Pro Tennis Returns As TNM Partners Launch Grand Slam Tennis Tours MatchPlay 120

In a first of its kind partnership, Genius Sports Group and Topnotch Management (TNM) today announced the launch of the Grand Slam Tennis Tours MatchPlay 120 series, a brand new tournament featuring players ranked inside the ATP and WTA top 300.

Beginning May 26th 2020, this series will provide fans, players, media publishers and sportsbook operators with over 120 live tennis matches across a six-week period. Showcasing players drawn from the Top 100 world rankings highlighting many household tennis names such as 2020 Australian Open quarterfinalist Tennys Sandgren, 4-time ATP Tour title-winner Stevie Johnson, WTA Tour title-winner Lauren Davis and others, the series will spotlight players from the Grand Slams and other major ATP and WTA events.

Genius Sports Group will deliver a host of live betting markets on the new MatchPlay 120 series as well as fast, high-quality video streams to sportsbook operators through its GeniusLive technology. Powered by AI, the GeniusLive automated camera and production system will capture the action courtside, eliminating any need for camera crews.

The series is being run by leading tennis agency, Topnotch Management, which manages numerous ATP and WTA athletes, as well as events on the ATP Challenger Tour. TNM will operate multiple court locations around the US and work closely with Genius Sports Group and Grand Slam Tennis Tours to deliver interactive Match Centers for fans, combining live streams, daily schedules and orders of play, scores, leaderboard information, and more.

 “This is an ambitious solution to the current situation and it’s a project that counts as a win on multiple fronts”, explains TNM Event Director, Kyle Ross. “All groups involved here have demonstrated exceptional agility and we’re really proud, first of all, to provide job opportunities for professional players at a time when there’s been a lot of attention on the challenges they face. Additionally, the series brings tennis fans around the world a reliable schedule of tennis matches between high-level players, and partnering with Genius Sports provides a great opportunity for us to engage the sportsbook audience and ultimately power the launch of the series.”

Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports Group, commented: “The launch of the MatchPlay 120 series is exciting news for the world of tennis and sports fans everywhere.  Over a six-week period, GeniusLive, our unique streaming technology, will broadcast over 200 hours of premium tennis for our media partners and sportsbook customers.  Given the current environment, it is uplifting to see the use of new technologies come to the fore that enable tennis fans everywhere to watch their favourite sport live again.”

The Grand Slam Tennis Tours MatchPlay 120 series stands out in its commitment to delivering six weeks of programming, the high quality of the player field it will feature, and the full best-of-three set match format. Importantly, the event also promises to engage with players in the crucial 100-300 ranking zone, who have received a lot of recent attention with regards to plans for a Player Relief Fund.

Significant considerations have been made regarding covid-19, and beyond not having any fans and minimal on-site footprints, the event will adhere to local guidance and apply significant safety protocols with regards to matchplay.

MotoGP™ To Partner CKH IOD For eSports Championship

Dorna Sports is delighted to announce a new three-year partnership with CKH Innovations Opportunities Development (CKH IOD), part of one of the world’s leading global mobile telecommunications and data services operators and a pioneer of mobile broadband technology. The agreement sees two of the leading 3 Group brand companies – 3 Austria and WINDTRE – become partners of the MotoGP™ eSport Championship from 2020 to 2022 – with the potential for other 3 Group companies to follow.

Since inception, the MotoGP™ eSport Championship has accrued more than 64 million video views online, 247 million impressions and over eight million engagements. Combining that with 20 Online Challenges and seven on-site events, the Championship has established itself as one of the biggest players in the gaming landscape.

In 2020, the 22 best gamers have now qualified to move through to the Draft Selection – the draft in which MotoGP™ teams can choose the gamer who will represent them throughout the Global Series onsite at events. Every corner of the planet is represented in the draft this season – from Indonesia to Brazil, Australia to the UK, Italy to Taiwan and many more.

WINDTRE will also be the main and title sponsor of the all-new Rising Stars Series, naming it the WINDTRE Rising Stars Series. Adding an eSport arm to Dorna Sports’ incredible portfolio of talent promotion programmes, the WINDTRE Rising Stars Series comprises four online challenges in which gamers qualify for three online races: one race for the 11 best gamers from the Americas, one pitting the best of European and African players against each other and one for the top racers from Asia and Oceania. An incredible opportunity, the three winners each secure a place in the 2021 MotoGP™ eSport Championship draft.

Joe Parker, CKH IOD CEO: “We are very glad to start this global MotoGP Gaming & eSports cooperation with Dorna as a new step in this exciting and top growing digital products category.  The partnership will give us the opportunity to show our customers how the Three Group’s high speed networks will support them in enjoying the best, seamless and immersive gaming and entertainment experiences.”

Gianluca Corti, Chief Commercial Officer, WINDTRE: “We are happy to cooperate with Dorna to enable a new, exciting entertainment activity like eSports on two wheels, with a community of active players and viewers that continues to grow. A ‘high-speed’ competition that needs high-quality connections and that will experience an exponential development with the arrival of 5G. For this reason, the new single brand WINDTRE, with its 5G ready ‘Top Quality Network’, is a right partner to successfully face this challenge.”

Pau Serracanta, Managing Director, Dorna Sports: “We’re very happy to be able to announce this agreement with an international company such as CKH IOD, who have a huge presence in so many markets. The MotoGP eSport Championship is already growing at an amazing rate and this agreement will only help us to grow even more.”

Private Equity Firm CVC Acquire 28 Percent Share Of PRO14 Rugby

The Board of the Guinness PRO14 has completed a significant strategic partnership investment from CVC Capital Partners Fund VII (“CVC Fund VII”) that will allow the league to work towards its full potential – for the benefit of fans, players, clubs and unions in these key rugby nations over the years ahead.

Under this agreement, CVC Fund VII will acquire a 28 per cent share of PRO14 Rugby from Celtic Rugby DAC, the Unions will retain the 72 per cent majority share.

The partnership commitment will allow both PRO14 Rugby and the Irish, Italian, Scottish & Welsh rugby unions to continue to invest in the sport, both professional and amateur, to achieve its potential over the long term.

A portion of the investment will also be held centrally at PRO14 Rugby, for the Board to invest in further capabilities for the business and in upgrading league operations in line with its growth ambitions.

As part of this agreement, the Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR), will also become a member of Celtic Rugby DAC, and receive a share of the investment.

Martin Anayi, CEO, will continue to lead the management team at PRO14 Rugby, working closely with CVC and the unions on execution of the commercial plan. The unions will also remain independently responsible for the sporting and regulatory elements of the league, via the Sporting & Regulatory Committee.

In the past four years, the Guinness PRO14 has performed well both on and off the field; doubling distributions to clubs and facilitating record investment back into the sport from the league. This has been recognised by CVC, who share PRO14 Rugby’s vision for the long-term potential of the league. CVC was selected by PRO14 Rugby and the unions as their partner due to the extensive experience of prior CVC funds investing in multiple sports businesses, such as Formula 1, Moto GP and Premiership Rugby.

Dominic McKay, Chairman of Celtic Rugby DAC and Chief Operating Officer of Scottish Rugby, said: “I am delighted that we have managed to welcome CVC into the Guinness PRO14 as our partner. As a Board, we have been ambitious in our outlook and have significantly developed the league in recent years. One of our key goals was to secure a strategic partner to help accelerate our plans and CVC bring a wealth of experience and great expertise in this regard.

“Sport, like all of society is dealing with major challenges currently that we could not have imagined just a few months ago, and it is testament to the strength of our partnership with CVC that they have committed to the game of rugby in a such a significant way.

“Their enthusiasm and commitment is a welcome vote of confidence in the future of the sport and the Guinness PRO14 as an international competition. Completing this partnership with CVC is testament to the hard work invested by many people who have focused to deliver a bright vision for PRO14 and enable it to realise its commercial value in the global sports market.

“We are also delighted that the FIR has now joined Celtic Rugby DAC as a shareholder after 10 years of participation in the league. Alongside my PRO14 Board colleagues at the Irish, Italian, Welsh and South African rugby unions I would like to warmly welcome CVC to the Guinness PRO14.”

Martin Anayi, CEO of PRO14 Rugby, said: “CVC’s show of faith has been impressive and is in keeping with their proven track record of success when it comes to sports investment, including Formula 1, Moto GP and Premiership Rugby. This partnership allows all of our stakeholders to plan for a sustainable period of growth, which will benefit the fans, the players and the game.

“We are very pleased to partner with CVC, who saw us as an ambitious, fast paced and innovative organisation, situated across a number of core rugby nations that can deliver an increasing impact.

“We have been clear that we believe the Guinness PRO14 is a world-class club league, that is still in its growth phase and we are confident that it will become a major standard bearer in our sport. We are excited that CVC clearly shares that ambition and we look forward to working with them to deliver on the league’s promise in the years ahead.”

Sports Industry Leaders Come Together For Talking Sport

While the coronavirus crisis has been devastating for most in the sports industry, some sectors have grown during this period, a panel of global leading experts revealed during the first episode of ‘Talking Sport’, a weekly webinar co-organised by Eleven Sports and World Football Summit and that kicked off on Thursday with nearly 500 participants.

Peter Hutton, Director of Global Sports Partnership at Facebook, revealed that branded content has increased by 41% on Facebook and 122% on Instagram while Ralf Reichert, CEO of ESL, confirmed that companies in the eSports business have experienced triple-digit growth during recent weeks.

Hutton and Reichert joined Eleven Sports Group CEO Luis Vicente and Ricardo Fort, VP of Global Sports & Entertainment Partnerships of Coca-Cola in a session titled ‘Sport’s Great Comeback – Fighting Back From COVID-19’ that was moderated by Dominic Quantrill, founder of The Quantrill Partnership, and hosted by Sky Sports presenter and WFS Series host David Garrido. 

Speakers shared their insights and opinions on how the sports industry will be reshaped by the crisis and the challenges and opportunities they foresee. Contributions from all four panellists highlighted here:

Luis Vicente, on the need to “give more” to the fans and users:

“If I’m a fan today, and especially if I’m a young fan, I’ll start to look and think how can I really get the reward for all this time that I’m giving when there are actually so many things competing for it. I think this is one of the massive issues that we still have to solve in the traditional sports industry. We need to give much more to the users.

“I think the gaming industry model will be a massive influence for the traditional sports industry. I really believe that micro-transactions and micro-subscriptions will be much more key for the future of traditional sports. Digital micro-transactions in pay-per-view will also be essential and advertising will become a much more robust business. I also believe that we’ll come to a point where people will actually exchange data for the content they want to consume and that data can be a transactional item on a market that is much more consistent and more free.”

Ricardo Fort, on sponsorship strategies with no on-site activations:

“I think there is a misperception of the value of the on-site activations for the overall investments that the sponsors are making. Regardless of the size of the events, no matter how big it is, the vast majority of fans and consumers that are interacting with that content are not on-site. So, the mentality for the larger brands has always been ‘let’s focus on everybody else and that’s the importance of the content that we can acquire in our partnerships’.

“Of course, it is very important to have proper execution and a great live event experience because that drives the relationship of fans with brands and events, but just from a number’s standpoint, the out-of-venue audience has always been very important.”

Peter Hutton, on branded content and its effectiveness during the coronavirus crisis:

“I think branded content is one of the big parts of the story and branded content is way up over this period, up 41% on Facebook and 122% on Instagram. I think it is because sponsors increasingly are looking for that digital inventory that they can target at their audience. It’s a perfect combination of using the emotional pull of sports’ intellectual property with the ability to target audiences.

“That’s one of the reasons why branded content works. But generally, you’ve got to look at this period as accelerating a lot of different trends. One of the trends I’d say is that you need to be where your audience is and where the audience you want is consuming content, whether that be on Twitch or on Instagram or on Facebook or wherever.”

Ralf Reichert, on how gaming has exploded during the coronavirus crisis:

“For a traditional sports organisation, you need to have a gaming strategy because you need to have a game. And the games are actually the big profit part of this crisis. Gaming has exploded. Most gaming companies have grown 100%, 200% or 300%. We do amateur tournaments and they have grown five times compared to one year ago, while the viewership for eSports tournaments has grown three times compared to one year ago. So, gaming is the big beneficiary of this.”

If you missed this week’s ‘Talking Sport’, click HERE to watch the full episode. If you want to register to take part in Episode 2 titled ‘A Pivot to Digital – Enhancing Fan Engagement Strategies in Football’, click HERE.

INDYCAR Releases New 2020 Season Schedule

An updated 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule was released today, displaying calendar adjustments implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway remains the season opener with a night race on the 1.5-mile oval Saturday, June 6. The next race on the INDYCAR calendar will be the GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course Saturday, July 4.

“Our teams and athletes are ready to get back on track and will deliver world-class action at Texas Motor Speedway and the Racing Capital of the World,” Penske Entertainment Corp. President & CEO Mark Miles said. “We appreciate the opportunity to begin our season during these unprecedented times, and I’m confident we’ll put on a great show.”

The REV Group Grand Prix at Road America has been rescheduled from June 21 to July 11-12, becoming a double-header with championship points races Saturday and Sunday on the iconic, 4-mile road course.

Two events have been canceled for 2020 due to local restrictions surrounding the pandemic: the Indy Richmond 300 on Saturday, June 27 at Richmond Raceway and the Honda Indy Toronto on Sunday, July 12 on the streets of Toronto.

The season finale will be the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday, Oct. 25, a new date recently announced after the originally scheduled season opener March 15 in St. Pete was postponed due to the global health crisis.

Sportsnavi Becomes Official Media Partner Of LaLiga In Japan

LaLiga has taken an important step in its expansion strategy in Japan with the signing of the agreement that will make Sportsnavi inc. the first official media partner of the competition in the region.

Thanks to this agreement, LaLiga and one of Japan’s most visited websites join forces to provide fans in the country with a host of information relating to the day-to-day running of the competition, as well as stories surrounding clubs and their players.

“Joining together with Sportsnavi inc. will allow us to reach a larger number of fans. Reaching them through one of the most important outlets in Japan’s media landscape, and doing so in their language, will give us a great boost in generating more interest and knowledge around LaLiga,” said Rubén González, LaLiga delegate in Japan.

The agreement, which will be in force until the end of this year on a renewable basis, will give fans not just access to competition news but also a first-hand insight into the goings on around all LaLiga clubs.

“The agreement represents an unbeatable opportunity for those teams that enjoy less exposure here to have a platform that makes their stories, anecdotes and news available to fans”, Ivan Codina, LaLiga’s Managing Director for Japan, South Korea, South East Asia and Australia, stated.

“We’re extremely excited to partner with one of the most popular and influential sports organizations like LaLiga. With LaLiga’s rich history combined with its strong commitment for the new media, there are many stories to be told on daily basis and we’re glad we can play a significant role to share them with fans in Japan.” said Manabu Yamada, Chief Executive Officer of Sportsnavi.

One of the first exclusive contents the fans will be able to enjoy after the alliance is a documentary about Takefusa Kubo’s club promotion, going from the third tier of the Spanish football to the top division in just two seasons.

 Since the opening of the delegation in Japan in 2017, LaLiga has focused its efforts on promoting knowledge of the competition and its clubs among Japanese fans, as well as supporting local institutions and leagues in their growth strategies. 

Thanks to this double approach, LaLiga has signed commercial partnerships with HIS and Sony Bank, collaboration agreements with competitions such as the J-League and the Nadeshiko League, opened profiles in Japanese on Twitter and LINE and maintained a close relationship with Spanish institutions in the country such as the Embassy in Tokyo, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and the Cervantes Institute.

MTV And OTRO Combine For MTV Cribs Football Edition

OTRO Studios has been commissioned by MTV International to deliver a new footballer themed edition of MTV’s hit series, MTV Cribs titled MTV Cribs: Footballers Stay Home. Produced remotely by OTRO Studios the series will get up close and personal with a number of top international footballers as they help spread the ‘Stay home, Save Lives’ message amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Viewers will go on a journey through the footballers’ daily routines including how they are keeping fit, what’s hidden in their fridge and amusing pastimes.

MTV Cribs: Footballers Stay Home will consist of 4 x 22-minute episodes. The series will feature a number of well-known footballers from the biggest leagues in the world, including Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and David Luiz,  England and Manchester United Midfielder Jesse Lingard, Brazil and Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira, Belgian footballing legend Axel Witsel and FIFA 2017 female player of the year, Lieke Martens.

Production is underway with the footballers filming themselves, guided by a remote production team working from home. The series is set to air June 1st across MTV’s network of international channels and digital platforms, spanning 180 countries.

Due to current filming restrictions, OTRO Studios has devised a new technical set up to allow for remote filming. The footballers are using a high spec i-phone that is attached to a handheld camera rig, allowing the production team to see what the camera sees, in real time, via video conferencing. In addition, the players are hooked up via audio output from this high spec i-phone to the producer, who guides them around their Crib as if they were in their homes with them.

“MTV Cribs remains one of the most iconic shows in MTV’s history and whilst fans are home missing sports and seeking fitness ideas, we’ve asked some of our footie favourites to shed light on their stay-at-home routines, while giving the players a platform to reinforce the importance of staying home,” Craig Orr, Vice President Commissioning and Development, MTV International commented.

Claire McArdle, Managing Director, OTRO, added: “MTV Cribs is one of those rare things – a cult hit that is still going strong 20 years on – so we are over the moon to be working with MTV International on these special football episodes. Our production team has already done an extraordinary job negotiating the technical challenges of the current situation and we’re looking forward to delivering more unique insights into the homelives of football stars around the world.”

DAZN Extends Bundesliga Deal Until The End Of The Season

  • DAZN will stream nine live matches from the regular season and four relegation matches from the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2
  • Live matches will be available for all customers on the service in Germany and Switzerland

After the re-start of the Bundesliga last weekend, DAZN has today extended its partnership with the DFL to show multiple live matches from the competition on the sports streaming service in Germany and Switzerland, until the end of the season.

Thomas de Buhr, Executive Vice President DAZN DACH, commented: “We look forward to continuing to present the Bundesliga live to all football fans. The next match is this Friday, with the highly-anticipated derby in the capital between Hertha BSC and Union Berlin. The health and safety of everyone involved remains our top priority in the preparation and execution of our coverage.”

Kick-off is at 20:30 with DAZN’s presentation beginning at 20:15 CET. Lukas Schönmüller will present the programme, with punditry from Ralph Gunesch and Uli Hebel is the commentator. Alexander Schlüter will conduct pitch-side interviews at the Berlin Olympic Stadium. The Bundesliga continues on DAZN on Sunday 24 May, with the game between FC Schalke 04 and FC Augsburg.

In addition to the live matches, DAZN will continue to provide highlights of all Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 games on the platform, just 40 minutes after the final whistle.

FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships Postponed To 2021

Given the uncertainty related with the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, the safeguard of the athletes’ health and safety, and in accordance with the request of the UAE authorities, FINA has decided to re-schedule the upcoming edition of the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m), initially programmed to take place in December 2020 in Abu Dhabi.

The new dates of this competition are December 13-18, 2021, with the FINA World Aquatics Convention taking place also in Abu Dhabi, from December 10-12, 2021.

It will be the second time in the history that these Championships are held in the UAE, after a successful edition organised in 2010 in Dubai.

“We have worked in close co-operation during the last weeks with the UAE authorities on this matter and we believe this is the most suitable solution for all those taking part in this competition. The Abu Dhabi rendezvous in December 2021 will be a great achievement and will once more be a strong inspiration for the development of Swimming and Aquatics in the region”, considered FINA President Dr Julio C. Maglione.

Moreover, FINA is pleased to announce that its General Congress, where the FINA Bureau for the period 2021-2025 is to be elected, will take place on June 5, 2021 in Doha (QAT). The new members of the FINA Bureau 2021-2025 will initiate their term immediately after the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympic Games, to be staged from July 23-August 8, 2021.

BUNDESLIGA And SKYPERFECTV! Extend Partnership For Another 5 Years

SkyPerfecTV! (SPTV) will continue to be the home of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 in Japan after a new five-year deal was agreed between the broadcaster, the league and IMG. The deal, which begins at the start of the 2020/21 season, ensures that SPTV will exclusively show live, delayed and replay coverage of more than 200 matches per season. In addition, the long-term agreement includes live coverage and streaming of the highly-anticipated DFL Supercup to kick off the season, as well as crucial promotion/relegation play-off matches.

With more localised social media content developed for the passionate Japanese fanbase, the Bundesliga will be closer than ever before. The new broadcast deal was negotiated by IMG, who hold the Bundesliga media rights for Japan.

Speaking about the new agreement, Bundesliga International CEO Robert Klein said: “SPTV has been integral on our journey to connecting with Japanese fans. The Bundesliga continues to be a fantastic platform for Japanese national team players to become stars known around the world, and we particularly value our relationship with the Japanese fanbase. Not only do we want to continue bringing them exciting action on the pitch, but also to grow the Bundesliga community through active participation events and engagement with local fans.”

Eiichi Yonekura, Representative Director and President of SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation, said: “Since our exclusive broadcasting rights deal began in 2017, the Bundesliga has been a valuable partner in delivering the highest quality football to the Japanese football fans. With this renewed partnership, we look forward to bringing the fast and modern football that defines the Bundesliga home to Japan.”

Historically, the Bundesliga has featured many Japanese players, most notably legends such as Yasuhiko Okudera and Shinji Kawaga. Currently, three Japanese players call Bundesliga clubs home, including former national team captain, Makoto Hasebe (Eintracht Frankfurt), Japan’s star striker, Yuya Osako (Werder Bremen), and rising star, Daichi Kamada (Eintracht Frankfurt).