Meet the Member: “Fighting piracy is a bit like a game of Whack-a-Mole”

Piracy is an uphill battle for rights holders. To find out how the Sports Rights Owners Coalition is trying to fight it we sent our Content Manager, Alex Brinton, to speak to Mark Lichtenhein, the coalition’s Chairman.

Mark, briefly explain what it is that the Sports Rights Owners Coalition do and your role within that?

The coalition has been in existence for coming up to 20 years. I got involved right at the start when I was working for the European Tour, or as it is now called the DP World Tour. It was created because we understood that despite competing for some things like sponsorship and TV contracts we had many common challenges – and the protection of our underlying intellectual property rights was the most important. 

I think the best way to look at it is a sports trade body. It is the only body that represents sport as a whole out there. Over the last 20 years we have gone from a handful of UK sports into a global organisation representing between 50 and 60. It is still predominantly European but we now have representatives from the US and Asia. The issues have changed over the years but the mission hasn’t. 

For my sins, I was elected chairman of the coalition eight years ago, so I am in my fourth term at the moment. As you pointed out piracy is the hot topic of the day and has really brought the coalition closer together than ever before.

Piracy is obviously the biggest challenge facing Sports Rights Owners at the moment, how has that battle changed as we have moved from TV to digital?

Yes, it has changed a lot over the last few years. In the early days it was more down to card and password sharing. The big change is actually the increase in quality of digital retransmission getting so much better.

In the early days, when you were relying on dial up internet it wasn’t really a problem but with the broadband you can get now, you are able to watch sport in 4K over the internet. So for the pirates the retransmission possibilities have become much, much greater and obviously with that more lucrative. That is what has turned this into a multi-billion dollar illegal market that is incredibly difficult to police.

The unique challenge with sport is that the value is concentrated in the live experience. So for a pirate it is really easy to extract value in a two-hour football or rugby match because it takes some time for the anti-piracy wheels to come into motion. That has been our main task over the past few years is to get an immediate solution to these problems that  sport specifically faces. 

Are any of the rights holders finding success in the battle against piracy, who are they and what are they doing?

Football is obviously the most lucrative sport so they have led the way in terms of anti-piracy measures. I think a lot of them have done fantastic jobs in their own geographies of identifying the bad actors and platforms where the content is being carried. 

The first thing is identifying where the pirates are operating from and we are getting fairly good at that. Between us we are sending out millions of ‘Take Down’ notices every year. The real problem is though that there is no obligation for people to actually take action on these notices during the time of transmission. At a European level we have this notion of expeditious removal – but that isn’t a time frame so it is really hard to police. 

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We do have some legal precedent though, that comes from the ECATEL case in The Netherlands that ruled that an illegal stream needs to be taken within 30 minutes. Again this isn’t ideal but it is something.

The issue is how 30 minutes translates for different sports so for a football match it is a third of the game, for a boxing fight it could be over already, whereas with longer sports like golf or cricket 30 minutes isn’t as critical..

You come from a tech background, can tech provide an answer to this problem?

Well tech has already provided a lot of the tools we use, certainly in the identification and discovery stage of the process. Particularly on a political level because watermarking, fingerprinting and the ability to actually track where the signal is actually coming from. 

We actually have legal certainty that our content has been stolen and retransmitted, which is really important when it comes to policy making. Everybody knows about the content that social media companies need to have taken down with hate speech, misinformation and alternative facts, what’s different with our case is that we have real proof that our content is stolen.

In short the technology is providing the tools, but it is just the application that needs to improve and the politics around it.

You spend a lot of your time lobbying for new piracy legislation in Europe, why is this so slow and what could new legislation really look like?

Well as I say one of the issues is that we get put into the same box as the removal of harmful content and we have just spoken about how that causes us problems. I think the bigger hurdle though is that the piracy ecosystem is extremely complex and hard to understand. 

If you’re a politician that has not studied anything to do with software engineering then getting your head around IP address and DNS blocking then it can be hard, these aren’t things that typically fall into your daily remit. 

I also think that at a political level there is this notion that sport should be freely available to all, which from our side doesn’t make a great deal of sense. So getting our point of view across takes a bit of time. There is also a massive misrepresentation of what Pay TV has done for sports to make the  coverage so much more compelling.

Golf is the sport I have been involved in for most of my life and if you look at the way that used to be covered and compare it to now, it is so different. You used to only be able to watch the majors and not even in their entirety and now you can watch practically every shot of all the majors if you want and probably around 30 hours of content a week from regular tournaments.

This sort of production comes at massive cost. There is no way of getting around that, people forget that the prices people pay for TV subscriptions are not just to make money, they are to cover their own costs as well. There is also the return to the athletes and that then filters down to the grassroots of their respective  sports 

I also think policy makers struggle to understand the value of the live broadcast as well, we have to move quickly or there isn’t a great deal of point in removing content once the event has finished. 

Can European legislation truly fix a global problem?

Well obviously not, but having clear pan-European legislation can go a long way towards it. We had similar problems in China, when copyright wasn’t viewed in the same way that we did in the West. That wasn’t a reason for giving up on copyright, it was an opportunity to educate China and now we have seen massive changes in their approach. But to bring it back to piracy, we have to get it right in Europe first before we can transfer a policy to the rest of  the world. 

Also due to bandwidth limitations and from the data our members have we know that the majority of the piracy that is being consumed in Europe is coming from Europe.

We know that piracy is costing rights owners money, but does stopping piracy have a price tag?

The thing about piracy is that it is something that you can never truly stop. It is a bit like a game of Whack-A-Mole. What I will go back to though is the value of the live experience that sport holds. If you’re watching pirated content then there needs to be a significant risk that you will only get to see the beginning  because it will get taken down. This makes it a lot less attractive for viewers to watch. We  need to be able to disrupt the system as quickly as possible. It isn’t the case for all but I don’t think pirates would be able to sell many subscriptions if their illegal streams were unreliable and unwatchable.

There was an independent study conducted by Ampere Analysis a couple of years ago that estimated that the piracy market is worth around half of the legitimate rights market. So that would make it worth $26 billion with the legitimate market being worth $52 billion. Even if that is out by 10 or 20% that is still a massive market. This has even caused issues in certain countries in relation to rights renewals where piracy is prevalent. And major rights holders get up to  80% of their income from media rights sales, so if that legitimate market is significantly undermined it has the potential to change the way sport is financed. 

So in short, there’s a lot at stake here.

How Pay TV is going to make 2023 the year of recurring revenue

We are living in interesting times. 

The relationship between brands and consumers continues to evolve. Forget the simple “buy and sell.” It’s not even about making sure that customers come back and buy again. We’ve moved beyond that now. Today, consumers want to sign up and pay up so they can stay connected to the brands, products and services they love, without having to think about it. More companies than ever are focusing their energies on providing frictionless experiences to customers, and in return, they get the promise of recurring revenues.

In short, the world is turning to subscriptions and memberships.

The beauty of subscriptions – and why they are proven time and again to be the future of commerce – is that they address and solve some key pain points. Both for consumers and companies.

For consumers, a good subscription is one that keeps them connected 24/7 to the product or service, so they can access the things they want, whenever they need. Whether it’s streaming their favorite music or content, or receiving their monthly box of shaving supplies, a subscription is magical – the customer does not need to put in any thought or effort. It’s just there.

For companies, the subscription model is an effective way to maintain relationships with customers over time. A subscription is not a one-time purchase – it’s a recurrent commitment from the customer. With subscriptions, the focus shifts from acquisition to retention to extend the lifetime value of each subscriber. And as we all know, it is far cheaper to retain an existing customer than acquire a new one.

In times of economic uncertainty, consumers become more sensitive to cost. They cut back on non-essential items, particularly if the payoff is not perceived as being worth it.

Subscriptions can overcome this, and that’s why we believe that 2023 will be the year of recurring revenue. The subscription mindset is already well-ingrained in the consumer landscape. There will be starts and stops, upsets and coughs, but the road to revenue is clear.

At the cusp of a new year, the challenges that companies face are enormous. The world is still reeling from the pandemic, inflation continues to rise, and chatter about recession has not let up.

Through all this, subscriptions enable companies to engage and delight customers on an ongoing basis. This is very powerful to make them stick around.

With the right subscription tech stack, companies can provide their subscribers with seamless experiences, including frictionless payments that do not leave any room for the customer to consider canceling or dropping off.

Here’s an example: a customer subscribes to a health food brand for a weekly box of healthy snacks delivered to their door. Sure, it’s a “non-essential” purchase. But on the other hand, the customer places great value on eating healthy. As the cost of living gets higher, the customer feels a certain internal tension as to whether to continue the subscription relationship.

Imagine that the customer’s credit card payment fails, and there was no automatic fix to this issue. The customer passively churns. But they had some doubts already, so when the sales rep calls to get the new credit card information and sign them up again, it is all too easy for the customer to stay unsubscribed.

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Now imagine that same scenario, however the company uses Vindicia Retain as part of their subscription operations. Retain “heals” the failed payment transaction and re-captures the payment, before the company is in need to contact the consumer to address the problem with the failed payment, and the subscription continues smoothly. This seamless and pleasant interaction creates a sense that the customer is cared for and appreciated. They don’t need to quibble over the subscription or price, because they feel the value of being a signed-up customer.

When a customer subscribes to a company, they are in the mindset to commit. In return, the company must make good on the relationship. 

By focusing on engagement and retention, and by using strategic tools like Retain, subscription companies can provide the seamless experiences that help customers stay committed. What’s more, your company stays a step ahead. Instead of investing precious financial resources in a call center trying to win back lost customers, you won’t lose them in the first place.

And that’s the key to recurring revenues in 2023. Happy New Year!

By Jesus Luzardo, VP Global Head of Sales at Vindicia. To find out more about the work Vindicia doing click here.

EngageRM launch The Engage Nation Podcast

EngageRM have recently launched a new podcast, don’t worry it isn’t just about CRM systems, they are speaking to leading figures in the sports and entertainment industry.

The monthly podcast has already had two episodes and has featured interviews with Jordon Kolosey, Vice President, Business Strategy and Innovation at Spurs Sport & Entertainment, owners of the San Antonio Spurs and Lea Miller-Tooley, President of Complete Sports Management.

With more exciting interviews to come over the following months, be sure to check out an episode by clicking here.

It takes one to know one, but we are loving this emerging monster of a newsletter from EngageRM, ‘The Crowd’. All the latest trends and stories from the world of sport and entertainment – your inbox is big enough for the two of us. Go and subscribe here.

Lionesses secure equal access to sports for girls

On International Women’s Day the Government set out new standards for equal access to sports, making it clear that girls and boys should be offered the same sports during PE and extracurricular time in schools.

Today’s package will help to boost equal opportunities in school sport both inside and outside the classroom, delivering on promises made by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Education Secretary Gillian Keegan to the Women’s Euro 22 winners the Lionesses.

This follows on from the success of the Football Association’s (FA) #LetGirlsPlay campaign which is working to change perceptions and make sure girls get the chance to play football within the school curriculum, as well as at breaktime, after school and at local clubs.

The campaign was launched by the Lionesses squad and the FA after the England Women’s team’s success at the Euro 22 tournament last year.

Schools that successfully deliver equal opportunities for girls and boys will be rewarded through the School Games Mark, which will assess parity of provision in PE and extracurricular sport.

Schools are also being asked to offer a minimum of two hours curriculum PE time and Government will provide support to schools on how to do this through the upcoming refresh of the School Sport Action Plan.

Alongside this work, Ofsted will be publishing a report into PE in the coming months, which will inform future inspections and set out what they believe is possible in terms of offering high quality PE and equal access to sports.

This is backed by a package of cross-government funding to help boost sport and activities both inside and outside school hours including the confirmation of over £600 million in funding over the next two academic years for the PE and Sport Premium and £22 million for the School Games Organisers (SGO) network.

England women’s captain, Leah Williamson, said:

The success of the summer has inspired so many young girls to pursue their passion for football.

We see it as our responsibility to open the doors for them to do so and this announcement makes that possible.

This is the legacy that we want to live much longer than us as a team. On behalf of all the Lionesses players, we’d like to thank our teammate Lotte Wubben-Moy as a driving force behind this transformational change.

We couldn’t be prouder to stand alongside her and we all look forward to seeing the impact this legacy creates.

The FA’s Chief Executive, Mark Bullingham, said:

The magic of last summer’s Euros victory can now live on with a legacy that has the ability to change the future of women’s football and positively impact society.

Equal access for girls is one of The FA’s strategic ambitions and for such progress to be made is a very proud day. We’re all extremely grateful to the players for using their voice to deliver change and would like to place on record our thanks to Government for the positive measures announced today.

Member Insights: It’s time to give women’s sport a level and equal playing field

In this Member Insights article Content Director of Cinch, David Granger hears from England cricketer’s Sarah Glenn and Emma Lamb about what needs to happen if sport is going to achieve equality.

If sport is going to embrace equality, it needs brand investment and a greater understanding of women’s experiences to inspire the next generation.

That’s according to England cricket international Sarah Glenn. Glenn and fellow international Emma Lamb were speaking at a panel discussion hosted by cinch, the online car sales site and chaired by Kate Miller, the ECB’s Chief Diversity and Communications Officer. cinch sponsor both women’s and men’s England cricket teams and the event was part of their International Women’s Day (IWD) series on March 8.

Glenn said: “We’ve come a long way so far, but the more women share their experiences across different sports, the more we can show what we go through and inspire more to want to be involved. One of the big shifts is social media, it allows us to show behind the scenes and the real stuff. Seeing more brands investing in this will help us share our story even further.”

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is embracing equity and – for sport in particular – that means celebrating women athletes and applauding when equality is achieved in pay, sponsorship and visibility.

Looking back at the last 12 months, arguably, progress has been made:

On court, tennis has led the way offering equal prize money for both women and men, and the US Open has had equal prize money since 1973

In India, the establishment of a women’s T20 cricket tournament demonstrated unprecedented investment with the intention of raising the sport’s profile and its female athletes

The UK government set up a panel to look at issues which affect women’s soccer at all levels

There was success was on the pitch, in the stands and homes of soccer fans during the 2022 Women’s Euros – more than 17.4 million people watched the final live and 87,000 spectators were at Wembley

In 2019, Formula W launched to have women compete in motorsport at a global level

This made 2022 a record-breaking year for Women’s Sport. International success positively affected domestic competition– with 75% of those who watched the Women’s Euros final have since seen a WSL fixture (according to BARB/Women’s Sports Trust)

But…

In tennis, no female players feature in the 2022 Forbes list of wealthiest athletes. No women feature at all in that list. It’s all men.

The Indian women’s T20 tournament is half the size of the men’s equivalent.

Formula W failed to complete its 2022 season and there is financial uncertainty about its future, while a rival series has been established by Formula 1. The F1 Academy will be a ‘feeder’ series and only appear at one of the 2023 F1 rounds. 

The UK panel features Lionesses head coach Hope Powell and (mentioned before her on the government website) former professional player turned commentator Ian Wright.

But:

Parts of the situation are being addressed. The fact that cinch sponsors men’s and women’s cricket, the fact that for the two Premier League clubs they sponsor (Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace) they partner with the women’s team means partners are starting to give equal billing and visibility.

In the US, the women’s national soccer team won a $24 million payout and an assurance there would be equal remuneration for both teams in all national competitions. But that took six years to accomplish.

Their Canadian counterparts are entering the same fight in an attempt to gain equality, the north American fight for equity is far from over.

While women’s sport has seen progress in gaining equality, there is still work to be done before we are able to more widely applaud equality in pay, sponsorship or visibility. Ruling bodies, federations, clubs, teams and partners all have their role in ensuring all top athletes get what they play on level, equitable playing fields.

As Lamb said at the cinch session: “When I was younger, I didn’t think I could be a professional cricketer and now I’m speaking to young woman and girls after the game that want to be involved. It feels really special.”

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Meet the Member – “The festival alone contributes more than £274 million to the local economy”

With Cheltenham week just around the corner our Content Manager, Alex Brinton spoke to the CCO of The Jockey Club, Charlie Boss and Cheltenham Racecourse’s Head of Operations Gethin Jenkins to find out how preparations were going and try and get a tip for The Gold Cup. 

Charlie, if you could very briefly introduce what the Jockey Club does and your role within that?

I like to think about The Jockey Club like the beating heart of the British horseracing industry. From a business perspective, we run 15 racecourses and some of the UK’s biggest sporting events like the Cheltenham Festival, the Randox Grand National and The Derby, as well as training grounds and the National Stud to help breed and develop the horses that race at those courses.

My role is to help The Jockey Club make money from all that. In turn we then invest every penny of profit back into British racing, primarily via prize money, which is like the lifeblood that sustains racehorse owners, trainers, jockeys and all the incredible stable staff who underpin it all.

On a day-to-day basis, that sees my team run what may be the biggest owned hospitality business in UK sport, selling 170,000 covers last year. We are also creating rich partnerships with our sponsors that storytell year-round and nationwide across our 15 courses. And we are always looking at ways to creatively drive revenue from our venues, from a thriving conference and events business to other on-site entertainment like hotels and golf courses. We even use the centre of the course at one location to graze sheep!

Within that time, there is a flow around the racecourse between the parade ring, food and beverage areas, shopping village, bookmakers and the viewing areas so the whole site feels like it’s constantly on the move.

You have been at the Jockey Club for two years, what has surprised you about the horse racing business?

The breadth and diversity of it. From a fan perspective, our 15 racecourses welcome very different audiences, and the more time I spend with each of them the more I realise how varied the communities and fan bases they serve are. At its extremes, we cater from royalty at The Derby through to farmers in Lincolnshire or Somerset, and from children attending for the first time at a family day to passionate racing fans who have been coming for an entire lifetime.

We are also a tremendously diverse business, covering everything from high end hospitality to mucking out the stables at the National Stud. It makes the job of Chief Commercial Officer an extremely varied and fulfilling one.

Coming out of the pandemic, what have been your biggest challenges as a business?

I obviously joined The Jockey Club in the middle of the pandemic, and I have been staggered at how quickly we have recovered, right through to us announcing record prize money in 2022 and then again in 2023. So in truth we have rebounded quicker and more successfully than we might have imagined. We have our fans and of course our incredible people to thank for that.

It’s probably those people and how best to look after them that I agonise most about. 

Firstly, they each endured their own personal challenges over the pandemic. Secondly, they have had to work incredibly hard to conjure the rebound and success we have enjoyed over the last 12 months. 

But taking a longer term view, like people everywhere the way they work has fundamentally changed since the pandemic, and making sure we help them to lead happy, balanced lives while still delivering more than 340 racedays and literally thousands of conferences and other events each year is a daily challenge.

Looking forward then, what are you doing differently in 2023?

With my commercial hat on, The Jockey Club is an amazingly entrepreneurial and innovative organisation. When I arrived I was blown away by how many good ideas to grow the business existed across our teams, and two years in much of my job is still fuelled by bringing those ideas to life. Over the course of this year we have several new business launches planned to diversify our revenue, with the most recently announced being a columbarium wall at Cheltenham that allows fans and their loved ones to be memorialised at the spiritual home of Jump racing. 

And of course all of those new initiatives are generating money we can invest back into the sport. Beyond commercial, we are obsessed at the moment about how we can work more efficiently, leveraging our scale with 15 venues and the talent that exists in the business to make the lives of our people easier and their experience of working for The Jockey Club even more rewarding.

So Gethin, talk to us a bit about your experience before you came to work at Cheltenham?

I’ve had a varied career, which has included being a CEO of a professional rugby team and EFL Championship football team, both with venues to run. I’ve also been on the governing body rights-holding side, as competitions manager/tournament director for World Rugby in countries as varied as Chile and Argentina through to Russia, China and Kenya.

More recently I’ve also been CEO of England Boxing. From an events perspective, I was Head of Event Delivery for the 2015 Rugby World Cup hosted in England and Wales. This meant I had responsibility for the delivery and match management of the 13 venues, which included Twickenham, Wembley, Principality Stadium, St James Park, Kingsholm and Sandy Park in Exeter and in addition there was responsibility for the team services. In summary I’ve had a varied career but one that has incorporated events, governing bodies and venues.

Other than being a different sport, what are the main differences between what you have done before and what you are doing now?

I think the biggest difference is the length of the activity and the flows around the venue itself. Spectators arrive from 10.30am at Cheltenham and many stay until well after the last race, which can be 5.30pm. 

Within that time, there is a flow around the racecourse between the parade ring, food and beverage areas, shopping village, bookmakers and the viewing areas so the whole site feels like it’s constantly on the move.

The difference in sports like football and rugby is that the fans and client groups arrive and stay mostly in the same areas before leaving again the same way they came in. The other significant difference, of course, is the added factor of being involved with the care and welfare of horses, which is clearly different to players and teams.

So we are in your first cycle of planning the festival, what has that been like?

So far it’s been excellent. It is an annual event as opposed to, say, the Rugby World Cup or Commonwealth Games, so there is greater opportunity to build year-on-year. 

There are also a lot of staff and contractors who are clearly experienced, passionate and invested in delivering racing and customer experience to the highest standards. Some of the areas we have been concentrating on are security and safety planning, resilience and contingency planning, especially in the case of a potential rail strike, for instance. Plus, there is the not insignificant challenge of 40,000 sqm of temporary build! As well as being one of the biggest temporary builds in Europe, it’s an added factor that most sporting venues which regularly host nearly 70,000 people on their biggest days don’t have to consider.

The festival has a massive effect on the community with so many people descending on to the town, what work do you do with locals?

The Festival alone contributes more than £274 million to the local economy, but while we celebrate it as an event of national sporting significance, it clearly has a local impact and it’s important that we are good neighbours and contribute throughout the year. 

This year we’ve launched the Love Our Turf campaign to work with the local council and other authorities and stakeholders to provide way-finding, extra toilets and other support to minimise the impact on local residents. These people are our neighbours all year, not just during the four days of The Festival, and it’s really important that we consider them before, during and after all our racedays.

The festival is obviously your biggest week, how do you go about trying to convert people from festival goers to regular attendees?

First and foremost it’s about providing a safe and enjoyable event coupled with the highest standard of customer experience possible, regardless of whether you are a racegoer joining us with a group of friends or paying for high-end hospitality as a treat or an opportunity to host business associates.

That starts when the initial contact is made and can be a phone conversation with one of our sales team or simply the quality of the information about the course and what to expect that arrives in an envelope with your tickets. 

I think racing is really welcoming and accessible in that regard, and this attention to detail should continue right through to the day itself, ensuring everyone has a fantastic experience at the event. It’s then up to us to follow up with racegoers afterwards to get feedback to make improvements in future and also ensure that they are aware of the other opportunities to visit Cheltenham Racecourse or other Jockey Club venues throughout the year.

One of the big attractions at the festival is the Guinness Village. What is it like working with Guinness on such a big project?

Guinness are a really dynamic and innovative partner who, like The Jockey Club, are always trying to improve customer experience. This year is no different, with one or two changes to the Guinness Village and the focus on raising the awareness of Guinness 0.0 and drinking responsibly.

Any tips for The Gold Cup?

Come early, dress for the weather, enjoy the day and be respectful of the neighbours when leaving. You wouldn’t want to rely on me for racing tips!

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McLaren Racing announce multi-year partnership with New Era

McLaren Racing today announced a multi-year partnership extension and expansion with New Era, the leading headwear and lifestyle brand, becoming Official Headwear Partner to all McLaren’s race series teams from the 2023 season.  

New Era will continue to provide driver and fan headwear for the McLaren Formula 1 Team and the McLaren Shadow esports Team, while extending its support to the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team, NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, NEOM McLaren Extreme E Team. 

For 2023, McLaren and New Era will release products to celebrate dedicated races, and a McLaren60 special edition cap to mark the team’s 60th anniversary. 

A wider collection of designs and styles across New Era’s iconic silhouettes will be launched, including the 9FORTY curved visor, the 9FIFTY snapback, the mesh Trucker, and the knitted Beanie. 

Lindsey Eckhouse, Director, Licensing and Digital Products, McLaren Racing, said: “We are delighted to extend and grow our partnership with New Era, a distinguished brand that shares McLaren’s ambition to be brave and bold. The response to our fan headwear has been fantastic, so we are excited to now bring New Era’s headwear to every series we race in. 

“Our 60th birthday is an important milestone for our team, and New Era’s McLaren60 special edition cap will give our fans a great way to join us in celebrating.”

Paul Gils, VP EMEA, New Era, said: “We have significantly grown our partnership with McLaren Racing over the last five years through its Formula 1 team, so we’re thrilled to be broadening our product offering to McLaren Racing’s wider fan base as their official headwear partner across all five race series.” 

Sport 24 to broadcast FIFA Women’s World Cup

Sport 24, the first and only live sports channel that’s available on airlines and cruise lines around the world, today announced a deal with FIFA to broadcast the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023. 

The IMG-owned channel will show more than 90 hours of live coverage across 64 matches from this year’s much awaited FIFA Women’s World Cup™ taking place in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand between 20 July – 20 August 2023.

This deal adds to Sport 24’s extensive international rights portfolio and recent world cup coverage, including the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022Ô, Rugby World Cup 2023, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, as well as the upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

Last year, the channel broadcast more than 125 hours of coverage for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which reached a total 5 million viewers across 800+ aircraft and 150+ cruise ships.

Richard Wise, SVP, Content and Channels for IMG’s media business, said: “Off the back of our best ever FIFA World Cup coverage, we’re delighted to add more thrilling international football to our global rights portfolio for our airline and cruise ship partners. The FIFA Women’s World Cup is set to be a global spectacle and now passengers can watch the very best sporting action even while travelling.” 

The FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 will be the first edition that will be held in the Southern Hemisphere and co-hosted by two countries. The opening match will be contested between New Zealand and Norway at Eden Park in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau, with defending champions the United States kicking off against Vietnam in the same stadium two days later.

Launched in 2012, both Sport 24 and Sport 24 Extra are produced from IMG’s production HQ at Stockley Park, near London’s Heathrow Airport. Sport 24 also shows live action from the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, NBA, NFL (inflight only), Formula 1, golf’s majors, tennis’ grand slams and more. Sport 24 is available to airlines on Panasonic Avionics’ Live Television product.

International Women’s Day 2023 – the view from our network

In honour of International Women’s Day, we spoke to eight of the women who are helping to shape the sports industry at the moment. It is important for the sports business to understand where it needs to improve because this isn’t just a problem for today, it is an everyday problem.

On the pitch the women’s game is moving forward, with the Lionesses being a fantastic example of that, but what is it like away from the pitch?

How do women in the industry really feel about working in sport? What is good? What is bad? What has improved? And what can be done better?

In order to find out, we spoke to: 

Andrea Ekblad – Vice President, Women’s Sports – DAZN

Micky Lawler – President of Women’s Tennis Association

Juliet Slot – Chief Commercial Officer – Arsenal

Ali Kyrke-Smith – Director of Strategy (North America) – InCrowd

Julia Wall-Clarke – Head of Impact and Communications – Extreme E

Heather Bowler – Senior Executive Director, Communications – International Tennis Federation

Sharon Mayblum – Head of International Partnerships and Business Development – Vindicia

Betty Huegdon – Head of Finance and Operations – iSportConnect

Jeanene Valentine – Director of Ticketing – Wave FC

What good things have you experienced?

Andre Ekblad (AE) – If you look at my role: I am very excited to be in a role dedicated to women’s sports, and women’s sports only – building the Global Home of Women’s Football on DAZN. Some years ago, or at the beginning of my career I was only hopeful this could one day become reality. It’s really empowering to be surrounded by lots of brilliant women (some I’m lucky enough to call friends).

Micky Lawler (ML)  – In this 50th anniversary year since the WTA was founded by Billie Jean King and her courageous co-founders, it is extraordinary to have experienced the growth and the global evolution of women’s tennis.

Juliet Slot (JS) – I’ve had the most amazing career for which I’m super grateful from adidas to Fulham, to London 2012, agency-side, Ascot and now Arsenal. I’ve worked with some amazing people and had the opportunity to build and grow brands and revenue across many different properties, or for clients when I was agency-sde.  Working in an industry which is based around delivering to a passion of your customers – be it broad sports or specifics like racing and football is a huge honour.

Ali Kyrke-Smith (AKS) – The opportunity to work with some amazing people, both here at InCrowd and with the clients I’ve been lucky enough to work with over the years. As I turn my focus to growing InCrowd’s footprint in the US, I’m looking forward to working with even more people who are setting new standards in technology, marketing and fan engagement in sport.

Julia Wall-Clarke (JWC) – I feel fortunate to have been guided by talented female leaders who inspired me hugely in my early career. Including Kate Bosomworth, Lucia Montanarella and Denise Tyler. These were all women who were juggling young families and high-pressured, fast paced roles. In the most positive way possible, it made it all feel very normal. Together, they set my benchmark for my own professional possibilities sky high.

Heather Bowler (HB) – I’ve travelled to all corners of the world because tennis is a truly global sport. Along the way, I’ve met and worked with wonderful people from Billie Jean King to Ons Jabeur to Rafa Nadal and had just the most incredible experiences. Often tournaments include young professional talent on or around the court. Many have challenging backgrounds and I’ve seen how our sport has genuinely transformed their lives. That’s so humbling to be a part of.

Sharon Mayblum (SM) – While sports and sports business certainly have their fair share of gender inequity and misogyny, I find that sports is one of the industries where I have experienced a better overall atmosphere and long-lasting, friendly relationships. The business side of things doesn’t necessarily always have to be a head-on confrontation. After all, sports are supposed to be all about entertainment, sportsmanship, and enjoyment. And in my experience, I find this for the most part to be true.

Betty Huegdon (BH) – Working in the sports business has been an amazing experience. I really enjoy the chances I get to work with like-minded people who are so passionate about sports. The business is constantly evolving and there is always something new to learn and that is so engaging.

Jeanene Valentine (JV) – My very first position in sports was with the Anaheim Ducks, a National Hockey League team in Southern California. The thing I found most appealing was the excitement written across every fan’s face who entered the arena. Almost like a child on Christmas morning. That was what made me fall in love with sports and I have kept that love alive twenty years later. 

What bad things have you experienced?

AE – Some networking opportunities are still less available to women, especially to women with caring responsibilities – it would be great to open further up those.

JS – In my early career I experienced some sexism and behaviours which would not been stood for now. Back then if was normal, but now I see it for what it was.  I was the only woman on most of the boards I sat on.  That’s a hard environment. Women who are direct, passionate and driven are sometimes described by their older male peers as too emotional and challenging.  That wouldn’t happen to a man. Unconscious sexism is almost the worst.

AKS – It has to be that, across the board, sport is still yet to achieve gender parity, either on the pitch (from grassroots through to elite level) or behind the scenes on the administrative and commercial side. Until we reach that there is always going to be a ‘bad’.

JWC – Huge progress is happening across the board. However in many cases, female athletes play second place to their male counterparts. Whether it’s with salaries or sponsorship deals, we still have an ocean to cross to achieve gender parity.

HB – Sports politics!

SM – Overall, professional sports – and sports business in general – are still dominated by men. And from a compensation standpoint, men still earn more than women. It seems that women often have to work twice as hard as men just to stay even in this male-dominated industry. Things do seem to be getting better, however, which gives me hope.

BH – Occasionally I have felt excluded from informal networking events and social activities, which are a key part of building relationships. Many events are male-dominated and may involve activities that are tailored for men which can be discouraging.

What has improved?

AE – I think flexible working has given a lot more women the opportunities to have a role in the sports industry – including those who are parents, or have caring responsibilities (but of course not only limited to them). 

JS – I work in an environment both internally and externally where I am the CCO, who happens to be a woman. I don’t feel that I’m battling in the way I did when I was younger. I feel supported and love working on an executive which has 50/50 male/female representation. It’s brilliant and creates such a strong output.

ML – The ever-increasing competition in the area of entertainment and sports has fueled improvement across all areas of tennis. Our tournaments keep getting bigger and better with higher in-person attendance and TV audience numbers.

AKS – I’m going to give the positive counter to ‘the bad’ above, and highlight how heartening it has been to see the (very recent) shift in the industry’s attitude towards women’s sport. I think it’s only in the last couple of years that leaders within the industry are beginning to understand the enormous commercial potential within women’s sport.

JWC – Visibility and representation is a much bigger consideration across the industry today. We’re seeing equality at the forefront of decision making in all areas from c-suite leadership to TV commentators and journalism. Our youngest generations are growing up with more female role models than ever before. The Rio Olympics 2016 GB women’s hockey win in 2016 felt like a big momentum shift, through to last year’s Lionesses Euros Win, these halo moments are crucial in helping build fan following. 

HB – The ITF has our Advantage All programme working hard to achieve gender parity for players on court and at the highest echelons of decision-making. Global diversity was already represented on the ITF Board, but in 2022, the ITF reformed its constitution to ensure the ITF Board elected members are at least 4 women and 4 men.

SM – Although we aren’t anywhere near full equality, progress is certainly being made, both on and off the field. Today we see Cynthia Marshall serving as the CEO of the Dallas Mavericks, Kim Ng as General Manager of Miami Marlins, and Amy Howe as the CEO of FanDuel, an internet-based online sportsbook.  And of course, there’s last year’s stunning example of the US women’s soccer team having reached a landmark agreement with their governing body to end a six-year legal battle over equal pay.  With female role models and financial wins such as these, women today seem to be aspiring higher. 

JV – It is refreshing to finally see women hired into all positions in sports front offices, which was almost impossible ten years ago.

What can be done better?

AE – As women, we are still very much in the minority in the industry. We need more women in ExCos, on Boards and senior leadership and decision-making roles, and of course more gender equality across every level. It would be great to see more companies in the sports industry trialling a 4-day working week which has shown remarkable results in a trial in the UK. This would further enable opportunities for women.

JS – I think we have made great advances in our industry in the balance of male/female but there are still not enough women at the top. In football just in the PL it is still dominated by men but that is changing and it’s going to take time. 

JWC – The opportunities for women are increasing, but we do face entirely different challenges to men which need greater understanding and consideration to avoid talent being lost early. I’ve had many discussions with female athletes who feel apprehensive about when to start a family, whether it would affect their sponsorship deals, which they’ve already had to fight hard to achieve, and how they would be supported in getting back to top level performance.  Leaders, regardless of gender, need to have better awareness for how they can help women adapt and thrive in changing circumstances

HB – Change is constant, so we need to keep our eye on the ball and our mind on the next ball coming over the net after that. Tennis governance today sees the stakeholders at the top of pro tennis work more constructively together, but there is still more progress to be made. We need to pull together as a sport because I’m convinced many of our challenges and opportunities sit outside the boundaries of the game itself!

SM – I hope that more sports organisations realise the value of having more women present in the management ranks. It’s important to create even more role models for women to look up to when starting their careers in sports. For example, the BBC and Sky recently announced a three-year broadcast deal for the women’s football Super League, which put their matches on free-to-air TV for the first time in a deal worth over £7 million ($8.4 million) per season. We need to see many more examples like these in order to reach true equality.

BH – There is still more that needs to be improved. It would be great to see more women in leadership positions in sport and provide mentorship opportunities for women. But sport is definitely moving in the right direction.

JV – I see it now as my turn to mentor young women just entering the sports world and provide them with as much love and support needed to guide them down this same path.

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The House View – the Women’s IPL is ready to change cricket again

It is here, the Women’s Indian Premier League(WPL) has arrived.

We have been waiting a while but this truly is a moment that could change women’s cricket forever, and could have a significant knock-on impact on women’s sport in general.

The five franchise teams will occupy centre stage in world cricket over 22 days, with the final scheduled for March 26. 

Domestic women’s T20 tournaments have started to grow in the last few years, with the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia and The Hundred in England all bringing together a collection of some of the finest women’s talent to play against each other. But, as with all things that involve India in cricket, the sums of money are slightly different with the WPL. 

The five franchises were sold for a combined £465 million, that is more than the men’s franchises were worth before the first Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008. The players, in a first for the women’s game, will receive life-changing sums of money. India’s hard-hitting star Smriti Mandhana fetched £340,000 while Australian Ash Gardner and England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt both went for £320,000.Unlike transfer fees in football, the players receive this money directly. 

Unsurprisingly, the draw of such sums attracted the attention of a lot of players: 1,523 applied to be involved in the tournament, eventually 90 were selected, with just 30 from outside India. 

Sky Sports picked up the broadcast rights for the next three years in the UK. Who can blame them for getting on board the WPL train early? If it does half as well as the IPL then it will make great viewing. 

The IPL changed men’s cricket in the same way the creation of the Premier League transformed football in the UK… The WPL has the same potential.

At international level, the women’s game is currently dominated by Australia. They are relentless winners and have to be in the conversation for one of the greatest sports teams of all time in any sport. I am serious, they have won 13 out of the 20 international women’s tournaments they have entered. Since they failed to reach the final of the one-day World Cup Final in 2017, they have won 43 out of their 45 matches. In T20s, where ‘luck’ can have more of an impact on the result, they’ve been only slightly less dominant – losing nine of their past 73 games.

Will the WPL eventually bring to an end to this remarkable run of dominance? Or will it bring the true talent that there is in the women’s game to millions more eyeballs and inspire girls all over the world that cricket is the game for them?

I think it has the chance to do both and I am looking forward to seeing how it develops .

By Alex Brinton, Content Manager for iSportConnect

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