Wednesday, 20th August 2008

OLYMPIC BITS

* Digital animation outfit Inspidea has licensed its Mustang Mama characters to promote the Olympics on Yahoo! Southeast Asia’s regional portals. The Mustang Mama characters have been chosen to animate the Yahoo! logo in various sports activities, and will appear on the search engine’s websites in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. Inspidea is also launching Mustang Mama Die Hard Sports Fan, the follow-up season to Mustang Mama Football Fever, which has been broadcast on Cartoon Network Japan, Nickelodeon Italy, Animax, TFOU, MBC3, Bonsai TV and AXN Central Europe. The series follows the adventures of Mustang Mama, an eccentric senior citizen who, when not taking care of her grandson, attempts a range of high-impact sports. Worldscreen, 19th Aug 2008

* NBC, is under pressure from advertisers to broadcast the Olympic 100 metres final at peak time in the US, raising prospects that the 2012 event will take place after midnight London time. On Saturday, Usain Bolt led the fastest 100m in history at 10.30pm Beijing time, but NBC held back its telecast by 12 hours before releasing it to viewers. At the time of the race, the broadcaster was showing a basketball match between Spain and the US. A spokeswoman for London 2012 said schedules will not be arranged for two years but admitted that "rights holders want to maximise viewership; we will work this so everyone has the best opportunity to watch." NBC did not comment on whether it wants a post-midnight 100m final. Sport Business, 19th Aug 2008

New Sports Pledge Star Attractions for Spot in Games

From stroke play with Phil Mickelson to squash's all-round glass court, seven sports are pulling all the stops to impress the International Olympic Committee and win a spot on the 2016 Games programme. The IOC will decide next year whether up to two new sports will be included for 2016 and golf, squash, rugby, karate, baseball, softball and rollersports are in full election mode. Baseball and softball will be pushing for a comeback after they were voted off the 2012 London Games programme some three years ago.

The IOC is eager to refresh its programme as younger viewers turn away in greater numbers at every edition and the pattern of viewing is changing considerably, with new media taking a foothold among teens. But for some sports, including baseball and golf, questions remain whether the top players are willing to take part.

"I think (Spanish golfer) Sergio Garcia will have noticed the tear in Rafael Nadal's eye at the tennis medals ceremony the other day," International Golf Federation's Head of Programme Ty Votaw told reporters. "I think the players will support golf for 2016." New world number one Nadal, from Spain, won gold in Beijing.

All of the sports present at a conference organised by Olympics-related website Around the Rings pledged to add value to the Games. "We have 100 million athletes," International Karate Federation General Secretary-George Yerolimpos told Reuters. "Its appeal is just tremendous and we can bring that to the Games. It is exciting, fast and spectacular." Rugby has also been tipped as one of the frontrunners for inclusion, with the rugby sevens format, following its successful World Cup last year.

World Squash Federation President Jahangir Khan, arguably the greatest athlete to ever grace the sport, said squash had worked hard to create a more audience-friendly image with portable glass courts that could be placed anywhere, inside or outside. "You can have the court in the middle, set up temporary stands and have 10,000 people watching it," Khan said. "We have worked on becoming more viewer-friendly and will bring an exciting sport to the Games."

The inclusion of up to two new sports will be decided in October 2009 during the IOC session in Copenhagen. The sports programme for any Olympic Games is decided seven years in advance. Sports City, 19th Aug 2008

(Related…) Boxing will press for introduction of women fighters at the London 2012 Olympics. Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) president, Wu Ching-Kuo, said. The introduction of a new sport into the Olympic schedule must be configured into the bid made by a winning city seven years in advance. The women's boxing competition would include 11 weight classes –same as the men’s competition - and bouts would be over four two-minute rounds. Existing world and continental championships would be used as qualifiers. The AIBA said that it expects a decision from the IOC by December 2008. Sport Business, 19th Aug 2008


DATA BOX

SmarTone in Hong Kong to Register Highest ARPU in 2010
Hong Kong Mobile Forecast by The Office of Telecommunications Authority published on Wireless Federation, 19th August 2008

Hong Kong has built one of the sophisticated markets in the world. Mobile operators are CSL/New World, Hutchison, SmarTone, Sunday, and People. It has one of the world’s highest penetrations in mobiles, Internet and telephones generally. The Office of the Telecommunications Authority, has played a major role in developing the telecom sector.
Notable highlights of Hong Kong Mobile Forecast include:

* The wireless penetration level in Hong Kong will be 131.3% in 2010.
* Market shares (by subscribers) of major operators in Hong Kong will remain fairly stable during the forecast period. In 2010, our model is forecasting market shares of 30.7%, 26.3%, 12.8% and 11.7% for CSL/New World, Hutchison, SmarTone, and Sunday respectively.
* In 2010, EBITDA margins in Hong Kong will continue to be some of the lowest in East Asia. In our view, although CSL/New World will continue to have the largest subscriber base, its competitors such as Hutchison, Sunday and SmarTone will provide increased competition that should see Hong Kong operators EBITDA margins slide over the forecast period.
* The average ARPU in Hong Kong will continue increasing to reach $22.17 per month in 2010. Among the operators, SmarTone will register the highest ARPU at $35.15 per month in 2010.

Ringback Tones Drive Mobile Premium Content Market
Market research by MultiMedia Intelligence published on MobileTech News, 19th August 2008

Ringback tones are on track to become the most attractive mobile content category by 2012, according to new market research from MultiMedia Intelligence. With worldwide revenue nearly tripling to $4.7 billion, ringback tones will fall just short of mobile gaming revenue in capturing the largest share of the mobile premium content market (not including mobile video and mobile TV).

Overall, the global retail market for mobile premium is projected to reach $29 billion by 2012, according to MultiMedia Intelligence. Developed markets, such as Japan and Korea, have seen dramatic growth in premium content, with some operators seeing data revenue exceed 30% of total service revenue. As key Asian markets continue to evolve, growth has shifted to Europe and then the Americas.

Other findings from MultiMedia Intelligence:
* Realtone ringtones are displacing polyphonic ringtones in all regional markets. * Retail mobile music is nearly a mature market in South Korea, but an expanding market in Japan. By 2012, the mobile music market in Japan, for example, will be over 7 times the size of the mobile music market in South Korea.
* Streaming mobile music is growing; however, it does not yet have the market scale compared to other mobile music categories. Mobile games and adult content are continuing to grow, but at gradually slowing rates.


SPORTS SHORTS

* Real Madrid has reached a deal to open a football academy for youngsters in the Colombian capital Bogota. The Real Madrid Foundation Academy will also be a focal point for a number of social regeneration projects. Columbia’s President Alvaro Uribe welcomed Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster and players Michel Salgado, Raul and Guti to a ceremony in Bogota to mark the partnership ahead of the Spanish champion’s 2-1 friendly victory over Santa Fe earlier this month. At the ceremony, Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon signed an agreement for the football academy and associated social projects with Carlos Salazar, president of the local foundation. Sport Briefing, 19th Aug 2008

* StarHub is launching an on-demand service for its digital customers. Subscribers can opt for one-off purchases or pay monthly subscription for unlimited access to the on-demand channel. Single programs include Barclays Premier League matches, WWE monthly specials, features from Hollywood, Bollywood and Indonesia, and TV series such as CSI and Numb3rs from CBS. From September, the latest seasons of these popular series will be available to StarHub as early as 24 hours after their U.S. releases. In addition, viewers can choose to catch up on past seasons of selected CBS series on Video-On-Demand. StarHub has also lined up deals to deliver Taiwanese, Korean and Cantonese dramas. Worldscreen, Rapid TV News, 19th Aug 2008

* MP & Silva (MPS) has agreed a five-year deal with Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG Inc.) to be the exclusive worldwide media rights partner from 2009 to 2013. MP & Silva acquires the international distribution rights (except Japan, South Korea, and the United States of America) to events organised by FEG Inc., including K-1 and DREAM, a mixed martial arts (MMA) series. The agreement marks the second time that MPS has teamed up with FEG Inc. after the agency helped K-1 and FEG’s previous MMA series, PRIDE, establish and expand its international footprint to over 135 countries. Sport Business, 19th Aug 2008

* Bennett Media Worldwide has inked international agreements totaling more than 300 hours in five new markets for The MEN7 Show. New deals for MEN7 are ABS-CBN in the Philippines, Dogan TV in Turkey, Canada’s Global/Unified Entertainment, Zee TV in India and Viasat in Bulgaria, Hungary and Denmark. This brings the total of territories the male-skewing series has been licensed in to 34. Hosted by Tava Smiley and Hoyt Christopher, The MEN7 Show looks at areas such as entertainment, tech, action, self and women. The show is launching in the U.S. on ION Networks on September 4. Worldscreen, 19th Aug 2008

* The Indian telecom watchdog said the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), set up by advertisers last September, should oversee TV audience measurement and broadcast ratings for broadcasters. "BARC can have two nominees from the ministry of information and broadcasting on its board, and be responsible for audience measurement rating of television programmes," Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in an official statement. BARC is an umbrella organisation formed by leading industry associations of the advertising sector in September last year to oversee and control the television audience measurement system in India. News.WebIndia123, 19th August 2008

* TAC, Thailand’s second-largest mobile phone operator, is expected to launch 3G mobile service by Q1 2009. According to the company’s executive Sigve Brekke, the company also expects the number of new subscribers added in the second half of this year to be close to the 1.8 million of the first half. Wireless Federation, 19th August 2008

* China Unicom Ltd said subscribers for its global system for mobile (GSM) services rose to 128.55 mln at the end of July from 127.60 mln at end-June. The company said billed GSM users rose by 3.69 mln in the first seven months to 66.16 mln, while prepaid users were up by 4.30 mln at 62.39 mln. Hemscott, 20th August 2008

* The Premier League has confirmed that the first transfer deadline of the season will be extended to midnight on September 1. The window is usually scheduled to close 24 hours earlier but has been put back because August 31 falls on a Sunday, following normal league guidelines. The move has been agreed between the Premier League, Football League and the Football Association. When the window closes on the first day of September, teams will then have to wait until January to sign players. Sport Briefing, 19th Aug 2008

* Snooker promoter Matchroom’s Barry Hearn has hit out at the scheduling of a new world-ranking event in Bahrain, which clashes with fixtures of the existing Premier League, promoted by Matchroom. The new event will be held in Manama, Bahrain on November 8 to 15 and according to World Snooker, will feature the top 16 players in the world rankings. However, four of these were already scheduled to take part in the Premier League on November 13. Hearn said that, as the Premier League is to be televised by British Sky Broadcasting, and the league would stick to its dates. Matchroom would insist that the four players honour their contracts. Sportcal, 19th Aug 2008


MORE NEWS

Malaysia/New Media: 1 first out of WiMAX traps in Malaysia

Packet One (P1), a 2.3GHz mobile WiMAX licence holder in Peninsular Malaysia, has become the first operator in the country to launch commercial WiMAX services. The initial promotional offer is RM99 ($30) per month for customers signing up to a 12-month contract for a 1.2Mbps service. A 2.4Mbps service is available at RM299 ($89) per month for a one-year contract. P1's WiMAX tariffs are pitched just below the combined price of an equivalent-speed ADSL service and PSTN connection offered by Telekom Malaysia.

Green Packet, which owns Packet One, has invested around RM300m (just under $100m) in its WiMAX operations to date. According to analysts at local investment firm Aseambankers, P1 will need at least 350,000 subscribers paying an average of about RM92 ($27.5) over the course of five years before it can break even. P1 is aiming to acquire 100,000 subscribers over the next 12 months.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the country's regulator, has stipulated that all four 2.3GHz WiMAX licence holders - the other three are Redtone (for East Malaysia), Bizsurf and Asiaspace (both serving Peninsular Malaysia) - should have 25 percent population coverage of their respective WiMAX licence areas by the end of 2008. P1 has said it will meet that target and subsequently increase its population coverage to 35 percent and 46 percent in 2009 and 2010 respectively to meet MCMC requirements.

At first glance, Malaysia looks a promising place for WiMAX to make an impact. Broadband penetration is low (around five percent at the end of 2007) and GDP per capita is reasonably high at around $6,500. One potential drawback, however, is that the regulator has awarded WiMAX licences in the 2.3GHz frequency band, which does not enjoy the same level of vendor support as 2.5GHz and 3.5GHz. Lack of economies of scale, of course, pushes up prices.

Although WiBro in Korea uses 2.3GHz and is supported by local vendors such as Samsung, the system is based on 8.75MHz channels. WiMAX operators in Malaysia use 5MHz and 10MHz channels, which means they can't turn to the Korean vendors to supply kit.

According to a recent report in '3G Wireless Broadband', a newsletter published by Informa Telecoms & Media, MCMC has not ruled out issuing WiMAX licences in the 2.5GHz frequency band. Spectrum at 2.5Ghz was originally handed over to several triallists for pre-WiMAX technology in 2003, but not much progress has been made. If WiMAX licence awards did happen at 2.5GHz, it would clearly put the 2.3GHz business case under more strain. Earlier this year, Intel invested RM50m ($15m) in Green Packet with a view to speeding up WiMAX development in Malaysia. Telecoms, Telecomasia, 19th August 2008

Vietnam/General: Ministry Drafting Sports Betting Decree

Vietnam’s government is drafting a decree that would legalise betting on football matches as well as horse and dog races. The Finance Ministry is drafting the decree on sports betting, which it estimates could earn the state at least US$2 billion a year. That figure compares to just $10 million of betting on the country’s current two legal horseracing games.

An official in the ministry’s finance and banking department says it is seeking opinions from several ministries before submitting for government approval. If approved, the decree would allow a planned horse racetrack in northern Vietnam to go ahead and fully legalise betting at existing horse and dog racetracks in southern Vietnam.

Gambling has long been officially regarded as a social evil in Vietnam, but betting on sporting events, and particularly football matches, is widespread. According to the Ministry of Public Security, illegal gambling activities began increasing in 1996, and in the period of 2001-05 alone, the police discovered 495 cases of gambling involving 4,187 people, with more than $250,000 seized. Sport Briefing, 19th Aug 2008

Elsewhere/General: Nigeria to Bid for 2018 Commonwealth Games

Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, Chairman of the People's Democratic Party, told local media that Nigeria won't be deterred by its failed bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and will make a bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Ogbulafor said hosting major international sports competitions like the Olympics contributes to the development of the hosing nations.

He said, "the gain of hosting major international games cannot be quantified. The benefits are in chains. They include infrastructural development, trade and business opportunities". He added, "sports is now used the world over to build nations. It has gone beyond the more recreation and entertainment. It is now used for international politics, promotion of international image of the nations and development of the economy. "Nigeria as a nation has the capacity and ability to bid and host the 2018 Olympic Games". Sports-City, 19th August 2008


ARTICLES/ COMMENTS

DVB-H Punched in Nose Again

Just days ago Germany’s intentions as regards DVB-H became very cloudy given that the TV-to-mobile project’s backers (publishing houses Burda and Holtzbrinck together with South African media company Naspers) appeared to be on the verge of folding (see our July 30 story). Now comes news that Norway’s major broadcasters have selected another system, T-DMB (as originally adopted by the British Telecom-backed, and now defunct, Movio system).

However, the Norwegian news is a major blow to the European Union’s wish to have a common mobile TV standard across Europe. A consortium comprising three of Norway's largest broadcasters (public broadcaster NRK and commercial outfits TV2 and Modern Times Group) are planning a nine-channel line-up plus on demand content and related services in time for a launch later this year. One of the obvious appeals for a DMB system is its instant compatibility with DAB radio transmissions.

Gunnar Garfors, NRK’s development director, stressed that the Norwegian scheme was not about pay-TV but free-to-air broadcasting to mobile phones “and other devices”. This does not mean that DVB-H is dead in the water, far from it. There are excellent services up and running in Italy, Austria, France, Finland (naturally as the home of Nokia, which firmly backs DVB-H) and Poland is also planning a launch, same with Russia and elsewhere. It is not impossible for some markets to sustain DVB-H as well as MediaFLO (or DMB, or DMB-T) in a competitive cellular environment. It is already known that Qualcomm’s rival MediaFLO system is likely to launch in the UK.

In less than three weeks the giant IBC broadcasting show takes place in Amsterdam and no doubt positive news will then emerge from each of the assorted backers to the rival delivery systems. But it is now clear that DVB-H, for a number of reasons, has not yet won universal favour across Europe and this is a major challenge to the EU’s stated aim of making cross-border handset functionality a reality for consumers. RapidTVnews, 19th August 2008

The Changing Value of Content in the Digital Age
By Jeffrey Soong, CEO of BNS Ltd published on IPTV-News, 19th August 2008

“Change” as a word and concept seems to be on everyone’s minds these days. But forgetting the ubiquitous Climate Change for a moment, the reason for this is that change is something that touches all parts of life, some in more obvious and some in more subtle ways. Content is of course no exception and of late has been particularly vulnerable to two major change agents: social change and technology advancements.

Arguing which one has more influence is a little like the chicken and egg question. But it’s undeniable that the recent surge in technology advancements has made content available over an unprecedented number of new platforms and has at the same time given people the means to re-produce it for free (legal or otherwise) and without quality loss - a fact that has been enthusiastically embraced by people from all walks of life around the world.

An example for technology being the enabler is social networking site Bebo whose founders have sold their venture for a cool US$850mn to AOL earlier this year, all on the back of user generated content that the users volunteered for free. So it seems that these days you don’t even have to own content to make money from it. But does this mean that content has lost its value?

Value…in the eye of the beholder
Value, as they say, lies in the eye of the beholder, but even if we perceive content to be “free” because we can watch it online and don’t have to pay for it, it still has a value, just like anything else. But today it is increasingly the context in which the content is displayed or accessed that defines the value of a particular piece of content.

Media companies and content owners nowadays understand that content distributed over multiple platforms creates more revenue opportunities, mostly well beyond traditional copyright protection - which doesn’t define content value anyway, but merely asserts the right to its value. These companies also understand that monetising content and giving it value is more about enabling access than restricting access. In other words: the value of content is only as high as the quality of the engine or service managing it.

Is Conduit the real King?
Content owners and regulators may not openly admit it, but behind closed doors it seems that the industry has come to an understanding that fighting piracy with conventional methods of deter and punish is a futile exercise. Content owners understand they must find other avenues to preserve the value of their content assets. But in a world rife with piracy, content is only as valuable as the service that makes it useful and accessible. The obvious conclusion is that Conduit, not Content may be the true King in creating value for their owners.

Consider the explosive acceleration in program content over the past few years. How will people find what they are looking for, across multiple platforms and in light of the diminishing influence of channel brands, which are the traditional conduit for people to find the content they are after? Search engines, video portals, social networking sites and the likes are set to be the Conduits of the future for viewers to find the content they want to watch. So for content owners it is paramount to maximise the possibilities of each platform to retain customer loyalty towards their assets.

Smart EPGs will lead the way
This also puts the spotlight on the operator and the importance to create an intuitive user interface. A smart Electronic User Guide (EPG) should be at the heart of every service as the one-stop-shop that guarantees viewers will find the content they are looking for, across platforms and without spending a lot of time searching. Apple’s iPhone illustrates this perfectly. According to a study conducted shortly after the first generation iPhone was launched last year showed that 95% of iPhone owners regularly surfed the web, even though 30% had never done so prior to owning an iPhone. The obvious conclusion is that the intuitive and easy to use interface played a major role in turning phone users into multimedia users.

But since today we are not only dealing with one or two, but multiple platforms, service providers need to strive for a unified, simple interface on each platform to increase customer usage, satisfaction, loyalty and revenue. This role of platform “blender” can only be performed by powerful backend technology, so service providers need to plan and build their networks from the perspective of services, applications and a great user experience. They need to position their services to be attractive for both end users and content owners to be successful.

Building bridges more important than ever
As I have said many times before, the only way forward for service providers and content owners is to build a bridge across their very diverse industries and become collaborators in order to tackle the challenges of an increasingly fragmented media landscape. But whereas only a short while ago that catch cry was “Content is King’ it is increasingly obvious that there is a much more level playing field emerging that will pull all parties together to work closely to preserve their assets.

To paraphrase a content owner who spoke at a panel discussion I moderated recently: content alone won’t cut the mustard anymore. We need to be able to offer it in a fun and exciting way to continue to engage people and attract them to our content. So to conclude, change is not only inevitable, but the stakeholders in the media and communications industries have to understand that their future depends on it. It may not be easy, but with the risk of showing my age, let me leave you with some stuttered wisdom David Bowie parted with some time ago: Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes (turn and face the strain).