Warner Bros. Discovery Sports sees record audience growth in Europe

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (WBDS) has announced a record first half of the year. They have had double-digit audience and engagement growth on all its channels and platforms so far in 2022.

In marked contrast to recent industry trends and expectations, WBDS is witnessing increases on both its linear television channels and digital platforms. 

Alongside an enhanced discovery+ user experience and refreshed look for its Eurosport channels, the growth in audience and engagement has been driven by a blockbuster line-up of live sport across the first half of the year. This includes Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, the year’s first two tennis Grand Slams, the road cycling season featuring the first Grand Tour of the year, the Giro d’Italia, and a range of new rights for 2022. 

In Europe and international markets*, linear television audiences have increased 10% year-on-year (vs H1 2021) across Eurosport and Warner Bros. Discovery’s free-to-air networks in Europe that present live sport. This growth is particularly notable when set against a 11% decline in total television consumption across the industry so far this year. Television audiences on Eurosport channels and sport on free-to-air are up in all major markets including France (+23%), Italy (+19%), Poland (+18%), Spain (+46%) and the U.K. (+12%). Sports coverage on the channels, including Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2, are also attracting more of the available viewers with an average 12% rise in audience share.

discovery+ has led the way in more people streaming live sport and on-demand shoulder content. Unique streaming viewers have increased almost a quarter (+24% vs 2021) across all services, including the Eurosport App, during the first half of the year, while almost half as many more video views (+49%) were added versus the same period in 2021. Sport on discovery+ alone has seen a significant uplift (+50%) compared to the first half of last year, as video views more than doubled (+149%) and streaming minutes more than tripled (+213%). 

Andrew Georgiou, President & Managing Director, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, said: “The significant growth in audience and engagement we’ve seen this year is a testament to our strategy of making content available in whatever way viewers choose to watch. Throughout Europe we are unique in how we are able to engage audiences across our free-to-air, pay TV and streaming platforms – serving all audience segments, from diehard to more casual fans and ‘big eventers’. In this way, we’ve continued to grow our television audiences whilst also seeing a rapid rise in people streaming live sport on discovery+ and our digital services.”

Eurosport’s websites featuring the latest news, results and video content have also seen significant increases in audience numbers so far this year. Eurosport.com and its local websites across Europe have seen a 30% rise in unique monthly visitors, reaching more than 67 million earlier this year**. More people are consuming more content with free video views nearly doubling (+96%) and substantially more minutes being watched (+82%). This was supported across discovery+ Sport and Eurosport social accounts which have seen a significant increase in reach (+100%) and more than doubled the number of user interactions (+151%) and video views (+142%). 

The impressive gains over the first half of 2022 have been delivered across a range of events and milestones, including strong Australian Open audiences to start the year, record Roland-Garros tournament and Giro d’Italia finale seeing Eurosport’s biggest week for seven years, and a record Olympic Winter Games with discovery+ growth leading the way.

In addition, new rights launching in 2022 have seen new viewers attracted to discovery+ and Eurosport. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has been particularly popular with UFC and Cage Warriors both engaging new fans for the company’s channels and platforms in Netherlands and Spain. Building on Discovery Sports Events’ role as the global promoter for the sport, the addition of Speedway GP to discovery+ and Eurosport throughout Eurosport has seen a significant jump in viewers streaming the sport. 

FIFAe Finals groups are confirmed

With the pinnacle event of the FIFAe season edges just one week away, the groups for the FIFAe Finals 2022 have been confirmed. Taking place at the Bella Arena in Copenhagen from 14 to 30 July 2022, the world’s best EA SPORTS™ FIFA 22 players, nations and clubs will compete for ultimate glory and one of three coveted trophies.

32 individual players will compete in the FIFAe World Cup 2022, 24 clubs in the FIFAe Club World Cup 2022, and 24 nations in the FIFAe Nations Cup 2022. All participants will compete for a total prize pool of USD 1.2 million in addition to the prize money earned during the qualification.

The group assets for the respective competitions are available here.

To be crowned the individual world champion, players must challenge the world’s elite in a round-robin group stage with only the best four per group advancing. This is then followed by a knockout stage with only one player earning ultimate fame by becoming the FIFAe World Champion 2022. More information about the event is available here.

Amongst the qualified players is former finalist Stefano ‘PINNA97′ Pinna, Dutch wonderkid Levi de Weerd, local heroes ONEWAYCRAZYY, KLENKE, TEAMHAJJ01and FIFAe royalty such as TEKKZ and NICOLAS99FC. View all the qualified players on FIFA.GG here.

The FIFAe Finals will come to a spectacular end with the pinnacle event for national teams. 23 nations will join the hosting nation Denmark to compete in a 2v2 format for the pride of their country. The top four of each group will advance to the knockout stage and move one step closer to wave their flag on the biggest stage on 30 July. The final day provides fans the possibility to join the event for the first time. Tickets are available here.

Alongside hosting nation Denmark, countries from across the globe will participate such as top-ranked Singapore, reigning FIFAe Nations Champions France, Brazil, first-time participants India and many more. All qualified nations are outlined here.

All tournament updates and livestreams will be available on FIFA.GG. The event can be watched on twitch.tv/FIFAe. Media assets are available here.

Remote and on-site opportunities will be offered to media. To apply for a media accreditation or to join the virtual mixed zone remotely, please contact media@FIFAeFinals.com.

Member Insight: Is the Covid subscription boom over?

Roy Barak is the CEO of Vindicia, a digital subscription retention company. Here he offers his insight into one of the biggest issues facing the market at the moment.

Apple, Tesla, and Alaska Airlines walk into a bar, and try to launch a subscription model…

No, that’s not the start of a joke. It’s actually happening.

Over the past decade, the subscription industry has exploded. Revenue from subscription-based businesses grew by an astonishing 437%. During the COVID pandemic, this trend accelerated as companies searched for ways to connect customers to their products and services. From cars to baby clothing and travel, the subscription model seeped into almost every vertical as consumers turned to the frictionless, comfortable, and convenient experience that subscriptions offer.

Now the pandemic looks to be waning (fingers crossed!), stores have reopened, flights have resumed, and people are adapting once again. But the consumer is not the same person that they were in 2019. Sure, we’ve just been through a subscription boom, but is it over?

Subscription shockwaves

When Netflix released its Q1 earnings for 2022, the world was shocked. The streaming giant lost 200,000 subscribers, its first loss in a decade. Yes, we are now entering an era of “subscription fatigue.” Consumers are overwhelmed and oversubscribed, and many are watching their wallets and dropping subscriptions that they bought during the pandemic boom. 

On the other hand, more companies than ever are getting into subscriptions or expanding them, even big brands, like Tesla, Alaska Airlines and Apple Business Essentials. Although subscription fatigue is real, these brands and many more understand that the subscription model is here to stay.

The consumer has changed forever

For consumers, the experience of the pandemic opened up a world of possibilities they had never considered before. Out of sheer necessity, people were buying just about everything online, delivered digitally or to their front doors. No doubt, consumers have changed. They now expect satisfying experiences that don’t just offer value for money, but help them feel safe, appreciated, and heard. They want the products and services they love, at their fingertips whenever they need them. And they don’t want to whip out their credit cards every week or month. They want the transaction to be seamless, smooth, and trustworthy. In short, they don’t want to think about their subscriptions; they just want to enjoy them. 

Consumers have discovered the magic of subscriptions, and there is no turning back. Rather, it’s about becoming smarter with your subscription offerings.

Smarter comes from data

The subscription model is here to stay. But it’s becoming more competitive, and that means businesses have to get smarter. How? By being data driven.

At Vindicia, we know the power of subscription data because we’ve been collecting and analyzing it for nearly two decades. Together with our end-to-end subscription tech platform, our subscription intelligence can help you build customized user journeys and personalized bundles that delight your users. And our Retain solutionworks to prevent churn and recover lost revenue, making sure you realize every potential subscription dollar from your customer base. 

The boom’s not over

With the recent news from Netflix and the demise of CNN+, it’s clear that the pandemic is over and the sands are shifting for the subscription industry again. But the subscription boom is certainly not over because consumers are different now. To keep up with the increased competition, you’ve got to be better, smarter, and more sophisticated than ever before. Don’t settle for less than Vindicia’s best-of-breed subscription tech stack to see you through.

IMG Arena and MLS announce new long-term partnership to power next generation of fan experiences

Major League Soccer (MLS) has partnered with IMG ARENA as its Official Data Distribution Partner after an extensive RFP process. 

The long-term, global partnership will utilize the latest technology to create a new standard for soccer data and drive the next generation of fan engagement in MLS and MLS NEXT Pro.

IMG ARENA will deliver official data, innovative content solutions, next-generation fan analytics, and marketing tools to MLS’ betting and media partners. The  agreement will see the launch of three new MLS live data feeds, designed to enhance the fan experience via a series of brand new digital, media and betting products.

IMG ARENA’s award-winning modularized Event Centers – already successfully implemented in golf and MMA – will offer an unrivalled soccer betting experience for fans by combining MLS data feeds and live streaming, and presenting live and historical event statistics, data visualizations and ultra-responsive markets via 2D and 3D interfaces.

In addition, MLS and IMG ARENA will launch a suite of new digital products enabling the league, its teams and partners to use data, graphics and insights to enhance the game and further engage the digital MLS audience on MLSsoccer.com, the MLS App and all MLS Club Sites.

Freddie Longe, President of IMG ARENA said: “We are incredibly proud and excited to have secured this agreement with MLS for an all-encompassing partnership that allows both parties to plan and work on a long-term strategy that will take us to the 2026 World Cup and beyond. 

“It is a partnership truly fit for the data age of sport and shows off the full capabilities of the IMG ARENA product and service offering. Together, we will empower the future MLS universe.”

Chris Schlosser, Major League Soccer’s SVP of Emerging Ventures said: “The extensive collaboration between MLS and IMG ARENA will utilize the latest in digital marketing technology to drive fan growth for MLS and MLS Next Pro ahead of World Cup 2026 in North America. 

“IMG ARENA is a proven global leader in an ever-evolving sports betting landscape. We look forward to working with  them to deliver the highest quality data for fans to power their MLS sports betting experiences.”

Major League Soccer is the fastest-growing soccer league in the world, more than doubling in size to 29 clubs over the last 15 years. Momentum around the League will continue to grow throughout North America on the road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico. With players representing 82 countries, MLS has the most global player pool in all sports, and its fan base is the youngest, most diverse audience in North American sports.

Headquartered in London, IMG ARENA is a sports data and technology hub serving the Sports, Sports Betting and Sports Media eco-systems. IMG ARENA delivers live streaming and data feeds for more than 45,000 sports events annually, as well as for on-demand virtual sports products and front-end solutions including the UFC Event Centre. IMG ARENA’s clients include the ATP, UFC, European Tour, PGA Tour, EuroLeague, MLS and the FA.

Euros 2022: Will this be the tournament that catapults Women’s football

Bethany Hushon, our Head of Community, grew up playing football with boys, until her Dad set up a girls team for her to play in.

Even though it turned out she wasn’t the best player, her love of the sport never waivered and felt grateful at the limited occasions Women’s football was on the TV where she could watch her favourite player-turned pundit Karen Carney.

Now with this Euros the opportunity is higher than it has ever been for women’s sport, will it make its mark?

The Euros start today, one of the most anticipated sporting events – more for can be achieved in the name of women’s sport off the field – then what will be achieved on it.

 It still gets regularly compared to the male counterparts across all sports, and still has a long way to be seen as its own product. 

With the sheer presence of football globally and the men’s games’ popularity, Women’s football has always been fighting an uphill battle

Yet with positive growth and attendance across Europe and the changes in equal pay for national teams, the sport is gaining traction in its own right and creating a even bigger value to the sporting ecosystem

Originally meant to be taken place in 2021, it was moved due to Covid-19 and changes to the Men’s competition and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which allowed many of the women’s players to compete for their countries in the Games, without it clashing with their Euro’s.

Bethany, celebrates winning a tournament.

It has already been reported that over 500,00 tickets have been sold for the tournament, across a wide range of demographics, with UEFA reporting tickets have been purchased from 99 countries with 43 per cent of all purchases have come from female fans.

Tonight’s opener is a sell-out at Old Trafford, which will break the record of the highest attendance of a Women’s Euros match – currently standing at 41,301 during the 2013 Final agamist Germany and Norway at the Friends Arena in Stockholm. Germany ran out winners on that night, securing their eighth title i the process.

So, of course, with this growth and exposure in the sport continuously building, its commercial value is more desirable for brands to partner with, with benefits to them and rights holders to elevate the awareness of the game. 

Maggie Murphy, CEO at Lewes Football Club put together a great post via LinkedIn yesterday that its is great brands are jumping on board this trend with the Women’s Euros, but there are things to bear in mind:

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6950023788411420672/

“Nice content, cool visuals, good people, a focus on the player rather than the brand. Thank you for investing into an amazing summer!”

And there have been some incredible activations leading up to the tournament. Here are some we have enjoyed:

Heineken – 12th Women

Promoting reducing gender bias in football.

Heineken has taken a well-used term in football and used it to break the gender stereotype and highlight the underlying bias in the game with the “12th Man”. Harry Redknapp definitely brings his style to this content.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7bLgddDz5E

Nike x Martine Rose – Unsung Heroes of Women’s Football

Highlighting changemarkers to mainstream attention

Strong pictures with an emphasis on the individual’s achievements in women’s football. This is a great illustration and with a powerful message to look back at the history of the game and how far it still needs to go.

https://www.10magazine.com/news/martine-rose-nike-shox-womens-euros/

Sports Direct x Copa90 – Girls Don’t Like Football, We Love It!

Championing equality with football

Nike – You have never England like this. Never Settle, Never Done


These photos made the rounds on social media on Monday night, simple and impactful from England’s kit supplier.

https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=/p/Cfmgso9KpOR/

TikTok x COPA 90

Local Guides to watch the Euro’s in your hometown. A great use of the social media platform to engage with audiences in local areas to find where they can get involved in the excitement around the tournament. Excited to see the tiktoks that go viral during the Euro’s.

https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-gb/celebrating-the-biggest-ever-uefa-womens-euros-on-tiktok

ATPI Sports and Events and British Wheelchair Basketball – Delivering what really matters

British Wheelchair Basketball – being a parasport team – have a number of logistical challenges to consider when on their travels. Challenges range from accessibility requirements to ensuring the safe transportation of the specialist sports equipment that the athletes use.

The national governing body needed to guarantee that the athletes and support teams have excellent travel experiences and arrive at their destinations ready for training and competition.

Throughout this case study we discuss how ATPI Sports and Events ensured instant access to a specialised travel team, 24/7.

Who are British Wheelchair Basketball?

British Wheelchair Basketball is the National Governing Body for wheelchair basketball in the UK. Their work is far reaching, from the delivery of the Performance Programme and running the National Leagues, to engaging new participants with the sport at grassroots level across the UK.

The Challenge

The team ultimately needed to alleviate the demand on staff resource involved in travel management for their Performance Programme. With travel and competitions often taking place outside of regular business hours, British Wheelchair Basketball needed the reassurance that they had travel experts on hand 24/7 to help should it be required.

As a parasport team, the national governing body had a number of logistical challenges when travelling across the UK and abroad. These challenges ranged from accessibility, to ensuring the sound transportation of the elite sports equipment that the athletes travel with.

Athletes and support teams needed to have guaranteed excellent travel experiences and arrive at their destinations ready for training and competition.

The Solution

Since October 2019, ATPI have supported British Wheelchair Basketball’s performance teams with the logistical planning and detail required for the teams international travel, alleviating the resource requirement in-house.

Through access to a fully resourced travel team, ATPI provide a quick and exceptionally efficient service on-demand.

When the Great Britain teams travel together, this will include 24 athletes plus support staff. Alongside this, each of the team travel with elite sports chairs, wheel bags and physio equipment. This makes it logistically challenging to transport the full GB team to international competitions, however, according to Lesley Pilling, BWB Operation Director, ATPI have executed a seamless travel plan, transporting the team all over the world with both confidence and efficiency.

What does the client say?

ATPI’s service is always quick and exceptionally efficient. Over the last twelve months this has never been more important as we have required responsive support for most of our travel arrangements. Our operations and performance teams regularly work with the dedicated ATPI team, giving us complete confidence that the travel for our squads has been diligently planned.

Image credit: SA Image/British Wheelchair Basketball

Manchester United announce new shirt sleeve sponsor DXC Technology

Manchester United has today confirmed a multi-year global partnership with leading IT services company, DXC Technology, which will see the two organisations work together to enhance its digital offering to fans.

DXC will use its expertise in digital transformation to improve the way United engages with fans through its digital platforms, including manutd.com and the Manchester United App by harnessing the power of data and analytics technologies.

From the 2022/23 season, DXC will be visible on the club’s home, away and third kits, creating worldwide brand exposure for the global tech company. 

DXC will also become the Presenting Partner of Manchester United Foundation. The partnership will focus on how technology can have a positive impact on people, the environment, and society, working together to educate and inspire a new generation of STEM students, through digital workshops, programmes and in-person seminars.

Manchester United’s CEO of Alliances and Partnerships, Victoria Timpson, comments:

“We are proud to welcome DXC as our principal shirt sleeve and digital transformation partner. We are two organisations with a shared belief in the power of technology and its role in improving the way in which we operate.

“DXC’s technological expertise will help put Manchester United at the forefront of digital transformation, providing efficient ways of working and new and exciting opportunities to interact with fans. The possibilities are endless, and we are looking forward to working with DXC on our future digital offering.”

DXC Technology’s Chief Operating Officer, Chris Drumgoole, comments:

“Manchester United is a club with huge history and we are proud to be part of its exciting new era for the club.

“Whether it’s running one of the most popular and successful sports teams in the world, or transforming business for Fortune 500 organisations, Manchester United and DXC are experts in managing world-class operations. We stand shoulder to shoulder in our belief in the power of technology to win.”

Volleyball World lands partnership with Stake.com

Volleyball World have agreed a strategic partnership with one of the fastest growing online platforms – Stake.com

The deal will see Stake.com become the official betting partner of the Men’s Volleyball Nations League event in Osaka, Japan which runs from 5 to 10 July.

Finn Taylor, Volleyball World CEO, said: “This partnership is a further demonstration of the growing commercial interest in the Volleyball Nations League. We’re excited to introduce Stake.com to the hundreds of millions of fans watching around the world and provide our fans in Japan with unique ways to get involved and enjoy the action, giving them the opportunity to make a connection with volleyball.”

Dominic Rae, Sponsorships Manager, Stake.com, said: “At Stake we are always looking to connect with new audiences and this sponsorship of the Volleyball Nations League in Osaka gives us a chance to do just that. We are excited to see some thrilling action on court and be a part of a fantastic event this week.”

Paralympics GB joined by Bupa UK as new healthcare partner

Bupa becomes the Official Healthcare Partner of Paralympics GB. The three-year partnership will provide British Paralympian’s with the highest quality healthcare in the lead-up to Paris 2024.

Through Bupa, the athletes will be provided with the medical expertise needed to reach the peak of their performance as they look to build on their impressive achievement of 124 medals, across a record breaking 18 different sports, and a second place medal table finish at Tokyo 2020. Bupa will support Paralympic athletes across the whole range of sports preparing for Paris 2024.

The partnership will include practical health assessments designed to give a full overview of health and wellbeing to prevent and address concerns, as well as physical and mental health services. 

Through the partnership Bupa and ParalympicsGB will also collaborate to challenge perceptions around disability in society, celebrating difference and diversity in order to help everyone achieve their goals, while also promoting inclusivity in business, healthcare and other areas of life.

The partnership was launched at Bupa’s offices in Salford, Manchester, on Wednesday 6 July, by Bupa Global & UK CEO Carlos Jaureguizar, alongside Mike Sharrock, Chief Executive of the British Paralympic Association, and Aaron Phipps MBE, gold medal-winning wheelchair rugby player.

Aaron Phipps MBE, Wheelchair Rugby Tokyo 2020 gold medallist, says: “Throughout my life and sporting career I’ve worked to challenge perceptions around disability so it’s great to see Bupa and ParalympicsGB partnering to bring this to the forefront of our society. There shouldn’t be any barriers to anyone reaching their full potential in life and the more we can spread that message, the more we can achieve together.

“To compete at an elite level it’s vital that we have access to the highest quality medical advice and support. Being able to utilise the UK’s top clinicians and services through Bupa has the potential to give us all a real competitive edge.”

Carlos Jaureguizar, CEO for Bupa Global & UK, says: “Paralympians show us that there’s nothing you can’t do when you put your mind to it. It’s this determination that inspires us in our mission to change the face of healthcare.

“Working with ParalympicsGB gives us the unique opportunity to understand the needs of more people in society, ultimately reflecting the diverse needs of our customers. It’s important to celebrate our diversity and each of our differences, in order to make a tangible shift in perceptions of disability in our society. Together, we want to inspire the next generation to believe that anything is possible.​”

Mike Sharrock, Chief Executive at the British Paralympic Association, says: “For everyone, whether you’re an athlete or not, looking after your health and wellbeing is crucial and I am delighted this partnership will give ParalympicsGB athletes access to an array of additional support for their mental and physical wellbeing. We’re proud to be partnering with Bupa, and it’s clear based on their experience of working with Paralympic athletes and organisations around the world that they will be just as keen as we are at ParalympicsGB to make this a truly meaningful partnership, driving the change we want to see in perceptions of disability.”

The partnership with ParalympicsGB continues a long-standing history of partnering with national Paralympic associations for Bupa. In 2007, Sanitas, part of Bupa Group, became the Official Medical Provider for the Spanish Paralympic Committee and has since supported over athletes at several Paralympic Games. Since then, Bupa has gone on to support Paralympians in Poland and Chile – providing healthcare support to the Paralympic teams and developing health and wellbeing initiatives and programmes for their athletes.

Southampton become first Premier League club to launch NFT kit collection

Southampton Football Club is entering the world of digital collectable art with the launch of its very first NFTs.

To celebrate the launch of its ‘Bold is Brave’ 22/23 home, away and third kits, Southampton FC and hummel will be launching three unique NFTs. In doing so, the club has become the first-ever Premier League club to launch an NFT of its kit designs. 

The NFTs have been created to showcase the original digital design drawing of each kit, which are bolder and braver than ever before.

For instance, the new Southampton FC home shirt draws inspiration from those worn by the flamboyant and free-flowing Saints side of the early 80s. Reversing the colours of the shirt first worn by trailblazers like Kevin Keegan, Alan Ball and Charlie George, the striking central red stripe and central badge mark a brave new direction for the club.

As a club that is known for doing things differently, Southampton FC will be launching just one NFT per kit, making each one a true collectable item for football shirt collectors in web 3.0. 

Fans will be invited to bid for the NFTs in an auction via OpenSea, the world’s first and largest web3 marketplace for NFTs. The home kit NFT will be going up for auction from 29th June, with the away and third kit launching in the coming weeks and will conclude in August. The recipient of each NFT will also receive a bonus of the first off-the-line matching physical shirt.

The club would like to make it clear to supporters that its NFTs are digital collectable works of art and should not be considered as financial investments.

“As a club, we have always looked for new and innovative ways to push the boundaries and to connect with our fans. This season is no different and our kit is all about being bold and brave. With this in mind, we wanted to create three unique NFTs that will be collectable items for our fans, says Sarah Batters, Director of Marketing & Partnerships for Southampton Football Club.

“Whilst we appreciate that not everyone will be ready to dive into the world of NFTs, we want to be bold in giving our supporters the choice to explore this exciting and new area. This is a great chance to offer our fans something special, that balances the spirit of where we have come from with the determination to be bigger, bolder, and braver in everything we do next.”