WC final sets viewership record in US - 13/07/2010
The World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands was the most-watched football game in US television history, drawing 24.3 million viewers, said Nielsen.
According to a report on the IoL site, the final on the ABC network and Spanish-language Univision outdrew the June 26 US-Ghana match, which attracted 19.4 million viewers, and the 18.1 million viewers for the 1994 Italy-Brazil World Cup final, Nielsen said.
TV viewers could soon be able to cut out the sound of the vuvuzela when they watch World Cup matches. The BBC is thinking about the possibility of offering ’vuvuzela-free’ coverage via its interactive red button function after hundreds of complaints.
Fans say the droning sound of the plastic horns, which has been likened to the buzzing of millions of angry bees, is drowning out coverage and leaving them with aching eardrums.
As isolated complaints of interrupted cellphone network services trickle in, South Africa’s communications authority believes the country’s three big cellular operators are ready to deal with the surge in users over the next six weeks. South Africa’s cellular user database of 50 million is expected to receive an injection of over 600 000 SIM cards, issued to foreign ticket purchasers visiting the country for the World Cup.
The South Gauteng Court ruled to lift the veil of secrecy over the 2010 World Cup tendering process. The New Times notes that this came after the Mail and Guardian had made an application for such to the court asking it to force the LOC to release the documents to it. Acting judge Les Morrison ruled that the LOC must turn over such documents to the newspaper within 30 days. The LOC had sought to defend the claim on the grounds that it was not a public entity and as such did not have to comply with public procurement legislation.
If you don’t have tickets to the game, here’s a novel way to enjoy the 2010 World Cup and entertain your kids. The Times reports that the ’3D World Created by Sony’ allows visitors to watch highlights of the 25 matches filmed during the 2010 World Cup in full 3D screening. The 240-seater dome in Nelson Mandela Square will feature not only 3D football images, but will provide entertainment including music, movies and games during the tournament.
Satellite dishes have been springing up on shacks in Cape Town squatter camps as shebeen owners install DStv to attract 2010 World Cup fans. Not content with just attracting a beer-swilling crowd, some shebeen owners are planning to cash in further by charging a R5 cover charge per game. This practice has been slammed by Fifa, with the Department of Trade and Industry indicating earlier this year that a R50 000 licence would be required if establishments wished to make money out of screening World Cup matches.
Good news for music fans who can’t make it to the grand 2010 World Cup Kickoff Celebration Concert at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, the spectacle is to be screened live on SABC1, and also shown live around the world, from 8pm to 11pm on June 10, notes a Tonight report. It has also been announced that nine-time South African Music Award-winner and Afro-soul sensation, Lira, has been added to the main programme, while a host of other local acts have been signed up to contribute to the concert’s afternoon warm-up spectacle.
They live in one of the poorest areas of Cape Town but that hasn’t stopped residents from installing satellite TV in their shacks. At least two Blikkiesdorp shacks have satellite dishes and the owners say they won’t hesitate to let people watch 2010 World Cup games at their homes. Spaza shop owner Charmaine Walters says her boyfriend surprised her with a decoder.
FIFA should embrace coverage, not curb it – 21/05/2010
Guy Burger, Mail & Guardian: Sometimes it’s better to hope for forgiveness, rather than to ask for permission. This is what the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) must be thinking after the group asked FIFA to loosen its limits on journalists delivering coverage to cellphones. What they got instead was a tightening of coverage conditions. The story begins in January with Sanef writing to FIFA, pointing out newspapers’ unhappiness with the restrictions. No reply was forthcoming, so the organisation tried again in March.
Furore erupts over licensing of mobile TV operators – 21/05/2010
A broadcasting consortium, backed by high-profile shareholders, including former Telkom chairman Shirley Lue Arnold, is up in arms over what it suspects was a serious breach in procedure by the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa). Icasa wants to issue the licences for the digital video broadcasting handheld (DVB-H) technology before the 2010 World Cup.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup is Africa’s biggest-ever broadcast event, and it is putting its ICT infrastructure to the test. South Africa has made significant investments into its information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure in a bid to meet commitments, guaranteed by the Department of Communications, as part of the country’s hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Tele-management reports that these guarantees cover the provision of connections between the public telecommunications exchanges of Telkom SA, Africa’s largest integrated communications company, and the ten stadiums, as well as the high-technology International Broadcast Centre (IBC), in Johannesburg.
Telkom has recently entered into its 2010 World Cup ’network freeze period’ which will continue until 16 July. According to a MyADSL.co.za report, this development raised concerns among consumers and service providers about potential poor service levels from Telkom. One ADSL service provider warned their subscribers that ’All line faults and Telkom orders that are processed before 05 May 2010 will take longer than its normal activation period due to Telkom freezing period for the 2010 World cup.’
All 2010 World Cup games will be broadcast in all languages, the SABC has announced. Having been commissioned by FIFA to broadcast all 64 matches in all 11 official languages, the SABC are the only official broadcaster of the games. SABC CEO Solly Mokoetle announced that television and radio signals will be simulcast for the World Cup, allowing viewers and listeners to hear commentary on the games in ’their own beautiful language’. According to a report on the IoL site, the SABC’s three channels will be accompanied by 18 radio stations to make sure that no one in the country will be left out during the event.
S.Korea threatens to block soccer broadcasts – 12/05/2010
South Korea could block broadcasts of 2010 World Cup matches to football-mad Pyongyang, venting anger over the loss of a warship before North Korea make their first appearance in the tournament since their giant-slaying performance of 1966. Seoul has few practical responses to the loss of a corvette, which it suspects North Korea torpedoed in late March, killing 46 sailors. Pulling the plug on coverage of next month’s World Cup finals could touch a nerve.
The South African technology infrastructure (telephone systems, electronic communications) has come under the microscope recently. Sunday World reports that there are concerns that it could be found lacking in coping with the influx of thousands of sophisticated global tourists expected to arrive here for the 2010 World Cup. But Telkom’s World Cup programme director Themba Magazi says the telecommunications giant is confident of honouring all its obligations to FIFA.
The SABC last week failed to broadcast the friendly match between Bafana Bafana and North Korea in Germany live despite it being the official 2010 World Cup broadcaster. The Sowetan reports that the match was broadcast two and half hours after kick-off. But SABC radio stations were able to run live commentary on time. SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said they were unable to broadcast the match on time because they were informed late that the game was in the early evening. It has also emerged that the SABC failed to secure a broadcast centre for the World Cup games.
Telecoms operators seem well prepared for the large influx of network users during the 2010 World Cup, say analysts. ’They (operators) have had enough time to prepare. I think they’ve all done the adequate planning, but of course capacity is still a concern,’ says MD of BMI-TechKnowledge Denis Smit. ITWeb reports that there are a number of initiatives that are being embarked on by operators. Included in these initiatives are several attempts to maximise capacity.
Soccer Cinema to inspire 50 small towns – 12/04/2010
A mobile cinema has set off on a tour of 50 small towns around South Africa to bring the best football documentaries to those who won’t be able to afford to see any 2010 World Cup games live at the stadiums. Bizcommunity.com reports that the aim of the project is to stir up excitement in the build-up to the World Cup and give audiences an opportunity to learn more about history’s greatest teams and football stars. Sponsored by the National Lottery Fund, Soccer Cinema began its cross-country journey in Cape Town on 6 April, and is due to end on 2 June 2010.
The 2010 World Cup final at Soccer City in Johannesburg will be among 25 matches at this year’s tournament broadcast in 3D. Sports24 reports that 25 of the 64 matches in South Africa will be filmed by at least seven dedicated pairs of cameras, with record five-time World Cup winner Brazil the most featured team. All three of its group matches are among the 15 first-round games scheduled for broadcast. Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Argentina, South Korea and Nigeria will each appear twice, with England and France among the 10 sides who must advance to stand a chance of their matches being shown in the format.
SA will get its own communications satellite dedicated to the 2010 World Cup. The satellite, from international communication satellite operator Intelsat, will be used exclusively for carrying the high-definition broadcast signals from the event to the rest of the world, notes a Tech Central report. State-owned broadcast signal distributor Sentech, which has constructed a satellite uplink facility in Johannesburg to carry the signals for the soccer spectacular, has commissioned the satellite, the IS-706, for the event. Flavien Bachabi, regional vice-president for Africa at Intelsat, says the company has been involved in World Cup events since the 1960s. It has provided dedicated satellites for previous World Cup events and for the Olympic Games.
Mobile operator MTN said it had invested R7.1bn upgrading its domestic network and infrastructure ahead of 2010 World Cup. The company said that as part of the work it had completed network coverage upgrades at all stadiums being used in the tournament. MTN is one of the sponsors of the month-long tournament, giving it exclusive mobile content rights.
As official broadcaster the SABC holds the rights to air the tournament. E.tv is not a rights holder and will not be airing any of the matches (live or delayed), but it has still patriotically dedicated itself to being a part of the 2010 World Cup. Vasili Vass, e.tv’s spokesperson states: ’The 2010 World Cup is a big event in the country and as a channel we will be covering the matches in our bulletins giving in-depth reports and analysis of all the games as well as a look at how South African’s and visitors to the country are responding to the games.’
Three broadcasters in Hong Kong are feuding over 2010 World Cup TV rights in a dispute that could leave fans without free coverage of the month-long contest. The Daily Dispatch reports that locals have adopted European clubs as their favourites, frequently staying up late to watch the English Premier League and La Liga despite the time difference. So every four years, come World Cup time, this hectic city of seven million people is engaged in an extended soccer frenzy. But this year, the anticipation has been tempered by a dispute over TV rights. The impasse stems from failed negotiations between Hong Kong’s authorised broadcaster, the pay-TV station Cable TV, and the territory’s two leading free-to-air broadcasters, TVB and ATV.
Trade union Solidarity claims Telkom will urgently have to tackle its labour relations problems to ensure that the 2010 World Cup goes off without a hitch, says a report in The Herald. ’Employees of all three trade unions in Telkom’s largest single unit, Data Advance Services (Das), are unhappy about salary discrepancies between them and employees of the company’s Merlot project, a unit responsible for the telecommunications company’s largest contracts,’ Solidarity said.
Cellular phone companies MTN and Vodacom used the 2010 World Cup 100 days countdown celebrations to mobilise Africans to embrace the event. At the MTN function in Roodepoort, also attended by various artists, the company unveiled the ’Africa Unite’ campaign. The Sowetan reports that the company’s 2010 World Cup manager, Ntombi Mahangwe, said: ’The campaign is aimed at mobilising support for the World Cup in Africa.’ In Midrand Vodacom lined up Bafana Bafana players Teko Modise, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Itumeleng Khune and Reneilwe Letsholonyane as part of the celebrations. Also present were players from Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.
Aggreko has won a £30m contract to provide power for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The Telegraph reports that the company signed the contract to provide temporary power and temperature control for broadcast and technical services for the tournament. As part of the deal, Aggreko will supply broadcasting power in all 10 World Cup stadium venues, the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) and FIFA headquarters. It will also provide temperature control at the IBC. Rupert Soames, chief executive of Aggreko, said: ’Having recently supplied temporary power to both the Vancouver Winter Olympics and last year’s Confederations Cup in South Africa, we are delighted to have been selected by the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee to secure their broadcast power.’
Government has spent R1.5 billion on telecommunications and broadcasting in anticipation of the 2010 World Cup. ITWeb reports that the bulk of this spending has been on transport, at R12.95 billion, followed by stadium construction at R11.7 billion. Telecommunications and broadcasting spend was the third highest amount. Of the R1.5 billion the government has allocated for the games, R1.2 billion went to Telkom for access network infrastructure, while R300 million went to Sentech for satellite backup.
2010 World Cup sponsor MTN said it had launched a content portal to enable its more than 100 million users to watch near live match highlights of the finals on their mobile handsets. According to Business Report, MTN is one of the sponsors of the tournament, giving it exclusive mobile content rights. The portal called MTN Play, would enable MTN users to also watch video clips of their favourite teams and follow their teams’ performance during the tournament.
2010 mobile advertising booming in SA – 09/02/2010
There is a clear indication that the South African mobile advertising sector is headed towards a massive boom as the 2010 World Cup draws near - thanks to the phenomenal growth of the continent’s cellphone market and soccer passion. Bizcoomunity.com reports that the SA sector, boosted by a partnership signed in December last year between local WAP mobile advertising firm MobiClicks and India-based InMobi, is on the way to becoming one of the world’s most lucrative markets, with over 650 million mobile ads requests per month.
Bafana Bafana will become part of broadcasting history when their opening game of the 2010 World Cup is filmed and screened in 3D, notes a Bizcommunity.com report. Connecticut-based sports broadcaster ESPN is to launch a new 3D network in mid-2010, just in time for Africa’s first World Cup, which kicks off on 11 June. At least 25 games in the much-anticipated football extravaganza will be shown in thrilling 3D, giving fans the sensation that the ball is hurtling towards them and about to fly right out of the screen.
