Asian Sport Business Round Up 14th July 2012

[Callum]

The countdown to the Olympics was the item this last week along with F1 racing and a dash of amateur golf.


The news that the London Olympics will be aired on free TV in Hong Kong hasn’t made much of a buzz among regional advertisers. Timothy Fok, of the local Sports Federation and Olympic Committee said details of broadcasts on free to air stations were expected soon but media representatives said the news comes a bit late.
Cecilia Chan, of MediaCom Hong Kong said there may be just enough time for advertisers to adjust their schedules if they want to leverage on the games.
She says TVB and ATV will probably carry them on their digital channels but clients will have to wait and see if the free stations will support the games with in-house programming.
"The selection of games they broadcast will also make a difference,” said Chan. “We already know Hong Kong people are most interested in games that the China team has a better chance to win, such as gymnastics and diving." 
But she said it may not make much of a difference anyway because the stations’ final decisions won’t affect many advertisers either way.
"For the official sponsors, they have everything planned out already regardless what happens with TVB and ATV. For the others, I expect there will be adjustments but minor ones."
In more Olympics news, several global firms have teamed up with advertising giant JCDecaux in a media campaign in support of Hong Kong athletes across key MTR stations.
A TV ad starring Olympic table tennis medalists Li Ching and Ki Lai Chak was launched at several MTR stations  along with outdoor ads and a Facebook game.
The campaign has transformed  stations into sports arenas for swimming, gymnastics, cycling, table tennis and archery. Video games and interactive ads will be launched to engage MTR passengers.
Participating advertisers include Samsung, American Tourister, GigaSports, HTC, LG and Procter & Gamble.
McDonald’s is putting on the finishing touches to its flagship restaurant on the Olympics site. With a seating capacity of 1500, the environmentally-friendly restaurant was three years in the planning and designing. The facilities will be dismantled after the Games with much of the furniture and equipment distributed to other McDonald’s in the UK.

A new event, the Singapore National Games is attracting supporters. The sports and apparel brand Yonex has signed a USD $2-million deal to cover the next three versions of the biennial event set to 
start up on September 1.
Grand Prix racing is alive and well with news of two contracts signed between organizers of Belgian and Singapore Grand Prix to continue hosting F1 races.

The week rounded off with golf news. Hong Kong marketing agency Fast Track has been chosen to set up the media initiative for the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship set for the Amata Spring Country Club in Thailand this November. The event comprises a field of 120 male players representing 36 member countries.

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