Showing posts with label sony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sony. Show all posts
Monday, April 7, 2008
China Business
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)
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Japan Business
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)
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)
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
Thursday, January 31, 2008
January 2008
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
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