Hot topics click link for more
Well, as many eyes prepare to focus on the UEFA Euro 2016 football championships the business of football marches on. German Bundesliga broadcast rights went to auction and the winners have been announced. Typical for these events, there are several.
Sky, formerly known as Sky Deutschland, will, again, broadcast the majority of matches on all platforms for the four-year period. The Eurosport pay-TV platform gets Friday night matches. The German Federal Competition Office (Bundeskartellamt) recently forbid “single rights” awards, forcing Sky to “give up” Friday night matches rather than lose internet rights. (See more about media in Germany here)
Public TV network ARD retains free-to-air weekend highlight rights and ZDF will have secondary rights to the game of the week. German public radio channels will again have radio rights for the 2017/2018 through 2020/2012 seasons. International and certain second tier rights have not yet been awarded, bids being below minimums. (See more about sports rights here)
Amazon acquired the new online audio streaming rights package and will broadcast all matches via the Amazon Prime Music platform. UK-based Perform Group took audio highlight rights.
In total, Bundesliga rights for the four seasons soared 85% to €4.64 billion. “This is excellent,” said Bayern Münich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, quoted by tagesspigel.de (June 9). “I would say an excellent result.” Bayern Münich had threatened to go it alone if broadcast rights fees didn’t increase.
The UEFA Euro 2016 football championships will be, indeed, shown on public TV in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) offered to set aside a threatened suspension of public broadcaster BHRT’s EBU membership, which would have prevented broadcasting of the football matches in BiH. It is unclear if a good-faith 10% payment of the CHF6 million, about €5.5 million, owed for arrears EBU fees has been made or promised, as reported by BiH news portal nezavisne.com (June 8).
“The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina remains critical but we are hopeful that BHRT will be able to agree a plan with the Government to help repay their debts and safeguard sustainable funding to allow audiences to continue to enjoy sport on the channel throughout the summer," said EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre in a statement. (See full EBU statement here) The EBU “hopes” the BiH authorities take the debt as well as long-term financing for BHRT seriously. (See recent article about public broadcasting in the Western Balkans here)
BHRT Management Board indicated all broadcasting would “temporarily” cease on June 30th due to a lack of funds. That, too, seem to have been extended as the broadcaster indicated all Euro 2016 matches through the July 10th finals will be on-the-air.
The Budapest Appeals Court affirmed a civil lawsuit award to radio station Klubradio from Hungarian media regulator National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH), according to news portal 24.hu (June 7). The Court allowed HUF 103 million (€330,000) compensation for frequency usage fees paid during the two years the station was off the air. Klubradio was also awarded a token amount, HUF 5 million (€16,000), for damage to its reputation. According to its statement, the NMHH is weighing asking for a re-trial
Klubradio lost FM broadcasting licenses in 12 cities in a dodgy 2010 beauty contest. After four court decisions in its favor, the station was awarded a license in 2013 for Budapest only. During the exile period the station continued online. Klubradio being a news-talk station offering an editorial position often critical of the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the dismissed license renewal attracted wide attention from media watchers and press freedom advocates appalled by the "illiberal" government actions. Klubradio originally asked for HUF 1.4 billion restitution, about €4.5 million, largely based on lost advertising revenue. (See more about media in Hungary here)
"Although there are very serious doubts about the existence of the rule of law in Hungary, the decision nonetheless shows there are still chances in the enforcement of the law," said Klubradio principal and CEO Andras Arato, quoted by 168ora.hu (June 7). A year ago Belgium-based Brit Media took a minority stake in Klubradio and in November acquired news portal 168ora.hu.
Turbulence in Poland’s media sphere in recent months has been due, in large part, to the new government’s intention to recast a cultural message. Media watchers in Poland and beyond have been appalled. Directors and staff at public radio broadcaster Polskie Radio – as well as public TV broadcaster TVP – have been removed by the dozen, replaced by believers in the new message.
This past March Culture Ministry authorities and newly appointed Polskie Radio officials announced their intention to move youth-oriented Radio 4 (Czwórka) to digital and online platforms giving FM distribution to all-news Radio 24. The employment of notable Radio 4 show hosts was terminated. Radio 24 was established in 2013, first as an online channel, DAB+ distribution added later. (See more about media in Poland here)
The Culture Ministry’s plan has run smack into the still-independent media regulator KRRIT and telecom regulator UKE. It seems the Radio 4 distribution is set out in the Law on Public Broadcasting, which the Polish parliament intends to re-write sooner or later. The UKE doesn’t want to change more than a dozen analogue and digital distribution platforms until the KRRiT approves the switch, reported wirtualnemedia.pl (June 6). That can’t happen until the so-called "big media law" passes, generally expected to be on or about July 1st, after which both regulators have 30 days at least to process everything. That, of course, extends all of this into deep summer or beyond.
In the Millward Brown RadioTrack audience estimates for February/April, prepared by wirtualnemedia.pl (May 17), public news-talk channel Radio 1 (Jedynka) fell to its lowest market share “in history,” while privately-owned news-talk Radio TOK FM nearly doubled its national audience share against the same period one year on. Ultra-conservative Radio Maryja also continued to lose market share.
New media can rightly be characterized as bold, brash and daring. This, in and of itself, attracts a certain set of like-minded investors. Challenging old ways can be a good thing. We keep waiting.
Rowdy Vice Media – the video website, HBO show Vice News and TV channel Viceland – has undergone a bit of a shake-up. Several editorial jobs in the US and UK were cut at the end of May. "The plan in place will expand VICE's news offerings across digital and TV, continue the recent of wave of newsroom hires, add additional foreign bureaus and marshal the company's existing news divisions into one cohesive powerhouse," said the company statement, quoted by poynter.org (May 24).
Back in March Vice Media CEO Shane Smith and Greek broadcaster Antenna Group CEO Theo Kyriakou said expansion of the Vice brand would be coming to Russia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Slovakia and Croatia, noted Hollywood Reporter (March 16). That would be in addition to cooperation with Antenna Group operations in Greece, Romania and Serbia two and a half years ago. Little has been heard on greater foreign intrigue recently other than Mr.Smith interviewing leaker-in-exile Edward Snowden in Moscow.
Former Bloomberg Businessweek editor Josh Tyrangiel was elevated to EVP News and more experienced reporters and video producers from BBC Newsnight, the Guardian, Huffington Post, New York Times and MSNBC have been hired. Mr. Smith described Mr. Tyrangiel as “a murderer,” reported deadline.com (May 25), ready and able to “take on” CNN and the BBC. (See more on the business of new media here)
The advertising world is saluting Mr. Smith at the Cannes Lions ad fest this year as “media person of the year.” After that he’s delivering the well-attended MacTaggert Lecture at the Edinburgh International TV Festival. Vice Media’s raison d'être is entertaining Millennials.
|
