The Orlando Magic is announcing a new partnership with the free rewards app, Drop. To celebrate, Magic fans can get $15 worth of Drop Points when they register using the invite code: “magicfriday” and link a debit or credit card before Friday, November 26, 2021. The Magic are the first sports team to partner with Drop.
The partnership will include several surprises for fans throughout the season, including in-game parachute “drops” of fun rewards; VIP fan experiences; a STUFF the Magic Mascot birthday party on Feb. 25 and many more rewarding surprises. To take advantage, fans are encouraged to download the free Drop app to stay in the know of all of this and more.
“The Orlando Magic are thrilled to work with Drop and proud to be their first sports partnership, helping them engage and welcome fans into their innovative rewards shopping experience,” said Magic Vice President of Global Partnerships, J.T. McWalters. “We look forward to surprising fans as the season goes along with special rewards and experiences. We encourage fans to get the Drop app now so they can maximize this great opportunity before Black Friday.”
Drop allows users to collect points for shopping at their favorite brands; users can then redeem points for gift cards. The popular app is used by millions of Americans and has become increasingly popular among Floridians. Drop uses intelligent programming to offer a highly personalized rewards experience based on what each user likes and where they already shop, eliminating the hurdles of scanning receipts, entering promo codes, or signing up for multiple loyalty programs.
“At Drop, we are constantly looking to provide our users with personalized and exciting reward experiences” said Derrick Fung, CEO of Drop. “We are thrilled to partner with the Orlando Magic to extend that personalized reward experience to Orlando Magic fans and make this season the most rewarding one yet!”
World Table Tennis (WTT) today announced the first-ever officially licensed table tennis Non-Fungible Token (NFT) to go on sale to celebrate the opening of the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships Finals in Houston, Texas.
This is the first time America is hosting the World Table Tennis Championships. Entitled ‘First Ball!’, the exclusive NFT is a digital artwork celebrating both this historical moment and table tennis.
The video clip showcases a table tennis ball ornated with the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships Finals logo and the USA flag’s colours in the background.
This unique table tennis NFT is up for auction on OpenSea, the world’s first and largest digital marketplace for crypto collectibles and NFTs. Bidding will be open for the duration of the World Championships, until 23:59 (CST, UTC−06:00) on Monday 29 November.
The reserve price has been set to WETH 0.2021, in honour of the 2021 World Championships. WETH (Wrapped ETH) is used to buy and sell with auctions on OpenSea. It is worth exactly the same amount as ETH, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum platform, a decentralized and open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality.
From 23-29 November, the world’s best players will face each other with a revamped and expanded straight knockout format. Fans should be on the lookout not only for the incredible table tennis actions but also for the exclusive NFTs which will be announced by WTT throughout the competition.
This year’s championships are of even greater significance for the Table Tennis community when the 2020 event in Busan, Korea, was cancelled due to COVID-19.
As the commercial and events arm of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), WTT aims to transform how the sport is played and absorbed throughout the world while providing the fans of the sport with cutting-edge technology and new experiences which will build further the interest and awareness of table tennis. Ever since its launch, WTT has been leading the table tennis digital transformation and opening up new revenue streams for table tennis.
The launch of officially licensed table tennis NFTs is another milestone in the journey to make the sport one of the most recognised and followed in the world. WTT is planning to launch its own marketplace in 2022 where fans and collectors will be able to buy, sell and trade table tennis NFTs.
Next week, the world’s best players will face each other at Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center. Follow all the actions online on World Table Tennis website.
Enlio Becomes Official Flooring Supplier of 2021 World Table Tennis Championships and WTT Cup Finals
World Table Tennis (WTT), the commercial arm of the ITTF Group, is delighted to announce Enlio as the official flooring supplier of the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships Finals and 2021 WTT Cup Finals.
Hebei Enlio Sports Goods Co., LTD, a supplier of a wide range of flooring including interlocking court mats and surfaces for general use in sports halls, has a long-standing relationship with the table tennis family.
An ITTF sponsor since 2013, Enlio has supported several world-class events such as the World Table Tennis Championships and the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
The 2021 World Table Tennis Championships Finals will be kicking off in Houston on Tuesday 23 November. The star-studded field will compete for the coveted World Champion trophies on a custom blue floor specially created to complement the event visual identity.
Then, Enlio will provide black flooring to the inaugural WTT Cup Finals. The 2021 WTT Cup Finals is the new season-ending event of the WTT Series. The prestigious new event will see some of the world’s best men’s and women’s singles players battle it out to be crowned season-ending champions.
Li Yu, Enlio Chairman, said: “ITTF and WTT events showcase the highest level of table tennis and stringent requirements for its equipment, and we value the trust that has been placed in Enlio in delivering and exceeding these requirements. We are proud to be able to provide top-quality flooring specially customised to enhance the look and feel of these events, and we are excited for the millions of table tennis fans worldwide to watch the world’s best players compete on them.”
Matt Pound, WTT Managing Director, said: “We are happy to be continuing our long term relationship with Enlio for the two most important table tennis events at the end of 2021 – the World Championships and WTT Cup Finals. In addition, as the first-ever supplier of black flooring to a WTT event at the 2020 WTT Macao, it is symbolic that Enlio is a part of the Cup Finals to close off the first-ever WTT Series on this world-class flooring. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with Enlio.”
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed Geoff Allardice has been appointed as the organisation’s permanent CEO after more than eight months in the role on an interim basis.
Allardice, a former first-class cricketer, was the ICC General Manager, Cricket for eight years having previously held a similar role at Cricket Australia.
Greg Barclay, ICC Chair said: “I am delighted that Geoff has agreed to take the role of ICC CEO on a permanent basis. He has shown tremendous leadership during an extremely challenging period culminating in the successful delivery of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.
“Geoff has unrivaled knowledge of the global cricket landscape and its stakeholders and has consistently demonstrated he is the right person to work in partnership with our Members to shape the sport for the next decade as we embark on delivering a new strategy and our next commercial rights cycle.”
Geoff Allardice, ICC CEO added: “It’s a great privilege to be appointed as the CEO of the ICC and I would like to thank Greg and the ICC Board for the opportunity to lead the sport as we enter an exciting new phase of growth.
“My continued focus will be on doing the right thing for our sport and working closely with Members to deliver long-term success and sustainability. I would also like to thank the ICC staff for their commitment and support over the last eight months and I’m looking forward to continuing to serve cricket with such a talented team.”
The ICC also launches global growth strategy
The International Cricket Council today unveiled its global growth strategy which places women’s cricket firmly at the heart of its long-term ambitions. The strategy which has been developed in partnership with ICC Members is aimed at strengthening, growing, and protecting the game with the vision of more players, more fans and more nations enjoying cricket.
The strategic pillars of strengthen, grow, and protect will be underpinned by digital transformation of the sport to support Members to connect directly with fans and build capacity.
Strengthen
To strengthen the sport and drive greater engagement from what already exists, the ICC will deliver competitive cricket with context for all Members, invest in and grow women’s cricket, build cricket among Associate Members and deepen fans’ connection through digital transformation, including the ongoing development of ICC.tv, the direct to fan platform and with the development of a mobile game.
Grow
To grow the sport through more people and more places, the ICC will focus on getting more people playing and engaging with cricket through its criiio entry level programme and enhanced education programmes for coaches, officials, and curators. Female participation will be prioritised as will key identified new markets to drive targeted growth, the first of which will be the USA. Olympic inclusion is also considered a central plank of growing cricket globally.
Protect
Protecting the integrity of the sport and inspiring trust among fans is the third pillar of the strategic framework. Providing an environment that is safe for all participants and brings to life the spirit of cricket will be a key area of focus along with the continued commitment to leading the way in delivering a corruption free sport. Additionally, the ICC Cricket 4 Good programme will be developed to harness the power of more than one billion fans to build a better future.
In addition to the framework, six strategic priority projects have been highlighted in the strategy as the sport looks to build and consolidate on recent success.
ICC Chair Greg Barclay said: “This strategy is for the whole sport, and it will enable us to strengthen what we currently have, particularly around the women’s game and ensuring we’re delivering competitive cricket with context for all our Members. It also provides us with the opportunity to look at growing the game and getting more people playing and engaging with cricket through new markets and Olympic inclusion.
“Finally, it identifies the importance of protecting the integrity of our game and inspiring trust among fans and using the power of cricket to build a better future. This framework is something on which the whole sport is aligned and I’m looking forward to working in partnership with our Members to create a successful and sustainable future for cricket.”
ICC CEO Geoff Allardice said: “Our strategy is focused on more players, more fans and more nations enjoying cricket and we believe by working closely with Members we can build on the strength of what we already have but also grow the game in new markets.
“I am particularly excited by the commitment of everyone in the sport to investing in and growing the women’s game. Over the last four years we have invested in ICC women’s events and witnessed 86,174 people in the MCG to watch the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 which is the best illustration yet of our research that tells us that two thirds of cricket’s 1 billion plus fans want to see more women’s cricket
“Digital transformation will play a crucial role in delivering the success of our strategy as we look to attract and engage more fans and build digital platforms that enable our Members to create direct relationships with 300 million fans by 2032.”
DEDICATED PLATFORM TO STREAM FIS WORLD CUP EVENTS FOR WINTER SPORTS FANS IN THE USA
Infront, partner of many national ski sports associations and entrusted with the commercialization of the vast majority of ski World Cup races and all World Ski Championships, has partnered with sports OTT specialists StreamAMG to launch Ski and Snowboard Live, a new direct-to-consumer (DTC) service for the US market.
Audiences in the United States can now access live streams from international events of the FIS Alpine, Snowboard, Freestyle Ski and Cross Country World Cup, all of them with English commentary.
The platform will show 160 live races during the 2021/22 season, starting with this weekend’s Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup event in Levi, Finland. The content will be available on an all-inclusive season subscription and pay-per-view package basis. In addition to live events the service will also include on-demand content, highlights, interviews, event replays and other behind-the-scenes footage.
Infront has partnered with StreamAMG’s sports OTT technology to power the live and on-demand delivery and provide a premium experience for Snowsport fans.
Amikam Kranz, Vice President Media Sales and Operations, Infront said: “We were keen to ensure that snow sport fans in the US were given access to the best possible broadcast and we are delighted to be working with StreamAMG ahead of a thrilling season. This is a unique opportunity for supporters to gain access through a dedicated platform that perfectly serves their expectations in terms of live broadcast and on-demand content.”
Mark Silver, General Manager for North America at StreamAMG added: “We’re delighted to be delivering the FIS World Cup into the US market for Infront. The launch of Ski and Snowboard Live marks a major milestone for StreamAMG as our first Snowsport platform, and we’re excited to be bringing live coverage of some of the most important winter sports events in the world to American audiences.”
The announcement means Optus remains the Premier League’s exclusive Australian partner to almost the end of the decade and sees the award-winning service extend its coverage of the WSL to 2024, well beyond the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 hosted in Australia.
The historic deal is a win for fans of the beautiful game, with the renewal meaning every Premier League match will be available to watch live and exclusive, on demand replay, and via the highly popular Mini Match edits through Optus Sport.
“We are thrilled to be able to significantly extend our exclusive partnership with Premier League and the FA Women’s Super League and continue to bring the best football coverage to more than a million of our passionate and loyal Optus Sport customers,” said Optus CEO, Kelly Bayer Rosmarin.
“This is another proof point that we are continuing to deliver unique customer experiences and exceptional value for our Mobile and Home customers, in addition to our industry-leading Living Network, Australia’s fastest 5G, and our newly launched SubHub, a revolutionary subscription aggregation platform,” Ms Bayer Rosmarin continued.
“In the six years since securing the exclusive Premier League rights, Optus Sport has become the undisputed home of premium European football and has introduced new Australian audiences to the game whilst setting the benchmark on live sports streaming,” said Optus’ VP of TV, Content and Product Development, Clive Dickens.
“Optus Sport has more than doubled its subscribers since 2018, engagement is up over 49% year-on-year and we’ve seen nine of our top 10 most watched matches occurring during 2021. This includes the historic EURO 2020 England vs Italy Final, which broke the Australian record for a live sports streaming event, with almost one million households watching the match live, no single streamed Tokyo Olympic event reached this many households.”
Paul Molnar, Chief Media Officer at the Premier League said: “The Premier League is delighted to extend our partnership with Optus for a further six seasons up to 2027/28. Optus has proven to be an outstanding home for the Premier League in Australia and has helped to grow the fan base of the Premier League and its clubs through market-leading content and impressive innovation. We are looking forward to continuing to work with Optus in the years ahead.”
The announcement culminates a week of wins for Optus Sport, which was named the Gold Winner for Best Social Media Strategy at the global SportsPro OTT Awards – beating international brands like the NBA and Real Madrid – also picking up Silver in the Platform of the Year category.
With just one year to go until the UK hosts the final of the rescheduled Rugby League World Cup 2021, premier British woodcare brand Ronseal, has extended its partnership with the Rugby Football League (RFL) by a further 12 months.
The extension sees Ronseal remain the principle partner for Match Officials throughout the game in the UK, meaning that all referees, touch-judges and in-goal judges will continue to feature Ronseal on their shirts during Super League matches.
In addition, Ronseal proudly remains an England Rugby League lead sponsor and will support the teams through to next autumn’s Rugby League World Cup.
The agreement extends the strong partnership between Ronseal and RFL, which since 2018, has encompassed England Men’s, Knights, Women’s, Wheelchair, Academy and Youth squads.
The partnership is focused on ‘pride’, with players and fans having pride in supporting their club and being a part of the rugby league community. To showcase this focus, Ronseal launched its ‘Pride in the Community’ initiative which aims to improve grassroots rugby league facilities and help grow participation of rugby league at all levels. Wigan-based Hindley ARFLC became the first club to receive support to improve their changing rooms and dugouts, with England Rugby League players Oliver Gildart, Stefan Ratchford, Ben Currie and former England captain Jamie Peacock lending a helping hand.
Bobby Bahadoori, RFL Head of Partnerships, said: “2022 will be a huge year for Rugby League and we are delighted to have a trusted brand such as Ronseal providing such great support for us. It’s been a challenging period for all sports, but in Rugby League we are pulling through and building back better – and Ronseal has played a key role in that. We look forward to working with the Ronseal team and having more success over the coming year.”
Jane Ryder, European Marketing Director, Sherwin Williams, said: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with the RFL who align with our core values of performance, durability, and integrity. The ‘Pride in the Community’ initiative perfectly brings together those values by allowing us to give back to our core fans and their communities. Ronseal is a no-nonsense brand which does exactly what it says on the tin – this lines up perfectly with the no-nonsense sport of rugby league.”
The partnership between Inter and Mastercard has taken a step forward. The club’s collaboration with the leading global payments company, which has been in place since 2018, has now been extended to women’s football.
The new venture with Inter Women is a testament to the commitment both brands have in developing and promoting women’s football movement, both from a sporting and a social perspective. The two brands share the desire to promote gender equality in women’s football, in doing so becoming standard bearers of the values of diversity and inclusion, inspiring new generations of players and fans along the way.
“I’m delighted to announce this partnership with Mastercard. They’re a really important brand for Inter and are committed in developing the women’s game,” declared Alessandro Antonello, Inter’sCorporate CEO. “Mastercard share our values of equality and inclusivity. Consequently we’re happy to see a brand which upholds such values be exhibited on Inter Women shirts.”
As for Mastercard, Italy Country Manager Michele Centemero had these thoughts on the partnership: “We’re more than happy to further our historic collaboration with Inter. We’re seeking to share the emotions derived from such an exciting sport, because we’re aware that one single pass or shot can create Priceless moments. We’re delighted to work alongside Inter Women and to be able to contribute to implementing sustainable programmes based on teamwork, sportsmanship and inclusion which girls and women around the world can aspire to get involved in.”
The partnership will see Mastercard appear on Inter Women’s shirts during Serie A and Coppa Italia matches. It will also see Mastercard and Inter team up and organise various initiatives. Through the involvement of various ambassadors such initiatives will promote female empowerment, tackling issues such as diversity, inclusion and fair play – both on and off the pitch – and inspiring new generations.
FC Barcelona have today announced they have cancelled their NFT partnership with Ownix.
The brief statement commented:
In light of information received today that goes against the Club’s values, FC Barcelona hereby communicate the cancellation of the contract to create and market NFT digital assets with Ownix with immediate effect.
In other Barcelona news they have announced a renewal of their sponsorship deal with Head & Shoulders.
FC Barcelona and Procter & Gamble’s hair care brand Head & Shoulders (H&S) have renewed their partnership agreement for an additional season. H&S, the world’s No.1 selling shampoo brand will remain a Partner of the Club, with exclusivity as the official shampoo of FC Barcelona in Indonesia until June 30, 2022.
Since signing the original deal in 2013, H&S and FC Barcelona have built a strong relationship managed by the Club’s Asia Pacific regional headquarters in Hong Kong, illustrated by strong and robust business metrics that have led to the partnership extension, now in its eighth year. Drawing upon shared values and a passion for continuous improvement, the partnership has focused on connecting with Barça fans whilst driving excitement among consumers in the Asia Pacific region. Past initiatives include a series of co-branded H&S shampoo bottles, refreshed and updated with new artwork and images of players each season. Other campaigns also offered virtual meet and greets with players, limited edition packs, giveaways, and game app launches.
Besides a newly designed bottle to be unveiled in 2022, this season H&S will expand its reach beyond physical stores and into the e-commerce channels, and leverage Barça’s industry leading social channels to create content that further promotes the partnership, whilst optimizing the digital experience for the Club’s millions of fans in Indonesia. Campaign details can be found via H&S Facebook and Instagram as well as FC Barcelona Facebook and Instagram.
Statement by Ryan Edwards, Head & Shoulders Brand Director
“As the world’s No.1 selling shampoo, Head & Shoulders is committed to providing the most comprehensive solutions to scalp problems for all Indonesians to address their scalp worries so that they can always be at their best, just as how FC Barcelona players are at the highest level of football tournaments. Our partnership with FC Barcelona has enabled us to reach Indonesian consumers who share the passion for football and we are delighted to renew this partnership and continue inspiring them.”
Statement by Juli Guiu, Vice President, Marketing Area at FC Barcelona
“This renewed and extended partnership is a testament to the strength and success of the Club’s longstanding eight-year relationship with Head & Shoulders, a highly recognized global hair care brand.Together, we will continue to drive FC Barcelona and H&S’s growth in Indonesia, whilst encouraging Barça fans to embrace their differences and providing the confidence to face any challenge.
LDN UTD, the purpose driven esports org, today continues its tech driven journey by entering the crypto world with the launch of its very own community engaging, purpose driven NFT “LDN Collection”.
LDN UTD has partnered with Zeromint and the GoChain Foundation, to integrate their fast, low cost and low energy transactions and sustainable minting of the LDN UTD NFTs on LDN UTD’s platform to support the Rio Ferdinand Foundation.
In an exciting partnership with One Minute Briefs, the Twitter community was tasked to create unique NFT designs that aligned with LDN UTD’s values whilst incorporating their favourite London landmarks. After much deliberation of the hundreds of submissions, the artist “Hannah” was selected to create LDN UTD’s first NFT series, the “LDN Collection”.
The “LDN Collection” comprises 10 different NFT art sets of 100 duplicates; 1000 in total. Each set is designed around a famous London landmark. The “LDN Collection” is more than just an art collectible related to gaming and London. The NFTs will provide their owners with exclusive access to LDN UTD content, gaming & tournament events, limited edition merchandise, bespoke partner discounts and offerings, and much more to be announced.
Commencing on 19th November, each design will thereafter be released every 72 hours, with a scavenger hunt giveaway scheduled for each release at the revealed landmark location. A LDN UTD representative wearing LDN UTD merchandise will be at each location for a period of 2 hours after each set release for participants to find, and then be entered in the giveaway. Clues to the whereabouts of the representative will be shared during the hunt on LDN UTD social media channels & Discord server. The winner will be announced before the next design is released.
In continued support to the Rio Ferdinand Foundation, LDN UTD is pledging 10% of all NFT net profit sales to be donated to the charity, further helping young people in disadvantaged communities and the inequalities they face, whilst will be working with the Foundation to give their community an opportunity to design future NFT designs.
Oliver Weingarten, Founder/CEO of LDN UTDsaid:
“It has always been in our roadmap to become a decentralised esports org, and the fact we can continue to stick to our values of engaging community and social purpose in a unique manner with the launch of this engaging NFT campaign for our community is just another step in the right direction of a bigger digital economy platform strategy.”
Rhiannon Watts, Director of Operations of the Rio Ferdinand Foundation:
“Rio Ferdinand and the Foundation are pleased to partner again with LDN UTD. Esports has shown it can be a force for good, and the fact this is a project with transferable skills that can engage our community reinforces how a combination of technology and art can be utilised to support our community who are interested in this sector.”
Breanne Lawrence, Creative Partnership Manager of One Minute Briefs:
“We were so happy to partner up with LDN UTD on this One Minute Briefs campaign. We’re always keen to explore new and exciting opportunities through our Bank of Creativity platform and to produce content that will become NFTs to help the Rio Ferdinand Foundation is something that our community really enjoyed being involved in. And we are extremely proud of our very own Hannah for being selected to design the first NFT series for LDN UTD!!”
Henry Ines, CEO of GoChain said:
“We are proud to partner with LDN UTD, which shares the same impact-oriented ethos as GoChain. We look forward to working closely with LDN UTD as it becomes the premier decentralised esports platform for gamers, while raising awareness on some of today’s most pressing social issues.”
The Premier League and NBCUniversal, via the NBC Sports Group, have today announced a new six-year broadcast deal in the United States.
The agreement, which will see NBC Sports remain the Premier League’s official broadcast partner in the US until 2028, will cover all 380 matches every season. The deal also includes the exclusive rights for Spanish language coverage.
NBC Sports became the home of Premier League coverage in the US in 2013. Since then, the broadcaster has worked with the League, growing its profile and fanbase significantly.
NBC platforms – including NBC, USA Network, NBCSN, NBC Sports digital and Peacock – reach every home in the country with a television or the internet, and NBC Sports’ Premier League Mornings programming has become well-established viewing for American fans.
Richard Masters, Premier League Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to announce our new US broadcast deal with NBC Sports, who have been brilliant partners for the Premier League over the last nine seasons. NBC Sports has significantly strengthened the popularity of the League in the United States in that time through its fantastic coverage and promotion.
“NBC Sports’ Premier League Mornings programming is now a real institution among supporters in America, with fans getting up early to come together and cheer on their favourite club, week in, week out. It’s an exciting time for football in the US and we look forward to continuing to work with NBC Sports to bring our competition to even more fans over the next six years.”
Pete Bevacqua, NBC Sports Chairman, said: “We are excited to come to this long-term extension with the Premier League. Our Premier League team, led by Jon Miller, has been incredibly dedicated to growing the Premier League in the United States over the last nine years. This new agreement is also a testament to the hard work of production, marketing and other areas of our company, as well as the tremendous partnership that has been established with the leadership and club owners of the Premier League.”
