IMG signs landmark events deal with CCTV
Friday, 1st August 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
That appears to be temporary situation, as sports marketing behemoth IMG Worldwide Inc has signed a landmark exclusive 20-year agreement with CCTV that gives US-based IMG rights to develop and market new sports events in mainland China, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
According to the WSJ, financial terms of the deal – which will give IMG an unparalleled competitive advantage in one of the world's fastest-growing television markets - have yet to be disclosed and the deal is expected to be formally announced on August 7.
"The fundamental purpose of the joint venture is to marry what CCTV does in China and what IMG does all over the world," the paper quotes Ted Forstmann, IMG's chairman and chief executive, as saying.
CCTV's daily audience of 680 million people is the world's largest for any network. IMG is expected to focus on developing sports events and other entertainment events around China for broadcast on CCTV.
How big is IMG? As the WSJ puts it:
"Mr Forstmann, a founding partner of buyout firm Forstmann Little & Co, acquired IMG in 2004. The company, one of the world's largest producers and distributors of sports, owns or manages more than 4,000 sporting and entertainment events, from Wimbledon to the Australian Open. It also manages the careers of many athletes, including golfer Tiger Woods and tennis player Maria Sharapova."
"If we are successful [in China], there are going to be a whole lot of events that exist that do not exist today," Mr. Forstmann told the WSJ.
The big question is: Will IMG be able to remold China's sports industry, which is essentially a poorly organized state-owned enterprise, into a streamlined moneymaker like that of the United States? The answer is coming to a TV near you.
Tags: Australian Open, CCTV, IMG, sports marketing, Tiger Woods, Wall Street Journal
Olympic broadcasters appear to get their way
Thursday, 10th July 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Three weeks after Canada's CBC News announced that it had re-secured permission to broadcast live from Tiananmen Square during the Olympics, more announcements have come out indicating that BOCOG is moving toward giving games broadcasters more freedom to report in Beijing this August.
For those of you who like to count things, NBC, the network that owns Olympic rights for the U.S. market, will carry 2,900 hours of Olympic coverage. According to math whiz and USA Today reporter Michael Hiestand, "Those live hours, spread across NBC and its cable TV outlets, top the total U.S. TV hours — 2,562 — for all previous Summer Games combined."
NBC will be distributing programming across its stable of channels, including Oxygen (female-oriented), MSNBC (business-focused) and Telemundo (Spanish broadcast). It will be using the Olympics as a test ground for new media, experimenting with updates and broadcasts via mobile and online platforms. U.S. Olympic coverage has historically been loaded with heartwarming profile stories that can frustrate die-hard sports fans who would rather watch actual games than a tearjerker piece about an athlete's childhood. Maybe all this coverage will allow viewers to see more of what they want.
Also announced today, and of more interest to those of us on the mainland, CCTV's Olympic channel says it will air its coverage without its usual 30-second delay, so it can coordinate with global feeds.
Link: NBC's Olympic broadcast schedule
Tags: CCTV, foreign media, NBC, Olympics
The Ups and Downs of Sports Broadcast in China
Thursday, 26th June 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Looks like I spoke too soon in my excitement yesterday about watching the U.S. Open on CCTV's Golf and Tennis Channel. The playoff between Rocco Mediate and Tiger Woods was broadcast this morning. I started watching as the guys were teeing off at hole 13. Right after Tiger birdied 18 to force a sudden death round, CCTV cut to some tape of Phil Mickelson's chipping practice. We waited optimistically, thinking that they'd cut back to the 91st hole in a minute or two. Instead, up next was a report from the European Open, followed by Wimbledon news.This wasn't the first time I've seen CCTV cut off a major sporting event just before an exciting overtime finish. It is, pardon the pun, par for the course with the network. CCTV adheres to a strict broadcast schedule, and if your basketball game, golf tournament or tennis match isn't over in time, tough luck. It was about 10:55 when the U.S. Open cut off this morning. Sorry, sports fans—we interrupt this great moment in sports to bring you news of the early rounds of a two-week tennis tournament. I have heard that this exact issue is what has prevented Major League Baseball from securing airtime in China. Baseball games, like golf tournaments, aren't played against a clock and their run times are very inconsistent.
The CCTV Golf and Tennis Channel resumed its U.S. Open re-broadcast at 11:15... at the 12th hole. ESPN's video highlights are looking better all the time.
Tags: CCTV, golf, Tiger Woods, US Open
US Open and Wimbledon Broadcasts
Wednesday, 25th June 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Tiger Woods won the US Open last week in what's sure to rank as one of the most dramatic moments in sports this year. Playing on an injured knee and a broken tibia, Woods beat Rocco Mediate in a tournament that had to go 91 holes. After Woods forced a playoff round with 18th-hole heroics on Father's Day, he and Mediate had to go another 19 the next day to determine a winner. The day after his big win, Woods revealed the extent of his injuries and announced that he would take the year off for surgery and rehabilitation.If you thought you had to miss this instant classis because you're in China, you're only partly right. If you've got cable and a flexible work schedule, you can see the last round tomorrow. The US Open has been airing for at least the past two days on CCTV's Golf and Tennis Channel (CCTV 高尔夫网球), available if you have cable (in Beijing, it is Channel 170). Rounds 3 and 4 aired Tuesday and Wednsday starting at noon. We couldn't find a broadcast schedule online, but it seems likely that the playoff round will air at noon tomorrow.
CCTV Golf and Tennis Channel also aired live French Open tennis matches, and has been doing the same with Wimbledon.
Tags: CCTV, golf, tennis, Tiger Woods, US Open, Wimbledon
Sohu to Broadcast Olympics Live Online
Wednesday, 18th June 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Web portal Sohu.com has signed an agreement with CCTV to be the official webcaster of the Beijing Olympics. Sohu will stream all of the games' events live and also offer video on-demand.Meanwhile, there has been some grumbling in the non-Chinese broadcast media that the government is making it difficult for them to get their equipment into the country and do the necessary preparation for the Olympic fortnight in August.
Tags: CCTV, Olympics, Sohu.com
NBA is Back
Friday, 6th June 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
After an unexplained suspension, NBA broadcasts are back in mainland China, with Game 1 of the NBA Finals airing on this morning on CCTV Sports. Several times during the game, the NBA ran a message of support for earthquake victims featuring NBA stars Dwayne Wade, Trace Mcgrady, Chris Paul, Baron Davis, Lebron James and commissioner David Stern.A China Sports Today editor spent the last week deep in the Chinese basketball world and never heard a definitive reason for why the conference finals didn't air. However, most people seemed to agree that a vague statement from an unnamed NBA official supporting players' decisions to be active on social issues drew Beijing's ire. The confusing move makes one thing clear: Even the mighty NBA, which has done so well in China, exists here because the government allows it to.
Tags: basketball, CCTV, David Stern, NBA, television