MUMBAI: News Corp is planning to launch a national US sports network on cable television to take on Walt Disney-owned network ESPN, the dominant player in that market.

According to Bloomberg News, the company is considering converting its action-sports network Fuel to the new channel that would compete not just with ESPN but with NBC?s and CBS?s sports networks.

Fox Sports chairman David Hill is spearheading the new channel which could begin service by the end of this year.

The implications of this could also be felt in Asia where the two companies run the ESPN Star Sports join venture, which according to recent media reports is on the verge of splitting. This development will only add fuel to that speculation.

The company is also in the process of assembling the required rights from pay-TV carriers and sports organisations for the yet-to-be-launched channel.

News Corp had recently snapped up various sports rights prominent among them being the US TV rights to Fifa World Cup in 2018 and 2022, beating competition ESPN. It had also secured rights to the Pac-12 Conference and Big-12 Conference games and is in the running to secure an exclusive deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

According to Miller Tabak & Co analyst David Joyce, "The success of all these networks will depend on the quality of their sports rights. There?s been a lot of competition for those rights and that?s driven up costs."

Joyce also opined that ESPN is well-positioned to withstand competition because of its rights for Monday Night Football and national baseball and basketball games.

A national sports channel can capture higher affiliate fees from pay-TV providers such as Comcast and DirecTV, according to research firm SNL Kagan. ESPN will command $5.06 per subscriber per month this year, the most of any cable channel, it estimates.

MUMBAI: ESPN has appointed Arne Rees as vice president, international digital media as it seeks to expand the international reach of its digital media operations.

Rees will be based in New York and report to ESPN International EVP & MD Russell Wolff, and will oversee ESPN?s international digital growth and work with the company?s regional offices.

"Digital properties throughout ESPN?s international businesses continue to be a major priority and are key to our future growth. Our efforts online, with mobile devices and our vibrant broadband products all have significant momentum, and we will benefit from Arne?s digital, business development, and sports experience moving forward,"Wolff said in a statement.

Rees joined ESPN in 2006 as VP of international development, where he was involved in the development of its international broadband and wireless businesses. Most recently, he was VP, assistant to the president, working directly with George Bodenheimer, executive chairman of ESPN, Inc and former president of ESPN Inc. and ABC Sports.

Prior to ESPN, Rees spent five years as head of strategy and business development for the Union of European Football Associations (Uefa) in Nyon, Switzerland. He has also worked as an investment consultant at UBS Capital and as the director of business development for I-D Media.

MUMBAI: Premier League CEO Richard Scudamore has declared that starting 2013 the television rights deal for the popular football league could be pan-European rather than territory-to-territory basis.

The development is a result of an order by European Court of Justice last year which stated that homeowners could purchase decoders showing foreign broadcasts.

The move will have huge implications for News Corps owned British sports broadcaster BSkyB which has made a fortune out of its 20 year long partnership with the Premier League.

?We are still actually deliberating whether we should sell on a territory-by-territory basis, or whether with what?s happened [in the court ruling] with the freedom of movement it?s actually more applicable and you would actually get better protection or a better return if you sold on a pan-European basis," Scudamore told an audience of sports industry professionals.

?There?s not a decision been made yet as to whether we?re going to do a domestic deal or not,? Scudamore said. ?One of the implications of the ECJ decision is that we are still working on whether we now actually sell the rights on a pan European basis.?

The tender documents for the next round of rights bidding will be released between April and June and the league will keep its options open, Scudamore said.

According to a Bloomberg report, the English league?s current three-year U.K. contracts with Sky Sports and ESPN are valued at 1.78 billion pounds ($2.8 billion) and finish at the end of the 2012-13 season. It gets another 1.4 billion pounds from overseas sales, making it the highest grossing domestic soccer league in the world.

?We won?t set ourselves false deadlines,? Scudamore said, adding the league is talking to broadcasters across Europe to understand their ?attitudes and aptitudes for pan-European verses individual territory? sales.

Although Premier League?s financial success can be attributed to the broadcast support provided by Sky Sports, Scudamore said that relationship counts for little as the highest bidder will ultimately get the rights.

?Ultimately whatever umbilical cord there might be as an ongoing working commercial relationship gets severed as the invitation to tender gets issued. Once we?re in the process, there?s nothing they can do other than being the best bidder to win those rights," he averred.

MUMBAI: US sports broadcaster ESPN has fired an employee and suspended another for a racist word in connection to basketball player Jeremy Lin who is New York Knicks? guard.

ESPN apologised for its ?Chink in The Armor? headline that appeared on its mobile site.

ESPN wrote, "We again apologize, especially to Mr. Lin. His accomplishments are a source of great pride to the Asian-American community, including the Asian-American employees at ESPN. Through self-examination, improved editorial practices and controls, and response to constructive criticism, we will be better in the future."

Max Bretos, an anchor on ESPN News, used the same phrase while speaking with Knicks legend Walt Frazier. He has been suspended for 30 days.

ESPN in a statement said,.""We are conducting a complete review of our cross-platform editorial procedures and are determining appropriate disciplinary action to ensure this does not happen again. We regret and apologize for this mistake."

MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Disney has reported a 12 per cent jump in net income to $1.4 billion for the first quarter ended 31 December as ESPN shows strong subscription growth.

Revenues increased marginally by one per cent to $10.7 billion.

Disney president, CEO Robert A. Iger said, ?We?re off to a good start in this fiscal year executing on our ongoing strategy, deriving greater value from our brands ? Disney, Pixar, Marvel, ESPN and ABC ? in the US and around the globe. We are confident that our commitment to creating and providing exceptional family entertainment on multiple platforms continues to position us to deliver long-term shareholder value.?

Operating income at Cable Networks increased $196 million to $967 million for the quarter due to growth at ESPN and, to a lesser extent, the worldwide Disney Channels. The increase at ESPN was driven by higher affiliate revenue reflecting contractual rate increases and a reduction in revenue deferrals related to annual programme commitments.

During the quarter, ESPN deferred $190 million of revenue compared to $266 million in the prior year quarter. The decrease was due to a change in the provisions related to annual programming commitments in an affiliate contract.

Ad revenues at ESPN were essentially flat as higher rates and units sold were offset by decreased ratings and a shift in the timing of the Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and certain NBA games relative to the fiscal period end. Programming and production costs at ESPN were comparable to the prior-year quarter as the shift in the timing of college bowl and NBA games was offset by higher contractual rates for NFL and college football programming.

Higher operating income at the worldwide Disney Channels was due to increased ad and affiliate revenue, partially offset by higher programming and production costs. Higher advertising revenue was driven by higher units sold and improved rates internationally. Affiliate revenue growth reflected subscriber growth internationally and contractual rate increases domestically.

Operating income at the broadcasting division decreased $69 million to $226 million driven by lower political ad revenues at the television stations and higher marketing costs, partially offset by lower programming and production costs due to the absence of The Oprah Winfrey Show at the owned television stations. The increase in marketing costs was driven by an increase in the number of new series launches at the ABC Television Network.

Ad revenue at the ABC was essentially flat as higher ad rates were offset by decreased ratings and units sold.

Studio Entertainment revenues decreased by 16 per cent to $1.6 billion and segment operating income increased 10 per cent to $413 million. The revenue decline was driven by fewer Disney branded titles in wide theatrical release in the current quarter along with an adverse impact from the timing of title availabilities in television markets and lower DVD volumes. Higher operating income was primarily due to an increase in worldwide theatrical results and lower film cost write-downs, partially offset by decreases in television distribution and worldwide home entertainment results.

Improved worldwide theatrical results reflected the benefit of lower distribution and marketing costs and production cost amortisation which more than offset the revenue decline due to fewer Disney branded films in wide theatrical release. Key titles in the prior-year quarter included ?Tangled? and ?Tron: Legacy? while the current quarter included ?The Muppets?.

Lower results in television distribution were driven by the timing of title availabilities, relative to our fiscal period end, in international markets. The decrease in worldwide home entertainment was primarily due to a decline in unit sales, partially offset by improved net effective pricing driven by a higher Blu-ray sales mix. The decrease in unit sales reflected the strength of ?Toy Story 3?, ?Beauty and the Beast? Platinum Release, ?A Christmas Carol? and ?Sorcerer?s Apprentice? in the prior-year quarter compared to ?Cars 2?, ?The Lion King? Platinum Release, ?Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides? and ?The Help? in the current quarter, as well as lower sales of catalogue titles.

Consumer Products operating income of $313 million for the quarter was comparable to the prior-year quarter while revenues increased by three per cent to $948 million. At the retail business, increased revenue was driven by new stores in the US and holiday season promotions. Retail sales were driven by ?Cars? and ?Tangled? merchandise in the current quarter compared to ?Toy Story? in the prior-year quarter. The revenue increase at retail was largely offset by higher operating costs associated with increased volume.

At merchandise licensing, operating income for the quarter was comparable to the prior-year quarter as the strength of ?Cars? merchandise was largely offset by lower performance of ?Toy Story? and ?Tangled? merchandise.

Interactive Media revenues for the quarter decreased 20 per cent to $279 million and segment operating results decreased by $15 million to a loss of $28 million. Lower operating results were driven by a decrease at our console game business partially offset by improved social game results, consistent with our ongoing shift from console games to social and other interactive platforms. Social game results were driven by lower acquisition accounting impacts which were adverse to the prior year quarter and improved title performance in the current quarter.

The decrease at the console game business was primarily due to fewer releases and the strength of Epic Mickey in the prior-year quarter. Titles in the current quarter included Disney Universe while the prior-year quarter included ?Toy Story 3? and ?Tron: Evolution? in addition to Epic Mickey.

Parks and Resorts revenues for the quarter increased by 10 per cent to $3.2 billion and segment operating income increased by 18 per cent to $553 million. Results for the quarter were driven by increases at our domestic parks and resorts and Disney Cruise Line. Higher operating income at the domestic parks and resorts was driven by increased guest spending and attendance, partially offset by increased costs.

NEW DELHI: Lalit Modi and his outfit Modi Entertainment Network (MEN) have not had the best of journeys in recent times. MEN has had a string of losses including ESPN and Walt Disney.

The decade-long ding-dong relationship between international fashion channel FTV and its Indian licensee owned principally by MEN has once again surfaced in the Supreme Court, with the Indian licensee seeking to restrain the foreign channel from taking on any other business ventures in India till their dispute is resolved.

The matter in the apex court ? now listed for hearing on 20 January ? relates to a decision in March 2010 by Fashion Television BVI, the global broadcaster of FTV, to terminate its contract with the Indian partner Fashion Television India Pvt. Ltd following differences over sharing revenue and outstanding payments.

The Delhi High Court on 24 May last year restrained FTV from terminating the agreement. This injunction was later removed by an arbitral tribunal.

Austria-based FTV Programmgesellschaft mbH is the parent company of the FTV brand, owned by Michel Adam Lisowski.

FTV and its Indian partner had concluded a five-year agreement in August 2001which included broadcasting rights in India and franchising fBars, the channel?s branded night clubs. This could be automatically extended by another seven years if a joint venture company was not formed between the two parties.

Initially, FTV India was to pay its foreign partner a minimum guarantee of $720,000 per annum and the channel was encrypted for Indian viewers.

However in 2003, FTV Paris went free-to-air via satellite Asiasat 2, leading to a dispute between the two sides over revenue sharing and outstanding payments.

In June 2003, FTV had prepared a civil-criminal charge against Lalit Modi and the Modi Group in France and in India.

FTV had alleged that the Modi Group had been entering into agreements selling the Fashion Bars concept to third parties and collecting substantial advance payment. It said the Modis should have sought written permission to engage Fashion TV in long-term partnerships or franchising agreements.

The Delhi High Court in June 2003 had issued a show cause notice for contempt of court against Fashion TV Paris for not complying with its order of 19 May 2003 directing FTV to re-encrypt the signal of its channel, preventing it from being free-to-air. It also restrained Fashion TV Paris from entering into any third party agreements for distribution, advertising, merchandising and licensing rights.

The order made it clear that no Indian company or group of companies could get into any business arrangement with FTV directly for business purposes in India and the SAARC region without the written consent of the Modi Group, and FTV could not get into any business arrangement in India and the Saarc Region without a consent from the Modi Group. Any such business arrangement was to be in direct violation of the Delhi High Court Order.

But in May 2004, FTV said it had resolved all differences with MEN after a year‘s battle in the Delhi High Court, and an agreement was reached between Lalit Modi and the FTV boss Michel Adam. MEN continued to control FTV India.

FTV India with its India-specific beam agreed to step up its Indian content by developing new shows and vignettes and showcasing Indian fashion, lifestyle and music.

FTV ? which had been launched in 1997 as the world?s first television network entirely dedicated to fashion, beauty and style - had agreed to return to the pay mode once the reworked distribution arrangement set in by the end of 2004.

It is present in over 130 countries on 5 continents through 31 satellites and over 1000 cable systems. Broadcast by leading global media groups such as Eutelsat, BSkyB and Astra C, Fashion TV has a confirmed reach of over 130 million households.