Despite prohibition imposed on online gambling in the US, there are still areas of growth in the global poker market according to a new industry report. There will be 18.3m unique online poker players globally by 2012, generating a total of $10.03bn in gross revenue, up from 7.09m in 2006, worth $4.1bn. The full set of forecasts for poker broadand by major global markets are included in the second edition of market leading report The Global Business of Poker, published at the end of July 2007 by SportBusiness and written by well-known report author Rachael Church-Sanders. For further details contact Ian Larcombe at SportBusiness on +44 (0) 20 7954 3412 or e-mail ian@igamingbusiness.com.
Digital sports company acquisitions
Sport and Technology ezine sponsor Premium TV has been bought by Access Industries, the US group behind pay TV service TopUpTV. The deal, reckoned to be worth around $50m, will see Access picking up Premium TV’s portfolio of over 150 websites and 50 mobile sites. Access, which also owns stakes in Russian broadcaster CTC Media, Warner Music and mobile messaging firm Acision, as well as real estate and chemical firms, said Premium TV would play a central role within its digital media strategy. Meanwhile, Dublin-based Servecast Limited, a sponsor of Sport and Technology: The Conference 2007, has been bought by US fibre-optic network operator Level 3 Communications for around $45m. Servecast, which had revenues of about $5m in 2006, will help the company manage and distribute online video content in multiple formats to meet the growing demand for video over the internet, Level 3 said. The company added that it plans to keep the company's headquarters and broadcast operations center in Dublin and its data centers in London and Amsterdam.
‘Almost there’ for PA Sport
PA Sport has launched an 'almost there' match day experience for soccer fans in the UK and Europe for UK leagues and cup competitions as well as cup competitons in Europe. Match Centre is a white-label soccer service, which provides dynamic real time content. The hosted and managed service is delivered in a client’s brand, with space for advertising to allow maximum revenue generation. It is therefore ideal for a wide range of websites including ISPs, sport and betting services, broadcasters and soccer club official sites. Match Centre displays updates of all the major match incidents from the first kick to the last. The product combines PA Sport’s data feed with essential match information and ShootLive photography, all delivered and updated during matches. Match Centre content includes: Enhanced text commentary; Live in-game stats – goals scored, yellow and red cards, shots on and off target, offsides, corners and free kicks; Near-live in-game photography from ShootLive; Live updating league table; Goal and action sound alerts; Live ticker of other divisional scores; Editorial and statistical match previews; Editorial and statistical match reviews; Team lists with formation and headshots; and Team stats including head-to-heads, top goalscorers, discipline etc.
Just the ticket for LA Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy, two-times winner of the Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup, is the first team in the league to use StratBridge's StratTix ticket analysis software to maximise ticket sales throughout the season. Team President and general manager Alexi Lalas, a former star on the US national team and in MLS, uses StratTix to see up-to-the-minute information about sold and available seating. The software allows Lalas and his sales staff to cull ticket information from a variety of sources to gain a real-time view of ticket inventories via a graphical representation of the Home Depot Center. With just a couple of mouseclicks, the team can identify previously hidden ticket purchase patterns and trends within a single game or the entire season; track the impact marketing campaigns such as advertising, promotions and direct mail have on sales; and monitor the effects of price changes on sales both visually and quantitatively.
Canon at the China Open
Tennis tournament the 2007 China Open (pictured right in 2005 courtesy of Getty Images Sport/Cancan Chu), to be held in Beijing from 8-23 September and sponsored by Canon, will be a grander and more spectacular event than before, according to the tournament organising committee. The 2007 China Open aims to draw on new technology, participation by some of the world's leading players and “more than a touch of Beijing glamour” to establish itself as one of the world's leading tennis tournaments.
Horseplay for WCSN
World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) has announced an agreement with the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) to provide exclusive live and on-demand coverage of Samsung Super League events and competitions from around the world. Equestrian fans in the US will be able to watch each show jumping event from the five-month long season via WCSN's expansive network, including the newly launched equestrian channel at www.wcsn.com/equestrian, WCSN's 24/7 television channel and its syndicated television series. Fans will be able to watch all the rail jumps, triple combinations and double-clear performances throughout the season live and on-demand as Olympic hopefuls train and prepare for the 2008 Games in Beijing.
Betfair sponsors RFU
England's Rugby Football Union has agreed to be sponsored by online betting exchange Betfair. The agreement was announced 17 months after Betfair signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the RFU to monitor gambling patterns in the sport and look out for suspicious activity. The RFU has agreed to a two-year contract with London-based Betfair, which makes the company its official betting partner. Fans will be able to bet on matches at Twickenham, including those in the Six Nations, from next season.
Football League signs up with Virgin Media
A new deal in the UK between Virgin Media and the Football League will see highlights of Football League matches made available on Virgin Media's broadband and mobile phone platforms on demand for up to one week after transmission. The service will start ahead of the Coca Cola Championship.
Google phones home
Google has confirmed that it will attempt to move into the telecoms market by spending $4.6bn on mobile phone spectrum in the US if certain conditions are met when the airwaves are auctioned. The company said that it would spend the money if the Federal Communications Commission adopts certain rules for the auction process, such as forcing carriers to lease spectrum to others offering services at wholesale rates.
Setanta and RWC
Setanta Sports North America will be the exclusive live broadband broadcaster of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, which kicks off in France on 7 September 2007. Fans will be able to pre-order Setanta’s broadband ‘Tournament Ticket’, featuring all 48 matches live, for $119.99. The package will also offer interviews, classic footage, and behind-the-scenes material. Fans also have the option of a web package from MediaZone for $49.99 that will show all matches on 24-hour delay.
Page from ArkSports' Sport and Technology (www.sportandtechnology.com) on 2008-10- 1 : News - July 2007 : http://www.sportandtechnology.com/news/0512.html
Despite prohibition imposed on online gambling in the US, there are still areas of growth in the global poker market according to a new industry report. There will be 18.3m unique online poker players globally by 2012, generating a total of $10.03bn in gross revenue, up from 7.09m in 2006, worth $4.1bn. 
PA Sport has launched an 'almost there' match day experience for soccer fans in the UK and Europe for UK leagues and cup competitions as well as cup competitons in Europe. Match Centre is a white-label soccer service, which provides dynamic real time content. The hosted and managed service is delivered in a client’s brand, with space for advertising to allow maximum revenue generation. It is therefore ideal for a wide range of websites including ISPs, sport and betting services, broadcasters and soccer club official sites. Match Centre displays updates of all the major match incidents from the first kick to the last. The product combines PA Sport’s data feed with essential match information and ShootLive photography, all delivered and updated during matches. Match Centre content includes: Enhanced text commentary; Live in-game stats – goals scored, yellow and red cards, shots on and off target, offsides, corners and free kicks; Near-live in-game photography from ShootLive; Live updating league table; Goal and action sound alerts; Live ticker of other divisional scores; Editorial and statistical match previews; Editorial and statistical match reviews; Team lists with formation and headshots; and Team stats including head-to-heads, top goalscorers, discipline etc.
Tennis tournament the 2007 China Open (pictured right in 2005 courtesy of Getty Images Sport/Cancan Chu), to be held in Beijing from 8-23 September and sponsored by Canon, will be a grander and more spectacular event than before, according to the tournament organising committee. The 2007 China Open aims to draw on new technology, participation by some of the world's leading players and “more than a touch of Beijing glamour” to establish itself as one of the world's leading tennis tournaments.
Google has confirmed that it will attempt to move into the telecoms market by spending $4.6bn on mobile phone spectrum in the US if certain conditions are met when the airwaves are auctioned. The company said that it would spend the money if the Federal Communications Commission adopts certain rules for the auction process, such as forcing carriers to lease spectrum to others offering services at wholesale rates.
