Despite a rain hit day delaying the start of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Winter Classic on January 1, TV ratings had increased from the previous year. Some feared a 7 hour delay in the event from 13.00 – 20.00 local time would have a negative effect on the viewing figures though the event pulled in a 2.3 rating and 4 per cent share for NBC.

The game which saw the Washington Capitals’ 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins had a 10 per cent increase in the ratings from last year’s game when Boston Bruins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers.

NBC has stated that the 2011 edition of the Winter Classic was the most-watched regular-season NHL game since 1975 with over 68,000 in attendance of the event.

Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner stated that he did not feel the rain had spoiled the event, “This is reality hockey when you take it outdoors. It becomes a little unpredictable. All in all it was a good event and we were very pleased with what we saw.”

He added: “I also want to make a point of thanking all of our partners on the business side, particularly our broadcast partner at NBC for showing the flexibility that was necessary to deal with the weather issues that we confronted.”

American retail mortgage lender has announced it will return as a sponsor of Richard Childress Racing (RCR) in 2015, serving as a primary sponsor of driver Ryan Newmanand the No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet for selected races.

The 2015 season will mark the fourth year Quicken Loans has teamed with Newman.

“We’re looking forward to partnering with RCR and Ryan in the upcoming season and continuing this strong partnership,” said Jay Farner, President and Chief Marketing Officer for Quicken Loans. “In the meantime, we’ll be cheering on Ryan and the #31 team as they make a run in this year’s Chase.”

“It is great to have Quicken Loans back with me next year,” said Newman. “They have been loyal partners for several years and have become like family to me. As I continue to push forward in the Chase, it gives me increased confidence to know I have partners and friends that are standing with me not only this year, but also beyond.”

“Quicken Loans has been a tremendous addition to the RCR family this year,” said Richard Childress, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of RCR. “We are excited to be so closely aligned to a partner that values collaboration, technology and speed as much as we do.”

RunVermont have revealed People’s United Bank as the new title sponsor for the Vermont City Marathon.

The marathon will be known as the People’s United Bank Vermont City Marathon.

“RunVermont is excited to be partnering with People’s United Bank as we look to the future, thumb ” says RunVermont Board Chair Kevin Dwyer. “We think the partnership is a strong fit with the marathon’s demographic footprint, ambulance the shared commitment to community, brand viagra online and the enthusiasm to create a healthy lifestyle. This partnership will leverage the network of People’s United Bank throughout the northeast states and also bring the awareness of the event to a new level within the region.”

“We are thrilled to take on the role of title sponsor of the Vermont City Marathon & Relay beginning in 2015. Through strong partnerships and the hard work of the RunVT staff, this event has grown to be an important milestone kicking off our Vermont summers,” said Michael Seaver, Vermont President – People’s United Bank. “With our locations throughout New England and New York, we hope to bring much more regional awareness and growth to the marathon.”

The partnership grew out of the marathon’s need to compete in an ever-tightening market for “destination marathons” and People’s United Bank’s position as a New England based institution.

“At RunVermont, we see that market conditions and competitive influences are offering today’s runners many more choices and we have to be prepared to meet those challenges,” says Executive Director Peter Delaney. “Consequently, our team opened our discussions up to potential new sponsors, and in the final evaluation decided that a change would provide new opportunities.”

According to Running USA, the number of marathons in the United States grew from 300 in the year 2000 to more than 1100 in 2013. Vermont alone has seen the number of marathons in state double from 2 to 4 since 2009.

“Marathons have evolved, and staying ahead of the pack requires not only our traditional approach to creating a great course with supportive volunteers and spectators, but also new ways of targeting marketing and race promotion,” says Delaney. “Beginning with our 2015 event, we think people will begin to see how we’re strengthening the future of this marathon and all of RunVermont’s events.”

In 2014, Vermont City Marathon attracted 3100 marathoners, 5100 relay runners and more than 1700 volunteers to Burlington. 

Mediaset have secured the rights to the UEFA Champions League premium package which includes free-to-air coverage of 16 exclusive Wednesday first choice live matches, the Saturday final (which will be simultaneous with Sky Italia), highlights on both Tuesdays and Wednesdays as well as the UEFA Super Cup. Mediaset will broadcast the UEFA Champions League matches on Italia 1 and Canale 5.

In line with UEFA’s platform neutral approach, the rights to both UEFA club competitions will also be shown on the internet and through mobile technology via www.sportmediaset.it and via Mediaset’s mobile portal.

Guy-Laurent Epstein, Marketing Director of UEFA Events SA, said: “UEFA is excited at the prospect of extending its partnership with Mediaset. They have proved their commitment to the UEFA Europa League helping establish it as a high quality property in the market. This renewal will help to further consolidate the positioning of the competition in Italy.

“In addition, Mediaset’s coverage of the UEFA Champions League on the two leading commercial free-to-air channels in Italy, Canale 5 and Italia 1, will ensure football fans throughout Italy great access to the competition.”

Italian soccer league Serie A will continue to be broadcast in Germany after a joint venture was agreed between Sky Deutschland and online portal Sportdigital.tv.

The programming will be added to Sky Deutschland’s Sport package and will run to the end of the current season at the earliest. Sky Deutschland will kick-off its coverage on January 6 when Inter Milan takes on Napoli and has the rights to air one game per week which will usually occur on Sunday evenings.

Sportdigital.tv’s general manager, Gisbert Wundram stated: “The acquisition of Serie A rights represents a further step in the right direction for Sportdigital.tv. Serie A is one of the most attractive and strongest football leagues in Europe.”

Sky Deutschland already carries action from the German Bundesliga and DFB Cup as well as the UEFA Champions League and Europa League.

The World Cup 2010 hosted by South Africa helped boost the UK’s advertising spend to it’s highest point since the last World Cup year in 2006 according to the Advertising Association and World Advertising Research Centre (WARC).

A 5.4% year on year increase prediction made in September was well beaten as the study forecasts UK ad spend for 2010 to be up 6.6%. A predicted growth of 4.3 per cent. for total UK ad spend for the third quarter of 2010 was also bettered by an increase of 7.3 per cent year on year.

The report suggested that marketing around big national events such as the World Cup pushed advertising spend ahead of expectations this year.

The display advertising market was dominated by TV in the period from July to the end of September, with a 35.8 per cent share. Overall, TV advertising was also the strongest performer in the period, posting growth of 15.8 per cent – ahead of outdoor, with 12.4 per cent, and online, with 11 per cent.

The growth in ad spend is expected to decrease to around 5% in the fourth quarter. This would mean a total increase of 2.3 per cent for 2011 on last year’s amount

“While UK ad spend has exceeded all expectations so far in 2010, it’s wise to remain cautious when looking to next year,” said Suzy Young, data editor at WARC.

“We expect spend to increase just over 2% in 2011, but there are risks ahead – especially with government spending cuts and concerns about unemployment.”

StubHub, ampoule the world’s largest ticket marketplace, arthritis announced its partnership with University of Colorado Athletics to be the program’s official fan-to-fan secondary ticket marketplace.

The partnership is facilitated through StubHub’s existing relationship with Paciolan, the leading provider of ticketing, marketing, fundraising and sales automation solutions in college athletics. The agreement extends StubHub’s collegiate partnership roster to 34 universities.

“We are always searching for ways to continually add value for our season ticket holders and our fans,” said Matt Biggers, Chief Marketing Officer/Associate Athletic Director of External Affairs for the University of Colorado Athletic Department. “This new partnership with Stubhub will provide seamless flexibility for our fans to utilize the secondary market to sell their tickets for games that they cannot attend. We are excited to be able to provide this outlet with the market leader in the secondary ticketing space and look forward to growing our partnership together.”

With the partnership, StubHub will be the official secondary ticket marketplace for the Buffaloes, providing a safe, guaranteed platform for fans to buy and sell tickets, backed by StubHub’s 100% money-back FanProtect Guarantee, in which each ticket transaction will be between fans on StubHub.com.

“StubHub is thrilled to partner with Colorado,” said Greg Ivry, Business Development Director at StubHub. “With our partnership with Paciolan, we will provide Buffaloes fans with more choice, flexibility and security when they purchase or re-sell tickets on the secondary market.”

Together, StubHub and Paciolan provide barcode integration for University of Colorado Athletics ticket holders, so that they may seamlessly resell their tickets on StubHub. In addition, fans have access to streamlined listings to sell unused tickets, providing a simple and fast ticketing process.

“We are very excited to partner with Stubhub to deliver the industry-leading ticket resale service for Colorado fans,” said David Butler, CEO of Paciolan. “The innovative leadership team at Colorado Athletics is a great example of a program offering exciting technology solutions to elevate value to fans.”