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Racecourse Media Group And HBA Media Unite To Maximise International Media Rights For British And Irish Horseracing

Racecourse Media Group (RMG), responsible for a range of racecourses’ media rights businesses, is delighted to be collaborating with HBA Media, the pre-eminent horseracing media rights agency, to market and distribute British and Irish horseracing to an international audience, as part of a three-year representation agreement.

The new arrangement means HBA Media, working closely with RMG, will globally showcase RMG’s British and Irish portfolio, including feature events such as the Randox Grand National Festival, the Cazoo Derby Festival, the Qatar ‘Glorious Goodwood’ Festival, the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival, Longines Irish Champions Weekend and QIPCO British Champions Day. The international showpiece events – the Dubai World Cup Carnival and the Bahrain International Trophy – are also among the portfolio.

The deal complements HBA Media’s existing commercial agreements with Ascot Racecourse that incorporates the Royal Meeting as well as all their Flat and National Hunt racing, plus the very best overseas contests, such as the Lexus Melbourne Cup, the Breeders’ Cup, the Pegasus World Cup and the richest race in the world – the Saudi Cup, which has been granted valuable Group 1 status.

This new portfolio of top-class events forms an unrivalled year-long international racing calendar and a one-stop shop for broadcasters looking for premium horseracing.

Henry Birtles, Chief Executive of HBA Media, said: “Our new alliance with RMG as distribution partner for their premier British, Irish, Dubai and Bahrain racing further bolsters HBA Media’s ability to package the very best events from around the world under one umbrella, to the benefit of all federations we are fortunate to work with and represent. Through this aggregation of global rights, we can look forward to leveraging the unique nature of each individual event, driving a higher commercial outcome for the collective. Our broadcast clients have been eager for one consistent package of racing that covers 12 months of the year. We are delighted to be teaming up with the highly respected RMG and believe that this collaboration not only adds further weight to our offering, but it completes the circle.”

Martin Stevenson, Chief Executive of Racecourse Media Group, added: “HBA Media has consistently delivered significant value from international media rights over a 15-year period and we are delighted that, through the combined packaging of both our content sets, British and Irish racing can reach a greater global audience. The broadcast landscape remains a competitive market and, for horseracing to thrive, the need for a month-to-month compelling sporting calendar is now stronger than ever and something that this collaboration can effectively deliver.”

beIN SPORTS Renews WTA Rights In Australia, France And Turkey

beIN SPORTS has renewed rights to the WTA Tour for the next five years. The new deal gets underway in 2022 and will see beIN SPORTS channels in France, Turkey and Australia air every WTA event throughout the year, ending with the traditional end-of-season WTA Finals.

The renewal of the WTA rights will form part of beIN’s “beINSPIRED” portfolio of rights, in which beIN provides a global platform to events and talent that have not historically been given the exposure they deserve. This includes showcasing inspiring on-air talent, broadcasting sports, developing business partnerships, events and creative campaigns; all aimed at telling the most inspiring stories that sport – all sport – has to offer.

Richard Verow, Chief Sports Officer, beIN MEDIA GROUP said: “We’re delighted to have secured the WTA rights for the next five years in France, Turkey and Australia. We’re proud to broadcast some of the biggest tennis events on our channels across our territories and agreeing this rights extension with the WTA means our viewers will continue to watch the best in women’s tennis all year round.”

“Our beINSPIRED commitment will remain front and center around our WTA coverage. We’re delighted to be giving the women’s game the exposure and the platform it deserves.”

Micky Lawler, President of the WTA said “beIN Sports has long provided a wonderful broadcast platform for the WTA Tour and this latest multi-year agreement will further enhance coverage of women’s tennis in France, Turkey and Australia.

“beIN have a strong commitment to delivering the best content experience and we’re delighted that returning and new fans of the WTA Tour get to experience the sport on their channels”

In addition to the recently announced CAF Women’s Champions League, beIN SPORTS is also the official broadcaster of the UEFA Women’s Champions League; the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022; the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Paris 2024 Summer Olympics; every women’s tennis Grand Slam (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon & the US Open) all across the MENA region; the WTA Tour, Billie Jean King Cup 2021 – the World Cup of Women’s Tennis – in Australia, France and MENA; the W Series in the US, Canada and MENA, a range of Paris Saint-Germain Féminine games in various markets; as well as key women’s events from handball, basketball, swimming and much, much more.

NFL Awards International Marketing Rights To 18 Teams In Eight Countries

The NFL has announced that 18 teams have been awarded marketing rights across eight different countries. This initiative, known as the International Home Marketing Areas program, grants clubs access to international territories for marketing, fan engagement and commercialization as they build their global brands and drive NFL fan growth internationally.

Strategic efforts in these international markets include: in-person and digital marketing, corporate sponsorship sales, fan events and activations, youth football activities, merchandise sales and co-marketing relationships with other sports and entertainment properties in the market.

“NFL fandom begins with our clubs,” NFL executive vice president, chief strategy & growth officer Christopher Halpin said. “This important initiative enables NFL teams to develop meaningful, direct relationships with NFL fans abroad, driving fan growth and avidity globally. We were very pleased with the number, creativity and level of commitment of club proposals across the board in this initial application period and look forward to teams launching their efforts early next year.”

UIM President Raffaele Chiulli Re-Elected ARISF President Until 2025

On 15 December 2021, the global sports community came together for the ARISF General Assembly to reflect on the united front of sport in the face of this past year’s challenges and voted on the election of the ARISF President and Council for the period of 2021-2025.

Raffaele Chiulli, President of the UIM (International Powerboating Federation) was unanimously re-elected President of ARISF (Association of IOC Recognized International Sport Federations) for another four-year term by the ARISF General Assembly and will begin his third term in charge of the organisation he has led since 2013.

“I am honoured of the confidence and trust that I have received by all our International Sport Federations which represents a tangible recognition of the hard work jointly carried out to unite in their diversities all worldwide stakeholders. I am particularly grateful to the International Olympic Committee with whom our relationships and collaboration is excellent”.

The ARISF General Assembly also confirmed the re-election of International Underwater Federation President Anna Arzhanova as Vice-President while World Baseball Softball Confederation President Riccardo Fraccari was re-elected as Secretary General. Joining them on the ARISF Council Claire Briegal from World Netball, John Lijlelund from the International Floorball Federation and Tom Hollowell from the International Orienteering Federation.

President Chiulli welcomed the six new Federations since the last General Assembly – the International Cheerleading Union, International Federation of Muaythai Associations, International Sambo Federation, International Federation Icestocksport, World Association of Kickboxing Organizations and World Lacrosse – to the ARISF sport family.

RealFevr And Beach Soccer Worldwide Sign Global Partnership Agreement For NFT Platform

Beach Soccer Worldwide and RealFevr have signed a three-year partnership agreement through which RealFevr will become the official beach soccer NFT (Non-Fungible Tokens) platform.

Through this collaboration, RealFevr and Beach Soccer Worldwide will jointly create a set of NFTs from different key moments in the history of the sport, including not only beach soccer legends like Madjer, Neném, Amarelle, Júnior, Stankovic or Altobelli, but also former world-class football players such as Cantona, Zico, Zidane or Romário all coming soon to the RealFevr platform.

Fred Antunes, RealFevr’s CEO, commented:

“Beach soccer is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world and is a strategic partnership for consolidation in Latin America, Europe, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates, among others.

“After viewing the available content, in addition to the iconic acrobatic goals, we were fascinated by the number of “hidden gems” that we are sure will drive crazy, not only football fans but the entire crypto community.”

Juan Cuscó, Beach Soccer Worldwide President, said:

“We have always thought that beach soccer is rich in unforgettable moments, and this partnership with RealFevr will now allow us to bring them back to life in the form of NFTs, and this is something truly valuable.

“We are really happy to partner with a company with such a forward-thinking mindset which at the same time understands the importance of Intellectual Property, and we are absolutely sure that this collaboration with RealFevr will bring many exciting things in the near future.”

Professional Triathletes Organisation Announce Athlete Owned Tour With Record Setting $5.5 Million Prize Purse

The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) has today announced the launch of the PTO Tour revealing dates and locations for the first ever PTO US Open, PTO Canadian Open and the 2nd edition of the game-changing team competition – The Collins Cup.

The PTO Tour is a consolidation of PTO events into a ‘Tour’ concept where each event will see the world’s greatest non-drafting professional male and female triathletes competing for a prize purse of $1,000,0000 for each Open and $1,500,000 for The Collins Cup. With a full complement of events the PTO Tour will consist of a US Open, a Canadian Open, Asian Open, European Open and The Collins Cup. Professional Races in 2022 will see a men’s race and women’s race each a 100km distance to determine the ultimate athlete: 2km swim, 80km bike leg and a 18km run.

As well as professional racing, the PTO Tour will, for the first time, introduce age group racing, giving amateurs the opportunity to meet and race alongside the professionals, a hallmark of the sport of Triathlon. In addition to sprint (25 km) and middle distance (100km) age group triathlons, the PTO Tour events will include additional racing opportunities in the component sports of the Triathlon – Swim, Bike, Run, making the PTO Tour events a festival-like celebration of multisport. Age Group registration will open on 25th January.

Just like The Collins Cup, each PTO Tour event will have world class TV production broadcast live to a global audience and high-quality shoulder programming showcasing the stories of the PTO Professionals. In 2022, the PTO Tour will consist of the PTO Canadian Open in Edmonton, Canada on 23rd-24th July, The Collins Cup in Bratislava, Slovakia on 20th-21st August and the PTO US Open in Dallas, Texas on 17th-18th September with The Asian Open and European Open following in 2023.

This means the PTO will be putting up a total of $5,500,000 when the PTO rankings bonus pool of $2,000,000 is included in 2022, making it the highest prize purse in the sport.

The PTO Tour dates are in addition to the first PTO Pro AM at the Herbalife 24 Los Angeles Triathlon which was announced earlier this year and will take place on May 15th from iconic Venice Beach to downtown LA.

Sam Renouf, CEO of the PTO, stated: “Established professional sports have long been organized around a professional tour – now it’s Triathlon’s turn to step into the limelight. We are thrilled to grow our racing calendar from one event in 2021 to three in 2022, with plans already in place to offer a complete world tour calendar in 2023. The global broadcast viewing figures for The Collins Cup surpassed all expectations and demonstrated that there is an appetite for compelling live broadcasts of Triathlon events that appeal not only to the fans of endurance sports, but also to the general sports enthusiast. Our athletes have some of the most compelling stories in sport and we were delighted to give them an ongoing platform to showcase their talents and bring the sport of Triathlon to center stage through world class TV broadcasts”.

Chris Kermode, Vice Chairman PTO added: “The PTO evolution and path is very similar to professional tennis which transformed itself when the professionals united together to promote the sport. Triathlon will grow and thrive by having the best athletes competing against one another and delivering this in an engaging broadcast format. Sport is about storytelling and creating an emotional connection between fans and athletes. In tennis this is delivered by marketing and player promotion as rivalries unfold. Come tournament time, the competition is brought to life with innovative broadcasts filled with compelling stats and data. Triathlon is perfectly suited to follow this successful model as it already has a fan base that is obsessed with performance data. The PTO Tour, by investing in the promotion of the PTO Professionals and producing compelling global broadcasts that tell their stories, can catapult the sport of Triathlon into the mainstream of the sporting world”.

Alistair Brownlee, PTO Athlete Board member stated: “It is great to see the PTO Tour come together. I am very excited for Triathlon to entertain new and existing fans. It’s a fantastic opportunity for Professional Triathletes to raise their profile through global TV coverage and win some meaningful prize money. The PTO is showing that by having professional Triathletes working together and having an equal interest in the success of the Tour, the sport can continue to gain in popularity and reach new audiences”.

CAF, Sky And The BBC Conclude Successful Media Rights Deal For TotalEnergies Africa Cup Of Nations

CAF, Sky and the BBC have reached an agreement for the acquisition of exclusive media rights in the UK and Republic of Ireland for the next edition of the CAF TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations.

The 2021 CAF TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, will be played in Cameroon between the 9 January and 6 February 2022.

In the agreement, brokered by the AGON agency, Sky will show all 52 games of the tournament across their Sky Sports channels, guaranteeing the entire coverage of the competition and great promotion for African football.

In addition, 10 matches will be shown live on BBC, including two quarter-finals, both semi-finals and the Final available on linear channels, offering strong exposure for the competition.

The TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations is Africa’s single-biggest sporting event attracting millions of global viewers featuring some of Africa’s global football stars.

CAF General Secretary, Veron Mosengo-Omba said: “It is important for CAF to ensure that the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, being the single-biggest sporting event on African soil, and prime content, is accessible all over the world. This event is consumed not only by Africans but enjoys a global audience. In Cameroon next year, we are planning an event bigger and better product that will attract millions of viewers. We are excited to see Sky and the BBC on board.”

Sky Sports Director of Football, Gary Hughes said: “For football fans who love to watch the best players in the world such as Mohammed Salah, Sadio Mane and Riyad Mahrez, this is excellent news.

“We’re delighted to be adding this fantastic competition to our ever-expanding football offering in the UK & Ireland which already includes Premier League, EFL, Scottish Premiership and FA Women’s Super League as well as international action in the form of World Cup Qualifiers, placing Sky Sports as the home of live football.”

Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport said: “We’re thrilled to be bringing such a prestigious event free-to-air for UK audiences. The African Cup of Nations launches a huge year of international football and I know fans will look forward to following all the action from the competition across BBC platforms.”

Warriors Announce First-Of-Its-Kind Partnership with FTX

FTX To Become Official Cryptocurrency Platform and NFT Marketplace Across Warriors’ Properties; To Commemorate The Partnership, The Warriors and FTX Will Gift 3 Bitcoin To Three Bay Area Non-Profits

The Golden State Warriors and FTX US announced a first-of-its-kind cryptocurrency partnership in professional sports. As the Warriors’ Official Cryptocurrency Platform and NFT Marketplace, the franchise will drop NFTs on FTX.us, beginning in early 2022. The partnership between the Warriors and FTX marks the first international rights partner for the Warriors, meaning the team and FTX will have a visible market presence, inclusive of logo and likeness, internationally.

“Cryptocurrency has a well-established worldwide community and is going to continue to be a major part of the sports, media and entertainment industries,” said Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer Brandon Schneider. “In our conversations with FTX, we quickly realized our joint desire to innovate around cryptocurrency integration and adoption, including the role NFTs play in global fan engagement.”

The Warriors were the first team in sports to execute an NFT drop earlier this year with the team’s Legacy NFT Drop, a collection that included various editions of the team’s six NBA Championship rings and 10 commemorative ticket stubs. The Warriors hold the record for all-time highest sports NFT sale, with the team’s 1-of-1 6x World Championship Ring selling for 285.111ETH ($871,591.27 USD).

To commemorate the partnership, the Warriors and FTX will gift 3 Bitcoin—one per non-profit— to three Bay Area organizations that address educational equity. The three recipients are Self-eSTEM, Mission Bit and Techbridge Girls. Self-eSTEM builds the self-esteem of girls and young women from untapped communities, while providing interactive, culturally responsive STEM literacy, leadership, and technical training to leverage STEM as a foundation for social and economic growth. Mission Bit is dedicated to inspiring and empowering students to unlock their full potential, and offers free coding classes, after-school workshops, summer bootcamps, and project-based tech industry experiences for high school students in the San Francisco area. Techbridge Girls re-engineers the way BIPOC girls from marginalized communities experience STEM by catalyzing out-of-school time STEM educators and STEM professionals into equity educators and advocates through training and curricula that promote access, belonging and persistence.

“Through our partnership with Stephen Curry, we were introduced to the Warriors organization, and we are excited to partner with a franchise that aligns with our core values,” said FTX US President Brett Harrison. “The FTX US NFT Platform will provide a leading, safe and secure venue for the Warriors international fan base to access exclusive collectables from the franchise. Alongside the NFT drops, working with the Warriors will increase our ability to create a positive change, not only domestically but internationally, with one of the most prestigious professional sport franchises in the world.”

The partnership with FTX extends beyond the Golden State Warriors; FTX will have logo placement on the basket pole pads and press table for the Santa Cruz Warriors, the team’s G League affiliate. For the Warriors’ esports brands, FTX will have their logo virtually placed on the Warriors Gaming Squad court during NBA 2K League games, and will be integrated into various elements during Golden Guardians live streams, including League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), Super Smash Bros. Melee and World of Warcraft.

Barclays Extends Premier League Partnership, Invests Further In Women’s Football

The Premier League and Barclays have announced a new three-year sponsorship deal through to the 2024/25 season.

The renewal comes as Barclays and the Premier League celebrate 20 years since the bank first partnered with the League under the Barclaycard brand in 2001.

The extension was announced at the same time as Barclays extends its sponsorship deal of women’s football with The Football Association (The FA) for a similar period from the start of the 2022/23 season until the end of the 2024/25 season.

A 20-year partnership

Barclays and the Premier League are this season celebrating 20 years as partners and the two organisations have agreed to extend their Banking Partner deal until 2025.

Starting as the Barclaycard Premiership in 2001, the relationship between Barclays and the Premier League has been one of the most successful and enduring sponsorships in sport. The relationship has developed to see Barclays provide the Premier League and many of its clubs with financial services such as corporate banking and foreign exchange.

Will Brass, Premier League Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Barclays has always been a fantastic partner of the Premier League, and we are very pleased to be extending our long-standing association for another three years.

“Over two decades Barclays has demonstrated their support for football, both on and off the pitch. And together we share an ambition of creating opportunities at all levels and ensuring everyone is welcome to enjoy the game. We look forward to further developing our relationship over the coming years.”

Investing in women and girls’ game

Barclays will also invest more than £30million in women and girls’ football over the period from 2022-2025, doubling the existing investment, and setting a record for investment in UK women’s sport.

The announcement follows its ground-breaking deal with The FA in 2019 when the bank became the inaugural title sponsor of the FA Women’s Super League.

The bank will also become the first title sponsor of the FA Women’s Championship. The league will be called the Barclays FA Women’s Championship from the start of the 2022-23 season, as Barclays and The FA aim to support the development of the second tier of the women’s competition pyramid and encourage further investment in women’s football.

Barclays will also increase its investment in girls’ grassroots development, extending its sponsorship of The FA Girls’ Football School Partnerships (FAGFSP) with the aim of giving girls equal access to football in schools. Since Barclays became sponsor of the FAGFSP in 2019 it has seen 9,700 new schools join the scheme taking the total to over 12,000.

The increased funding will help The FA expand the number of people working on the programme and achieve the aim of 20,000 schools offering football to girls by 2024.

To encourage participation in football at every level, from January 2022 an innovative new Barclays community fund will be offering grants and support resources to grassroots groups.

Barclays have partnered with UK-wide charity Sported to make small grants available for groups wishing to start offering football, or those keen to expand their existing provision to new audiences. Details will be announced at a later date, but the fund will primarily support young people in deprived or underrepresented areas through local organisations, many of whom are not yet benefitting from the wider football pyramid.

Sasha Wiggins, Group Head of Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility, Barclays said: “We are delighted to announce the agreements with The FA and Premier League at a time when we are celebrating our long term commitment to English football. Collectively we have been through extraordinarily difficult times over the last 18 months and over that time football has done much to help raise spirits and bring people together.

“Yet we are also aware that this is an important time to drive equity across the game. The doubling of our investment in women’s and girls’ football, whilst continuing to support men’s football, and providing finance to the smallest football organisations through the new community fund, is the right way to support the future of the game for everyone’s benefit.”

“Over two decades Barclays has demonstrated their support for football, both on and off the pitch” – Will Brass, Premier League Chief Commercial Officer

Kelly Simmons, The FA’s Director of Women’s Professional Game, said: “Barclays have played a crucial role in the growth of women’s and girls’ football, so it is excellent news that they are committing to a new record investment in the women’s and girls’ pyramid until 2025.

“As part of The FA’s 2020-2024 Women’s and Girls’ strategy, Inspiring Positive Change, we set ourselves the ambition of providing equal access for all girls at 90% of primary and secondary schools in the UK, and Barclays continued support and investment has allowed us to make great strides in achieving this ambition.

“From grass roots to the top tiers of women’s football, we are also extremely excited to welcome Barclays as the new title sponsor of the FA Women’s Championship. The FA Women’s Championship plays a pivotal role in the ongoing development of the pyramid structure and the credible history and association to football that Barclays has will make the league even stronger.”

To mark the new partnerships, representatives from the Premier League, The FA and Barclays were joined by Barclays Football Ambassador Kelly Smith at Gunnersbury Park Sports Hub in west London on Tuesday 14 December.

A coaching session for girls from a local school was taking place at the facility, which officially launched this year following funding from the Premier League, The FA and Government’s charity, the Football Foundation.

NBA Africa Names Gbemisola Abudu Head Of New Nigeria Office

NBA Africa has named Gbemisola Abudu as Vice President & Country Head of Nigeria, where the league will open its third office on the continent in early 2022. Abudu, an accomplished entrepreneur, business leader, luxury marketing expert and social activist with 17 years of experience developing businesses, brands and human capital in Nigeria, the Middle East and the U.S., will lead NBA Africa’s new office in Lagos and report to NBA Africa CEO Victor Williams.

In this newly-created role, Abudu will be responsible for leading the league’s basketball and business development initiatives in Nigeria, including grassroots programming for youth, elite player development, relationships with current and prospective marketing, media and merchandise partners, and social responsibility efforts that improve the lives of youth and families in Nigeria.

“We are excited about expanding NBA Africa’s operations in Nigeria with the launch of our office in Lagos and thrilled to have Gbemisola join us to lead our efforts in the country,” said Williams. “As an established business leader, entrepreneur, global marketing expert and social activist, Gbemisola’s expertise will be invaluable in helping us continue to grow basketball and the NBA in a country that already has a strong affinity for the game.”

“Joining NBA Africa as the Vice President & Country Head of Nigeria and opening the league’s office here is the opportunity of a lifetime and the culmination of all my experiences to date,” said Abudu. “As a lifelong basketball fan and Nigeria native, I look forward to working with the NBA Africa team to help build a more comprehensive basketball ecosystem in the country and to using the transformative power of sport to impact lives in Nigeria and beyond.”

Abudu previously served as Founder and Managing Partner at BMGA Enterprise Limited (BMGA), an educational technology finishing school in Lagos that provides social and marketing intelligence to increase the productivity of people and organizations. In that role, she invested in the sustainable development of human capital and advanced gender equality in Africa by developing social impact initiatives, establishing new learning and leadership platforms, and growing partnerships with world renowned universities. Prior to BMGA, she worked as a global marketing professional for international brands, including Louis Vuitton, The Walt Disney Company and The Clorox Company.

Abudu, a dual citizen of Nigeria and the U.S., holds an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona where she is President of the Thunderbird Alumni Association’s Nigeria Chapter. She holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing and public relations from the University of Wyoming.

The NBA opened its African headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2010. Since then, the league’s efforts in Africa have focused on increasing access to basketball and the NBA through grassroots and elite development, media distribution, corporate partnerships, NBA Africa Games, the launch of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), and more. The BAL, a partnership between the NBA and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, will tip off its second season (https://on.nba.com/3yoaizV) in March 2022.

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