According to PA Sport, FIFA has insisted that video replays were not used to send off France’s Zinedine Zidane in the World Cup Final on 9 July. The captain of 1998 World Cup host and winner France was give a red card after he head-butted Italy’s Marco Materazzi's chest. The off-the-ball incident was allegedly missed by Argentinian referee Horacio Elizondo and his linesmen, but was spotted by the fourth official Luis Medina Cantalejo from Spain. France coach Raymond Domenech has suggested that the fourth official only took action after seeing a video replay - something that is not permitted under the rules of the game. But FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren told PA Sport: "The fourth referee saw the incident with his own eyes and told the referee and the assistant referee directly though their headsets." FIFA said that although the fifth official does have a TV monitor, he is not permitted to intervene, and the fourth official has no access to video replays. The controversy looks set to continue.
500m mobile TV subs by 2011
In 2011, mobile TV services will have 514m subscribers worldwide, up from only 6.4m at the end of 2005, a new ABI Research study claims. The market for mobile television is beginning to build significant momentum. ABI believes that the majority of subscription services will be for broadcast content, and that unicast-only subscriptions will not be a significant part of the market. Meanwhile, Nokia has announced a new contract with TeliaSonera Sweden for a complete DVB-H trial system, including Nokia Mobile Broadcast System 3.0 and Nokia N92 mobile TV devices. The system is currently being installed at the Nokia facility in Kista, Stockholm, supported by Nokia's consulting and integration services. The system will be in extensive use in Gothenburg and Stockholm from early August until year-end.
Red Bee expands Piero’s reach
Hot on the heels of Sky Italia, TV Globo in Brazil and Hong Kong Cable bought Red Bee Media's (formerly BBC Broadcast) Piero system in time for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The Piero technology places pictures of real players into a virtual stadium, where it is possible to view and analyse play from different angles in animated sequences. It is the only technology of its kind with a seamless transition between original footage and a virtual stadium. Offside, forward passing and other offences can be seen from the best angle for analysis - even if the play has not been captured at this angle. To form an inclusive graphics package, Piero also features the ability to track players across the grass and place pointers, badges and scores on the pitch in 'live' video. It can also be used to place virtual advertising in real footage or virtual stadiums.
World Cup joy for AFP
France has had some success in the FIFA World Cup, despite losing to Italy in the Final on penalties. French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) achieved considerable exposure through being the exclusive provider of live ‘MatchCast’ pictures to FIFA's official World Cup website, FIFAworldcup.com. AFP also provided most of the news available on FIFAworldcup.com in nine different languages, including Chinese, Italian, Japanese, and Korean, which undoubtedly contributed to the record-breaking audience figures. Over 100,000 pictures were sold through ‘ImageForum’, AFP's online image database, which represented a record for the agency. For the first two weeks of the competition, 2.5bn page views were achieved on FIFAworldcup.com, with a record 249m hits on Thursday, 22 June. And from 9 June through 9 July, FIFAworldcup.com more than doubled the traffic output for the 2002 FIFA World Cup's official website, achieiving 4.2bn page views. More than 125m video streams were accessed, over 875,000 fantasy sign-ups recorded and more than 73m pages viewed on the mobile web portal.
Mobile hoops deal
Groupe Sporever has signed an exclusive agreement with FIBA to distribute the FIBA World Basketball Championship’s mobile rights internationally. The event will take place in Japan between 19 August and 3 September. According to the agreement, Groupe Sporever will also be responsible for the audiovisual production of the event for mobile operators in selected countries throughout the world. For the first time, basketball fans will be able to download clips of key action from the floor just a few minutes after the live action. Each video clip will be customised to meet mobile phone requirements (extensive use of slow motion, close-up shots, and original voice overs).
New deals for Servecast
Digital sportscaster Servecast has secured a three year deal with Ice Media Productions, the UK company devoted to British Ice Hockey broadcasting, to manage the live and archive broadband video service for the British Elite Ice Hockey league. Servecast has also announced a partnership with MBS Productions to webcast Cage Rage 17 - 'The Ultimate Challenge' on 1 July 2006 live over the internet. Furthermore, Servecast has also recently signed a five year contract with English Premier League’s Everton Football Club as the club's exclusive partner for streaming media and broadband services.
Italian soccer mobile rights granted
Mobile content distributor Digital Orchid has been granted the rights to deliver soccer content from the Premiere Serie A Games of la Lega De Italia across its wireless distribution networks in the Americas. Granted through La Lega's media technology partner, Blutech of Madrid, Digital Orchid's rights shall also include highlights and images from 2006 FIFA World Cup champion Italy’s national team games and the Champions League tournament.
Globecast saddles up for Tour de France
Globecast, a global provider of satellite broadcast and content management services and a subsidiary of France Telecom, is to supply France Télévisions and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) with satellite coverage of the 2006 Tour de France. Globecast will deploy up to nine SNGs and mobile microwave units at each stage of the race supported by 30 technical professionals from 1-23 July 2006. Footage shot via motorcycle and helicopter by Société Française de Production will be transmitted over Telecom 2C back to France Télévisions’ production trucks at the finish line via Globecast mobile units stationed at various points along the course. In all, Globecast's solution will support up to 20 simultaneous video signals for complete live coverage. Globecast will also distribute EBU's international rights holder feed via satellite.
FISU launches streaming website
FISU, the International University Sports Federation, has announced the official launch of ‘FISU Web TV’, its internet television channel that will showcase its Summer and Winter Universiades. The Federation was an early pioneer of video production on the internet - during the 2001 Winter Universiade in Zakopane, Poland, FISU streamed its first video programme on the web. FISU is extending its production by adding news and highlights of its different activities: Universiades, World University Championships, Forum, meetings and other activities organized within the Federation.
Women flock to online bingo
OnlineBingo.co.uk has found that 88% of online bingo players are female and the average player is just over 45 years old. Interestingly the male players are younger than the females at an average age of 37 with the women coming in at an average of 47 years old. The two most widely played forms of online bingo are 75 ball and 90 ball. OnlineBingo.co.uk found that 47% of people love both types, 46% of people strongly prefer 90 ball and just 7% of users prefer 75 ball bingo. OnlineBingo.co.uk found that the majority of players - 38% - play online bingo daily. 15% of players were playing 2-3 times a week and just 8% of players played only once a month.
Page from ArkSports' Sport and Technology (www.sportandtechnology.com) on 2008-11-21 : News - July 2006 : http://www.sportandtechnology.com/news/0394.html
According to PA Sport, FIFA has insisted that video replays were not used to send off France’s Zinedine Zidane in the World Cup Final on 9 July. The captain of 1998 World Cup host and winner France was give a red card after he head-butted Italy’s Marco Materazzi's chest. The off-the-ball incident was allegedly missed by Argentinian referee Horacio Elizondo and his linesmen, but was spotted by the fourth official Luis Medina Cantalejo from Spain. France coach Raymond Domenech has suggested that the fourth official only took action after seeing a video replay - something that is not permitted under the rules of the game. But FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren told PA Sport: "The fourth referee saw the incident with his own eyes and told the referee and the assistant referee directly though their headsets." FIFA said that although the fifth official does have a TV monitor, he is not permitted to intervene, and the fourth official has no access to video replays. The controversy looks set to continue.
Groupe Sporever has signed an exclusive agreement with FIBA to distribute the FIBA World Basketball Championship’s mobile rights internationally. The event will take place in Japan between 19 August and 3 September. According to the agreement, Groupe Sporever will also be responsible for the audiovisual production of the event for mobile operators in selected countries throughout the world. For the first time, basketball fans will be able to download clips of key action from the floor just a few minutes after the live action. Each video clip will be customised to meet mobile phone requirements (extensive use of slow motion, close-up shots, and original voice overs).
OnlineBingo.co.uk has found that 88% of online bingo players are female and the average player is just over 45 years old. Interestingly the male players are younger than the females at an average age of 37 with the women coming in at an average of 47 years old. The two most widely played forms of online bingo are 75 ball and 90 ball. OnlineBingo.co.uk found that 47% of people love both types, 46% of people strongly prefer 90 ball and just 7% of users prefer 75 ball bingo. OnlineBingo.co.uk found that the majority of players - 38% - play online bingo daily. 15% of players were playing 2-3 times a week and just 8% of players played only once a month.
