Mediazone pioneers broadband sports broadcasting with Wimbledon live and on-demand coverage
Mediazone, a global online broadcaster, is partnering with the All England Lawn Tennis Club to launch first-of its-kind broadband broadcasting of the 2006 Wimbledon Championships. For the first time in the 129 year history of The Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, daily live coverage of the grand slam will be available online in the majority of markets world-wide.
In conjunction with the official Wimbledon Web site, Mediazone’s Wimbledom LIVE will offer live, multi-court streaming showing matches from up to nine concurrent courts, for a total of over 150 live matches. On-demand video of completed matches and player interviews will also be available for download to PC or portable media player.
Michelle Wu, CEO of Mediazone, said,
This is a truly unique and ground-breaking new media initiative. By working closely with the AELTC, IMG Media and IBM, we are able to offer a truly comprehensive live and on-demand offering to Wimbledon's millions of fans around the world.
For Wu, Wimbeldon LIVE is but the latest initiative demonstrating Mediazone’s leadership in global online broadcasting. I met with Wu in New York City to discuss Mediazone’s technology platform and business model.
Mediazone, headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices in China and Europe, is part of Naspers (Nasdaq:NPSN), a multinational media company. Naspers creates media content, builds brand names around it, and manages the platforms distributing the content. Naspers electronic media operations include pay-television, Internet and instant messaging subscriber platforms, and the provision of related technologies. Naspers principally operates in South Africa, and has a strong presence in Sub-Saharan Africa, Greece, Cyprus, the Netherlands, the United States, Thailand and China.
The Mediazone platform has its roots in Naspers’ South African media base. Several years ago, Naspers created KuduClub.com, an online South African media subscription service for expatriate South Africans, as a vehicle to drive incremental revenue from its content library and to maintain loyalty with its South African customers. KuduClub keeps “South Africans in touch with home by bringing the most popular local entertainment directly to your PC, wherever you are, whenever you want.” Naspers replicated the formula for the Chinese expatriate market with ChinaPortal.com, “China & Chinese Culture on Internet TV.”
Mediazone.com brings the platform and business model know-how developed through the Naspers KuduClub and ChinaPortal services to the United States to recreate, and enhance, the TV experience on the Internet as an aggregator, packager and distributor of sports, international, lifestyle and entertainment programming, over broadband.
Most of Mediazone’s content is exclusive, hard-to-find video and is offered with flexible viewing choices including live or on-demand, streaming or download, via subscription or pay-per-view, with prices ranging from $7.99 PPV to $129.99 for annual subscriptions.
The Mediazone technology platform offers media owners a new, secure channel for distribution and monetization of their content libraries. Mediazone’s current platform includes content encryption and license tracking, digital rights management, geoblocking, user authentication, detailed consumption reports, complete billing/e-commerce and customer care services.
For the content consumer: “Mediazone is TV-on-the-Web made simple; wherever you are in the world, whenever you want it, you can be connected to what you are passionate about. This is truly personalized entertainment.”
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