Marketing Week March 23th 2006

End to free sport e-casts

This year's FIFA World Cup will be the last major sporting event for which there will be no formal negotiations over online broadcasting rights, according to industry observers.
The New Media Sportscasting Summit hosted by leading streaming media specialist Servecast, starts today (Wednesday), as the sports industry looks at ways to generate more revenue streams through new media.
Aura Sports managing director Paul Wright, a speaker at the conference, says this year's World Cup is a tipping point regarding the sports industry's relationship with new media. "This will be the last major event for which broadcast rights over the Net have not been agreed."

He says sports bodies and football clubs are committed to online content, but says with the growing take-up of broadband, the sports industry will embrace the Net in the same way the music industry has done.

About Servecast
Founded in 1998, Servecast is the leading specialist supplier of New Media Sportscasting delivering advanced streaming media solutions for the Sports Industry. Servecast's Media Studio™ Platform enables Sporting Organisations and Rights Holders to exploit their media assets to new broadband and mobile connected audiences.

Through the delivery of high quality audio visual sports content over broadband and mobile applications, Servecast's Media Studio platform greatly enhances the global fan sporting experience and enables the delivery of significant new revenue streams to the rights holder. Through our focus on sports, Servecast has developed a deep partnership network with major broadcasters, clubs and sporting bodies, the online betting industry, technology providers and content syndication partners. We leverage these partnerships to ensure optimal business success for our customers.