ESS KICKS COMPETITION INTO TOUCH: Premier League is the jewel in the crown for ESS, as Leithen Francis reports

<p>ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has triggered a massive change in Asia's </p><p>television landscape by winning the exclusive regionwide rights to the </p><p>English Premier League (EPL), one of the most popular sporting </p><p>competitions in Asia. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The win marks the first time one pay-TV channel has secured such a deal, </p><p>including the free-to-air rights, for the region. Previously, </p><p>negotiations for the broadcast rights of the football-fest were </p><p>conducted on a market-by-market basis. As such, terrestrial broadcasters </p><p>and local pay-TV operators in Asia must now broker a deal with ESS. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The impact has been monumental on stations which failed to broker the </p><p>deal as EPL is vital to their programme line-up. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In Singapore, for example, free-to-air sports channel Sports City </p><p>recently changed its name to City TV and became a general entertainment </p><p>channel. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Local media buyers attributed the sudden change to Sports City's loss of </p><p>EPL. In Indonesia, ESS has sub-licensed the free-to-air rights to TPI </p><p>rather than the incumbent SCTV; and in Malaysia, EPL has moved from RTM </p><p>to TV3. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Says Adam Zechar, ESS vice-president of international sales, Southeast </p><p>Asia: "SCTV did have two sports channels - Football and Super Sports - </p><p>but it has shut the football channel, and I reckon that's primarily </p><p>because EPL is now on ESPN Star Sports. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"And Astro in Malaysia is significantly reducing activity on its Super </p><p>Sports service, while Hong Kong Cable has basically closed down its </p><p>second sports service." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Soccer fans, however, are discovering that the coverage on these </p><p>stations is more limited than in previous years because free-to-air </p><p>stations can only broadcast highlights. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Zechar adds: "The best way to drive pay-TV penetration is to keep the </p><p>matches exclusively on pay-TV but provide a little bit of programming on </p><p>the terrestrials to give viewers an idea of what they're missing." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Let them enjoy a bit and then hopefully they'll subscribe." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But in markets where pay-TV penetration is low, ESS will allow the local </p><p>terrestrial stations to broadcast one or two games. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>And in Thailand, where EPL is hugely popular, ESS has stuck with the </p><p>status quo - Channel 9 will continue to broadcast 17 to 18 matches each </p><p>season. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>With EPL in the bag, ESS has mounted a drive to lure advertisers such as </p><p>Nike, Slazenger, and Tiger Beer, which previously advertised on </p><p>free-to-air channels to continue their association with EPL. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>To date, it has signed Toshiba as presenting sponsor and it is looking </p><p>for one other, while Nokia and LG Electronics have bought spot </p><p>packages. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Programme sponsors gain branding on ESS promos and on-air billboards as </p><p>well as on the website and all promotional marketing material. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Sponsors can also become involved in joint promotions with ESS. Despite </p><p>EPL's popularity, it's still a hard push on ad sales. As the pay-TV </p><p>channel only found out in February that it had won the EPL rights, some </p><p>advertisers have taken a wait-and-see attitude. The poor economic </p><p>climate hasn't helped, according to ESS sales representatives. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The station is also discovering that managing EPL is a massive task </p><p>because it has to work more closely with its pay-TV affiliates. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ross Edwards, ESS director of sponsorships, points out that ensuring </p><p>advertisers gain coverage in all the markets is complex. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>For example, ESS' programming is broadcast in markets such as Thailand </p><p>and Vietnam, but not the ads. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>As a result, the station has to speak with its affiliates to ensure </p><p>regional advertisers gain exposure in the EPL telecast markets. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Edwards says advertisers such as Toshiba are keen to be involved because </p><p>EPL offers the potential of gaining huge exposure across Asia, </p><p>particularly among men. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>