彭博新闻社：英超在中国的转播权之战
本帖最后由 m122320056 于 2009-1-17 16:40 编辑【原文标题】Chinese Battle Over Premier League Soccer Rights
【中文标题】英超在中国的转播权之战
【登载媒体】彭博新闻社
【来源地址】http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=abnqeZPJ.G_E&refer=asia#
【翻译】shaoboss
【原文】
Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- A group of non-media companies may bid for Chinese television rights to English Premier League matches as the world’s richest soccer league tries to gain viewers to build its brand, an official said.
The move follows the failure of the current holder, local pay-per-view television network WinTV, to attract significant subscribers and the reluctance of state broadcaster China Central Television to pay a premium for the rights, Phil Lines, the Premier League’s head of international broadcasting and media operations, said in an interview.
“I have talked to some people who are possibly putting together a consortium of advertisers who would like to buy the product and take it to free to air (on CCTV),” Lines said.
He declined to reveal the companies involved, saying only that they were “world-wide brands” in the sporting goods, soft drinks and alcoholic beverage industries. The contract comes up in 2010. If successful, the bidders would give CCTV the rights in exchange for free advertising during matches, Lines added.
Bidding for the Premier League’s overseas rights, which currently generate 625 million pounds ($911 million) over three seasons, will probably begin in the spring, following the sale of the more lucrative domestic rights.
Lines said while the league is aware of WinTV’s “struggles” to draw audiences, it wouldn’t affect the policy of awarding rights to the highest bidder. He declined to reveal WinTV’s viewing figures, citing a confidentiality agreement. The Guardian reported that the audience for English soccer fell from 30 million to about 20,000 following its move from free broadcasts to pay television in August 2007.
Down to Money
“From our point of view it will come down to money, largely because if you want to be the most attractive football league in the world, you have to have the most money,” Lines said. “It’s as simple as that. That’s been our strategy since day one of the Premier League and it’s worked pretty well.”
English soccer must generate revenues in the short term to buy the best talent to “protect the integrity of its brand,” said Stefan Szymanski, a professor of economics at London’s Cass Business School. Premier League teams compete with other top European clubs for the world’s best players.
Still, the league may consider requiring one of the weekend’s 10 matches to be shown on free television, a clause it has with broadcasters in Africa.
That would help its battle with basketball for the attention of China’s 1.3 billion people, who’ve played other sports, such as table tennis. The National Basketball Association’s popularity has soared since the Houston Rockets’ Yao Ming entered the league in 2002, and 14 live games a week are shown on CCTV.
Frustration
The lack of exposure to the Chinese market created by the WinTV deal has frustrated Premier League clubs, according to Manchester United Chief Executive Officer David Gill.
“There has been lessons learned this year in this contract and will be addressed going forward,” Gill said in an interview in Hong Kong earlier this week. “We, along with Chelsea, along with Liverpool, along with Arsenal, have made the point. We must have better exposure.”
Europe’s other top leagues like Italy’s Serie A and La Liga in Spain are broadcast on free television, bringing those matches to far more homes. English clubs would like to reach additional fans, Gill said.
“We would prefer to have more exposure,” Gill said. “The reality is it helps us with our own business goals and other commercial aims.”
Increasing Bids?
The Premier League’s total broadcast agreements, which include the international rights, are worth 2.7 billion pounds over three seasons. The appeal stems from its ability to attract talent from across the world, such as Manchester United’s Portuguese-born star Cristiano Ronaldo, who was named soccer’s best player by the sport’s governing body earlier this week.
“I’m hopeful that we can increase the international rights once again. You have to remember that 99 percent of our licensees are pay-TV operators and pay-TV operators are undoubtedly a little bit more protected by the economic downturn than free to air, advertiser-funded broadcasters,” Lines said.
【中文】
一个由非媒体公司组成的财团正在竞标英超在中国大陆地区的转播权。作为世界上最赚钱的足球联赛，英超希望获得更多的电视观众以塑造自身的品牌。
作为英超国际转播和媒体运行部经理，林斯在采访中谈到了现在英超在中国大陆地区的转播情况。目前，英超在中国大陆地区的转播商是天盛传媒公司。天盛采用付费收看的方式来获取客户。
林斯说：“我已经和财团的部分人员进行了交谈。该财团的成员希望购买英超转播权再授权给CCTV播放。”
针对该财团的成员构成，林斯透露了一部分。所有成员都是世界运动产品，饮料和啤酒业巨头。现在的英超转播合同有效期截止到2010年。如果他们竞标成功，将把转播权免费授权给CCTV，条件是在比赛期间播出这些公司的广告。
林斯说英超联盟很清楚天盛公司在吸引英超客户方面所作出的巨大努力。但他们对英超现在的收视情况非常不满。自天盛2007年获得英超转播权以来，由于采取了收费播出的方式，使英超在中国大陆的收视观众从三千万一下锐减到两万人。
“以我们的观点来看，我们决定降低转播权费用。为使英超成为全球最具吸引力的足球联赛，有时我们不得不做出一些让步。这是我们一贯的宣传策略，到目前为止运转良好。”林斯说。
同英超在南非的转播方式类似，英超联盟正在考虑在中国大陆也实行每周转播10场比赛的方案。
这一方案有助于英超与NBA以及网球等其它体育项目争夺中国的收视观众。中国的人口超过十三亿。自从姚明加入NBA休斯顿火箭对以后，NBA在中国的收视观众呈爆发性成长。目前，NBA在中国实行每周转播14场的方式。
曼联俱乐部的CEO对此深有感触。他认为天盛目前采取的推广方式已经大大影响了英超在中国电视上的曝光率。
他说：“我们要从上次的转播权竞标中吸取教训，必须加强英超在中国的推广力度。其它英超豪门如切尔西，利物浦，阿森纳同我们的观点一致。”
欧洲的其它顶级联赛意甲和西甲目前在中国大陆地区都采取免费播放的方式，这使它们的比赛进入千家万户。英超也要采取同样方式，吸引更多的球迷。
“我们要增加英超在电视上的曝光率。这将有助于实现我们的商业目标。”吉尔补充到。
英超目前的转播总收入是三年27亿英镑。这些收入大多用于购买世界球星。曼联队的球星C罗纳尔多刚被评为世界最佳球员。
林斯说：“英超联盟希望增加扩大英超在世界上的转播范围。在目前经济危机的影响下，收费电视转播商将获得更好的商业保护。”
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