Tuesday, 17th June 2008

DID YOU KNOW…?

* Malaysia Boleh! Riding the wave of Euro 2008, Pepsi has launched an outdoor initiative "The Pepsi Longest Football Dribble" to firm up its position in the football world. Covering an 80-kilometre stretch across Kuala Lumpur, the goal was to create a first-time national record and earn a place in the Malaysian Book of Records for the longest dribbling feat. The challenge attracted almost a thousand volunteers and celebrities who signed up to manoeuvre a football over a 100-metre stretch before passing it on to the next dribbler. Some of the famous faces include Faizal Tahir, Phat Fabes, and Lavin Seow. The event also prompted various members of the public to sign up for the dribbling chain, including a caped superhero and a toddler. "We're really flattered with all the effort. We really appreciate all the work they put into it for that five minutes of fame. It made great publicity for Pepsi," Ng said. Marketing Malaysia, 13th Jun 2008

* The Chinese politely clap when they’re enthusiastic about something. They don’t shout, or scream or yell in encouragement. But now millennia of wholly understated displays of emotion are being re-educated with the Beijing Olympic organisers throwing politeness away with precise instructions on how to cheer on athletes at the upcoming Games. A story from Beijing says that school kids are being taught how to chant enthusiastically, and similar “Let’s Go” messages appearing on poster sites as well as TV commercials, encouraging more visible enthusiasm for Olympic participants. Clever short-cuts are being created with dedicated schools being given the task of cheering on specific athletes. Some 800,000 school-kids will view/chant/emote during key events. Beijing News reports that the new Chinese Cheer is a joint invention of the Communist Party's Office of Spiritual Civilization Development and Guidance, along with help from the Ministry of Education and the local Olympic Organising Committee. Rapid TV News, 16th Jun 2008


DATA BOX

New Players Are Biggest Threat, Pay-TV Operators Say
Content Asia Survey published in 9th to 22nd June 2008 Issue

Asia’s pay-TV operators say the arrival of new players is the biggest single threat they are facing over the next 12 months, according to the new Pay TV Operators’ Survey conducted by market intelligence company Fusion Consulting and ContentAsia. At the same time, the biggest opportunities are new technology, which platforms say will broaden their viewership base and boost revenues, and overall industry development, which will lead to, among other things, deregulation.

Opportunities
1. Technology advancements (18%) New formats like digital TV, mobile TV, high-definition (HD) TV, IPTV will attract new viewership and help boost revenues
2. Industry development (18%) Deregulation, consolidation of multiple services allows for great opportunities across different platforms
3. Subscriber base growth (13%) Operators see growing interest in their services, especially from rural areas in emerging markets across Asia
4. Interactive content delivery (11%) 24x7 feeds, next generation set top boxes could help increase revenues from pay TV services
5. New services (8%) Further pickup of video on demand and digitalisation will allow for an enhanced user experience

Threats
1. Arrival of new players (18%) Many conventional pay-TV cable operators mention IPTV services as the big competitive threat, while the technology provides an opportunity for telecommunications firms
2. Competition by existing operators (18%) Pricing, emergence of HD specific channels or growing number of channels by other providers – some operators predict an uncertain future for themselves
3. Internet & content substitution (13%) Access to pirated content (movies/TV series) via DVDs, internet content or downloads (legal and illegal) might erode the business for operators
4. Unauthorised viewing (11%) Revenue is lost by viewers who illegally connect to cable or satellite networks
5. Saturation in mature markets (5%) Countries with high pay TV household penetration have little room to grow the existing subscriber base

Base: Asia Pacific pay-TV operators; n = 38. Items are ranked in order of priority; Percentages indicate share of operators mentioning the respective opportunity/threat Source: Asia-Pacific Pay-TV Survey 2008

F1 Generates Most Money Per Event Than Other Sport
Formula Money Research Results Published in Sport Business, 13th Jun 2008

Formula One Grand Prixs generate more revenue per event than any other sport in the world, according to research carried out by Formula Money, the organisation which monitors the financial health of F1 motor racing and the Deloitte Sport Business Group. The research found that each of the motor sport’s 17 races produce an average revenue of $229 million per event – nearly ten times that of its closest competitor, the National Football League, which generates $24 million per game.

Figures from Deloitte Sports Business Group show the NFL and Major League Baseball’s overall revenue was $6.5 billion and $5.1 billion in 2006 respectively – substantially higher than F1’s total revenue of $3.9 billion, although both the NFL and MLB had significantly more events. The English Premier League clubs' combined revenue was $3 billion in the 2006/07 season. Caroline Reid, co-author of Formula Money, said: "with a ready supply of emerging markets looking to put themselves on the global map in front of F1's 597 million unique television viewers, the sport is likely to grow further east in future. However, at the same time it must make sure it doesn't lose track of its historic heartland”.

Formula One's $3.9 billion is comprised of commercial rights revenues (race sponsorship, corporate hospitality and broadcast fees), team revenues (including sponsorship and contributions from partners and owners) and circuit revenues (from ticket sales and sponsorships).

Vietnam Tech Market Growing Fast
GfK Study Results Published in Rapid TV News, 16th Jun 2008

It isn’t often that reliable research about Vietnam crosses our desk, but a new GfK study shows that in terms of technological development Vietnam is performing extremely well. In 2007, the Vietnamese Consumer Technology market performed well; the total market reached US$3.2 billion in value, rising by 33% year on year. The increase was largely a result of a 59% and 41% year-on-year rise in sales of Information Technology and Consumer Electronics products respectively.

According to GfK Retail and Technology estimations for 2008, the year-on-year market increase in Vietnam is still expected to be around 27% with total sales of US$4.07 billion. The real year-on-year rise is forecast to be strong, driven mainly by Information Technology, Home Appliances and Telecommunication, with respective increases of 41%, 34% and 18% forecast. With a +183% increase in value and a +329% year-on-year increase in units in 2007, PTVs (LCDs and Plasma TVs) are confirmed as the most popular Consumer Electronic product of the year in Vietnam.

Personal Computers, especially portable models or those with LCD screens, had a much higher demand than Desktop Personal Computers. With a +93% and +113% value and unit growth rate, Portable Personal Computers (PPC) are also estimated to achieve a high growth rate in next 3 years. Digital Still Cameras are currently in third position of the fastest growing products (with +66% and +87% in value and units in 2007) and also have a positive future in the Consumer Technology market in Vietnam in the coming years.

Mobile Phone is the strongest technology category in value (23% in total value share); continuously offering competitive and fashionable products. Mobile Phones are expected to remain the number one category in the Vietnamese retail and technology market in the next few years.


SPORTS SHORTS

* Preliminary discussions have been held between some TV channels and Doordashan (DD) for sharing the feed for the 2008 Olympics in China, for which the public broadcaster has exclusive rights for India. Reports say the broadcaster has been informally approached by sports channels including ESPN and Zee Sports, but the contacts had been informal and no formal plea had been made so far. News channels, however, are yet to approach DD for the footage. Back in 2004, DD had initially quoted high figures to news channels for Olympic footage but later revised downward to $5000 for up to five hours of footage during the entire games; $4000 for five hours to 25 hours; and $3000 for more than 25 hours. Television Asia, 16th Jun 2008

* Ten Sports has acquired exclusive broadcast rights to WWE content in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and the Maldives, in a deal renewing an existing contract until 2014. The deal includes rights for WWE programmes RAW, SmackDown and ECW, and pay-per view events. Welcoming the deal and reflecting on a successful last two months for Ten Sports, during which it has signed rights deals with the West Indies Cricket Board and Champions League, Peter Hutton, Ten Sports’ senior VP said, “We have the key building blocks in place to continue our position as the sub-continent’s most-watched sports channel and we look forward to further increasing our market share”. Sport Business, Worldscreen, 16th Jun 2008

* India’s Neo Sports is looking to capitalise on the growing interest in motor racing in the country by showing this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. There will be live and exclusive coverage of the famous endurance race from 6.30pm local time on Saturday. Neo Sports supports the popular Neo Cricket channel, offering a range of sports, including Italian Serie A and German Bundesliga soccer, women’s WTA Tour and men’s ATP Tour tennis, US PGA Tour golf and international badminton. Sportcal, 13th Jun 2008

* Win Multimedia (WM) of Thailand has selected Digisoft’s DigiHost Service Delivery Platform and IPTV set top box middleware to deliver premium IPTV services in the Thai and Chinese markets. WM plans to launch an IPTV service across 10,000 retail outlets in Thailand and China over the next year. The service will include advanced applications including an electronic programme guide, video-on-demand, mobile phone tracking, news and weather services and karaoke options in addition to multi-language support. WM is a subsidiary of Thailand’s Win Win Net Corporation, an integrated media company operating in the film and record entertainment, sports events production, licensing, and distribution industries. WM is operating in Thailand and says it will expand to China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and India. Rapid TV News, 16th Jun 2008

* Illegal broadcasting of the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be the target of a 4-month crackdown on copyright piracy, China’s State Copyright Administration said. Deputy director, Xu Chao, said: ‘As the Games draw near, we are expecting a large number of illegal broadcasts of the games. Any broadcast without authorisation will be severely dealt with.’ Television rights for the Chinese mainland and the Macao special administrative region have been awarded to state-owned CCTV and online rights to CCTV.com Xu said: ‘The campaign will look at video websites, as a number of such sites are increasingly infringing copyright laws.’ He added that cases of major copyright infringements this year will soon be brought out into the open. Sportcal, 13th Jun 2008

* Market research specialist GfK says Hong Kong residents, despite limited amount of digital TV available, are buying flat panel TV sets enthusiastically. Terrestrial and cable/broadband broadcasters have taken into consideration the fact that digital broadcast geographical rollout in Hong Kong is phased and will not be completed until just before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when they prepare their program planning. That is why the variety of digital programs on offer is still rather limited. Coupled with the fact that the market is only just starting to see panel TVs with built-in tuners capable of receiving digital signals introduced, the sales of Full HD Panel TVs did not really take off until Christmas 2007 and Q1 2008. Rapid TV News, 10th Jun 2008

* India’s is on the verge of a long-awaited decision to permit its state-backed radio broadcasters to put their signals up onto satellite radio. The Information & Broadcasting Ministry and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) are drafting a fresh policy for satellite radio. TRAI has recommended an auction to sell off licenses for satellite radio services especially if eligible applicants exceed the number of licenses being offered. Initial licenses could be for a period of 10 years, with provision for a 10-year extension. Successful bidders will pay an annual fee of 4% of their gross revenue. The draft regulations suggest that successful applicants must roll out a service within one year of getting the license. Rapid TV News, 10th Jun 2008

* (Excerpt) According to figures supplied by the Football Federation of Australia, the Rugby World Cup in 2003 had a positive total economic impact of $289 million. The 2000 Olympics produced about $6 billion in TV rights, tourism, ticket sales and improved facilities. For the Japan-Korea World Cup estimates range between $7 billion and $27 billion. The 2006 World Cup brought 2 million tourists to Germany, employed 85,000 people and reached a cumulative TV audience of 26.3 billion. The argument the FFA will be making to FIFA delegates who will vote in three years to decide the World Cup 2018 and 2022 hosts is that 34% of TV viewers clapping eyes on Germany 2006 were in Asia. While most TV money still comes from Europe, Asian power is rising. PM, Kevin Rudd likes to speak of the "Asia-Pacific century". Nowhere is it more apt than in soccer. The Age Australia, 14th Jun 2008

* Football fans across Europe travelling to Austria and Switzerland for UEFA Euro 2008 could lose up to £24 million in cash during the tournament, according to new research by Maestro, the debit brand of event sponsor MasterCard Worldwide. The cash black hole equates to each of the five million travelling fans losing an average of £4.75 in loose change. The massive cash loss is based on a range of factors, including money lost in commission when exchanging currency between Euros for Austria and Swiss Francs; money lost on commission when buying and selling travellers' cheques; overpaying in taxis, public transport and at vendors as they do not have the right change. Football Insider, 16th Jun 2008

* US company TAG Partners LLC has agreed a deal to buy newly-promoted Serie A TIM club Bologna. In a statement on its website, the club announced that current owner, Aktiva SpA, has signed a deal to sell the club for €18 million. The deal will be completed in two stages, with TAG Partners acquiring 80% of the club in July, and the remaining 20% at the end of next season. TAG Partners has agreed to invest around €20 million into the club in a bid to avoid immediate relegation to Serie B next season. Bologna regained the Serie A spot it had relinquished in 2004-05 after finishing second in this season's Serie B, one point behind champion Chievo Verona. However, the Emilia-Romagna outfit has an illustrious history having lifted the Serie A title seven times - although its last taste of title success came in 1963-64. Football Insider, Sportcal, 17th Jun 2008

* The Amaury Sport Organisation, the owner and organiser of the Tour de France, is set to announce a marketing partnership with AEG, the organiser of the Amgen Tour of California. According to a draft press release obtained by USA TODAY, ASO will assist AEG with the international distribution of television and media rights for the Amgen Tour of California. ASO will also, produce and distribute a portfolio of programming formats including live coverage of the race. Additionally, AEG will assist ASO with the sale of specific sponsorship packages designed for partners looking to communicate in the US. Sport Business, 17th Jun 2008


MORE NEWS

Pakistan/Broadcaster: Dubai Orders GEO TV Out

Geo TV is based in Dubai but targets viewers in Pakistan. The Dubai municipality has revoked the visa permits for all of Geo TV’s staff and ordered them out of the Emirate within 48 hours, effective June 12. Geo TV boss Imran Aslam told Reporters Without Borders that the Dubai authorities had informed him that the station would lose its licence if Capital Talk, a show hosted by Hamid Mir, and Meray Mutabek, hosted by Dr Shahid Masood, were not taken off the air. “The order is inexplicable,” Geo sources told local journalists.

Geo TV, which is extremely popular in Pakistan, on Friday said: “President Pervez Musharraf has once again started to press hard to stop transmission of Geo News channel in what appears to be a bid to prevent the channel from supporting the lawyers’ movement [which seeks democratic elections].” On Sunday officials from the station said they might relocate to London or Hong Kong.

Officials at Dubai Media City, where the Geo TV group is based, reportedly said the programmes threatened UAE’s relations with a friendly country. Pakistan’s Information Minister Sherry Rehman said her government was not involved in the decision. Reporters Without Borders and the International Federation of Journalists called on the governments of Pakistan and UAE to explain how Geo News was forced to drop two very popular talk shows under threat of losing its licence to operate in Dubai.

This is not the first time that Geo TV has had problems with Dubai. Back in November and December last year the channel was forced off the air after the imposition of emergency rule in Pakistan itself. Rapid TV News, 16thJun 2008

Elsewhere/General: Tennis Line-Call Technology 'Makes Errors'

The accuracy of line-calling technology due to be used at Wimbledon for a second year running is being questioned by new research. Hawk-Eye, and similar tools which are used to supplement or replace decision-making by umpires and referees, are becoming increasingly common in televised sports coverage. Even though it is widely considered that the introduction of such systems has enhanced the spectacle for viewers and fans, the technology has split opinion in the world of tennis, with the likes of Roger Federer (pictured right) describing Hawk-Eye as "nonsense". Now researchers at Cardiff University's School of Social Science have challenged whether such systems can always be right.

In a paper entitled 'You cannot be serious! Public Understanding of Technology with special reference to Hawk-Eye', the researchers claim errors made by the machine can be greater than 3.6 millimetres - the average error stated by its makers. The paper says the International Tennis Federation, which tests the machines for use, would accept Hawk-Eye had passed its test if it called the ball 'in' by 1mm, while the true position was 'out' by 5mm. Led by Professor Harry Collins and Dr Robert Evans, the team argues such devices could cause viewers to overestimate the ability of technological devices.

Professor Collins said: "We used Hawk-Eye as the principal illustrative example as it is the most well-known of the commercial systems and is currently being used to make decisions in major tennis competitions such as Wimbledon. Technologies such as Hawk-Eye are meant to relegate line-call controversies to the past. However, our analysis has shown that Hawk-Eye does not always get it right and should not be relied on as the definitive decision maker. To avoid any chance of misleading the public, we believe that Hawk-Eye's conclusion should be accompanied by statements and/or displays of the size of the possible errors, as is normal in science. This would ensure that the public is much better informed as to the limits and possibilities of technology." The paper is due to be published in the Public Understanding of Science journal next month. Sports Media, 13th Jun 2008

Elsewhere/Rights: University of Nebraska, IMG College Sign Rights Deal

The University of Nebraska Board of Regents has approved a 13-year multimedia rights deal between the university’s athletics department and IMG College, worth $112.5 million ($109 million guaranteed). IMG College, a division of international sports, entertainment and media company IMG, will manage and market rights for radio programming, coaches’ TV and radio shows, programme sales, sponsorship inventory and publication printing rights.

Included in the contract are provisions for IMG College to pay advance fees and a signing bonus, to provide operating support, and to pay for more than $1.6 million in electronic signage upgrades for the university’s Memorial Stadium. The contract also provides for future revenue-sharing deals for additional multimedia-related sales.

Under the agreement, the university will retain rights to several existing corporate partnerships, including contracts with Pepsi, Adidas, and Gatorade, as well as website management and television and pay-per-view broadcast rights. The total value of the retained rights over the 13-year period is over $30.875 million. One element removed from the new IMG College rights package is alcohol-related advertising for athletic events, the university has removed indefinitely in an effort to distance itself from alcohol advertising. Sport Business, 16th Jun 2008