The Asia Sports and Entertainment Business

International Sports

2008-06-10T22:24:00.001-07:00

Promotion to the English Premier League (EPL) is worth at least £60 million and is the biggest financial boost a football club can receive, according to a new analysts report at global accountancy firm, Deloitte. The teams who win a EPL place get £30 million from TV rights, plus £5 million from extra sponsorship and merchandising deals each season. Even those who are relegated after one season receive £24 million over the next two years, taking the total to about £60 million. Already-promoted Swansea City and two others can expect to receive a financial boost worth £1.4 million according to Deloitte. (SportBusiness.com, 5/2/08)

The Chelsea Football Club has teamed up with sports and entertainment division of Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for assistance in the areas of corporate partnership development, stadium development, athlete marketing, branding, touring, and “corporate social responsibility.” CAA Sports entered into the soccer business in early 2007 when it helped orchestrate the deal that brought David Beckham to the Los Angeles Galaxy, working with Beckham’s manager, Simon Fuller and has since sourced worldwide endorsement deals for the player. CAA said the global appeal of Chelsea is one of the major factors in CAA partnering with the club. The Chelsea squad contains 23 national team players from 14 different nationalities and six current national team captains. (SportBusiness.com, 6/9/08)

The Real Madrid Football Club agreed a deal with Total Sports Asia (TSA) to distribute its mobile content in Asia in a deal scheduled to run through 2010. (SportBusiness.com, 6/10/08)

International Sports

2008-06-05T22:19:00.000-07:00

The NFL said it sold the first 40,000 tickets for the SD Chargers-New Orleans Saints game on 10/26/08, its second regular-season match in London, in less than 90 minutes. This was about the same pace at which tickets were sold for the Miami Dolphins-New York Giants game last year. The NFL has an agreement to play at least one game in the UK for the next three seasons, beginning with this year’s game. It has also declared a desire to have games in Germany and France, and is considering resurrecting plans to have a game in China after its 2007 planned pre-season event in China was cancelled. (SportBusiness.com, 5/30/08)

The Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee issued a stern, nine-page document entitled "A Guide to Chinese Law for Foreigners Coming To, Leaving or Staying in China During the Olympics." Written only in Chinese and posted on the organizers' official website, the guide covers everything from a ban on sleeping outdoors to the need for government permission to stage a protest. In addition, the document said that having Olympic tickets is no guarantee of getting a visa to enter China, and warns against the display of insulting slogans or banners at any sporting venue. The guidelines seem to clash with a pledge made two month ago by IOC President Jacques Rogge, who said athletes could exercise freedom of speech in China. He asked only that athletes refrain from making political statements at certain official Olympics venues. (Yahoo!Sports, 6/2/08)

The IOC selected Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo as candidate cities for the 2016 Olympic Games. Doha (Qatar) missed out on selection due to its plan to host the Games in October due to the summer heat, while Madrid and Tokyo appear the cities to beat in the early running. The IOC will announce the host of the 2016 Olympics on 10/2/09. (SportBusiness.com, 6/5/08)

China Business

2008-06-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

The China Securities Journal circulated a report recently saying that the China Securities Regulatory Commission is encouraging institutional money managers to make stabilization of the stock market their No. 1 priority ahead of the Olympics, and while this is nothing new, it helps to boost overall market confidence. (TheStreet.com, 5/30/08)

Chinese wireless provider China Unicom announced it would acquire fixed-line services company China Netcom as part of the first step in the China’s reshuffling of its telecom industry. The nearly $24 billion stock-swap deal comes one week after Chinese officials announced a plan to merge six state-owned phone providers into three in a move designed to offer more competition for China Mobile, which has the largest subscriber count in the world at nearly 400 million. Additionally, China Unicom said it would sell its code division multiple access, or CDMA, network to China Telecom for $15.86 billion. Once the restructuring is complete, three 3G spectrum licenses will be granted to the merged companies. Overall, the changes should create commercial opportunities for international equipment vendors such as Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia-Siemens. (Wall Street Journal, 6/2/08)

China Sports

2008-05-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy Industry (Group) Company (Mengniu) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced a new multi-year marketing partnership agreement to promote healthy lifestyles to young people in Asia by utilizing Mengniu’s and the NBA’s expertise in nutrition and sports respectively. The partnership marks the extension of a relationship started in China in 2007, with Mengniu serving as the “Official Dairy Product” of the NBA in China. Under the new agreement, Mengniu will team up with the NBA to promote the importance of sports and nutrition in six countries and territories in Asia, including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore through NBA-themed promotions, grassroots events and NBA media programs. (NBA Press Release, 5/7/08)

Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) and the NBA are close to announcing an agreement to develop and operate up to 12 arenas in China. The deal would represent another key step in the NBA’s vision for its own league in Asia, while adding more facilities to the global expansion effort under AEG. Moreover, the deal builds on an existing partnership between AEG and the NBA to run the 18,000 seat arena being built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Wukesong Indoor Stadium, after the Summer Games have ended. (Sports Business Journal, 5/18/08)

Korea Sports

2008-05-14T22:15:00.000-07:00

The Korea Development Camp, an event co-organized by the Korean Basketball League (KBL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA), took place in Seoul, Korea from 5/16-20/08. The camp brought together the top 40 Korean basketball players ages 16-19 to take part in basketball instruction and competition with the MVP of the camp earning a spot to participate in “Basketball without Borders India” this summer from July 3 to 6 in New Delhi, India. Assisting with the event were Milwaukee Bucks’ starting point guard Mo Williams and forward Charlie Villanueva, along NBA assistant coaches Jeff Capel (Charlotte Bobcats) and Neal Meyer (L.A. Clippers). (NBA Press Release, 5/14/08)

India Entertainment

2008-05-12T22:32:00.000-07:00

The Indian pay-television industry is projected to generate revenues of $11.2 billion by 2012, according to a recent report by Media Partners Asia. By 2017, this is expected to grow to $18.5 billion, with revenues from subscriptions and advertising accounting for $12.3 billion and $6.2 billion respectively. Subscriber base is also expected to expand by 137 million by 2012, and 163.8 million by 2017, with an annual growth of 10.9% for the first five years and 7.2% for the remaining five. In 2007, total pay-television revenues in India amounted to $5.25 billion, of which subscription revenue was $3.77 billion and advertising accounted for $1.48 billion, with a subscriber base of 81.67 million. (SportBusiness.com, 4/28/08)

YouTube India (youtube.co.in) launched recently with user-generated videos and content from existing Bollywood and broadcaster partners such as Eros Entertainment and New Delhi TV. Other alliances include cricket portal Krishcricket.com, the International Indian Film Academy Awards, the Ministry of Tourism and the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. (THR.com/Asia, 5/7/08)

Sport 18, the sports marketing division of Indian media conglomerate Network 18, and US-based network, CNBC-TV18, have agreed to an exclusive partnership deal with the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI). Under the deal, Sport 18 acquired the exclusive broadcasting rights for the PGTI and will use its marketing expertise to promote professional golf, while CNBC-TV18 will be the official broadcast partner for professional golf in India. Currently, PGTI manages an annual calendar of over 20 professional golf tournaments in the country. (SportBusiness.com, 5/12/08)

China Sports

2008-05-09T22:08:00.000-07:00

The Golden Baseball League hosted exhibition games between the Chinese Olympic baseball team and the Long Beach Armada and Yuma Scorpions on 5/17-18/08, and 5/21/08, respectively. Proceeds from tickets sales, online viewing (there was a fee to watch the games online at ibnsports.com), and a silent auction were donated to the American Red Cross for earthquake relief in China. (Goldenbaseball.com Press Release, 5/9/08)

Japanese Baseball

2008-04-30T22:06:00.000-07:00

Japanese pitcher Hideo Nomo was released by the Kansas City Royals. There is speculation that the Yokohama Bay Stars from Japan may try to sign him. (JapanBall.com, 4/30/08)

China Sports

2008-04-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

Unprompted awareness of Olympic sponsors by Chinese consumers showed high interest and good results, according to a recent survey by SPORT+MARKT. Chinese brand Lenovo led with 38% awareness, followed by Coca-Cola (36%), China Mobile (30%), Samsung and Yiligroup (both at 18%), Bank of China 17%, and Adidas, Haier, Johnson and Johnson (all at 14%). (SportBusiness.com, 4/29/08)

Mercedes-Benz China and tennis star Roger Federer have entered into a multi-year advertising and strategic marketing partnership in cooperation with China Tennis Association (CTA) and the Junior Tennis Development Program called “Swing for the Stars” that is designed to improve Chinese junior players' skills and the coaches' teaching level. The deal was brokered by IMG. (SportBusiness.com, 4/30/08)

Japanese Baseball

2008-04-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

Nippon Professional Baseball will appoint outgoing Japanese ambassador to the United States Ryozo Kato as its next commissioner. Kato is scheduled to be appointed after he is confirmed at an upcoming owners meeting of the 12 professional baseball clubs. NPB had been searching for a successor to acting commissioner Yasuchika Negoro since last year. (JapanBall.com, 4/11/08)

India Sports

2008-04-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

India is considering bidding for the 2020 Summer Olympics. The Indian Olympic Association is expected to make a formal application by 2013 in order to host the Games. Delhi is thought to be the potential host city, as it will already have the necessary infrastructure after hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games. (SportBusiness.com, 4/10/08)

China Business

2008-04-07T16:37:00.000-07:00

A Chinese court has agreed to hear two multi-million dollar copyright infringement claims brought by major record labels agains Baidu, the Chinese search engine company, and Web portal Sohu, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). The $9 million claim against Baidu is brought by Universal Music Group, Sony BMG and Warner Music, who will argue that the search engine aids copyright infringement by providing "deep links" to unauthorized downloads on third-party sites. The IFPI said in a statement: "The claim is the tip of the iceberg in a copyright infringement test-case that could expose the Chinese internet giant to a multi-billion dollar liability," adding that the current claim covers just 127 tracks -- "a small representative sample of the wider infringement." The same three major labels, along with local company Gold Label Entertainment, have also filed for $7.5 million in damages against Sohu. The IFPI claims that "over 99 per cent of all music online in China infringes copyright." (Digital Media Wire, 4/7/08)

Baseball

2008-04-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM) and BroadWebAsia, owner and operator of six of the leading web 2.0 properties in China, and established and chaired by Brad Greenspan (founder of MySpace), announced an agreement to create and host a MLB focused website in simplified Chinese targeting the China market. The site (www.major.tv/china) is being developed by BroadWebAsia's Shanghai-based Hupo TV subsidiary, and officially launched in time for the MLB Opening Series in Japan on March 25th. The deal was brokered by Greenspan, with Peter Schloss, Chief Executive Officer of BroadWebAsia, and Alex Pigeon, Vice President of International, MLBAM. (Yahoo!Finance, 4/1/08)

MLBAM and ChungHwa Telecom (http://mlb.hinet.net) announced a deal for second straight year of live streaming of MLB games into Taiwan, including certain games in Full HD format. (ChungHwa Telecom Press Release, 4/1/08)

Baseball

2008-03-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) has selected software from Cognos, an IBM company that provides business intelligence and performance management software, to help analyze player performance statistics. The software will provide hundreds of agents with "self-service" views and reports, and "will also enable the agents to perform ad hoc analysis on different scenarios with nearly immediate answers." (Digital Media Wire, 3/28/08)

Asia Business

2008-03-28T10:35:00.001-07:00

Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing has closed a second $60million investment round into social networking website Facebook. The investment was made through the Li Ka-Shing Foundation, and boosts Li's holdings in Facebook to $120million. The deal values Facebook at $15billion. (Los Angeles Times, 3/28/08)

Asia Sports

2008-03-27T17:26:00.000-07:00

Sports sponsorship growth in Asia rose by 54% in 2007, with net a spending of $643 million, driven in part by the Beijing Olympics, according to IVCast from OgilvyAction. However, there was also a large rise in the sheer number of deals being done in other Asian countries with 2,233 in 2007 versus 1,624 in 2006, showing that the popularity and relevance of sponsorship is growing. The forecast for 2008 is currently showing a small decline of 9.5% reflecting the unknown continuation of deals recorded in 2007. (SportBusiness.com, 3/27/08)

India Entertainment

2008-03-26T17:32:00.000-07:00

Reliance Entertainment, the largest player in the Indian film industry, is making an ambitious play in the US entertainment market by quietly buying up cinemas across the U.S. and is poised to launch in April as a coast-to-coast chain. Recently, George Soros paid $100 million for a 5% stake in Reliance, which has 250 screens in 28 North American locations, including Washington DC, New York, New Jersey, Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, San Jose, Los Angeles, Washington state. The company plans to rename the US sites "Big Cinemas" as their renovations are completed, and says most of the sites are close to centers of ex-pat Indian and Asian populations. The company's objective is not to force the pace of crossover by Bollywood movies but to play popular movies from a wider range of sources, including popular Chinese or Korean cinema. The company's expansion into the US entertainment market, which is likely to be followed by moves into other countries, is one of several efforts to diversify into the entertainment industry. With major positions in telecommunications, broadband Internet, video, radio, movie production and post-production, Reliance has also unveiled plans to offer up to 20 TV channels and is weeks away from launching India's fourth satellite TV platform. Overall, the move underlines Indian companies' growing appetite for international properties and influence. (VarietyAsiaOnline, 3/26/08)

The Indian entertainment sector is expected to grow by 18% per year for the next four years, and could be worth $28.6 billion by 2011, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). PwC points to record inward foreign investment of $211 million and increased digitalization, and estimates that Internet advertising will hit $104 million in 2008, and touch $272 million in 2012. Film is expected to expand from $2.37 billion to $4.35 billion by 2012 as movie players discover revenue streams beyond the traditional box office such as television, mobile, Internet, home video, merchandise, music, re-make rights, and several branded entertainment opportunities. TV, where most of the foreign investment has gone, is forecast to grow from $5.59 billion to $14.8 billion by 2012. (VarietyAsiaOnline.com, 3/25/06)

Japan Baseball

2008-03-25T20:21:00.000-07:00

The Orix Buffaloes will accept a ruling that effectively allows the Softbank Hawks to sign with RHP Jeremy Powell following a contract dispute between the two Japanese League clubs, a senior Orix official said. Orix said it would back off from its bid to acquire Powell after acting Japanese baseball commissioner Yasuchika Negoro issued a ruling in favor of Softbank. Orix and Softbank both announced the acquisition of Powell in January, claiming the validity of their respective deals. Powell has made clear his intention of joining the Hawks, who offered the more lucrative of the two deals. (JapanBall.com, 3/25/08)

China Entertainment

2008-03-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

Nineyou International, a developer and publisher of online games in China, has raised $100 million in private equity funding from Temasek Holdings from Singapore. Shanghai-based Nineyou withdrew plans for a $154 million IPO in Japan last year, after two Korean companies threatened legal action over disputed game licenses. (Digital Media Wire, 3/25/08)

India Business

2008-03-25T10:39:00.000-07:00

Tata Motors, India's top carmaker, announced a deal for British luxury automakers Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford for $2.3 billion. Ford paid for $2.5billion for Jaguar in 1989 and $2.8billion for Land Rover in March 2000. The deal obligates Ford to pay about $600 million into the Jaguar-Land Rover pension fund on closing, so Ford will net only about $1.7 billion. (Los Angeles Times, 3/25/08)

Japan Business

2008-03-19T17:37:00.001-07:00

Toshiba is likely to report a loss of about $986 million at its HD DVD business for the year, after deciding to discontinue the format and cede victory to Sony's Blu-ray format. Production line changes and other charges associated with the shuttering will double the loss that Toshiba had previously expected. (Digital Media Wire, 3/19/08)

Wal-Mart said it will buy the remaining 4% of Seiyu, Japan's fifth-biggest retailer by sales, that it doesnt already own as Wal-Mart seeks the flexibility it says it needs to turn around the money-losing supermarket operator. Since entering the Japanese market in 2002, Wal-Mart has been gradually raising its stake in Seiyu, which has about 400 stores nationwide. But Wal-Mart has also struggled to make money in Japan as Japanese still prefer to go to smaller neighborhood stores for everyday food and other needs. In addition, Wal-Mart's "Everyday Low Price" strategy has backfired in Japan, where consumers tend to equate low prices with low quality. Overall, Wal-Mart's track record at its international operations has been uneven. While its business has flourished in Mexico and Latin America, shopping cultures in other regions, such as Asia, have failed to respond to the sales format that proved successful in the US. (Los Angeles Times, 3/19/08)

International Sports

2008-03-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC) said it has agreed sponsorship agreements worth about $709 million, more than 90% of its overall target of $760 million. The figures were released as part of VANOC's latest quarterly report, which also showedd that operating expenses are climbing as venue-construction costs decline. The 2010 Winter Olympics run from 2/12-28/10 in Vancouver, Canada and its surrounding areas. (SportBusiness.com, 3/17/08)

China Business

2008-03-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

Youku.com, the China-based video-sharing website, has teamed with social networking site MySpace in hopes of becoming China’s version of YouTube. Launched in December 2006, Youku sees over 100 million daily video views, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. (Digital Media Wire, 3/14/08)

India Entertainment

2008-03-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

According to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry of India, foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Indian entertainment sector amounted to $215 million in the nine months from March to December 2007, compared with a mere $44 million 2006. The previous highest year for FDI was 2000-01 with $81.5 million. In recent months, Western entertainment conglomerates have been very active in this area, including Disney's enlarged stake in UTV Software Communications, Viacom's co-investment with the TV 18 Group, Turner Entertainment's commitment to a joint venture with Alva Bros, and most recently NBC Universal's stake in NDTV. (VarietyAsiaOnline.com, 3/14/08)

China Business

2008-03-13T22:37:00.000-07:00

According to research from Beijing-based BDA, based on data from the China Internet Network Information Center, China had 210 million internet users at the end of 2007, compared to Nielsen/NetRatings findings of 216 million in the US. BDA said that, based on the pace of growth in China, and now that the first quarter of 2008 is nearly finished, it is safe to assume the country has surpassed the U.S. in total internet users. (Digital Media Wire, 3/13/08)

India Entertainment

2008-03-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

In a significant move which is a first for a Bollywood label, Eros International has reached an agreement to have its movie titles distributed in Wal-Mart's 27 Canadian stores. Over time, Eros will make available a large number of titles from its catalogue of over 1300 titles as well as its 30-40 new releases every year and they will be distributed throughout Wal-Mart's entire Canadian network. (VarietyAsiaOnline.com, 3/11/08)

Japan Baseball

2008-03-08T18:21:00.000-08:00

A new independent baseball league in Japan is taking shape with four clubs expected to be established ahead of its inauguration scheduled for 2009. The organizers of the new league, located in the Kansai western Japan region, said its inaugural season will have one team each in Wakayama and Osaka prefectures and two in Hyogo with a plan to expand it to eight teams in the future. The Wakayama-based Kyshu Rangers were founded last December ahead of the establishment of the three others slated for April. Each team will have 20 players on its roster and play 72 games in a season. Annual salaries for the players have been set at a uniform 1.8 million yen with bonus payments being considered depending on the league's business performance. Currently, there are two independent professional baseball leagues in Japan. The Shikoku-Kyushu Island League features teams in the two islands in western and southwestern Japan while the BC League accommodates clubs in the Hokuriku area as well as in Nagano and Gunma prefectures. (JapanBall.com, 3/8/08)

Asia Business

2008-03-05T08:45:00.000-08:00

Acer, the Taiwanese computer company, overtook Dell to become the world's second largest notebook-computer maker, behind only Hewlett-Packard, after acquiring Gateway last fall. HP controls 20% of the global market, with Acer at 16% and Dell at 14%. Chinese company Lenovo is ranked fourth. (Los Angeles Times, 3/5/08)

Six Flags, the world's largest theme park company, announced it would develop a thrill park in Dubai, UAE as part of a massive entertainment and amusement complex to be known as Dubailand, a 3-billion square foot project that will include restaurants, htoels, Universal Studios Dubailand and DreamWorks Animation Park, and is scheduled for groundbreaking in 2009. This is the first project for Six Flags to be developed outside of the North America. (Los Angeles Times, 3/5/08)

February 2008

2008-02-29T22:51:00.000-08:00

Baseball
The Los Angeles Dodgers rewarded All-Star closer RHP Takashi Saito (38) with a one-year contract for $2 million, plus another $200,000 in performance bonuses. The Dodgers also signed Japanese RHP Hiroki Kuroda (32) to a three-year contract worth a reported $35.2 million in December. (Los Angeles Times, 2/13/08)

The San Diego Padres announced that they have established a working agreement with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters from Japan. The Padres agreement with the Fighters will allow the clubs to engage in an exchange of scouting information as well as assistance in scouting efforts. The Fighters were Japan Series champions in 2006 and the Pacific League champions in 2007. (JapanBall.com, 2/21/08)

Tickets have sold out for MLB's season-opening series between the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics in Tokyo, Japan on 3/25-26/08. Boston LHP Hideki Okajima could be the lone Japanese pitcher for the World Series champions in the two-game series, as RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka may miss the series because his wife is expecting to give birth around that time. (Yahoo!Sports, 2/21/08)

In an on-going issue that seems without resolution, Japanese baseball commissioner Yasuchika Negoro ruled that a resolution submitted by the Pacific League giving the Softbank Hawks the right to acquire RHP Jeremy Powell over the Orix Buffaloes in a contract dispute will be scrapped. The Pacific League had ruled that Softbank had the rights to the 31-year-old after Powell signed contracts with both Orix and Softbank during the off-season. This issue arose when Softbank announced on 1/29/08 that it had signed a contract with Powell nearly three weeks after Orix announced their acquisition of Powell. The Pacific League and president Tadao Koike initially ruled that both contracts were valid, but that Powell was the property of the Hawks - who checked with the PL office before attempting to sign the right-hander, and were told he was still a free agent - and the pitcher would be suspended for the first three months of the season for "causing trouble between the clubs," unless the teams can reach a deal on compensation. The Nippon Pro Baseball Players Association did not file a grievance on Powell's behalf. (JapanBall.com, 2/21/08)

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced the signing of Korean RHP Byung-Hyun Kim (29) that will pay Kim $850,000 this year, with the possibility of incentives increasing that salary by $1 million. Pitching for the Marlins, Rockies and Diamondbacks last year, Kim went 10-8 with a 6.08 ERA. (MLB Press Release, 2/24/08)

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Basketball
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Fujian Peak Group (Peak) have agreed to a new multi-year marketing partnership in China. This partnership between the WNBA and Peak underscores a series of firsts, including the first time the WNBA is entering China, the first partnership that focuses on the promotion of women's basketball in China, and the first time that WNBA players are being endorsed by a Chinese corporation. (NBA Press Release, 2/16/08)

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Golf
The Phoenix Coyotes announced a one-year sponsorship deal with PGA Tour golfer Jeff Quinney. As part of the deal, Quinney will wear a shirt featuring the Coyotes logo during all PGA Tour events in 2008. (Veritix.com Newsletter, 2/7/08)

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Other Sports
Electronic Arts (EA) announced a multi-year strategic partnership with IMG for marketing and licensing in sports and entertainment. Under the agreement, IMG will partner with EA to license and market its brand in a variety of new product categories, which could include sports camps, gaming lounges, publishing products, performance apparel and more.
(ProSportsGroup.com, 2/14/08)

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China
The 2008 Beijing Olympics will be broadcast in Chinese and Korean by NBC for the first time ever in the US. NBC and Multicultural Radio will co-produce the new language coverage, which will focus on team events such as soccer, baseball and basketball, as well as offering daily highlights in Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese. NBC will also show the majority of its English language coverage in Spanish on its Telemundo network while Oxygen, a female orientated network recently acquired by NBC, will show equestrian, tennis, rhythmic gymnastics and synchronized swimming. (SportBusiness.com, 2/18/08)

Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle doubled his holdings in Chinese media company Xinhua Finance Media to 12% with the purchase of $30 million in convertible stock. Xinhua sells ads for financial publications and TV/radio stations in China. (Los Angeles Times, 2/20/08)

China Central Television (CCTV) has agreed to partnerships with social networking site MySpace China and online-video site Tudou.com to run an interactive website for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The CCTV Olympic Website, which can only be viewed in China, will offer streaming video broadcasts of events and Web profiles through which users can contact Olympic athletes. (SportBusiness.com, 2/28/08)

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India
Four minority domestic investors in Sony Entertainment India, have taken the company to court over demands on them for capital to finance SET's commitments to the upcoming IPL tournament. SET India, which operates channels like Sony, MAX, SAB TV and AXN, recently asked shareholders to infuse fresh equity of $40 million, a bid which was turned down. The four investors, Shemaroo Entertainment Managing Director Raman Maroo, actor Jackie Shroff, World Media Group Director Sudesh Iyer and MobiApps Holding's Jayesh Parekh instead demanded that their stake be sold through an initial public offer, which the parent company has refused. A case has been filed in the Bombay High Court, terming the capital call illegal. (SportBusiness.com, 2/20/08)

Disney has agreed to pay $230 million to increase its investment in leading Indian entertainment group UTV Software Communications with the company paying $200 million to up its stake in UTV from 14% to 32%, and a further $30 million for a 15% stake in UTV Global Broadcasting, a subsidiary which controls new TV channels including youth oriented Bindass and its spin-off nets. Disney took its initial stake in the group in 2006 when it bought UTV's kids channel Hungama. Other Hollywood conglomerates have recently been expanding their operations in India as well, including NBC Universal, and Viacom, who merged most of its Indian businesses with the TV18 group to form Viacom 18. (VarietyAsiaOnline.com, 2/20/08)

The Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF), Omidyar Network, and Google announced a new $17 million investment company for small and medium-size businesses in India, "to create job opportunities and spur greater economic participation for a larger segment of the population." The investment company will target equity investments between $500,000 and $3.5 million. (Digital Media Wire, 2/20/08)

January 2008

2008-01-31T22:47:00.000-08:00

Baseball
The Kansas City Royals announced the signing of Japanese RHP Hideo Nomo (38) to a minor league contract worth $600,000 for making the roster and a chance to earn $100,000 in performance bonuses. (MLB Press Release, 1/4/08)

The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed veteran Japanese RHP Masumi Kuwata (40) to a minor league contract in a return to the Pirates organization after he made his major league debut on 6/10/07 and finished with a 0-1 record with a 9.43 ERA in 19 relief appearances. (JapanBall.com,
1/10/08)

The Chicago Cubs announced the signing of former Yakult Swallows RHP Shingo Takatsu (39) to a minor league contract. Takatsu, the all-time saves record holder in Japan with 286, played in the majors in 2004-2005 with the Chicago White Sox and New York Mets with a combined record of 8-6 with 27 saves and a 3.38 earned run average. (JapanBall.com, 1/23/08)

EMC, a data storage and management company, announced an expansion of its partnership with the Boston Red Sox to include the team's regular season opening series in Japan. The centerpiece of the sponsorship is a commemorative sleeve patch featuring EMC's logo on the team's jerseys, the first corporate logo ever to grace the team's uniform. EMC also becomes an official sponsor of MLB in Japan, part of its fastest-growing market throughout most of 2007. (JapanBall.com, 1/23/08)

The Seattle Mariners have signed RHP Kenta Suda (18) to a minor-league contract. In 2007, Suda pitched for the Nomo Baseball Club, a nonprofit amateur team in Osaka, established by pitcher Hideo Nomo. (JapanBall.com, 1/23/08)

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Basketball
Kia Motors America and the NBA have agreed to a new multi-year marketing partnership that designates Kia as the Official Automotive Partner of the NBA. It is the first ever multi-year marketing partnership deal that Kia Motors America has entered into with any sports league. Under the deal, Kia Motors will present a new series of on-court performance awards that include four of the NBA's most prestigious year-end honors, including the Most Valuable Player Award, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man Award, and Most Improved Player, which will be grouped together into a single series called "The NBA Performance Awards Presented by Kia." The deal was negotiated on behalf of Kia Motors America by IMG. (SportBusiness.com, 1/14/08)

Disney, Hong Kong businessman Li Ka-Shing and three Chinese financiers have invested $253 million in NBA China, a new sports rights body that aims to harness the huge popularity of basketball in China. The investors stake buys them 11% of NBA China and gives an initial value of $2.3 billion for NBA China. Disney is buying 5% while the Li Ka-Shing Foundation, Bank of China, China Merchants Bank and Legend Holdings, parent of computer giant Lenovo, split the remaining 6%. NBA China will have the right to create teams in China, and will own all broadcasting rights and merchandising, and in an unusual move in China, it will retain some ownership in teams created in the country. In related news, Chinese New Year celebrations which begin in February will see the launch of "Kung Fu Dunk," a basketball-martial arts movie starring pop music sensation Jay Chou and is expected to be one of the biggest Chinese-language movies of the year. As for Li, who owns stakes in numerous media groups including Tom.com and Golden Harvest, he recently paid over $60 million for a slice of social networking website Facebook. (VarietyAsiaOnline.com, 1/15/08)

The NBA and Turner Sports are expected to announce a deal for Turner to manage the league's digital properties, including the 24-hour cable channel NBA TV. The NBA would still own the properties but hand over the day-to-day operations to Turner Sports, which has been a NBA TV partner for 20 years and also runs such digital properties as NASCAR.com and PGAtour.com. (HollywoodReporter.com, 1/17/08)

The NBA will stage its first-ever event in India with "Basketball without Borders", the league's global basketball development and community outreach program, in New Delhi from 7/3-6/08. Top young basketball players (ages 19 and under) from across Asia will come together in New Delhi to take part in basketball instruction and competition, and participate in motivational and life-skills seminars that promote education, leadership, character development and healthy living. (SportBusiness.com, 1/24/08)

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Other Sports
English Premier League soccer team Derby County has been acquired by General Sports and Entertainment (GSE), a Detroit-based firm which owns several minor league basketball and hockey teams, in a deal estimated at $100M. Tom Glick, a former chief marketing officer for the New Jersey Nets, will be brought in as a new president and chief executive. (ProSportsGroup.com, 1/28/08)

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China
Baidu, the most popular Chinese-language Internet search engine, has launched a Japanese service, its first local-language service outside China, which will focus on search engines for mobile phones. The search engine has double the market share of Google in China. In Japan, it will compete against Google and Yahoo's Japanese subsidiary. (VarietyAsiaOnline.com, 1/24/08)

China Sports Industry International (CSII) and Tickets.com, an event ticketing solutions company, have agreed to a joint-venture to provide ticketing and ticketing-related services for sports and associated markets in China. The companies intend to open an office in Beijing during the first quarter of 2008 to provide sales, support and technical services. CSII negotiates sports sponsorships, manages major sports events and provides international sports public relations services in China under the auspices of the State General Administration of Sports, the governmental agency in charge of sports in China. (SportBusiness.com, 1/30/08)

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India
Desi Hits, a South Asian entertainment portal that features celebrity interviews, music videos, podcasts and blogs, announced that it has raised $5 million in its second round of financing, from Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Trident Capital and D.E. Shaw Group. San Francisco-based Desi Hits targets the world's South Asian (India), or "Desi" youth culture, and claims more than 10 million hits per month. (Digital Media Wire, 1/22/08)

NBC Universal agreed to pay $150 million for an initial 26% stake in New Delhi Television (NDTV) Networks, a leading Indian news broadcaster. The deal includes lifestyle channel NDTV Good Times, Hindi-language general entertainment net NDTV Imagine, channel consultancy business NDTV Emerging Markets, digital media business NDTV Convergence, media tech unit NDTV Labs and NGEN, a media processes outsourcing company. The Indian TV market is expected to grow at 16% annually moving forward. (VarietyAsiaOnline.com, 1/22/08)

World Sport Group and Sony Entertainment India acquired the global TV rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL), a new 20/20 format, in a 10-year deal worth $1.026 billion by outbidding Network Solutions Pvt., a consortium led by NDTV and ESPN-Star Sports. Eight IPL franchises will play 59 matches in 44 days starting 4/18/08. (SportBusiness.com, 1/22/08)

November 2007

2007-11-30T21:49:00.000-08:00

Baseball
Major League Baseball announced 2007 regular season total attendance of 79.5 million, up 4.5% from last year and up 18% from just five years ago. Four teams, the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants, sold more than 95% of their available ticket inventory, while four other teams topped 90%. Minor League Baseball also posted its fourth straight overall attendance record, with clubs combining to draw 42.8 million, up 2.6% from 2006. (MLB Press Release, 11/2/07)

As part of its continued efforts to grow the game of baseball globally, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) introduced a new online identity, www.IBAF.TV, which was timed to coincide with the kickoff of the 37th IBAF Baseball World Cup in Taiwan. (MLB Press Release, 11/9/07)

MLB announced that the Boston Red Sox will face the Oakland Athletics in Tokyo, Japan on 3/25-26/08 to open the 2008 MLB Season. Both MLB clubs will also play two games against teams from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). (MLB Press Release, 11/14/07)

The Cleveland Indians signed Japanese closer Masahide Kobayashi to a two-year contract through the 2009 season with a club option for 2010. The deal is reportedly worth $6.25 million with Kobayashi earning $3 million in each of the next two seasons and the 2010 club option worth $3.25 million with a $250,000 buyout. Kobayashi (age 33) spent the last nine seasons for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League where he averaged over 30 saves over each of the last seven seasons from 2001-2007. (JapanBall.com, 11/20/07)

In addition to the Japanese players recently signed by MLB teams, there are other top free agents, including: Kosuke Fukudome, OF, Chunichi Dragons; Hiroki Kuroda, RHP, Hiroshima Carp; Kenshin Kawakami, RHP, Chunichi Dragons; Masafumi Hirai, RHP, Chunichi Dragons; Takahiro Arai, 1B-3B, Hiroshima Carp; Kazuhiro Wada, OF, Seibu Lions; and Kazuo Fukumori, Rakuten Golden Eagles. (USA Today, 11/23/07)

Nippon Ham Fighters RHP Darvish Yu became the second youngest MVP in Japanese baseball history when he was named the Pacific League MVP for the 2007 season after going 15-5 with a 1.82 ERA in 26 starts. He led the PL with 210 strikeouts and 12 complete games and had the second best ERA in the league. Teammate and PL batting champion Atsunori Inaba finished second. Yomiuri Giants third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara won his second consecutive MVP award when he was named the Central League MVP after hitting .313 with 31 homers and 88 RBIs in 142 games. Teammate and closer Koji Uehara finished second. The Rookie of the Year awards went to Hanshin Tigers RHP Keiji Uezono
(8-5, 2.42 ERA) and Rakuten Eagles RHP Masahiro Tanaka (11-7, 3.82 ERA and 196 SO). (JapanBall.com, 11/28/07)

Los Angeles Dodgers assistant general manager Kim Ng has been chosen to be part of the Young Leaders Forum for The National Committee on US-China Relations (www.ncuscr.org). The Young Leaders Forum (YLF), now in its sixth year, provides an opportunity to enhance the dialogue between the two countries and build lasting economic, geopolitical and cultural ties among the people of both nations. (Los Angeles Times, 11/28/07)

The Kansas City Royals announced the signing of RHP Yasuhiko Yabuta to a $6 million, two-year contract. He will compete for a spot as the team's primary setup man. Trey Hillman, who spent the past five years managing the Nippon Ham Fighters before being hired last month by the Royals, was helpful in persuading Yabuta to come to Kansas City. (JapanBall.com, 11/28/07)

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Basketball
The National Basketball Association and Fujian Peak Group Co. ("Peak"), an athletic footwear company, have agreed to a new multi-year marketing partnership in China. Peak, who signed Shane Battier to an endorsement deal in 2006, started in the early 90's when it became China's first corporation to manufacture large-sized sports shoes. The company has also been the official sponsor for the FIBA Basketball European League All Star Games since 2005. (NBA Press Release, 11/6/07)

According to press reports, each of the 17 teams in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) will have to guarantee airtime before being allowed into next season's league due to low ratings and decreased marketing opportunities within the CBA as a result of the departure of stars like LiJiang Yi (Milwaukee Bucks) and Yao Ming (Houston Rockets) to the NBA. Unlike in the US, where broadcasters pay huge sums for the rights to broadcast the NBA, CBA teams have to pay local TV stations to cover their games. For example, the Fujian Sports Channel charged over $40K for live coverage of home and away games last year. This means problems for teams like Fujian Xunxing, Shaanxi Dongsheng, Yunnan Honghe, Shanxi Zhongyu, Zhejiang Horses and Zhejiang Guangsha, all of which failed to reach any agreement with local television stations last season. Two years ago, CBA viewership peaked at 315 million but saw only 250 million people last season. (This according to www.sina.com, citing data from Infront, the Swiss sports management group which manages the CBA.) This year, the CBA season is being shortened by three months to allow for the national team's Olympic preparations. State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) will broadcast 96 NBA games this season, but only 41 CBA games, many of which will be cut short to give equal billing to gymnastics and table-tennis. (VarietyAsiaOnline.com, 11/30/07)

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Golf
The golf industry in China faces a severe blow if changes to a land usage tax are implemented in the coming months. Under the changes, golf courses and properties such as apartment complexes will be taxed for each square meter of land used with only "countryside" courses exempt. This tax would be in addition to an already existing 23+% tax that golf clubs are subject to as "entertainment venues," similar to discos and karaoke bars. (Golfweek, 11/4/07)

After months of negotiations Quiksilver agreed to sell Cleveland Golf to SRI Sports, parent of Srixon, for $132.5 million. Quiksilver acquired Cleveland Golf when it purchased Rossignol Group in June 2005. (GolfWorld.com, 11/9/07)

The LPGA Tour announced its policy for drug testing that will begin in February 2008, making it the first pro golf organization to require randomly selected players to prove that they are "clean." The policy is similar to the outline released by the PGA Tour, which will not begin testing its players until July 2008. The LPGA will suspend players one year for a first positive test, two years for the second offense and a lifetime ban for any more violations. It will not discriminate between performance-enhancing drugs and recreational drugs. (Los Angeles Times, 11/15/07)

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Other Sports
NBC's Action Sports Tour and Beijing Xingyi New Media Investment Co. announced plans for AST China to be held in Beijing in April 2008. The deal gives Xingyi control of sponsorship and media rights in China for the event while it pays a licensing and sanctioning fee to AST for running the competition. AST retains international media rights for the event. AST China will feature vert and park skateboarding competitions showcasing 8 to 10 AST Dew Tour athletes and 4 Asian athletes. (Sports Business Journal, 11/4/07)

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China
China Mobile, the country's largest mobile network, revealed that it is in talks with Apple to distribute the iPhone in China, although no deal is in place and revenue-sharing issues are still being discussed. China Mobile says it has around 350 million subscribers, almost 1.5 the size of the entire U.S. market, its existing mobile music service has over 60 million users, and it has sold more than 240 million ringtones. (Digital Media Wire, 11/13/07)

Linktone, a provider of mobile entertainment and advertising services in China, announced that Indonesian media firm PT Media Nusantara Citra (MNC) has agreed to purchase at least 51% of its outstanding shares. MNC is the largest and only integrated media company in Indonesia, with business operations in content production and distribution, TV networks, newspapers, tabloids, radio networks and online media. (Digital Media Wire, 11/28/07)

Billionaire Hong Kong businessman Li Kai-Shing has reportedly invested $60M in social networking website Facebook in a deal that may pave the way for cooperation between Facebook and Tom.com, an Internet group that Li controls. The deal would appear to give Li no more than a 0.4% stake in the company although he may have an option to invest a further $60 million. Microsoft recently paid $240 million for a 1.6% stake, which would value Facebook at $15 billion. (VarietyAsiaOnline.com, 11/30/07)

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India
Indian sports broadcaster Nimbus was forced to sell its rights as official 'revenue-management company' for cricket's India-Pakistan series to Indian public-service broadcaster Doordarshan following a court ruling that the broadcaster who manages to bring in the most money from sponsors and advertisers gets the rights to marketing the tournament. As such, Doordarshan and Neo Sports will sell advertising and sponsorships independently on their respective channels. (SportBusiness.com, 11/5/07)

Satyam Computer Services, the Indian IT company, signed up as a sponsor for the FIFA World Cup and Official IT Services Provider to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. (SportBusiness.com, 11/27/07)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) fixed a minimum price for the TV rights for its new Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament at a minimum price of $59 million for the first year of a desired five-year deal. (SportBusiness.com, 11/28/07)

Paramount Digital Entertainment has agreed to a deal with Hungama Mobile to develop and distribute Paramount-branded mobile and interactive content in India. The move is seen as a sign that the studio, a late-bloomer in Asia, is getting serious about expansion in a market that will see the fastest theatrical growth in Asia in the coming five years. The country's one billion people spend $2 billion on movie tickets each year, a figure which is expected to increase 30% by 2012. Hollywood movies have a market share less than 10% of total box office in the country. (VarietyAsiaOnline.com, 11/29/07)

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Japan
Booming overseas sales and a favorable currency rate helped send Toyota to a fiscal first-half profit record. Toyota appears to remain on track to surpass General Motors as the world's top automaker for a full-year as soon as later this year. The company also raised its forecast for the full fiscal year. (Los Angeles Times, 11/8/07)

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Korea
Universal Parks & Resorts agreed on plans to build a $3.2 billion theme park just south of Seoul, Korea. The park is set to open in 2012 and will include hotels, a convention center, golf courses, and an outlet mall. (Los Angeles Times, 11/27/07)

KBS World, an international channel operated by Korean pubcaster KBS, will begin broadcasting to viewers in southern California through Time Warner Cable on 12/1/07. The deal adds 2 million subscribers in 216 cities to bring the channel's reach in the U.S. to 20 million viewers. KBS World debuted in the US in 2004 and is available in New York, New Jersey, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, Hawaii, and through the DISH Network. It has set a goal of 50 million U.S. subscribers by 2010. (VarietyAsiaOnline.com, 11/30/07)

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Other Business
The market for premium mobile content in the Asia-Pacific region grew 57.4% in 2006 to $5.98 billion, an estimated $4.62 billion of which went to third-party content providers as opposed to being retained by mobile operators, according to a report from Frost & Sullivan. Mobile entertainment services accounted for 68.5% of total premium content revenues ($4.09 billion), with mobile music and video representing 12.1% ($495 million). The firm predicts that revenue from mobile music and video applications in the region will grow to 21.6% ($3.1
billion) of the total $22.38 billion market by 2012. (Digital Media Wire, 11/5/07)

October 2007

2007-10-31T20:24:00.000-07:00

Baseball
2006 Central League MVP Kosuke Fukudome (OF, Chunichi Dragons) and Takahiro Arai (3B, Hiroshima Carp) are among the 68 players eligible to become free agents this year. Fukudome is 29 days short of the service time needed for free agency in Japanese baseball, but he gained eligibility under a new rule aimed at helping injured players. Other players meeting the free agency requirements for the first time include Hitoki Iwase (RP, Chunichi Dragons), Kazuhiro Wada (OF, Seibu Lioins), Masahide Kobayashi (RP, Lotte Marines), Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi (SP, Hanshin Tigers), Daisuke Miura (SP, Yokohama BayStars), and Hiroki Kuroda (SP, Hiroshima Carp). Those players who file for free agency during seven business days after the end of the Japan Series will be allowed to negotiate a deal with any team, either in Japan or abroad, after their
names are posted by the commissioner's office as free agents. (Japanball.com, 10/22/07)

Major League Baseball International and Shanghai Media Group reached a three-year agreement this season that has the 2007 World Series being broadcast live in its entirety on Great Sports, China's leading cable sports channel. The agreement was launched in July with coverage of the 2007 All-Star Game and has continued on a weekly basis with a China-specific edition of "This Week in Baseball." The World Series, MLB All-Star Game and TWIB will air on Great Sports through 2009. (MLB Press Release, 10/22/07)

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Basketball
Following in the footsteps of the NBA, executives from Euroleague Basketball have met with city and sporting officials from Shanghai to forge sporting and business ties. A delegation, including Jordi Bertomeu, the Euroleague Basketball CEO, was in Shanghai for the first CBA-Euroleague Challenge, an event facilitated by Infront Asia's joint-venture with the Chinese Basketball Association. During the tournament, in which Benetton Basket Tamoil and CSKA Moscow faced Team China and the Sydney Kings, the parties discussed the joint development of events with the objective of promoting European basketball in Asia. (Sportbusiness.com, 10/1/07)

Following the hiring of Timothy Chen as CEO NBA China, NBA Commissioner David Stern elaborated on the league's long-term plans for settingup "the second NBA, the NBA of China." Stern said the project was "long-term," will involve working with the 16-team China Basketball Association, and that the NBA was seeking financing partners. 90% of the new subsidiary will be owned by the league while two 5% shares will be sold to Chinese investors and to a U.S. media company, reported to be the Walt Disney Company. (Sportbusiness.com, 10/17/07)

The NBA China Games 2007 were held between the Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Team China All-Stars in Shanghai and Macao from 10/17-20/07. The games aired nationwide on CCTV5 while the Shanghai Media Group and Guangdong TV aired each of the games locally in Shanghai and the Guangdong province, respectively. Last season, the NBA added 24 TV partners in China and currently has relationships with 51 TV stations that provided NBA programming to 34 million viewers per week and more than 1.2 billion viewers for the 2006-07 season. According the league, there are 300million people playing basketball in China with approximately 80% of males 15-24 in the top 11 cities of China considering themselves NBA fans and 20% of traffic to NBA.com coming from China. (Sportbusiness.com, 10/18/07)

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Golf
In March 2008, Gatorade will launch 'Gatorade Tiger', a new drink developed in conjunction with golfing superstar Tiger Woods, marking the golfer's first US deal with a beverage company. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Golfweek magazine reported it was for five years and could pay Woods as much as $100 million. (Sportbusiness.com, 10/17/07)

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Other Sports
The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are expected to break TV advertising records with over $182 billion being spent next year, up from $169.9 billion in 2007, according to ZenithOptimedia. (Sportbusiness.com, 10/3/07)

VANOC, the organizing committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada said that it will exceed its 2007 sponsorship target of $65 million by at least $15 million. The overall sponsorship revenue target is $760 million. (Sportbusiness.com, 10/22/07)

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China
China Minsheng Banking Corp. agreed to purchase a 9.9% stake in UCBH of San Francisco, the parent of United Commercial Bank, in the first US strategic investment by a mainland Chinese bank. Earlier this year, UCBH purchased Shanghai-based Business Development Bank for $205 million. (Los Angeles Times, 10/9/07)

YUM Brands, the operator of KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, reported a 28% profit growth in its China division and 21% growth in its international division, compared to only 1% growth in the US operation, for the latest quarter. (Wall Street
Journal, 10/9/07)

Alibaba.com, the Chinese leader in online business-to-business service, announced plans for an initial public offering which is expected to raise as much as $1.3billion, the largest ever by a Chinese internet company. In August 2005, Yahoo! swapped $1billion and its China unit for a 40% stake in the parent company of Alibaba.com. (Wall Street Journal, 10/22/07)

Citic Securities Co., China's government controlled investment bank, and Bear Stearns agreed to invest $1billion in each other, giving the US firm an entrance into the insular Chinese financial sector. Under the deal, Citic will acquire between a 6-9% stake and Bear Stearns will acquire between a 2-5% stake in the other entity. The companies also agreed to jointly offer capital marketing services across Asia. (Los Angeles Times, 10/23/07)

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Japan
Wal-Mart announced it would spend $875million to take full-ownership of its money-losing Japanese subsidiary Seiyu Ltd. Wal-Mart has stuck with the Seiyu brand, familiar to Japanese, instead of using the Wal-Mart name, but Seiyu has struggled amid intense competition from smaller retail chains, as well as from major local companies that are introducing larger stores and price cutting. (Los Angeles Times, 10/23/07)

September 2007

2007-09-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

Baseball
The Chinese National Team will become the first international team to participate in the Arizona Fall League (AFL), continuing the ongoing effort by MLB to help develop the squad as it trains for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The 16th season of the AFL will begin on 10/9/07. Team USA, a national team of non-40-man-roster players from MLB organizations, also will participate in the AFL. Former Major League manager Jim Lefebvre and pitching coach Bruce Hurst will lead the Chinese team on the field. Team China is training at the complex of the San Diego Padres in Peoria, Arizona. (MLB Press Release, 9/25/07)

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Basketball
The NBA and the Walt Disney Company, the sponsor of the NBA's 2004 "China Games" that sent the Sacramento Kings and the Houston Rockets to Beijing and Shanghai for two games, are nearing a deal that has the entertainment giant buying a minority stake in the league's nascent NBA China entity. The dollar value of Disney's expected investment is not known, but some estimates have the value of NBA's China operations at up to $2 billion. (Sports Business Journal, 9/19/07)

The NBA has named Tim Chen, CEO of Microsoft Greater China, as CEO of NBA China, a new enterprise created in April to encapsulate all of the league's businesses in Greater China. NBA China will be governed by a Board of Directors that will include NBA owners, representatives of outside investors as well as Commissioner David Stern, Adam Silver, and Heidi Ueberroth, among others. The NBA is conducting more than 170 special events in 112 cities in Greater China including the NBA China Games 2007, three pre-season games in Shanghai and Macao in October. (Sportbusiness.com, 9/19/07)

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Other Sports
Tokyo formally submitted its candidacy to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, with local government proposing to build a new main stadium in the Harumi waterfront district for the opening and closing ceremonies and the track and field events. Tokyo is bidding against Rio de Janeiro, Prague, Chicago and Qatari capital Doha for the right to host the Games. The International Olympic Committee will select a host city in October 2009. (Sportbusiness.com, 9/12/07)

August 2007

2007-08-31T21:03:00.000-07:00

China
NetEase.com, the Chinese provider of online games and other Internet services, reported that 2007 2Q net profit decreased slightly ($41.1 million vs. $41.3 million) compared to the same quarter in 2006 due to increased competition in the Chinese Internet industry. The company said it planned to expand its game portfolio, develop its Internet portal business, and generate more revenue from its email business. (Wall Street Journal, 8/6/07)

McDonalds is joining forces with the International Olympic Committee and China Central Television to produce a reality show-style competition that will award 300 children the chance to attend the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Children across China will take exams and participate in an art and essay competition in which they try to impress judges by explaining what the Beijing Olympics theme, "One World, One Dream," means to them. Chinese students along with children from the rest of the world will then compete is a series of televised contests, from quiz shows to athletic competitions, to determine the winners. McDonalds, who has fewer outlets in China than its main rival, Yum Brands' KFC, plans to increase outlets in China from 810 to over 1000 by the time the Beijing Olympics begin in 8/08. (Wall Street Journal, 8/9/07)

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Japan
The top two banks in Japan, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group, reported sharp declines in their earnings for the 2006 April-June quarter, indicating that they are struggling to expand their businesses despite rising interest rates in the country. Both banks said that exposure to securities related to US subprime debt did not have a discernible impact on earnings. (Wall Street Journal, 8/1/07)

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Other Business
Hollywood producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein have launched a $285 million fund that will invest in Asian-themed projects, including an action film about Chinese folk heroine Hua Mulan, a remake of the 1954 Akira Kurosawa classic "The Seven Samurai," and "The Forbidden Kingdom," featuring Jackie Chan and Jet Li, which is currently filming in China. The company said its hopes to take advantage of lower costs by shooting in Asia, while adding a "Western sensibility" to produce movies that appeal to Asian and Western markets. (Wall Street
Journal, 8/9/07)

July 2007

2007-07-31T21:02:00.000-07:00

Baseball
The Japan Professional Baseball Players Association (JPBPA) voted unanimously for greater rights for players regarding free agency and a range of other issues, moving a step nearer to launching a court battle in an effort to improve player status. The JPBPA plans to file a lawsuit by the end of the year and continue labor-management talks with Nippon Professional Baseball even after court action starts. It has already brought the issue of control of players' imaging rights to court, with action currently being taken in the Intellectual Property High Court. (Japan Times, 7/21/07)

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Other Sports
General Motors said it would not renew its $1 billion sponsorship of the US Olympic Committee when its contract ends after 2008 as a result of changes in its marketing strategy. (Wall Street Journal, 7/8/07)

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China
In another move that blurs the line between advertising and media content, WPP Group is producing its own reality television show in China, along with RTL Group, sports-media company Kickworldwide, and state-owned Hunan TV, entitled "Soccer Prince," which will narrow a nation of young soccer players down to two stars, who will win yearlong apprenticeships with two English Premier League soccer teams, Everton and Bolton Wanderers. Nike has signed up as one of the initial sponsors. (Wall Street Journal, 7/7/07)

Baidu.com, the Chinese Internet-search provider, reported that its 2Q 2007 net profit more than doubled from a year earlier ($18.8 million), as it accounted for 58% of revenue in China's Internet-search market, ahead of US-based Google's 23%. (Wall Street Journal, 7/27/07)

June 2007

2007-06-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

Baseball
The New York Yankees signed Chinese amateur players pitcher Kai Liu and catcher Zhenwang Zhang to minor-league contracts. Lui (age 19) had been playing in the Chinese Baseball League with the Guangdong Leopards and was chosen to participate as a member of China's National Team. Zhang (age 19) helped lead the Tianjin Lions to the league championship in three of the past five seasons and played in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. (CBS Sportsline.com, 6/18/07)

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Basketball
Infront Sports & Media, the exclusive marketing partner to the China Basketball Association and China's national basketball team, has signed a deal with Excel Sports Management to develop an athlete representation basketball business in China. Excel currently represents NBA players Jason Kidd, Paul Pierce, Lamar Odom, among others. (Sportbusiness.com, 6/20/07)

Golf
Korean male K.J. Choi shot a final round 7-under 65 enroute to winning the Memorial Tournament at the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. The win was Choi's 5th career victory on the PGA Tour, and earned him $1.08 million. (Yahoo!Sports, 6/3/07)

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Other Sports
The Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee has hired Aramark to provide food services in the athletes village, media villages, international broadcast center and main press center during the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China. (Sports Business Journal, 6/10/07)

ESPN is buying Cric-info.com, the worlds largest specialist cricket website from British publishing company Wisden Group. Cric-info.com was founded in 1993 and has more than 7 million users each month. (Los Angeles Times, 6/12/07)

Yahoo! announced that it will acquire online college and high school sports site Rivals.com, which offers editorial content, college message boards, and extensive recruitment news on a network of more than 150 websites attracting over a combined 2 million unique visitors per month. (Digital Media Wire, 6/21/07)

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China
Google and Sina, the operator of China's most visited web portal, announced plans to cooperate on search services and advertising, giving the US-based search giant an ally as it seeks to wrest market share in China from local search leader Baidu.com. (Wall Street Journal, 6/12/07)

May 2007

2007-05-31T10:42:00.000-07:00

Baseball
Japan's Pacific League has created Pacific League Marketing, a joint licensing company focused primarily on digital media and wireless content as part of a broader effort to prop up the wavering economic fortunes of the Japanese Baseball League. Loosely modeled after MLB Advanced Media and MLB Properties, the 6 teams in the league have combined to make an initial investment of about $500,000. With the exception of the Yomiuri Giants, most Japanese baseball teams have operated at a loss throughout the years. (Sports Business Journal, 5/28/07)

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Basketball
The National Basketball Players Association has struck a business development deal with International Trust & Investment Corp.'s Citic Guoan Group, China's largest state-run investment company, to develop business opportunities for active and retired NBA players in China. (Sportbusiness.com, 5/10/07)

Tapping Chinese basketball star Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets as an equity partner, 24 Hour Fitness plans to open 20-30 workout facilities in the next five years throughout China. (Sports Business Journal, 5/20/07)

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Football
The NFL has agreed to a deal with Titan Media, the largest and most widely read sports newspaper in China, to increase the coverage of the NFL and American football. (Sportbusiness.com, 5/3/07)

The Arena Football League will face expiration of the patent for its game system, including its rules, netting and goal post configuration, on 9/30/07. The Arena Football Game System made the AFL the only sports league in history to play in a patent-protected game. (Sports Business Journal, 5/28/07)

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Other Sports
IMG announced its acquisition of Collegiate Licensing, the largest collegiate trademark licensing agency in the US, in a deal marking IMG's first foray into college sports, which the company believes has high-growth marketing potential, particularly overseas. (Wall Street Journal, 5/1/07)

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China
Avon reported that 1Q net income nearly tripled as the company saw strong international sales, particularly in China and Russia. Asian-Pacific sales soared 44% in China, reflecting further expansion of the company's direct-selling business, which contributed more than 50% of region's quarterly revenue. (Wall Street Journal, 5/2/07)

In a historic prelude to the Beijing Olympics, China will be represented in its first Rose Parade float in conjunction with Avery Dennison, a company based in Pasadena, California. (Los Angeles Times, 5/19/07)

Televisa, the Mexican TV network, announced a deal with the Chinese government to make Chinese versions of its most successful programming, including its soap operas, or novellas, which are already dubbed into more than 50 languages. (Los Angeles Times, 5/31/07)

April 2007

2007-04-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

Baseball
It was revealed that Japan's Seibu Lions paid rewards to 170 managers at amateur teams for their help in acquiring players over a 27-year period from 1978 to 2005. (Daily Yomiuri Online, 4/5/07)

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Basketball
Pearl River Brewery has agreed to become the official beer of Team China Basketball in a deal brokered by Infront Sports & Media, the exclusive marketing partner of the Chinese Basketball Association. (Sportbusiness.com, 4/6/07)

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Other Sports
CBS acquired MaxPreps.com, a high school network that provides scores, schedules, rankings and streaming videos, and will fold it under their CSTV unit. (Wall Street Journal, 4/12/07)

China's National Stadium Co. said the naming rights for the 91,000-seat Olympic Stadium in Beijing will be sold after the 2008 Summer Games with no restriction on foreign companies. (Sports Business Journal, 4/21/07)

ESPN Star Sports announced plans to launch Star Cricket, a dedicated cricket channel in India, in June 2007. ESPN Star Sports acquired the rights for the International Cricket Council (ICC), including the next two World Cups in 2011 and 2015, in a $1.1 billion deal. (Sportbusiness.com, 4/26/07)

The first 40,000 tickets for the New York Giants-Miami Dolphins game at Wembley Stadium in London on 10/28/07 sold out in 90 minutes. Those tickets were sold to European fans who had registered for a drawing to purchase tickets. (Sports Business Journal, 4/28/07)

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China
Ticketmaster is expanding its presence in China by helping to build a ticketing infrastructure for a joint venture formed by the Nederlanders, a major Broadway theatrical family, to present Broadway-style shows in China. (Wall Street Journal, 4/12/07)

Gome Electrical Appliances, China's largest electrical-appliance retailer, said net profit rose 64%, helped by China's booming consumer-electronics retail industry. (Wall Street Journal, 4/20/07)

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India
Hershey Co. agreed to pay about $60 million for a 51% equity stake in Godrej Beverages & Food, an Indian company that will help the US chocolate maker gain access to a fast-growing confectionary market. (Wall Street Journal, 4/13/07)

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Other Business
Marvel Entertainment has reached a deal with Al Ahli Group from United Arab Emirates (UAE) to license its superheroes, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Incredible Hulk, and the Fantastic Four, to a new theme park in Dubai. (Wall Street Journal, 4/12/07)

March 2007

2007-03-31T10:01:00.000-07:00

Baseball
MLB hosted the Chinese National Baseball Team for Spring Training in the United States and, for the first time, provided an opportunity for China's National Team players to train with various Major League Clubs, alongside professional players as teammates. A delegation of 37 players, coaches and officials trained at Scottsdale Community College under the tutelage of manager Jim Lefebvre, and pitching coach Bruce Hurst. MLB has supplied Lefebvre and Hurst to lead the China National Team program since 2003, and they will lead China into its first Olympic Games baseball tournament in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. (MLB Press Release, 3/13/07)

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Basketball
The William Morris Agency and NBA player agent Dan Fegan have signed Yi Jianlian, a 7-foot power forward from China, who is expected to be a top draft pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. Yi led his team, the Guangdong Tigers, to three consecutive Chinese Basketball Association championships and is ranked #7 by NBADraft.net. (Sports Business Journal, 3/18/07)

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Football
The NFL cancelled its planned pre-season exhibition game in China that was scheduled to take place in August 2007 in order to better focus its resources on the October 2007 game in London, the first regular-season game ever played outside the US. (SportBusiness.com, 3/4/07)

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Other Sports
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has agreed to purchase Japan-based Pride Fighting Championships for $65 million. Both the UFC and Pride stage MMA (mixed martial arts) bouts. (Sports Business Journal, 3/25/07)

The Chelsea Football Club has launched a Korean-language website following its five-year partnership with Samsung, which began in 2005. In January 2007, the club unveiled its Mandarin-language website for the Chinese market. (SportBusiness.com, 3/27/07)

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China
Focus Media, which is China's third largest advertising company, has agreed to acquire Chinese online advertising firm Allyes Information Technology for upto $300 million. Focus runs a network of thousand of flat screen TV's that display ads in stores, offices, theatres and apartment buildings, while Allyes is a provider of internet technology which allows advertisers to control creative production, ad tracking, targeting and performance analysis. (VarietyAsiaOnline.com, 3/2/07)

Fearful of soaring internet addiction and juvenile crime, China has banned the opening of new internet cafes in 2007. Currently, there are over 111,300 internet cafes and bars in China. (Reuters, 3/6/07)

Bear Stearns plans to form a $500 million fund to seek investments in China in a partnership with Huang Guangyu, one of China's most successful retailing entrepreneurs and founder of Gome Electrical Appliances Holding, the largest Chinese electronics retailer. (Wall Street Journal, 3/20/07)

IDG, Hearst, and News Corp. have invested in the New China Media Fund, which plans to release movies in China in theatres simultaneously with their DVD releases in a bid to stem piracy. (Digital Media Wire, 3/21/07)

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Japan
Matsuzakaya Holdings has agreed to a takeover by Daimaru in a deal valued at over $1.58 billion that would create Japan's biggest department-store chain. (Wall Street Journal, 3/15/07)

February 2007

2007-02-28T15:48:00.000-08:00

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)