Wednesday, 18th June 2008

DATA BOX

Asia: HD Set to Take Off
Euroconsult Study for Measat published in Rapid TV News, 17th Jun 2008

Three-quarters of Asian pay-TV operators polled in a new study said they expected to have high-definition offerings up and running by the end of 2008. The study, conducted by Euroconsult for Measat Satellite Systems, showed operators as generally bullish on HDTV, with a majority expecting it to increase ARPU or profits on its own. However, it is newer platforms thatr are looking to differentiate their offerings from existing platforms that are spearheading the HDTV roll-out, with more established platforms taking a slower approach.

As usual, it is lack of HD content that was viewed consistently as the most important roadblock for developing the high definition sector in the region. Pacome Revillon, Managing Director of Euroconsult, said: “The study provides clear evidence of faster development of HD offerings in Asia than previously expected. Opportunity for growth and increasing competitive pressure are the primary factors driving pay-TV broadcasters to develop an HD offer.” Euroconsult interviewed 25 operators across 15 markets collectively serving 24 million subs.

Mideast Telco Connectivity
Total Country Connectivity Measure Analysis by Arab Advisors Group on Info IQ, 17th Jun 2008

The United Arab Emirates leads the Middle East and North Africa in telecom connectivity, according to data compiled by analyst firm Arab Advisors Group. The annual Total Country Connectivity Measure (TCCM) combines the fixed-line penetration, cellular penetration, and Internet user penetration rates (the number of subscribers per 100 people) of 19 countries to come up with a ranking that represents the extent of its communications connectivity at the end of 2007.

The UAE came in first with a score of 329.5%, up from 261.4% in 2006. It has a mobile penetration rate of 171.2%, which helped boost its score. According to the UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, the seven emirates had 7.6 million mobile subscribers at the end of 2007, 1.38 million fixed-line subscribers (48% of which were residential), and 904,000 Internet subscriptions, 42% of which were broadband. The population is estimated to be around 4.5 million. Countries have penetration rates over 100% when operators include inactive customers in their subscriber accounts or users have more than one SIM card (which makes tracking real subscriber rates a real pain).

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait round out the top five, the same group as in 2006 but in a different order -- while Sudan again brings up the rear with a score of just 28.9%. Qatar and Bahrain ended up with lower numbers than 2006 due to the restatement of official population figures at a higher level in 2007, which pushed down the penetration numbers. It's no surprise that the six oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the top five here plus Oman, which ranks seventh and lead connectivity in the region as these fast-growing economies invest billions of dollars in expanding their telecom infrastructure.

The fact that Egypt ranks 13th in penetration while also climbing into 10th place in ranking of the 10 emerging markets with the most new mobile subscribers shows its potential for growth in fixed-line services and increased mobile penetration. Egypt had 30.07 million mobile subscribers at the end of 2007 in a population of 81 million with a penetration of 37 mobile phones for every 100 people. Mobile penetration accounts for most of the connectivity in the region, but Arab Advisors says growth of broadband in Saudi Arabia and fixed wireless services in Morocco contributed to higher scores in those two nations.


SPORTS SHORTS

* ESPN Star Sports, the pan-Asian sports broadcaster, has obtained an injunction from the Delhi High Court to protect its exclusive coverage of Euro 2008, soccer’s European Championships, in India. The injunction prevents unauthorised broadcasts by cable operators of Euro 2008 and also of cricket's forthcoming Asia Cup, for which ESPN Star Sports also holds exclusive rights. ESPN Star Sports claimed that cable operators are showing its signal without agreeing licences with the broadcaster. Sportcal, 17th Jun 2008

* In Malaysia, Yahoo announced strategic mobile advertising partnerships with Maxis Communications which will see a variety of graphical ads sold and served by the search-engine giant. "Yahoo is a leading monetization engine for the mobile internet, enabling advertisers to reach targeted audiences at large scale and with impact, providing consumers with enhanced mobile experiences, and allowing publishers to monetize their services," David Ko, MD and VP, Yahoo Connected Life, APAC, said. Other advertising partners of Yahoo include AT&T, T-Mobile International and Vodafone, UK. It also announced a similar partnership with Idea cellular, India. Marketing, 17th Jun 2008

* A research team at the Stockholm Royal College of Technology claims to have created a product that allows spectators to be immersed by 3D coverage of football matches. The project is being co-developed with Solna-based firm Tracab which specialises in a world-leading camera-based system that makes it possible to track players and the ball in real time. The technology is already being used at the ongoing UEFA Euro 2008 tournament, as well as all Swedish Allsvenskan games, and in recent UEFA Champions League matches. "It's an entirely new way of watching football. It will be possible to enter the game virtually, to study the players, rotate them, and view and experience the game from new angles," said Stefan Carlsson, professor at the computer science institution at the Royal College of Technology. Football Insider, 17th Jun 2008

* Havas Sports, the sports communication and brand management arm of the French advertising group, is to be merged with Havas’ entertainment agencies as part of a move towards an integrated worldwide service. The move fuses Havas Sports and Havas Entertainment, which both fall under the ownership of Havas Media, the company’s media arm, into one entity called ‘Havas Sports and Entertainment.’ The new group is to provide services to clients across consultancy, branded content and negotiation, and will handle sponsorships, celebrities and corporate social responsibility projects. Sportcal, 17th Jun 2008


MORE NEWS

China/Rights: Sohu Acquires Beijing Webcast Rights

Sohu.com. the Chinese internet portal that is already a partner of this summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing, has acquired webcasting rights for the games from CCTV, the Chinese state broadcaster. The rights mean that Sohu will now be able to offer live webcasts and video-on-demand coverage of the games. It said yesterday that it will ‘provide total coverage of Chinese representatives, athletes, teams and Olympic champions at least 60 seconds ahead of any other website.’

There was controversy over CCTV’s initial acquisition of the internet rights for China last December, with accusations that it acquired the rights for well below the market value, thanks to the intervention of the Chinese government. It was claimed that the IOC had been intent on an open bidding process, but that Sohu.com and Sina.com withdrew their bids under threat from the government. The deal eventually signed by the IOC with CCTV last December, following months of negotiations, was said to be worth between $7 million and $8 million – half what was offered by one of the rival bidders.

Besides the loss of income, there was said to be concern within the IOC that online broadcasting was not CCTV’s core competency, in the way that it is for Sina and Sohu. That concern, at least, will have been assuaged by Sohu.com acquiring the rights from CCTV. Sohu said that it would use its proprietary peer-to-peer streaming technology to webcast coverage of the games. As a Beijing Olympic sponsor, Sohu had controversially claimed that it had the exclusive right to carry Olympic imagery on its site, a claim disputed by its main rival Sina.com.

Sohu was said to have paid $30 million to host the games website and to become a sponsor. However, the IOC later denied that Sohu’s status as a partner granted it any exclusive or special editorial rights to cover the Beijing games. Sohu also claimed that its deal with organisers means that Olympic sponsors can only use Olympic marks on Sohu.com, but the IOC rejected the claim, maintaining that all media can accept Olympic advertising. Sportcal, 17th Jun 2008

Singapore/Broadcaster: Mediacorp, Starhub Agree HD Deal

Singapore’s leading terrestrial broadcaster Mediacorp has agreed a deal with pay-TV platform operator StarHub to add the HD5 high definition channel to Starhub’s HD line-up.
Currently broadcast free-to-air via digital-terrestrial TV, HD5 will launch on Starhub in July. The channel is a simulcast of Mediacorp’s Channel 5 and is Singapore’s only free-to-air HD service. It will be available at no extra cost to Starhub subs with the necessary equipment – an HD Ready set and Starhub’s HD set-top box.

The tie-up between the two powerful media organisations has pleased the country’s media regulator. Christopher Chia, CEO of the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA), said: “It has only been two years since we introduced HDTV into Singapore with StarHub and MediaCorp rolling out the first HDTV trials. We are very glad that the superior media experience made possible by HDTV services has become a way of life for many local viewers so quickly. This partnership between StarHub and MediaCorp is a milestone in the deployment of HDTV in Singapore and enables HDTV services to be enjoyed by more consumers in Singapore.”

The addition of HD5 brings to just four the number of permanent HD channels Starhub offers, the others being Discovery HD and Nat Geo HD and HD Showcase. Starhub is also offering an HD channel dedicated to the Euro 2008 soccer taking place at the moment. HD5 will carry a daily telecast of 16 hours of the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games. Rapid TV News, 17th Jun 2008