There are only so many hours in a day and with a full time job, family commitments and sleep requirements many, many worthy Handball related stories never make it to our website. Still with help from Bogdan and Christer we still manage to publish something newsworthy if not every day, almost every other day. Not bad for a bunch of volunteers who are paid nothing but do take gratification in the opportunity to share their passion for the sport.

Most official Handball websites also do a pretty good job of reporting on the sport. The European Handball, USA, British and Australian sites can be cited as good examples even if I did chastise some of those sites a while back for straying into areas that I don’t think they should cover or under reporting/ignoring negative news concerning their organizations. https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.787

Then, there is the International Handball Federation (IHF) which has posted [b]nothing (nada, zippo, zilcho)[/b] on their website www.ihf.info since August 19. Yes, for 42 days straight days and the entire month of September there has been nothing happening in the Handball world worthy of mention. On its face, this is absolutely amazing and a shockingly vivid example of the incredible lack of vision the current IHF leadership has. Sure, there’s a lot more to running a Federation than updating a website, but you just have to wonder where the IHF is spending its money and channeling its resources if it can’t update its website for 42 straight days.

In the 21st century your company/federation website is the most visible and accessible window to the world. It’s your platform to spread your message and develop and broaden your customer base. All businesses now understand that reality and a quick survey indicates that most Federations do as well. Take a quick tour of these other International Federation websites and see for yourself:

Rugby: http://www.irb.com/
Basketball: http://www.fiba.com/
Ice Hockey: http://www.iihf.com/
Volleyball: http://www.fivb.org/

For a sport that bills itself as the worlds 2nd most popular in the world after soccer (inaccurately, in my opinion: http://teamhandball.blogspot.com/2005/07/just-how-popular-is-team-handball.html ), they clearly are behind these other team sports in terms of new media and marketing. I often point out rugby as an example of an example to follow and their website is yet another example of what could be done: Multiple stories, colorful graphics and audio and video content.

So how does this shortcoming get fixed? As I alluded, this problem starts at the top, but surely anyone in the hierarchical chain of the IHF should also take some responsibility. “Hey, I noticed we haven’t updated the website in a (week, 2 weeks, month) maybe we should post an article on ……” But as Christer Ahl rightly pointed out in a commentary this past August https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.812 the underlying problem is much deeper. The organization has no overarching guidance with clear objectives and goals. Here’s hoping that someone the IHF leadership chain recognizes this soon and perhaps an hour is spent at the next IHF council meeting discussing the website and new media options in the context of the IHF mission. Then clear guidance as to what should be done should filter down to the IHF staff.

Even better the IHF could engage a number of independent and official websites that cover handball for their input on what should be done. Working together as an informal team they could probably come up with a whole host of suggestions and possibilities. Just a thought. I’m not holding my breath.

In what I consider to be one of the most short-sighted moves in the history of sports marketing the German Bundesliga and their TV/internet marketer DSF have decided to limit the sale of internet Bundesliga matches to only the German speaking countries of Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein. Below is the text of the letter that I sent Sunday night to the HBL (Bundesliga), DSF and the USA Federation:

TO:
HBL: Mr Frank Bohman, Mark Schober
DSF: Mr Sascha Jungbluth
USA Team Handball: Mr Steve Pastorino, Mr Dieter Esch, Mr Ralf Uhding, Mr Steve Krassner

Subject: Internet TV restrictions for German Bundesliga broadcasts

This past Friday night after putting my two young daughters to bed, I opened a beer and sat down in front of my computer eager to see a key Bundesliga matchup between Rhein-Neckar Lowen and Hamburg. Having seen R-NL get trounced by Kiel on DSF www.tv.dsf.de in week 1, I was curious to see how they would bounce back. Instead, I got the following message on my computer monitor:

“Leider ist Ihre Netzwerkadresse (IP) nicht für die Nutzung unseres Angebots freigegeben. Aus lizenzrechtlichen Gründen müssen wir uns auf Zuschauer aus Deutschland, Schweiz, Österreich, Luxemburg und Liechtenstein beschränken.

We are sorry to inform you that your network address (IP) is not allowed to access our streaming content. Due to licensing restrictions, we can only accept viewers from Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein.”

While, I welcome the first ever use of the English language on the HBL’s internet platform, I am disappointed and puzzled by the HBL’s decision to deny Handball fans around the world the opportunity to purchase Bundesliga matches for viewing. For the past two years I’ve enjoyed watching matches on my computer through the Sportdigital platform and haven’t been shy about promoting it as the absolutely best Handball product on the internet. I’ve also tried unsuccessfully to get the HBL to market this product, but have been told that the HBL is instead focused on securing traditional broadcast contracts and that they are concerned that actively promoting internet streaming will hamper their ability to sign those contracts. Hence, the German language only website which I can attest as a challenge (“Bestellen” means “order” for example) to this customer as I patiently struggled for 30 minutes trying to figure out how to send the HBL money. But, now with the geoblock in place even this is no longer an option.

At the risk of stating the obvious here are a few points to consider:

1) No handball fan in his right mind prefers internet streaming content on his computer over TV broadcasts. The quality of the picture is a dramatic step down and can’t compete with relaxing on your couch and watching on a larger TV screen. Maybe someday the quality of internet streaming will match TV quality, but that day has not yet arrived. Therefore, the argument that internet streaming will prevent a TV contract doesn’t make sense. In fact, I think that a strong case that the reverse is true in that a decently marketed internet streaming product could eventually result in viewer numbers that could entice TV stations to sign a contract.

2) Highly successful professional sports leagues such as the NBA, Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Football League (NFL) sell internet broadcasts of their matches to non-traditional markets. For instance, it’s possible for a German to pay and watch NFL and NBA matches. If it works for these highly successful leagues to market their product in Germany, one would think it would make sense for the HBL to do same in reverse. It’s also worth noting, that these leagues do have geoblocking blackout restrictions, but that their restrictions are only applied to countries that already have TV contracts. The reverse strategy of the HBL! And even in countries where they do have TV contracts, games are blocked only on case by case basis.

3) The opportunity for niche marketing in emerging markets is being missed. Rather than freezing out markets with geoblocking, why not skillfully cultivate them by offering discounted rates to watch matches over the internet. The vast majority of handball fans in many countries have a very limited knowledge and appreciation of club handball in Europe. Offering matches over the internet could rapidly change that and as the sport grows the HBL would have the benefit of being the early adopter. And I’ve read that the HBL and the U.S. now have a cooperative agreement. In the eyes of this observer a lot of nice words have been exchanged, without anything really tangible being provided. Certainly, offering web streaming to U.S. members at a discount would be something tangible and a clear win-win for both organizations.

I hope you will consider what I’ve suggested as an opportunity to pursue. At the very least I’d like an explanation on the geoblocking situation that I can share with my readers.

Yours sincerely,

John Ryan, Editor
Team Handball News

Previous Team Handball News articles on web streaming:
Oct 2007: Handball on TV in the USA? Yes!: https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.392
Oct 2008: EHF Champions League TV Coverage (Great Job, but more Bits Please!): https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.610
Jan 2009: World Championship Handball Web Streaming: Slow, but Steady Progress: https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.673

As of this posting, I have not received a response from the HBL or DSF. Steve Pastorino, however, did send a short message indicating that USA Team Handball fully supports any effort to broadcast handball via internet, TV or cable and that they would make their position known to the HBL.

If you’ve ever wondered why this great sport hasn’t successfully expanded from its narrow European market here’s a little more evidence for you.

Update (23 Sep 09): I got a short message from the HBL Bundesliga General Manager, Frank Bohmann in response to my letter. Mr Bohmann emphasized the licensing rights prevented the offering of internet streaming and that the HBL is aggressively working toward TV broadcasts in other markets. While I like the fact that they are working towards TV broadcasts it's still puzzling to me that internet and TV licensing impact each other so strongly. Hopefully, a more satisfactory resolution will be reached in the near future.

On October 2nd the IOC will vote to decide whether Chicago, Rio de Janeiro, Madrid or Tokyo will host the 2016 Olympic Games. It’s hard to understate the importance of this upcoming decision and its future impact for USA Team Handball. A Chicago victory means automatic qualification and likely a sizable amount of sponsor funding. How much remains to be seen, but if the Weather Channel gave USA Team Handball a Million dollars in 1996, it stands to reason that a lot more could be secured twenty years later. And that funding is vital to implementing a whole host of developmental programs that are envisioned. Ancillary benefits like national teams willing to come to the States and media exposure are also likely.

Not being selected won’t be the end of the world for USA Team Handball, but unquestionably it will result in a different income statement and, in turn, scaling back on whatever plans have been drafted for development, tours, and staff.

My colleague, Christer Ahl, did a good job describing the fickleness of the “very important” IOC voters and several pundits in the mainstream media have implored President Obama to travel to Copenhagen and work some magic on the voters the way that Tony Blair did four years ago. What’s been under reported for the most part, though, is that the smart money is still solidly behind Chicago. Yes, people can bet on where they think the Olympics will be held and Chicago is still a solid favorite despite the Olympic Channel debacle and the potential Obama no-show. Of course, bettors can be wrong, but I’ll generally go with people willing to put some skin in the game as opposed to pundits with nothing to lose and an axe to grind.

As to why Chicago is favored the biggest factor is the cash that a Chicago Olympics will bring. Sure there’s always a little bit of anti-American sentiment and deal making behind the scenes, but there’s also a realization that in this down economy it might be a little foolhardy to not cash in on the sure thing. Then again, Paris was a solid favorite 4 years ago when London edged them out. I’ll never forget the crestfallen faces of my colleagues in Paris and the dejected crowd at the Hotel de Ville on TV. Here’s hoping that there will be plenty of smiling faces in Chicago and Salt Lake City come October 2nd.

USA Team Handball: Overheard in Chicago: http://www.usateamhandball.org/blog/post/1237
Washington Post: For Chicago's Bid, Yes, He Should: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/11/AR2009091101753.html?hpid=news-col-blog
Chicago Sun-Times: IOC member: Get Obama to support bid: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/olympics/1771541,oly-obama-091509.article

Intrade.com market: https://www.intrade.com/jsp/intrade/contractSearch/index.jsp?query=olympics
Bwin.com: https://www.bwin.com/olympics-specials

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one pretty surprised that Lemgo couldn’t even win one match at their Champions League qualification group tournament in Leon, Spain last weekend. In a swift reaction, by handball standards anyway, they fired their coach Markus Baur and their sports director, Daniel Stephan. Co-favorites to win the tournament with host Leon, Lemgo lost close matches to Kadetten Schaufhaussen of Switzerland and Celje of Slovenia before being drubbed by Leon 31-21 in the final match.

What makes the quick firings even more surprising are the long relationships Baur and Stepan had with Lemgo. Baur had played for the club from 2001-2008, was one of the more popular players on the national team and had returned to coach Lemgo after a 6 month stint coaching in Switzerland. Stephan had been with the club since 1994 and was the Handball world player of the year in 98. According to Handball-World, it wasn’t just the performance in Spain that led to their dismissal as the club had performed poorly in a number of preseason events.

EHF: Lemgo fires Baur: http://www.ehfcl.com/men/2009-10/article/12573/Lemgo+fires+Baur
Handball-World: Lemgo: "Prolonged drought sporting" costs and Stephan Baur their jobs: http://www.handball-world.com/o.red.c/news.php?GID=1&auswahl=21908
Wikipedia: Daniel Stephan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Stephan
Wikipedia: Markus Baur: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markus_Baur

If you haven’t noticed USA Team Handball has launched several new initiatives in the past few months, most of them focused on youth programs:

– Youth teams trip to Germany: http://usateamhandball.org/blog/post/1210
– 8 youths participating in a semester exchange program in Iceland: http://usateamhandball.org/news/article/15547
– Girl‘s futures program expansion: http://usateamhandball.org/news/article/15433
– Youth camp: http://usateamhandball.org/blog/post/1097

I certainly could quibble about the merits of these initiatives around the margins (How do we know are we getting our money’s worth? Are the youth teams maybe a little too Colorado centric?, etc.), but I (and others) sure can’t complain about the Federation sitting around doing nothing. Arguably, there has been more activity in the last month or so in terms of youth programs than there has been in the entire history of Handball in this country

And if I had to debate the merits of each of these initiatives I would feel a lot more comfortable taking the “good idea” side then I would be taking the “bad idea” side. I haven’t seen any of the youths in the youth movement playing, so I can’t really judge whether they are future stars or not. But they are under 18, like the sport enough to spend some of their own resources to play it and some are even willing to live a few months in Iceland to improve their skills. It’s hard to find much wrong with that. And to those who might complain that their region is getting short shrift I would simply say there’s not much holding you back to start your own program.

In terms of the development continuum these programs can principally be categorized as talent identification and the beginning stages of player development. Essentially what was outlined in the grassroots section of my series “A Framework for Creating U.S. National Team Success” https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.797 There’s bound to be some athletes that never materialize as Senior National Team players for a number of reason as taking these players and others to the next level in the critical ages of 18-22 will be a challenge. But, hey at least we have that as a challenge now.