Reuters, the global information, news and technology group has announced ambitious multimedia plans for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The event kicks off on 31 May in Korea and Japan.
Reuters is offering its clients a multimedia package of online football information products including detailed venue, team and player profiles, along with breaking news, pictures, interactive graphics and a live results service. Reuters will run its largest off-site editorial operation in Korea and Japan with over 165 editorial staff, including 135 journalists, photographers, TV journalists and graphic artists chipping in. Reuters will cover all 32 teams and, as a major component of its World Cup coverage, one photographer will shadow each of the top 17 teams during the tournament both on and off the pitch, with unrestricted access to the teams‘ training grounds, hotels and free time.

According to an official release, the 1998 World Cup in France was viewed by over 3.7 billion people and created more online traffic than any other single media event. The official france98.com website received more than 13 million visitors and generated over 1 billion page impressions, claims Reuters.

The Reuters World Cup portfolio includes nine distinct media products. These include the Reuters World Cup News Service in English, which offers clients in-depth previews and analysis of matches, squad announcements and group-by-group analysis, team news and interviews of star players competing in the 2002 finals, and the Reuters World Cup news language variants which provide tailored coverage that addresses the needs and interests of the local audience. Services are available in French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Turkish.

The Reuters World Cup top news and picture gallery in Chinese and Japanese offers clients in-depth previews and analysis of matches, squad announcements and group-by-group analysis, team news and interviews of star players competing in the 2002 finals. The Reuters World Cup Interactive Graphic product is a once-off animated interactive online graphics package will provide illustrated explanations on key facts about the tournament, including the off-side rule, the timetable fixtures, the venues used in Korea and Japan and how the equipment has evolved. With an interactive format created in Macromedia Flash, football fans will enjoy delving into a multi-linked, visually rich information database that brings this major sports event to life.

A small victory is in sight for cable operators who have been lobbying hard for the implementation of the conditional access system (CAS) - a move to counter, what cable operators term, "frequent arm-twisting by big broadcasters." The Rakesh Mohan committee‘s recommendations on CAS will go to the Cabinet early next week.

The government is likely to okay the implementation of the CAS as part of a policy guideline before the ongoing session of Parliament comes to an end. Implementation of the CAS would also allow cable operators to offer other services too to cable operators with the advancement of technology.

"The aim is to get a Cabinet nod on CAS before the necessary amendments in the Cable TV Regulation Act is moved in Parliament," a senior official of the information and broadcasting ministry told indiantelevision.com.

According to the government official, a cabinet note on CAS is being prepared by the I&B ministry and "the effort will be to put it up before the Cabinet for its consideration at the earliest, which may be as early as next week." The official added: "After that an amendment in the CATV Act before this Parliament session comes to an end would just be a formality."

Why is the move on CAS being termed by the cable industry as an initiative in its favour? Explains Vicky Chowdhry, one of the big independent cable operators in Delhi, who from time to time takes on the might of broadcasters like ESPN-Star through legal moves: "CAS is good for the cable industry as then the broadcasters would not resort to frequent subscription hikes and we can also charge from the paying public for the pay channels which they want to see. Or, we can give subscribers a basic service which would not be very high from the current monthly subscription an average Indian household pays."

The Rakesh Mohan committee, set up by the I&B ministry, after consultation with stake holders in the broadcasting industry, in its report had said that amongst other things all pay channels should come as part of the CAS and the government would reserve the right to determine the price of the basic-tier service - a move described by the government mandarins as a safety clause for an average cable viewing public.

The committee had also said that that all encrypted channels would be defined as "subscription based channels" and routed through a set top box. Unencrypted free to air channels, on the other hand, would not need to be routed through the box.

For the subscriber, that would mean the ability to choose the exact bouquet of channels he wants to get.

Earlier, a technical sub-committee of the task force had recommended that basic standards for all cable operators should be laid down while giving them the freedom to choose their building blocks on top of the base tier of services.

Even as the government is readying to formalise the implementation of the conditional access system (CAS), chairman of the Hong Kong-based Star Group Ltd, James Murdoch, met up with some cable operators in a five-star hotel in Delhi on 2 May. The agenda: CAS and under-declaration of cable households by most cable operators in the country.
According to one of the cable operators who attended the afternoon meeting with Murdoch: "We got a feeling that Mr Murdoch is not very happy with the impending introduction of CAS as he kept on stressing the fact most broadcasters lose (subscription) money in India because under-declaration is rampant."

The informal meeting with Murdoch was attended by about five big independent and vocal cable operators of Delhi. Also present was Star India chief executive, Peter Mukerjea.

Both Murdoch and Mukerjea (who otherwise is Mumbai-based), along with some other senior executives of Star, had been camping in Delhi for the last three to four days. The two Ms of Star, reportedly, left the Capital on Thursday after some power meetings and parties held during the past few days, including a much-talked about party hosted by the former journalist-turned-TV-anchor-turned-politician, Rajya Sabha (upper house) Member of Parliament Rajeev Shukla.

A frequent visitor to India these days, Murdoch, according to industry sources, also took this chance to lobby hard for some relaxation in the policy guidelines involving KU-band direct-to-home (DTH) TV service.

But, point out senior government officials, a change in the existing DTH policy (which includes a 20 per cent cap on the shareholding of a media company in a DTH venture) is "highly unlikely at this juncture."

On being asked the reason, explained an official: "How can the government bring about a change in the DTH policy at a time when a company has already applied for a DTH licence. Making changes would be unfair for the little known company which has sought a licence."

Government officials have confirmed that Mumbai-based Space TV has applied for a DTH licence. Though the government is not clear, but industry sources insist that Space TV is fronting for Star Group which is natural since Star as a company cannot, and would not, apply for a DTH licence if it has to keep within the limitations of the various policy restrictions.