According to Sportingintelligence, matches featuring Manchester United account for almost 52 per cent of the entire English Premier League audience. From the 4.7billion of audience globally, Manchester United puts the club's total TV audience at 2.424 billion per season. Additionally, Manchester United is building its own social network and media outlet for the club's 500 million fan base, and will host multimedia content, including exclusive player interviews and other video content. The club now has 20 million fans on Facebook, more than any other Premier League club.

 

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Etisalat has recently added three channels from India's Times Television Network to its TV platform e-vision, extending its international reach to 26 countries now. The launch comes as a result of the significant Indian population in the UAE, making this market an important opportunity for the Times TV Network, the market itself and Etisalat. 

 

The channels’ feeds will be open for advertising soon, in an attempt to help brands reach out and gain additional exposure. 

 

Times Now, ET Now and Zoom will be available as part of the eLife TV Asian choice basic package

 

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According to Nielsen, online viewing has increased by 15 per cent from last year, to average four hours and 26 minutes per month, traditional TV viewing has increased by 1.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2011 in the United States, more than ever before, reaching 146 hours and 20 minutes, a year-over-year increase of 2 hours and 43 minutes.

 

 

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Rapid TV News reports that clips from this week’s AFC Champions League semi finals will be available to watch on YouTube. The semi-finals will feature matches between football clubs from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Korea, and will also highlight the best moments from the quarter final matches and future clashes.

 

"The AFC Champions League YouTube channel is an important part of our commitment to make content from the AFC Champions League available on all platforms to Asian football fans around the world," said James Clarke, senior vice-president, content, World Sport Group, the AFC's exclusive marketing partner.

 

According to a new research from Idate on the future of television, the global video market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 4 per cent between 2010 and 2020, despite the increasingly stiff competition traditional networks face. Idate also expects that new video services combined; fixed and mobile, will account for 10 per cent of the global video market in 2015 and 20 per cent in 2020. 

 

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A new report by analyst Visiongain has calculated that more than 60 per cent of all mobile traffic will be accounted for TV and video applications in the next five years, increasing by 28 per cent with revenues reaching $22.5 billion by 2016. According to Rapid TV News, Visiongain believes that understanding the competitive landscape and identifying voids will help the players in designing monetising strategies and gain early movers advantage. 

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Manchester United Football Club and telecommunications operator, du, have signed a two-year content partnership at Dubai's GITEX consumer electronics fair, whereby du mobile, TV and internet customers will have exclusive United-related material that includes video clips, images, match updates, team news and games.

 

The deal sees the UAE boost its already strong sponsorship ties with the English Premier League. Etihad and Etisalat both sponsor United's rival Manchester City, while Emirates has a long standing relationship with London club Arsenal.

 

More at Rapid TV News.

 

News Corp shareholders are demanding a shake-up the composition of the company’s board, according to Rapid TV News. It is believed that James Murdoch’s continued presence on the News Corp board is causing significant reputational damage to the company and is no longer in shareholders’ interest.

 

The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) has therefore recommended that its members oppose James Murdoch’s election.

 

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The unit shipment results of the PlayBook tablet from Research in Motion (RIM) has been reported to be disappointing, falling from 500,000 shipments in the previous quarter to 200,000 units in the second quarter, Rapid TV News reports. RIM described the current PlayBook performance as unit volume below expectations.

 

In an attempt to open a new chapter for the PlayBook, especially in TV applications, RIM is to launch new programs and major feature upgrades including the launch of PlayBook 2.0 software and a BlackBerry Video store containing 10,000 movies, TV shows to buy and rent.

 

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