~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Baseball
The New York Yankees and the Chinese Baseball Association (CBA) announced a landmark agreement that for the first time formalized a strategic alliance between an MLB club and the CBA. Under the agreement, the Yankees will provide the CBA with guidance in training baseball players, which will include sending staff (coaches, player development, scouting and training personnel) to China to assist the CBA, while allowing the CBA to send staff to the Yankees' facilities in the United States in furtherance of those goals. (Yahoo! Sports, 1/30/07)
The New York Yankees have been awarded the 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and will host the Midsummer Classic at Yankee Stadium on July 15, 2008, during the final year that the ballpark will be open. (MLB Press Release, 1/31/07)
Fenway Sports Group (FSG), a subsidiary of New England Sports Ventures, which owns the Boston Red Sox, added a top NASCAR team, Roush Racing, to its portfolio, in a deal that marks the first time that an ownership group of one of the four major North American Leagues has crossed over into the world of NASCAR. Under the deal, Red Sox owner John Henry and FSG acquired a 50% stake in the racing team, which will be known as the Roush Fenway Racing team, and FSG will support the team’s marketing and sales activities. (Yahoo! Sports, 2/2/07)
Boston.com entered into a content-sharing agreement with Go-RedSox.com, a Japanese- language baseball site with excerpts from MLB coverage translated into Japanese for readers worldwide. (Sports Business Journal, 2/5/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Basketball
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy Industry Group announced a new marketing partnership, where Mengniu will be the “Official Dairy Product of the NBA in China,” and will launch a series of social programs targeting over 500 elementary schools across China that will combine nutrition and sports to promote a healthy lifestyle for children. (NBA Press Release, 1/21/07)
China’s junior national boys’ basketball team traveled to the Spalding-sponsored United States Basketball Academy Institute near Eugene, Oregon and now is being featured on a Chinese reality TV show called “China Hoops-American Dream.” The three-episode series follows more than 40 top Chinese basketball players during their experience in the US. (Sports Business Journal, 1/28/07)
The NBA hired Goldman Sachs to advise on the league's China business, which is estimated to be worth over $1billion, and may include Goldman taking an equity stake in the league's China ventures. (Sports Business Journal, 2/18/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Golf
Puma signed Japanese golfer Hideto Tanihara to an endorsement agreement and will supply the golfer with golf footwear and apparel in 2007. Tanihara has won four tour titles in Japan and was second on the Japan money list in 2006. (Apparel Wire, 1/28/07)
LPGA rookie Song-Hee Kim has secured a $1million, 2-year sponsorship deal with Fila Korea in the largest endorsement deal for a rookie Korean golfer since Se Ri Pak signed with CJ Group in 1998. (Golf World, 2/1/07)
Representatives from the golf division of Octagon have made visits to La Costa and Trump National with sights set on helping to create an early 2008 LPGA West Coast Swing that would fill in gaps between the two season opening tournaments in Hawaii and a late March event in Phoenix. (Golf Week, 2/3/07)
The LPGA Foundation has expanded its board for the first time in its 16-year history from 4 to 10 members with the addition of Betsy King (US Solheim Cup team captain); James Eden (president, Eden & Associates); Karen Furtado (vice president, CGI); Mareb Hoke (president, Mareb Foundation); Lewis C. Horne, Jr. (partner, Troutman Sanders); and Kathryn H. Milthrope (managing director of community and government affairs, International Speedway Corporation). (Golf Week, 2/3/07)
The China Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club announced a deal to provide expert rules instructions, structured learning materials, and a system to accredit national and international referees. (GolfWorld.com, 2/23/07)
The China Golf Association and TaylorMade-Adidas Golf announced a deal where the equipment manufacturer will offer clubs and apparel to China's national teams and provide a "major financial investment" in youth group programs. (GolfWorld.com, 2/23/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Other Sports
ESPN announced that has signed a multiyear deal with Verizon Wireless to host its Mobile ESPN service. Previously, ESPN invested over $150 million to develop the wireless service on its own, but decided to shut down in September 2006 due to lack of subscribers. (Digital Media Wire, 2/8/07)
Chinese PC maker Lenovo is continuing to expand its sponsorship portfolio with a recent agreement to pay about $190 million over the next five years to Williams F1 Racing. Activation of the sponsorship will include print advertising and use of F1-themed mobile marketing in areas such as airports with a high density of business travelers.
(Sports Business Journal, 2/11/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
China
Chinese Web portal Sohu.com reported that Q4 earnings fell by 32% due to higher costs associated with Chinese government regulations on registration and billing, despite an increase of 23% in ad sales and an overall 16% increase in revenue. (Wall Street Journal, 1/21/07)
McDonald’s announced they would open more than 50 drive-through outlets in China this year in conjunction with gas retailer Sinopec. (Wall Street Journal, 1/24/07)
The number of internet users in China jumped 23% last year to over 137 million people, covering 10.5% of the country’s population. China is the world’s second-largest Internet market after the US. (Wall Street Journal, 1/25/07)
In preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing city officials announced they will step up efforts to fine spitters as much as 50 yuan ($6.45) when they are caught doing the act in public. At the same time, municipal authorities also announced “Queuing Day,” which on the 11th of each month, city residents will be encouraged to stand in line at subway stops, post offices, and various other places in an effort to encourage citizens to behave better as the Olympic Games near. The 11th was chosen because the two “1’s” look like they are standing neatly in line. (Wall Street Journal, 1/28/07)
ESPN and Star Sports were the only channels among a group of foreign networks that did not have their broadcast licenses renewed by the China State Administration for Radio, Film and TV. No explanation was given for the non-renewal. (Variety Asia Online, 1/29/07)
Shanda Interactive Entertainment, a provider of multiplayer, casual, and PC games and other media content in China, announced that it sold part of its stake in Chinese Web portal Sina to Citigroup for about $129.6 million. Shanda claims over 460 million registered accounts for games it operates in China. (Digital Media Wire, 2/8/07)
Baidu, the Chinese Internet search engine, issued 1Q forecast that fell short of expectations, feeding fears that its market is cooling. While the company has cemented its position as the top search engine in China, even in the face of major efforts to break into this market by Google and Yahoo, Baidu is having trouble maintaining its rapid expansion of its advertising base. (Wall Street Journal, 2/16/07)
Results from 2006 show that ad revenue in China is continuing to rise at astronomical rates as the country's advertising market reached $50 billion, up 22% from 2005. Magazines (27%) and TV (26%) experienced dramatic growth, while newspapers saw relatively modest growth (8%). The top categories were pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, toiletries and retail services with Oil of Olay remaining the #1 advertiser for the 4th year in a row. (Variety Asia Online, 2/20/07)
A recent survey of Chinese internet users revealed that 70% are under the age of 30, compared to roughly 70% that are over the age of 30 in the US. The number one priority for users of the internet in China was enterainment, while in the US, it was information. Further details of the survey showed that Chinese youth prefer instant messages to email messages, they play games, form communities, and even adopt virtual personas, or avatars, which can even trade virtually currency. In fact, in January, China's Central Bank even went so far as to issue a warning about a virtual currency called "Q-coins" from Chinese internet giant Tencent. (New York Times, 2/28/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
India
Tata Group won the bidding for British steelmaker Corus Group in an $11.3 billion deal that was the largest foreign acquisition to date by an Indian company. (Wall Street Journal, 1/28/07)
Bharti Airtel, India’s largest cell phone operator, said its profit more than doubled in the last quarter, as India’s red-hot telecommunications industry showed no signs of slowing down. The company added more than 5 million subscribers in the final 3 months of 2006 alone and raised its customer base to 33.7 million. (Wall Street Journal, 2/12/07)
India’s Hindalco Industries has agreed to pay $3.43 billion for Novelis, a Canadian maker of rolled aluminum used in products such as beer cans and cars, in the 2nd largest foreign acquisition by an Indian company ever, while further underscoring the drive of Indian companies to expand overseas by targeting struggling manufacturers and niche players in Western markets. (Wall Street Journal, 2/12/07)
Konakuppakattil Gopinathan Balakrishnan, a former "untouchable," according to the Hindu caste system, was appointed Chief Justice of India, in an event many have called "one of the most significant things to happen in the history of the nation of India." (Foster Network, 2/28/07)
Sony Entertainment TV plans to invest $71 million for a 26% stake in Neo Sports, a division of Nimbus Communications, the Indian company that owns the worldwide rights to all Indian international cricket matches across terrestrial, satellite, radio and broadband platforms until 2010. (VarietyAsiaOnline.com, 2/28/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Japan
Dentsu, Japan's biggest ad agency, reported a 7% rise in operating profit from a year earlier due to events such as the Asian Games, the World Cup and the Volleyball World Cup. (Wall Street Journal, 2/20/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Korea
The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) is planning to open an office in Los Angeles, CA as part of a string of measures to support cultural exchanges and boost the profile of Korean cinema in the US. (Variety Asia Online, 2/2/07)
Korean investment in overseas property skyrocketed to $775.1 million in 2006, up from only $22.7 million in 2005 as the government openly urges the purchase of foreign property assets while at the same time tightening restrictions on the market at home. The US has drawn the most attention due to its large expatriate Korean population and sizeable number of Korean university students and has seen purchases rise to $129.2 million, up from $3.3 million. (Wall Street Journal, 2/11/07)
Baseball
The New York Yankees and the Chinese Baseball Association (CBA) announced a landmark agreement that for the first time formalized a strategic alliance between an MLB club and the CBA. Under the agreement, the Yankees will provide the CBA with guidance in training baseball players, which will include sending staff (coaches, player development, scouting and training personnel) to China to assist the CBA, while allowing the CBA to send staff to the Yankees' facilities in the United States in furtherance of those goals. (Yahoo! Sports, 1/30/07)
The New York Yankees have been awarded the 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and will host the Midsummer Classic at Yankee Stadium on July 15, 2008, during the final year that the ballpark will be open. (MLB Press Release, 1/31/07)
Fenway Sports Group (FSG), a subsidiary of New England Sports Ventures, which owns the Boston Red Sox, added a top NASCAR team, Roush Racing, to its portfolio, in a deal that marks the first time that an ownership group of one of the four major North American Leagues has crossed over into the world of NASCAR. Under the deal, Red Sox owner John Henry and FSG acquired a 50% stake in the racing team, which will be known as the Roush Fenway Racing team, and FSG will support the team’s marketing and sales activities. (Yahoo! Sports, 2/2/07)
Boston.com entered into a content-sharing agreement with Go-RedSox.com, a Japanese- language baseball site with excerpts from MLB coverage translated into Japanese for readers worldwide. (Sports Business Journal, 2/5/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Basketball
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy Industry Group announced a new marketing partnership, where Mengniu will be the “Official Dairy Product of the NBA in China,” and will launch a series of social programs targeting over 500 elementary schools across China that will combine nutrition and sports to promote a healthy lifestyle for children. (NBA Press Release, 1/21/07)
China’s junior national boys’ basketball team traveled to the Spalding-sponsored United States Basketball Academy Institute near Eugene, Oregon and now is being featured on a Chinese reality TV show called “China Hoops-American Dream.” The three-episode series follows more than 40 top Chinese basketball players during their experience in the US. (Sports Business Journal, 1/28/07)
The NBA hired Goldman Sachs to advise on the league's China business, which is estimated to be worth over $1billion, and may include Goldman taking an equity stake in the league's China ventures. (Sports Business Journal, 2/18/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Golf
Puma signed Japanese golfer Hideto Tanihara to an endorsement agreement and will supply the golfer with golf footwear and apparel in 2007. Tanihara has won four tour titles in Japan and was second on the Japan money list in 2006. (Apparel Wire, 1/28/07)
LPGA rookie Song-Hee Kim has secured a $1million, 2-year sponsorship deal with Fila Korea in the largest endorsement deal for a rookie Korean golfer since Se Ri Pak signed with CJ Group in 1998. (Golf World, 2/1/07)
Representatives from the golf division of Octagon have made visits to La Costa and Trump National with sights set on helping to create an early 2008 LPGA West Coast Swing that would fill in gaps between the two season opening tournaments in Hawaii and a late March event in Phoenix. (Golf Week, 2/3/07)
The LPGA Foundation has expanded its board for the first time in its 16-year history from 4 to 10 members with the addition of Betsy King (US Solheim Cup team captain); James Eden (president, Eden & Associates); Karen Furtado (vice president, CGI); Mareb Hoke (president, Mareb Foundation); Lewis C. Horne, Jr. (partner, Troutman Sanders); and Kathryn H. Milthrope (managing director of community and government affairs, International Speedway Corporation). (Golf Week, 2/3/07)
The China Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club announced a deal to provide expert rules instructions, structured learning materials, and a system to accredit national and international referees. (GolfWorld.com, 2/23/07)
The China Golf Association and TaylorMade-Adidas Golf announced a deal where the equipment manufacturer will offer clubs and apparel to China's national teams and provide a "major financial investment" in youth group programs. (GolfWorld.com, 2/23/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Other Sports
ESPN announced that has signed a multiyear deal with Verizon Wireless to host its Mobile ESPN service. Previously, ESPN invested over $150 million to develop the wireless service on its own, but decided to shut down in September 2006 due to lack of subscribers. (Digital Media Wire, 2/8/07)
Chinese PC maker Lenovo is continuing to expand its sponsorship portfolio with a recent agreement to pay about $190 million over the next five years to Williams F1 Racing. Activation of the sponsorship will include print advertising and use of F1-themed mobile marketing in areas such as airports with a high density of business travelers.
(Sports Business Journal, 2/11/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
China
Chinese Web portal Sohu.com reported that Q4 earnings fell by 32% due to higher costs associated with Chinese government regulations on registration and billing, despite an increase of 23% in ad sales and an overall 16% increase in revenue. (Wall Street Journal, 1/21/07)
McDonald’s announced they would open more than 50 drive-through outlets in China this year in conjunction with gas retailer Sinopec. (Wall Street Journal, 1/24/07)
The number of internet users in China jumped 23% last year to over 137 million people, covering 10.5% of the country’s population. China is the world’s second-largest Internet market after the US. (Wall Street Journal, 1/25/07)
In preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing city officials announced they will step up efforts to fine spitters as much as 50 yuan ($6.45) when they are caught doing the act in public. At the same time, municipal authorities also announced “Queuing Day,” which on the 11th of each month, city residents will be encouraged to stand in line at subway stops, post offices, and various other places in an effort to encourage citizens to behave better as the Olympic Games near. The 11th was chosen because the two “1’s” look like they are standing neatly in line. (Wall Street Journal, 1/28/07)
ESPN and Star Sports were the only channels among a group of foreign networks that did not have their broadcast licenses renewed by the China State Administration for Radio, Film and TV. No explanation was given for the non-renewal. (Variety Asia Online, 1/29/07)
Shanda Interactive Entertainment, a provider of multiplayer, casual, and PC games and other media content in China, announced that it sold part of its stake in Chinese Web portal Sina to Citigroup for about $129.6 million. Shanda claims over 460 million registered accounts for games it operates in China. (Digital Media Wire, 2/8/07)
Baidu, the Chinese Internet search engine, issued 1Q forecast that fell short of expectations, feeding fears that its market is cooling. While the company has cemented its position as the top search engine in China, even in the face of major efforts to break into this market by Google and Yahoo, Baidu is having trouble maintaining its rapid expansion of its advertising base. (Wall Street Journal, 2/16/07)
Results from 2006 show that ad revenue in China is continuing to rise at astronomical rates as the country's advertising market reached $50 billion, up 22% from 2005. Magazines (27%) and TV (26%) experienced dramatic growth, while newspapers saw relatively modest growth (8%). The top categories were pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, toiletries and retail services with Oil of Olay remaining the #1 advertiser for the 4th year in a row. (Variety Asia Online, 2/20/07)
A recent survey of Chinese internet users revealed that 70% are under the age of 30, compared to roughly 70% that are over the age of 30 in the US. The number one priority for users of the internet in China was enterainment, while in the US, it was information. Further details of the survey showed that Chinese youth prefer instant messages to email messages, they play games, form communities, and even adopt virtual personas, or avatars, which can even trade virtually currency. In fact, in January, China's Central Bank even went so far as to issue a warning about a virtual currency called "Q-coins" from Chinese internet giant Tencent. (New York Times, 2/28/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
India
Tata Group won the bidding for British steelmaker Corus Group in an $11.3 billion deal that was the largest foreign acquisition to date by an Indian company. (Wall Street Journal, 1/28/07)
Bharti Airtel, India’s largest cell phone operator, said its profit more than doubled in the last quarter, as India’s red-hot telecommunications industry showed no signs of slowing down. The company added more than 5 million subscribers in the final 3 months of 2006 alone and raised its customer base to 33.7 million. (Wall Street Journal, 2/12/07)
India’s Hindalco Industries has agreed to pay $3.43 billion for Novelis, a Canadian maker of rolled aluminum used in products such as beer cans and cars, in the 2nd largest foreign acquisition by an Indian company ever, while further underscoring the drive of Indian companies to expand overseas by targeting struggling manufacturers and niche players in Western markets. (Wall Street Journal, 2/12/07)
Konakuppakattil Gopinathan Balakrishnan, a former "untouchable," according to the Hindu caste system, was appointed Chief Justice of India, in an event many have called "one of the most significant things to happen in the history of the nation of India." (Foster Network, 2/28/07)
Sony Entertainment TV plans to invest $71 million for a 26% stake in Neo Sports, a division of Nimbus Communications, the Indian company that owns the worldwide rights to all Indian international cricket matches across terrestrial, satellite, radio and broadband platforms until 2010. (VarietyAsiaOnline.com, 2/28/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Japan
Dentsu, Japan's biggest ad agency, reported a 7% rise in operating profit from a year earlier due to events such as the Asian Games, the World Cup and the Volleyball World Cup. (Wall Street Journal, 2/20/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Korea
The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) is planning to open an office in Los Angeles, CA as part of a string of measures to support cultural exchanges and boost the profile of Korean cinema in the US. (Variety Asia Online, 2/2/07)
Korean investment in overseas property skyrocketed to $775.1 million in 2006, up from only $22.7 million in 2005 as the government openly urges the purchase of foreign property assets while at the same time tightening restrictions on the market at home. The US has drawn the most attention due to its large expatriate Korean population and sizeable number of Korean university students and has seen purchases rise to $129.2 million, up from $3.3 million. (Wall Street Journal, 2/11/07)
