News - August 2006  

According to ArkSports forecasts, there will be 13.98m unique online poker players globally by 2011, generating a total of $7.6bn in gross revenue, up from 5.8m in 2005, worth $3.4bn. The full set of forecasts by major global markets are included in the new report The Global Business of Poker, published at the end of July by ArkSports and written by leading report author Rachael Church. For further details see: www.sportandtechnology.com/page/0359.html

Around 50 industry professionals including representatives from FIFA, London 2012, the FA Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur FC, Siemens, BT and the International Tennis Federation, joined ArkSports and event sponsor The Sports Recruitment Company on the evening of Thursday 3 August in Covent Garden, London, for the second networking event for the Sport and Technology Executive Club (STEC). As well as mingling over a glass of Pimms, members enjoying showing their competitive sides over games of poker and table football. The January 2007 STEC networking evening will be hosted at the House of Commons by Derek Wyatt MP who, as well as being an inaugural member of STEC, is Chairman of both the All Party Internet and All Party Rugby Groups at Westminster. Derek was formerly Director of The Computer Channel at BSkyB. The event will be sponsored by PA Sport. S&T will shortly be announcing the sponsor and venue for the October 2006 event. Meanwhile, STEC member Pascal Wattiaux, Director of Technology at London 2012, will be featured in the first STEC podcast, which will be available to STEC members for download by early October. See www.sportandtechnologyexecutiveclub.com for membership details and fees.

The future of online gaming and gambling will be the subject of two seminars
hosted by ArkSports over the next few months. The first will be a panel discussion at SPORTELMonaco on Wednesday 18 October (9.30-10.45am), and the second will be a free
breakfast seminar held in association with Clintons Solicitors in London on 26 October, streamed by Premium TV to STEC members. Further details will appear on the Sport and Technology website in the ‘Events’ section.

Octagon CSI, a producer and distributor of televised sports and entertainment, and global communications solutions and services company BT, have announced an expanded strategic alliance to produce and distribute content for TV, mobile and broadband. As part of the agreement, Octagon CSI and BT will build a state-of-the-art production facility at BT Tower in London. The alliance will enable both companies to maximise the potential of their traditional businesses and deliver content through innovative media products while at the same time capitalising on synergies in other parts of the business. Octagon CSI produces global programming for the English Football Association, including live transmitted FA Cup matches and England internationals to TV broadcasters, mobile and internet customers. It also produces and distributes live matches for the Coca-Cola Football League and Carling Cup as well as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Meanwhile, BT has signed a five-year deal with TeamCard. The loyalty scheme is already used by Chelsea, Bolton Wanderers and Everton soccer clubs in the UK. The scheme enables fans to get exclusive merchandise and offers from their club shops.

Gamebookers, an online sports betting and casino operator, has become the official gold sponsor of Premier French League soccer side FC Nantes for the next three seasons. The deal will see the ‘Gamebookers.com’ logo feature on the team shirt of all home games (back) and away games (front). The deal will also give Gamebookers, which is owned by the world's leading online gaming company, PartyGaming Plc, visibility for its brand all around the FC Nantes stadium. Gamebookers was acquired on 3 August 2006 by PartyGaming.

Servecast, the streaming media partner for Chelsea Football Club and
other English Premiership soccer clubs, successfully delivered live broadband coverage of Chelsea's pre season friendly games for the 2006-07 season. Broadcast over Chelsea TV Online, the three matches on 5, 8 and 9 August against MLS All Stars, Feyenoord and Celtic respectively were available live for online viewers. Both the Feyenoord and the Celtic games were available for viewing on a worldwide basis; whereas the Chelsea game against MLS All Stars was available live for UK online viewers. This initiative was part of a long term plan to promote Chelsea TV Online and enhance the broadband service with live streaming of Chelsea games. Servecast has created a 'Live' channel within the viewing media console on Chelsea TV Online to accommodate the live games which were broadcasted. Servecast also streamed friendlies for Arsenal and Manchester United in the build up to the new season in the UK.

In July 2006, Tickets.com, a provider of integrated ticketing solutions, kicked off its online ticket sales for the Atlanta Silverbacks of the United Soccer League in the US. Through its ProVenueMax licensed ticketing system, Tickets.com is providing advanced ticketing solutions, including its client-branded internet engine, enabling online ticket sales on the Silverbacks' website. The installation of a new ticketing system coincided with the opening of the Silverbacks' new stadium earlier this season on 3 June. As part of the ticket buying process, fans can now print their tickets from a home or office computer with Tickets.com's Tickets@Home functionality. The Silverbacks are also taking advantage of on-site kiosks for will call and 24/7 ticket sales, as well as Tickets.com's Access Control, which automates and speeds up the entry process and provides the soccer club with critical customer service information.

For the first time ever, MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, provided a free, live video webcast of a high school baseball game in the US. The second annual Baseball Express Cape Cod High School Classic, powered by Baseball Factory and Team One, took place in Wareham on 28 July 2006 and was streamed live on MLB.com and MiLB.com (MinorLeagueBaseball.com) and was also available on BaseballFactory.com, TeamOneBaseball.com and BaseballExpress.com. The second annual Baseball Express Cape Cod High School Classic showcased 36 of the most talented high school seniors from across the nation.

The Nikon Corporation inked a deal with UK sports radio station TalkSport to sponsor its coverage of the British Open Golf Championship during July 2006. Nikon had already sponsored The Open for 13 years and decided to extend its involvement by joining up with the official radio station for the event following a successful response to a Nikon radio advertising campaign earlier in July.

Mobile telecoms company MTN Group Limited has signed an international deal with FIFA to become a World Cup sponsor until 2010. The contract awards the company global rights to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, alongside fellow African corporation First National Bank. MTN is already the title sponsor of the Africa Cup of Nations. The MTN Group's sponsorship of the 2010 FIFA World Cup affords the company the exclusive mobile content rights for Africa and the Middle East as well as global marketing rights. Announcing the company's $65m sponsorship over four years, MTN group president and CEO, Phuthuma Nhleko said: "This is probably the most significant global event that will take place in Africa in the foreseeable future. The event provides significant attractive opportunities for Africa to showcase its ability to host events of such magnitude." MTN, which has recently concluded the acquisition of Investcom LLC, is the leading mobile operator in Africa and the Middle East with 500m people in its footprint area.