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)
Showing posts with label golf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label golf. Show all posts
Monday, May 12, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
February 2008
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
Friday, November 30, 2007
November 2007
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
Saturday, March 31, 2007
March 2007
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
February 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
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