IMG announce appointment of new Head of Global Football

IMG today announced it has hired Robert Klein as Managing Director, Head of Global Football for IMG Media. Klein has served most recently as Bundesliga International CEO.

Klein, who will start in early January, brings more than 25 years’ experience, most recently in driving the global growth of one of the world’s biggest football leagues. He was responsible for setting up the Deustsche Fusball Liga (DFL), Bundesliga International, in 2017 to market the international media rights to Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 matches across all platforms, as well as global licensing and sponsorship rights. He also built the league’s global communications and marketing teams to engage with fans and digital content partners worldwide.

Adam Kelly, President of IMG Media, said: “Robert will drive our global football business to new levels, working with and expanding our football team to deliver transformative growth for existing and new partners. His stellar reputation, experience and relationships will further bolster the unique set of capabilities, expertise and network that enable us to add value for rightsholders around the world.”

Klein added: “I have been impressed by the first-class team IMG Media has built over recent years, as well as their energy and focus on pioneering new, ground-breaking projects. They have a unique offering that I’m looking forward to further leveraging with the football community. To join IMG at this time and be given the opportunity and backing to build out a world-class football group was too good to resist. The ambition levels are high and I can’t wait to get started in January 2023.”

Prior to Bundesliga International, Klein ran global sports rights for Red Bull Media House.

Member Insights: At Sportel NASCAR gets ready to take to the streets

iSportConnect’s Editor-in-Chief Jay Stuart reports from Sportel.

The NASCAR stand at Sportel was busy as usual this week as the series looks ahead to holding its first-ever street race in 2023 as the showpiece of a two-day downtown festival July 1-2.

The Daytona 500, which kicks off the 65th season next February 18, will be seen in 195 territories around the world.

The pre-season Clash at the Coliseum will take place in Los Angeles on February 5. It’s the second year of the special exhibition event held on a quarter-mile track inside the iconic Olympic stadium. In the first year 70 per cent of attendees had never been to a NASCAR event before.

New TV deals for the coming season are in place for the coming season in Mexico (Fox Sports) and Brazil (Badeirantes).

NASCAR is a distinctly ‘American’ motorsport product but that does not get in the way of its international success. “We don’t dumb it down for the global market,” said Keith D’Alessandro, senior co-ordinating producer. “But we do usually localise the presentation.”

International viewers see the same coverage as U.S. audiences on Fox and NBC, which split rights, except for branding and other elements that are specifically for the domestic market and are masked.

“The world feed is not an afterthought,” D’Alessandro said. “It has its own dedicated production staff to deliver races in real time.” They also produce a 52-minute cutdown of all races for the partners which don’t want to go live.

NASCAR launched its OTT service in 2016. NASCAR Track Pass, available worldwide, carries live coverage of all three series, plus ancillary content. “We don’t see it as a cannibalizing our broadcast distribution,” said Nicholas Skipper, managing director of media strategy. “It’s a complementary offering
that appeals to dedicated fans in particular.”

NASCAR is seeing strong interest in its subscription online iRacing simulator product and runs a competition series. Top driver William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports was an iRacing champion as a teenager before progressing to the track.


Sportel Covers All the Bases
News and views from the market floor

One of the most striking things about Sportel in Monaco is just how wide-ranging the event is, with exhibitors and delegates coming from all sectors of the global sports media business.

That has been truer than ever this year as tech in all its many permutations grows in presence. This sampling of the dozens of fascinating conversations that I had at this year’s event should give clear proof of that.

Let me start out with a comment that gave me food for thought. How do you define a ‘tier’ when it comes to sports? I was chatting with a tech supplier who referred to Tier 2 and Tier 3 sports. When I asked for examples, I was surprised to hear one of Europe’s biggest football leagues described as Tier 3.

The person I was talking to explained that from his company’s viewpoint the criterion for being in one tier or another was not about audience or popularity but purely about a sport’s budget and appetite for spending on innovation. By that standard I’m sure many Sportel attendees wish Tier 3 were a bit less crowded…

Melissa Soobratty of World Table Tennis was at Sportel with the first-ever full calendar for the sport. The 2023 WTT Series will have 34 stops. The World Championhips take place in Durban next May. IMG handles production and distribution for the federation… Beach volleyball, 3×3 basketball and 12 other sports will be on the programme of the 2 nd edition of the World Beach Games in Bali from August 5-12, 2023.

The multi-sport event is organised by ANOC (the Association of National Olympic Committees). Robin Mitchell of Fiji as re-elected as ANOC president this month. Sports Tribal is the name of a new FAST (free ad-supported streaming) platform that will feature 50 linear networks available on the app. “We’re free on Samsung right next to DAZN and MLB,” Amory Schwartz said at Sportel.

“FAST is growing so fast that Pluto now has about 1 per cent of all TV viewing, which is amazing when you think about it. Our average viewing session time is 46 minutes.” Most YouTube channels don’t come close to that… Eurosport and IOC alumnus Vincent Chupin’s VC International is working with Paris 2024 and the IPC.

He told me he is seeking to build a real sustainable business in Africa. There was a visionary on the Sportel conference programme who is not often credited as such. Simon Brydon founded Cycling.TV as one of the very first sports OTT channels. When he sold out to NeuLion in 2007 it was still early in the market’s evolution. “Then everybody started focusing on tech instead of content, which never makes sense because technology is a commodity.”

After a stretch at Racing UK he joined Synamedia, for whom he was speaking at Sportel on anti-piracy… ATP Media issued a tender for rights in Europe last month and Alan Bruno was on the stand at Sportel to follow up. Rights are available from 2024. ATP events are on Sinclair’s Tennis Channel in the U.S. and beIN Sports in Australia…

Iggy Jovanovich, who was part of the Australian SportsTech Trade Mission that iSportconnect hosted in London in August, was at Sportel for the first time for his company Gerford AI. “It’s less transactional
than the events I’ve been to in the States,” he said. “There it’s about doing deals. Here you start conversations. It’s a different process.”

Alan Ghanime of anti-piracy provider TMG says the starting point for anti- piracy efforts is locating the issue. The company trawls the internet and detects streams on search engines, P2P networks, internet forums, private networks, community sites and social sites. Not all piracy is really worth fighting. It’s all about the quality of the product. When the pirates are as good as the real thing, that’s bad. If the quality of the real thing is a lot better, it’s a disincentive for people to go pirate…

Iain Adams and Alex Sharp were at Sportel for Amagi, which has flown into the FAST space for the likes of NBC, DAZN and beIN, and will underpin the new ITV X launching with the FIFA World Cup coming up soon. “FAST is a revolution backwards,” Adams said. “Free, advertising-supported TV is the ‘new’ thing, when of course it’s where it all began.”

Veritone, one of the heavyweights in the merging AI market, had a big Sportel stand to market its technology, which is based on an aggregation of about 500 different cognitive AI engines. “We think of what we do as monetization tools,” said David Candler. “The eye is always on monetization.” Clients include the Masters, USTA and USGA…

Sports news and results are at the heart of the PA Media news agency, which had a stand manned by Will Staley at Sportel. At any given time the company has 50-100 editors working at its London HQ…

After Sportel Bali in February, Sportel will be heading back to Miami May 9-10,

Member Insights: The FIA are learning that silence isn’t always golden

David Alexander is Managing Director of Calacus PR, in this member insight piece he looks into the controversy Formula 1 currently finds itself in.

It’s been a tough 12 months for Formula One and the FIA, governing body for motorsport.

After the highly controversial conclusion to the 2021 season, which saw Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton in a bizarre interpretation of the rules, Race Director Michael Masi ultimately left his role and the organisation has lurched from one crisis to another ever since.

For starters, Hamilton has been criticised for using his platform for social good and Stefano Domenicali ruled out the prospect of women competing in the sport unless “a meteorite hit the earth.”

With this year’s championships already sewn up, focus has again been on last season’s debacle after it transpired that an investigation was underway into breaches of spending caps.

The FIA did not help themselves by letting others comment and speculate rather than providing a clear picture of their investigation, which ultimately found that Aston Martin were guilty of a procedural breach whilst Red Bull had breached the procedural and minor overspend limits related to the $145m budget cap.

The ‘Minor Overspend Breach’ revelations have caused further friction between Red Bull and Mercedes, whose chief Toto Wolff was clear that the breach could give a team an unfair advantage.

He said: “It is a so-called minor violation, but I believe that the definition is not completely correct. If you spend five million more than the limit, it is still a minor violation, but the impact on the championship is significant.”

No wonder McLaren F1 chief Zak Brown wrote to the FIA suggesting that Red Bull’s budget cap breach “constitutes cheating.”

He commented: “”The overspend breach, and possibly the procedural breaches, constitute cheating by offering a significant advantage across technical, sporting and financial regulations.

“The FIA has run an extremely thorough, collaborative and open process. We have even been given a one-year dress rehearsal (in 2020), with ample opportunity to seek any clarification if details were unclear. So, there is no reason for any team to now say they are surprised.

“The bottom line is any team who has overspent has gained an unfair advantage both in the current and following year’s car development. We don’t feel a financial penalty alone would be a suitable penalty for an overspend breach or a serious procedural breach. There clearly needs to be a sporting penalty in these instances, as determined by the FIA.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has fought back against suggestions of cheating, arguing that other teams are collaborating to put pressure on the FIA to hand out a heavy punishment.

He commented: “For a fellow competitor to be accusing you of cheating, to accuse you of fraudulent activity, is absolutely shocking. What has been tremendously disappointing is the leakage that happened. Suddenly we are tried and subjected to three weeks of effective abuse. And then to be seeing a letter accusing us of cheating and being fraudulent, it is just not right, and this has to stop.

“We have been on trial because of public accusations since Singapore. The rhetoric of cheats, that we’ve had this enormous benefit, numbers have been put out in then media that are miles out of reality. The damage that does to the brand, to pour partners, to our drivers to our workforce.”

That is down in no small part to the FIA and the length of time it has needed to take action, which has put it in an impossible position.

Under its own rules, the FIA is beholden to “publish a summary of the terms of the ABA, detailing the breach, any sanctions, and any enhanced monitoring procedures, omitting any Confidential Information.”

They should have announced immediately how much the overspend actually was and ideally what it was spent on, particularly after such a close-run title last season.

Red Bull’s punishment was delayed following the death of the team’s co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz, who died aged 78 following a long-term illness but had been dragging on before his death.

The silence gave rise to speculation and uncertainty that the sport could do without, with Hamilton aware of the reputational damage that is being done.

He said: “I think we need to continue to have transparency for the fans, for the integrity of the sport. There’s different numbers and different things being said here and there, so I was expecting those results – like you – to come out yesterday.

“I would like to think that if it’s been delayed it’s because it’s been taken very seriously and I trust that Mohammed (Ben Sulayem), is taking it seriously and will do what is right for the sport, I hope. I think it would be bad for the sport if action wasn’t taken if there was a breach.”

The delay since the initial breaches announcement prompted suggestions that a deal was being negotiated to satisfy all parties and when the FIA announced a fine of $7m and a 10% reduction in aerodynamic research, it did not feel particularly punitive.

The rules have been created for a reason – to act as a framework for fair play and act as a deterrent to prevent further rule-breaking in future.

“There is no accusation or evidence that Red Bull has sought at any time to act in bad faith, dishonestly or in a fraudulent manner, nor has it wilfully concealed any information from the Cost Cap Administration,” read an FIA statement, and it remains to be seen how other teams react to the news..

Clearly, Ben Sulayem has plenty of work to do to reassure fans that the integrity of the sport really is secure.
Whether that is possible, remains to be seen.

Southampton FC Women announce Starling Bank as principal partner

Starling Bank is to be the official principal partner for Southampton FC Women for the 2022-2023 season. Starting Sunday 30th October with a match against Sunderland AFC Ladies, Starling’s logo will feature on the front of players’ shirts.

This sponsorship is a continuation of Starling’s celebration of women’s football, following the bank’s national sponsorship of the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, which saw it launch the first fantasy football game for women’s football in the UK and award £23,000 in grants to women’s grassroots teams.

The bank, which has 400 employees in Southampton as well as offices in London and Cardiff, aims to keep the momentum going in women’s football to highlight the glass ceilings that have been smashed for women in sport, technology and banking.

The partnership comes at an exciting time for the club, with its football team now playing in the FA Women’s Championship following back-to-back promotions.

Southampton FC is on a mission to encourage more fans to support the women’s game and has seen a 120 per cent increase in season ticket sales compared to last season. As part of this drive to grow the women’s game, all Southampton FC Women’s games will be played at St Mary’s Stadium. The team also trains at Staplewood Campus, the same facilities as the men’s side, and are now full-time professionals.

The team is managed by Marieanne Spacey-Cale, MBE, an English former international women’s footballer. Having played 91 times for England, she is currently Head of Girls and Women’s football at Southampton F.C. and head coach of Southampton FC Women.

Marieanne Spacey-Cale, Head coach of Southampton FC Women said: “We’re all delighted to welcome Starling onboard as our Official Principal Partner. This is an exciting time for the team as our first season in the championship. To have the backing and support of Starling, an organisation that’s fully committed to growing the women’s game, is really motivating. We look forward to our first match showcasing Starling and beyond as the season goes on.” 

As part of the partnership, together Starling and Southampton will also launch an initiative to develop grassroot coaches at local clubs throughout Hampshire to grow the pipeline of female footballing talent.

Sarah Batters, Director of Marketing and Partnerships at Southampton FC comments: “It was important for us to find a partner that was prepared to invest in the women’s game – going further than just putting a logo on a shirt. From the moment we started conversations with Starling Bank, their commitment to making an impact to the success of the women’s game with their sponsorship was clear – and we can’t wait to get started. We hope to see a record attendance for this Sunday’s big game against Sunderland where we will showcase Starling Bank on the front of our women’s shirt for the very first time.”

Jill Scott MBE, former Lioness and ambassador for Starling Bank said: “It’s fantastic to see the investment and passion for women’s football continue. Funding, training and development at grassroots level is essential to help take the game to the next level.”  

Rachel Kerrone, Brand & Marketing Director at Starling Bank adds: “Sponsoring Southampton Women’s Football Club reinforces Starling’s commitment to supporting up-and-coming female football players as we try to level the playing field through equal training opportunities and dedicated resources.”

Milano Premier Padel will finish inaugural season

Premier Padel will finish its incredible inaugural season with the Milano Premier Padel P1, formally announced today. The tournament will be the final event of 2022, in a year which saw padel go premium professional and global – with unmatchable events across South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, gracing venues including the world-famous Stade Roland Garros and Foro Italico amongst many others.  

The Milano Premier Padel P1 will take place from December 5th to 11th 2022 as part of a multi-year deal with Padel Pro SSD. The Allianz Cloud will play host to the competition. The Qualifiers will take place on December 3rd and 4th at the City Padel Milano, with the main draw starting at their conclusion.  

Premier Padel is the official global padel tour, governed by the International Padel Federation (FIP) and backed by the Professional Padel Association (PPA) and Qatar Sports Investments (QSI). 

Today’s announcement comes hot on the heels of the first ever Premier Padel tournament in Africa getting underway earlier this week. The NEWGIZA Premier Padel P1 takes place within touching distance of the oldest of the seven wonders of the ancient world, The Great Pyramid of Giza. NEWGIZA joined Madrid, Mendoza and now Milan as hosts of P1 tournaments this season. 

The professional facilities, prize money and player care at the tournament will be in line with other P1 events. Premier Padel is the only tour to offer official ranking points to players and P1 tournaments will earn the winners 1000 points. 

Luigi Carraro, President of the International Padel Federation said:“The International Padel Federation works night and day to help the sport grow across all continents, for amateur and professional players and for fans everywhere. The Milano Premier Padel P1 will follow in the steps of all Premier Padel events in providing the players with the very best playing and professional experience, while inspiring fans across Europe and all around the world. We cannot wait for this tournament to cap the most incredible year for Premier Padel:- the global tour that has propelled the present and future of padel to amazing new heights and incredible ambitions for the future.” 

Nasser Al-Khelaifi, Chairman of Premier Padel said: “Premier Padel is delighted to conclude the most incredible, inaugural year with theMilano Premier Padel P1. Premier Padel has revolutionised the professional sport of padel this year, elevating and game-changing every single aspect of the professional game – from venues and broadcasters to prize money, medical facilities and placing the players at the heart of every decision. No-one could have imagined this a few months ago – and this is simply the beginning.”  

Martina Riva, Councilor for Sport, Tourism and Youth Policies of the Municipality of Milan said: “Another international sport event will be hosted in Milan at the renowned Allianz Cloud: the Premier Padel P1 tournament. We are proud that the International Padel Federation has chosen to conclude the first year of the official world circuit in Milan, a result that we have achieved thanks to our strategic partnership with Milanosport S.p.A. Today’s announcement confirms Milan’s extraordinary ability to attract major international sporting events. Padel is one of the fastest growing and most successful sports in the country and I am sure that the public will be thrilled to be able to watch the best players competing in our completely renovated, historic arena, and will be ready to welcome them with open arms”.

Angelo Binaghi, President of the Italian Tennis Federation said: “We are very pleased that Italy is preparing to organise a new round of the Premier Padel, the new international circuit that has established itself all over the world in just a few months. The Milano Premier Padel P1 now stands alongside the Italy Premier Padel Major in Rome that, after the first edition last May, returns to the Foro Italico next year, offering the ever-growing number of fans of this sport an even wider range of entertainment. The announcement is even more significant coming just a few days after the National Assembly of our Federation approved the name change, and now becomes the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation: it couldn’t have come at a better time for this historic milestone for racket sports in Italy”. 

Vito Cozzoli, President and CEO of Sport e Salute S.p.A. said: “The debut of Major Premier Padel in Rome had a great success for spectators and fans, and it shows this spectacular sport has entered deeply into sport of our country and can offer a world-class show. Sport e Salute S.p.A. is pleased to collaborate in the success of this event and to bring the great padel in Milan with enthusiasm and professionalism”.

Padel Pro, Local Promoter of Milano Premier Padel P1 said: “This is a special moment for us, the event highlights the growth of our beloved sport in Italy and all around the world. A great potential for the future of Padel Pro as a promoter of major international sporting events in our country. Our thanks go to the Sponsors and Institutions who support the project and to the Fans who will make the Allianz Coud live with their passion. We are very excited and honored to working with FIP, Premier Padel, the City of Milan, FIT, Sport e Salute and the PPA, to deliver unforgettable Premier Padel P1 events for next three years”.

The Board of Directors of the Professional Padel Association (PPA) said: “It’s been an unforgettable year for the sport of padel with the formation of Premier Padel and how the sport has grown in such a short amount of time. We are proud to finish the 2022 season in Milan and look forward to playing in front of passionate padel fans at the Allianz Cloud.” 

The Milano Premier Padel P1’ will be broadcast live around the world in more than 180 territories on the likes of ESPN (South America, Central America, Mexico and Caribbean), Sky Sports (Italy, UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland), beIN SPORTS (MENA, South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey), Viaplay (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Netherlands), Charlton TV (Israel), SuperSport (Sub-Saharan Africa), Canal+ (France & other global territories) and many more. 

EE and BT Sport to provide British Sign Language commentary

EE and BT Sport are teaming up to search for a duo to provide British Sign Language (BSL) commentary around a range of BT Sport programming in 2023, including the UEFA Champions League Final.

Launching today, New Signing will provide two BSL commentators or presenters with a first-of-its-kind opportunity to train up with BT Sport so that they can sign at some of the biggest BT Sport football games next season, including the FA Disability Cup 2023.

New Signing is open to anyone to apply who would like the opportunity to enhance BT Sport’s football coverage through BSL – the two people selected will have the opportunity to add their own BSL commentary to some key footballing moments on BT Sport, whilst documenting their journey across BT Sport and online next year.

Anyone interested in entering and to find out more can visit btsport.com/newsigning.

New Signing is the latest EE initiative, as part of its long-term partnerships with each of the four Home Nations Football Associations, to support the growth of disability football on and off the pitch, ensuring the game is as inclusive as possible for fans and spectators with disabilities. This includes Para Football Adventures – a documentary series fronted by Alex Brooker and Chelcee Grimes shining a floodlight on para and disability football and meeting some of the inspirational people that make up the game. Meanwhile EE and The FA recently opened two multi-purpose sensory rooms at Wembley Stadium to better accommodate neuro-divergent guests and their families.

For BT Sport, New Signing continues its work to make its broadcasts as accessible as possible for all of its viewers. Over the past two years, BT Sport has broadcast The FA Disability Cup exclusively live with enhanced Audio Description, BSL, and, sub-titles. This season, BT Sport is also increasing the amount of subtitled sports content that it provides viewers by more than 100 hours per month, and, later this season will launch a new series with BSL that focuses on the issues facing deaf and hard of hearing sports fans.

Pete Jeavons, marketing communications director, BT & EE said: “As lead partner of The FA, EE is committed to enhance access to football for everyone. Our New Signing partnership with BT Sport will not only make key BT Sport programming more accessible, but provide a unique opportunity for two BSL experts to develop their careers in sport broadcast.”

Jamie Hindhaugh, head of BT Sport said: “BT Sport is committed to providing the best possible experience for anyone who loves watching football on TV. We are working hard to make our programming as accessible as possible and we have a range of exciting initiatives planned for the season ahead. It’s fantastic to be able to work with EE to create more BSL content for our viewers.”

England international deaf footballer Will Palmer said: “It’s massive that EE and BT Sport are providing this opportunity for BSL signers to feature so prominently in their football coverage. This will be a big step for the deaf football community and I am really excited to see the New Signing pundits in position over the coming months.

“During the making of the New Signing advert it was a great experience to meet the England senior players and to teach them some BSL words and terms. We spoke about the importance of communication and inclusion within football, and I am proud that we have been able to launch the New Signing initiative together.”

Rebecca Mansell, chief executive of the British Deaf Association said: “EE and BT Sport have set a brilliant example of what it means to successfully collaborate effectively with the Deaf community to produce an outstanding and inclusive campaign. Ever since the British Deaf Association was established in 1890, it has been our mission to ensure a world in which the language, culture, community, diversity and heritage of Deaf people in the UK is respected and fully protected. 

“Earlier this year, our decades of campaigning paid off when Parliament passed the BSL Act 2022, giving legal recognition to British Sign Language as a language of Great Britain for the first time. We look forward to collaborating further with EE and BT Sport to protect, preserve and promote British Sign Language for generations to come.”

Amanda Casson Webb, Joint Chief Executive, Royal Association for Deaf (RAD) people, said: “RAD’s vision is a future of opportunity, achievement and equality for deaf people. We are passionate about collaborating with organisations that share our aspiration – and are proud to have partnered BT Sport on ‘New Signing’, a project that we welcome as a real step-change for the Deaf Community. We look forward to seeing more deaf talent and BSL commentary on mainstream TV.”

Teri Devine, Associate Director for Inclusion at RNID, said: “We applaud BT Sport and EE for their ‘New Signing’ initiative. British Sign Language (BSL) is the first language of 87,000 Deaf people in the UK and they have a right to enjoy football games as much as anyone. Representation matters, and we are thrilled that this opportunity will lead to thousands of Deaf football fans being able to watch and engage with the ‘beautiful game’.  For support or information, please visit RNID.org.uk.”

LaLiga president insists that football retains its youth appeal

Jay Stuart, Editor-in-Chief of iSportConnect, was the man on the ground in Monaco this week in this article he looks at Javier Tabes’s presentation at Sportel.

“Fake news” was the way LaLiga President Javier Tebas described the view that the audience for football is ageing and declining. He used the English term though he was speaking in Spanish, and he said it many times during his data-rich conference session at Sportel, a highlight of the event’s very full content
programme.

Globally, he revealed, Gen Z (9-24) is actually the demographic most highly interested in football at 60 per cent, while at the other end of the scale among Boomers (57+) the level is only 47 per cent.

“It’s not true that we have to change football because young people don’t want to watch it,” Tebas said. The 16-29 audience is the segment where there is most growth. In Spain, football viewing is up 2 per cent over the past four years.

But audiences are consuming football differently. Viewing on Linear TV alone by 4-24s is down by almost 20 per cent, but if you add other devices and out-of-home viewing, the total figure is actually up more than 20 per cent.

Research shows young people in Spain are watching more football than ever, they’re just not watching it on the TV set at home. Tebas pointed out that there is a North-South divide between northern Europe and Spain, Portugal and Italy when it comes to the financial independence of young people.

“People leave home later in our countries,” Tebas said. Their parents pay for pay-TV and basically control the remote.

LaLiga has invested hugely in growing its presence on social media. It’s not on 17 different platforms in 20 languages. From 59 million in 2017-18 the audience on social has grow to 167 million this season. TikTok is now number one among 16-24s and 60 per cent of total TikTok users consume football.

Social media views are sky high for Spanish football, with 694 million for LaLiga content, 2.8 billion for Real Madrid and over 11 billion for FC Barcelona.

He acknowledged that many young people are not watching whole football matches. But they are consuming football and that’s what matters. “There is no need to make huge changes to football,” Tebas said. “The Super League was looking for excuses and so we have this idea that young people are losing interest. Fake news!”

Member Insights: Sporting appeal is the attraction

Seven out of 10 fans prefer to see female athletes portrayed in an authentic way that focuses on their skill and athleticism rather than their beauty, glamour or sex appeal, according to Getty Images and the Women’s Sport Trust. That is excellent news when it comes to the public’s view of the credibility of women’s sport. But media coverage and attitudes still seem to lag way behind.

To get a sense of just how far we still need to go I did some personal digging and the results were, alas, predictably grim. Try searching for ‘top sporting documentaries’ on Netflix and only two of the Top 12 are about women’s sport. 

And one of those is about the sexual abuse of U.S. female gymnasts.

Have a look at the Top 100 North American Athletes of All Time list compiled by ESPN. There are only six women (three of them tennis legends) on the list. There are also three horses – only reinforcing the ridiculous bias that exists currently.

Recently a New Zealand man won a European Tour golf event and an English woman won an LPGA tournament. Yet even in Britain’s Times newspaper, coverage of the men’s result received five times more column inches. 

But there are positive developments too. 

CBS has moved their coverage of the National Women’s Soccer League into a prime-time slot rather than the previous off-peak scheduling.  The UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 tournament attracted 365 million viewers in 195 countries – this would be a big audience in men’s sport, so this is fantastic to see in women’s sport.

There is clear evidence from the European Broadcasting Union that women’s sports rights are the next hot ticket, with demand growing and competition increasing. Elsa Arapi, the author of the EBU’s report on the subject, will be sharing her insights at the ITF’s Advantage All Global Forum event in Glasgow on the occasion of the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup.

You can sign up to watch the live stream of the Global Forum for free here.

And it doesn’t stop there, global sponsorship investment in women’s sport is growing at 20 per cent, according to the latest SponsorUnited report. For men’s sport, the growth is only 2 per cent. Of course, raw numbers can deceive. The women are coming off a much lower base. But there’s no denying the growth in sponsorship interest with the likes of Microsoft in women’s tennis and Gainbridge sponsoring both the Billie Jean King Cup as well as women’s golf. 

Similarly, AIG have taken a prominent stance in women’s golf by seriously upping the prize money at the British Women’s Open to close the gap with the men’s game. And both Nike and Adidas ran extensive marketing campaigns as partners of the recent Women’s Euros.

Additionally we are seeing new events and new rights being created across women’s sport through products such as the LOVB volleyball series, women’s cricket teams in The Hundred standing side by side with their male counterparts, and the likely creation of a women’s IPL in India, where TV rights for the men’s league are in the billions of dollars. 

The growing interest in women’s sports is also opening the eyes of investors who can see new opportunities. Witness the likes of Angel City and their Hollywood partners and Nike taking a stake in the WNBA.

Bigger audiences, new competitions, more sponsorship and new investment, everything is going the right way. But there is a very long way to go before anything like gender equality is achieved, and we have to work collectively to achieve it.

First speakers announced for ITF Advantage All Global Forum

With the Advantage All Global Forum in partnership with International Tennis Federation fast approaching, we’re delighted to be announcing that some of the world’s largest organisations and women’s sports trailblazers will be joining the discussions, with the likes of the legendary Billie Jean-King, Jacqueline Bourke of Getty Images, Elsa Arapi of European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Roisin O’Shea of Twitter joining the forum, with more to be announced in the coming days.

The forum is taking place on 14th November 10:30-12 GMT, with the discussions being centred on increasing the visibility and improving the portrayal of women’s sport across the media, how you can contribute to growing and commercialising women’s sport and more.

Don’t miss out, register here to get access to the livestream (or replay if the dates/times aren’t being friendly with your calendar): https://lnkd.in/esKPR-aD

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports announce metaverse partnership with Infinite Reality

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports and Infinite Reality have partnered to offer a new and revolutionary way for audiences to engage with their favourite sports. With this multi-year agreement, Infinite Reality, the leader in premier metaverse engagements, is now Discovery Sports Events’ exclusive metaverse partner.

The organisations will collaborate and launch new avenues for sports communities, athletes and brands to interact with each other within unique virtual environments, specifically developed around upcoming Discovery Sports Events properties.

As a first step, Discovery Sports Events and Infinite Reality will preview a unique metaverse experience during the upcoming UCI Track Champions League, the innovative new series launched last year to elevate track cycling as a thrilling spectator experience for sports fans.                                        

The partnership marks the first time Warner Bros. Discovery Sports has harnessed the potential of Web3 technology for its sports properties in Europe by bringing an international event experience to the metaverse. The company’s commitment to bringing the latest innovations in entertainment to sports presents partners with cutting-edge fan engagement opportunities, as well as the potential for new growth potential that will contribute to the continued development of each sport and event.

François Ribeiro, Head of Discovery Sports Events, said: “Warner Bros. Discovery Sports’ partnership with Infinite Reality outlines how we plan to embrace the latest innovations and opportunities to deepen the connections between our audiences, owned series and brand partners to discover possibilities for new growth areas around different sports properties. We are excited by the potential to engage new audiences around live sport in different ways, extending the experience beyond the live environment and into even more places where people are interacting and spending time. 

“Over the coming years, by breaking new ground in metaverse experiences around live sports events we will empower fans to engage with sport in new and exciting ways. We see the preview during the UCI Track Champions League as an outstanding opportunity to open new avenues for storytelling and fan engagement, providing key learnings as we look to extend our partnership to other assets of Discovery Sports Events’ portfolio.” 

John Acunto, CEO of Infinite Reality, Inc. said: “Infinite Reality is thrilled to partner with and provide the metaverse power for such a dynamic, world-class company. This is just the beginning of connecting amazing content with their audiences in unique and immersive ways. We can’t wait to see the fans’ excitement while engaging with UCI Track Champions League and bringing them closer to the sport they love in a totally new and revolutionary way.”

Fans can watch every round of the second season of the UCI Track Champions League on Warner Bros. Discovery Sports’ platforms, including discovery+, Eurosport and GCN+. Round one begins November 12 in Mallorca.