the Sports Platinum Pack which costs an additional fee on top of one of TataSky’s basic packs. But ESPN Star Sports, 50% owned by Star TV which also owns 20% of TataSky, wants its channels to remain in the basic package. A carriage deal for the channels between the two parties expired in March and a new one is yet to be agreed. But the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) had told the parties that TataSky should continue carrying the channels while TDSAT rules on the case. Rapid TV News, 8th Jun 2008

* China Telecom is courting foreign investors to help fund its plan to buy China Unicom's CDMA mobile phone technology business, an AFP report, quoting state media said. China Telecom said four or five companies have shown interest so far, the official Shanghai Securities Journal quoted China Telecom's chairman Wang Xiaochu as saying. Singapore Telecom, South Korea's SK Telecom, and CDMA technology developer Qualcomm are among the possible partners, the report said. Telecomasia.net, 6th June 2008

* TNA Wrestling has reached new agreements to supply its wrestling programming to Spanish terrestrial broadcaster Antena 3 and Portuguese pay-TV sports network Sport TV. Negotiated by RDA TV, TNA’s exclusive worldwide television rights agency, these deals follow TNA’s recent agreements in the U.K. with Bravo and in Germany with Premiere. Antena 3 has acquired TNA programming such as TNA iMPACT!, TNA’s weekly flagship program, for broadcast on terrestrial television in Spain on Saturdays and Sundays starting June 21. Meanwhile, Sport TV in Portugal, which reaches 570,000 subscribers, has acquired more than 200 hours of TNA programming in an agreement through 2008 and 2009. Worldscreen.com, Wrestling 101, 6th June 2008

* The UK home nations may not have qualified for the Euro 2008, but for armchair fans, the video quality of the football they will be watching will be better than ever. Freesat, the UK’s new, subscription-free, digital satellite TV service from the BBC and ITV confirmed that its Euro 2008 coverage will be available in free high definition on BBC HD and ITV HD. In addition to live coverage of Euro 2008, ITV HD will show a range of top movies over the summer. And following the tournament, there will be the new season of UEFA Champions League, the FA Cup, and England soccer internationals. The BBC’s summer of sport includes both Wimbledon and the Olympics in high definition. Rapid TV News, 5th Jun 2008

* Germany may have to cancel three friendlies, including one against England in November, due to an ongoing investigation by the Kartellamt, the country's office of fair trading. The German Football Association (DFB) and German Football League (DFL) were both raided in February as part of investigations into a monopoly in negotiating sponsorship and television rights. They were accused of setting up a combined task force to seek out the best deals for themselves, allegedly to the detriment of Bundesliga clubs. World Cup 2012 qualifiers would not be affected, though, since they are organised by FIFA. However, a clash with Belgium on August 20 and a benefit game for Oliver Kahn on September 2 may have to be cancelled, while England's visit to Berlin's Olympic Stadium on November 19 could also be struck if no decision is reached before then. Sporting Life, 8th Jun 2008

* Fox Soccer Channel will launch its first-ever reality show, Soccer Dreams, on June 7 at 12 p.m., offering up a contract with a leading English club. The series follows the story of thousands of young players in their quest for a contract with Barclays Premier League club Everton FC. Players aged 14 to 19 face off to become one of 36 contestants who will move on to compete in the finals and live in the “House of Champions.” Only one player will be awarded the contract with Everton in the end. The program, produced and directed by Jalal Merhi of Film One Production. Worldscreen, 5th Jun 2008

* Eurosport launched a Facebook application, to target the global Facebook community, available in five language versions: English, French, German, Spanish and Italian. Eurosport initially launched a pilot version on the French Facebook platform on April 21. The application was a success and today has over 78,000 users. Arnaud Maillard, Eurosport's Internet Director, said: “We are excited to increase our presence on the world’s largest social networking portal. Eurosport online focuses on exchange and interactiveness between the Eurosport platform and sports fans all over the world. We are constantly working on revamping our online offer, offering our users cutting-edge online products within the world of sports”. Sport Business, 5th Jun 2008

* ActiveMedia Technology has been short listed as one of the best companies for its progress in Emerging Markets at the Mobile Content Awards 2008, which would be held in London on June 20. Every year the industry meets to analyse and reward those that have successfully contributed to the advancement of the industry. This year, it will meet at the Mobile Content Awards 08, which will explore future developments and provide valuable insights into the hottest topics surrounding mobile games, music, multimedia, messaging, TV, advertising and marketing. Televisionpoint.com, 6th June 2008

* Videos from YouTube can now be viewed directly on BRAVIA flat-panel TVs via Sony’s BRAVIA Internet Video Link Service, which delivers a variety of on-demand entertainment content for free. The BRAVIA Internet Video Link, which went live yesterday, is a small module that attaches to the back of a selection of 2007 and 2008 BRAVIA LCD flat-panel television models. The service streams movies, TV programs, YouTube videos and a variety of other free content, as well as news, weather and traffic information via an existing Ethernet connection without the use of a personal computer. Worldscreen.com, 7th June 2008


MORE NEWS

U.S. Open: MediaFLO, ESPN, NBC in Mobile Video Deal

ESPN Mobile TV and NBC Sports on NBC 2Go have reached a deal with MediaFLO USA to bring 30 hours of live mobile video coverage of this year's U.S. Open golf championship to AT&T subscribers and to Verizon Wireless customers. MediaFLO USA’s FLO TV service will present live video coverage of all four days of the U.S. Open golf championship, taking place from June 12 to 15 at Torrey Pines. The FLO TV service is available to AT&T subscribers as AT&T Mobile TV with FLO and to Verizon Wireless customers as V CAST Mobile TV. Coverage will kick off with the first round on Thursday, June 12, and wrap up with the final round on Sunday, June 15.

In addition to the 2008 U.S. Open, MediaFLO USA will continue to bring sports fans an array of sports programming from CBS, ESPN, FOX and NBC Sports on NBC 2Go throughout the year. Since launching the FLO TV service on V CAST Mobile TV with Verizon Wireless in March 2007, MediaFLO USA has delivered close to 3,000 hours of live sports coverage.

"We are extremely proud of the strong 2008 sports lineup provided by ESPN and NBC Sports and are thrilled to tee off the summer together with unprecedented live coverage of 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines," said Gina Lombardi, the president of MediaFLO USA. "With its stunning picture clarity, our award-winning FLO TV service is perfect for golf fans who don't want to miss the excitement of the year's second major event while they are out and about." Worldscreen, 5th Jun 2008

Elsewhere/General: TV Execs Clashing with Chinese over Olympics Coverage

Television networks that will broadcast the Beijing Olympics to billions around the world are squaring off with local organizers over stringent security that threatens coverage of the games in two months. Differences over a wide range of issues — from limits on live coverage in Tiananmen Square to allegations that freight shipments of TV broadcasting equipment are being held up in Chinese ports — surfaced in a contentious meeting late last month between Beijing organizers and high-ranking International Olympic Committee officials and TV executives — including those from NBC.

With time running out before the games open on Aug. 8, the minutes hint that procedures broadcasters have used in other Olympics are conflicting with China's authoritarian government. Some plans are months behind schedule, which could force broadcasters to compromise coverage plans. The meeting in Beijing included representatives of nine broadcasters, each of which has paid for the rights to broadcast the Olympics. Top IOC officials and Beijing organizers were also on hand in what one TV executive termed an "emergency meeting." Non-rights holding broadcasters — news organizations that have not bought TV rights to cover Olympic action at the venues — did not attend the meeting but also are concerned about delays and security restrictions.

Several TV executives were upset there might be no live coverage from Tiananmen Square. This is a change from two months ago when IOC officials in Beijing said China had agreed to allow live coverage. Broadcasters also have been told there's unlikely to be live coverage from the Forbidden City. These kind of restrictions could make it very difficult for TV crews to move quickly around the sprawling city to cover breaking news. Broadcasters also have been denied permits to record aerial views of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. USAToday.com, Bloomberg, 8th June 2008


ARTICLES, COMMENTS AND INTERVIEWS

Sony Reaps IPL Rewards for Innovation, Concerted Effort

The Indian Premier League's success has exceeded everybody's expectations, including that of broadcast rights holder MSM India's Max channel.
While no one will argue against the fact that the kind of success IPL's inaugural edition has enjoyed could never have been anticipated, even by the most die-hard optimist, due credit must be given to the broadcaster on two fronts - innovation and a concerted marketing effort.

Logistical challenges: Max business head Sneha Rajani notes the IPL was an innovative format to begin with. So everything done was innovative by default. "At the same time, though we needed to do a lot of things in two months, we sat together with the team owners to put it all together.

"It was a day and night task. It was logistically more difficult that the World Cup. Mind you for the 2007 World Cup we had two years to plan things. The IPL had more crowds, more flight movements and more equipment - all of which had to be dealt with. I feel that it is a miracle that everything went off so smoothly."

Innovation: After five years of success with its wrap around show Extraaa Innings, Max decided to completely revamp it. "We wanted to refresh it and turn it on its head. We did not want to continue with the same format. It became a one hour show. We went from a remote central studio to a studio that was based on the ground closer to the action." She asserts that after the channel introduced Mandira Bedi five years back, many channels started to copy the formula.

Astute marketing: Sony president network sales, licensing and telephony Rohit Gupta says that one of the main reasons for the IPL's success was the marketing effort that was done by all the parties involved. "The activities began well before the event kicked off. Different people marketed different properties. This generated huge interest among the media. As a result people sampled it. They stayed on thereafter as great cricket was on offer." Rajani adds that at the start the broadcaster sat down with the franchisees to set up a blueprint in terms of who would be doing which activities and at what period of time. At the start the IPL did its campaign. This was followed by campaigns by the different team owners. Finally Max did its own marketing in the four-week lead up to the event.

Less is more: What is interesting is that Max did just one major interactive initiative for the IPL. This was in association with Godrej and through SMS one could win a fully furnished flat worth Rs 10 million. The aim was not to have a cluttered environment. Also the three-hour duration of a match does not give one too much time to do things.

The Ad Scene: There was scepticism prior to the event that the cricket would not be serious. The fear was that huge money would dilute the game. All that though was hogwash and high quality cricket won in the end. "The T20 format is powerful. Ratings were above 7 among males 15+. This is what cricket advertisers target," explains Gupta.

Plans going forward: In terms of the rub off effect, Gupta notes that the IPL has given the broadcaster a good platform to launch Dus kA Dum. "We were able to promote our big shows well. Something similar happened in 2003 post the World Cup." And what is life like for Max, now that it has returned to being a movie channel? Rajani explains that on 2 July, the day after the IPL finished, the channel started a film initiative Great Pictures Lagaataar (GPL). This is a festival of blockbusters that air from Monday to Friday at 8 pm. Max will also premier films this month like No Smoking and Gandhi My Father. In terms of the IPL the plan is to do activities with the franchises to keep the brand alive. In a few weeks time Max will sit down with the franchises and discuss initiatives that could be done. This could include specials on the teams, focus on key players etc. There would also be a retrospective on the first season. "People will not sit and wait for the next event that happens next year," notes Rajani. Indiantelevision.com, 7th June 2008