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SCMP Reporter

The nation's advertisers will train their eye on new media such as the internet to give online advertising spending a compound annual growth rate of nearly 40 per cent between last year and 2011, Media Eye learned from Analysys International.
According to  the mainland research house,  online advertising  revenue will  rise to 27 billion yuan in 2011,  from 7.1 billion yuan last year and 11.1 billion yuan this year.
Online advertising will  overtake traditional media in terms of growth as  more and more industries  take to the virtual world.
'Online advertising is growing mainly due to the flexibility of the internet, which enables cross-platform marketing campaigns to reach as many users as  possible,'  it said. 'Internet portals, search engines and other internet-based value-added services also establish a good marketing network for advertisers.'
Strong growth in the domestic market also benefits downstream online advertising agents.
Pixel Media, a Hong Kong company listed in London, estimates its revenue will grow 50 per cent yearly.  It recorded 50 per cent growth in revenue in the first half of last year to US$4.89 million.
Kevin Huang, Pixel Media's chief executive, said its mainland business would grow significantly this year  as a result of the Beijing Olympics.
'The online platform attracts clients from real estate, information technology, automotive and consumer electronics sectors, and they will prefer to put up to 20 per cent of their marketing budget  in the internet.'
Pixel is the agent for leading mainland portals such as Sohu.com, QQ.com and social network portal Xiaonei.com.
Casting the Net on Olympics
While many television lovers look forward to the first high-definition broadcast of the Beijing Olympics in August, Net surfers can also catch the Olympic fever, courtesy of i-Cable Communications.
The city's second-largest broadband service provider will air the entire Olympics  online free of charge for  broadband subscribers in Hong Kong.
I-Cable Communications  said it had secured exclusive new media right, which includes internet and mobile phone, for the Beijing Olympics. It will provide four channels on  i-cable.com to offer  full coverage.
'Through the online platform, it would be much easier for our subscribers to select what they want to see at any time,' an i-Cable spokesperson told Media Eye.
Television Broadcasts (TVB) and Asia Television (ATV) are putting many resources on  Olympics live  coverage, both dedicating a high-definition television channel each to cover all events  24 hours a day.
TVB also will set up a production centre in Beijing just for the games.
'The Beijing Olympics should be a pull factor for local viewers to switch to digital broadcasting as they can view comprehensive coverage of the Olympics,' an industry watcher said. 'But the emergence of i-Cable's online coverage may  lessen the attractiveness of  television coverage, to some extent.'
One set-top box too many
Although the two local terrestrial television stations  kicked off their digital broadcasting service  more than a week ago, many television viewers are still frustrated as a set-top box is required to view the digital programmes.
Media Eye's home will need two set-top boxes for  television programmes, one for free digital broadcasting service from TVB and ATV, the other for PCCW's Now TV, which is a paid service.
To avoid too many boxes at home, television viewers can either wait for a built-in digital television set later this year, or just watch the old analogue programmes until the government switches off the old signal, perhaps by 2012.
PCCW's Now TV is working on a  two-in-one set-top box for subscribers.
To hit the market as early as next month, the new version 'will enable users to get high-definition  television programmes from TVB, ATV and also Now TV,' said Dominic Leung,  PCCW's managing director for television and content.
He said the new box would cost  US$100 to US$110 each. Subscribers can either buy it or sign  a contract and get the box at a discount.
Now TV has been carrying high-definition programmes since the middle of last year, the first to do so locally. The company also broadcasts part of the English Premier League football matches in high-definition format.



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ATV - Asia Television Limited

Online advertising to surge as new media grows  on mainland