Le Coq Sportif Chosen As French Olympic And Paralympic Teams Apparel Supplier For Paris 2024

Paris 2024 has awarded Le Coq Sportif the performance and representation packages for the French Olympic and Paralympic team and for Paris 2024.

Le Coq Sportif has been chosen following an endeavour between Paris 2024, the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) and the French Paralympic and Sports Committee (CPSF), highlighting the image of a united French team and the brand’s commitment to sustainable and inclusive sport, fully aligned with the ambitions and values of Paris 2024.

This partnership recognises the technical know-how and expertise of this company, a longstanding partner of French sport for over 100 years. After supplying apparel for France’s Olympic team between 1912 and 1972, and particularly the Paris 2024 Games, Le Coq Sportif will be kitting out the French team once again for the Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024 Games.

Tony Estanguet, Paris 2024 President: “With Le Coq Sportif, we have chosen a longstanding partner of French sport. Le Coq Sportif is a brand that has been supporting our major sporting events for over 100 years and shares a beautiful history with our Olympic values. Back in 1924, for the Paris Games, Le Coq Sportif was already the equipment supplier for the French delegation!

We are particularly delighted to be able to work alongside Le Coq Sportif for the next four years. In line with Paris 2024, it is a brand with strong commitments to sustainable and inclusive sport, it has chosen to have deep local roots in France, and it contributes to a strong industrial and social legacy”.

The awarding of this contract to Le Coq Sportif will also support a strong industrial and social legacy. This French company’s project stands out in particular through its deep local roots, helping to create jobs on that scale. Today, 80% of the brand’s products are designed, produced and dyed within 40km of Romillysur-Seine, the brand’s historic birthplace, in France’s Aube region.

Le Coq Sportif will become an Official Partner of Paris 2024 upon the signing of the contract By winning the “Performance” package, Le Coq Sportif has acquired the right to provide the kits for France’s 32 Olympic federations (28 already confirmed along with four potential additional sports) and 22 Paralympic federations for competitions at the Paris 2024 Games.

Paris 2024 has also awarded the “Representation” package to Le Coq Sportif. This package includes all the apparel worn by the French Olympic and Paralympic team in the Athletes’ Village and during the official and medal ceremonies. It covers the period from 2021 to 2024 (inclusive) for all the events organised under the patronage of the IOC and IPC, such as the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games or the Dakar 2022 Youth Olympic Games. This package also includes apparel for Paris 2024 staff for 2020-2024 (inclusive) and officials for the Paris 2024 Games.

Starling Bank Joins Up With Team GB For Tokyo 2020

Leading digital bank Starling has today been confirmed as the official banking partner of Team GB for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

As part of their involvement, Starling Bank will also be offering each athlete a Starling retail account with £100 deposited to help them achieve their next financial goal.

Team GB is entirely independently funded and commercial partnerships such as the one with Starling Bank allows the organisation to fund its objective of taking athletes and sports to the summer and winter editions of the Olympic Games.

British Olympic Association CEO, Andy Anson, said: “In an extremely competitive sector, we are excited and proud to be partnering with Starling Bank ahead of Tokyo 2020. As a market leader in digital innovation and with a strong focus on customer experience, they have rightfully been recognised as best British bank on two occasions.

“We share many of the same values and we look forward to welcoming them to the team as we go into this vital five-month period ahead of the Games commencing.”

Anne Boden, CEO and Founder of Starling Bank, said: “We feel extremely privileged to be the official Bank of Team GB and will be sharing our excitement with customers in a number of creative ways over the next few months, which we hope will add to the feeling of community that the Olympic Games inspires.

“At Starling Bank, we are determined to change the banking landscape in Britain and so far, our efforts have helped us to win Best British Bank for the last two years. This winning mentality will make for a perfect partnership with Team GB at the Olympic Games.”

Helen Bierton, Chief Banking Officer at Starling Bank and former British Olympic archer added: “My own experience with Team GB taught me just how important the support of sponsors is when you’re trying to prepare for the Games in the right way, perform to the best of your ability and win medals.

“I feel very proud to now sit on the other side of the table and it’s great to be part of the Olympic Games once again.”

MotoGP Signs Digital Partnership With Facebook Watch

Dorna Sports is proud to announce a new digital partnership in 2020 as MotoGP™️ joins forces with Facebook. Original and exclusive MotoGP™️ content will now be available on Facebook Watch, available worldwide. MotoGP™️ videos will be between three and seven minutes in length, giving fans of the sport another way to enjoy some incredible – and exclusive – content.

The first videos from this new wealth of content will be available soon as the MotoGP™️ World Championship gets in gear this weekend at Losail International Circuit in Qatar, and will be produced by MotoGP™️ with riders and teams from across all four classes. The key focus is getting fans behind-the-scenes like never before, as well as taking them closer to the action with videos dedicated to what’s happening on track and off.

MotoGP™️ has an impressive and ever-growing presence across social media, with Facebook a key platform for the sport’s global fanbase. Last season MotoGP™️ gained 355,000 new fans on Facebook, taking the total to over 13 million, and the Championship boasts almost nine million Instagram followers – making it the biggest motorsport on Facebook-owned platforms. In addition, 2019 saw Facebook video views increase by nearly 50% to over a billion and engagement go up by nearly seven percent compared to the previous year.

Manel Arroyo, Managing Director of Dorna Sports: “We are very happy to announce this new partnership with Facebook. MotoGP is committed to connecting to and engaging with our fans and giving them new ways to enjoy and interact with our content, making Facebook a perfect partner for our sport. It’s also a fantastic way to connect with new audiences, showing them the best of MotoGP with exclusive, showstopping content.”

The goal of this new partnership with Facebook Watch is to maintain and increase those numbers once again, rewarding fans for their incredible commitment by producing some truly innovative and thrilling content as Facebook Watch will be a new, meaningful way for fans to enjoy and engage with MotoGP™️ in the digital sphere.

Riders and teams will also be able to crosspost – increasing reach throughout the paddock and fanbase – and some clips will be also available on Instagram, ensuring the biggest audience for this innovative new wealth of digital content as MotoGP™️ once again proves a world leader in motorsport social media.

Croatian Subscription TV Service Pickbox NOW Signs Up To European VOD Coalition

Pickbox NOW, the Croatian Subscription Video on Demand platform has opted to join the European VOD Coalition.

The European VOD Coalition strives to defend and promote cultural diversity and the use of Video on Demand as a legal channel for the distribution of audiovisual content.

It has almost 30 members from across Europe and tries to facilitate a collaborative management between VoD platforms through the exchange of know-how and expertise

Owner of Pickbox, Sanja Bozic-Ljubicic, stated: “We are proud that Pickbox is in the company of leading VOD services whose common goals it shares. Along with developing European audiovisual and digital leadership, and encouraging innovation and creativity, market regulation is most definitely one of the priorities.

“The industry is undergoing a significant transformation, and we are proud to represent the Adria region within the coalition,” she added.

Maximising the Potential of Women’s Sport, Goodform Reveal Findings Ahead Of International Women’s Day

When it comes to gender equality in sport, new research released by Goodform to mark International Women’s Day in 2020 highlights there remains much more progress to be made.

We know that women’s sport is on an upwards trajectory – there are new initiatives, new funding streams, new competitions and an unprecedented volume of media coverage. We also know that men’s sport remains the dominant player – in participation, in attendance numbers, in column inches, in commercial clout. 

In Goodform’s latest Sports Fan Panel survey amongst almost 1500 sports fans, interest in the men’s game outstrips interest in the women’s across 8 major sports, with only tennis and athletics boasting near-parity in terms of interest. This is also reflected in attendance patterns – 30% of those surveyed have never attended either a women’s or mixed gender sporting event, a staggering 10 times more than the 3% who have never attended men’s sport. This is in spite of half of the sports fans surveyed believing that women’s sport is both more affordable and more family friendly than the men’s game.

There have been some high-profile successes in the growth of women’s sport in the last few years – most notably the ICC Women’s World Cup Final selling out at Lord’s in 2017 – but sports fans perceive this progress to be stalling: 40% of men and only 26% of women surveyed stated that they believe the gender gap in sport has diminished in the last 12 months.

This week, Sky Sports committed to investing in a 360° approach to covering women’s sport, with plans to utilise its YouTube channel to make events including the Women’s Six Nations, the WNBA, Vitality Netball Superleague and women’s cricket available to a wider audience. The potential positive impact of this move is highlighted by Goodform’s findings: availability of women’s sport on free to air TV is seen to be more important than the success of national teams in driving increased engagement with women’s sport – and 47% of those surveyed stated that they would watch more women’s sport if it were more readily available.

When it comes to funding the growth of women’s sport, it’s complicated. 77% of women and 63% of men believe that profits from the men’s game should fund the women’s game until parity is achieved – with the remainder believing that women’s sport should be commercially sustainable in its own right. For a third of those surveyed, this funding should only be on the basis that the men’s game is not affected in any way – a balance that we see many organisations trying to navigate. For example, the recent announcement that the prize money for The Hundred will be equally split between the men’s and women’s teams makes for a great headline – but masks the huge disparity in wages that remains (the average contract for female players is £8,000 compared to £66,600 for the men). In a world of limited funding and an increasingly competitive sponsorship environment, there are no easy answers.

What’s clear, though, is that the opportunity for women’s sport to grow remains huge. Its appeal continues to grow – and with a higher proportion of men than women interested in the women’s game for half of the sports included in the survey, it’s clear that women’s sport has the potential to compete for everyone’s interest, time and loyalties – not just women’s.
For more information about this research or Goodform’s Sports Fan Panel, please contact Alexandra Kyrke-Smith, Strategy Director – Alexandra.kyrke-smith@goodformgroup.co.uk

On The Move: Latest Community Job Appointments

Serena Sharman is the new Marketing Director for WWE.

Louisa Fyans is now Director of Communications for the Football Association.

Sam Lyon will be Vice-President of Content, Eurosport Digital for Discovery Inc.

Leon Rose was named as the new President of the New York Knicks.

Iain Liddle was appointed Head of Social Media for 7League.

Gareth Mills will become Head of News and Corporate Communications for the Premier League.

John Parker has been announced as the new Creative Director for Ear to the Ground.

Ananya Sachdev was appointed Strategist, Global Sports Business at Rakuten.

Nicola Boscaro has taken a role in Sponsorships Sales at AC Milan.

Phillippe Le Floc’h has joined the ITTF as Senior Commercial Strategy Consultant for World Table Tennis.

On The Move: Latest Community Job Appointments

Serena Sharman is the new Marketing Director for WWE.

Louisa Fyans is now Director of Communications for the Football Association.

Sam Lyon will be Vice-President of Content, Eurosport Digital for Discovery Inc.

Leon Rose was named as the new President of the New York Knicks.

Iain Liddle was appointed Head of Social Media for 7League.

Gareth Mills will become Head of News and Corporate Communications for the Premier League.

John Parker has been announced as the new Creative Director for Ear to the Ground.

Ananya Sachdev was appointed Strategist, Global Sports Business at Rakuten.

Nicola Boscaro has taken a role in Sponsorships Sales at AC Milan.

Phillippe Le Floc’h has joined the ITTF as Senior Commercial Strategy Consultant for World Table Tennis.

LIVENow Trials New Streaming Service At Financial Times Football Summit

LIVENow will live stream the FT Business of Football Summit in London on Thursday, sharing the event with an international audience HERE.

Viewers can hear from a host of leading figures from the world of football including former England and Man Utd defender Gary Neville, Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli and Inter Milan president Steven Zhang on the theme ‘deal-making, disruption and the relentless development of the beautiful game.’

LIVENow is set to offer flexible pay-per-view access to a host of live events – including sport, concerts, plays and conferences – through a global distribution network of publishers and social media channels.

Broadcaster ELEVEN SPORTS has already made use of the tool in Italy, making live matches available to fans on a pay-per-view basis via participating media outlets locally and internationally. The tool is also available to clients in south east Asia and more partnerships will be finalized in the coming weeks.

LIVENow was founded by global investment platform Aser Ventures.

Two Weeks To Go: BT Sport, Sportradar And Formula 1 To Speak At Broadcast Masterclass

We are thrilled to reveal three more speakers for our upcoming iSportconnect Broadcast Masterclass on Thursday the 19th of March.

Matt Stagg, Director of Mobile Strategy, BT Sport, Patrick Mostboeck, Commercial Director – OTT, of Sportradar, and Frank Arthofer, Global Head, Digital Media and Licensing, Formula 1.

iSportconnect’s Broadcast Masterclass is taking place at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel in London and will explore a number of different sectors in the broadcasting space, including topics like 5G and direct to consumer models.

Lindsey Clay, CEO of Thinkbox, Luis Vicente, Chief Executive Officer at ELEVEN SPORTS, and Johan Cederqvist, Head of Sports Channels and Sports Rights Acquisitions at Swedish company TV4 Media will be taking part in the event.

We will also hear from Paul Stimpson, EVP of Rights at DAZN and Alistair Gosling, Founder and CEO of Extreme.

Matt Stagg

Matt has over 25 years’ experience in mobile media and entertainment and Sport. He was voted in the top 50 most influential people in online TV for four years and in 2017 he was awarded the TV Connect People’s Choice award for the ‘Person who made the biggest impact on the connected entertainment industry’.

Within BT Sport he is responsible for developing the broadcaster’s mobile capabilities and long-term mobile strategy recently leading the team that delivered the award-winning worlds 1st remotely produced live sporting over 5G. He is also currently developing the strategy and roadmap for Augmented and Mixed Reality

As part of the wider BT Group Matt is also developing the technology strategy for the Broadcast, Media & Entertainment over 4/5G. This encompasses an end to end approach incorporating both contribution and distribution of media. He is also a member of UK5G Advisory Board representing Sport and the the Creative Industries. UK5G is the national innovation network dedicated to the promotion of research, collaboration and the commercial application of 5G in the UK

Patrick Mostboeck

In his role as a Commercial Director OTT Patrick overseas Sportradar’s global end-to-end technology and business approach to support sports rights holders and content owners with their direct-to-consumer offering. Clients include enterprise customers such as Deutsche Telekom, Tennis channel or Onefootball as well as Federations, Leagues & Promoters such as International Table Tennis Federation or International Tennis Federation.

Patrick joined Sportradar in 2014 including prior Sportsman Media time that has been acquired by Sportradar in 2016 with the aim to grow it’s audiovisual and sports media footprint. Prior to that, Patrick was part of a four-headed founding team to create Austria’s leading platform for grassroots football. Achievements include expansion from Austria to Germany as well as opening up additional business verticals to the editorial content platform such as an online store, a magazine distributed via a regional network of media partners as well as an indoor soccer tournament with more than 2,000 active participants. Patrick holds university degrees in marketing & sales and media & communications consulting.

Frank Arthofer

Frank is the GM of F1 Digital and Licensing, his responsibilities include leading product, content and business development for all owned and partnered digital properties. He also leads Formula 1 licensing business, leading growth through strategic partnerships with the likes of YouTube, Facebook, Amazon and others.

Prior to F1, Frank Arthofer was a Principal in the Tech, Media and Telcom Practice at Boston Consulting Group in LA, and previously Sr. Director of Business Development for Disney / ESPN / ABC.  Some of his experience includes developing the initial business plan for ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, developing a growth strategy for DreamWorks TV unit and launching the redesign and new business plan for YouTube Red.

To register your interest in attending the 2020 iSportconnect Broadcast Masterclass, please contact Theresa Muller at theresa@isportconnect.com

Invitation Policy: The Broadcast Masterclass is a complimentary event for iSportconnect members who are from governing bodies, sports teams, brands and broadcasters. There is no fee to become an iSportconnect member. No sports agencies, professional service providers & suppliers are allowed at our Masterclasses.

For limited partnership opportunities, please contact brandon@isportconnect.com

Major League Soccer And Facebook Partner To Bring Game Recaps To Facebook Watch

Major League Soccer has announced a partnership with Facebook to create robust recaps of all matches during the 2020 season for Facebook Watch. In addition, MLS will host a weekly Watch Party on Facebook, enabling fans around the world to connect while viewing game recaps and videos together in real-time, and create official Facebook Groups for select teams across the league.

“Facebook’s innovative Watch Party experience is the perfect place for Major League Soccer fans around the world to exchange views and share their passion for our clubs and players,” said Chris Schlosser, MLS Senior Vice President, Media.  “We’re proud to collaborate with Facebook to deliver exciting game recaps and engage globally with MLS fans.”

Fans will be able to stay up to date with the latest highlights by following the MLS Facebook Page at facebook.com/MLS. Between league, team and player accounts on the platform, the MLS Facebook community exceeds more than 30 million people. The agreement will also bring archival clips, featuring top moments in MLS history, and player-centric highlights to Facebook Watch.

“Major League Soccer is one of the fastest growing leagues in the U.S., and we’re excited to help it continue to reach new fans through this partnership,” said Rob Shaw, Facebook Director of League and Media Sports Partnerships. “This content will bring people together to celebrate wins, commiserate over losses and share the top plays with their friends, making it a fantastic fit for Facebook Watch.”

Fans will be able to access MLS content on Facebook via Facebook Watch on mobile apps across Apple and Android, on desktop, laptop and on a variety of TV apps.