Tuesday, March 11, 2008
India Entertainment
In a significant move which is a first for a Bollywood label, Eros International has reached an agreement to have its movie titles distributed in Wal-Mart's 27 Canadian stores. Over time, Eros will make available a large number of titles from its catalogue of over 1300 titles as well as its 30-40 new releases every year and they will be distributed throughout Wal-Mart's entire Canadian network. (VarietyAsiaOnline.com, 3/11/08)
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Japan Baseball
A new independent baseball league in Japan is taking shape with four clubs expected to be established ahead of its inauguration scheduled for 2009. The organizers of the new league, located in the Kansai western Japan region, said its inaugural season will have one team each in Wakayama and Osaka prefectures and two in Hyogo with a plan to expand it to eight teams in the future. The Wakayama-based Kyshu Rangers were founded last December ahead of the establishment of the three others slated for April. Each team will have 20 players on its roster and play 72 games in a season. Annual salaries for the players have been set at a uniform 1.8 million yen with bonus payments being considered depending on the league's business performance. Currently, there are two independent professional baseball leagues in Japan. The Shikoku-Kyushu Island League features teams in the two islands in western and southwestern Japan while the BC League accommodates clubs in the Hokuriku area as well as in Nagano and Gunma prefectures. (JapanBall.com, 3/8/08)
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Asia Business
Acer, the Taiwanese computer company, overtook Dell to become the world's second largest notebook-computer maker, behind only Hewlett-Packard, after acquiring Gateway last fall. HP controls 20% of the global market, with Acer at 16% and Dell at 14%. Chinese company Lenovo is ranked fourth. (Los Angeles Times, 3/5/08)
Six Flags, the world's largest theme park company, announced it would develop a thrill park in Dubai, UAE as part of a massive entertainment and amusement complex to be known as Dubailand, a 3-billion square foot project that will include restaurants, htoels, Universal Studios Dubailand and DreamWorks Animation Park, and is scheduled for groundbreaking in 2009. This is the first project for Six Flags to be developed outside of the North America. (Los Angeles Times, 3/5/08)
Six Flags, the world's largest theme park company, announced it would develop a thrill park in Dubai, UAE as part of a massive entertainment and amusement complex to be known as Dubailand, a 3-billion square foot project that will include restaurants, htoels, Universal Studios Dubailand and DreamWorks Animation Park, and is scheduled for groundbreaking in 2009. This is the first project for Six Flags to be developed outside of the North America. (Los Angeles Times, 3/5/08)
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)
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)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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)
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)
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
October 2007
Baseball
2006 Central League MVP Kosuke Fukudome (OF, Chunichi Dragons) and Takahiro Arai (3B, Hiroshima Carp) are among the 68 players eligible to become free agents this year. Fukudome is 29 days short of the service time needed for free agency in Japanese baseball, but he gained eligibility under a new rule aimed at helping injured players. Other players meeting the free agency requirements for the first time include Hitoki Iwase (RP, Chunichi Dragons), Kazuhiro Wada (OF, Seibu Lioins), Masahide Kobayashi (RP, Lotte Marines), Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi (SP, Hanshin Tigers), Daisuke Miura (SP, Yokohama BayStars), and Hiroki Kuroda (SP, Hiroshima Carp). Those players who file for free agency during seven business days after the end of the Japan Series will be allowed to negotiate a deal with any team, either in Japan or abroad, after their
names are posted by the commissioner's office as free agents. (Japanball.com, 10/22/07)
Major League Baseball International and Shanghai Media Group reached a three-year agreement this season that has the 2007 World Series being broadcast live in its entirety on Great Sports, China's leading cable sports channel. The agreement was launched in July with coverage of the 2007 All-Star Game and has continued on a weekly basis with a China-specific edition of "This Week in Baseball." The World Series, MLB All-Star Game and TWIB will air on Great Sports through 2009. (MLB Press Release, 10/22/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Basketball
Following in the footsteps of the NBA, executives from Euroleague Basketball have met with city and sporting officials from Shanghai to forge sporting and business ties. A delegation, including Jordi Bertomeu, the Euroleague Basketball CEO, was in Shanghai for the first CBA-Euroleague Challenge, an event facilitated by Infront Asia's joint-venture with the Chinese Basketball Association. During the tournament, in which Benetton Basket Tamoil and CSKA Moscow faced Team China and the Sydney Kings, the parties discussed the joint development of events with the objective of promoting European basketball in Asia. (Sportbusiness.com, 10/1/07)
Following the hiring of Timothy Chen as CEO NBA China, NBA Commissioner David Stern elaborated on the league's long-term plans for settingup "the second NBA, the NBA of China." Stern said the project was "long-term," will involve working with the 16-team China Basketball Association, and that the NBA was seeking financing partners. 90% of the new subsidiary will be owned by the league while two 5% shares will be sold to Chinese investors and to a U.S. media company, reported to be the Walt Disney Company. (Sportbusiness.com, 10/17/07)
The NBA China Games 2007 were held between the Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Team China All-Stars in Shanghai and Macao from 10/17-20/07. The games aired nationwide on CCTV5 while the Shanghai Media Group and Guangdong TV aired each of the games locally in Shanghai and the Guangdong province, respectively. Last season, the NBA added 24 TV partners in China and currently has relationships with 51 TV stations that provided NBA programming to 34 million viewers per week and more than 1.2 billion viewers for the 2006-07 season. According the league, there are 300million people playing basketball in China with approximately 80% of males 15-24 in the top 11 cities of China considering themselves NBA fans and 20% of traffic to NBA.com coming from China. (Sportbusiness.com, 10/18/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Golf
In March 2008, Gatorade will launch 'Gatorade Tiger', a new drink developed in conjunction with golfing superstar Tiger Woods, marking the golfer's first US deal with a beverage company. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Golfweek magazine reported it was for five years and could pay Woods as much as $100 million. (Sportbusiness.com, 10/17/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Other Sports
The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are expected to break TV advertising records with over $182 billion being spent next year, up from $169.9 billion in 2007, according to ZenithOptimedia. (Sportbusiness.com, 10/3/07)
VANOC, the organizing committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada said that it will exceed its 2007 sponsorship target of $65 million by at least $15 million. The overall sponsorship revenue target is $760 million. (Sportbusiness.com, 10/22/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
China
China Minsheng Banking Corp. agreed to purchase a 9.9% stake in UCBH of San Francisco, the parent of United Commercial Bank, in the first US strategic investment by a mainland Chinese bank. Earlier this year, UCBH purchased Shanghai-based Business Development Bank for $205 million. (Los Angeles Times, 10/9/07)
YUM Brands, the operator of KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, reported a 28% profit growth in its China division and 21% growth in its international division, compared to only 1% growth in the US operation, for the latest quarter. (Wall Street
Journal, 10/9/07)
Alibaba.com, the Chinese leader in online business-to-business service, announced plans for an initial public offering which is expected to raise as much as $1.3billion, the largest ever by a Chinese internet company. In August 2005, Yahoo! swapped $1billion and its China unit for a 40% stake in the parent company of Alibaba.com. (Wall Street Journal, 10/22/07)
Citic Securities Co., China's government controlled investment bank, and Bear Stearns agreed to invest $1billion in each other, giving the US firm an entrance into the insular Chinese financial sector. Under the deal, Citic will acquire between a 6-9% stake and Bear Stearns will acquire between a 2-5% stake in the other entity. The companies also agreed to jointly offer capital marketing services across Asia. (Los Angeles Times, 10/23/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Japan
Wal-Mart announced it would spend $875million to take full-ownership of its money-losing Japanese subsidiary Seiyu Ltd. Wal-Mart has stuck with the Seiyu brand, familiar to Japanese, instead of using the Wal-Mart name, but Seiyu has struggled amid intense competition from smaller retail chains, as well as from major local companies that are introducing larger stores and price cutting. (Los Angeles Times, 10/23/07)
2006 Central League MVP Kosuke Fukudome (OF, Chunichi Dragons) and Takahiro Arai (3B, Hiroshima Carp) are among the 68 players eligible to become free agents this year. Fukudome is 29 days short of the service time needed for free agency in Japanese baseball, but he gained eligibility under a new rule aimed at helping injured players. Other players meeting the free agency requirements for the first time include Hitoki Iwase (RP, Chunichi Dragons), Kazuhiro Wada (OF, Seibu Lioins), Masahide Kobayashi (RP, Lotte Marines), Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi (SP, Hanshin Tigers), Daisuke Miura (SP, Yokohama BayStars), and Hiroki Kuroda (SP, Hiroshima Carp). Those players who file for free agency during seven business days after the end of the Japan Series will be allowed to negotiate a deal with any team, either in Japan or abroad, after their
names are posted by the commissioner's office as free agents. (Japanball.com, 10/22/07)
Major League Baseball International and Shanghai Media Group reached a three-year agreement this season that has the 2007 World Series being broadcast live in its entirety on Great Sports, China's leading cable sports channel. The agreement was launched in July with coverage of the 2007 All-Star Game and has continued on a weekly basis with a China-specific edition of "This Week in Baseball." The World Series, MLB All-Star Game and TWIB will air on Great Sports through 2009. (MLB Press Release, 10/22/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Basketball
Following in the footsteps of the NBA, executives from Euroleague Basketball have met with city and sporting officials from Shanghai to forge sporting and business ties. A delegation, including Jordi Bertomeu, the Euroleague Basketball CEO, was in Shanghai for the first CBA-Euroleague Challenge, an event facilitated by Infront Asia's joint-venture with the Chinese Basketball Association. During the tournament, in which Benetton Basket Tamoil and CSKA Moscow faced Team China and the Sydney Kings, the parties discussed the joint development of events with the objective of promoting European basketball in Asia. (Sportbusiness.com, 10/1/07)
Following the hiring of Timothy Chen as CEO NBA China, NBA Commissioner David Stern elaborated on the league's long-term plans for settingup "the second NBA, the NBA of China." Stern said the project was "long-term," will involve working with the 16-team China Basketball Association, and that the NBA was seeking financing partners. 90% of the new subsidiary will be owned by the league while two 5% shares will be sold to Chinese investors and to a U.S. media company, reported to be the Walt Disney Company. (Sportbusiness.com, 10/17/07)
The NBA China Games 2007 were held between the Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Team China All-Stars in Shanghai and Macao from 10/17-20/07. The games aired nationwide on CCTV5 while the Shanghai Media Group and Guangdong TV aired each of the games locally in Shanghai and the Guangdong province, respectively. Last season, the NBA added 24 TV partners in China and currently has relationships with 51 TV stations that provided NBA programming to 34 million viewers per week and more than 1.2 billion viewers for the 2006-07 season. According the league, there are 300million people playing basketball in China with approximately 80% of males 15-24 in the top 11 cities of China considering themselves NBA fans and 20% of traffic to NBA.com coming from China. (Sportbusiness.com, 10/18/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Golf
In March 2008, Gatorade will launch 'Gatorade Tiger', a new drink developed in conjunction with golfing superstar Tiger Woods, marking the golfer's first US deal with a beverage company. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Golfweek magazine reported it was for five years and could pay Woods as much as $100 million. (Sportbusiness.com, 10/17/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Other Sports
The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are expected to break TV advertising records with over $182 billion being spent next year, up from $169.9 billion in 2007, according to ZenithOptimedia. (Sportbusiness.com, 10/3/07)
VANOC, the organizing committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada said that it will exceed its 2007 sponsorship target of $65 million by at least $15 million. The overall sponsorship revenue target is $760 million. (Sportbusiness.com, 10/22/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
China
China Minsheng Banking Corp. agreed to purchase a 9.9% stake in UCBH of San Francisco, the parent of United Commercial Bank, in the first US strategic investment by a mainland Chinese bank. Earlier this year, UCBH purchased Shanghai-based Business Development Bank for $205 million. (Los Angeles Times, 10/9/07)
YUM Brands, the operator of KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, reported a 28% profit growth in its China division and 21% growth in its international division, compared to only 1% growth in the US operation, for the latest quarter. (Wall Street
Journal, 10/9/07)
Alibaba.com, the Chinese leader in online business-to-business service, announced plans for an initial public offering which is expected to raise as much as $1.3billion, the largest ever by a Chinese internet company. In August 2005, Yahoo! swapped $1billion and its China unit for a 40% stake in the parent company of Alibaba.com. (Wall Street Journal, 10/22/07)
Citic Securities Co., China's government controlled investment bank, and Bear Stearns agreed to invest $1billion in each other, giving the US firm an entrance into the insular Chinese financial sector. Under the deal, Citic will acquire between a 6-9% stake and Bear Stearns will acquire between a 2-5% stake in the other entity. The companies also agreed to jointly offer capital marketing services across Asia. (Los Angeles Times, 10/23/07)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Japan
Wal-Mart announced it would spend $875million to take full-ownership of its money-losing Japanese subsidiary Seiyu Ltd. Wal-Mart has stuck with the Seiyu brand, familiar to Japanese, instead of using the Wal-Mart name, but Seiyu has struggled amid intense competition from smaller retail chains, as well as from major local companies that are introducing larger stores and price cutting. (Los Angeles Times, 10/23/07)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)