RideLondon and the BBC have agreed a new deal which sees the broadcaster continue to show the festival of cycling for a further five years.
RideLondon returns on 27-29 May, after a three-year absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in a new format and a new partnership with Essex County Council.
The weekend will feature five events including the RideLondon Classique, a new three-day UCI Women’s WorldTour stage race and the RideLondon-Essex 100, a challenge ride for more than 20,000 amateur riders. The weekend also features FreeCycle, an eight-mile loop of traffic-free roads in central London for riders of all ages and abilities, and the RideLondon-Essex 60 and 30, shorter challenge rides.
The BBC has been host broadcaster of RideLondon since its inception in 2013. The event is the most successful legacy event from the 2012 Olympic Games.
The BBC coverage will comprise:
Friday 27 May: (BBC iPlayer and Red Button) Evening highlights of Stage One of the RideLondon Classique
Saturday 28 May: (BBC iPlayer and Red Button) Evening highlights of Stage Two of the RideLondon Classique
Sunday 29 May 15:00 – 18:10 (BBC Two): live coverage of Stage Three of the RideLondon Classique and highlights of FreeCycle and the RideLondon-Essex 100, 60 and 30
Hugh Brasher, Event Director of RideLondon, said: “BBC Sport has been a fantastic partner to RideLondon since the first edition of the event in 2013 and we’re delighted to be continuing our partnership. We look forward to outstanding coverage of the 2022 event, which will be presented by Clare Balding.”
Whisper TV will be producing the coverage of RideLondon and the event will also be broadcast across Europe, pan Asia and North America on Eurosport/Discovery, on the Global Cycling Network and across South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa on SuperSport.
The British Basketball League (BBL) and Women’s British Basketball League (WBBL) are delighted to announce the renewal of its partnership with exclusive apparel sponsor Kappa.
The worldwide sportswear company has continued their significant commitment to supporting the league, with this latest deal ensuring the BBL is Kappa’s longest standing UK based partner.
Kappa, who have been partners since 2016, will once again supply each BBL and WBBL club with a wide range of sportswear; including playing uniforms, training kit, tracksuits and leisure wear for the players to wear in the upcoming campaign.
British Basketball has seen monumental growth in recent years and following record attendances throughout the 2021-22 season, it is set to be yet another landmark year alongside the Italian sportswear brand.
The announcement comes fresh off the back of the conclusion of the 2021/2022 season last weekend which saw Leicester Riders crowned BBL Play Off Winners and London Lions crowned WBBL Play Off Winners in front of a record crowd at The O2 Arena, London.
The BBL/WBBL’s Chief Operating Officer, Andy Webb, said: “We are thrilled to be continuing our long-standing partnership with Kappa and thank them for their continued support of both the BBL and WBBL. It has been an incredible year for the growth of British Basketball, what with the investment deal earlier this year and the record attendances at the play-off finals, the sport is thriving, and we look forward to working with Kappa again next season.”
“We can’t wait to see our clubs once again kitted out in their apparel out on the court in what is such an exciting time for the sport.”
Dave Bandell, National Team Sports Manager at Kappa said: “When the BBL deal was up for tender we at Kappa didn’t hesitate to pitch again for the apparel partnership. This is now Kappa’s longest running sponsorship in the UK and emphasises our commitment as a brand to Basketball in the UK. We continue to provide quality kits and benchwear to the BBL and WBBL and wider basketball community and are grateful to be given a further opportunity to work within the upper reaches of basketball”
SailGP, the world’s fastest growing global sports league, and T-Mobile, America’s 5G leader, have announced a new partnership designed to bring 5G technology to the world’s most exciting racing on water. As the exclusive U.S. 5G partner of SailGP, the Un-carrier will deploy brand-new Hybrid 5G Mobile Networks in iconic racing locations, including during the United States Sail Grand Prix at Chicago’s Navy Pier (June 18-19, 2022), the second event of SailGP Season 3.
As part of the Hybrid 5G Mobile Network solution, T-Mobile and SailGP will develop 5G technology applications designed to reduce global data and video latency. SailGP’s award-winning, fully remote broadcast leverages the Oracle cloud to globally transmit live racing data at low latency, providing the perfect platform to integrate T-Mobile’s Hybrid 5G Mobile Network.
T-Mobile will also team up with the United States SailGP Team, led by Jimmy Spithill (CEO and Driver), to activate at U.S. events and within the U.S. broadcast on CBS.
Spithill said: “Having T-Mobile 5G embedded in the F50 fleet accelerates the new era of racing. The massive amounts of data we’re able to use in real-time is truly game-changing for coaches, athletes and fans. With T-Mobile’s Hybrid 5G technology powering our F50 fleet, we’re pushing the boundaries of the sport and capturing the attention of the next generation of racing fans to experience.”
Led by T-Mobile for Business, engineers from across the T-Mobile team are leading the way in developing the world’s most advanced 5G network solutions.
Callie Field, President of T-Mobile Business Group said: “The SailGP partnership is the perfect platform to showcase our industry leading solutions; with the launch of our 5G Advanced Network Solutions, T-Mobile is ushering in a new era, giving customers like SailGP flexibility to get exactly the performance they need with real results.”
All of SailGP’s F50 hydrofoiling race boats will be 5G-enabled from the start of SailGP Season 3. Season 3 will include global, iconic destinations from Saint-Tropez to Dubai, Copenhagen to Singapore, and all U.S. locations will deploy the T-Mobile 5G network.
The iSportConnect Web3 Summit presented by Tezos is delighted to announce that we have connected with Wasserman, a leading sports marketing and talent representation company.
iSportConnect’s Web3 Summit presented by Tezos will be taking place on the 28th and 29th of June 2022 at Emirates Stadium in London. Head to https://www.web3summit.sport/ for more information, the full agenda and to purchase tickets.
Wasserman is a partner to some of the world’s most iconic brands, properties and talent in their endeavours across sports, music, entertainment and culture. Our purpose is to transform the businesses and careers of our clients. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Los Angeles, Wasserman operates globally in more than 20 cities.
“We’re inspired to team up with iSportConnect to drive positive foundational change through this new and exciting frontier.”
“Wasserman are thrilled to be partnering with iSportConnect for the Web3 Summit. Innovation is in our DNA and it’s our duty to our clients and the broader industry to continue to push the boundaries. We’re inspired to team up with iSportConnect to drive positive foundational change through this new and exciting frontier,” said Lenah Ueltzen-Gabell, Managing Director, EMMEA at Wasserman.
“Wasserman is one of the most well-respected organisations within the business of sport, to have them on board with our Summit is fantastic. We’re thrilled to be able to welcome them to the Emirates on June 28th and 29th for what should be an incredible event to take the sports industry to the next level,” said Sree Varma, CEO of iSportConnect.
Tickets to the iSportConnect Web3 Summit presented by Tezos on the 28th and 29th of June at Emirates Stadium in London are available now, purchase them via our Web3 Summit website here – https://www.web3summit.sport/event-details/tickets/ticket-form
FINA is pleased to announce that Melbourne, Australia, will host the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) 2022 at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre from 13-18 December 2022.
The 16th event edition will be the first time that Melbourne has hosted this prestigious 25-meter event, with the state-of-the-art Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre as the host site. Set on the shores of Albert Park Lake, the city will welcome more than 1,000 athletes from over 180 countries for six days of world-class swimming action.
“FINA is delighted that the proud swimming nation of Australia will host the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) for the first time,” said FINA President Husain Al-Musallam. “Australia has a great swimming tradition and we’re looking forward to coming back to Melbourne. I am sure this will be another highly successful FINA event that provides the world’s best short course swimmers with the environment to perform at their very best. We are incredibly grateful to our hosts for stepping forward to host this prestigious meet.”
Melbourne bid to host the short course world championships after FINA removed the event from Kazan (RUS) following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Australia’s “Garden City” has played host to many major aquatics events, including the FINA World Championships in 2007 and multiple FINA Swimming World Cups. Other FINA events in Australia have been the 1991 and 1998 World Championships, which were both held in Perth.
Citi has announced that it is the founding partner of PARA SPORT, the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) new grassroots-to-high performance programme that aims to change the narrative around people with disabilities and provide Para athletes and their member organisations with a platform to drive societal progress.
In addition to championing the PARA SPORT programme and supporting its launch, Citi will help grow specific Para sports through International Federations. The first sport to benefit will be Para ice hockey, with a focus on advancing gender equity in the sport.
Citi is partnering with World Para Ice Hockey to develop the Women’s World Challenge, a new four-team round-robin international competition for women’s Para ice hockey. The first Women’s World Challenge will take place from 26-28 August at the Cornerstone Community Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA. This is a powerful step in establishing a pathway for the first women’s World Championships.
Becoming the founding partner of the new PARA SPORT program is an evolution of Citi’s long-time commitment to changing perceptions of people with disabilities. The journey began in 2012 supporting Para athletes in the U.S. and grew to Citi’s first global and mission-led partnership with the IPC from 2018 to 2021.
“Initiatives like PARA SPORT and the Women’s World Challenge have a remarkable power to drive societal change,” said Ed Skyler, Citi’s Head of Global Public Affairs. “This new chapter in Citi’s support of Para sport is enabling us to turn our focus to the athletes and sport development programmes, broadening the impact we can make on the community-level, and ultimately, helping to foster inclusion around the world. Our firm is incredibly proud of our partnership and remains steadfast in our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.”
The addition of the Women’s World Challenge supports World Para Ice Hockey’s strategic plan to help attract new athletes to the sport and establish a long-term strategy for sustainable, entertaining events.
“I don’t think it’s an underestimation to say that this is the most exciting time in the history of Para ice hockey. Over the last year, there have been some positive advances in the female game with countries offering taster sessions for women and trying to build a community, which is exactly the ethos of Para sport,” said Michelle Laflamme, World Para Ice Hockey Manager. “The Citi partnership promises to turbocharge female engagement in Para ice hockey, as we will be able to offer repeated sanctioned events in women’s Para ice hockey for the first time. That’s not only exciting about the potential pathway, but it also sends a strong message to our members that we are dedicated to the development of women’s Para ice hockey.”
The PARA SPORT program has three core elements:
Awareness – Helping people with disabilities engage more actively in sport by raising awareness of Para sport opportunities and the benefits of the programs for them and their families.
Community – Creating inclusion through sport, which is often about the people we meet, the memories made along the way, and a togetherness felt by both individuals and their families.
Freedom – Giving people an opportunity to challenge themselves and help increase their confidence. Those involved in Para sport have a profound sense of freedom, empowerment, and a strong sense of personal identity.
A new video series called ‘It Starts with Sport’, which communicates the new narrative, will highlight leading Para athletes and how they first started their Para sport journey. Learn more at www.para.sport
The agreement includes the new prospect development series, Golden Boy Fight Night on DAZN.
DAZN, the leading global sports entertainment platform, and U.S.-based boxing powerhouse Golden Boy today announce a multi-year, multi-fight partnership to deliver championship boxing and unearth the next generation of boxing talent.
This venture expands on the relationship that started in 2018 with a five-year deal, establishing DAZN and Golden Boy as the leaders in sports entertainment in the U.S. market.
The partnership will include championship fight nights alongside a new prospect development series – Golden Boy Fight Night on DAZN – a monthly boxing series hosted by boxing broadcaster Beto Duran and boxing Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins. Additional blockbuster events to follow in 2022 will include the return of undefeated superstars Jaime Munguia, Ryan Garcia, and Vergil Ortiz in June, July, and August, respectively.
“We are delighted to extend our partnership with Golden Boy,” said Ed Breeze, EVP Rights, DAZN.
“Golden Boy has an excellent stable including some of the hottest prospects in boxing, and their shows always feature non-stop action from the first bell to the last. As part of our new partnership we will be looking to unearth the next generation of boxing talent in our new development series ‘Golden Boy Fight Night on DAZN’.”
These blockbuster nights are another mega addition to DAZN’s premium portfolio of live sports and original programming, including the world’s biggest leagues and competitions UEFA Champions League, UEFA Women’s Champions League, Bundesliga, LaLiga, Serie A, and J.League.
The Board of Directors of Real Madrid C.F. at its meeting yesterday ratified an agreement with Sixth Street, an investment firm, and Legends, a premium experiences company for sports and live venue organizations, with the objective of elevating the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium as a unique venue and a worldwide benchmark for leisure and entertainment.
As part of the long-term partnership, Real Madrid will receive approximately €360m to be invested across any of the Club’s activities. Through this alliance, Sixth Street acquires the right to participate in the operation of certain new businesses of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium for twenty years. In addition, Legends will contribute its experience and knowledge in the operation of large stadiums and leisure centers, allowing for the optimization of the management of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
The transformation of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium will be a turning point in the history of Real Madrid. This alliance with Sixth Street and Legends, world leaders in their respective disciplines, will be fundamental in providing unique experiences in a stadium where multiple events can be hosted throughout the year. This agreement strengthens our goal of continuing to significantly increase the stadium’s revenues from both sporting and other types of events
IMG ARENA, a leading sports data and technology business, announced today a strategic investment in Swedish computer vision specialist Signality. Providing IMG ARENA with a controlling interest, the investment will enhance IMG ARENA’s data collection capabilities with leading computer vision and camera technologies.
Combined with IMG ARENA’s leading products, extensive network, and operational scale, Signality’s deep tech, cloud-based platform, which uses artificial intelligence to extract highly accurate sports event tracking data in real-time, provides sports leagues and federations, and ultimately fans, an enriched experience, driving greater fan engagement content solutions.
Established in 2016, the Swedish-based company will become part of London-headquartered IMG ARENA with continued oversight from co-founders Mikael Rousson and Michael Hoglund.
Brad van Wely, Chief Product Officer, IMG ARENA, said, “This is a very exciting and important investment for IMG ARENA. It will enable us to build a next-generation data collection system, which will generate new and exciting insights across a multitude of sports. This compelling data will underpin both our current and future suite of products for rightsholders and fans alike, combining real-time data, and analytics with innovative front-end solutions to enhance the fan experience.”
Mikael Rousson, co-founder and CEO, Signality said: “Signality was born from a vision of enhancing sport at a fundamental level using computer vision technology. Joining the IMG ARENA business is a natural union born out of synergies in product, customer base and, most importantly, culture and vision. It will accelerate our joint desire of having a global impact on the future of sports and sports fans.”
IMG ARENA is a sports content 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, DP World Tour PGA Tour, MLS and the FA.
Investment in MLC will transform U.S. cricket landscape and fund the construction of world-class cricket stadia and training centers nationwide
Major League Cricket (MLC) is pleased to announce it has completed an initial close of a $44 million Series A and A1 Fundraising Round led by a group of America’s most successful and respected business leaders. With an additional commitment of $76 million in further fundraising over the next 12 months in place, MLC plans to deploy more than $120 million to launch the country’s first-ever professional Twenty20 cricket league and open a new era for the world’s second most popular sport in the United States.
Investor groups for the Series A and A1 Fundraising Round, which includes MLC’s seed funding round, were led by:
Satya Nadella (CEO of Microsoft) and Soma Somasegar (Managing Director, Madrona Venture Group)
Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan (Founding Partners at Milliways Ventures and Rocketship VC)
Sanjay Govil (Founder and Chairman of Infinite Computer Solutions and CEO, Zyter)
Anurag Jain (Managing Partner of Perot Jain, LP, Chairman of Access Healthcare) and Ross Perot Jr. (Chairman, The Perot Group)
Tanweer Ahmed (CEO, PAK Foods, CEO, OUR Energy and Owner of Prairie View Cricket Complex)
The Baheti Family (Owners of YASH Technologies)
Additional participating investors in this round, along with the full list of MLC’s original seed investors, are listed below.
“The significant funding committed by an outstanding group of investors will allow Major League Cricket to build first-class facilities and accelerate the sport’s development across the country, bringing world-class professional cricket to the world’s largest sports market,” said Sameer Mehta and Vijay Srinivasan, co-founders, Major League Cricket.
“This investor group comprises leading business executives and successful tech entrepreneurs who have led some of the world’s most prominent companies. They bring tremendous experience and expertise in support of MLC’s plans to launch a transformative Twenty20 league and establish America as one of the world’s leading homes for international cricket events.”
MLC Grand Prairie Stadium Rendering
The $120 million investment into MLC will primarily be dedicated to building premier cricket-specific stadia and training centers to develop a new generation of American star cricketers. This unprecedented infrastructure investment will transform the landscape for professional cricket and enable the United States to host global events over the next decade and beyond. As well as international games, world-class T20 action will be played annually with MLC bringing the best cricketers in the world to play in cricket-specific venues with natural turf wickets and first-class amenities for fans.
MLC was advised by Hogan Lovells, a global law firm and leader in the sports, media and entertainment industry.
MLC Investor Quotes
Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman: “Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world and the opportunity to invest in the launch of the first professional T20 league in the United States is an exciting venture we are delighted to be part of. Cricket’s grassroots growth in recent years across the U.S. has been energizing to see and we are thrilled to be able to help take a sport we are both so passionate about to the next level as part of a fantastic group of investors in Major League Cricket.”
Soma Somasegar: “I share the vision Major League Cricket has for the launch of a world-class T20 cricket league and the potential for the United States to become one of the leading cricket nations in the world. I am delighted to be part of a dynamic group of investors who will help the sport reach that level through an unprecedented commitment of resources by MLC to developing the sport.”
Anurag Jain: “The ceiling for cricket’s growth in the United States is incredibly high, with the passion for the game at the grassroots level I’ve observed in Texas proof of its potential. I am proud to be part of a group of investors committed to rapidly accelerating cricket’s progress through Major League Cricket. The plans MLC have laid out to develop infrastructure and build a foundation for professional cricket to thrive nationwide puts the sport on a tremendous trajectory and I am excited to support this vision.”
Sanjay Govil: “To have the opportunity to invest in not just the launch of a world-class T20 league with Major League Cricket but in the sport’s expansive rise across America with the development plans MLC has in place is a tremendous opportunity. I am so pleased to join with a group of like-minded investors who also love the game and are committed to supporting cricket’s growth in the U.S. over the coming years.”
