LaLiga Joins Mediapro And Super Sports Media To Create Joint Venture In China

LaLiga, MEDIAPRO Group and Asian sports asset commercialisation giant Super Sports Media have announced the creation of a joint venture in China, which is born with the aim of providing more resources for the exploitation of commercial assets and studying new ways of doing business in the Asian country.

The new company, which has been established for an initial period of 15 years on a renewable basis, will begin to operate immediately across the territories of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. It will work in parallel with LaLiga’s China offices and thus provide a great boost in the Spanish competition strategy in the region.

SFCM has been created in order to increase LaLiga China’s promotion and activation capabilities, which will benefit clubs and sponsors at a local level with exclusive advertising packages, the organisation of eSports tournament and the exploitation of other assets relating to LaLiga.

“LaLiga is joining together with two important partners in the business of sponsorship and licensing: Mediapro China and Super Sports Media, owner of the audiovisual rights for LaLiga in China and AFC (Asian Football Confederation) among other things. We want to continue growing and innovating in this market and working together with these partners will help us to strengthen our strategy and grow in new areas,” said Javier Tebas, President of LaLiga and member of the SFCM board…

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BLAST Closes Latest Investment Round After Raising €12.5M Euros In Funding

BLAST, the global esports media network, has today announced the closing of an investment round of €12.5M Euros ($13.52 million).

The round was led by Johan Gedda, global technology entrepreneur and co-founder of Rocket Software, and Vækstfonden, a financing and investment vehicle with funds from the Danish State and the European Investment Bank. The round was completed with further investment from existing investors leading European VC funds Creandum, Heartcore and Maki.

With offices in Copenhagen and London, BLAST creates world-class esports entertainment through intimate broadcast studio shows, arena events, and online content. BLAST products are broadcast across major global TV networks, leading digital platforms and through BLASTs own broadcast platform.

In 2019, BLAST delivered 7 events across 5 continents with 1 billion minutes of broadcast in 19 different languages. In 2020, BLAST has expanded into DOTA 2 alongside its world-leading Counter-Strike: GO tournament series.

Johan Gedda said ‘the opportunity to combine and create a deeper technology stack that will evolve the future of esports is one of the reasons I am pleased to partner with BLAST. I am impressed by their plans and look forward to leveraging my experience in the technology space to help grow this exciting and fast-moving business.’

During Covid-19, BLAST has increased its output and introduced multiple new lines of tournaments, content series and commercial partnerships. BLAST has a full calendar from 30th April through to 21st June, bringing over 308 hours of world-class esports to fans around the world. Erik Balck Sørensen of Vækstfonden’s department of direct investments: “we have watched the leadership position taken by BLAST across the esports industry in Europe and beyond, and we are proud to support a European growth company as it moves to its next stage.’

The global esports market is on target to grow to over 1 billion USD by the end of 2020. The BLAST business model is centred on targeting the broadest esports and entertainment audience. The model is built around long term partnerships with the best teams, broadcasters, commercial partners and technology leaders.

New Horse Racing League Postponed Until Summer 2021

Championship Horse Racing can confirm that, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the inaugural Racing League has been postponed until summer 2021.

Chief Executive of the Racing League, Jeremy Wray, said: “Although disappointed, we are making the decision now to postpone the Racing League until 2021. We have committed £1.8m prize money to the British Horseracing Authority, and will use the time we now have to work with horsemen, our partners and stakeholders to make the competition a really positive addition to the flat racing calendar for next year.”

The Racing League will comprise 36 races over six consecutive Thursday evening meetings in July and August 2021.

Arena Racing Company (ARC) Chief Executive, Martin Cruddace, said: “Given the current period of uncertainty that everyone across British racing and the wider business world faces, it is of course the sensible decision to postpone the introduction of the Racing League until next summer.

Matthew Imi, Chief Executive of Sky Sports Racing, commented: “We remain excited at the prospect of working with Jeremy and his colleagues to launch the Racing League, albeit a year later than anticipated. The proposition is genuinely innovative and we look forward, as soon as we are able, to previewing next year’s competition and building the narrative across Sky Sports Racing and our digital and international platforms.”

Success Of LaLiga Santander Challenge Demonstrates ‘Untapped Potential’ Of Traditional And Esports Convergence

New Insight has revealed the success of the #LaLigaSantanderChallenge, which saw players from 18 of Spain’s 20 top-flight football clubs take part in an online EA Sports FIFA20 tournament across the weekend of March 20-22.

The virtual tournament, organised by Spanish esports personality Ibai Llanos and LaLiga Santander, took place against the backdrop of worldwide lockdown measures to curb the Covid-19 pandemic, which have led to the vast majority of sporting events being postponed, suspended or cancelled.

The performance of the event was analysed across four mediums: the esports streaming service, Twitch; live TV broadcasts; online news coverage; and social media mentions and engagement.

The data, brought together by Nielsen Sports, specialists in sports industry analytics, shows that the tournament performed strongly on Twitch, with the number of viewers growing consistently each day, reaching a minute average of 123,000 on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd. The final, which saw Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio beat Leganés’ Aitor Ruibal 4-2, attracted a peak audience of 173,000 on the platform.

The event was also shown across mainstream broadcast channels Movistar Deportes 1, Gol and #Vamos, attracting a cumulative audience of more than 205,000 over the weekend. The total broadcast coverage lasted more than 23 hours, with the high viewership figures suggesting there are opportunities for brands to capitalise on the enthusiasm of traditional and esports fans via both streaming services and mainstream television.

The data also suggested that traditional sports and associated brands can utilise esports to generate online news coverage in the absence of live, traditional sports. Online news outlets were a significant source of exposure for the event, with interest remaining high from the announcement of the tournament, through to the official draw, line-ups and the event itself. In total, more than 1,100 pieces of online news coverage were generated around the #LaLigaSantanderChallenge, across national and international sports and non-sports media.

The support from traditional broadcasters and high levels of online news coverage, coupled with the large pool of esports enthusiasts tuning in on Twitch, helped drive high levels of social media engagement around the event, particularly on Twitter. The confirmation of an impressive line-up of clubs and individual players helped raise interest further, with the likes of Real Madrid harnessing their huge Twitter following of 33.97m to drive more engagement.

In total the event generated more than 35,000 tweets and retweets, with engagement levels rising consistently over the course of the weekend, peaking during the final. This LaLiga Santander Challenge data was collated by Nielsen Sports, who produced this report on the event.

Umbro Will Become The Official Technical Kit Partner To Bristol Bears

Umbro and Bristol Sport are delighted to confirm a new long-term partnership that will see the English sports brand become Bristol Bears’ Official Technical Kit Partner.

The Partnership between Umbro and Bristol Bears starts on the 1st July 2020, with the English sports brand providing match day kit, training kit and off field wear for the men’s, women’s and Academy teams.

The announcement follows the news that Umbro has become the Official Technical Kit Partner to England Rugby; supplying all match day and training kit, as well as off field wear.

Bristol Sport chairman and Bears director Jon Lansdown said: “We are very proud of the kits that Bristol Sport have produced, over the past six years. Since the Bears rebrand, the innovation shown in designing and creating the team’s jerseys has led to record sales.

“It was important for us to maintain that individual appeal, but also to push on to the next level, which is why the partnership with a globally recognisable brand like Umbro is a great fit.”

“Umbro has been designing performance products for almost a century. Their expertise in logistics, resourcing and scale is going to be a huge asset in helping us to meet demand and to grow the Bears identity and vision.”

Sam Lucas, Head of Sponsorship – Umbro UK, added: “We have stated our intention to credibly support rugby through our partnership with England Rugby. Joining forces with Bristol Bears; an exciting club, on a journey to great things, compliments this on a domestic and regional level. At the same time, the partnership helps us to deepen our connection with the sport, its fans and the wider rugby community.

“The club’s rich history echoes our own. Over the years we have created elite level products and are looking forward to bringing this experience to bear through our relationship with the club.”

TV4 Media To Broadcast UEFA Champions League In Sweden And Finland From 2021

TV4, C More and MTV, which are owned by Telia Company, have acquired exclusive rights to the UEFA Champions League in both Sweden and Finland for the period of 2021-2024. “This is the world’s best tournament within the biggest sport in the world. We are extremely proud to be able to offer the UEFA Champions League to our audience. It is a property we know will attract great interest and gather a large audience,” says Casten Almqvist, Head of TV/Media at Telia Company.

TV4 and C More are now further strengthening their sports offering with the world’s premier club football. The tournament with the best teams from Europe’s leagues will be broadcasted exclusively on C More and TV4 in Sweden from autumn 2021. In Finland, MTV has extended its current agreement with UEFA to show the UEFA Champions League until spring 2024.

“The UEFA Champions League has been at the top of our wish list of sports rights for a long time. This is the first example of how TV4 Media with Telia as our owner will raise the bar. The UEFA Champions League will be an important ingredient in creating Sweden’s and Finland’s best TV experiences,” says Casten Almqvist.

All UEFA Champions League games
The UEFA Champions League is one of the world’s strongest sports brands. The rights include all games from the UEFA Champions League such as the play-offs, the group stage and the knockout-stage, including the final. In addition to this, TV4, C More and MTV will broadcast the UEFA Super Cup played between the UEFA Champions League winner and the UEFA Europa League winner, as well as the UEFA Youth League tournament.

Sport is an attractive part of the total offering of TV4, C More and MTV and there is a strong interest in both international and national sports among customers and users. TV4 and C More already broadcast international top football and also have exclusive rights to Sweden’s best hockey league, SHL, until spring 2024. MTV in Finland already broadcasts UEFA Champions League and also has exclusive rights to Finland’s best hockey league, Liiga.

Eurovision Sport Launches New Free To Air ‘Sharing Channel’

Eurovision Sport has launched its new Sharing Channel for EBU Members, with a full slate of top sports content available for our Members to download free of charge, and, in many cases, with the rights already cleared on their behalf.

The initiative comes with European countries still subject to lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning a continuing freeze on hosting international sports events in most territories. However, rights owners are being encouraged to consider using the channel to gain visibility for their national events, as they come back on stream. These could include innovative new formats, such as e-Sports competitions.

Content available between 11 and 15 May includes a range of Olympic sports such as cycling (classic stages of the 2011 Tour de France, plus highlights from recent UCI BMX World Championships), athletics (highlights from the 2019 World Championships), swimming (highlights from the inaugural edition of the International Swimming League), canoeing (ICF World Cup highlights) and a variety of sport-themed shows.

Other themed content includes sports less familiar to the Eurovision Sport portfolio, such as motor sports (FIA Formula Regional International Championship Europe ), with touring car racing, women’s sport and extreme and e-Sports strands also in the pipeline, plus a range of other top Olympic sports content, including triathlon, gymnastics and equestrian sport.

EBU Members are being encouraged to contribute to the channel with content ideas, including:
•    Their two best sports documentaries (Eurovision Sport would assess and clear any rights required for pan-European exploitation);
•    The best and most innovative formats they have used over the past weeks to exploit sport content.

Meanwhile, access to the platform of WOCHIT, Eurovision Sport’s technical partner, has been extended to all EBU Members, giving them the opportunity to browse dedicated short clips and relevant sports content for Social Media.

Rights owners including LEN, the European Swimming Federation, and ÖSV, the Austrian Skiing Association, have shared short-form content from their top athletes on the platform in recent days.

An Editorial Board including EBU Members and EBU permanent services (from Eurovision Sport, Eurovision News and Eurovision Services) has been created in order to:
•    Drive the mid- to long-term programming of the Eurovision Sport Sharing Channel;
•    Offer relevant additional content from Members, such as national sporting events and documentaries;
•    Stimulate the exchange of technical solutions to adapt and enrich content, such as remote editing, commentary, etc;
•    Stimulate an exchange of programme formats and ideas on how Members can engage audiences through archive usage.

Eurovision Sport’s goal is to maintain the Editorial Board in the future to continue exchanges of best practice.

Franck Choquard, Eurovision Sport’s Head of Content & Servicing, said: “With no more live international sports events scheduled in the next few months, the Eurovision Sport Sharing Channel has been created to provide a resource for alternative sports scheduling content on behalf of our Members. With a range of themed sports programming scheduled, plus some unique sports documentaries, the channel offers both rights-owners and our Members the chance to air sports content that will continue to engage audiences across Europe.

“What’s more, we hope that this initiative will provoke an exchange of content, ideas and best practice between Members and the sports community that will continue to be of value long after the present crisis has abated.”

Runar Østmo, Chair of the EBU Sports Committee, added: “At this special and critical time, with populations across Europe subject to lockdown, the ability of Public-Service media to reach into every home has never been clearer. On behalf of EBU members, I welcome the Eurovision Sport Sharing Channel initiative, which underlines the value of being part of our union, enabling us to share top sports content at a time when live coverage is unavailable. I’d also like to take the opportunity to thank all of our partner federations who have agreed to share their valuable archives with Eurovision Sport to make this happen.”

Cédric Rampelberg, Head of Media Rights at ASO, owner of the Tour de France and other top cycling races, said: “It is our pleasure to provide, in collaboration with INA, access to our comprehensive video archive of cycling’s most historic and prestigious race to our friends and partners, the Members of the EBU. Through public service media, we can be sure that exciting and unforgettable moments from classic stages of the Tour de France are shared as widely as possible across Europe, and continue to provide inspiration and consolation to TV audiences at this difficult time.”

Twitch Co-Founder A New Investor In Sleeper As App Launches New Esports Fantasy Game

Twitch co-Founder Kevin Lin and Juju Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers wide-receiver, have joined the likes of NBA superstar Kevin Durant in investing in Sleeper.

At the same time the company has also announced they are expanding to release a brand new Esports fantasy game covering the League of Legends platform.

A statement released by Nan Wang, Sleeper’s Co-Founder and CEO, said:

“Sleeper has been the fastest organically growing sports app in the U.S. over the last two years, despite only previously offering one game—fantasy football. We surpassed 1 million active players on the platform in 2019, and the tremendous response has energized us to keep rolling out new sports.

“To turn this vision into reality, we raised a new $20 million investment led by Andreessen Horowitz and with participation from some of the best in business and sports.  New and existing investors also include 10x NBA All-Star and 2x NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant and Thirty Five Ventures co-Founder Rich Kleiman, 2x NBA All-Star Baron Davis, NFL Pro Bowler JuJu Smith-Schuster, ESPN basketball analyst Ros Gold Onwude, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, the a16z Cultural Leadership Fund, and prior investors General Catalyst, Birchmere Ventures, and Rainfall.

“The new investment allows us to grow our team and continue bringing new games onto the platform. We already started working on fantasy basketball for the NBA and a tournament game for March Madness. However, like much of the world these days, we’ve had to adjust our plan.

“Fantasy esports was always on our roadmap. Most of the team at Sleeper are avid gamers and esports fans. With traditional sports on hold, we decided to hit fast forward and launch a fantasy game for the upcoming League of Legends season.

“The launch of fantasy League of Legends is an exciting milestone for our company. LoL is the third-most popular professional sports league in the U.S. among 18-34-year-olds, yet a fantasy experience does not exist. We see tremendous opportunity to define this experience on a platform that will feel familiar to gamers. Staying connected has never been more important, and we hope fantasy esports will provide users with a fun new outlet to spend time with family and friends.

“The new investment means that Sleeper will be here as a place for you and your friends to connect, both today as you explore a new world of fantasy esports, and in the future when traditional sports return.

“We’d like to close with a heartfelt thank you to all of our team, our users, and our investors for supporting Sleeper’s mission to help people build genuine friendships through sports, and now esports as well.”

 

Verizon Media Signs Global Partnership With Football Digital Media Company Dugout

Verizon Media and Dugout today announce a new global partnership, bringing Verizon Media new exclusive advertising packages to market through its sales teams and self-serve Demand Side Platform, allowing advertisers to reach Dugout’s audience of 60 million unique users of highly engaged football enthusiasts across the globe.

As part of the deal, Yahoo Sports also gains access to Dugout’s ever-growing library of football-related videos brought together from the top leagues’ world-class clubs globally, including; Arsenal FC, Chelsea FC, FC Bayern Munich, FC Internazionale Milano, AFC Ajax, FC Barcelona, Flamengo, Real Madrid CF and many more.

This builds on the Yahoo portfolio of up-to-the-minute sports content from partners across the world and brings football fans on Yahoo closer to their favourite club’s official content – both past and present – as they await the re-opening of global leagues.

Dugout works with football clubs, leagues and federations to help repackage, distribute and monetise their video content. Through Dugout’s team of editors, a club’s brand-safe video is repurposed and localised into digestible videos for digital fans across the world. Once published to the club’s Dugout library, the video is distributed across all of Dugout’s O&O platforms and embedded network of premium publishers globally, reaching a qualified digital football audience.

Verizon Media’s expertise in digital media will enable brands to reach Dugout’s highly-engaged football fans in premium environments. This new inventory will be enriched as part of its broader proposition of premium owned & operated brands and beyond with its unique, unified Verizon Media Ad Platforms technology; allowing brands to optimise their campaigns against outcome-based deliverables using the combination of quality ad formats and powerful first party data.

Iván Markman, Chief Business Officer at Verizon Media said: “This new partnership, driven by our EMEA team, not only brings fantastic quality video content for Yahoo’s football fans globally, but also allows us to connect our advertising customers to millions more football fans around the world.

“It’s the world’s favourite sport and inspires huge loyalty and engagement on a daily basis, which hasn’t changed in recent times as people catch up on archive content and rewatch their favourite matches. We are looking forward to helping brands reach these audiences in quality premium environments where they can connect and showcase the value their company can bring to these fans.”

Elliot Richardson, Chairman at Dugout said: “This partnership delivers significant value across Dugout’s stakeholders, supporting not only our clubs and fans but publishers, bringing Verizon Media’s global advertising power to our ecosystem.

“It’s an incredibly exciting opportunity for our stakeholders, supporting international and regional advertisers with highly engaged audiences, working together with our publishers who produce a wealth of premium content and our premium video from the world’s top clubs, and most importantly of course, for the fans – delivering the best experience for them globally.”

Kukri Sports Back As Official Team England Kit Supplier For Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

With just over two years to go until the next Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022, Team England have announced that Kukri Sports will be the home nation’s official kit supplier for the third consecutive Commonwealth Cycle.

Kukri Sports have designed and produced Team England kit for the last two Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast 2018 and Glasgow 2014 and have been brought back on board for a home Games. As part of the deal, Kukri will create the kit that athletes will represent their country in, encompassing 19 different sports, including eight para sports.

In keeping athletes at the forefront of the design process, Team England and Kukri have today hosted a virtual athlete panel. Each National Governing Body that represent Team England athletes in Birmingham 2022 were invited to nominate up to two athletes to be involved in creating the design for the kit and be part of creating the Team England identity.

The panel, held via a virtual video conference, included 23 elite English athletes from 17 of the 19 Birmingham 2022 sports. Also joining in their capacity as Commonwealth Games England board members, were the three athlete representatives, Aimee Willmott, Ama Agbeze and Ali Jawad. In addition, Commonwealth Games England President, Denise Lewis OBE, took part in the panel. She said:

“It’s fantastic that athletes have agreed to give up their time and contribute to such an integral part of Team England’s identity.  

“The look, feel and the general WOW factor of the team kit for our home Games in 2022 is so important. When it comes to kit, each sport has specific requirements and needs, therefore the functionality of the apparel produced has to be right. It’s also important that we look and feel like ‘One Team’.”

Originally, the kit panel was due to take place in person, with Team England bringing together athletes from Commonwealth sports. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been held virtually for the first time. In both Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018, athletes were involved in the kit design, but over double the number of athletes have joined ahead of the 2022 Games kit design, with athletes at the forefront of planning more than ever before.

Each athlete was sent a design package consisting of a design book with blank sketch pages and coloured pencils which they filled in and fed back to the team.

Athletes were given an overview on the kit development process between Kukri and Team England over the last two Games cycles in Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018 and were asked to provide feedback on previous Games kit as well as the first design concepts for Birmingham 2022. Following on from today’s panel, the athletes will remain involved along every step of the way as the design concept develops.

Paul Blanchard, CEO of Commonwealth Games England, said:

“We’re delighted to be partnering with Kukri Sports again for Birmingham 2022. With a home Games, we know our kit has to be impactful and create a strong image of our Team England values but most importantly the athletes need to feel comfortable in what they perform in. The process we’ve been through with Kukri over the last two cycles has worked to refine our kit with a focus on performance and we will build on that to show off our best in Birmingham. 

“It’s been incredible, given the unprecedented impact of Covid-19 that we have been able to engage with so many athletes in an innovative way and I would like to thank our partner Governing Bodies for their support in this process.

“The size of our kit project is huge with the complex nature of accommodating for 19 different sports, including eight para sports, and over 600 people and Kukri have proven time and time again that they are up for the challenge. We’re really looking forward to seeing the designs come to life after today and we can’t wait to share it.”

For the Gold Coast 2018 cycle, 38,000 items of kit were produced by Kukri for Team England as they travelled across to Australia, where the athletes returned with 136 medals.

Chris Marshall, Director of Sales at Kukri Sports, said:

“We are delighted to be working with Team England for the 2022 Games, which will be our third cycle alongside the team. As an English brand working towards a home Games, this collaboration has been made all the more special.

“Our renewed partnership has been the culmination of a project undertaken after the Gold Coast Games in 2018. We have always been proud of our heritage in providing truly bespoke apparel, however in 2018 we knew we had to be innovative and bold in developing a new capability and product range to work with Team England again, as they prepare for Birmingham.

“The England team want to be at the pinnacle of their performance at every competition, so we developed with them. With this in mind, the range we are designing, with the input of the Team England athletes, will be a new chapter in the company’s history and one we cannot wait to launch.”

The kit design, which will be worn by over 600 athletes and staff at Birmingham 2022 will be revealed ahead of the Games when the athlete vision is brought to light.