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  • ‘We are the biggest investor in the game of cricket’ : Manu Sawhney – ESPN Star Sports managing director

    ‘We are the biggest investor in the game of cricket’ : Manu Sawhney – ESPN Star Sports managing director

     ESPN Star Sports has pumped in a whopping $2.25 billion to acquire the rights for ICC including the two World Cups, the Champions League T20, Cricket Australia and England and Wales Cricket board. The mix includes cricket across the three formats of T20, ODIs and Test matches.

     

    The mark of aggression has spread to other sports including the Fifa World Cup soccer rights and the Olympics.

     

    For over a year, Manu Sawhney has been shepherding this drive to crush competition and establish leadership position as a sports broadcaster by acquiring driver content rights over a longer period of time.

     

    “This is the best in cricket that could be there in the market and places us in the position of matchless leadership not only in Asia but on a global scale,” he says.

     

    In an exclusive interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Sibabrata Das, ESS managing director Sawhney elaborates on how the ESPN-Star joint venture company is gearing up to be not just a TV brand but also dominate in the digital new media space with its comprehensive content across sports, platforms and markets.

     

    Excerpts:

     

    The Indian Premier League was touted as the biggest prime time reality show on Indian television. Why didn’t ESPN Star Sports buy into that hype?
    We wanted to first evaluate how the T20 format of the game would evolve as a product cycle. Remember, we were the first to recognise the power of this new format at the international level when we acquired the ICC rights which include the two World Cups.

     

    With the IPL doing well, we have now bagged the Champions League T20. It will involve the best of the best where the top teams from various domestic leagues including the IPL, Australia, South Africa, England and others compete to win the title of Champions of Champions. The IPL also becomes a feeder league for this global tournament.

     

    We recognise that various formats continue to get developed and broaden the appeal of the game across new markets and demographics, providing increasing number of platforms for leverage and exploitation.

    Was the IPL miss a reason why ESS paid higher ($975 million) for the Champions League T20 when it could have got it at a much lower price with DIC’s $751.3 million bid being the second in race?
    When we are in a bidding environment, we do not punt but go ahead with an amount which we believe adds value to our business. We thought $612 million for the BCCI rights was too high for us, but somebody else thought it made business sense. We make a bid thinking what value the property can bring to us, how prepared we are today to leverage it, and how well placed are we for the future to fully realise the potential.

     

    Our investment in content follows this strategy and allows us to present a sound proposition to our partners. The acquisition of Champions League T20 has been done with this focused, planned and future oriented approach backed by a solid business plan, ensuring our profitability and long term growth.

     

    As a property, CL T20 has all the necessary ingredients of a blockbuster property, not only on the national level but on a global scale.

     

    After the inaugural edition this year in December, the tournament is to be scheduled right before the festive period featuring more top quality international teams and increased number of matches spread over a longer duration. This amplifies the opportunities around the property.

    But aren’t you also risking on the most expensive cricket property (calculated on a per game basis)?
    Tell me one property today which is available across the globe with all commercial rights – and that, too, for a period of 10 years! CL T20 is the only such property. This allows us multitude of opportunities to build, develop, customise, and fully realise immense value around the property. And it makes CL T20 most unique and premium as compared to any other domestic or international property currently around from the business perspective.

     

    Even if we were to compare it with a property like IPL, we have tremendous advantages. The rights around IPL do not include title sponsorship, umpire sponsorship, stadium advertising, official sponsor, ticketing and licensing. These rights amount to sizeable contribution and are expected to grow manifold over the next 10 years as the CL T20 further develops as the most premium tournament.

     

    The domestic nature of the tournament also limits IPL’s appeal internationally. This affects international syndication and other related rights. On the other hand, we have had significant success with the ICC on the international syndication front and today are better placed than anybody else to fully realise the value of this premium property in the global market.

     

    Unlike others, we are not just a broadcast brand but today the most comprehensive sports content provider in the region and the biggest cricket content provider in the world. With our three strong TV brands (ESPN, Star Sports and Star Cricket), two robust mobile brands (mobileESPN and Star Sports Mobile) and the most comprehensive online offering in form of www.espnstar.com, we are better placed than anyone else to fully leverage and exploit multiple opportunities across platforms for building our business on the back of CL T20 across the region and globally.

    Even in the ICC bid, ESS’s winning punt was $1.1 billion while the second highest bidder with $900 million was way behind. Are we seeing a more aggressive ESS?
    We are today the biggest investor in the game of cricket in the world with the ICC, Cricket Australia, England and Wales Cricket board rights and the newly acquired CL T 20. This not only provides us with a good mix of all forms of cricket – the new age blistering Twenty20 format, the popular ODIs and the ever-green Test matches, but along with the ICC it also gives us a very strong lineup of top quality cricket with a World Cup every year for the next 10 years. This is the best that could be there in the market and places us in the position of matchless leadership not only in Asia but on a global scale.

     

    While IPL has been a successful property, in ICC we have the pinnacle of international cricket while CL T20 gives us the very best of the international domestic competition. With the acquisition of CL T20, we have enhanced our driver content portfolio for cricket and our leadership position as a sports broadcaster not just for few years but a longer period of time.

    Do you see the high rise in cost for cricket properties a function of competition or is it based on a realistic projection of business growth?
    The escalation in the rights cost is because of competition as well as growth in the market that you are able to reach. The T20 format, for instance, has expanded the demographic profile from a male skew to young and female audiences. The emergence of new platforms is also playing a part in defining the value in the marketplace.
    ‘India is no longer a low-cost media economy. As the market matures, there will be consolidation. There is, after all, a limited amount of driver content that is available‘

    ESS enjoyed high revenues from DTH operators as it was carried on the basic tier. But this year Tata Sky and the new DTH operators like Reliance ADAG’s Big TV are not willing to put the three channels on that package. With MSOs (multi-system operators) also consolidating, do you see growth on subscription revenues being hit?
    There is a huge opportunity for sports broadcasters like us and platform providers to work together in building the subscriber base. In global markets, digital subscribers grow on the back of HD, interactivity and video-on-demand; the driver content is live sports. In India, the market is still in infancy. New technologies like DTH, IPTV and mobile are bringing in paradigm shifts. With the power that we have on content across sports, we see tremendous scope to increase our revenues.

    With the ICC Champions Trophy, which was scheduled to be held in Pakistan in September, being deferred, will you be re-negotiating the bid amount with ICC?
    The ICC Champions Trophy is a showcase of game’s best elite players from the world’s top national cricketing sides. It was, therefore, important to ensure full and committed participation of the best teams from all qualified nations for ICC Champions Trophy to retain its premium status. Unfortunately, too much ambiguity existed for many months about the realistic possibility of the event being staged in Pakistan, which led to the current situation where the options available were very limited.

     

    As the global broadcast and production partner of the ICC, ESS was fully committed to producing and broadcasting the ICC Champions Trophy in a truly engaging and entertaining manner for fans across the globe. Accordingly, all necessary broadcast arrangements were made by ESPN Star Sports as per plans agreed with ICC for covering the event in Pakistan.

     

    The late decision to defer the tournament did come with its own set of difficulties for various organisations involved in the tournament, and this affected ESS’s business commercially too. Various questions have arisen as a result of this postponement, particularly issues relating to ensuring teams’ participation in the tournament when it is eventually played as well as the knock-on impact of the rescheduling on the overall cricket calendar.

     

    It is expected from the ICC to decide on these critical matters in the near future. We will only be able to assess the overall impact on our business based upon the way in which these issues are resolved and after we are able to study the short and long term implications of ICC’s actions for ourselves. We reiterate our commitment to working with the ICC in evolving a mutually satisfying solution.

    Isn’t ESS’s aggression spreading to other properties as well including the Fifa World Cup where ESS is said to have bid $40.5 million (up from around $8 million)?
    We have been aggressively mopping up content. In football, we have the exclusive television rights to broadcast Fifa’s stellar lineup of international football events including the 2010 World Cup for the Indian sub-continent. We have the exclusive rights to show over 275 international football games including the Fifa Confederations Cup. We have a multi-year exclusive agreement with The Football Association (The FA), for broadcast rights to The FA Cup, England Internationals and The FA Community Shield on multimedia platforms for the 2008/9 – 2011/12 seasons for 20 countries across the region. This, coupled with the existing partnership with Premier League with which ESS holds BPL rights for 22 countries in Asia through 2010 and rights of UEFA Champions League in key markets, places us as the single largest football content provider in the region.

     

    In motorracing, we have renewed partnership with FIA for another 5 years across the region and for the first time, secured rights across various platforms and in many key markets acquired terrestrial rights as well. This flagship racing property along with other leading properties like A1, MotoGP and WRC, sets ESS apart from any other network or broadcaster in the region.

     

    We have also renewed our partnership with Tennis Australia for another seven years, acquired French Open for India, and continue partnership with NBA and key Golf majors including Augusta Masters, The US Open and The Open, among others.

     

    We have acquired the Olympic rights. The partnership with the International Olympic Committee will allow us to show the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic Games for 22 countries across the Indian subcontinent and South East Asia.

    This is the first time that IOC has awarded the rights to one single pay-TV platform across the region.

    Have your programming hours also gone up?
    In addition to the acquired content that we have the rights for, we produce over 3650 hours of original programming per year, which is probably the largest quantum of original programming around these sports.

     

    To give you an idea, we produce over 1500 hours of original football content and over 1000 hours of cricket content. In addition, our flagship studio show, SportsCenter, offers the best round-up of sporting action around the globe with five localised editions in Asia on ESPN. And along with our entertainment-focused sports bulletin show Score Tonight on Star Sports, we produce over 1000 hours of original sports news programming every year. This lineup of content makes us the prime choice of over 310 million passionate sports fans and business partners and associates across Asia.
    ‘Our content strategy is to build a sustainable and scalable biz across sports, platforms and markets‘

    How important is the Indian market for ESS?
    It is a very important market for us and continues to contribute to the overall growth of our business in Asia. The media industry in India itself has seen rapid growth in the last few years. There is appetite for quality content and so are the opportunities to leverage and further build the business.

     

    While cricket has been, for many years, the most popular sport in India, it still continues to grow. This popularity is growing beyond India playing cricket to other international cricket as well as growth of strong female TG for cricket. The dedicated 24×7 cricket channel, Star Cricket, quickly reached penetration levels of 90-95 per cent after its launch last year.

    India is also steadily developing into a multi-sports market. Other sports like soccer, motor sports, tennis, hockey and golf are increasingly becoming more popular and gaining viewership as well. With that in mind, and considering the huge viewership base, India will continue to be a key market for ESS.

    India offers a lot of potential in terms of ESS’s new media initiatives. ESS has invested in a focused manner in the Indian market. With our multi-platform capabilities on the back of some of the most premium content in the form of ICC, CL T20, Fifa and F1, ESS is better placed than ever today to fully exploit the opportunities from the emerging media scenario in India.

    Do you see consolidation in the sports broadcasting space in India?
    India is no longer a low-cost media economy. As the market matures, there will be consolidation. There is, after all, a limited amount of driver content that is available. We hope to leverage our leadership position as and when such opportunities throw up. We are not just TV dependent but have grown our presence in the new digital media space. And we are not just an India product.

    What have been your focus areas since you took charge as managing director of ESS one year back?
    My focus has been on four key areas. The content strategy is to build a sustainable and scalable business across sports, platforms and markets.

     

    Besides continuing to acquire and develop the strongest, most comprehensive and relevant content, we have enhanced our multi-platform presence.

     

    While television is the biggest format in which consumers want to watch sports, new media platforms are growing in importance. Growing ESS’s presence in the digital space is a key thrust area for the company and we have invested huge resources to provide a new improved platform.

     

    We have launched the sharp new version of www.espnstar.com and are offering advertisers an expansive range of customised and creative advertising opportunities. The new Star Sports Mobile complements the mobileESPN offering through entertaining and engaging content with exclusive video highlights from Arsenal and Liverpool FC and Star Sports’ original programmes.

     

    Skyhawk is a new business management system that has been successfully integrated between internal systems across functions to provide competitive advantage and smoother operations.

     

    We have also made significant investments in improving our business and operational processes through adoption of new technology over the last one year with an aim to scale up our operations more efficiently for future expansion. Our focus has also been on human resource development and I have worked towards creating project teams within the organisation spanning across departments and markets entrusted with an objective to scout for new ideas to help grow our business.
    How has the last one year been for ESS?
    We have seen growth in bottomline and topline across the region. Our task is to take ESS to the next level in scalable business across sports and markets.
  • ‘Once digitalisation happens, let a thousand channels come’ – Sameer Nair

    ‘Once digitalisation happens, let a thousand channels come’ – Sameer Nair

    Concluding our three-part series of interviews looking at the year that was and on into 2008, we turn the spotlight on NDTV Imagine CEO Sameer Nair.  In a candid chat with Indiantelevision.com, the former Star Entertainment India CEO offers his take on the entertainment industry, why he feels the TV industry needs a kick up, the importance of not just ambling along, and the potential that 2008 offers.

    What were the key points of reference which defined 2007? One would be for you personally and also if you could offer a sense of where the industry is in general?
    Well, I left Star TV, in which I was working for about 13 years. But I think 2007 opened on a good note because we did KBC with Shah Rukh Khan and so I thought that was a good swansong of sorts for me. We also got Gajendra Singh from Zee to Star. He was with Zee for I think 16 years and so this was something equally dramatic.

    So those were the last good things to do at Star. On a personal level it was of course moving on and setting up a whole new company, a whole new business and preparing for the launch of a new channel.

    2007 basically marked preparation for 2008?
    Yes! As you can see, it’s been all the pre-production and production. And now we get ready for release. So it’s been a lot of that kind of hard work. It’s been about team building… It’s been about company building. It was about resource building and also financial resource building and putting it all together.
    I think by the time indiantelevision.com puts up this interview we will have over 132 people, which is I think a good collection of people across all disciplines.

    What were the positives that came out of this year?
    One positive of course is there seems to be a lot of interest in all things media, in all things entertainment. So there have obviously been so many more players entering the market, so much more money being put into the market.
    So that’s obviously a good thing, industry per se. I think a lot of people have announced or started new ventures, which shows that there is obviously place for growth and a place for new players to get into.
    There is some level of consolidation, there is some increased activity of international participation in local business. The movie business has gone through the roof.

    But was it a good year for the business?
    2007 was an interesting year because it, in my mind, remains a sort of a question mark. It will get resolved in years to come as to whether it was a good year or not. But right now everything is too close, so I mean this was the year where millions of dollars were pumped into the system. You know prices went through the roof, newer and newer players getting into it, each man with bigger and bigger claims and promises. Nobody talks the normal figures anymore.
    Everything is in a super inflated scenario. It’s like the wire where the string is really stretched. So whether it will be good or bad, it is hard to say now. Currently, everyone is into this valuation zone and everyone seems to be so rich.

    The rollout of digital cable, which was supposed to proceed in a particular manner, did not go the way it ideally should have. Your views on this?
    That is hardly a surprise. There was always this issue about how it would roll out and if it would be mandatory or voluntary. How does it all work? It didn’t really come as a surprise that it didn’t happen in A or B or C manner.

    So effectively nothing of any real note happened?
    No! There was no landmark legislation that occurred, there was no landmark regulation that occurred, there was no landmark activity. I don’t really think that there has been any major change. The world has not undergone a digital revolution, nor a mobile one. On television, some shows are doing better than others. The gap between Star and Zee narrowed, Zee came within a whisker of Star, than it again fell back. Now it is again coming back pretty much as per calculations. But there was nothing outstanding. It was straightforward.

    But for the industry in terms of sports, a lot happened.
    Sports was an interesting thing that happened. That was pretty good if you look at the high priced acquisition of the ICC rights (by ESPN Star for $ 1.1 billion).

    It is not looking so high-priced now because T-20 was not a factor in that purchase and now it’s there as a very high value part of the ICC rights.
    T-20 is the best thing that happened to Indian cricket. It completely re-energised sport and completely reignited interest in it. Now between ICL and IPL, it has really brought the sport back. But the price points, because there is no distribution revenue in this model of note, is not robust at all.

    The lament is that distribution channels are clogged and yet we have all these channels launching? Isn’t that a big contradiction?
    Well distribution and then everything that will happen as a result. Some people look at this business and they say that, ‘Oh so many new players are launching, there is no space.’ On the one hand we talk about how the market is growing, the media sector is growing. The other version is that it is growing but there is no space for new players, which is actually the exact opposite of growth. You know its like saying that the movie industry is growing but let’s any not make any more movies.
    They are completely contradictory terms. So once digitalisation happens, whichever version they choose to refer it by, I’d say let a thousand channels come. Because water finds it own level, and people decide what they want to see, when they want to see, how they want to see and what they want to pay for and it all sorts out in the end.
    But saying let not a thousand channels come, is not progress at all. It does not mark progress for consumers, or for operators. or for anyone as a matter of fact.
    What the TV business needs is one nice kick in the butt, like the telecom business got. This is what will help it really surge forward. So far it has been sort of ambling along.

    Everybody is expecting that Reliance will give that kick. Reliance is launching DTH this year, Bharti is launching.
    This is why 2008 will be a year to write home about. We hope that 2008 will be the year for the industry to really surge forward and make that big leap forward.

    Each year we talk of the big leap forward, but it’s not happened. 2004, 2005, 2006. You know few things occurred here and there, like suddenly in 2006 the cricket purchase was big. But the rest of the industry didn’t keep up. The whole $ 612 million price point (by Nimbus) was based on some assumptions, and those assumptions didn’t really come through.

    The fact is that all of business is predicated over some basic parameters, which is that people will go to movies, people will buy movie tickets. People will pay their cable bills. Advertisers do need to reach to consumers and they will buy advertising. That’s basic, and our problem is that we don’t have this in the TV part of the business. We don’t have this one little basic matter about people will pay their cable bills which will then be passed on. So it leaves a lot of things in the air when you talk about the television business.

    You are talking about pricing, subscription?
    It is already priced. Subscription is priced. But when you try and compare talk time, in the telecom context to TV, that doesn’t really work. Because the input cost on TV for example is not talk, it is real cash. If people play cricket, make movies, shows, that is like a real cost. It is not talk time. So when you say that every home will pay Rs 5 per month for a channel to see movies and serials, at some point the mathematics are not going to add up. So it is just that these things will get sorted out as it goes along. As more players get into it I think that the industry itself will sort it out.

    But there is also the theory that the government will not allow the market to determine costs of TV (and cricket) because other forms of entertainment are becoming too expensive for too many. Multiplexes for example are out of reach for many. So there is only TV. This would mean that tomorrow the IPL will be termed as being of national importance and will become free to view.
    You must note that there is no such thing as a free lunch ever, so somebody has to pay the bill. What’s been happening in the last so many years is that the advertisers have been paying the bill. The advertiser is the ultimate God who is paying for everybody’s lunch.

    Currently there is a combination of private equity money and advertisers who are footing the bill. But eventually, the bill will have to be paid by the consumers, who consume content in whatever manner or the price points will have to come down. So either all the price points return to normalcy by which the market settles and everything will sort, or you will have to pay the bill.
    Anywhere in the world in a mature TV / entertainment business, you have the twin model (advertising / subscription). That’s the way the business works. For us, it’s always been immature, fully lopsided towards the one side. Do you know any other market which boasts of 300-400 channels which are all essentially ad supported because distribution as a model is all over the place.
    You go to any other country where it is supported this way, you will find 5-10-15 channels. So that’s something which has to be sorted. It is not like players have to think that India is unique. And I think this has to happen.

    It is just a functional evaluation. This is what it needs, that leap forward. The input cost is going through the roof, return is coming down, and for the majors it is flattening their margins.
    For others what would the plan be then? So that, I think that has to happen and as they see that as the defining moment. Whether you define a moment or the moment defines you, in any case the industry will have to define the way forward. Whether it is collective or individual, something has to happen.

    That is exactly the contradiction in this. But it needs resolution. Otherwise a lot of these contradictions can co-exist for a long time. Things can go round and round and circle and circle without imploding or exploding.

    Something has to give?
    Over the last 6-8 months, and with the spate of these new announcements, there has been more addition into the TV space. This is obviously going to create an enormous amount of pressure on the current infrastructure. Obviously we are all new, we wish to make a mark for ourselves, so everyone will do things to try and make a good impression. There will be the existing players, who will obviously look to protect their turf.

    But it is at an interesting point because there is pressure on the system. Now this has never happened before, that there have suddenly been so much, forget new channels, so many new platforms that are all coming at the same time. There is this huge interest in the movie business all of a sudden. In the last year and a half all that has happened.

    Screens are opening up…
    Screens are opening up, It’s happening. So, as the pressure increases, obviously people will find newer and newer ways to do things. New minds enter into it, lots of different people, younger people, coming out with even cleverer ideas. It has to go through a change.

    So 2008 has a lot of potential?
    We hope, though these predictions have been made many times in the past and have sorely let you down. But 2008 seems to have a better chance than most years to make a real impact.

  • ‘The mobile VAS game is about to change and only the agile will survive’

    ‘The mobile VAS game is about to change and only the agile will survive’

    The year 2008 holds great promise for the MVAS industry in India. Two key focus areas of this year will be the launch of 3G and the Advent of Mobile Advertising in the country.

    The much anticipated 3G will bring with it the stage, set for the entry of Mobile Advertising, creating a flawless marketing medium that allows you to reach consumers in a way that genuinely interests them.

    Upcoming in 2008

    The Industry is awaiting its share of changes that will come its way in the year ahead. 2008 will witness trends that are bound to change the entire MVAS game, offering opportunities that will need to be capitalized on. In times like these, only players with the ability to scale, who have established and consolidated their stronghold in the industry will be able to survive and thrive in this highly competitive and burgeoning MVAS space.

    The introduction of 3G technology will see services like Video Streaming, Video Caller Ringback Tones (CRBTs) and Wireless Teleconferencing gaining popularity.

    Increased data connectivity will increase the consumption of content on mobile, expanding the market enough for the content companies to reach out to the customers on their own, if the risk of disintermediation can be worked out.

    Increased data connectivity will increase the consumption of content on mobile
    _____****_____

    The beginning of this transformation is already evident in the deals being made by companies like People Infocom (Mauj Mobile). The company is counted amongst India’s leading MVAS providers and has inked deals that substantiate its expertise as an end-to-end Mobile Solutions Company. Their recent undertakings include, associations with Eros studios to repurpose film content for the mobile, and managing ESPN’s direct-to-consumer wireless portal on a managed services model.

    Mobile Advertising is another area that will see a promising year ahead. While the current scenario for Mobile Advertising in the country lacks a much needed push, interesting concepts like AdverGaming are fast gaining significance. People Infocom has worked on games for MTV UK and Sony Ericsson on the same lines.

    The Future for Mobile Music

    Mobile Music is a part of the Mobile Entertainment Industry. Entertainment and Telecommunications are the two important industries that converge to form this burgeoning sector. Each of these worlds in India are at present faced with immense opportunity, and that translates into an even bigger prospect for the Mobile Music space in particular.

    The mobile music market in India is at present valued at approximately Rs 1650 crore and is growing at an estimated CAGR of 40-50%.

    Fuelling this growth rate, are the opportunities presented by the sheer size of the Indian market and the colossal Indian music and film industry itself. The introduction of 3G technology later this year will only facilitate a better way to reach a mass-market audience in a country of more than one billion inhabitants.

    Better accessibility and a penetration rate of around 18% has helped Mobile Music surpass Online Music sales in India. Online Music makes up less than 5% of the digital market in India, while Mobile music covers the rest.

  • ‘Why would BCCI want its biggest new property on a new channel?’

    ‘Why would BCCI want its biggest new property on a new channel?’

    Looking at the larger perspective, what have been the big challenges the broadcast sector faced and will face, going forward?
    The pathetically slow pace of digital rollout (Cas) has been the biggest challenge for existing players. Though I do believe digital distribution will come into play from 2008 onwards.

    Combating all these new players will be the big upcoming challenge. The (leadership) pecking order will have to be reestablished. Star is not complacent in its position of number 1. Even Zee as a challenger is not complacent. Everybody will face challenge. The whole media business will face challenge.

    The industry is seeing huge churn now. The channel explosion is going to further fragment audiences. We will soon have 9/10 channels in each of the genres – news, sports and movies.

    You say pathetically slow digital rollout on the cable front is the biggest challenge for the new players as well as the existing players. But if we look at 9X, the numbers they are drawing are not due to cannibalization, but due to new viewers.
    It’s not cannibalization of GEC but other genres like music.

    So you don’t believe that people have an inherent desire to consume entertainment content but may have been tuned off by the lack of variety presently on offer so they are trying out channels like 9X?
    Its not just 9X. Even Bindass is getting new viewers. 9X is making a lot of noise but give me a name of one show that stands out. On NDTV Imagine also, nothing will stand out.

    What do we have in 2008. BCCI’s Indian Premiere League will take off and what else?
    I don’t know on which channel it will take off. I hope it is on ours.

    But as you yourself said, there will be new sports channels launching and we should expect bids from new players.
    They can of course bid but why would BCCI want its biggest new property on a new channel? Its not just money, they (the cricket board) have to make it successful.

    New players should enter digital distribution in the cable front. More people are required, more funding is required

    We do have an example of Ten Sports, which launched with World Cup Soccer in 2002.
    There were only two channels – ESPN and Star Sports – then. Today there are seven channels (DD Sports, Ten Sports, Zee Sports, ESPN, Star Sports, Star Cricket, Neo Sports). Additionally, Max is half a sports channel.

    Each time you launch a new channel, the space will get further fragmented. There is too much out there. There is going be a blood bath.

    What about a platform proposition, like in the case of Sky in the UK? For a rights holder, could IPL potentially become as critical as EPL was to Sky?
    Firstly, in India no exclusivity is being allowed. Secondly, the new guys bidding for the rights are channels which are not yet launched. If platforms like Dish TV or Reliance were to buy the rights, then I would understand but the guys buying are unknown people. They are all startups. They are doing it for their business valuations. They are not bothered whether IPL succeeds or not. Whereas BCCI wants IPL to succeed. IPL will collapse with new players.

    Coming back to the year ahead, how do you see 2008 for your network and the industry?
    As far as the industry is concerned, we would want to see the Reliance launches happening. It’s a very big thing. Then IPL should succeed. New players should enter digital distribution in the cable front. More people are required, more funding is required.

    As for ourselves, we will take some other new initiatives and continue to build our business. We need one hit show. Saat Phere was the starting point for Zee. I need one hit show from Monday to Thursday. That is my perspective. I have no problem in any other area of my business except that. We need to build up, which is not happening.

    Each channel is doing its own thing and so are we. In the meantime, I am doing syndication and international distribution. I am doing everything right except getting that one hit show.

  • TDSAT upholds Rs 5 tariff by Trai, imposes costs on ESPN Star and Set Discovery

    TDSAT upholds Rs 5 tariff by Trai, imposes costs on ESPN Star and Set Discovery

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) today upheld the tariff of Rs 5 per channel fixed by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) against which three broadcasters had appealed. It also imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 for each of the broadcasters in favour of the sector regulator.

    In its pronouncement on the appeal filed by Set Discovery, ESPN Star Sports (Singapore) and ESPN Software India, TDSAT held that the case was devoid of merit, and thus the appellants are liable to pay costs, totaling Rs 150,000, to Trai, which had proved its case.

    In a related development, some of the respondents in the case that includes Trai, Indus Ind Media and Communications Limited, and Hathway Cable & Datacom Private Limited, have filed a Caveat in the Supreme Court, since the broadcasters are most likely to appeal against the TDSAT order in the apex court.

    While giving its ruling, TDSAT said that the broadcasters had themselves said that 70 to 80 per cent of their revenues come from advertisements, and the bench noted that “at various fora”, it has been argued by the broadcasters that they also generate revenue through sub-licensing and through fees paid by consumers in sending SMSs to the channels.

    It held that the same broadcasters had said that due to underdeclaration by LCOs and MSOs, they get only 20 per cent of the subscription revenue actually generated.

    The tribunal noted that under the Cas regime, wherever Cas has been implemented, there is no longer a question of underdeclaration, and therefore, data on subscription revenue is 100 per cent.

    In this situation, whereas the broadcasters were – as they themselves said – earning only 20 per cent from subscription, the Trai order on Interconnection gave them 45 per cent, which is a sea change.

    Hence, going by the arguments of the broadcasters themselves, the case is devoid of merit and liable for dismissal, with a cost of Rs 50,000 per appellant.

    The tribunal, comprising the full bench of chairperson Arun Kumar, and members DP Sehgal and Vinod Vaish, made the following observations:

    “We have carefully considered the procedure undertaken by Trai for conducting the exercise. We have also considered the justification for the regulation. We find that the approach of Trai in regulating the CAS regime at its introductory stage in the notified areas is fully justified.

    “We find nothing wrong in the process undertaken by the Authority. In this connection we note that the Trai was conscious of its difficulties and the problems which it had to face while conducting the exercise.

    “It was a virgin field and the Chennai model could not serve as a good guide. The exercise was complex and it was made all the more difficult by the non-cooperative attitude of the broadcasters. In the given circumstances, Trai, in our view, has acted fairly by balancing the competing interests.

    “The Authority has promised to revisit the issue, including consideration of deregulation if the circumstances so warrant. The experience to be gained after introduction of CAS would enable it to reconsider everything.

    “This being a transitory phase, the appellants ought to have had patience and ought to have waited till Trai was able to revisit the issue. The hurry on their part to raise the issue before this Tribunal was not necessary.

    “We also cannot help observing that the broadcasters are either unmindful of the fact that they stand to gain in the CAS regime or they are intentionally feigning lack of knowledge of this fact.

    “To say the least, they have not been fair in placing their case before us. We find no merit in these appeals. They are liable to be dismissed. We order accordingly. Appellants will bear the costs of the Respondent, Trai which we quantify at Rs 50,000/- for each appeal. Costs are awarded only in favour of Trai,” the TDSAT order concluded.

  • Equestrian TV show boosts global coverage

    Equestrian TV show boosts global coverage

    MUMBAI: A year after it launched the television magazine FEI Equestrian World has grown in terms of the number of channels that air it. From next month it will air on BBC World in Asia and other territories. Asian viewers can also catch it on ESPN Star Sports and on CNBC Asia. In India the next edition of the show airs on BBC World on 3 March at noon and on 4 March at 5 pm.

    More than a competition and sports news magazine, this monthly half-hour programme concentrates on the spirit of the Equestrian and the lifestyle surrounding it. It also focuses on the FEI’s efforts in key areas such as sports development. Interviews with equestrian stars such as Olympic Champion Rodriogo Pessoa of Brazil, Britain’s Pippa Funnell, the only rider to have ever won the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing, FEI World Cup Jumping champion Marcus Ehning or American Reiner Shawn Flarida are only a few of the equestrian stars featured in the magazine.

    The camera’s investigating eye caught them outside of the usual competition arena. Whether in their kitchen, at the beautician’s or at the golf green, these personalities could be discovered in a more private and softer light.

    The importance of breeding, the concerns of horse owners or hippotherapy are also given their importance in the show. FEI Equestrian World is broadcast by several channels. In addition to BBC World the other channels include BBC World, CNBC Europe, ESPN Classic Sport which air it in Europe. Sky airs it in the UK.

    BBC World, Art, City 7, Fox Sports; ESPN International air it in the Middle East.

  • ESPN US in mobile deal with MediaFlo

    ESPN US in mobile deal with MediaFlo

    MUMBAI: MediaFlo USA, a subsidiary of Qualcomm has signed a deal with US sports broadcaster ESPN.

    The deal will bring sports programming to MediaFlo USA’s new mobile entertainment service.

    The new ESPN Mobile TV channel – ESPN’s first on a wireless service – will offer a selection of live, simulcast sports events; breaking sports news, commentary and analysis; and realtime sports scores and game updates. MediaFLO USA will deliver this content directly to subscribers’ mobile phones.

    ESPN Enterprises executive VP Salil Mehta says, “The time is right to offer the first-ever sports wireless channel, ESPN Mobile TV. Historically, ESPN has been the leader in adopting new technologies to serve sports fans, and MediaFLO USA’s mobile entertainment service will make ESPN’s world-class programming come to life on the newest generation of mobile phones.”

    MediaFlo USA president Gina Lombardi says, “MediaFlo USA is revolutionizing television by offering, for the first time, must-see programming from world-class entertainment brands in a crystal-clear mobile viewing environment.

    “One of the keys to the broad adoption of mobile TV is the availability of high-quality content, and our agreement with ESPN will be a compelling draw for sports fans who want anytime, anywhere access to unmatched sports programming.”

    Guided by primary market research and consumer trials, MediaFlo USA intends to secure familiar, full-length content from many of the world’s leading media companies and leverage its dedicated, nationwide multicast network to deliver live, full-length, TV-quality programming to mobile phones.

  • Disney Q1 net profit grows on DVD sales

    MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Disney blew past Wall Street expectations as it reported strong first quarter earnings on gains from the sale of its shares in US Weekly magazine and the E! Entertainment channel.

    Even without the one-time gains, which boosted earnings by 29 cents per share, the media conglomerate beat analyst forecasts by 11 cents per share on strong performance from sales of DVDs, including Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

    In the quarter ended 30 December 2006, Disney earned $1.7 billion, or 79 cents a share, which includes a gain of 39 cents a share from the sale of Disney’s stake in E! Networks and Us Weekly. Excluding the gains, the earnings did top analyst estimates of 39 cents a share.

    Quarterly revenues were $9.73 billion, driven by DVD sales of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Cars and High School Musical along with strong results from ABC and ESPN.

    Net income rose from $734 million in the first quarter last year to $1.7 billion. Revenue grew 10 per cent to $9.7 billion. Disney CEO Bob Iger said, “These results are particularly gratifying given the great year we had in 2006 and are another clear sign our strategy is driving growth and creating shareholder value.”

  • Encryption of DD signals: government sets up expert panel

    Encryption of DD signals: government sets up expert panel

    MUMBAI: The information & broadcasting ministry has constituted a joint group of experts to identify the technical parameters and propose a course of action for suitably regulating the sports broadcasting signals.

    The terms of reference of the joint group of experts are:

    (i) Encryption of DD signal being transmitted to regional/local Kendras for transmission terrestrially.

    (ii) Issues relating to free to air DTH of Prasar Bharati; and

    (iii) Any other technical matter related to regulating sports broadcasting signals.

    The 12-member joint group of experts will be headed by All India Radio director general Brijeshwar Singh. Other Members are: Digvijay Singh and H Rajshekaran representing Nimbus, ESPN Software India managing director RC Venkateish, Essel Group vice-chairman Jawahar Goel on behalf of Zee Sports, BCCI vice president Lalit Modi, Punjab Cricket Association president IS Bindra, Becil CMD KRP Verma, AIR chief engineer AS Guin, Doordarshan chief engineer LV Sharma and DD Sports chief engineer ES Issac.

    Rajat Bhargava, ADG (F&A) in AIR will be member-convener of the Group. The group shall submit its report within one month from the date of its constitution on the issues mentioned in the terms of reference.

    The cabinet had last week approved the promulgation of an Ordinance on the issue of mandatory sharing of broadcasting rights of sporting events of national importance with Prasar Bharati and directed the I&B ministry to constitute a joint group of experts to identify the technical parameters and propose a course of action for suitably regulating the sports broadcasting signals.

  • Pakistan-South Africa ODI series live on ESPN STAR Sports from 4 Feb 2007

    MUMBAI: ESPN STAR Sports, Asia’s number one broadcaster, will telecast live and exclusive, the one day international series between South Africa and Pakistan starting February 4, 2007. The two cricketing giants will kick off the series with a Twenty20 international on February 2. The Asian powerhouse will play the Proteas in a five ODI series in the African continent.

    After a close fought and absorbing duel during the three test series the two countries will be looking to prepare for the upcoming World Cup and hoping for team camaraderie during the five ODIs scheduled till mid February. Pakistan will look to reverse the results of the last two ODI series between the two teams in South Africa, where the Afrikaans beat them 4-1 in 2002-03 and 3-2 in 2003-04. Overall the two teams have met 42 times with South Africa enjoying a 69 percent win record. The South African nation was also unbeaten for a 14 straight matches against Pakistan from 1995 to 1999.

    South Africa has named seven black players in their 15 man squad and these will be the likely 15 the Proteas will go with for the World Cup in the Carribean. Coach Micky Arthur had revealed earlier that the ODI series against Pakistan will be South Africa’s dress rehearsal for the World Cup. Pakistan on the other hand will want to put behind the disappointment of losing the Test series and embark on their preparations for the bouncy pitches in West Indies. The Asian team will be bolstered by the return of Shabbir Ahmed but their top order batting is still a worry for Coach Bob Woolmer.

    Catch the action live and exclusive on ESPN STAR Sports

    Date Time Event
    Feb 2, 2007 17:58 South Africa Vs Pakistan, Twenty20 Int, Johannesburg
    Feb 4, 2007 13:28 South Africa Vs Pakistan, First ODI, Centurion
    Feb 7, 2007 17:58 South Africa Vs Pakistan, Second ODI, Durban
    Feb 9, 2007 17:58 South Africa Vs Pakistan, Third ODI,
    Port Elizabeth
    Feb 11, 2007 13:28 South Africa Vs Pakistan, Fourth ODI,
    Cape Town
    Feb 14, 2007 17:58 South Africa Vs Pakistan, Fifth ODI, Johannesburg