SPORT SHORTS
* Carlsberg, the official beer of the UEFA EURO 2008 football competition, is launching a number of football-related initiatives including a reality TV programme, 'Carlsberg Man of the Match', on Starhub's Super Sports Channel. Carlsberg is the official presenter of StarHub's broadcast of the Championships. The challenge is a four-part reality TV programme, hosted by Mark Richmond and Debbie Wong, where fans take part in a series of challenges to win a trip for two to Switzerland where they will present the 'Carlsberg Man of the Match' trophy during the France versus Holland match at the Stade de Suisse Wankdorf. StarHub, Singapore's official broadcaster of the tournament, has also announced value-added services revolving around competition, and said it will make available the 'live' feed of UEFA Euro 2008 via the MaxMobile mobile broadband service. Marketing-Interactive.com, World Screen, 14th May 2008
* The President's Cup, one of the biggest events on the United Arab Emirates' football calendar, was co-produced by Dubai Sports Channel (DSC) and Mediapro last month. The development marked the first time that DSC had been involved in the broadcast production of such a significant sporting event in the region. Al Ahli won the contest 2-0 against Al Wasl at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi thanks to two goals from Clederson Cesar. A team of 40 people from Mediapro and DSC captured the action from 24 different camera angles within the stadium. Mediapro has produced coverage of football in Spain and Portugal and recently opened a new office in Dubai. Sports Media, 14th May 2008
* With significant growth in the Chinese market, forecasts for User-Generated Video (UGV) use and revenue have shifted upward since last year, reports In-Stat. Expectations of higher quality content (e.g. HD video) and increasing file sizes will drive demands on bandwidth which will likely continue to grow at a faster rate than the number of files/videos served. Michael Inouye, In-Stat analyst, says "China is a prime example of UGV's global reach and appeal, capturing a significant portion of the world market, making it second only to the US. Viewing online video has increased in the US in the past year, although participation is still stratified by age." Research by In-Stat found that total worldwide UGV revenue is expected to eclipse $1.19 billion by 2012. One hundred and sixty billion UGV served videos are forecasted for 2012. ATV, Rapid TV News, 15th May 2008
* Sport 18 (division of Network 18) acquired the marketing rights of the Volvo Ocean Race India stopover to be held at Kochi from December 3-13, 2008. Sport 18 was appointed by the Cochin Port Trust which is responsible for organising the Indian stopover, in collaboration with the Department of Tourism, Govt. of Kerala. Sport 18 and Network 18 are dedicated to the sport of sailing and our involvement with the Volvo Ocean Race stopover is a continuation of our commitment to sailing.The 2008-09 event will be the 10th running of the Volvo Ocean Race. Starting from Alicante in Spain on October 4, 2008, it will for the first time, take in ports in Asia. Sportbusiness.com, 14th May 2008
* Thailand is to offer its athletes cash incentives for medals at the Beijing Olympics – but will pay out in instalments to stop medallists squandering the money. Gold medallists will earn 10 million baht (£160,000), silver medallists will receive 6 million baht, while a bronze medal will be worth 4 million baht – a sizeable sum in a country where the minimum wage is just 203 baht (£3.25) a day. However, half of the money will be paid over a 20-year period to prevent Thai Olympians, many of whom are from poor backgrounds, from frittering it away. Thai Olympic chiefs decided to stagger the payments after several high profile cases of athletes, such as that of Manus Boonjumnong the 2004 gold medallist, finding instant fame and blowing their money on gambling and expensive party lifestyles. Sportbusiness.com, 14th May 2008
* A dramatic end to English soccer's top-tier Premier League this season, in which Manchester United pipped Chelsea to the title, will help to ensure that the value of the league's television rights will be boosted when the league negotiates new television rights deals next year, according to Richard Scudamore, the league's chief executive. Under its present rights deals with pay-television operators British Sky Broadcasting and Setanta, which run until 2010, the Premier League is earning £1.7 billion ($3.3 billion) over three years, while the international rights are bringing in a further £625 million. It has been suggested that the rights could be worth a total of £3 billion in the next round of negotiations. Sportcal, 14th may 2008
* The US PGA TOUR and SMJ will launch the US PGA TOUR official Japanese mobile site, “PGA TOUR MOBILE” on all three major mobile carriers in order to consolidate the US PGA TOUR’s brand in the Japanese market. Beginning May 12, 2008, Japanese fans will be able to enjoy daily news, real-time scoring and daily video highlights for all remaining 2008 US PGA TOUR tournaments. Additional content available via the mobile site such as photo galleries, player profiles and statistics, ranking information and special columns will be updated regularly. Sportcal, 14th May 2008
* F1 driver, Lewis Hamilton, is set to sign a $20 million personal sponsorship deal with sportswear manufacturer Reebok. The deal, which is yet to be finalised or confirmed, is believed to be similar to the British sportswear brand's 'global brand ambassador' agreements with footballers Thierry Henry and Andrei Shevchenko and boxer Amir Khan. McLaren, which does not usually allow its drivers to seek personal sponsors, is believed to have made an exception in this case because Hamilton is “one of the sport’s most marketable stars”. Reebok is owned by German sports company, Adidas. Sportbusiness.com, Sportcal, 14th May 2008
* Sheffield United has offered relief aid to the people of Chengdu following the earthquake in China. More than 10,000 people have died as a result of a massive earthquake, the epicentre of which is close to the city of Chengdu, whose top flight football team, Chengdu Blades, is owned by the English Coca-Cola Championship club. United became the first club to purchase a stake in a Chinese league side in October 2006 and last season the Chengdu Blades gained promotion to the top division. Football Insider, 14th May 2008
MORE NEWS
Pakistan/Rights: Pakistan Media Rights Could Push Millions
Former ICC President Ehsan Mani has agreed to advise the Pakistan Cricket Board in their sale of media rights, which he said on Wednesday should earn the board at least $100 million . The PCB announced on Wednesday that the rights, to broadcast their home international matches over a five-year period from 2008-09, would be open to tender from July and the deal should be concluded by September.
If Mani's forecast is accurate, the PCB could witness more than a 100 percent jump from the current deal with Ten Sports and ARY, who paid $43 million in 2003 -- which was also more than a 100 percent rise from the previous agreement. "I would be disappointed if they sold for any less than $100 million," Mani, an expert in the media rights sector, told Reuters. "The last deal was the best around but it was still a bad one because India were not touring Pakistan at that time and that was a big issue.
"That is no longer the case so hopefully it will make a big difference. I haven't seen the whole tour programme yet but there has been a significant convergence of rights as people now watch cricket in so many different ways, whether it is on television, on the internet or on their mobile phone." Mani, who was the ICC president from 2003-2006, led the negotiations for the ICC's media rights deals in 2000, when they sold for a then unprecedented $550 million, and in 2007, when he said they went for "over $1 billion".
The London-based Pakistani expatriate said he is not receiving any payment for his role with the PCB. "I am happy to help any cricket board," he said. "I have helped Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies - it's nice to be able to give something back to the game." India's rights were sold in 2006 for $612 million, while England's sold for 220 million pounds in December 2004 to start in 2006. Malaysia News Yahoo!, Sportcal.com, 15th May 2008
China/New Media: China Dominates Broadband Reach in Asia
China will own the biggest share of broadband per household in Asia throughout 2010, while Japan and South Korea are expected to lose shares gradually, according to a study by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. India’s share will be a mere two per cent while China will gain shares to 60 per cent in 2010. Japan and South Korea, however, are expected to lose ground, to 21 per cent and just 7 per cent, respectively, PwC predicted.
In 2004, China owned 40 per cent of overall broadband households in Asia Pacific, while Japan and South Korea accounted for 27 per cent and 21 per cent respectively. Other areas such as Australia, Taiwan, Malaysia and Hong Kong only make up a small share of overall Asian broadband household, either in 2004 or in 2010, according to PwC. Meanwhile, the United States took the lead among nine selected countries in terms of time spent online in January 2008, according to the data from Nielsen Online.
The data was derived from nine countries, including the United States, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Australia and Switzerland during January 2008. France and Spain followed in the second and the third spots, while Australia and Switzerland lagged behind.
According to Nielsen Online, a US online user on average spent more than 28.5 hours surfing the Internet, double the usage time in Australia and Switzerland. France was on the second spot with just under 20 hours, while Spain and the United Kingdom followed each with more than 18 hours per month. In Brazil, Germany and Italy, a user spent about 16 to 17 hours online on average in January 2008. Indiantelevision.com, 14th May 2008
Asia/General: Asian Tour Agrees to More Talks over Rival One Asia Tour
Golf’s Asian Tour, which has been attempting to fight off controversial attempts by the PGA Tour of Australia and the Japanese Golf Tour Organisation to launch a rival Asia-Pacific golf tour, has agreed to further talks after abandoning its previous position of having nothing to do with the plans. However, Kyi Hla Han, chief executive of the Asian Tour, today told Bloomberg that it was 'no closer' to signing up with the rival bodies.
Despite the Asian Tour's new willingness to try to reach a co-operation agreement, Han is said to be worried that the tour's smaller tournaments would not survive if the major ones are shifted to a new elite tour. The plan is for existing tours in the region to act as feeders to the new, so-called, One Asia Tour. The golf associations of China and South Korea are also interested in joining the One Asia Tour, while those of India and Thailand are considering their position.
The Asian Tour, which claims credit for the development of Asian golf, plans to stage 27 tournaments offering a record of $37 million in prize money this year. The Asian Tour previously successfully settled a similar dispute with the European Tour over competing events in Asia. The European Tour was accused of ‘colonising’ Asia when it organised the Ballantine’s Championship and the Indian Masters without first consulting its counterpart, before a co-sanctioning agreement was reached. Sportcal, 14th May 2008
Singapore/General: SingTel FY Profit Beats Forecast, Pays Higher Dividends
Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel), Southeast Asia's biggest telecom company, beat market expectations by posting a 4.8 percent rise in year to March earnings but warned that growth in local and regional operations may slow amid the uncertain global economic environment. SingTel reported on Wednesday a S$3.96 billion net profit, better than the S$3.77 billion average estimate of 13 analysts polled by Thomson Financial. The group's underlying net profit rose 14 percent to S$3.68 billion, with its regional mobile units accounting for 53 percent of the total.
For the current financial year, SingTel is expecting mid single-digit revenue growth at its Singapore operations from 11 percent in the year just ended, led by its mobile and data business, while EBITDA margin is expected to be steady at about 40 percent. Earnings from regional associates will continue to grow at double-digit levels, although at a slower pace compared to the last two years as some markets mature, SingTel said. Pretax profit from these units jumped 24 percent to S$2.56 billion in year to March 2008, led by Bharti Airtel of India.
Operating revenue rose 11 percent to a record S$14.84 billion as SingTel added more mobile subscribers. The group's combined mobile subscribers rose to over 185 million as of end-March from about 124 million a year ago. But margin fell by 1.5 percentage points to 30.5 percent due to higher subscriber retention costs in Australia and Singapore and the rollout of its IP television in Singapore. Interactive Investor, 14th May 2005
Elsewhere/General: FIVB President Acosta in Shock Resignation
Ruben Acosta, the long-time president of the FIVB, the international volleyball federation, has announced his intention to step down next month, two years before the end of his present term. The controversial 74-year-old Mexican official has headed up the FIVB since the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, making him one of the longest-serving leaders of an international sports federation. He plans to retire at the next FIVB Congress in Dubai on June 16 and 17 in order to spend more time with his family and on private business.
Last week, the FIVB officially opened its lavish new headquarters at the Chateau Les Tourelles in Lausanne, an event that was attended by Acosta and International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge. Acosta was re-elected unopposed and, the FIVB claimed, unanimously, for a new four-year term in 2006. However, the unopposed election took place only after two potential opponents were excluded under stringent new candidacy rules.
Jean-Pierre Seppey, who was sacked as general secretary of the FIVB in 2005, was rejected as a candidate because he did not have the support of an affiliated national federation, while Mario Goijman was excluded on the grounds that he had been expelled in 2003 for financial irregularities. Seppey and Goijman reacted by helping to form a breakaway international governing body in November 2006. The organisation, now known as the WVBF, has been recruiting national federations and organising its own competitions rivalling those of the FIVB.
Acosta’s departure could pave the way for a reconciliation with the WVBF, although Seppey, the president of the rival federation, was today highly sceptical about the intentions of his former associate. Seppey has repeatedly accused the FIVB of a lack of democracy and transparency and claims that the WVBF is more committed to Olympic ideals such as ethics, fair play and solidarity. However, his federation is not yet recognised by the IOC.
The federation said that Acosta’s announcement came as a surprise to the members of the FIVB board of administration. It added that extensive efforts were made to persuade him to remain as president, if possible for four more years, but concluded that ‘it was very unlikely that he would change his mind between now and the middle of June.’ Under the FIVB constitution, Wei Jizhong of China, the first executive vice-president, would be expected to serve out the remainder of Acosta’s term. The federation says that it plans to return to the Olympic cycle as far as elections are concerned.
The WVBF has opened its own headquarters in Lausanne this month. Seppey claims that it now has 62 national associations on board and is making good progress as an international sports federation. Sportcal, 14th May 2008
Wednesday, 14th May 2008
SPORT SHORTS
* US broadcaster ESPN, has acquired rights for the US Open Tennis Championship in a six-year, $140 million deal from 2009 to 2014, with the US Tennis Association. The deal includes rights to the Olympus US Open Series tournaments. ESPN2 will show live matches in the tournament's first week from 1 pm until the end of play. The second week will have a four-hour window on Labor Day between 7pm and 11pm; the rest of the second week will have live coverage from 11 am until the end of play, or more than 12 consecutive hours. ESPN.360 will show live coverage of all courts during ESPN2's television window.The broadcast network rights are held by CBS, which has a contract with the USTA until 2011. ESPN is the first channel to have held the rights to all four Grand Slam events simultaneously. Sportbusiness.com, Sportcal, USTA Official, 13th May 2008
* Staging last year’s Sudirman Cup generated £6.7 million ($13 million) additional expenditure in Glasgow. Paul Bush, chief operating officer of EventScotland, the country’s government-funded major events agency, said: ‘Public sector partners invested £745,000 to bring the championships to Scotland and the economic impact of the event shows a solid return on this investment.’ The expenditure included £3.5 million spent by visitors from outside Scotland. The competition attracted 15,000 visitors from across the world. Some 1,000 competitors participated, plus 500 team and event officials. More than 100 jobs were created as a result of the event. Sportcal.com, 13th May 2008
* SingTel's combined mobile customer base in the region has reached 185.34 million at end- March from 123.79 million a year ago. The group's eight markets; Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, rose 8%, a record 13.80 million customers, in the first quarter. SingTel saw a record 244,000 mobile customers in Singapore this quarter bringing its mobile customer base to 2.57 million as of end-March, a 41% increase in its base compared with a year ago. Growth was fueled by demand in the prepaid mobile segment. During the quarter, SingTel netted 207,000 prepaid mobile customers, pushing its prepaid base past the one million-mark. SingTel is the market leader with 1.2 million prepaid users. It maintained its postpaid leadership with 37,000 customers added in the quarter. 3G customer base also grew to 859,000 as at end March. Telecomasia.net, 14th May 2008
* Indian DTH satellite pay-TV platform Tata Sky has clocked up its two-millionth subscriber, just 20 months since the joint venture between Tata Group (80%) and Star TV (20%) was launched. Commenting on the milestone, Vikram Kaushik, MD and CEO of Tata Sky, said: "This vindicates our commitment to transform the way people watch television in India." Tata Sky competes with other DTH platforms such as DD Direct Plus and DishTV. C21 Media, ATV, 13th May 2008
* After winning the Women's Asia Cup for the fourth time in Sri Lanka, India launched preparations for ICC's Women's World Cup 2009 in style. India defeated Sri Lanka by 177 runs in the final, extending its winning streak in the history of the tournament to 22 matches. India's supreme performance in Sri Lanka highlights it as one of the teams to watch at the ICC Women's World Cup in Sydney, Australia in March next year. Defending champion Australia, New Zealand, England, West Indies, South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will take part in the event that will be the first to be played under the auspices of the ICC since its merger with the International Women's Cricket Council (IWCC) in 2005. Newswebindia123.com, 13th May 2008
* YuuZoo signed an exclusive mobile partnership with MSN targeting more than 1 billion mobile users in China and a swathe of key markets in Asia. YuuZoo will develop, host and maintain a range of mobile content on a co-branded MSNYuuZoo site. MSN will provide ad placements across its network to promote YuuZoo content and both partners will work together on integration in key content areas, including editorial placements. In India, the world's second largest mobile market, the partnership will be non-exclusive. Substantial online impressions on MSN across China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines have kicked off in conjunction with the launch. Marketing-interacitve.com, 14th May 2008
* Juventus has reported a reduced net loss of €800,000 ($1.24 million) for the third quarter of the financial year, due in part to higher television rights sales. Losses narrowed from €4.5 million at the same stage in 2007 after the Turin club won promotion back to Serie A. They were previously demoted to Serie B for their involvement in a match-fixing scandal. Juventus said that television rights increased in value from €25.6 million to €37.9 million, while sponsorship was up from €7.6 million to €10.2 million. Sportcal.com, 13th May 2008
* A South African news site has reported the real reason for Dali Mpofu’s suspension as Group CEO of the SABC is that the organisation had lost its soccer broadcasting rights, according to a statement issued by Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri. The Premier Soccer League’s exclusive TV rights to all fixtures were awarded to SuperSport International last year for R1billion over five years. This was a major blow for the SABC since it had already lost the rugby and cricket broadcasing rights to Supersport. Sowetan, 12th May 2008
* A proposed four-year deal between the European Broadcasting Union and the UCI, cycling’s world governing body, excludes Germany and Spain because broadcasters there remain nervous about making a long-term commitment after doping allegations in recent seasons. The EBU’s present deal with the UCI for the European market expires at the end of this year and Alexandre Baudin, the UCI’s marketing manager, said that the broadcasting body has until the end month to finalise its extension offer, excluding two of Europe’s most important markets. Rights outside Europe are handled on a territory-by-territory basis by the UCI. Baudin pointed to increased interest in the UCI’s rights from Asia. Rights have only been sold directly to Japan under the present contract, but Baudin said that it had received offers for ‘all Asian territories for the World Championships and World Cups.’ Sportcal, 13th May 2008
* The UK's Wembley stadium becomes a contender to host the 2011 Champions League final after the UK government agreed to relax tax charges on overseas footballers' earnings. Wembley lost out on the 2010 final because of the tax rule, which might have made players liable to pay tax on bonuses and endorsements if they appeared at a UK event, even if based overseas. Uefa awarded the 2010 final to Real Madrid ahead of Wembley because of the taxation rule. Sportbusiness.com, 13th May 2008
MORE NEWS
WWE: Q1 Revenue Rises to $162.6 mn
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has announced financial results for its first quarter ended 31 March, 2008. Revenues totalled $162.6 million as compared to $107.4 million in the comparable prior year quarter. Operating income was $27.1 million, as against $20.6 million. Net income was $19.5 million, or $0.27 per share, as compared to $15.1 million, or $0.21 per share, in the prior year quarter.
WWE CEO Linda McMahon says, “Our first quarter results reflect the power of our premiere event, WrestleMania® XXIV. Our WrestleMania brand provides us with a unique opportunity to showcase our creative content and marketing talents across a multitude of media outlets. In addition to posting solid financial results in the first quarter, we are actively expanding our global brand presence through our newly established international offices.
WrestleMania XXIV contributed in the aggregate approximately $31.3 million of revenues and $7.1 million of profit contribution ($4.6 million, net of tax), to our results for the first quarter of 2008, whereas WrestleMania 23 contributed in the aggregate approximately $31.4 million of revenues and $9.7 million of profit contribution ($6.6 million, net of tax) in the second quarter of 2007.
Revenues from live and televised Entertainment businesses were $99.8 million for the current quarter as compared to $63.0 million in the prior year quarter, representing a 58 per cent increase. Live event revenues were $24.6 million as compared to $18.2 million in the prior year quarter, primarily due to the inclusion of WrestleMania XXIV in the current quarter. WrestleMania XXIV generated approximately $5.9 million in revenue in the current quarter. There were 74 events, including eight international events during the current quarter, as compared to 71 events, including eight international events, in the prior year quarter.
North American average attendance was approximately 7,200 in the current quarter as compared to 6,900 in the prior year quarter, an increase of 4%. The average ticket price for North American events was approximately $45.39 in the current quarter as compared to $36.30 in the prior year quarter. Excluding the impact of WrestleMania, North American average attendance was 6,300 and average ticket price was $38.08 in the current quarter.
PayPerView revenues were $41.2 million as compared to $15.8 million in the prior year quarter. There were three PayPerView events produced in each quarter; however, as discussed above, WrestleMania XXIV occurred in the first quarter of fiscal 2008, and WrestleMania 23 occurred in the second quarter of fiscal 2007.
Revenues from the consumer products businesses were $43.4 million versus $37.4 million in the prior year quarter, representing a 16 per cent increase. Home Video net revenues were $14 million as compared to $13.4 million in the prior year quarter. The company shipped over 175,000 units of both The Legacy of Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H®: King of Kings DVD titles in the current quarter.
Licensing revenues were $26.2 million as compared to $20.6 million in the prior year quarter, primarily reflecting increases in video game sales and apparel. Video game revenues increased by $5 million, reflecting the sales of the SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 title, while revenues related to licensed apparel increased by approximately $0.5 million in the current quarter. Magazine publishing net revenues were $2.9 million, essentially flat as compared to the prior year quarter. Revenues from the digital media related businesses were $8.1 million as compared to $7 million in the prior year, representing a 16 per cent increase. WWE.com revenues were $4.5 million as compared to $2.8 million in the prior year quarter, reflecting $1.1 million of additional advertising related revenues and $0.4 million of additional revenues from wireless content. Indiantelevision.com, 13th May 2008
Elsewhere/General: Premier League Insists Cash Gap Is Closing
Premier League chiefs insist the financial gap between the top clubs and those at the bottom is closing despite Manchester United's record income from the season. Sir Alex Ferguson's side earned £78 million in television cash and prize money over the season, £50 million more than bottom side Derby County. The equivalent figure last season, under the previous broadcast deals, was £40 million - and it was just £30 million in the 2005-06 season when earnings from the UEFA Champions League were not so high.
However, in percentage terms the smaller clubs have done better than the bigger ones. United's income rose 25% compared to last season, while Derby earned £28.2 million, a 56.5% increase on the £18 million earned by Watford a year ago. Premier League communications director Dan Johnson said: "The new broadcasting deals are closing the gap, because the biggest increases have been in the overseas contracts which are divided equally between the 20 clubs. Furthermore, the increase in money means a lot more to the smaller clubs because it is a much bigger percentage of their turnover."
Johnson also pointed out that all clubs are now guaranteed a minimum of 10 payments for being featured in live games, whether or not they actually appear in 10 live matches. That means all 20 clubs are guaranteed £4.6 million in 'facility fees' plus a further £460,000 for each extra live game they are featured in. For example, Newcastle United was screened in 20 live league matches, meaning it earned £9.2 million from facility fees - double the amount of the likes of Middlesbrough, Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic who all featured in fewer than 10.
The Champions League continues to be the big divide with a huge gap between the four clubs in the elite European competition and the rest. United earned at least £28.1 million from Europe - and will top the £30 million mark if it wins the final - while Liverpool took in £18 million. By contrast, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Bolton all earned less than £500,000 for their UEFA Cup campaigns even though they made it to the last 16. Football Insider, 13th May 2008
Elsewhere/General: Hefty Bonus Awaits ‘Invincible’ Midfielder Park
Soccer star Park Ji-sung could earn up to 7.3 billion won (about 7.3 million U.S. dollars) this season, including 570 million won for Manchester United’s second straight English Premier League title won Sunday against Wigan. His next game is against Chelsea in the final of the UEFA Champions League May 22 in Moscow. If Park plays in Moscow and his team wins, he will become the first Asian to take part in a Champions League final and earn a bonus of 110 million won.
Park’s annual salary is 5.7 billion won but he can earn a 10-percent bonus if United adds the Champions League title. In addition, team owner Malcolm Glazer has pledged a bonus of 510 million won to each player if the Red Devils achieve the double. Thus Park will earn a bonus of 1.65 billion won if his team wins the Champions League. Adding to his annual salary, his income for this season could reach 7.35 billion won or more if his team pays a higher bonus than promised.
Often dubbed the most famous sports franchise on the planet, United is able to pay such high bonuses because of the astronomical profit it reaps. The English Premier League charged 5.5 trillion won for three years of TV broadcast rights from this season. About half of the money is evenly distributed to the league’s 20 teams, while a fourth is given based on performance and the remaining fourth depends on the number of times of live telecasts.
United will also receive 100 billion won in prize money alone. In addition, UEFA gives away 75% of broadcast and sponsorship income to participating clubs according to performance. AC Milan of Italy earned about 64 billion won for winning the Champions League last year. Donga Korea, 13th May 2008
ARTICLES, COMMENTS, INTERVIEWS & OPINIONS
IPTV Operators Searching for Competitive Differentiation
In the past five years, IPTV has grown from a handful of deployments by a few pioneering telcos and ISPs to an established part of the pay-TV landscape with services spanning the globe from Australia to the Ukraine. But now, according to ABI Research, this "adolescent" industry must find ways to create a distinct identity so it can continue to grow and prosper, with IPTV operators creating unique service offerings that are differentiated from the traditional video services of their key competitors.
Some services have recently crossed the symbolically important 1-million-subscriber threshold. But, says senior analyst Cesar Bachelet, "IPTV operators must now leverage the characteristics of the new platform to produce a differentiated offering, redefining the experience of television."
"From a technology perspective," Bachelet concludes, "all the tools are there, enabling IPTV operators to move to the next level and bring greater choice, convenience, and control to consumers. However, operators must tread carefully in order not to overwhelm subscribers with too many new features at once, and business models still need to be defined for some of the new value-added services in order to monetise them without alienating subscribers." ATV, 14th May 2008
* US broadcaster ESPN, has acquired rights for the US Open Tennis Championship in a six-year, $140 million deal from 2009 to 2014, with the US Tennis Association. The deal includes rights to the Olympus US Open Series tournaments. ESPN2 will show live matches in the tournament's first week from 1 pm until the end of play. The second week will have a four-hour window on Labor Day between 7pm and 11pm; the rest of the second week will have live coverage from 11 am until the end of play, or more than 12 consecutive hours. ESPN.360 will show live coverage of all courts during ESPN2's television window.The broadcast network rights are held by CBS, which has a contract with the USTA until 2011. ESPN is the first channel to have held the rights to all four Grand Slam events simultaneously. Sportbusiness.com, Sportcal, USTA Official, 13th May 2008
* Staging last year’s Sudirman Cup generated £6.7 million ($13 million) additional expenditure in Glasgow. Paul Bush, chief operating officer of EventScotland, the country’s government-funded major events agency, said: ‘Public sector partners invested £745,000 to bring the championships to Scotland and the economic impact of the event shows a solid return on this investment.’ The expenditure included £3.5 million spent by visitors from outside Scotland. The competition attracted 15,000 visitors from across the world. Some 1,000 competitors participated, plus 500 team and event officials. More than 100 jobs were created as a result of the event. Sportcal.com, 13th May 2008
* SingTel's combined mobile customer base in the region has reached 185.34 million at end- March from 123.79 million a year ago. The group's eight markets; Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, rose 8%, a record 13.80 million customers, in the first quarter. SingTel saw a record 244,000 mobile customers in Singapore this quarter bringing its mobile customer base to 2.57 million as of end-March, a 41% increase in its base compared with a year ago. Growth was fueled by demand in the prepaid mobile segment. During the quarter, SingTel netted 207,000 prepaid mobile customers, pushing its prepaid base past the one million-mark. SingTel is the market leader with 1.2 million prepaid users. It maintained its postpaid leadership with 37,000 customers added in the quarter. 3G customer base also grew to 859,000 as at end March. Telecomasia.net, 14th May 2008
* Indian DTH satellite pay-TV platform Tata Sky has clocked up its two-millionth subscriber, just 20 months since the joint venture between Tata Group (80%) and Star TV (20%) was launched. Commenting on the milestone, Vikram Kaushik, MD and CEO of Tata Sky, said: "This vindicates our commitment to transform the way people watch television in India." Tata Sky competes with other DTH platforms such as DD Direct Plus and DishTV. C21 Media, ATV, 13th May 2008
* After winning the Women's Asia Cup for the fourth time in Sri Lanka, India launched preparations for ICC's Women's World Cup 2009 in style. India defeated Sri Lanka by 177 runs in the final, extending its winning streak in the history of the tournament to 22 matches. India's supreme performance in Sri Lanka highlights it as one of the teams to watch at the ICC Women's World Cup in Sydney, Australia in March next year. Defending champion Australia, New Zealand, England, West Indies, South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will take part in the event that will be the first to be played under the auspices of the ICC since its merger with the International Women's Cricket Council (IWCC) in 2005. Newswebindia123.com, 13th May 2008
* YuuZoo signed an exclusive mobile partnership with MSN targeting more than 1 billion mobile users in China and a swathe of key markets in Asia. YuuZoo will develop, host and maintain a range of mobile content on a co-branded MSNYuuZoo site. MSN will provide ad placements across its network to promote YuuZoo content and both partners will work together on integration in key content areas, including editorial placements. In India, the world's second largest mobile market, the partnership will be non-exclusive. Substantial online impressions on MSN across China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines have kicked off in conjunction with the launch. Marketing-interacitve.com, 14th May 2008
* Juventus has reported a reduced net loss of €800,000 ($1.24 million) for the third quarter of the financial year, due in part to higher television rights sales. Losses narrowed from €4.5 million at the same stage in 2007 after the Turin club won promotion back to Serie A. They were previously demoted to Serie B for their involvement in a match-fixing scandal. Juventus said that television rights increased in value from €25.6 million to €37.9 million, while sponsorship was up from €7.6 million to €10.2 million. Sportcal.com, 13th May 2008
* A South African news site has reported the real reason for Dali Mpofu’s suspension as Group CEO of the SABC is that the organisation had lost its soccer broadcasting rights, according to a statement issued by Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri. The Premier Soccer League’s exclusive TV rights to all fixtures were awarded to SuperSport International last year for R1billion over five years. This was a major blow for the SABC since it had already lost the rugby and cricket broadcasing rights to Supersport. Sowetan, 12th May 2008
* A proposed four-year deal between the European Broadcasting Union and the UCI, cycling’s world governing body, excludes Germany and Spain because broadcasters there remain nervous about making a long-term commitment after doping allegations in recent seasons. The EBU’s present deal with the UCI for the European market expires at the end of this year and Alexandre Baudin, the UCI’s marketing manager, said that the broadcasting body has until the end month to finalise its extension offer, excluding two of Europe’s most important markets. Rights outside Europe are handled on a territory-by-territory basis by the UCI. Baudin pointed to increased interest in the UCI’s rights from Asia. Rights have only been sold directly to Japan under the present contract, but Baudin said that it had received offers for ‘all Asian territories for the World Championships and World Cups.’ Sportcal, 13th May 2008
* The UK's Wembley stadium becomes a contender to host the 2011 Champions League final after the UK government agreed to relax tax charges on overseas footballers' earnings. Wembley lost out on the 2010 final because of the tax rule, which might have made players liable to pay tax on bonuses and endorsements if they appeared at a UK event, even if based overseas. Uefa awarded the 2010 final to Real Madrid ahead of Wembley because of the taxation rule. Sportbusiness.com, 13th May 2008
MORE NEWS
WWE: Q1 Revenue Rises to $162.6 mn
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has announced financial results for its first quarter ended 31 March, 2008. Revenues totalled $162.6 million as compared to $107.4 million in the comparable prior year quarter. Operating income was $27.1 million, as against $20.6 million. Net income was $19.5 million, or $0.27 per share, as compared to $15.1 million, or $0.21 per share, in the prior year quarter.
WWE CEO Linda McMahon says, “Our first quarter results reflect the power of our premiere event, WrestleMania® XXIV. Our WrestleMania brand provides us with a unique opportunity to showcase our creative content and marketing talents across a multitude of media outlets. In addition to posting solid financial results in the first quarter, we are actively expanding our global brand presence through our newly established international offices.
WrestleMania XXIV contributed in the aggregate approximately $31.3 million of revenues and $7.1 million of profit contribution ($4.6 million, net of tax), to our results for the first quarter of 2008, whereas WrestleMania 23 contributed in the aggregate approximately $31.4 million of revenues and $9.7 million of profit contribution ($6.6 million, net of tax) in the second quarter of 2007.
Revenues from live and televised Entertainment businesses were $99.8 million for the current quarter as compared to $63.0 million in the prior year quarter, representing a 58 per cent increase. Live event revenues were $24.6 million as compared to $18.2 million in the prior year quarter, primarily due to the inclusion of WrestleMania XXIV in the current quarter. WrestleMania XXIV generated approximately $5.9 million in revenue in the current quarter. There were 74 events, including eight international events during the current quarter, as compared to 71 events, including eight international events, in the prior year quarter.
North American average attendance was approximately 7,200 in the current quarter as compared to 6,900 in the prior year quarter, an increase of 4%. The average ticket price for North American events was approximately $45.39 in the current quarter as compared to $36.30 in the prior year quarter. Excluding the impact of WrestleMania, North American average attendance was 6,300 and average ticket price was $38.08 in the current quarter.
PayPerView revenues were $41.2 million as compared to $15.8 million in the prior year quarter. There were three PayPerView events produced in each quarter; however, as discussed above, WrestleMania XXIV occurred in the first quarter of fiscal 2008, and WrestleMania 23 occurred in the second quarter of fiscal 2007.
Revenues from the consumer products businesses were $43.4 million versus $37.4 million in the prior year quarter, representing a 16 per cent increase. Home Video net revenues were $14 million as compared to $13.4 million in the prior year quarter. The company shipped over 175,000 units of both The Legacy of Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H®: King of Kings DVD titles in the current quarter.
Licensing revenues were $26.2 million as compared to $20.6 million in the prior year quarter, primarily reflecting increases in video game sales and apparel. Video game revenues increased by $5 million, reflecting the sales of the SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 title, while revenues related to licensed apparel increased by approximately $0.5 million in the current quarter. Magazine publishing net revenues were $2.9 million, essentially flat as compared to the prior year quarter. Revenues from the digital media related businesses were $8.1 million as compared to $7 million in the prior year, representing a 16 per cent increase. WWE.com revenues were $4.5 million as compared to $2.8 million in the prior year quarter, reflecting $1.1 million of additional advertising related revenues and $0.4 million of additional revenues from wireless content. Indiantelevision.com, 13th May 2008
Elsewhere/General: Premier League Insists Cash Gap Is Closing
Premier League chiefs insist the financial gap between the top clubs and those at the bottom is closing despite Manchester United's record income from the season. Sir Alex Ferguson's side earned £78 million in television cash and prize money over the season, £50 million more than bottom side Derby County. The equivalent figure last season, under the previous broadcast deals, was £40 million - and it was just £30 million in the 2005-06 season when earnings from the UEFA Champions League were not so high.
However, in percentage terms the smaller clubs have done better than the bigger ones. United's income rose 25% compared to last season, while Derby earned £28.2 million, a 56.5% increase on the £18 million earned by Watford a year ago. Premier League communications director Dan Johnson said: "The new broadcasting deals are closing the gap, because the biggest increases have been in the overseas contracts which are divided equally between the 20 clubs. Furthermore, the increase in money means a lot more to the smaller clubs because it is a much bigger percentage of their turnover."
Johnson also pointed out that all clubs are now guaranteed a minimum of 10 payments for being featured in live games, whether or not they actually appear in 10 live matches. That means all 20 clubs are guaranteed £4.6 million in 'facility fees' plus a further £460,000 for each extra live game they are featured in. For example, Newcastle United was screened in 20 live league matches, meaning it earned £9.2 million from facility fees - double the amount of the likes of Middlesbrough, Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic who all featured in fewer than 10.
The Champions League continues to be the big divide with a huge gap between the four clubs in the elite European competition and the rest. United earned at least £28.1 million from Europe - and will top the £30 million mark if it wins the final - while Liverpool took in £18 million. By contrast, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Bolton all earned less than £500,000 for their UEFA Cup campaigns even though they made it to the last 16. Football Insider, 13th May 2008
Elsewhere/General: Hefty Bonus Awaits ‘Invincible’ Midfielder Park
Soccer star Park Ji-sung could earn up to 7.3 billion won (about 7.3 million U.S. dollars) this season, including 570 million won for Manchester United’s second straight English Premier League title won Sunday against Wigan. His next game is against Chelsea in the final of the UEFA Champions League May 22 in Moscow. If Park plays in Moscow and his team wins, he will become the first Asian to take part in a Champions League final and earn a bonus of 110 million won.
Park’s annual salary is 5.7 billion won but he can earn a 10-percent bonus if United adds the Champions League title. In addition, team owner Malcolm Glazer has pledged a bonus of 510 million won to each player if the Red Devils achieve the double. Thus Park will earn a bonus of 1.65 billion won if his team wins the Champions League. Adding to his annual salary, his income for this season could reach 7.35 billion won or more if his team pays a higher bonus than promised.
Often dubbed the most famous sports franchise on the planet, United is able to pay such high bonuses because of the astronomical profit it reaps. The English Premier League charged 5.5 trillion won for three years of TV broadcast rights from this season. About half of the money is evenly distributed to the league’s 20 teams, while a fourth is given based on performance and the remaining fourth depends on the number of times of live telecasts.
United will also receive 100 billion won in prize money alone. In addition, UEFA gives away 75% of broadcast and sponsorship income to participating clubs according to performance. AC Milan of Italy earned about 64 billion won for winning the Champions League last year. Donga Korea, 13th May 2008
ARTICLES, COMMENTS, INTERVIEWS & OPINIONS
IPTV Operators Searching for Competitive Differentiation
In the past five years, IPTV has grown from a handful of deployments by a few pioneering telcos and ISPs to an established part of the pay-TV landscape with services spanning the globe from Australia to the Ukraine. But now, according to ABI Research, this "adolescent" industry must find ways to create a distinct identity so it can continue to grow and prosper, with IPTV operators creating unique service offerings that are differentiated from the traditional video services of their key competitors.
Some services have recently crossed the symbolically important 1-million-subscriber threshold. But, says senior analyst Cesar Bachelet, "IPTV operators must now leverage the characteristics of the new platform to produce a differentiated offering, redefining the experience of television."
"From a technology perspective," Bachelet concludes, "all the tools are there, enabling IPTV operators to move to the next level and bring greater choice, convenience, and control to consumers. However, operators must tread carefully in order not to overwhelm subscribers with too many new features at once, and business models still need to be defined for some of the new value-added services in order to monetise them without alienating subscribers." ATV, 14th May 2008
Tuesday, 13th May 2008
SPORT SHORTS
* The International Olympic Committee has invited tenders for the broadcast and exhibition rights for all territories, within Europe, for the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The IOC will assess bids on their ability to meet the highest standards in broadcast quality, their capacity to reach the broadest possible audience across different media platforms, their commitment to promoting the Olympic Games and the values of the Olympic Movement, as well as on the financial offer. The IOC will consider bids from any organisation, which can guarantee full exploitation of the rights on either on a multi-territory or country-by-country basis. Organisations interested in acquiring the rights have been asked by the IOC to submit bids on 1 July. Sportbusiness.com, televisionpoint.com, 12th May 2008
* The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is considering shorter term contract periods for its television rights deals. According to ‘The News’, the PCB may chose to sell its rights for a two to three year period, rather than for the traditional five years, in a bid to maximise profits. The issue of television rights is set to be discussed at this week's PCB’s Governing Board meeting, where it is likely that the PCB will ask for expressions of interest from media groups in the first week of September – before the start of the ICC Champions Trophy. Sport Business, 12th May 2008
* The Indian Premier League (IPL) has announced the inauguration of the Purple Cap. The Purple Cap will be awarded to the bowler with the most cumulative wickets to his name on each day of the season, and will be worn by that bowler in the field. At the end of the season, the holder of the Purple Cap will win the honour of being called the Winner of the Purple Cap 2008 and will receive recognition on the final day. In the event of a tie at any given time, the holder will be determined by superior economy rate. Earlier the IPL had announced the Orange Cap which will recognise the best performer with the bat. Indiantelevision.com, 12th May 2008
* India’s Tata Communications said it has partnered with US-based Sonus to build network to offer phone calls over the Internet globally. Tata Communications' customer base includes more than 1,500 global carriers, 600 mobile operators, 10,000 enterprises, over 5,00,000 broadband and Internet subscribers and around 300 Wi-Fi public hotspots all of which demand the highest level of quality and reliability. Tata will work with Sonus services team to facilitate the migration from its legacy network onto the new IP-based network initial deployment cities include Newark, New Jersey, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Ontario, Los Angeles, California, London, Madrid, Frankfurt and Singapore. The Hindu Business Line, 12th May 2008
* The Bali chapter of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPID) has issued a recommendation asking for a temporary ban on dozens of media outlets on the island due to their failure to complete administrative requirements. Head of the commission's Bali chapter Komang Suarsana said Friday the recommendation had been sent to the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) in Jakarta. If the KPI accepts the recommendation the KPID will immediately enforce that recommendation, he said. The recommendation identified three television stations -- Jimbarwana TV, SAM TV and ANTV -- and 60 radio stations across the island. All are allegedly operating without proper administrative documents and licenses. The Jakarta Post, 12th May 2008
* Singapore Telecommunications, together with its associate companies, has inked a deal to bring Apple’s iPhone to Singapore, India, Australia and the Philippines later this year. SingTel says that it will be rolling out the iPhone in Singapore, while Bharti Airtel will be offering the device in India, Globe Telecom in the Philippines and Optus in Australia. SingTel owns Optus and stakes in Bharti and Globe. World Screen, Rapid TV News, 12th May 2008
* Virgin Mobile USA and South Korea's SK Telecom, which controls US mobile service Helio, are in talks on a deal, says a Reuters report, said. Recent blog reports said the talks have included scenarios such as SK Telecom buying Virgin Mobile USA, which had a market value of about $170 million, and combining it with Helio. Under one scenario that has been discussed, SK Telecom would buy out Virgin Mobile USA and do a cash infusion; then Virgin Mobile would buy Helio in an all-stock transaction, moconews.net said in a blog post. The source told Reuters it was too soon to say how a deal would be structured, whether it would involve a merger of the US entities, or a purchase of Virgin by SK, or other possibilities. Both Virgin Mobile USA, part owned by Virgin and Sprint Nextel, and Helio rent space on Sprint's wireless network to target young cell phone users. telecomasia.net, 13th May 2008
* Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed the French Grand Prix will be held at Magny-Cours for the last time this year, although hopeful that the race could return to a new circuit in Paris in 2010. Ecclestone told French sports daily L’Equipe that there would be a French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours in 2008 but not in 2009. French prime minister Francois Fillon has mentioned possibility of a Grand Prix in Paris or just outside but that would not necessarily be for 2009, rather for 2010. Magny-Cours circuit has struggled with low attendances, in part because of poor access and insufficient accommodation. The French Grand Prix could be dropped from the calendar in 2009 unless a new venue is available by then, but Ecclestone is hopeful of eventually staging a race in the French capital. He said: ‘I would really love a French Grand Prix in the streets of Paris.’ This year’s French Grand Prix is on June 22. Sportcal.com, 12th May 2008
* Manchester United have reported a net loss of $113.4 million for the last financial year. United yesterday secured the Premier League title for the second season running, but are still meeting the costs of Malcolm Glazer’s takeover in 2005. Revenues at United rose by 21% in the year to June 30, 2007, but the team owes $1.5 billion to creditors, including $109 million in transfer fee instalments on players signed by manager Sir Alex Ferguson. The period in question included a refinancing of the debts accrued during the takeover. The club owes $296 million to hedge funds at an interest rate of 14.2%, but is set to benefit from increased television revenue from domestic and European competitions. Sportcal.com, 12th May 2008
* The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality is the first of the five host cities to unveil its 2010 FIFA World Cup city website as per FIFA stipulations. The site contains information such as a map of the city, how long it takes one to reach a specific destination, a list of accredited hospitality businesses in the area and various other important activities within the city. This is aimed at helping visitors to the city during the soccer event. The website, which took four months to develop, is expected to receive more than 50 million visitors in the run-up to the tournament. "As in professional websites, this one will not remain static but grow over time," said Acting Executive Mayor Bicks Ndoni. Soccer Investor, 12th May 2008
* A new magazine targeted at Muay Thai fighters and enthusiasts will be launched in Oceania next month. World MuayThai Magazine, which will be the official magazine for both the Oceania Muay Thai Federation and World Muay Thai Council, is targeted at the 18-40-year-old demographic. Initially, 10,000 copies will be distributed by mail to professional and amateur athletes, professional trainers, promoters and sports fans with a majority of the circulation aimed at the Oceania continent, as well as Thailand. The magazine will also circulate by print and online e-magazine to Asia, Europe, North and South America, Middle East and Africa. It will also be available in some news agencies in Australia and New Zealand. Sports Media, 12th May 2008
MORE NEWS
Asia/General: Asian Formula International Open Leg Rings Down the Curtain
NARCAR International Racing Development Co., a sports event operator in China, announced that at yesterday in Sepang Circuit, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Asian Formula International Open Competition ended its Malaysia round of racing, becoming the first domestic formula-racing event held abroad. The event was independently initiated and operated by China and all the formula racing cars have home-owned intellectual property rights, making the event the first formula sport born in China.
The Asian Formula International Open Competition is positioned to be a continental event upon approval of the General Administration of Sports of China and the Federation of Automobile Sports ofChina. Each year, the event will be staged in Asia with formula cars provided by Geely Holding Group of China. The racing cars' 1.8-liter engines JL4G18 are independently designed and manufactured by Geely. On the Beijing International Auto Show in April 2008, Geely showcased a higher-level formula-racing car equipped with its latest 3.5-liter V6 engines and 6-gear semi-automatic transmission.
Asian Formula International Open Competition was formally launched in Oct. 2006 and seven competitions were staged in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities in 2006 and 2007, respectively. On April 13, 2008, the Zhuhai race of 2008 successfully came to a close. Thus far, 10 teams have participated in the event with a total of 20 players and yearly applicants exceeding one hundred.
According to the Federation of Automobile Sports of China, the Asian Formula International Open Competition is the only high-level formula racing inChina, making it a significant milestone inChina's auto sports history. The improvement of auto manufacturing inChina has also played a positive role in guaranteeing the normal operations of the event and serves as a solid foundation for the ventures into the international arena. News Blaze, 12th May 2008
ARTICLES, COMMENTS, INTERVIEWS & OPINIONS
Mobile Operators Must Evolve or Die
Mobile operators in more mature markets will need to adopt radical new business models over the next five years if they are to protect their profit margins, analysts have warned.
Researchers at telecoms.com parent, Informa Telecoms & Media, said that while mobile operators in emerging markets will continue to enjoy strong revenue growth in the short to medium term as they fulfil strong demand for basic connectivity, even they will have to embrace new ways of running their businesses when growth inevitably slows.
"For the last ten years mobile operators have been building strategies, platforms and services for the delivery of new non-voice services which, they hope will compensate for the inevitable decline in voice revenues," said Mark Newman, chief research officer at Informa. "But it's been tough going and non-SMS data revenues have been disappointing," he said.
Newman said the situation has improved over the last year or two with many operators reporting year on year revenue growth of 30-40 per cent or more in non-SMS data services. But he warns that the nature of the non-voice mobile is on the cusp of radical change.
In its latest report, 'Future Mobile Operator Business Models: Broadband, Partnerships, Wholesale and Mobile 2.0', Informa notes that the focus is moving away from a limited number of services provided by the operator to internet access and operators' non-SMS data revenue base is in the process of shifting from services to basic access. The services users are beginning to use on their mobiles are provided by internet players rather than mobile operators.
As such, the analyst expects that mobile operators can look forward to a period of growth in mobile broadband connectivity. But to capitalise on this opportunity, operators need to invest heavily in new high-capacity networks, effectively marking a transition to becoming ISPs. To avoid the fate of fixed-network ISPs, mobile operators will then either need to partner with internet firms and share revenues and/or develop a smart-pipe strategy. This involves 'exposing' different parts of their networks to third party service providers and monetising access to them.
Advertising is touted as a lucrative new revenue stream which would complement an internet access strategy but Informa does not believe that it will translate into a significant operator revenue stream within the next five years. In its report, the analyst said that at the same time as they pursue this strategy mobile operators will need to continue to seek ways to reduce opex levels. Lower handset subsidies, outsourcing and network sharing; all offer huge scope for lowering opex levels, as does the migration to all-IP infrastructures. Telecoms.com, 12 May 2008
Monday, 12th May 2008
INFO BOX
Online ad spend in Hong Kong hits US$22million for Q1, 2008
Online advertising expenditure in Hong Kong reached HK$172million (US$22million) in Q1, 2008 as more than 1,000 advertisers promoted their brands online with more than 2,800 advertising campaigns which generated over 5.5billion ad impressions in the first three months of the year, according to Nielsen Online's AdRelevance report.
By category, Computers & Electrical led ad expenditure at 17% of the total online advertising pie, followed by Finance at 15%, Education & Learning with 12%, and Entertainment at 9%. In all, the four sectors made up 50% total online expenditure. Across all categories, Citicorp Group was the top advertiser in Q1 2008, with HK$10.3million (US$1.3million) invested and over 330million ad impressions with eBay which spent HK$7.9million (US$1million) and notched up 254million ad impressions. Dell spent HK$4.7million (US$603,000) and registered 150million ad impressions across 47 campaigns and was the top spender in the Computers & Electrical category. Television Asia Plus, 12th May 2008
SCTV Tops Indonesia’s Free- TV charts
Indonesia free-TV station, Indosiar, has reported an unaudited net revenue of Rp188 billion/ US$20.4 million and net income Rp15 billion for the first quarter of this year. Indosiar’s audience share for March this year was 17%, third after SCTV (19.5%) and RCTI (17/2%). Antv, in which News\ Corp’s STAR holds a stake, trailed at 3.8%. Indosiar’s audience share for February this year was 17.8%, which places it second after SCTV (19.9%). RCTI was third with 16.8% and Trans TV fourth with 11.5%, according to AGB Nielsen Media Research & Company data.
SPORT SHORTS
* The International Olympic Committee will receive $2.5 billion from broadcasters between 2005 and 2008, according Reuters. This headline amount is in addition to the $866 million the IOC is expected to receive from its TOP sponsors’ programme, plus money from tickets and licensed programmes. The committee is also set to gain an additional $1billion from local Chinese marketing contracts for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The reported figures place the Olympic Games above football’s World Cup in terms of financial success - television broadcasting rights for the 2006 World Cup were $1.6 billion and marketing rights income was $714 million. Income from broadcasting and new media rights for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games and London 2012 Olympics has already risen nearly 40 per cent from the previous two-Games package of Beijing and Turin, and will be in excess of $3.0 billion, the report said. The IOC estimates this figure to reach about $3.3 billion. It has said some 15 percent of that will come from new media including the internet and mobile phones. Sportbusiness.com, 9th May 2008
* The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has opened the tender process for the sale of the broadcast and exhibition rights for all territories within Europe for the XXII Olympic Winter Games (2014) in Sochi, Russia, and the Games of the XXXI Olympiad (2016). The Invitation to Tender, issued by the IOC, provides organisations interested in acquiring the rights with specific guidelines relating to bid submissions. The IOC has asked for bids to be submitted on 1 July. The IOC will assess bids on their ability to meet the highest standards in broadcast quality, their capacity to reach the broadest possible audience across different media platforms, their commitment to promoting the Olympic Games and the values of the Olympic Movement, as well as on the financial offer. The IOC will consider bids from any organisations who can guarantee full exploitation of the rights either on a multi-territory or country-by-country basis. Indiantelevision.com, 10th May 2008.
* Hong Kong’s official Olympics new media broadcaster, i-Cable, plans to make the Olympics available for free to more than 800 public WiFi hotspots across the territory in a venture with WiFi provider Y5ZONE. i-Cable executive director Benjamin Tong said the Olympics programming would be “available to the public at every corner of Hong Kong” for the first time. www.contentasia.tv, 12th May 2008
* Singapore telco StarHub recorded a 15% increase in first-quarter earnings, with help from a rise in post-paid mobile revenue and ARPU. Mobile revenue was up 13% to S$273 million, driven by a 13% increase in the customer base to 1.8 million. Post-paid mobile services revenue increased 16% YoY to S$211 million, accounting for 77% of the mobile revenue mix. Post-paid ARPU jumped S$8 to S$79, while pre-paid ARPU dropped S$4 to S$22. The pay TV customer base increased 4% to 508,000, with digital platform customers now comprising 86% of the total. Fixed network services revenues increased 7% to S$73 million, while broadband revenue grew 6% or S$4 million to S$64 million. telecomasia.net, 9th May 2008
* Sport18 and CNBC-TV18 business news channel, have joined hands for an partnership deal with Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI). Sport18 has got the exclusive broadcasting rights for the PGTI and will be promoting professional golf through its marketing expertise. CNBC-TV18, on the other hand, will be the official broadcast partner for professional golf in India. PGTI is the new entity floated by the Indian professional golf community with a focus on developing, nurturing and maintaining the highest standards of professionalism in the sport. At the moment, PGTI manages an annual calendar of over 20 professional golf tournaments in the country, which is slated to increase from next year onwards. Television point, 9th May 2008
* India's top Hindi general entertainment channel STAR Plus' much-hyped Kya Aap Panchvi Pass Se Tez Hai, the local version of Mark Burnett Productions' format 'Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?' has seen its ratings impacted by the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament, and has reportedly decided to air a repeat telecast of the newly-launched quiz show. The thrice-a-week one-hour show, featuring famous actor Shah Rukh Khan, was launched on April 25. Owing to the popularity of ongoing IPL cricket championship, STAR has decided to repeat telecast during weekdays as well as on Sunday, and TV commercials aired during the original show time will also be re-run without charging advertisers an additional fee. While television ratings for Panchvi Pass opened around 3.5-4.5, IPL opened with a rating of 8 or so and is consistently delivering around 5. For Shah Rukh Khan, host of Panchvi Pass, all isn't lost with the less than encouraging debut of STAR Plus' new game show, given that he owns the Kolkata Knight Riders team in the ratings rival IPL. Television Asia Plus, 12th May 2008
* A TNS Global Technology survey shows radio on mobile phones may help to sustain the radio sector in China, which has taken a battering at the hands of TV music channels and the internet. The study also finds that Chinese youngsters spend on average 14 hours a week listening to music via their mobile phones. The fact that the number of Chinese mobile music listeners is higher than the global average reflects the trend of increased usage of radio and multimedia in China. "The challenge for mobile operators is how to generate revenue from this application and encourage use of other features," Shawn Wang, director of TNS China Technology, said. "Enhanced real-time data services such as location-specific information may be better bet when it comes to increasing consumer spend." Marketing-interactive.com, 9th May 2008
* In response to the increase of mobile internet users in Hong Kong, Smartone Vodafone has launched print, outdoor, online PR campaign to support its Sharp SX82 handset. On top of the product campaign. The mobile operator has also opened an online video store on the "Vboxx". Despite decline in its handset revenue in 2007, the the campaign for its latest offering will last for about three months. More sustaining marketing programs including PR, online and media, has been launched by ZenithOptimedia. The online video store allows consumers to transfer entertainment contents to the mobile phone. The purpose of this is to educate customers to use their mobile phones to go online. It is offering new users low prices to try out its local internet browsing plan. Marketing-interactive.com, 9th May 2008
* Google is increasing its presence in Taiwan, including stronger relationships and cooperation with local IT hardware manufacturers, the company’s senior vice president of engineering Alan Eustace, said during the second anniversary celebrations in Taipei. Google is also optimistic about ad sales, following a year in which sales growth outpaced the 33.87% increase of Taiwan’s on-line advertising market as a whole. www.contentasia.tv, 12th May 2008
* Broadband Internet service provider IOL Netcom has launched India's first on-demand IPTV service in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore, available to more than 250,000 subscribers, using Verimatrix's content security technologies. IOL Netcom is expecting the expansion of content delivery options to PC to help customer acquisition, reduce installation resources and fulfill the entertainment on-demand promise. Premium content including movies from IOL Netcom's on-demand movie library and 150 broadcast channels is being offered in MPEG4 format to subscribers' home PCs through Verimatrix's ViewRight PC Player, an independently-audited and secure PC player for IPTV. ViewRight is an integrated component of Video Content Authority System (VCAS) deployed by IOL Netcom to provide IPTV content security and revenue protection on a similar level as dedicated set-top box (STB) equipment. Television Asia Plus, 12th May 2008
* More than double of the survey respondents listed Airasia.com (84%) as their favourite website to book travel compared to Malaysianairlines.com (34%), in a survey by Pulse and Tourism Malaysia. Online hotel and travel agents such as Asia Travel Mart and Asia Rooms ranked much lower at 8% of respondents. Meanwhile, 62% of respondents who made travel bookings online are aged between 21-30 years old and only 27% are aged 31-40 years old. The online survey was done in Q4 of 2007 among 30,000 Malaysian respondents - mix of male and female adults with a range of personal income levels. The study will later be extended to other markets within the region including Singapore, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Marketing-interactive.com, 9th May 2008
* New analysis from Frost & Sullivan's Space & Communications Group, European Mobile Satellite TV Markets, finds that that the market earned revenues of $1.92 million in 2007 and estimates this to reach $3.3 billion in 2014. "As Mobile TV services continue to grow across Europe, customers and operators require a reliable and pervasive service coverage, which can transmit high-quality, dedicated programs," notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Natalie Bentz. "The distribution and transmission by satellite, through the hybrid network or backhaul, will both greatly contribute to the success of Mobile TV by providing what the industry and the customers ask for." ATV, 12th May 2008
MORE NEWS
WWE: Khali gives 15% Audience Boost on Ten Sports
The Great Khali, standing 7 feet 3 inches, has brought in new audiences for Ten Sports which telecasts the popular show World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) daily. Taj Television India MD Rukin Kizilbash admits that the local presence of Khali has helped the sports channel grow its WWE viewership by 15 per cent year-on-year. Which is why Ten Sports is on a marketing overdrive and has brought down Dalip Singh (Khali's name) to India. “We have been receiving many emails over the past year from fans who wanted to see him in person. We tied up with Pepsi, Tata Indicom, Parle and Dish TV. We decided on a two-city tour, comprising an event and a client party. In Delhi, we had a sellout crowd of 3000 people. We replicated a WWE stage,” said Kizilbash on the sidelines of a media briefing.
Spinning around the event, Ten Sports carried out a slew of interactive initiatives. Mountain Dew, for instance, got fans to send SMS, with the promise that the best one would get entries to the events in Mumbai and Delhi. Ten Sports also plans to get another star down later this year like Shawn Michaels or HHH or Batista.
WWE works as as a high tune in, second only to India cricket in the sports genre. Ten Sports uses the platform to push its other properties. For instance with Australia’s tour of the West Indies kicking off shortly, promos of the upcoming clash will air on Raw and SmackDown!. The viewership for WWE has evolved over the period. while a lot of WWE viewers used to be in the 4-14 age group, now the 14-35 age group has also become important. “45 per cent of our audience is women. This is not professional wrestling, after all. It is an entertainment sport, like a soap that the whole family can watch. The shift in viewer profile is also being reflected in the advertisers we have. Earlier there used to be a lot of kids brands like Perfetti. Now we have the likes of Levers and Pepsi on board,” said Kizilbash.
WWE director marketing and distribution Nicola Reeves said India is the main market for the company in Asia. “In fact it is our second biggest market after the US due to its size. Asia is the emerging market for us in the coming five years. It will grow the fastest and India will lead this growth. This is why five months back we set up an office in Sydney.” Reeves explained that the aim is to grow the WWE brand in India and Asia in different areas apart from television viewership. One of these is live events involving Raw, SmackDown and ECW. Right now there is a programme every year for Australia and New Zealand. The aim is to take it to Asian markets in 2009 and 2010, in conjunction with broadcast partners.
WWE, for instance, recently renewed its deal with StarHub in Singapore. "Holding live events will also depend on the infrastructure in that country. It will also depend on where gaps can be found in a hectic schedule," Reeves said. WWE is still gathering information about what Asian audiences want and what works in a certain market. Reeves explained that in the US live events are as important a revenue generator as is television. That is why there has been more focus on doing live events in Europe in recent years. In the UK, the WWE does two events each year. The other key area for growth is in the licensing and merchandising arena. This is usually led by DVD sales and is then followed by things like T-shirts. In India, though, the obstacle lies in high import duties. WWE has a deal in India with telecom content company Phoney Tunes.
WWE will be releasing both a 3-disc deluxe DVD package and the 2-disc Blu-ray version of WrestleMania XXIV later this month in the US and other markets. It has a subscription Video on Demand service (SvoD) which features classic matches. The company is talking with telecom companies to finalise deals in this regard across Asia, Reeves said. Indiantelevision.com, 10th May 2008
Global/Rights: Champions League and Uefa Cup Rights Go to Market in Germany
The tender for broadcast rights to the Uefa Champions League and the Uefa Cup, European soccer’s top two club competitions, from 2009-10 onwards was launched today in Germany. Team Marketing, the agency that is marketing the centralised rights for both competitions, has started the sales process and set a bidding deadline of June 3. Champions League rights are held in Germany by Premiere, the pay-television operator, which paid around €70 million ($108.2 million) a season for free-to-air and pay-television rights until the end of the 2008-09 season. Premiere sub-licensed free-to-air rights first to DSF, the privately-owned sports broadcaster, and later to commercial network Sat.1. Sat.1 is thought to pay around €13 million a season show 13 live matches. Team will be hoping to benefit from increased competition in the German market and it is thought that as many as four or five broadcasters could buy various packages of Champions League and Uefa Cup rights in the next three-year contract period.
Uefa Cup rights from the quarter-final stage onwards are shared in Germany by Premiere and Sat.1 until the end of the 2008-09 season. The competition has enjoyed strong audiences in Germany this season, thanks to the progress of teams such as Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen to the latter stages. Beginning with the 2009-10 season, Uefa Cup rights from the first round onwards (including the group stages) have been centralised.
By going to market now, it appears that the Champions League tender will be conducted before the tender for domestic broadcast rights to the Bundesliga, German soccer’s top-tier league, which has been delayed due to a cartel investigation into the collective sale of rights. Champions League broadcast rights from 2009-10 onwards have already been allocated in one of Europe’s five major markets after British Sky Broadcasting, the pay-television operator, and ITV, the commercial network, both secured packages in the UK. Sportcal.com, 9th May 2008
Indonesia/Broadcast: CASBAA Releases Report on Pay TV market
The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) has released an update on its 'Indonesia in View' report, providing a snapshot of Indonesia's pay-TV market conditions. The May 2008 CASBAA report provides data, regulatory and stakeholder analysis of the current Indonesian industry, along with key contacts and a draft of Indonesia's Broadcasting Bill 2008. The Report was released as part of CASBAA's Asian Pay TV CEO Roundtable: 'Indonesia's Pay TV Industry Embracing the Future' staged in Jakarta on 7 May.
According to CASBAA, with just 2% of approximately 40 million TV households, Indonesia's pay-TV market penetration remains low compared with other Asian markets. However, pay-TV growth in Indonesia has been brisk over the past 12 months with legitimate pay-TV subscriptions doubling to 785,000 in the first quarter of 2008. A newly competitive environment has seen operators differentiate consumer offerings through premium content, while some have secured new channels and launched additional local-language programming such as a new Muslim channel and music channels. The launch of low cost pre-paid services has also driven pay-TV take up.
Nevertheless, unauthorised redistribution remains a significant issue, although regulator KPI is attempting to curb the problem through announcements in two provinces that unauthorised distributors must become resellers for licensed pay-TV operators or face legal sanctions. According to CASBAA, competition in 2008/2009 should pick up further. In September 2007, beyond the existing operators, another five preliminary licenses for satellite subscription TV services were issued and a further 28 companies have submitted applications for subscription TV licenses. Marketing-interactive.com, 9th May 2008
India/Broadcast: India’s Dish Starts Free STBs
Zee-backed DTH operator Dish TV has started giving away set-top boxes to new subscribers, ramping up competition in the sector. Although it claims the offer is for a limited period (while “the stock lasts”) the move could spark a scramble for new subscribers among the country’s satellite DTH operators, if Dish’s competitors follow suit. Dish is the market leader with a little over 3 million subs and to date has been charging new subscribers around Rs2,500 (US$60) for set-top boxes. Rival TataSky (backed 20% by News Corp’s Star TV and 80% by the Tatas Group) which has just reached 2 million subs, also currently charges for set-top boxes, albeit also a subsidised price.
Back in February, TataSky announced it was dropping its set-top box price by 50% to Rs1499. But Big TV, the new entrant backed by the Reliance Group, recently said that it would shortly launch with a set-top box offered for just Rs1,000, undercutting the existing players. Dish TV’s free set-top offer can be seen as a competitive response to Big TV’s launch.
Dish TV is offering the free set-tops to subscribers who pay upfront either Rs2,490, Rs2,990 or Rs3,990. The packaging is complicated, but subscribers can choose from a set of options for these prices, which include a package of channels plus a number of pay-per-view movies. Subscription periods range from three months to 18 months depending on the package chosen. Rapid TV News, 11th May 2008
India/General: IPL Pitch Enters Cyber Domain as Franchisees Eye Fan Base
In a bid to build a sizeable, loyal fan base, Indian Premier League (IPL) franchisees are turning to internet in a major way. While every franchisee’s website has blogs, feedback zones, player video sections et al, some like Redchillies Entertainment (owners of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)) have gone ahead to include cricket editorials and online games. KKR online boasts of 37,000 registered users, Royal Challengers (RC) 10,000 and Delhi Daredevils (DD) 30,000.
Says Knight Riders Sports Private Limited finance head Blesson Oommen: “We have had 37,000 registered users and an average of 1-lakh page views a day since April 15 when we started the website. The website is the most prominent platform for building a loyal fan base, especially post-IPL season.” The company has tied up with Zapak Digital Entertainment and Contests2win.com for providing content on its website.
While Zapak has created dedicated cricket games on the team’s website, the quiz on Saurav Ganguly hosted by contests2win.com boasts of about 12,000 responses daily. “Websites are the easiest and fastest way to create a cult following. We have created a series of games, quizzes, polls hosted on Knight Rider’s official website that alone attract up to 15,000 responses daily,” says Contests2win.com COO Raj Menon.
Apart from displaying latest scores, the websites also host contests and registration invites, ticket sales and merchandise previews to involve internet users. Royalchallengers.com, the official website of Bangalore Royal Challengers, has a unique feature that allows users to create customised user ids within the website. “Users on our website can have their name followed by royalchallengers.com as free email id. This is one thing that is drawing in huge traffic. Currently, we have more than 10,000 different ids and 1-million page views on the website on match days,” says Krishna Prasad, executive producer, MSN India, who have made the team’s website.
United Spirits executive vice-president (marketing) Amrit Thomas says: “The website is an important tool for us. Our team’s website provides interesting cricket trivia and lesser-known personal information about players.” Franchisees also sell advertising space on their website to rake in the moolah. “We are keen on selling ad space on the website, but are choosy about who we sell it to. There are about six advertisers who have approached us for the same. We are also planning to start selling merchandise over our website,” says R Srinivasan, joint president, finance & accounts, India Cements, the company that owns Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The team’s website, ChennaiSuperkings.com, claims to have as many as 1,40,000 page views on match days. Plans are afoot to start an exclusive club for the team’s loyal fans on the website.
India Cements marketing head Rakesh Singh says: “We will have three kinds of memberships to the Chennai Superkings Fan Club that will be there on the website. There will be special enclosures for members at the home ground, apart from preferential ticket rates. We want to develop a fan base that will be the Barmy Army of Chennai Superkings.” Says Yogesh Shetty, CEO of GMR-owned Delhi Daredevils (DD): “At present, we have over 30,000 registered users on our website. After the season, we will decide how and who we need to do partnership with for selling advertising space.” India Times, 12th May 2008
Online ad spend in Hong Kong hits US$22million for Q1, 2008
Online advertising expenditure in Hong Kong reached HK$172million (US$22million) in Q1, 2008 as more than 1,000 advertisers promoted their brands online with more than 2,800 advertising campaigns which generated over 5.5billion ad impressions in the first three months of the year, according to Nielsen Online's AdRelevance report.
By category, Computers & Electrical led ad expenditure at 17% of the total online advertising pie, followed by Finance at 15%, Education & Learning with 12%, and Entertainment at 9%. In all, the four sectors made up 50% total online expenditure. Across all categories, Citicorp Group was the top advertiser in Q1 2008, with HK$10.3million (US$1.3million) invested and over 330million ad impressions with eBay which spent HK$7.9million (US$1million) and notched up 254million ad impressions. Dell spent HK$4.7million (US$603,000) and registered 150million ad impressions across 47 campaigns and was the top spender in the Computers & Electrical category. Television Asia Plus, 12th May 2008
SCTV Tops Indonesia’s Free- TV charts
Indonesia free-TV station, Indosiar, has reported an unaudited net revenue of Rp188 billion/ US$20.4 million and net income Rp15 billion for the first quarter of this year. Indosiar’s audience share for March this year was 17%, third after SCTV (19.5%) and RCTI (17/2%). Antv, in which News\ Corp’s STAR holds a stake, trailed at 3.8%. Indosiar’s audience share for February this year was 17.8%, which places it second after SCTV (19.9%). RCTI was third with 16.8% and Trans TV fourth with 11.5%, according to AGB Nielsen Media Research & Company data.
SPORT SHORTS
* The International Olympic Committee will receive $2.5 billion from broadcasters between 2005 and 2008, according Reuters. This headline amount is in addition to the $866 million the IOC is expected to receive from its TOP sponsors’ programme, plus money from tickets and licensed programmes. The committee is also set to gain an additional $1billion from local Chinese marketing contracts for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The reported figures place the Olympic Games above football’s World Cup in terms of financial success - television broadcasting rights for the 2006 World Cup were $1.6 billion and marketing rights income was $714 million. Income from broadcasting and new media rights for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games and London 2012 Olympics has already risen nearly 40 per cent from the previous two-Games package of Beijing and Turin, and will be in excess of $3.0 billion, the report said. The IOC estimates this figure to reach about $3.3 billion. It has said some 15 percent of that will come from new media including the internet and mobile phones. Sportbusiness.com, 9th May 2008
* The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has opened the tender process for the sale of the broadcast and exhibition rights for all territories within Europe for the XXII Olympic Winter Games (2014) in Sochi, Russia, and the Games of the XXXI Olympiad (2016). The Invitation to Tender, issued by the IOC, provides organisations interested in acquiring the rights with specific guidelines relating to bid submissions. The IOC has asked for bids to be submitted on 1 July. The IOC will assess bids on their ability to meet the highest standards in broadcast quality, their capacity to reach the broadest possible audience across different media platforms, their commitment to promoting the Olympic Games and the values of the Olympic Movement, as well as on the financial offer. The IOC will consider bids from any organisations who can guarantee full exploitation of the rights either on a multi-territory or country-by-country basis. Indiantelevision.com, 10th May 2008.
* Hong Kong’s official Olympics new media broadcaster, i-Cable, plans to make the Olympics available for free to more than 800 public WiFi hotspots across the territory in a venture with WiFi provider Y5ZONE. i-Cable executive director Benjamin Tong said the Olympics programming would be “available to the public at every corner of Hong Kong” for the first time. www.contentasia.tv, 12th May 2008
* Singapore telco StarHub recorded a 15% increase in first-quarter earnings, with help from a rise in post-paid mobile revenue and ARPU. Mobile revenue was up 13% to S$273 million, driven by a 13% increase in the customer base to 1.8 million. Post-paid mobile services revenue increased 16% YoY to S$211 million, accounting for 77% of the mobile revenue mix. Post-paid ARPU jumped S$8 to S$79, while pre-paid ARPU dropped S$4 to S$22. The pay TV customer base increased 4% to 508,000, with digital platform customers now comprising 86% of the total. Fixed network services revenues increased 7% to S$73 million, while broadband revenue grew 6% or S$4 million to S$64 million. telecomasia.net, 9th May 2008
* Sport18 and CNBC-TV18 business news channel, have joined hands for an partnership deal with Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI). Sport18 has got the exclusive broadcasting rights for the PGTI and will be promoting professional golf through its marketing expertise. CNBC-TV18, on the other hand, will be the official broadcast partner for professional golf in India. PGTI is the new entity floated by the Indian professional golf community with a focus on developing, nurturing and maintaining the highest standards of professionalism in the sport. At the moment, PGTI manages an annual calendar of over 20 professional golf tournaments in the country, which is slated to increase from next year onwards. Television point, 9th May 2008
* India's top Hindi general entertainment channel STAR Plus' much-hyped Kya Aap Panchvi Pass Se Tez Hai, the local version of Mark Burnett Productions' format 'Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?' has seen its ratings impacted by the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament, and has reportedly decided to air a repeat telecast of the newly-launched quiz show. The thrice-a-week one-hour show, featuring famous actor Shah Rukh Khan, was launched on April 25. Owing to the popularity of ongoing IPL cricket championship, STAR has decided to repeat telecast during weekdays as well as on Sunday, and TV commercials aired during the original show time will also be re-run without charging advertisers an additional fee. While television ratings for Panchvi Pass opened around 3.5-4.5, IPL opened with a rating of 8 or so and is consistently delivering around 5. For Shah Rukh Khan, host of Panchvi Pass, all isn't lost with the less than encouraging debut of STAR Plus' new game show, given that he owns the Kolkata Knight Riders team in the ratings rival IPL. Television Asia Plus, 12th May 2008
* A TNS Global Technology survey shows radio on mobile phones may help to sustain the radio sector in China, which has taken a battering at the hands of TV music channels and the internet. The study also finds that Chinese youngsters spend on average 14 hours a week listening to music via their mobile phones. The fact that the number of Chinese mobile music listeners is higher than the global average reflects the trend of increased usage of radio and multimedia in China. "The challenge for mobile operators is how to generate revenue from this application and encourage use of other features," Shawn Wang, director of TNS China Technology, said. "Enhanced real-time data services such as location-specific information may be better bet when it comes to increasing consumer spend." Marketing-interactive.com, 9th May 2008
* In response to the increase of mobile internet users in Hong Kong, Smartone Vodafone has launched print, outdoor, online PR campaign to support its Sharp SX82 handset. On top of the product campaign. The mobile operator has also opened an online video store on the "Vboxx". Despite decline in its handset revenue in 2007, the the campaign for its latest offering will last for about three months. More sustaining marketing programs including PR, online and media, has been launched by ZenithOptimedia. The online video store allows consumers to transfer entertainment contents to the mobile phone. The purpose of this is to educate customers to use their mobile phones to go online. It is offering new users low prices to try out its local internet browsing plan. Marketing-interactive.com, 9th May 2008
* Google is increasing its presence in Taiwan, including stronger relationships and cooperation with local IT hardware manufacturers, the company’s senior vice president of engineering Alan Eustace, said during the second anniversary celebrations in Taipei. Google is also optimistic about ad sales, following a year in which sales growth outpaced the 33.87% increase of Taiwan’s on-line advertising market as a whole. www.contentasia.tv, 12th May 2008
* Broadband Internet service provider IOL Netcom has launched India's first on-demand IPTV service in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore, available to more than 250,000 subscribers, using Verimatrix's content security technologies. IOL Netcom is expecting the expansion of content delivery options to PC to help customer acquisition, reduce installation resources and fulfill the entertainment on-demand promise. Premium content including movies from IOL Netcom's on-demand movie library and 150 broadcast channels is being offered in MPEG4 format to subscribers' home PCs through Verimatrix's ViewRight PC Player, an independently-audited and secure PC player for IPTV. ViewRight is an integrated component of Video Content Authority System (VCAS) deployed by IOL Netcom to provide IPTV content security and revenue protection on a similar level as dedicated set-top box (STB) equipment. Television Asia Plus, 12th May 2008
* More than double of the survey respondents listed Airasia.com (84%) as their favourite website to book travel compared to Malaysianairlines.com (34%), in a survey by Pulse and Tourism Malaysia. Online hotel and travel agents such as Asia Travel Mart and Asia Rooms ranked much lower at 8% of respondents. Meanwhile, 62% of respondents who made travel bookings online are aged between 21-30 years old and only 27% are aged 31-40 years old. The online survey was done in Q4 of 2007 among 30,000 Malaysian respondents - mix of male and female adults with a range of personal income levels. The study will later be extended to other markets within the region including Singapore, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Marketing-interactive.com, 9th May 2008
* New analysis from Frost & Sullivan's Space & Communications Group, European Mobile Satellite TV Markets, finds that that the market earned revenues of $1.92 million in 2007 and estimates this to reach $3.3 billion in 2014. "As Mobile TV services continue to grow across Europe, customers and operators require a reliable and pervasive service coverage, which can transmit high-quality, dedicated programs," notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Natalie Bentz. "The distribution and transmission by satellite, through the hybrid network or backhaul, will both greatly contribute to the success of Mobile TV by providing what the industry and the customers ask for." ATV, 12th May 2008
MORE NEWS
WWE: Khali gives 15% Audience Boost on Ten Sports
The Great Khali, standing 7 feet 3 inches, has brought in new audiences for Ten Sports which telecasts the popular show World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) daily. Taj Television India MD Rukin Kizilbash admits that the local presence of Khali has helped the sports channel grow its WWE viewership by 15 per cent year-on-year. Which is why Ten Sports is on a marketing overdrive and has brought down Dalip Singh (Khali's name) to India. “We have been receiving many emails over the past year from fans who wanted to see him in person. We tied up with Pepsi, Tata Indicom, Parle and Dish TV. We decided on a two-city tour, comprising an event and a client party. In Delhi, we had a sellout crowd of 3000 people. We replicated a WWE stage,” said Kizilbash on the sidelines of a media briefing.
Spinning around the event, Ten Sports carried out a slew of interactive initiatives. Mountain Dew, for instance, got fans to send SMS, with the promise that the best one would get entries to the events in Mumbai and Delhi. Ten Sports also plans to get another star down later this year like Shawn Michaels or HHH or Batista.
WWE works as as a high tune in, second only to India cricket in the sports genre. Ten Sports uses the platform to push its other properties. For instance with Australia’s tour of the West Indies kicking off shortly, promos of the upcoming clash will air on Raw and SmackDown!. The viewership for WWE has evolved over the period. while a lot of WWE viewers used to be in the 4-14 age group, now the 14-35 age group has also become important. “45 per cent of our audience is women. This is not professional wrestling, after all. It is an entertainment sport, like a soap that the whole family can watch. The shift in viewer profile is also being reflected in the advertisers we have. Earlier there used to be a lot of kids brands like Perfetti. Now we have the likes of Levers and Pepsi on board,” said Kizilbash.
WWE director marketing and distribution Nicola Reeves said India is the main market for the company in Asia. “In fact it is our second biggest market after the US due to its size. Asia is the emerging market for us in the coming five years. It will grow the fastest and India will lead this growth. This is why five months back we set up an office in Sydney.” Reeves explained that the aim is to grow the WWE brand in India and Asia in different areas apart from television viewership. One of these is live events involving Raw, SmackDown and ECW. Right now there is a programme every year for Australia and New Zealand. The aim is to take it to Asian markets in 2009 and 2010, in conjunction with broadcast partners.
WWE, for instance, recently renewed its deal with StarHub in Singapore. "Holding live events will also depend on the infrastructure in that country. It will also depend on where gaps can be found in a hectic schedule," Reeves said. WWE is still gathering information about what Asian audiences want and what works in a certain market. Reeves explained that in the US live events are as important a revenue generator as is television. That is why there has been more focus on doing live events in Europe in recent years. In the UK, the WWE does two events each year. The other key area for growth is in the licensing and merchandising arena. This is usually led by DVD sales and is then followed by things like T-shirts. In India, though, the obstacle lies in high import duties. WWE has a deal in India with telecom content company Phoney Tunes.
WWE will be releasing both a 3-disc deluxe DVD package and the 2-disc Blu-ray version of WrestleMania XXIV later this month in the US and other markets. It has a subscription Video on Demand service (SvoD) which features classic matches. The company is talking with telecom companies to finalise deals in this regard across Asia, Reeves said. Indiantelevision.com, 10th May 2008
Global/Rights: Champions League and Uefa Cup Rights Go to Market in Germany
The tender for broadcast rights to the Uefa Champions League and the Uefa Cup, European soccer’s top two club competitions, from 2009-10 onwards was launched today in Germany. Team Marketing, the agency that is marketing the centralised rights for both competitions, has started the sales process and set a bidding deadline of June 3. Champions League rights are held in Germany by Premiere, the pay-television operator, which paid around €70 million ($108.2 million) a season for free-to-air and pay-television rights until the end of the 2008-09 season. Premiere sub-licensed free-to-air rights first to DSF, the privately-owned sports broadcaster, and later to commercial network Sat.1. Sat.1 is thought to pay around €13 million a season show 13 live matches. Team will be hoping to benefit from increased competition in the German market and it is thought that as many as four or five broadcasters could buy various packages of Champions League and Uefa Cup rights in the next three-year contract period.
Uefa Cup rights from the quarter-final stage onwards are shared in Germany by Premiere and Sat.1 until the end of the 2008-09 season. The competition has enjoyed strong audiences in Germany this season, thanks to the progress of teams such as Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen to the latter stages. Beginning with the 2009-10 season, Uefa Cup rights from the first round onwards (including the group stages) have been centralised.
By going to market now, it appears that the Champions League tender will be conducted before the tender for domestic broadcast rights to the Bundesliga, German soccer’s top-tier league, which has been delayed due to a cartel investigation into the collective sale of rights. Champions League broadcast rights from 2009-10 onwards have already been allocated in one of Europe’s five major markets after British Sky Broadcasting, the pay-television operator, and ITV, the commercial network, both secured packages in the UK. Sportcal.com, 9th May 2008
Indonesia/Broadcast: CASBAA Releases Report on Pay TV market
The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) has released an update on its 'Indonesia in View' report, providing a snapshot of Indonesia's pay-TV market conditions. The May 2008 CASBAA report provides data, regulatory and stakeholder analysis of the current Indonesian industry, along with key contacts and a draft of Indonesia's Broadcasting Bill 2008. The Report was released as part of CASBAA's Asian Pay TV CEO Roundtable: 'Indonesia's Pay TV Industry Embracing the Future' staged in Jakarta on 7 May.
According to CASBAA, with just 2% of approximately 40 million TV households, Indonesia's pay-TV market penetration remains low compared with other Asian markets. However, pay-TV growth in Indonesia has been brisk over the past 12 months with legitimate pay-TV subscriptions doubling to 785,000 in the first quarter of 2008. A newly competitive environment has seen operators differentiate consumer offerings through premium content, while some have secured new channels and launched additional local-language programming such as a new Muslim channel and music channels. The launch of low cost pre-paid services has also driven pay-TV take up.
Nevertheless, unauthorised redistribution remains a significant issue, although regulator KPI is attempting to curb the problem through announcements in two provinces that unauthorised distributors must become resellers for licensed pay-TV operators or face legal sanctions. According to CASBAA, competition in 2008/2009 should pick up further. In September 2007, beyond the existing operators, another five preliminary licenses for satellite subscription TV services were issued and a further 28 companies have submitted applications for subscription TV licenses. Marketing-interactive.com, 9th May 2008
India/Broadcast: India’s Dish Starts Free STBs
Zee-backed DTH operator Dish TV has started giving away set-top boxes to new subscribers, ramping up competition in the sector. Although it claims the offer is for a limited period (while “the stock lasts”) the move could spark a scramble for new subscribers among the country’s satellite DTH operators, if Dish’s competitors follow suit. Dish is the market leader with a little over 3 million subs and to date has been charging new subscribers around Rs2,500 (US$60) for set-top boxes. Rival TataSky (backed 20% by News Corp’s Star TV and 80% by the Tatas Group) which has just reached 2 million subs, also currently charges for set-top boxes, albeit also a subsidised price.
Back in February, TataSky announced it was dropping its set-top box price by 50% to Rs1499. But Big TV, the new entrant backed by the Reliance Group, recently said that it would shortly launch with a set-top box offered for just Rs1,000, undercutting the existing players. Dish TV’s free set-top offer can be seen as a competitive response to Big TV’s launch.
Dish TV is offering the free set-tops to subscribers who pay upfront either Rs2,490, Rs2,990 or Rs3,990. The packaging is complicated, but subscribers can choose from a set of options for these prices, which include a package of channels plus a number of pay-per-view movies. Subscription periods range from three months to 18 months depending on the package chosen. Rapid TV News, 11th May 2008
India/General: IPL Pitch Enters Cyber Domain as Franchisees Eye Fan Base
In a bid to build a sizeable, loyal fan base, Indian Premier League (IPL) franchisees are turning to internet in a major way. While every franchisee’s website has blogs, feedback zones, player video sections et al, some like Redchillies Entertainment (owners of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)) have gone ahead to include cricket editorials and online games. KKR online boasts of 37,000 registered users, Royal Challengers (RC) 10,000 and Delhi Daredevils (DD) 30,000.
Says Knight Riders Sports Private Limited finance head Blesson Oommen: “We have had 37,000 registered users and an average of 1-lakh page views a day since April 15 when we started the website. The website is the most prominent platform for building a loyal fan base, especially post-IPL season.” The company has tied up with Zapak Digital Entertainment and Contests2win.com for providing content on its website.
While Zapak has created dedicated cricket games on the team’s website, the quiz on Saurav Ganguly hosted by contests2win.com boasts of about 12,000 responses daily. “Websites are the easiest and fastest way to create a cult following. We have created a series of games, quizzes, polls hosted on Knight Rider’s official website that alone attract up to 15,000 responses daily,” says Contests2win.com COO Raj Menon.
Apart from displaying latest scores, the websites also host contests and registration invites, ticket sales and merchandise previews to involve internet users. Royalchallengers.com, the official website of Bangalore Royal Challengers, has a unique feature that allows users to create customised user ids within the website. “Users on our website can have their name followed by royalchallengers.com as free email id. This is one thing that is drawing in huge traffic. Currently, we have more than 10,000 different ids and 1-million page views on the website on match days,” says Krishna Prasad, executive producer, MSN India, who have made the team’s website.
United Spirits executive vice-president (marketing) Amrit Thomas says: “The website is an important tool for us. Our team’s website provides interesting cricket trivia and lesser-known personal information about players.” Franchisees also sell advertising space on their website to rake in the moolah. “We are keen on selling ad space on the website, but are choosy about who we sell it to. There are about six advertisers who have approached us for the same. We are also planning to start selling merchandise over our website,” says R Srinivasan, joint president, finance & accounts, India Cements, the company that owns Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The team’s website, ChennaiSuperkings.com, claims to have as many as 1,40,000 page views on match days. Plans are afoot to start an exclusive club for the team’s loyal fans on the website.
India Cements marketing head Rakesh Singh says: “We will have three kinds of memberships to the Chennai Superkings Fan Club that will be there on the website. There will be special enclosures for members at the home ground, apart from preferential ticket rates. We want to develop a fan base that will be the Barmy Army of Chennai Superkings.” Says Yogesh Shetty, CEO of GMR-owned Delhi Daredevils (DD): “At present, we have over 30,000 registered users on our website. After the season, we will decide how and who we need to do partnership with for selling advertising space.” India Times, 12th May 2008
Friday, 9th May 2008
SPORT SHORTS
* Japan has today been announced as the host of rugby union’s IRB Junior World Championship in 2009. The award is a boost for the country as it seeks the ultimate prize of the senior Rugby World Cup. Japan lost out to New Zealand in the bidding to host the 2011 World Cup. The junior world championship will involve 16 national teams made up of the leading players aged under 20 and takes place next June. Nobby Mashimo, the chairman of the Japan Rugby Football Union, said: ‘This is an extremely exciting development for the game in Japan and also Asia. The Japan Rugby Football Union is confident that we will be able to deliver a very successful tournament that will foster the growth of rugby within the Asian rugby community. This year’s IRB Junior World Championship will be held in Wales from June 6 to 22. Sportcal.com, 8th May 2008
* ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) has inked a deal with Imagine OmniMedia, the producer of The Contender Asia, to jointly develop, produce and broadcast Sport*Star Football, a global reality football entertainment series, in Asia. The series will be a global hunt for the next football superstar. Under the terms of the agreement, Imagine OmniMedia will produce the upcoming original series, while ESPN STAR Sports will provide creative input, as well as market and broadcast the series across its entire footprint in Asia. In addition, ESS intends to use its lineup of talent and array of original programming to build recognition for the show. World Screen, Indiantelevision.com, 8th May 2008
* Mobile network operator, Vodafone Essar, has agreed a five-year sponsorship deal with the Indian Premier League to become the IPL’s Official Telecom Partner and Official Ground Sponsor until 2013. Under the deal, which is estimated to be worth around $25 million, Vodafone customers will be able to order tickets for IPL matches on the company’s Vodafone live service and participate in the ‘Predict the Man of the Match’ contest. The inaugural season of the IPL began on April 18. The final match will take place on the 1 June 2008. Sportbusiness.com, 8th May 2008
* Telecom operator Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) on Thursday said from next month onwards it would launch mobile TV for which it is carrying out field trials now. The company today launched Express alert, a value-added service for its Dolphin and Trump mobile subscribers. Subscribing to Express alert would give MTNL customers, updates on astrology, cricket scores, news and stock. Going ahead, MTNL would launch one value-added service every month. Telecom operators are seeing a fall in their revenues because the tariff is coming down. So, they are launching value-added services that are popular among subscribers. For the value-added services, telecom operators have tied up with a technology partner and both decide to share the revenues. The lion's share of the revenue goes to the operator. The Hindu Business Line, 8th May 2008
* Tata Sky, the joint venture between the Tata group and StarTV, has crossed the two million connections mark figure. The pay-TV provider has added this mark in 20 months, and the company is now planning to launch its high-end personal video recorder (PVR) later this year. Tata Sky provider offers interactive services which include education, cooking, quizzing, sports, 24x7 darshan of leading temples of the country. At present, nearly 500 schools across India are using Tata Sky's educational services as a teaching aid within the classroom. Market leader Dish TV, recently crossed the 3 million DTH connections mark taking the total DTH susbcriber base in the country to over 5 million, about 7% of the total cable homes in the country. Televisionpoint.com, Indiantelevision.com, 7th May 2008
* CNN Mobile has won a Webby People's Voice Award for Best Mobile News Site of 2008, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences said. The academy presents the Webby Awards, a international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Web sites, interactive advertising, online film and video and mobile sites. For the 12th Annual Webby Awards, the academy received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and more than 60 countries worldwide. Winners will be honored at a Star -studded gala in New York City on June 10. While academy members select the winners of the Webby Awards, the Webby People's Voice Awards are determined by the online community itself. Televisionpoint.com, 8th May 2008
* UTStarcom, a IP-based, end-to-end networking solutions and services company, has been awarded a contract by United Telecoms to deliver Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), bandwidth on demand and Voice over IP (VoIP) services in Goa. Upon completion, the Gigabit Ethernet Passive Optical Network (GEPON)/fiber technology network will be the first specifically designed to deliver e-Governance and triple play solutions in India. The deployment of the Goa Broadband Network is an expansion of UTStarcom's recently deployed fiber network with United Telecoms and demonstrates UTStarcom's continued success in delivering broadband solutions, a core business focus area for the company. The Goa Broadband Network marks the first time UTStarcom's Rolling Stream IPTV, GEPON and mSwitch solutions will be integrated into a single customer network for the delivery of end-to-end, triple play services. Televisionpoint.com, Indiantelevision.com, 8th May 2008
* Intelsat and Panasonic Avionics have announced an agreement that will result in the next generation of in-flight passenger broadband access. Panasonic, known for delivering in-flight technology, is introducing an advanced satellite transmission platform that will allow airline passengers the ability to access Internet-based information and entertainment. Panasonic eXConnect, provides passengers with two-way broadband Internet connectivity, providing a wide range of applications useful to passengers and crew such as VPN, live television, shopping, streaming media, telemedicine, operational applications and personal devices integrated to the airline’s in-flight entertainment systems. With data rates comparable to ground public Wi-Fi hotspots, eXConnect offers airlines the opportunity to differentiate their in-flight product with valuable service to their passengers. Indiantelevision.com, 8th May 2008
* The IMS Research study ‘IPTV: A Global Market Analysis - 2008 Edition’ forecasts that, on a worldwide basis, shipments of IP set-top boxes will grow at a CAGR of 37.1% through the end of 2012. These shipments will represent revenues of $3 billion. IP + Digital Terrestrial hybrid STBs are expected to comprise 30% of shipments in 2012 with HD DVR boxes nearing 35%. HD IP set-top box shipments are forecast to grow as uptake of HD IPTV services in the US, Korea, Japan, and Western Europe begins to accelerate in the near to intermediate term. DVR functionality is already gaining traction, especially in the areas previously mentioned, with DVR-enabled boxes expected to grow to nearly ten million units at the end of the forecast. In addition to HD and DVR functionality, hybrid boxes are to be installed in the majority of households receiving a TV service via IP from an operator." ATV, Rapid TV News, 9th May 2008
* Germany’s nationwide mobile television service will not be ready in time for soccer’s 2008 European Championships next month. DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld) coverage in Germany was due to be launched for Euro 2008, which runs from June 7 to 29 but, after incurring delays, will only be made available in ‘soft launch’ format next month. Henrik Rinnert, the managing director of MFD, the mobile television provider, said: ‘It will be a soft launch. The timescale for a big commercial launch is just too tight.’ He added that a reduced programming service in selected cities was more likely than a full launch at this stage. MFD and fellow mobile television provider Neva Media won the nationwide mobile TV licence in Germany and formed the Mobile 3.0 consortium. Sportcal.com, 8th May 2008