“Five To Ten Years” For US To Become A Meaningful Formula 1 Market, Says CEO Carey

F1 CEO Chase Carey has said that it will take at least ‘Five to ten years’ for Formula 1 to become a meaningful market within the United States.

He also admitted there had been some frustration at the difficulty trying to bring a second F1 race to America with constant difficulties in attempting to secure a Miami Grand Prix.

“We knew the US was going to take time. On one level, yes, it is clearly taking longer than we would have hoped. I think it’s frustrating on one level because we’ve spent as much time and there seems to be always some degree of ongoing complexity,” Carey told Autosport.

“I think the reality is that the US for us, to really build it, it’s a five-year-plus timeframe. We said all along the US isn’t going to change our world in two to three years. The goal is really in five to ten years from now, the US becomes a meaningful market for us. In that context, 12 months it isn’t that big a deal, but that doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating as you continue to go through it.”

“I know the Penskes, I’ve had contact with the Penskes, I knew them before they bought Indianapolis. But again I probably wouldn’t comment on conversations. I’m aware of the interest,” Carey added, speaking about the possibility of attempting to move to Roger Penske’s recently acquired Indianapolis Motor Speedway instead of Miami.

“It’s obviously an iconic track for world racing. It’s part of the Triple Crown: Monaco, Le Mans and Indy. So it speaks to what that track means. It’s a special track for the motorsports world.”

HSBC To End Partnership With British Cycling Four Years Ahead Of Schedule

British Cycling and HSBC UK will end our partnership at the close of this Olympic and Paralympic year, concluding a project which has inspired millions of people across the country to get active by getting on their bikes.

The deal had been set for eight years, however, HSBC have opted to use the break clause that was involved in the contract.

In 2016, the partnership set an ambitious target of getting two million people cycling by the end of 2020 and we are on course to exceed that milestone.

Last year alone, some 525,000 people took part in our programmes HSBC UK Let’s Ride, HSBC UK Go Ride, HSBC UK Breeze and HSBC UK Ready Set Ride.

HSBC UK has decided to exercise a break clause in what was an eight-year partnership agreement due to a shift in UK marketing and partnership priorities.

Julie Harrington, chief executive of British Cycling, said: “On course to get over two million people cycling regularly, British Cycling’s partnership with HSBC UK has delivered lasting benefits for our sport and for communities up and down the country.

“We will part with HSBC UK as firm friends and, in the meantime, look forward to working with them to support our riders to achieve their best in Tokyo.

“Over the last 20 years, British Cycling has enjoyed extraordinary success – both in terms of winning on the global stage and in using that inspiration to encourage more people to cycle more often.

“We are an ambitious organisation with a proud tradition of setting and hitting big targets and we know that more people on bikes is the solution to many of society’s biggest challenges. As we look to 2021, we will be actively engaging the market to find a new partner to be part of the next stage of our exciting journey.”

Ian Stuart, chief executive of HSBC UK, said: “We are extremely proud of what our partnership has delivered over the last three years and excited about what it can achieve this year. When we set off on this journey together we wanted to get two million people cycling regularly and we’re on track to smash through that this year.

“We wanted this partnership to create a legacy and it has. It has changed the way we approach things as a company as we encourage our customers and our colleagues to make healthier and greener choices.

“2020 will be an exciting year for the sport, with Britain willing on our athletes to medals in Tokyo. It’s been a privilege to be involved in building the grassroots of a sport with such a fantastic future.”

Dutch Clubs Visit Spain To Study The Growth Of LaLiga

LaLiga has become a reference for other sporting competitions that want to study how the league and its clubs go about their business. Given its desire to support the global growth of football, LaLiga has an open policy towards sharing its methods with competitors. The latest example of this was a trip by clubs in the Netherlands’ first and second divisions and from the KNVB, the country’s football federation, to LaLiga Santander clubs SD Eibar, Athletic Club and Real Sociedad.

KNVB Expertise, a research centre and consultancy group in Dutch football, organises a trip every year for a selection of clubs for them to develop and become even more professional. This year’s trip brought them to Spain’s Basque country, which despite being one of the country’s smallest regions boasts four LaLiga Santander clubs.

 

To help explain Spanish football’s off-the-pitch trends, Octavi Anoro, head of the LaLiga Global Network, gave a presentation on international strategy and Andrea Oriol, a LaLiga Global Network representative, spoke about the LaLiga initiatives in the Benelux market.

“The general feeling was very positive,” Oriol explained. “The group visited three Spanish clubs that are all based in a relatively small area, clubs that all have their own identity but that also share pride in their Basque heritage. Members of the expedition were really interested to hear about the clubs’ strategies for engaging with local communities and for standing out as unique. That’s something many clubs aspire towards.”

SD Eibar’s international growth
The group of Dutch directors began the visit at SD Eibar, which is currently taking part in its sixth consecutive LaLiga Santander season despite being one of the smallest club’s in the competition’s history. The delegation spent time at the club’s Ipurua Stadium to learn how Eibar has been able to defy the odds and establish itself at the top of Spanish football.

Among the standout topics were the club’s international expansion and sustainable investment. “The clubs were most surprised by the evolution we’ve had since we reached the top division, with the investment we’ve made to ensure the stadium is adequate for modern times and modern needs,” said SD Eibar’s director of communications Unai Artetxe. “The story of our capital increase in 2014, which led us to the point where we now have more than 11,000 shareholders from 69 different countries, also surprised and impressed our guests.”

To read the full article and subscribe to LaLiga’s Global Fútbol Newsletter, follow this link: https://newsletter.laliga.es/global-futbol/dutch-clubs-visit-spain-to-study-growth-of-laliga/rrss

Leicester Tigers Select Samurai In New Multi-Year Kit Deal

Premiership Rugby Club Leicester Tigers has selected Samurai Sportswear for all its match day, training & leisurewear kit in a three-year deal. Samurai will take over from current supplier Kukri from 1st July 2020. This will see all Leicester Tigers players, coaches and other club staff wearing kit designed and manufactured exclusively for the club by Samurai.

The deal includes an exclusive range of matchday replica, training & leisure wear for Leicester Tigers supporters. Samurai are already the kit suppliers for Leicester Tigers’ Wheelchair Rugby Team.

Speaking at the announcement of the deal, Leicester Tigers Head Coach Geordan Murphy said: “Working with Samurai is an incredible opportunity for Leicester Tigers to create a true club-wide mentality amongst players, staff, supporters and our wider community.

They are a proven and popular brand, used by professional and local community teams, both in the region and world-wide. We’re excited about the quality of their products and the level of visual customisation that Terry and his team are able to offer”.

To mark the start of the partnership, Geordan joined Samurai founder and Chief Executive Officer, Terry Sands, at Welford Road along with current players Dan Cole, Greg Bateman, Joe Heyes, and Noel Reid.

Leicester Tigers supporters will be able to get their hands on a variety of Samurai products at a special pre-launch event held during the club’s derby day home fixture against Northampton Saints on the weekend of 15th May 2020.

Samurai will be bringing their mobile stand to Welford Road to showcase products from their matchday, training and leisurewear range, giving fans the chance to feel, try on for size, and learn more about Samurai Sportswear.

Terry Sands, CEO of Samurai Sportswear, added: “Samurai are honoured to have been chosen by Leicester Tigers for this partnership, and we feel privileged to be involved with a club with Leicester’s playing heritage and history. We look forward to serving both the club professionals and supporters with our match day, training and leisure kit.”

HBA Media And Flo Sports Launch New OTT Horseracing Initiative

HBA Media and FloSports, an innovator in live sports streaming and original content, have entered into an exclusive agreement aimed at developing horseracing coverage through OTT platforms.

The new agreement starts with the world’s most valuable race – the $20 million Saudi Cup – on 29th February and extends through to March, taking in a further three global horseracing contests including the UK’s blue riband of jump racing – The Cheltenham Gold Cup.

HBA Media, working in partnership with fellow media agency, Racecourse Media Group, will facilitate the distribution of four premium live international horseracing events to the Flo Sports OTT subscriber platform:

·        Saudi Cup                                   29th February (12.00 – 13.00 ET)               Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

·        Dubai World Cup Carnival    7th March (06:30 – 11:00 ET)                       United Arab Emirates

·        Cheltenham Gold Cup           13th March (08:30 – 11:00 ET)                     United Kingdom

·        Golden Slipper                         21st March (22:00 – 03:00 ET)                     Australia

With the rapid rise of cord cutting and the surge in streaming live events, this agreement is at the heart of HBA Media’s wider strategy to aggregate premium international horseracing content and digitally distribute it through globally accessible platforms like FloSports.

“HBA Media is incredibly excited about the future opportunities OTT platforms can offer our clients and global sporting fans,” says Frank Sale, Managing Director of HBA Media.

“This initiative sees the launch our first ever OTT content partnership in America, albeit only short-term, and reinforces our commitment to leveraging new media platforms to unlock the considerable value that we believe premium horseracing content carries.

“FloSports is a world-leader in serving content to its passionate subscriber database. We look forward to working with them on this open-minded project and taking horseracing global.”

“FloSports is excited to partner with HBA Media on this opportunity,” says Mike Levy, FloSports, Vice President, Global Right Acquisition.

“Horseracing has a massive global audience and has been largely overlooked in the live sports streaming industry. We look forward to bringing this sport and these races to a global audience of horseracing fans.”

ANNOUNCEMENT: Sweden’s TV4 Media Confirmed To Speak At 2020 Broadcast Masterclass

iSportconnect are happy to announce our newest speaker for the upcoming 2020 Broadcast Masterclass.

We can also confirm that the 2020 Broadcast Masterclass will be taking place at The Chelsea Harbour Hotel on Thursday the 19th of March in London.

Johan Cederqvist, Head of Sports Channels and Sports Rights Acquisitions at Swedish company TV4 Media, is the latest speaker to be joining us for the event.

He joins Luis Vicente, Chief Executive Officer at ELEVEN SPORTS, and Paul Stimpson, EVP of Rights at DAZN, who have also been confirmed for the event.

We will be announcing more speakers very shortly, so keep your eyes peeled on iSportconnect.com and iSportconnect’s social media channels.

With a maximum of 150 invite-only delegates, iSportconnect provides a media/agency free opportunity to network with influential senior-level sports business executives. We are famous for our intimate and relaxed environment, encouraging the exchange of ideas and helping to introduce you to the right new connections.

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

Hublot Becomes Official Partner Of UEFA Women’s EURO 2021

UEFA Women’s EURO 2021 has partnered with Hublot, where the watch brand will serve as one of the European tournament’s official partners, providing the now iconic Hublot electronic referee boards used by fourth officials to indicate additional time and substitutions.

“This is a wonderful time to be involved in women’s football and it is great to have found a like-minded partner in Hublot who share our goals and ambitions,” said UEFA’s head of women’s football, Nadine Kessler.

“With Hublot becoming an official partner and supporter of UEFA women’s football across our competitions and campaigns, including Together #WePlayStrong, we hope that this will help us to take our sport to a wider audience as well as strengthening our existing relationships with those who are already committed to playing football.”

The partnership will support women’s football at all levels. As a result, Hublot will become a main partner of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, the UEFA Women’s EURO, the UEFA Women’s Under-19 and Under-17 Championships and the UEFA Women’s Futsal EURO, as well as UEFA’s women’s football marketing platform Together #WePlayStrong, which is aimed at getting more girls and women to play football.

The deal with Hublot follows similarly groundbreaking partnerships with Nike, Visa and Esprit during the last 15 months. In 2017, UEFA undertook the unprecedented decision to unbundle women’s football rights from the men’s game.

“The appeal of women’s football is growing at an impressive rate and we are delighted to have such a prestigious brand as Hublot joining us as a partner, who are committed to promoting the women’s game,” said Guy-Laurent Epstein, marketing director of UEFA Events SA

“Agreeing partnerships with world famous brands like Hublot is exactly the kind of results we envisaged when we unbundled the rights from the men’s game over two years ago and is proof women’s football can be supported on its own merits.”

This season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League final will take place in Vienna on 24 May, while the final of UEFA Women’s EURO 2021 will be held at Wembley Stadium in London on 1 August next year.

“This is a wonderful partnership and we are so excited to extend it to UEFA women’s football, and to be working together with UEFA across its competition profile. Football is the most exciting, most passionate game on the planet and the perfect match for Hublot,” said CEO Ricardo Guadalupe.

“Like UEFA, Hublot is obsessive about quality, has ambitious plans for the future and is proud to know a loyal fan base. It’s a match made in heaven! We couldn’t be more proud to partner UEFA and to be supporting the development of the beautiful game.”

Hublot’s new deal for UEFA Women’s EURO 2021 extends a long-standing partnership with European football’s governing body that started ahead of UEFA EURO 2008. Since then, the Swiss watch brand has been present at every UEFA EURO and will return this summer for UEFA EURO 2020, which will be held across 12 cities.

Canada’s TSN Expands Deal With WTA

TSN has announced it has expanded the network’s live court coverage with the addition of a slate of marquee WTA Tour events, featuring the biggest stars of women’s tennis, beginning with the QATAR OPEN.

“We’re very excited to give TSN subscribers even more access to watch the elite players of women’s tennis, including Canada’s own Bianca Andreescu,” said Shawn Redmond, Vice-President, TSN and Discovery. “With TSN’s exclusive coverage of all four Grand Slams, a comprehensive schedule of ATP events, and this addition of marquee tournaments throughout the WTA season, tennis fans now have the opportunity to watch their favourite players more than ever before.”

“This is great news for tennis fans in Canada as tennis coverage across the country is continuing to grow,” stated Michael Downey, President and CEO of Tennis Canada. “It is essential for women’s tennis to take a more prominent place in the dissemination of tennis in Canada and this will be achieved with this new agreement between the WTA and TSN.”

TSN’s WTA Tour schedule features a multitude of the most highly anticipated events in women’s tennis, culminating with the WTA FINALS in November. The addition of marquee WTA Tour events complements TSN’s exclusive live coverage of the biggest events in tennis, including all four Grand Slams – the AUSTRALIAN OPEN, FRENCH OPEN, WIMBLEDON, and US OPEN – as well as comprehensive coverage of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and ATP World Tour 500 events. TSN’s schedule of live WTA Tour coverage in the 2020 season includes the following tournaments:

  • QATAR TOTAL OPEN (Doha): Feb. 23-29
  • BNP PARIBAS OPEN (Indian Wells): Mar. 11-22
  • MIAMI OPEN: Mar. 24 – Apr. 4
  • MUTUA MADRID OPEN: May 2 – 9
  • INTERNAZIONALI BNL D’ITALIA (Rome): May 11 – 17
  • WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN (Cincinnati): Aug. 17-23
  • WUHAN OPEN: Sept. 27 – Oct. 3
  • CHINA OPEN (Beijing): Oct. 3-11
  • SHISEIDO WTA FINALS SHENZHEN: Nov. 1-8

“We’re very excited to give TSN subscribers even more access to watch the elite players of women’s tennis, including Canada’s own Bianca Andreescu,” said Shawn Redmond, Vice-President, TSN and Discovery. “With TSN’s exclusive coverage of all four Grand Slams, a comprehensive schedule of ATP events, and this addition of marquee tournaments throughout the WTA season, tennis fans now have the opportunity to watch their favourite players more than ever before.”

“This is great news for tennis fans in Canada as tennis coverage across the country is continuing to grow,” stated Michael Downey, President and CEO of Tennis Canada. “It is essential for women’s tennis to take a more prominent place in the dissemination of tennis in Canada and this will be achieved with this new agreement between the WTA and TSN.”

Mondelez International Become Latest Global Partner Of Manchester United

Manchester United has entered into a global partnership with Mondelez International, whose world renowned brands include Cadbury, Oreo, Toblerone, Milka and belVita.

As part of the agreement, the two organisations will create dual-branded products as well as interactive and engaging campaigns.

Manchester United’s Group Managing Director, Richard Arnold commented: “Whether it’s Cadbury, Ritz, Oreo, or one of its many other brands, Mondelez’s products are renowned around the world.

This global partnership will assist Mondelez with its expansion into key markets whilst deepening the affinity their customers have for their products. For Manchester United, the partnership enables us to bring Mondelez’s popular products to our fans and enhances our ability to continue investing on the pitch.”

Colin O’Toole, Associate Marketing Director at Mondelez said: “We’re extremely proud to announce Mondelez’s partnership with Manchester United.

“As a global company with a presence in many different markets our alliance with one of the most recognisable sports teams in the world will give us the ability to differentiate us from competitors by offering our consumers added value through engaging products and experiences.”

The partnership commenced around United’s game against Watford this past weekend, with activity to support Cadbury’s ‘Donate Your Words’ campaign. ‘Donate Your Words’ is a UK initiative to highlight the issue of loneliness amongst the older generation.

2022 Commonwealth Archery And Shooting Championships Set To Take Place In India

A Commonwealth Archery and Shooting Championships is set to take place in India in 2022 after a proposal to stage the event was approved by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) Executive Board.

The event will be held in Chandigarh, the capital of the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, and is scheduled to be staged in January 2022.

It adds to a hugely exciting year for Commonwealth Sport, with Birmingham set to stage the 2022 Commonwealth Games from 27 July – 7 August 2022.

The decision confirmed that Chandigarh 2022 and Birmingham 2022 will be two separately organised and funded Commonwealth Sport events.

One week following the Closing Ceremony of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, the CGF shall issue a medal table that includes results from the Chandigarh 2022Commonwealth Archery and Shooting Championships, as a further and final legitimate ranking of competing nations and territories from the respective competitions.

The CGF Executive Board approved the proposal at their meeting in London which took place on February 21-23; and highlighted the opportunity for this innovative model to promote and encourage the development and hosting of sport throughout the Commonwealth.

The proposal from Commonwealth Games India (CGI), which was supported by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), the Government of India, the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) and World Archery, was also considered and discussed with Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Partners prior to the CGF Executive Board decision.

CGF President Dame Louise Martin said: “I am delighted that we have approved India’s ambitious proposal to host a Commonwealth Archery and Shooting Championships in Chandigarh during 2022.

“Commonwealth archery and Shooting athletes now have an unprecedented opportunity to compete in an elite event that will showcase the very best of Commonwealth Sport and add value to the Commonwealth Sports Movement.

“The CGF would like to thank the CGI, the NRAI, the Government of India and the entire sporting community of India on the significant efforts they have taken to submit an innovative proposal with the ambition of strengthening Commonwealth Sport.

“I would like to give particular thanks to CGI President Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sport Kiren Rijiju and NRAI President Raninder Singh for their leadership across this proposal.”

The CGF Executive Board also saw key updates on the Trinbago 2021 Commonwealth Youth Games and Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

There were further updates on the 2026 Commonwealth Games Bid Process, with a Host City set to be announced later this year.

The next CGF Board meeting is scheduled to take place in June 2020 in Birmingham.