>>>>as rights yield 1.8bn pounds per year
Forecasts that the Premiership bubble would burst in the credit crunch increasingly look premature, if not misplaced altogether. The Premier League has secured a record television deal that will be worth almost £1.8 billion over three years. The 5 per cent increase over the last deal will bolster finances of clubs until 2013 when the deal ends. By that time, even on the most pessimistic estimates, the recession should be over. With the overseas rights for 2010 to 2013 still to be distributed, the Premier League is on track for another record for its total broadcasting rights, surpassing the £2.7 billion it achieved in the 2007-10 round. The Premiership has also been canny in its current overseas deals, signing contracts to be paid in dollars. With the value of sterling falling against the dollar, it is thought that payments from overseas broadcasters have become worth millions of pounds more over the last few months.
Sky won five of the six packages available, the maximum it is allowed under EU rules. BSkyB paid £1.62bn of the £1.78bn total the Premiership will pay over three years. It is paying just under £5m a game at £4.7m and getting 115 games a season. Tony Syfret from Enders Analysis told the Financial Times 'I estimate that Sky may make £20m more annually in increased advertising and revenues from pubs and clubs, but they are paying £103m more, so it is not absolutely clear what the benefit is for them, except putting Setanta in its place.' However, if Sky had cut back on what it paid, the quality of English football would have suffered. There is already strong consumer demand for Sky subscriptions and by seizing the Monday night games - coupled with extended Champions League rights from next season - it will have enough matches to strengthen its appeal.
Irish broadcaster Setanta Sports is the big loser. It won a single package of 23 matches that will be aired at 5.15 p.m. on Saturday evenings. Analysts are sceptical whether it will reach break even point on its subscriber model. It's an open question whether Setanta's 1.5 million paying customers think it will be worth paying between £8 and £13 a month for the reduced service, including some football free weekends. It has saved more than £200m over the next three year deal and could use the cash to buy into other sports, improving its weak summer schedule. It could always try to sell itself to EPSN, the American sports broadcasting giant owned by the Walt Disney company, which was unsuccessful in the rights auction. EPSN could afford to buy into Setanta, providing the venture with real firepower with which to fight Sky.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
COLLAPSE OF GBS (GTV) AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR AFRICAN LEAGUE FOOTBALL
COLLAPSE OF GTV
Last week, GTV announced it would no longer broadcast to its 100 000-odd subscribers. It closed its doors after a two-year campaign to wrestle as much of the African pay-TV market away from the domination of South African-owned MultiChoice.
GTV is an outgrowth of Gateway Communications, the Pan-African telecommunications company that is also London registered. The two entities separated legally two years ago and Gateway Communications' telecommunications business was bought by mobile network operator Vodacom late last year.
GTV subscriber base was in Botswana, Kenya, Cameroon, Gambia, Gabon, Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
MultiChoice, which has a total of about 1.4 million subscribers across the continent, is still to issue a statement about GTV's liquidation.
However, MultiChoice executives are privately not happy about the situation.
“There is a danger that we end up looking like the bad guys because many think we can just capitalise on the situation. This is not true – GTV built up expectations and now dashed them, and we are the company that is expected to pick up the pieces, even though we had nothing to do with them,” says one MultiChoice executive.
GTV under the broadcast name GBS initiated a massive shake-up in the pay-tv industry in Africa with an aggressive and positive image strategy. Their offerings, while extolling their own good virtues were simultaneously taking swipes at Multichoice who had a monopoly over the industry in most African countries.
Using the magnet of premiership football they gambled hugely and pay huge sums to acquire the premiership right for Africa. The football crazy part of the population rushed for their bouquets and abandoned their DSTV. Within weeks GBS was up and flying in Africa and in Ghana their subscriber base swelled instantaneously. As a business model it was too good to be true. And to add to the excitement many subscribers discovered that GBS was much cheaper than their DSTV subscriptions.
Many DSTV subscribers berated them for leaving them out of the action and excitement of the premiership.
GBS adopted a woo-strategy that was to convince the football authorities across Africa that it was not just in to take money out of the football fans but also to invest in football both locally.
GBS signed agreements with local leagues in Uganda Tanzania, Ghana and Zimbabwe to become broadcast sponsors for these leagues. These contracts were so lucrative that they were unprecedented in the history of professional football in Africa outside North Africa and South Africa. Huge sums of money were pumped into these sponsorship deals , allowing the clubs to plan and invest for the first time in some of these countries. This sponsorship money has revived some of the beneficiary leagues turning them into competitive leagues with even some of them staring to poach players from neighboring countries. This is especially true of Tanzania where the sponsorship deal has revived the league and even boosted the performance of the national team.
In Uganda GTV was to invest over US$5m in Ugandan football for five years, according to their contract with the local soccer body. This would support the development of the game at all levels.
In Ghana GTV invested $1m in the first year of their 3 year contract with the Ghanaian league and had started paying up another $1m for the second year before they collapsed. During their association with the Ghanaian league, television coverage (even though it was largely restricted) became far better, one aspect that had been missing from the local game. The TV production became much more professional and in effect sold the game beyond our borders.
Many local players boosted by better wages and organization were prepare to give our local leaguer a shot instead of the mad rush to seek contracts in the likes of Vietnam and Malaysia. What is refreshing is the many African leagues are becoming more professional with each passing year and with the right partners and more will be achieved. Many of the continent’s clubs arte not so dependent on sponsorship money, and I am sure they will survive this as they have done in many perilous years of pursuing excellence in the game they love most
THE COLLAPSE OF GBS WILL HURT BUT IT Is REFRESHING TO KNOW THAT IT WILL NOT KILL OUR LEAUGES IN AFRICA.
Last week, GTV announced it would no longer broadcast to its 100 000-odd subscribers. It closed its doors after a two-year campaign to wrestle as much of the African pay-TV market away from the domination of South African-owned MultiChoice.
GTV is an outgrowth of Gateway Communications, the Pan-African telecommunications company that is also London registered. The two entities separated legally two years ago and Gateway Communications' telecommunications business was bought by mobile network operator Vodacom late last year.
GTV subscriber base was in Botswana, Kenya, Cameroon, Gambia, Gabon, Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
MultiChoice, which has a total of about 1.4 million subscribers across the continent, is still to issue a statement about GTV's liquidation.
However, MultiChoice executives are privately not happy about the situation.
“There is a danger that we end up looking like the bad guys because many think we can just capitalise on the situation. This is not true – GTV built up expectations and now dashed them, and we are the company that is expected to pick up the pieces, even though we had nothing to do with them,” says one MultiChoice executive.
GTV under the broadcast name GBS initiated a massive shake-up in the pay-tv industry in Africa with an aggressive and positive image strategy. Their offerings, while extolling their own good virtues were simultaneously taking swipes at Multichoice who had a monopoly over the industry in most African countries.
Using the magnet of premiership football they gambled hugely and pay huge sums to acquire the premiership right for Africa. The football crazy part of the population rushed for their bouquets and abandoned their DSTV. Within weeks GBS was up and flying in Africa and in Ghana their subscriber base swelled instantaneously. As a business model it was too good to be true. And to add to the excitement many subscribers discovered that GBS was much cheaper than their DSTV subscriptions.
Many DSTV subscribers berated them for leaving them out of the action and excitement of the premiership.
GBS adopted a woo-strategy that was to convince the football authorities across Africa that it was not just in to take money out of the football fans but also to invest in football both locally.
GBS signed agreements with local leagues in Uganda Tanzania, Ghana and Zimbabwe to become broadcast sponsors for these leagues. These contracts were so lucrative that they were unprecedented in the history of professional football in Africa outside North Africa and South Africa. Huge sums of money were pumped into these sponsorship deals , allowing the clubs to plan and invest for the first time in some of these countries. This sponsorship money has revived some of the beneficiary leagues turning them into competitive leagues with even some of them staring to poach players from neighboring countries. This is especially true of Tanzania where the sponsorship deal has revived the league and even boosted the performance of the national team.
In Uganda GTV was to invest over US$5m in Ugandan football for five years, according to their contract with the local soccer body. This would support the development of the game at all levels.
In Ghana GTV invested $1m in the first year of their 3 year contract with the Ghanaian league and had started paying up another $1m for the second year before they collapsed. During their association with the Ghanaian league, television coverage (even though it was largely restricted) became far better, one aspect that had been missing from the local game. The TV production became much more professional and in effect sold the game beyond our borders.
Many local players boosted by better wages and organization were prepare to give our local leaguer a shot instead of the mad rush to seek contracts in the likes of Vietnam and Malaysia. What is refreshing is the many African leagues are becoming more professional with each passing year and with the right partners and more will be achieved. Many of the continent’s clubs arte not so dependent on sponsorship money, and I am sure they will survive this as they have done in many perilous years of pursuing excellence in the game they love most
THE COLLAPSE OF GBS WILL HURT BUT IT Is REFRESHING TO KNOW THAT IT WILL NOT KILL OUR LEAUGES IN AFRICA.
I BELONG TO MONEY
What is pushing Kaka to even consider moving from a high flying club like Ac Milan to a lowly and struggling club with no compelling history like Manchester City? Well some will say Man city with its new status as the “richest club” in the world has what it takes to become as big as big as the Milans of this world in a matter of years. After all look what Abramovic’s money did for Chelsea over the last few seasons. Kaka, one can argue is making a logical decision to become the fulcrum around which a team of world beaters will be built at Mancity and go into football folklore as the one that led a revolution that turned minnow into a giant; just like Maradonna did for Torino and Johan Cryuf for Barcelona in the 1970s and 1980s.
Again Mancity as a team doesn’t look that bad with the likes of Robinho, Elano, Wright-Phillips, Richards etc Kaka will find teammates with the ability and talents to help him in this project. And undoubtedly the arrival of Kaka will convince other world class players to decide to join. In a matter of two seasons Mancity will undoubtedly be competing for the Premiership title and appear in the final stages of the champions League. Furthermore at 26 Kaka has managed to achieve what any players could dream to achieve in their lifetime. He has won all the that there is to be won-two champions League titles, a clutch of Scudettos ,a FIFA World Cup ,a South American Continental Championship , a host of individual honors, the ultimate of which is the FIFA World Player of the Year that he won in 2007.surely he can relax on such laurels or if his ego is still big he could devote the rest of his career seeking a new challenge elsewhere- and what better challenge is there for a footballer than to do what everyone thinks is counterintuitive and totally crazy. There is enough purely footballing reasons for Kaka to move to Mancity.
However the obscene sums being bandied around makes it difficult to defend the legitimate reasons enumerated above. I am well informed that apart from the record £94?(compare this to the 2007 to budget of the republic of Sierra-Leone of $88m ) transfer fee , the personal terms are hard to comprehend. Kaka is reported to be demanding a daily wage of a staggering $120,000 which works up to about $900,000 per week (which works up about $45m per year).
In addition Kaka has negotiated a series of exit and conditional clauses that does little to betray his skepticism and commercial motives behind this unprecedented move. Some of such clauses include a strong commitment from the “deep pocket “Gulf owners of Mancity to commit long-term to the club as well as a steady stream of investment in playing and infrastructure assets. Also kaka has demanded assurances that other world class players will join Mancity as soon as possible failure of which could lead to his exit. It is also reported that Mancity will pay Kaka large sums of money any season they fail to qualify for the UEFA champions League.
The motivation is money and it is not only Kaka who is in to benefit. all sorts of people including the inevitable agents, advisers, financiers deal brokers/makers,lawyers etc. stand to benefit lucratively if the deal pulls through.
A lot of money is at stake a lot of poeple stand to gain so enormous pressure is being exerted on the "innocent" Kaka to sign the deal.
And what do i hear about the other Premiership managers complaining of the sums involved? this is all sour grapes. if they had the kind of money City has i can bet my last dollar on it that they will spent it to get Kaka in their teams. if Spurs spent $30m on Bent , Liverpool spent $50m on Torres, Man U spent $60m on Berbatov and even Arsenal are prepare to spent $30m on Arshavin ;what is wrong with City dolling out a few "quids" on one of the worlds best players?
if kaka signs for city as we all agree is likely to happen , it will not be such a bd thing after all.
Friday, November 21, 2008
COSTLY BENCH WARMERS
The Premiership's most costly bench-warmers have been revealed in a new list published by football website IMScouting.com. Heading the league is West Ham's injury-prone Kieron Dyer, who having played no more than two Premiership games since August 2007 has cost the Hammers an estimated £1.1m per game. He is closely followed by Manchester United's Gary Neville, who is only now returning to long-term action following a succession of long-term injuries. Since the start of last season, Neville has played just four Premiership matches, putting his estimated cost per game at £840,000. Manchester City fans won't be surprised to see the unfortunate Valeri Bojinov as their club's most costly non-performer. Since signing for the Eastlands club in the summer of 2006, Bojinov has played a mere four games due to injury, putting his cost to City at an estimated £480,000 per game. Other high profile names on the list including Tottenham's perenially-crocked Ledley King, costing an estimated £285,000 per game since last August. Louis Saha has cost Everton an estimated £87,000 per game while Dwight Yorke has been worth an estimated £58,000 a game since joining Sunderland. Football database site IMScouting.com created the list by calculating the ratio of estimated salary against Premiership games played amongst players at each top flight club since August 2007.
WHY DO THEY DO IT?
An Investigation into the Motives that drive Ghanaian Football Investors
Our league will commennece in about 24hrs and three teams will join the biggest teams to kick it off. two of the clubs are competing in the league fro the very first time, while the other one is a traditional club just back from the lower division wilderness after a decade absecne.
Every year people across the country get very passionate about the game so much. People fight in board rooms for control over clubs whose structure makes no business sense in a market that is thin in market size with very little source of auxiliary income. football is an expensive undertaking that offers little reward especially in a country like ours.
So why are so many people prepared to take the risk of investing in football?
Our league will commennece in about 24hrs and three teams will join the biggest teams to kick it off. two of the clubs are competing in the league fro the very first time, while the other one is a traditional club just back from the lower division wilderness after a decade absecne.
Every year people across the country get very passionate about the game so much. People fight in board rooms for control over clubs whose structure makes no business sense in a market that is thin in market size with very little source of auxiliary income. football is an expensive undertaking that offers little reward especially in a country like ours.
So why are so many people prepared to take the risk of investing in football?
WHY RACISM IS STILL RIFE IN THE SAPNISH GAME
On the weekend of the first week in Nov , Samuel Etoo fro the umpteenth time got racially abused by the fans Real Zaragoza.
Spain has a really bad example of failing to to clamp down on racism in the beautiful game. There numerous counts of abuses against Black players with the culprits ranging in outlook and orientation.Particularly for Etoo , it is distressing to see such a brilliant superstar ,well behaved and a great addition to the Spanish game receive such bigotry for no apparent reason most often.Racism is so rife even the top clubs are involved.And they are getting bolder, taking it into international games and Champions league games as well
the other day it was Athletico Madrid racially abusing not only black players of Marseilles but Black journalist traveling with them as well.
I pin this bad state of affairs down to one person ;Louis Aragones. This revered coach who recently took Spain to the Euro championships earlier in the summer made a couple of racial remarks and was left unpunished and this i believe has emboldened the extremists.The football community must clamp down hard on racism or else a few bad ones will mar this beautiful game
PLB PULLS THE RUG FROM UNDER THE FEET OF ONE TOUCH
Just this afternoon , the Professional League Board , that organizes the Ghana Premier league released a press statement in which they announced that One touch will no longer be the Title Sponsors of the 2008/09 league season which starts this weekend.
this development is not really a surprise since there has been talk in football circles that most of the people who call the shots in Ghanaian Football are not happy with the offer of OneTouch(whose new owners , Vodafone, are believed not to be too keen on sponsoring the Ghanaian league anyway)plus the keen interest from other potential sponsors that are willing to pay top cedis for the title sponsorship.
Ghana Football seems to be in for a nice walk to the bank due to the fierce competition among some of the highest growth sector corporations looking for opportunity to promote their brands.
Waiting in the wings are Glo and Zain ,both newcomers to the country's highly competitive telecom industry and willing to pay well for the opportunity to have their name associated with an event like the League which is covered nationwide plus the benefit of television coverage in the form of GBS.
A lot of money will be poured into football this season like never before and we all pray that it will be used to lay a firm foundation for the take-off of truly professional football in the Country.
this development is not really a surprise since there has been talk in football circles that most of the people who call the shots in Ghanaian Football are not happy with the offer of OneTouch(whose new owners , Vodafone, are believed not to be too keen on sponsoring the Ghanaian league anyway)plus the keen interest from other potential sponsors that are willing to pay top cedis for the title sponsorship.
Ghana Football seems to be in for a nice walk to the bank due to the fierce competition among some of the highest growth sector corporations looking for opportunity to promote their brands.
Waiting in the wings are Glo and Zain ,both newcomers to the country's highly competitive telecom industry and willing to pay well for the opportunity to have their name associated with an event like the League which is covered nationwide plus the benefit of television coverage in the form of GBS.
A lot of money will be poured into football this season like never before and we all pray that it will be used to lay a firm foundation for the take-off of truly professional football in the Country.
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