Three Cities In Discussions To Stage NFL Regular Season Games In Germany

The National Football League today confirmed that three cities are in discussions to host regular-season games in Germany.

The NFL, which has staged 29 games in London since 2007 and will play its 30th at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday (October 17), is aiming to find the most suitable partner city for a possible expansion of the International Series into Germany.

After an initial period in which expressions of interest were received from multiple cities, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich have been invited to proceed to the ‘candidate phase’ of the process. Those cities will now participate in deeper conversations about staging games in Germany.

“Regular-season games are a key part of continuing the development of our German fan base by creating more excitement for the sport and more connectivity with fans and communities,” said BRETT GOSPER, NFL Head of Europe and UK. “

“The strong interest we have received from German cities underlines what a fantastic opportunity this is for a host, ranging from the significant economic benefits and global exposure to the chance to become a hub for the growth of the NFL’s fan engagement, community and grassroots activities.

“As well as identifying a stadium that is fully capable of handling the logistics of an NFL game, we want to work with a host consortium that comprises local and regional government, stadium ownership, local stakeholders and potential commercial partners. We want this to be a long-term partnership.”

The NFL has enjoyed a number of strong years of fan growth in Germany, where it now has 19 million fans.  Weekly NFL television viewership on partners ProSieben and DAZN has grown by more than 20 percent annually since 2017, and millions of fans tuned in for Super Bowl LV in February, making it the third consecutive season of record German Super Bowl viewership. Germany is a leading market outside North America for NFL Shop sales, fantasy football participation and sales of the Madden NFL video game.

German-born players are making an increasing impact on the NFL, with fullback Jakob Johnson becoming a regular starter for the New England Patriots during the 2020 season and two other Germans currently in the NFL as part of the International Player Pathway program, David Bada (Washington) and Aaron Donkor (Seattle Seahawks). In recent seasons Sebastian Vollmer won two Super Bowls (XLIX and LI) as part of the Patriots offensive line that protected quarterback Tom Brady, while Björn Werner was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Big Ten Network Selects Sportradar To Refresh B1G+ Streaming Service

Sportradar, a leading global provider of sports entertainment products and services, and the Big Ten Network have partnered to relaunch B1G+, a direct-to-consumer subscription service for non-televised events powered by the Big Ten Network. The revitalized B1G+ includes approximately 1,500 live streams of Big Ten Olympic sports, as well as video-on-demand of basketball and football games that previously aired on linear channels.

Sportradar is fuelling the relaunch by providing its technology and data-driven OTT solutions to help the Big Ten Network manage the OTT backend, all OTT frontends (including web, mobile, and connected TV apps), UX/UI design, as well as third-party integration. The result is an end-to-end OTT fan solution featuring a comprehensive library of historical content, shoulder programming, on-demand content, Olympic sports, and women’s sports that offers viewers extensive opportunities to customize and personalize the manner in which they follow and support their favorite Big Ten programs. 

Sportradar U.S. CEO Arne Rees said: “Today’s sports audience expects an experience that is highly personalized and tailored to their unique interests. Using our technology and data-driven OTT solutions, which have been developed and refined over the last 15 years, the Big Ten Network now has the flexibility it needs to meet and exceed viewer demands. We look forward to working closely with the Big Ten Network and helping them deliver an innovative product to their fans now and in the future.”

B1G+ streams hundreds of non-televised live events via subscription and features exclusive behind-the-scenes video, game highlights, original programming, and press conferences from 28 men’s and women’s sports across the Big Ten Conference, with additional coverage from conference postseason tournaments and events. The network schedule annually features more than 800 women’s events in the sports of basketball, ice hockey, golf, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, field hockey, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, and volleyball.

Michael Calderon, Big Ten Network senior vice president of programming and digital media said: “From our perspective, the goal of B1G+ is to deliver a best-in-class experience for Big Ten fans viewing live events, archived games and original programming highlighting their favorite schools and teams. Thanks to Sportradar’s platform, technology and solution-oriented mindset, we believe the refreshed B1G+ will serve as a destination for college sports fans across the country as they follow one of the nation’s premier collegiate conferences.”

As pioneers in combining the power of live sports data and video, as well as experts in offering insights into fan behavior, Sportradar delivers personalized, targeted content to engage audiences and enhance awareness around any sport or product. With its market data and industry expertise, Sportradar is uniquely positioned to provide custom monetization solutions to rights holders through a combination of advertising, subscription, retail, and sponsorship.

Santini Signs Five-Year Deal With A.S.O. To Supply Official Jerseys For Tour De France

Santini Cycling Wear and A.S.O. are delighted to announce a new agreement making the Italian brand official partner to the Tour de France from 2022 to supply the prestigious Yellow Jersey and the other official jerseys for the elite multi-stage road race.  The sponsorship deal also includes the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and L’Étape du Tour.

Monica Santini: “This agreement shines out in the portfolio of partnerships our company has built up over its 50-plus years in the professional cycling world.”

From 2022, the Santini Cycling Wear story will be inextricably linked with that of the King of the Grand Tours: the Italian company has been announced as official partner to the Tour de France. The new deal with A.S.O. (Amaury Sport Organization) means Santini will now supply the leader jerseys for the Grande Boucle, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and the amateur riders competing in the L’Étape du Tour.

“Signing this agreement was a hugely emotional experience for us and we are genuinely thrilled to announce this partnership with the Tour de France,” commented Santini Cycling Wear CEO Monica Santini. “It marks the continuation of a relationship with A.S.O. [that] begun with the sponsorship of La Vuelta and followed on with the Deutschland Tour. Now we have also added the most important race on the international cycling calendar to our tally.”

The announcement marks the start of a glittering chapter in the story that Santini has been writing since 1965 thanks to the constant commitment of Pietro Santini, his daughters Monica and Paola, and the Italian company’s entire team. Santini’s research and innovation consistently produces superior quality technical wear designed to meet the exacting needs of pro and amateur cyclists alike as well as supporting the leading international cycling events.

As with the rest of its products, Santini will be making all of official jerseys worn by the Tour de France leaders as well as the women’s edition of the Grande Boucle at its facility in Lallio, just outside Bergamo, Italy, guaranteeing these elite athletes the very finest in Italian quality.   

The company will also be making the official replica jerseys that will be on sale to the public as well as the jerseys worn by the amateur riders during the L’Étape du Tour.

Yann Le Moenner, A.S.O. CEO commented: “We are glad and proud to welcome Santini on the Tour de France. A new chapter has opened itself for the leader jerseys of La Grande Boucle thanks to this historic brand of cycling equipment. It will offer high-performance products with creative designs to both the elite of world cycling and the regular amateur riders who will once again be present on all the events organized by A.S.O.”

The agreement is for five years.

Kin Partners Hires Head Of Blockchain Strategy To Drive Crypto Strategies For Brands, Talent And Property Clients

Leading independent sport and entertainment management agency, KIN Partners, has appointed Rory Woolston to a newly created role as Head of Blockchain Strategy.

The new position – believed to be the first dedicated blockchain and cryptocurrency role amongst sport management agencies globally – will see Woolston identify and deliver commercial opportunities for brands, talent and sports properties within the fast-growing blockchain ecosystem.

Woolston joins KIN from CAA where he worked with a range of sports properties, such as Formula One, Red Bull Racing and Manchester City, and helped define and manage the commercial portfolios of talent clients that included Harry Kane, James Rodriguez, Raphael Varane and Nico Rosberg.

Rory played a pivotal role in brokering the recently announced deal between Crypto.com and Formula One, to deliver a first-of-its-kind sponsorship and NFT (non-fungible token) partner agreement.

Commenting on the Woolston’s appointment, KIN Partners’ SVP – Commercial, Danny Paiser, said: “We are delighted to have secured Rory’s services and add his significant experience of working with global brands and athletes to our business. The blockchain and cryptocurrency space has grown rapidly in recent times and offers huge opportunities for future-focused brands, properties and talent. Rory’s expertise in this sector enables us to help new and existing clients navigate this exciting landscape and deliver impactful and innovative partnership opportunities.”

Discussing his new role at KIN, Woolston said: “The creation of this position proves KIN’s focus on leading the market and exceeding the needs of brands, properties and talent clients in the sport and entertainment industries. That level of ambition is why I’m delighted to be joining the team.

“In the last 12 months we’ve seen cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology thrive and increasingly turn to sports sponsorship to generate brand awareness and mainstream appeal. At the same time, leagues, clubs and athletes have benefited from the surge in blockchain-based digital collectibles, fan tokens and crypto assets as the pandemic accelerated this new consumer trend. There has never been a better time to develop a crypto plan and portfolio and I look forward to working with new and existing clients to build tailored commercial strategies within this cutting-edge environment.”

Since its inception in 2013, KIN Partners has evolved into a full-service agency operating at the forefront of the sports and entertainment industries with a multi-disciplinary team servicing sports properties, talent and brands across commercial, digital strategy, production, PR and brand development pillars.

Working with some of the most iconic athletes of recent times – including David Beckham, Usain Bolt and Neymar Jr, – and recognisable sports brands and properties, such as Real Madrid C.F., and Chelsea FC, KIN has developed a track record of delivering significant commercial endorsements for its clients, harnessing the intellectual property of talent and pioneering innovative partnerships in the industry.  

Finnish Figure Skating Association Launch New App With Choicely

“Another mobile application Powered by Choicely, the no-code mobile application builder, reaches instantly the top of the charts in App Store”

On October 6th the Finnish Figure Skating Association they launched a new SkatingFinland mobile app. The app was developed in order to serve the event held at Finlandia Trophy Espoo – International Figure Skating Competition that takes place 7-10.10.2021 in Espoo Metro Areena.

The app immediately hit the top charts in App Store, reaching the #1 in Sports category within the first 24 hours.

Outi Wuorenheimo, Figure Skating Association said:

“We wanted to offer people a channel where you can find all we offer: news, events, official information and of course all the social media channels. This has everything the figure skating fan needs!” says Outi Wuorenheimo, General Secretary of Finnish Figure Skating Association.”

Kaius Meskanen, CEO of Choicely said:

“We’re very excited to partner with the Finnish Figure Skating Association. Together we’re able to create a mobile application , for Android and iPhone, that delivers extensive amount of information to the Finnish figure skating community.

“We created and launched the app together with SkatingFinland team in 3 weeks, a worthy achievement. The efficiency and coordination of the SkatingFinland team is remarkable, as they were preparing a major event – Finlandia Trophy Espoo simultaneously. Very cool!”

SkatingFinland app

SkatingFinland app offers a highly mobile optimized, information rich service for the figure skating community. The users can explore in real time SkatingFinland news, skaters profiles, schedules, results, event calendar & much more. The content is presented “in experience sections” like SkatingFinland section that introduces a news portal and the Finnish Figure Skating Association section with the official information about the association. Also an “Event” section highlighting the main events promoting Skating sport around Finland, currently featuring the Finlandia Trophy Espoo event.

The first in the world dedicated figure skating mobile app, powered by the easiest no-code mobile app studio of Choicely, made in Finland.

Choicely.com is offering templates for multiple segments at competitive prices for the sports and entertainment sectors. For more information click to book an appointment with Sales.

FIBA Launch Global Partnership With J9

FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, and Philippines-based J9 have announced a new partnership until 2024 in which the Global Partner will present the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Trophy Tour as well as boost awareness of the sport on its extensive platforms.

The brand J9.com has become FIBA’s 10th Global Partner and will take the FIBA Basketball World Cup trophy to cities around the globe, delivering an exciting World Cup experience to fans and showcasing its greatest prize as part of basketball celebrations and FIBA’s flagship competition.

As another part of the agreement, J9.com will receive key commercial rights across FIBA competitions, including the FIBA Continental Cups for both men and women, the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022, and FIBA’s pinnacle event, the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.

J9, as FIBA’s Official Global Betting Partner, sees globalization as an important focus and it provides a world-class gaming experience to its global users. The company will use FIBA’s platform to launch and boost awareness of its brand J9.com across all FIBA events globally and connect with millions of basketball fans around the world. In addition, J9 will utilize FIBA’s top-level domain .basketball to promote basketball related corporate social responsibility activities on its portal J9.basketball.

Frank Leenders, FIBA Media & Marketing Services Director General, said: “We are excited to have J9 joining the FIBA family as our most recent Global Partner. This partnership will certainly boost FIBA’s goal of advancing the promotion of basketball worldwide while at the same time bring fans closer to the game through new and improved experiences, including the Trophy Tour and other activities supported by our new Global Partner J9.”

Managing Director of J9.com, James Chen, expressed his confidence in the partnership with FIBA by saying: “It is a great honor for us to become a Global Partner of FIBA and to have the opportunity to contribute to the development of basketball globally. With our innovative and digital ways, we are sure that we will be able to help FIBA deliver the charm and joy of basketball to more fans across the world.”

This agreement was brokered by FIBA Marketing, the strategic partnership between FIBA and Infront.

International Cricket Council Selects Sportradar As Data And Streaming Rights Partner

Partnership to help create untapped opportunities for the ICC to engage with its diverse and large fan base across the globe

The International Cricket Council today announced a global partnership with Sportradar, making them the Official Data Distribution and Official Betting Live Streaming Partner of the ICC. Sportradar is a leading global provider of sports betting and sports entertainment products and services, and the number one provider of business-to-business solutions to the global sports betting industry based on revenue.

Spanning 275 top-tier matches, the partnership covers eight of the ICC’s leading men’s and women’s tournaments, starting in October with the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup hosted by India in the UAE and Oman, through to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2023, also hosted by India.

Cricket has an estimated two-and-a-half billion fans worldwide. The partnership will create more opportunities for the ICC to engage with this fan base through Sportradar’s network of 1,000 media and sports-betting clients across 80 countries.

Finn Bradshaw, Head of Digital at ICC said: “Innovative use of sports data is one of the key pillars of our digital strategy. This partnership with Sportradar will help us grow our global cricket fanbase and deepen our engagement with it.”

David Lampitt, Managing Director, Sports Content and Partnerships at Sportradar said: “Cricket is among the most popular sports globally, and we see huge potential to grow its fan base still further, helping fans interact with the game on an even deeper level.

“Our partnership with the ICC is an exciting step towards engaging those new fans and, with the full breadth of our unique technology powering it, we will deliver enhanced cricket content globally – across a range of platforms.”  

Backed by the technology and specialist cricket capabilities of InteractSport (part of Sportradar), Sportradar will deploy its Cricket Live Score Plus (CLS+) data-capture tool, enabling fielding positions and actions to be plotted for the very first time. The CLS+ solution will provide deep, rich, live ball-by-ball match data to media platforms via bespoke feeds and dedicated channels, at super-low latency.

Sportradar will integrate the official ICC data into its established Premium Cricket Service (PCS), creating an enhanced provision for sportsbook operators, while the new data will also be used to power the ICC’s digital platforms, including icc-cricket.com and the official ICC mobile app.

Additionally, Sportradar’s Integrity Services will provide the ICC with bet monitoring and reporting for all 275 matches through its Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS). UFDS uses advanced technology to scan the worldwide betting market and has a global team of integrity experts providing analysis on irregular betting patterns, with any suspicious matches subsequently reported to partners. 

Ashes Expected To Go Ahead Following Progress In Talks, England Squad Announced

The ECB has said that there have been talks with Cricket Australia that have provided a lot of progression and the two sides are now going forward with the full expectation of this winter’s Ashes in Australia going ahead.

“Over recent weeks we have made excellent progress in moving forward on the England Men’s Ashes Tour,” said the ECB.

“To facilitate further progress and allow a squad to be selected, the ECB Board has met today and given its approval for the tour to go ahead. This decision is subject to several critical conditions being met before we travel.

“We look forward to the ongoing assistance from Cricket Australia in resolving these matters in the coming days.”

The ECB have also named their squad for the series over the weekend, as confirmation draws closer and closer.

Marion Rousse Appointed Director Of The Tour De France Femmes Avec Zwift

The world of women’s cycling is eagerly awaiting the unveiling of the itinerary of the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift on 14 October at the Palais des Congrès in Paris. The eight stages scheduled from 24 to 31 July 2022 will be announced by Marion Rousse, who has been appointed director of the event by Amaury Sport Organisation. The 2012 French cycling champion, who retired from professional competition in 2015, became a consultant for France Télévisions, and since 2019 has also taken part in race organisation as the deputy director of the Tour de la Provence.

Marion Rousse, Director of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift:

“When I was a little girl, I watched the Tour de France on television with admiration, and when I started my career, I suspected that I would never have the opportunity to race in it. So, of course, I was very proud to be asked to take charge of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, especially because we want to do our utmost to make it a dream for little girls to participate. Women’s cycling has come a long way in recent years, partly thanks to A.S.O., but it still lacked a reference stage race with real media coverage. Now that I have accepted this mission, I intend to invest myself so that it becomes a ritual among the public… and for a long time because this is not about launching a race for two or three editions.”

Christian Prudhomme, Director of the Tour de France:

“If the event is to become the premier race for women’s cycling, it was obvious to call on the best ambassador of this sport, known and appreciated by the general public as well as the experts. And her immediate enthusiasm to join us confirms the momentum behind the creation of the event.”

ELEVEN Reshuffles Leadership Team, New COO Joins

Marc Watson has returned to the role of ELEVEN Group CEO and will oversee the strategic direction of the Group. Marc co-founded ELEVEN with Andrea Radrizzani in 2015 and was CEO from 2015 to January 2020. For the past 18 months Marc has combined his responsibilities as ELEVEN Executive Chairman with leading Aser Ventures’ new streaming platform LIVENow. With LIVENow now firmly established, Marc will focus his energies on the ELEVEN Group.

Andrea Radrizzani, the Chairman and Founder of ELEVEN’s parent company Aser Ventures, is to assume a more direct leadership role with ELEVEN as Executive Chairman. His vast experience, network and energy will help drive the Group forward.

Leading media executive Alessandro Tucci has joined ELEVEN as Chief Operating Officer, with a focus on managing and developing ELEVEN’s international business. Alessandro brings with him a host of management, business development and media-tech expertise. He has held a series of leadership roles within the 21st Century Fox Group across Europe and Africa and joins ELEVEN from the next-generation global streaming company MainStreaming, where he was COO.

Anouk Mertens, who has been ELEVEN’s COO since November 2018, will take on overall leadership for the Group’s content strategy as ELEVEN’s Chief Content Officer. Anouk will be responsible for integrating ELEVEN’s content capabilities with Team Whistle Studios and NEO Studios to create one global studio services division for the Group. Anouk will continue to combine her Group role with the position of CEO of NEO Studios.

ELEVEN Group Chief Rights Acquisitions Officer and MD for Belgium and Luxembourg Guillaume Collard will grow his role too. He will oversee ELEVEN’s expansions into new markets, develop new distribution deals across the network and continue to strengthen ELEVEN’s rights portfolio across the Group. Guillaume also joins the Group’s Board of Directors.

ELEVEN’s enhanced leadership team will bring new strategic direction and capabilities to the Group, to capitalise on a period of rapid expansion. Since November 2020, ELEVEN has acquired the global streaming platform MyCujoo and the US based sports media and entertainment company Team Whistle, growing the Group to over 300 staff across 11 offices around the world. The ELEVEN Group houses 1,655 distribution channels and 665 million aggregated social media followers, generating more than 4 billion video views each month. It owns more than 50 original content formats and distributes over 65,000 live hours of sport each year. ELEVEN is now committed to creating a global sports and entertainment powerhouse, with a focus on consolidating and developing its B2B2C business, aggressively building its D2C offering and rapidly growing its B2B services division. 

Marc Watson, ELEVEN Group Chief Executive Officer, said: “ELEVEN has experienced a period of significant growth in recent times. We have the opportunity to continue rapidly developing our business to deliver for fans and partners in new ways and our strengthened leadership team will provide the balance and focus we need to do that.

“I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Alessandro to the Group and to congratulate Guillaume and Anouk on their new roles. Anouk has been a fantastic Group COO for the past three years and I look forward to her bringing the same dedication and expertise to her new position.”