Monday, 11th August 2008

HEADLINE NEWS

Real Madrid, MLJ and TSA Ink Real Madrid Mobile Services in Japan

MLJ Inc. (MLJ) of Japan have reached an agreement with the 2007-08 La Liga Champions Real Madrid club de Fútbol (Real Madrid) and Total Sports Asia K.K. (TSA) to launch the official mobile website of Real Madrid (“Real Madrid Mobile”) in Japan and is to be made available on Japan’s 3 major mobile phone carriers.

Real Madrid Mobile will make available videos from goals from the UEFA Champions League, weekly club news, and interviews, photos of Real Madrid players in action, Official Real Madrid JAVA games, text updates of schedules, scores and results, and ringtones, for users in Japan.

Teruhisa Abe, Managing Director of MLJ said, “We are honored to be able to come to an agreement with Real Madrid, one of the greatest football clubs in the world. Real Madrid brings with it a rich history and has been tremendously successful in Spain and in Europe. With its excellent stadium and passionate supporters, we hope to be able to convey the best of Real Madrid to users of mobile phones in Japan.” Begoña Sanz, Deputy Sales and Marketing Managing Director of Real Madrid said, “We are pleased to enter into this agreement with MLJ that would give us access to such a large and important market as Japan and further expand our fan base in Japan”.

Chung See Liang, Managing Director (Korea/Japan) of TSA said “Real Madrid is one of the most popular clubs in Japan, and coming on the heels of Real Madrid being crowned the 2007-08 champions of La Liga, we are confident that this deal is a win-win for all parties”. Sports City, 8th Aug 2008


OLYMPIC BITS

* Information security specialist Safenet will provide China Central Television with copyright protection for live and on-demand online video footage of the Olympics through its digital rights management (DRM) solution. The deal follows recommendation from CCTV technical consultant Intel. CCTV.com is the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) official Internet and mobile broadcaster of the Games, owning exclusive rights to the broadcast of all audio and video content via online and mobile distribution channels across mainland China and Macau. SafeNet’s DRM security solution enables CCTV.com to safeguard digital Olympic Games footage by protecting its audio and video content from being recorded and replayed via unofficial distribution channels. Sport Briefing, 7th Aug 2008

* China staged the most expensive opening ceremony in Olympic history. Over $100 million had been spent on the opening and closing ceremonies, which will feature 15,000 performers and 29,000 fireworks. The amount is twice that spent by Athens in 2004. China has invested $43 billion on the Games, which have been widely dubbed as 'the greatest show on earth'. The ceremony is expected to be broadcast to an estimated audience of 1 billion - the largest television audience in history. Sport Business, Sports City, 8th Aug 2008

* During the 17 days of the Beijing Olympics, the BBC will broadcast almost 3,000 hours of TV coverage – and many more hours of video output via its red button interactive service and website. Each day's action beginning around 1am BST and continues until teatime – the 2008 games will be the first truly digital Olympics. British sports fans will be able to follow the games via text, audio and video provided by the BBC and other media organisations on their computers at work during the day, when much of the action will take place, UK time. The BBC has exclusive TV rights in the UK — along with a group of 40 European broadcasters, it paid $1.44bn (£741m) for the rights to five Olympics. Guardian UK, 8th Aug 2008

* The rest of the world might have been dazzled by the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony but angry US viewers clamoring for a glimpse of the spectacle on Friday were made to wait after a media blackout. NBC, which owns exclusive rights to Olympics coverage in the United States, refrained from showing the opening ceremony live, preferring to delay coverage by 12 hours for a prime-time evening slot. A spokesman for NBC, which paid nearly US$900 mil for Olympic broadcast rights, said the decision was taken to maximize viewing figures. "It's a business decision," the spokesman said, "it protects our affiliates, our advertisers, and shows it to the largest number of viewers possible," he added. AFP, 9th Aug 2008

Opening Ceremony the Most Watched Event in History

The figures are not in, but the chances are that the current Beijing Olympic Games may be the most televised sporting event in history. International Olympic Committee (IOC) Director of Communications Giselle Davis commented it was one of the most fantastic Opening Ceremonies she had ever witnessed, saying it was "one that we will remember for the rest of our lives." IOC President Jacques Rogge is said to have expressed his sentiments on the brilliant Ceremony to Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) president Liu Qi and said it was a remarkable event which combined creativity and cultural history and managed to bring the nation's 5,000 years of history to the world through modern technology.

One of the early statistics already compiled indicated the Opening Ceremony had over 840 million television viewers around the globe. It is expected that the thousands of cameras here will produce some 5,000 hours of coverage, as compared to 3,500 hours which came out of the Athens Games. Still on the Opening Ceremony, Juan Antonio Samaranch, honorary life president of IOC, spoke highly of it, saying it was very successful. Samaranch made the remarks in a meeting with the mayor of the city of Huangshan, Chen Qiang, according to People's Daily. The 88-year-old IOC official is an honorary citizen of Huangshan in Anhui Province. Interestingly, it was during Samaranch's tenure as IOC President that Beijing was awarded the Games on July 13, 2001. News.WebIndia123, 10th August 2008

Beijing Olympics: Incredible India Promoted Heavily

The Ministry of Tourism is using the unique opportunity provided by the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games to promote the profile of Incredible India worldwide and showcasing India as a tourism destination to a large international audience. To take advantage of the large number of participants, visitors and media who would be present to view the Beijing Olympics, the Union Ministry of Tourism through the India tourism office in Beijing, has launched widespread promotional activities in Beijing to bring Incredible India in focus, during this important international event.

These activities include a month long advertising campaign in the important subway stations and junctions in Beijing, with specially designed and illuminated images and creatives. Advertisements would also be placed in major newspapers, including the China Daily and South China Post during the Olympics which would also coincide with the Indian Independence Day celebrations on August 15, 2008.

An India evening has been proposed on August 16, 2008 with the Embassy of India. Invitees would include media personnel, major Chinese tour operators, as well as members of the delegation of the India contingent participating in the Olympic Games. Other proposed events include an exhibition of indian handicrafts and textiles and a photographic exhibition on India by Dr Mao Xiaoyu, a renowned photographer who has lived and traveled extensively in India.

Advertising campaigns are also being launched in other countries, to coincide with the Olympics, notable amongst them being Russia, which is celebrating the 100th year of Russian participation in the Olympic Games. Incredible India advertisements would be screened on giant digital screens at premium locations in Moscow and St. Petersburg from August 8 to 24, 2008. In addition, Incredible India advertising spots would feature on the Euro News channel and China's CCTV, during the Olympics, to be aired in over 45 countries worldwide.

India Tourism Office in Beijing, was inaugurated by Ambika Soni, Tourism and Culture Minister, on April 7, 2008 which was the 14th overseas office for Ministry of Tourism. Chinese tourists have been steadily increasing over the last three years and tourists from China are the 14th largest group to travel to India. Televisionpoint, 8th August 2008


DATA BOX

Olympics' Opening Numbers
Eurodata TV Worlwide Médiamétrie published on RapidTVnews, 10th August 2008

Friday’s opening ceremony to the Beijing Olympic Games achieved some decent viewer numbers, despite being transmitted in the early afternoon in Europe. In Australia, where the ceremony started late at night and went on until 2am, 3.3 million metropolitan viewers tuned in for Seven’s coverage. In the huge US market, an average of 34.2 million watched NBC’s broadcast of the event, delayed by 12 hours because of the time difference. The broadcast started at 7.30pm, rather than 7.30am, had it been aired live. European data from Eurodata Worldwide TV, below.

Country/Number of viewers
Austria 487,000
Bulgaria 517,000
Czech Rep. 822,000
Finland 857,000
France 4,951,000
Germany 7,720,000
Italy 5,439,000
Netherlands 2,003,000
Portugal 591,000
Romania 762,000
Spain 4,079,000
Ukraine 1,111,000
UK 4,763,000


DID YOU KNOW?

Leeds United is Brits' 'Most Hated Club' in Soccer!

Footie fans all over Britain are united over one thing - they all hate Leeds United, according to a poll. The League One side topped a poll of every English pro team as the new season kicked off on Aug 9. Many fans remember the Dirty Leeds tag in the 1970s because of their tough tackling and "win nasty" ethos. There was rejoicing last season when they lost to Doncaster Rovers and failed to make the Championship.

"Everywhere we go everyone sings 'you're not famous anymore'. It just shows other teams haven't forgotten about us," the Mirror quoted But a Leeds spokesman, as saying. Leeds fan and actor Ralph Ineson said: "It stems from jealousy of the great 1970s side. More recently, the jealousy comes from how devilishly attractive Leeds fans are." Sales training firm Sandler Training, which commissioned the poll, said: "People make quick judgments. They look at Leeds and think they are arrogant and big headed." The Most Hated are:

1. Leeds
2. Manchester United
3. Chelsea
4. Wolves
5. Millwall
6. Burnley
7. Bolton
8. West Ham
9. Stoke
10. Scunthorpe

From: News.WebIndia123, 10th August 2008


SPORTS SHORTS

* Companies wanting to launch real-time IPTV broadcasting in Korea must submit applications to the regulator on August 28/29 for launches starting October, the Korea Communications Commission said. Only applications from companies majority-owned by Koreans will be accepted. Corporations wanting to launch channels for an IPTV platform must have assets of less than Won10 trillion. Communications and broadcasting experts will review the submissions between September 2 and 5. Applications are expected from Hanaro Telecom, KT, LG Dacom and Daum. The first three companies already offer on-demand IPTV services and there will be no limit on elegibility for IPTV service providers. Submissions will be judged under six criteria including public benefit and accountability tests. Rapid TV News, 8th Aug 2008

* India’s Dish TV must make clear in its adverts that subscribers wanting a free set-top box must sign up for a year, the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission has ruled. Rival TataSky had complained to the MRTPC about Dish TV’s ads, but the Commission actually responded to a complaint from a consumer. Dish TV said it has already made the changes to its marketing campaign for the free set-top. The platform is the only one of India’s DTH operators to offer a free set-top box. Rapid TV News, 8th Aug 2008

* Meanwhile, Indian telco Bharti Airtel will launch its DTH service, also branded Airtel, within the next two months. The company is hoping to leverage the 900,000+ retail outlets that sell Airtel pre-paid mobile phone cards to sell the new platform. Another prospective new DTH entrant, Reliance Entertainment’s Big TV, has won a deal to sponsor the Indian Premier League cricket event, beating Bharti Airtel for the contract. At a cost of US$31.16 million over the next four years, the deal should give Big TV valuable exposure. Rapid TV News, 8th Aug 2008

* Asian satellite operator Asiasat has appointed Zhang Hai Ming as general manager China. Zhang will oversee all Asiasat’s marketing, sales and customer relations activities in the mainland China market. Indiantelevision, 9th August 2008

* Golf’s European Seniors Tour has expanded into a new market with the announcement that India will stage its first tournament later this year. The Indian Senior Masters, to be played from October 24-26, will take place at the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort at Greater Noida on the outskirts of Delhi. The inaugural event will carry a prize fund of £300,000 and will be co-sanctioned by the European Seniors Tour and the Professional Golf Tour of India. The announcement of the Indian Senior Masters seals a watershed year for the development of golf in India, with the country having hosted its first European Tour events in February and March. Sport Briefing, 7th Aug 2008

* Korea has won the rights to host the World Racquetball Championships 2010. "The International Racquetball Championships is most excited to bring the Worlds back to Korea for the 15th IRF World Championships", IRF President Dr. Keith Calkins said. The IRF Executive Board met Thursday and made this important decision in favor for Korea. "We promise that the 15th World Championships 2010 in Korea will be the best ever", the Korean delegation said in an early statement. Sports City, Sportcal, 8th Aug 2008

* The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) has agreed in principle to a new rule that will allow Super Rugby clubs to sign overseas stars. The deal could see overseas players joining Super Rugby clubs as early as the 2009 season. While details of the number of foreign players each club will be permitted to sign is yet to be determined, ARU chairman Peter McGrath said the time was right for a change in policy. “We are moving towards transformation at Super Rugby level and allowing foreign players to be involved with our teams – not for the first time – is part of that evolutionary process,” McGrath said. Sport Briefing, 7th Aug 2008

* The government has called for a public enquiry into Everton's plans for a 50,000-seat stadium in Kirkby. The announcement by the department for communities and local government could be a major setback for the Everton chairman, Bill Kenwright, whose proposed £400 million development may not now go ahead because of the rising costs associated with a 12-month delay to the scheme. Club officials have refused to cancel a project that has divided fans over the past 12 months and have said that they will ask Tesco, the major partner in the project, to meet the increased costs. Everton's resources are already stretched by their £78 million pledge towards the cost of the stadium. Sport Business, 8th Aug 2008


MORE NEWS

Asia/General: Suzuki Fields ASEAN Football Sponsorship

Suzuki Motor Corporation is now the title sponsor for the Asean football competition this year, the AFF Suzuki Cup 2008, formerly known as Tiger Cup. "Sponsorship is the lifeblood of the game and we are fortunate to have secured a wonderful new partner," said AFF President He Tengku Tan Sri Dato' Seri Ahmad Rithauddeen.

Its predecessor was considered one of the largest and most prestigious football games since its launch in 1996. A Suzuki spokes person said, "By supporting the AFF Suzuki Cup 2008, the company hopes to promote the sport in the region and enhance our brand image both in the ASEAN region and in Asia as a whole."

The biennial event will be co-hosted by Thailand and Indonesia in December following a five-team qualifying tournament in Cambodia in October. Organisers have also confirmed that a prize money of US$100,000 will be on offer for the AFF Suzuki Cup, the draw for which will be made in Jakarta on 27 August.

World Sport Group is the exclusive marketing partner of the ASEAN Football Federation, and the organisers of the AFF Suzuki Cup. At press time Tiger could not reply immediately on why it decided to drop its title sponsorship rights. Marketing Interactive, 8th Aug 2008