Friday, 1st August 2008

DATA BOX

India's Broadband Users Hit 4.3m
TRAI report published on Telecomasia.net, 31st July 2008

India has 4.38 million broadband internet users as of June 2008, a recent report from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said. According to the report, the total broadband subscribers, internet users with download speeds in excess of 256 kbps has reached 4.38 million from 4.15 million it had at the end of May 2008. The Trai statement also said that during April 2007 to June 2008 the country has almost doubled broadband users. In the wireless segment, which includes GSM, CDMA and WLL, there was an addition of 8.94 million as against 8.62 million during May 2008.

HDTV to grow to 255m by 2013
IMS Research forecast published on Rapid TV News, 31st Jul 2008

The HDTV boom continues, at least in most developed markets. A fresh IMS Research study forecasts that from a universe of some 45m homes at the end of last year, high-definition TV will grow to 255m homes by 2013. While the number of TV HD sets shipped will more or less match this number, many of these households will be watching HD only on packaged media. Indeed, the IMS forecasts suggest that Blu-ray disc drives will become “more common” in PCs over the next five year, and help generate a $46bn revenue stream for Blu-ray.

Shane Walker, IMS analyst and author of the study, states: “DTH continues to be the leading platform for HDTV service uptake due to its rapid transition from analogue to digital households and increased HD content availability. HD DTH households are forecast to grow on average at 27.5% annually, reaching 97 million households at the end of 2013. The most significant service uptake is expected prior to 2010, after which time the HDTV household growth rate is expected to fall below 30% annually.” HDTV households in the Asia Pacific region are expected to reach 69.5 million at the end of 2013, 41% of these are expected to be on DTH platforms, says IMS.

Bundesliga Shirt Sponsorship Deals Worth €114m
Sportcal research on Sportcal, 31st Jul 2008

The value of shirt sponsorship deals in German soccer's top-tier Bundesliga has reached €114 million ($178.4 million) per season going into the 2008-09 campaign.

The estimate of €114.1 million is a notable increase on the total of just over €100 million generated last season, which itself was around €10 million more than the €90.3 million earned by the top-flight teams in the 2006-07 season. Bayern Munich, VfL Wolfsburg and Schalke 04 lead the way in terms of shirt sponsorship deals, generating average annual sums of €20 million, €15 million and €12 million respectively, as displayed in the table below.

Meanwhile, Energie Cottbus, who finished 14th in last season's Bundesliga, receive only €1.3 million per year from a shirt deal with Envia, the energy services firm. The overall rise is partly attributable to the fact that the kit deals signed by FC Nürnberg, Hansa Rostock and MSV Duisburg, the three teams relegated from the Bundesliga last season, are accumulatively worth less than those enjoyed by the three teams replacing them - Borussia Moenchengladbach, FC Koeln and 1899 Hoffenheim.

Furthermore, clubs such as Hannover 96 and Eintracht Frankfurt have extended their shirt sponsorship deals on more lucrative terms since the beginning of last season. Given last season's league positions, one sponsor that would appear to be seeing excellent value for money is Emirates, the airline that sponsors Hamburger SV for an average annual fee of around €5 million.

Hamburg finished fourth last season and Emirates benefited from exposure from their participation in the Uefa Champions League, Europe's top-tier clubs competition, during the 2006-07 campaign. Emirates' deal with Hamburg expires at the end of the 2008-09 season, which kicks off on August 15.

The fees received by the Bundesliga clubs from their sponsors can fluctuate year on year, with the value often increasing across the length of the contract, or being dependent on results and qualification for European competitions. For instance, the contract extension signed recently between Borussia Dortmund and Evonik, the German industrial conglomerate, was more weighted towards performances than the previous deal.

Evonik was paying the club a reported €7.5 million a season, but was unhappy with Dortmund's 13th place last season and it is estimated that the annual payment will now range between €5 million and €8 million.


DID YOU KNOW?

F1 champion Michael Schumacher almost ran over a Brit car dealer on July 27. Martin Kingham has claimed that the 39-year-old F1 legend hit him while overtaking an elderly woman driver in the van and instead of apologising he started fuming. Schumacher was on his way to a private jet at a nearby airfield when he hit Kingham in Lydd, Kent. Schumacher was taken by the police and quizzed. Schumacher's agent Sabine Kehme confirmed the collision but said that there were no injuries. "There was a collision but nobody was injured. Michael cooperated with police. There is nothing else we wish to say," she said. News.WebIndia123.com, 31st July 2008


SPORTS SHORTS

* France Télévisions, the French pubcaster, has said that rights and production fees for the 2008 Beijing Olympics have cost it €70 million ($109.3 million). France Télévisions’ head of sport Daniel Bilalian said that the rights fee that the broadcaster pays had risen to €60 million for 2008, while audiovisual production costs for the event are between €10 million and €12 million. France Télévisions acquired rights to the Olympics through its membership of the European Broadcasting Union, the body of mainly public-service broadcasters in Europe. Sportcal, 31st Jul 2008

* South Korea’s SBS broadcast a secret dress rehearsal of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, but said it had taken the footage legitimately. "We went, and nobody stopped us. So we just shot," the private SBS network sports desk said in Seoul. The broadcast is certain to infuriate organisers which had made performers sign confidentiality agreements not to divulge details of the August 8 ceremony. SBS aired over a minute of film of next week's ceremony, including scenes depicting the past and future of Chinese culture, including the unrolling of a massive artwork from which rises a carpet-like object. SBS did not show the lighting of the Olympic torch at the National Stadium where the rehearsal was taking place, but said a golden phoenix was expected to swoop down into the stadium dubbed the Bird's Nest for the climactic event. News.WebIndia123.com, Sports City, The Guardian UK, 31st Jul 2008

* World number three Maria Sharapova pulled out of the Beijing Olympics on Thursday after an MRI scan on her right shoulder revealed two small tears. "I'm currently packing up really quick to hop on the plane and head to New York for a second opinion but I wanted to let all of you know first that there's no chance of me competing in Beijing," Sharapova said on her website. "The timing is so unfortunate and this makes me more sad than anything," she added on www.mariasharapova.com. Reuters, 31st July 2008

*The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has set a reserve price of $750 million for the 10-year broadcast rights for the inaugural Twenty20 Champions League. The ten-day inaugural tournament will be played from September 29 to October 8, 2008. The tournament is scheduled to begin only one day after the end of the 50-over Champions Trophy and will feature teams from the top eight cricket countries. The total prize money for the tournament is $6 million. Sport Business, Sportcal, Sports City, 31st Jul 2008

* Korean IPTV operators KT and Hanaro Telecom are vying to provide English-language educational content on their services, according to local reports, tapping into the "education zeal" of parents and seeking partnerships with leading local and foreign English education companies to secure and produce quality content. KT has started to produce English educational content, while its affiliate Olive Nine will add animation and music titles to content produced by British Council Korea and Scholastic Corp. IPTV-News.com, 31st July 2008

* Nokia is more than doubling the size of its direct venture investment fund with an injection of $150 million, with a view to putting some of the money to use in India and China. "We've been investing in companies globally, but we need to get even more feet on the ground in China and India," said Rick Simonson, Nokia CFO. Apart from seeking a financial return, the fund hunts for startups with technologies that are useful to Nokia. Some areas of focus have included mobile payments and camera technology. Venture funds have become a standard accessory for companies in the cell phone arena, though the approaches vary. Telecomasia.net, Finance Asia, 31st July 2008

* Ericsson won a two-year contract to expand a network for Telekom Malaysia, a Reuters report said. Ericsson said it will expand the operator's nationwide optical network in Malaysia. “The contract is for the supply of an optical network based on Synchronous Digital Hierarchy and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing technologies, and the provision of installation works and comprehensive maintenance services," Ericsson said in a statement. Telecomasia.net, 31st July 2008

* The Dubai Sports City is to hold talks with Dubai Duty Free, the organisers of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship, over the possibility of hosting the next edition of the tournament. The growing popularity of the annual two-week competition has led organisers to consider alternatives to the 5,000 capacity Dubai Tennis Stadium. The Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships is held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Sport Business, 31st Jul 2008

* Mediaset, the Italian media group, is suing Google for €500 million over alleged "illegal commercial use" of copyrighted video clips on YouTube. The move follows similar lawsuits from Viacom in the US and Telecinco, the Spanish broadcaster of which Mediaset is the largest shareholder. The cases are ongoing. Advanced-Television, 31st July 2008

* AC Milan superstar Kaka has agreed a deal to become the new face of Sony Latin America. The Brazilian international will promote the Japanese firm's high definition products such as televisions, digital cameras and video game consoles. Kaka's image will be used at events and on Internet and TV advertising not only in the Americas, but also in Europe. Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed, but the agreement with Sony marks another major corporate partner for Kaka as the forward already enjoys relationships with Armani, Adidas and Gillette. Football Insider, 31st July 2008


MORE NEWS

Singapore/New Media: Government to Support Interactive Digital Media Startups

Interactive Digital Media (IDM) start-ups and companies in Singapore will get a boost in their search for more investment with the launch of i.Match. It is an initiative by the Singapore government aimed at bridging funding gaps in the local IDM sector. This was announced by Senior Minister of State for Education and Information, Communications Lui Tuck Yew at the Arts at the i.JAM Networking Session organised by the multi-agency Interactive Digital Media Research and Development Programme Office (IDMPO) which is hosted by the Media Development Authority (MDA).

i.Match helps to raise the investment needed to give IDM companies the extra push to further commercialise their products and grow their companies. This is done by first exposing selected companies to a rigorous programme consisting of an intensive business plan and investor presentation master class, one-on-one business plan improvement meetings and personal coaching sessions. The selected companies will then be given the chance to pitch their projects to venture capitalists (VC) and other potential investors. On top of private investment, these companies will also qualify for R&D grants from IDMPO or co-investment in their projects by Spring Seeds Capital of Spring Singapore.

Designed to uncover the best of local IDM companies and to introduce them to local VCs and other equity investors, the initiative has brought on board 40 potential investors. They include corporate investors such as Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), ST Electronics and Mediacorp Technologies as well as venture capitalists headquartered in Asia, Europe and North America such as IDG Ventures Vietnam, Stream Global and Vickers Financial Group. Two investment communities in Singapore - the Business Angels Network South East Asia (Bansea) and Singapore Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (SCVA) are also behind this initiative.

IDMPO executive director Michael Yap said, “In 2007, we supported many innovative IDM start-ups and companies, and some of them are coming of age and seeking investment for further growth. i.Match builds upon the work done by stimulating entry of more private investment and capital into the sector and helps to facilitate the investment process.”

Spring Seeds Capital chairman Cheong Boon says, “As more IDM start-ups seek to grow and establish themselves in this arena, access to capital is critical. We hope to support them through our co-investment and connections.”

To further create a self-sustaining ecosystem in the IDM sector, IDMPO is working to attract the support of global enterprises to buttress the development of new services and to promote them widely. To date, Apple, Hewlett Packard and Friendster have agreed to support our local IDM companies by offering their worldwide distribution platforms. In addition, they will also commit resources for the development and marketing of new projects that are being developed on their platforms. The support from global enterprises is a boost to the local IDM sector.

The i.MATCH initiative is IDMPO’s ongoing effort to interlock the four key groups of stakeholders in IDM R&D namely, Institutes of Higher Learning, industry players, start-ups and individuals and schools, to create innovation and capacity in IDM. Indiantelevision.com, 31st July 2008

China/General: IMG and CCTV Aim to Revamp Sports Market

IMG, the international sports marketing giant, has struck a landmark 20-year deal with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV to form an events and promotion company, which will showcase new events and sell sponsorships. The CCTV-IMG Sports Management Company, headquartered in Beijing, will own and produce a series of sporting events for broadcast on CCTV, serving as a platform for corporate sponsors keen to become involved in sport after this year's Olympic Games.

The new venture, announced today in Beijing, promises to ‘change the landscape of the sports industry in China with a formidable new international brand.’ A host of new sports events are in the offing as IMG looks to promote China’s athletes throughout the country, supporting them with sponsorships and television advertising driven by the massive viewer reach. The partnership will also include events in the territories of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau.

Ted Forstmann, the IMG chairman and chief executive, told the Wall Street Journal newspaper that ‘if we are successful [in China], there are going to be a whole lot of events that exist that do not exist today. ‘The fundamental purpose of the joint venture is to marry what CCTV does in China and what IMG does all over the world.’

Sun Yunsheng, CCTV’s executive vice-president, said that ‘leveraging the combined strengths of CCTV and IMG, our joint venture will bring the best sporting events and sports management methodologies to China. ‘Equally important, CCTV-IMG Sports Management Company will serve as the bridge between Chinese sports, sports culture and media, and the world.’

IMG will be looking to develop new sports events on the back of the massive audience of the CCTV 5 channel, which commands an 80-per-cent share of the Chinese sports broadcast market. The move to reshape the sports business market in China is a huge undertaking for IMG, with many events and venues needing major development. At present, the most popular sports content on television in China tends to come from abroad, such as North America's National Basketball Association. However, the deal with IMG does not give CCTV access to sports rights held by IMG outside China, such as the UK's Wimbledon tennis championships, one of the sport's four 'grand slams.'

During the 1990s, IMG tried to set up sports leagues in China in cooperation with domestic sports federations, but pulled out due to the financial demands of local partners. In 2005, media giants News Corp and Viacom attempted to form an alliance with state-owned television in China, but were prevented from doing so by market regulators. IMG has said that it would hope to avoid such intervention because the joint venture is not a media company, but an event organisation partnership, with programming that will appear on CCTV and not on a newly-created channel. Sportcal, Wall Street Journal, Market Watch, Reuters, 31st Jul 2008

Elsewhere/Rights: BSkyB 'Set to Extend English Cricket Deal'

BSkyB, the UK pay-television operator, is reported to have renewed its deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board to provide exclusive live coverage of England’s home matches. The deal will run for four years, beginning in 2010, and is worth £300 million ($594 million), according to the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper. The news emerged on the same day that BSkyB announced that it added 92,000 net new customers in the three months to the end of June, exceeding analysts’ forecasts. BSkyB is in the third year of a 4-year, £220-million deal with the ECB to televise England’s home test matches, one-day internationals and Twenty20 games.

The deal was controversial when it was announced because it brought to an end commercial broadcaster Channel 4’s test match coverage and meant that all live cricket in the UK would henceforth only be available on pay-television. However, BSkyB is one of few UK broadcasters able to devote large swathes of its schedules to cricket and has enjoyed a good relationship with the ECB, whose chairman Giles Clarke negotiated the previous deal.

In the bidding for the next contract it is understood that BSkyB faced competition from rival pay-television operator Setanta, which has recently begun covering cricket, but not the BBC, the UK public service broadcaster, which had previously been expected to bid. Commercial broadcaster Five is said to have retained highlights rights to England’s home tests.

BSkyB today announced profits of £40 million for the last quarter, down from £168 million in the same period a year earlier, although revenue was up to £1.2 billion from £1.1 billion. The company reported a loss of £127 million for the full year, compared with a profit of £499 million in 2007. Turnover rose by 9% to £4.95 billion in the 12 months to June 30 but BSkyB was hit by a £616 million impairment charge relating to its 17.9% stake in commercial broadcaster ITV and increased sports rights costs.

The company attracted 398,000 net new subscribers in the last year to take its total to 8.98 million and it remains on course to hit its target of 10 million customers in 2010, despite tougher trading conditions. It added 200,000 broadband customers in the fourth quarter to take the total number of subscribers to 1.62 million. Sportcal, 31st Jul 2008

Elsewhere/General: Roma Joins Superleague Formula Grid With F1 Backing

AS Roma has become the second top Italian club to sign up to Superleague Formula and Formula One star Giancarlo Fisichella will back its tilt for glory. Roma joins Serie A TIM (sponsor) rival AC Milan in the fledgling series and becomes the second team to sign up this week, following the addition of Chinese club Beijing Guoan. The Force India driver's race team Fisichella Motor Sport International will run the Rome club's entry in the new motor racing championship which brings together the colours of the world's leading football clubs at key race tracks across Europe.

A passionate Roma fan, Fisichella is a personal friend of star striker and club captain, Francesco Totti. "For me Superleague Formula is a dream come true, joining motor racing and football, the two sports that I love the most," said Fisichella (pictured right). "Knowing that my racing team will run in the colours of my club and to be able to share this challenge with my friend Francesco Totti, is just fantastic."

Roma will now compete against European rivals Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Olympiacos, FC Porto, Borussia Dortmund, RSC Anderlecht, FC Basel, Sevilla, Rangers and Galatasaray. International competition will come from Brazilian clubs Flamengo and Corinthians, as well as Beijing Guoan from China and Al Ain from the UAE. The Superleague Formula championship will kick off at Britain's Donington Park circuit on August 30-31 before travelling to tracks in Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Italy and Spain. Football Insider, 31st Jul 2008

Elsewhere/General: Nortel is Tier One Sponsor for London 2012

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Limited (Locog) has announced that Nortel is the official network infrastructure partner and the latest London 2012 Tier One sponsor. Locog is now well over half the way to reaching its domestic sponsorship target. London 2012 will make the most of exciting new technology and communications to get people closer to the action they want to see, when, where and how they want to experience it.


Nortel president and CEO Mike Zafirovski says, "London 2012 will be the Games for a connected world – connecting people in revolutionary ways and enriching the Olympic and Paralympic experience by bringing people closer to the Games than ever before. It will be an evolution of the Games and provide an online immersive environment where athletes and spectators can share their Olympic and Paralympic memories instantaneously.

"The network infrastructure is fundamental to the Games and critical to the delivery of its communications services. Fresh from the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, our team will be experienced in providing the level of passion, support and expertise required to help deliver the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London in 2012."

As official network infrastructure partner, Nortel will be responsible for providing BT with the equipment to enable secure and robust Wide Area Networks, wireless Local Area Networks, call centre and fixed telephony infrastructure which LOCOG requires to stage the Games. London 2012’s communications will support over 205 international sporting organisations, 20,000 worldwide media, nine million spectators, and over four billion television viewers of the London Games.

London 2012 chair Sebastian Coe says, "As we head to Beijing, I’m thrilled to have another world class partner on board. Nortel will be a great partner, and, as well as bringing ’best in class’ products to the table, will be supporting our sustainability commitments and our education programme too.

" We are counting on Nortel with their Olympic Games experience and breadth of expertise for mission-critical projects to ensure successful delivery of our Games requirements. Commercially, we are in great shape, with four years to go we are in the unprecedented position of having raised over half of our domestic sponsorship targets already."

Nortel will provide this equipment to BT, London 2012’s Communications Services Partner. BT is the communications services partner to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and has a longstanding relationship with Nortel.

BT Global Services president, delivery and Service operations Patrick O’Connell said, "Nortel has supplied network equipment to BT for many years enabling us to deliver communications services to some of our major corporate and government customers in the UK. We welcome them to the London 2012 programme, supporting BT’s delivery of the critical communications infrastructure for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games" Nortel will also receive exclusive marketing rights and usage rights to the London 2012 brand within its sector.

Technology and communication at Games’ time will require significant and complex logistical operations. Nortel will form part of LOCOG’s technology team, which also includes Atos Origin, BT and Samsung, and these organisations will play a fundamental role in delivering the communications for the Games.

In addition to EDF Energy, BT and BP, Nortel becomes London 2012’s fourth Sustainability Partner and will work with London 2012 and partners to reduce the environmental impacts of hosting the Games. Nortel has also committed to contributing to London 2012’s Education Programme by providing resources and training to students across the UK. Nortel is also a sponsor of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

London 2012 now has seven Tier One Partners and one Tier Two Supporter as it raises the £2 billion of private finance needed for staging the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012 in addition to the eight worldwide Top Sponsors. Indiantelevision.com, 31st July 2008