WWE have announced a number of leadership changes as they look for growth in a number of important areas. 

The new personnel will help with the renegotiation of its four largest television rights agreements, cough the potential launch of a WWE Network, impotent expansion in key international markets, viagra buy distribution of content on emerging platforms and new strategic partnerships. Michelle D. Wilson, George Barrios and Stephanie McMahon have been promoted to lead WWE in the execution of these strategic growth initiatives.

Michelle D. Wilson, formerly Chief Marketing Officer, has been promoted to Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer and will now oversee all of the company’s revenue lines and assume responsibility for WWE’s $900 million retail consumer products business. Wilson retains her current revenue generating responsibilities for Sponsorship Sales, Pay-Per-View and New Business Development and will continue to oversee all WWE Marketing and Corporate Communications. Wilson is also spearheading the company’s efforts to launch a WWE Network and will continue to report directly to WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon. Casey Collins, Executive Vice President, Consumer Products will report to Wilson.

George Barrios, formerly Chief Financial Officer, has been promoted to Chief Strategy and Financial Officer and will now oversee all of the company’s strategic planning processes and take over management of WWE’s day-to-day Television Operations. He will retain his management of Financial Planning and Investor Relations. With Wilson, Barrios is co-leading WWE’s television rights negotiations and will continue to report directly to WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon. Will Staeger, Executive Vice President, Television Production will report to Barrios.

Stephanie McMahon, formerly Executive Vice President, Creative, has been promoted to Chief Brand Officer and will lead WWE’s efforts to further enhance its brand reputation among key constituencies including advertisers, media, business partners and investors. McMahon will serve as the company’s brand ambassador and work with WWE’s business units to support key growth initiatives. McMahon will also lead WWE’s targeted youth and moms marketing programs and will continue to report directly to WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon.

Kevin Dunn will serve as Executive Producer of all WWE programming, including Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown, WWE Main Eventand Total Divas and will continue to report to Vince McMahon.

“WWE is entering a new era of unprecedented growth,” said WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Vince McMahon. “I am confident that my senior executive team is now organized more effectively to capitalize on the wealth of opportunities.” 

Additionally, Perkins Miller, Executive Vice President, Digital Media will report to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon, and Eddie Feldmann, Senior Vice President, Creative Writing will report to Paul Levesque, Executive Vice President, Talent and Live Events.

With just under two weeks to go until the start of the Paralympic Games, adiposity a giant set of Agitos, medic the symbol for the Paralympic Games, has today been launched outside Cardiff City Hall.

This is the first of five sets of giant Paralympic Agitos to launch in the UK before the Paralympic Games begin on the 29 August.

The launch was attended by London 2012 Director of Paralympic Integration and nine time gold medallist Chris Holmes, Executive Director of Disability Sport Wales Jon Morgan and athletes from the Australian Paralympic team and Papua New Guinea Paralympic team who are currently staying at a Pre Games Training Camp in Cardiff.

Members of Wheelchair Basketball club Cardiff Celts, including Caroline Matthews who was part of the GB Wheelchair Basketball Team in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, also attended the event and took part in a sporting demonstration.

The 13m long, 8m high Agitos will provide a stunning backdrop for Cardiff’s celebrations on 22 August for the Paralympic Torch Relay. The Agitos weigh one tonne and are made entirely of aluminium with a powder coat finish, with the recognisable red, blue and green colours. In total, 3 weeks were spent designing, engineering and fabricating the Rings. 

Wales will continue to host some spectacular events up to the end of the Paralympic Games as part of the London 2012 Festival, the 12-week UK-wide celebration bringing together leading artists from across the world with the very best from the UK. 

Seb Coe, LOCOG Chairman, said: “I’m thrilled that we are launching the first set of giant Agitos here in Cardiff. Wales has a great history of supporting both grassroot and elite disability sport and I am sure the Agitos will inspire and excite residents, spectators and athletes looking to play their part in the London 2012 Games. We are hugely excited about this incredible summer of sport continuing and welcoming athletes from around the world.”

Secretary of State for Wales Cheryl Gillan said: “I am so proud that Cardiff is the first place that the Agitos can be seen as Wales has a fantastic Paralympian history. For London 2012 Wales is sending 38 athletes, as part of ParalmypicsGB, to compete in the games and I have been privileged to meet some of them. Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to see some of the first Paralympics medals, and indeed strike a bronze medal, with Nathan Stephens when we visited the Royal Mint and know that he and all the athletes taking part in London 2012 will be striving to get one of those precious medals.”

Cabinet Member for Sport, Leisure and Culture, Cllr Huw Thomas said:“It is fantastic that Cardiff is the first of five locations across the UK to launch a giant Agitos, the symbol of the Paralympic Games.

“The city has an amazing sporting heritage and we are proud of how we support grass roots disability sports which has seen not only some great individual successes but some fantastic annual events such as the annual Wheelchair Sports Spectacular which provides access to disability sport for more than 500 visitors per year.

“The Olympic Rings outside City Hall proved to be a big draw for people in Cardiff and this excitement is now set to continue with the Agitos in the same position as people count down to the start of the 2012 Paralympic Games.”

Huw Lewis, the Welsh Government Minister with responsibility for Sport said: “While we have grown quite attached to the set of rings that sat so proudly outside Cardiff City Hall, I am sure that the Welsh public will draw just as much excitement and inspiration from the Paralympic Agitos which replace them today. We have always punched above our weight at the Paralympic Games and this has much to do with the support provided to grow disability sport in Wales and the passion and enthusiasm of the athletes, coaches, teachers and spectators, who will, I’m sure, draw further passion from this iconic display.”

Jon Morgan, Executive Director, Disability Sport Wales said: “For a nation that is so passionate and proud of its commitment to Paralympic and disability sport, it is an absolute privilege for our capital city to be hosting the symbol of the International Paralympic Committee – the Agitos. The eyes of the nation will be on London 2012 with 38 athletes from Wales selected to represent ParalympicsGB and with 14 Paralympic nations training in Wales ahead of the games, it is fitting that the Agitos are coming to Cardiff.”

Im deutschen Sport wird ab sofort gesplinkt. Der Deutsche Olympische Sportbund (DOSB) stellte am Dienstag in Berlin sein neues Sport-Sharing-Netzwerk splink im Rahmen des 2. Deutschen Olympischen Sportkongresses der Öffentlichkeit vor. Es steht ab sofort allen Sportinteressierten in Deutschland unter www.splink.de oder über die mobilen, kostenlosen Smartphone-Applikationen (Apps) für Android und iPhone zur Verfügung. Unter dem Slogan “Teile deinen Sport” kann jeder Interessierte seinen Sport zeigen. Es besteht die Möglichkeit, Sporttermine anzulegen, bei Sportveranstaltungen einzuchecken und zu den einzelnen Veranstaltungen Fotos und Kommentare zu posten.

“Sport war schon immer sozial, heute ist er zudem Social Media. Aktive und Passive, Profis und Amateure, Vereinsmitglieder und Unabhängige sind immer häufiger, immer länger, immer offener im Netz unterwegs. Mit splink bringt sich der Sport in Deutschland mit seinen Kernkompetenzen in soziale Netzwerke ein. splink fungiert zukünftig als digitaler Knotenpunkt für den deutschen Sport – für und mit seinen Vereinen, Verbänden und allen Sportbegeisterten”, sagte DOSB-Präsident Thomas Bach zum offiziellen Start von splink.

Dabei soll splink kein Facebook des deutschen Sports werden, betonte DOSB-Generaldirektor Michael Vesper: “Vielmehr steht die Vernetzung von Inhalten im Fokus. splink verbindet User-Generated-Content und das Verbandssystem des DOSB mit all seinen Vereinen und Verbänden. Wir wollen die Angebote des Sports im Netz, egal ob sie auf einer herkömmlichen Website, auf Facebook, Twitter oder weiteren Netzwerken gespielt werden, durch splink stärken. Von daher gehen wir auch nicht in Konkurrenz zu anderen sozialen Netzwerken.”

Umgesetzt wird splink von der eigens dafür gegründeten DOSB New Media GmbH, die ihren Sitz in Frankfurt/Main hat. Geschäftsführer ist Raoul Hess. “Mit splink hat der DOSB mit seiner Tochtergesellschaft ein dynamisches Projekt ins Leben gerufen. splink ist eine wertvolle Hilfe für Vereine, Mannschaften, Sportler und Veranstalter. Diese können in Echtzeit Informationen zu ihren Sportveranstaltungen über splink bekommen und teilen. Per “Widget” können darüber hinaus alle Information und Bilder von den Veranstaltungen auf externen Webseiten eingebunden werden. Orientiert an den Mehrwerten für verschiedene Zielgruppen werden wir die Funktionalitäten von splink kontinuierlich weiter entwicklen”, sagte Hess.

Die DOSB New Media treibt nicht nur splink voran, sondern unterstützt Vereine und Verbände auch bei ihrem Engagement im Web 2.0. Angelehnt an die Grundidee von splink werden schon jetzt weiterführende Modellprojekte mit den Mitgliedsorganisationen gemeinsam aufgesetzt.

Mit dem Deutschen Basketball Bund (DBB) startet die DOSB New Media bereits ein Pilotprojekt. “Der DBB freut sich, als einer der ersten mit den splink-Werkzeugen arbeiten zu dürfen. Basketball ist heute bereits eine der mobilsten und sozialsten Sportarten. Daher ist es ein ganz logischer Schritt, dass wir bei unserem mobilen Auftritt sehr viel Wert auf intelligente Nutzerinteraktion gelegt haben. splink macht uns diese Interaktion möglich”, sagte DBB-Präsident Ingo Weiss.

splink wird sich kontinuierlich auch zu einer Wissensdatenbank des Sports in Deutschland entwickeln. Institutionelles Wissen und das Know-how eines jeden Sporttreibenden werden auf splink zusammengeführt. In einem weiteren Modellprojekt wird genau in diesem Sektor mit dem Landessportverband Schleswig Holstein (LSVSH) zusammengearbeitet. Präsident Dr. Ekkehard Wienholtz: “Zur Unterstützung der Arbeit in den Sportvereinen ist es zeitgemäß, das in den Sportverbänden vorhandene Wissen zu bündeln und online in Form eines ‘Wiki’ zur Verfügung zu stellen. Die Kooperation mit der DOSB New Media ermöglicht dem Landessportverband Schleswig-Holstein, diese neue Serviceleistung für die Vereine umzusetzen und damit eine technische Infrastruktur zu schaffen, die auch von anderen Sportverbänden genutzt werden kann.”

splink entwickelt alle Features in enger Zusammenarbeit mit verschiedenen Nutzer-Zielgruppen. So werden beispielsweise gemeinsam mit den Hamburger TopSportVereinen, u.a. der TSG Bergedorf, Mehrwerte für die Vereine ermittelt und über splink umgesetzt. “Wir als Sportverein freuen uns sehr darauf, mit der DOSB New Media und den Funktionalitäten von splink unseren Mitgliedern mehr Kommunikationsflächen zu unserem Thema Sport geben zu können und gleichzeitig unseren lokalen medialen Wirkungsgrad zu verbessern. Wir sind gespannt darauf, mit den Kollegen von der DOSB New Media neue Wege auszuprobieren, aber auch kritisch genug, im konstruktiven Dialog die Überlegungen immer wieder auf den Sportplatz zu holen – also am Mehrwert für alle Sportler zu orientieren”, meinte Boris Schmidt, Vorsitzender der Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft TSG Bergedorf von 1860 und der Hamburger TopSportVereine.

Ziel ist es, die deutschlandweit größte Sportcommunity über splink aufzubauen – gemeinsam mit bestehenden Projekten wie dem Deutschen Sportausweis. Stephan Penz, Geschäftsführer der Deutschen Sportausweis GmbH: “splink ist für jeden Inhaber des Deutschen Sportausweises die ideale Social Media Plattform im Sport. Genauso wie splink von der immer schnelleren Verbreitung des Sportausweises und dessen Vorteilen profitiert, so werden Sportausweisinhaber von den Inhalten, Interaktions- und Kommunikationsmöglichkeiten auf splink profitieren. Die Kooperation ermöglicht es uns, und dem Organisierten Sport, Services für Sporttreibende zu optimieren.”

Major League Soccer’s (MLS) newest team Montreal Impact has announced that the planned expansion of Saputo Stadium by 7,000 seats has been delayed.

The Canadian club will join the MLS next year as an expansion franchise, but the stadium project, which was originally scheduled to be completed next spring, will now not be completed until the summer of 2012.

The Impact has US$23 million in government funding to complete the build, but the club has been unable to find a suitable construction partner.

The delay means that the team will play some of its first games in MLS at the 66,000-seater Olympic Stadium.

Montreal Impact president Joey Saputo said: “The cost was globally too high. It is not a question for us to exceed the total public money awarded for the expansion project. We have worked hard over the last few weeks with the different people involved to find solutions to expand our stadium to 20,000 seats, under a roof, while respecting the initial budget.”

A second bidding process for the stadium’s expansion will take place next year. “We had the option to start the season on the road or to look for an alternative,” Saputo added. “We prefer to play a few matches at Olympic Stadium. We want all games to be an event, especially our first game in MLS in Montreal.”

According to former German international soccer icon Franz Beckenbauer, FIFA is “in a bad condition” following the recent allegations of corruption.

Beckenbauer, who led the organising committee for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, recently stepped down from the Executive Committee of world soccer’s governing body.

Whilst attending the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in the South African city of Durban in support of Munich’s bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, Beckenbauer admitted that times are tough for FIFA.

Beckenbauer told The Associated Press: “I think FIFA now and football in general is in a bad condition because of all these rumours. It has hurt football, (and) it shouldn’t be (hurt).”

However, Beckenbauer insisted that evidence of wrongdoing must be obtained to back up the allegations, adding: “You can say he is guilty or he is guilty, it is just speculation, a lot of rumours,” he said. “There is no evidence.”

Beckenbauer continued to say that FIFA could learn from the IOC in how to hold elections for event hosts after the controversial process that led to Russia and Qatar being awarded the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, respectively, after they made major reforms in the wake of the corruption scandal that engulfed Salt Lake City’s winning bid for the 2002 Winter Games.

At December’s vote, FIFA’s Executive Committee members were the only people allowed to vote on the bids for the World Cup as opposed to the IOCs system of allowing all its members to choose their preferred candidate.

Beckenbauer said: “I think everybody has the right to be part of the decision not only 24 people (on the Executive Committee). I think it’s not a bad idea the example the IOC gives; it’s a good idea for FIFA.”

Weber Shandwick Sport, a leading communications agency, has been appointed by The Jockey Club, the largest commercial group in horseracing, as its centrally retained communications agency.

Weber Shandwick Sport will work alongside Scott Bowers, The Jockey Club’s group director of communications, to provide communications support aimed at promoting the 260-year-old organisation and its 14 leading UK racecourses, training facilities, breeding operation, charity arm and other interests.

Weber Shandwick Sport was also recently appointed as the retained communications agency for British Champions Series, UK horseracing’s new premier Flat racing series, in which The Jockey Club is the largest shareholder.

The Jockey Club’s racecourses host many of British racing’s iconic festivals, including the John Smith’s Grand National Meeting at Aintree, the Investec Derby Festival at Epsom Downs, the Cheltenham Festival and the Guineas Festival at Newmarket.

Scott Bowers stated: “The Jockey Club is at the heart of the UK’s second biggest spectator sport, but we are also a multi-dimensional company with a wide range of interests. In Weber Shandwick Sport we have a partner offering award-winning sports expertise and a track record of reaching out to consumer and business audiences across the board, which should complement us well.”

Fiona McLachlan, head of sport at Weber Shandwick, added: “We’re very excited to work for the leading commercial group in British horseracing, in a sport that is making every effort to market itself better. The Jockey Club owns many of racing’s most iconic and valuable assets, including some of the UK’s most famous racecourses.”

Sponsors of  Olympic sports in South Korea are enjoying the benefits of their marketing campaigns after the South Korean Olympic team returned home with a high number of medals in sports that are generally not popular sports in the country.

Manufacturing company, SK Group was a major sponsor of the Korean fencing team thatbrought back six medals from the London Games.  The country’s shooting team, sponsored by manufacturing and construction company, Hanwha Group, won five medals as did Korean archery team, sponsored by Hyundai Motor Group.

A spokesperson for the Federation of Korean Industries said the positive results in less popular sports has been very beneficial to the companies that sponsored them.{jcomments on}