Bundesliga And AWS Agree Technology Provider Deal

Amazon Web Services and the German Bundesliga have announced that they have struck a deal to make AWS its official technology provider to deliver more in-depth insight into every live broadcast of Bundesliga games and enable new personalised fan experiences.

Bundesliga will use AWS artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), analytics, compute, database, and storage services to deliver real-time statistics to predict future plays and game outcomes, and recommend personalised match footage across mobile, online, streaming, and television broadcasts.

Using AWS technology, Germany’s premier national football league will build new cloud-based services that automate processes, increase operational efficiency, and enhance the viewing experience for the league’s rapidly growing global fan base. By developing a new, next-generation statistics platform on AWS, using Amazon SageMaker, a fully managed service to build, train, and deploy ML models, Bundesliga will offer fans real-time predictions on when a goal is likely to be scored, identify potential goal-scoring opportunities, and highlight how teams are positioning and controlling the field, based on live data streams and historical data from over 10,000 Bundesliga games. Bundesliga also plans to leverage AWS ML services, such as Amazon Personalise, an ML service to create real-time and individualised recommendations, to offer fans personalised game footage, marketing promotions, and search results based on their favourite teams, players, or matches.

Using other AWS ML services, including Amazon Rekognition, an intelligent image and video analysis service, Bundesliga will build a cloud-based media archive that will automatically tag specific frames, from its more than 150,000 hours of video, with metadata such as game, jersey, player, team, and venue, so that the league can easily search historical footage and surface pivotal plays for in-game broadcasts, in more than 200 countries. This archive will enable Bundesliga to search across its entire history of football footage to provide a more enhanced viewing experience for fans and automate the current manual process of searching and tagging match highlights.

“We are extremely excited to be working alongside AWS to develop the next generation of football viewing experience,” said Christian Seifert, CEO of Bundesliga. “Innovation means challenging the status quo. Working closely with AWS, as one of the most innovative technology companies in the world, significantly enhances the investment we’ve made in innovation over the past two decades, all of which contributes to us being able to deliver a world-class football experience for our fans.”

“As the league with the highest average number of goals per game, and the highest stadium attendance globally, the Bundesliga is one of the most entertaining sports leagues in the world,” said Andy Isherwood, Vice President and Managing Director EMEA, Amazon Web Services, Inc. “We are thrilled to work with the Bundesliga and help them use cloud technology to give football fans around the world a more engaging match day experience and look forward to helping them leverage our deep portfolio of ML and AI services so they can deliver even greater insight into the world’s favourite game.”

Right Formula Acquires Marketing Minds

Award-winning global sports and entertainment consultancy Right Formula has begun the new decade with the acquisition of marketing services agency Marketing Minds. The announcement means Right Formula will significantly increase its client base and in-house service offering from 1 February, when the acquisition officially takes effect.

You can see an interview with Right Formula CEO Robin Fenwick about the deal here: https://tv.isportconnect.com/en-int/playerpage/103457

Right Formula, which was founded by CEO Robin Fenwick in 2009, is best known for commercial and activation work with clients including SAP, Epson, Kia Motors, Hilton Hotels, Red Bull, Aggreko, Pirelli, Logitech, Loch Lomond Whiskies and Genpact. With today’s announcement, Marketing Minds’ current clients including ExxonMobil and Dell will now join the Right Formula roster.

The Surrey-based Marketing Minds will relocate to Right Formula’s central London headquarters at the end of the month, bringing with them a wealth of experience in events, hospitality, design and digital. The addition of the Marketing Minds team will further strengthen Right Formula’s existing portfolio, which spans the full sponsorship spectrum.

Right Formula CEO Robin Fenwick said: “We’re absolutely delighted with this acquisition which consolidates our position on the sports marketing landscape, and I believe is a display of the company’s ambition as we enter 2020.

“At Right Formula we have a team of strategic, dynamic and passionate experts with experience across the sport and entertainment space. We thrive on being indispensable to our clients by helping them achieve outstanding business results through their sports and entertainment partnerships; and, with the acquisition of Marketing Minds, I believe we will be even better placed to do so. This is an incredibly exciting time to be part of the Right Formula story.

“I speak on behalf of the entire company when I say that we can’t wait to welcome the Marketing Minds team through our doors as we look to fulfil our potential in 2020 and beyond.”

Marketing Minds’ outgoing owner, John Stoakes, added: “I’ve personally known Robin for more than two decades and couldn’t think of a more appropriate owner to take forward and enhance the work that Marketing Minds has done since opening for business 26 years ago.

“It was vital for me to find a new structure where our current clients and staff would be in the safest hands as they look to develop their own careers. Given the alignment of our businesses – and track record of best-in-class, indispensable client work – I know that Right Formula, as a fast-growing consultancy, is the perfect solution. I wish Robin and the new team all the very best as they continue their upward trajectory.”

With the addition of the Marketing Minds team, Right Formula now comprises 55 staff across commercial, consumer activation, events, hospitality, internal engagement, PR and digital sectors and with a wide variety of sports and entertainment properties that include Golf, Football, Formula 1, Esports, Rugby, Sailing, Olympics, Formula E, Cirque du Soleil, Moto GP and Extreme Sports.

Paolo Dal Pino Elected President Of Serie A

The Italian Football League, Serie A, have appointed Paolo Dal Pino as the new President of the league.

An official communication released the news, which will see Dal Pino take over the role from Gaetano Miccichè, who was forced to resign in November last year due to an investigation into his election in 2018.

Dal Pino managed to make the eleven votes required for a majority from the 20 Serie A clubs.

 

On The Move: The Latest Weekly Job Appointments Within The Sports Industry.

Paolo Dal Pino has been voted as Serie A’s next President, replacing Gaetano Miccichè, who resigned in November 2019.

Neil Snowball was named the next Managing Director of County Cricket at the ECB.

Matt Goodman has been appointed New York City FC’s Chief Operating Officer & Chief Commercial Officer.

Amanda Duffy has left her position as the NWSL President to join the league’s Orlando Pride franchise as Executive Vice President.

Marius Vizer Jr will become General Secretary of the International Teqball Federation.

Adam Benson has joined Wasps as Chief Commercial Officer.

Mark Alford is the new Director of Sky Sports News, moving from his previous position as Head of Digital at Sky News.

Chris Bell will take over as Head of Commercial at Luton Town FC.

Mark Pannes is taking over as CEO of the Vancouver Whitecaps MLS franchise.

Excel Esports have announced two changes, with Wouter Sliejjfers becoming the CEO and Robin McCammon selected as the Chief Commercial Officer.

Anna Shaw has become the ECB’s Commercial Strategy Lead.

Allistair Spiers is now Head of Sales at Leciester City Football Club.

Scott McCubbin has started his new role as Premiership Rugby’s Head Of Business Development.

David Jenkins is to head up Global Expansion at IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals.

Craig Santicchia will become Partner Development Director for Fnatic

Norris Scott is now Futures Sport & Entertainment’s Senior Vice President.

Adrian Sargent has taken the role of Chief Financial Officer of The Goodwood Group.

Brandon Moyer has become Global CRM Business Analytics Lead at Under Armour.

Pete Morris joins Canon as Brand & Sponsorship Senior Manager, EMEA.

Nike And The Chinese Athletics Association Extend Partnership For 12 Years

Nike will continue to supply training equipment to The Chinese Athletics Association after the two signed a new 12-year partnership deal to continue Nike’s association.

Already with a huge presence in China, Nike will now be supplying Chinese athletes until after the 2032 Olympic Games. The deal also sees Nike coaches head over to China to provide international coaches for the development of athletes as well as taking them abroad for training camps.

“This partnership with Nike announced today will hopefully allow both parties to capitalise on our synergies and strengths, as part of the opening up of the Chinese sportswear market,” said CAA Vice-Chairman, Cai Yong.

“We look forward to working with Nike to increase interest in track and field, as part of our national goals to build a strong sports economy and physically active citizenry.”

Craig Masback, former athlete and Nike’s VP for Sports Marketing in China and Japan, stated:  “Nike is committed to promoting the development of Chinese track and field and its athletes for many years, and this renewed contract once again shows our confidence in the future of the sport in China.”

LaLiga Surpasses 100 Million Followers On Social Media

LaLiga has reached another high-profile milestone, passing 100 million followers across all its social media platforms. Over six years’ work has seen the organisation consolidate its presence on 12 different social media platforms, producing content in over 15 languages. 

“Passing this digital milestone is an achievement which should be framed within LaLiga’s wide-reaching international growth strategy. We’ve gone from having 3.9 million followers at the end of the 2013/14 season to over 100 million today, a record figure reached with an average of 47,000 new followers per day,” says Alfredo Bermejo, Digital Strategy Director at LaLiga.  

LaLiga currently has 22 profiles on 12 different social media platforms: Facebook; Twitter (LaLiga, LaLigaEN, LaLigaArab, LaLigaBRA, LaLigaFRA, LaLigaJP, LaLigaID, LaLigaTH, LaLigaSports, eSportsLaLiga, LaLiga Foundation); Instagram; YouTube; TikTok; four platforms in China (Weibo, WeChat, Douyin, Toutiao); two platforms in Russia (OK, VK); and Line (in three countries: Japan, Thailand and Indonesia). Notably, LaLiga is the first football league in the world to reach 5 million subscribers on its YouTube channel. 

LaLiga’s audience is, like its social media channels, global and spread across the world. Spain registers the most amount of followers (around 7 million) but high concentrations of followers are found all over the world, including in Indonesia (more than 5.2 million followers); India (more than 5.1 million followers); Mexico (more than 5 million); Brazil (more than 4.7 million); and China & Egypt (more than 4 million.)

LaLiga engages with this global audience in over 15 languages, including English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Turkish, Russian, Hindi, Bengali, Bahasa Indonesia, Thai, Danish, Vietnamese, Pidgin English, Swahili, Wolof, Lingala and Hebrew besides Spanish. 

Ten keys to LaLiga’s success on social media

  1. LaLiga begins to develop its digital strategy in 2013 following the arrival of Javier Tebas as president. 
  2. Opens its first profile on Russian social media platform VKontakte (February 2018).
  3. Overtakes the Premier League on Facebook (May 2018).
  4. Reaches an agreement with Facebook to live broadcast all matches on the Indian subcontinent (August 2018).
  5. Overtakes the NBA on Facebook (November 2018).
  6. Launches an eSports-specific profile on Twitter (March 2019).
  7. Growth on South Asian social media with the launch of Line and Twitter profiles (March 2019).
  8. Launches the most multitudinous TikTok challenge in Spain, involving over 50 million users across the world (August 2019).
  9. Reaches a million followers on Chinese social media platform Douyin (November 2019).
  10.  Passes 100 million social media followers (January 2020). 

Currently, over 25 people from 10 different countries make up the social media team based at LaLiga’s headquarters in Spain. In addition, many more based around the world collaborate on international projects to increase the visibility of the organisation and its social media platforms, among them the 45 LaLiga Global Network delegates, the International Development team and those spread across its nine international offices. 

“This success is without doubt down to the team behind LaLiga’s social media channels and to the departments that support their growth,” explains Bermejo. “They have known how to adapt to our followers’ interests and needs to offer them engaging, quality content, which has in turn strongly positioned LaLiga both nationally and internationally.” The use of social media has thus become a key component in LaLiga’s internationalisation strategy and that of its clubs. 

NFL Partners With H&M To Boost Global Sales

The NFL has announced a new collaboration with global fashion retailer H&M to launch men’s, women’s and children’s NFL-branded apparel and accessories, in a deal brokered by IMG.

This agreement will see the NFL roll out affordable clothing styles in a number of countries across the world as they look to capitalise on expansion around the globe.

In a statement released, the NFL state that products will be sold in more than 20 countries outside of the U.S, including the UK, China, Japan, Colombia, Germany, India, Mexico, South Korea and the Middle East. The first capsule collection of men’s jackets, tops and loungewear is available in stores and online now, with women’s, children’s and accessories lines to follow next season.

“By partnering with H&M, we are able to reach fans in markets across the world with a diverse selection of apparel and accessories for men, women and children,” said Akash Jain, NFL Vice President of Commercial Development. “NFL fanbases are growing throughout countries in every corner of the world and we want to continually meet our fans needs for fashionable apparel and fuel their fandom for years to come.”

Matthew Primack, Senior Vice President, IMG, added: “We are delighted to be bringing one of the most popular sports leagues together with one of the world’s favourite fast fashion retailers. The NFL’s international appeal as a lifestyle and fashion brand continues to grow rapidly. With its reputation for creative collaborations and thousands of stores around the world, H&M is the perfect partner to provide an accessible and stylish collection of NFL apparel and accessories that will be sought after by football fans and fashionistas.”

NBA And Turner Extend Twitter Partnership Extension

The National Basetball Association, Twitter and Turner Sports today announced a multiyear partnership extension that will bring more live NBA games and on-demand content to Twitter in the United States than ever before.

Sam Farber, NBA Vice President, Digital Media, said: “As early adopters of the social platform, it is exciting to see the #NBATwitter community grow into one of the largest and most active social media fan bases in the world.”

“As part of our extended partnership, #NBATwitter will drive interest in live NBA games, inform fans where to watch the action and bring fans closer to the league, teams and players through the NBA on TNT second-screen streaming experience.”


TJ Adeshola, Head of U.S. Sports Partnerships at Twitter, added: “#NBATwitter is in a league of its own, as one of the most engaged and influential sports communities on Twitter.  We’re excited to deepen our partnership with the NBA by bringing new and improved LIVE game streams, interactive voting polls, as well as the best of the best NBA video content to further ignite #NBATwitter conversation.

“This partnership is a perfect match.  Not only does it give fans more of what they want to see, it provides an ideal canvas for marketers to connect with what’s happening in the NBA, on Twitter.”

For the second consecutive year, the NBA – through its NBA Digital partnership with Turner Sports – offers a complementary live streaming option for the second halves of at least 20 NBA on TNT games, featuring heavily anticipated regular-season games as well as the All-Star Game and at least 16 playoff games, including the Western Conference Finals.

2016 NBA Champion and 13-year veteran Channing Frye will serve as analyst for the #NBATwitterLive stream alongside a rotating panel of NBA influencers who will also add commentary live for each game available from the @NBAonTNT Twitter handle.  Each single-player, isolated-camera feed will be voted on by fans from an @NBA poll for the player they want to see featured during the second-screen, live stream experience available in the United States.

Manchester City Announce New Global Partnership With Midea

Manchester City has announced a new global partnership with the world’s number one consumer appliances producer, Midea.

Midea will be present around the Etihad Stadium on key matchdays over the coming months through integrated branding and activations. The home appliance giant is also planning to develop an innovative digital campaign for the remainder of the 2019/2020 season.

Omar Berrada, Chief Operating Officer for Manchester City, welcomed Midea to the City family and said: “As we enter the second half of the season, we’re delighted to be teaming up with such a leading brand as Midea who have impressed us with their operation and ambition. Aligning with organisations who share a similar philosophy and approach to innovation is important to us and we are excited to see this partnership come to life.”

Brando Brandstaeter, Head of Brand & Communications at Midea’s International Business Division, commented: “Midea is probably one of the biggest companies many consumers around the world have just started to be aware of, and with City’s help we aim to make a great leap forward. Midea is huge, we offer one of the world’s most comprehensive product ranges in the home appliance industry. We have been looking for the right partner for the last 2 years and we are excited to have found the perfect match with Manchester City, an organisation that shares our philosophy in going above and beyond for their fans.

“At Midea, we believe in providing surprisingly-friendly solutions by adopting a consumer-centric and problem-solving approach, while City offers its global fans more than just 90 minutes of attractive football on the pitch. We share the same values in not just winning but winning meaningfully. We are confident that the synergy between the two brands will take us to a whole new level.”

DreamHack And Sport1 Combine To Broadcast Two Esports Events

DreamHack and SPORT1 will continue their partnership and broadcast two premium DreamHack Dota 2 tournaments live on pay-TV channel eSPORTS1 in 2020.

The first event from Friday, January 24, to Sunday, January 26, is the Dota 2 major ”DreamLeague Season 13 – The Leipzig Major”, which will be held at DreamHack Leipzig. The second event, DreamLeague Season 14, is yet to be announced with additional details to be presented during Spring 2020.

In addition to the live broadcast on eSPORTS1, highlights of the two competitions will also be shown in the magazine ”bwin Inside eSports” on eSPORTS1 and on free-TV. SPORT1 will also be the media partner of DreamHack Leipzig for the third year in a row and will report live from the event.

“We’re proud that SPORT1 has chosen to continue working with DreamHack and to broadcast our content to their many viewers in 2020,” said Marcus Lindmark, Co-CEO of DreamHack. “The broadcast of DreamLeague Season 13, the first Dota 2 DPC Major of 2020, on eSPORTS1 will make it accessible for all German Dota 2 fans that can’t attend the event and help further increase the hype around the tournament.”

“We have been working with DreamHack this year and continue our successful partnership in 2020 – with DreamHack on board as an experienced content partner at eSPORTS1,” said Daniel von Busse, COO TV and Member of the Board of Sport1 GmbH.

“The Dota 2 Major in Leipzig will be a highlight with a prize pool of one million dollars starting on Friday, January 24th – a special date as our esports channel eSPORTS1 celebrates its first anniversary on this day. In addition, we were also able to extend our media partnership with DreamHack Leipzig and will again report on one of the largest national gaming festivals in 2020.”

DreamHack and ESL have also announced a three-year-long strategic agreement with Blizzard Entertainment.

“We are both proud and humbled by the fact that Blizzard has chosen DreamHack and ESL to take the lead for competitive StarCraft II and Warcraft III moving forward,” said DreamHack co-CEO, Marcus Lindmark. “This strengthens our joint position as the top tournament organizers in the market with a unique combination of reach and knowledge, and an extensive and successful history. It also provides us with an incredible opportunity to cater to the historical Starcraft II and Warcraft III esports communities, who have played a very important role in the development of modern day esports.”

“We are so proud that StarCraft II and Warcraft III are home to two of the most passionate, storied and devoted communities in esports history,” said J. Allen Brack, President of Blizzard Entertainment. “Both ESL and DreamHack have been long-standing partners for our esports, and we want to give our players, talent, content creators and fans the stability inherent in a long-term relationship, keeping these communities thriving for years to come.”