A study commissioned by UEFA to aid in the debate over the future of the Champions League shows the financial and talent gap between the top five European leagues and the other 50 leagues on the continent is growing.

Rob Harris of The Associated Press reports:

The destabilizing effect of the power of the “Big Five” leagues — England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France — is set out across a 50-page study by accounting firm Deloitte marked “private and confidential” and obtained by the AP after being presented to UEFA’s Professional Football Strategy Council in Monaco.

The data shared with key European soccer officials is certain to fuel the heated debate over the future of the Champions and Europa Leagues heading into key meetings of clubs next week in Switzerland. The divisiveness of the discussions led to UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, to call off a meeting that was also scheduled for next week involving clubs and leagues. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin believes they are not “ready for a meaningful discussion.”

The “Polarization in European Football” report was commissioned by UEFA in June during the increasingly fraught talks involving leagues and clubs over attempts to overhaul the format of European competitions from 2024. UEFA initially presented the idea of reserving 24 places for clubs in the Champions League to return the following season, but it has since backed off the proposal because it has left some of the biggest leagues at odds with their best teams.

Changes to the format are being pursued by the top clubs to ensure them more games against each other and guarantee inclusion in lucrative annual tournaments without qualifying. One of the most powerful figures in the fight is Juventus Chairman Andrea Agnelli, who has wielded his power as Chairman of the European Club Association.

The biggest leagues have pushed back, saying changes that would limit the opportunities for teams to earn a place in the European competitions such as the Champions League devalue their leagues.

The European Leagues group has worked to divide the elite, perennial trophy winning clubs from their less prosperous counterparts.

One of the most recent leagues to publicly denounce the ECA was the Czech Republic, which said their clubs agreed it was “inappropriate for European football bodies to create plans that would alter the structures, calendar and competitiveness of the domestic game.”

The wealthy Premier League clubs offered support with a rare joint statement in June that highlighted the “obligation to maintain the health and sustainability of domestic league football.”

Caught in the middle is UEFA, who is using the study to help support its claim that it is the only European soccer body that distributes funds across the continent. The report shows how the top leagues are monopolizing the best players and the cash of broadcasters.

Some key findings:

— The Big Five accounts for 74 percent of the 19.7 billion euros ($21.7 billion) generated by leagues across the continent, up from the 68 percent 10 seasons earlier.

— Forty-Seven teams account for 60 percent of the revenue generated by all 720 clubs in the 55 nations assessed by Deloitte.

— The attractiveness of the Big Five league matches on television could at least partially account for a drop in stadium attendances this decade across the 45 lowest-ranked leagues by revenue.

“To meet broadcast demand, the Big Five match calendar has increasingly been spread to collectively cover the weekend from Friday through to Monday nights to ensure live Big Five games are always available to watch in non-Big Five markets,” the report said. “Meanwhile, most leagues in Europe have seen a decline or little or no growth in matchday attendances.”

— The Big Five leagues banked 97 percent of the €2.4 billion generated in non-domestic broadcast revenue by all European leagues in the 2017-18 season.

Rights holders in the other 50 European nations paid €430 million to show matches from the Big Five, accounting for 18 percent of the Big Five’s international broadcast revenue.

“Nothing is coming back in my country,” Romanian Federation President Razvan Burleanu recently told the AP, referring to money Romanian broadcasters pay to screen league games from abroad. “This can be an idea to contribute to decreasing the gap between top-five leagues and the rest.”

UEFA argues it is doing just that, sharing the revenue from European competitions.

While generating €373 million from broadcasters in countries beyond the Big Five, UEFA distributed more than double that to clubs in the 50 bottom-ranked countries.

The Big Five also profited but to a lesser degree: UEFA gave them around €150 million euros on top of the fees those markets paid for Champions League and Europa League games, taking the total to around €1.3 billion.

The Big Five redistributes some of their revenue domestically to lower divisions, but Deloitte highlights how they “do not make direct solidarity payments to other European leagues.”

— The report also shows how the Big Five has increasingly been a magnet for foreign talent, with more than a fifth of the players in those leagues coming from the rest of the continent last season.

No country was impacted more than the Netherlands, which lost 50 players to the Big Five — a rise of 61 percent since the 2007-08 campaign. European champion Portugal is next on the list, with 49 players lost.

The struggle keeping players at home is particularly acute for Belgium and Austria. They have experienced around a three-fold increase in the number of players going to the Big Five in a decade.

The report does not touch on the players who benefit from Big Five salaries and the chance to win the biggest trophies.

— Transfers fees are not significantly filtering across the European game, with 67 percent of transfer spending — or €3.5 billion euros — circulating within the Big Five last season compared to 56 percent — or €1.4 billion euros — in 2007-08.

Non-Big Five leagues only receive 18 percent of the transfer spend, down from 23 percent in 2007-08.

“Only the Big Five leagues in aggregate are profitable,” Deloitte concluded to UEFA. “Operating losses have increased across all other tiers, in aggregate, since 2007-08.”

 

The Olympic Channel has signed a media rights agreement with the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) to show daily live streaming coverage of the inaugural World Urban Games Budapest 2019 next week.

The inaugural edition of the World Urban Games, powered by GAISF, will take place from 13-15 September 2019 and features six competition and two showcase sports, including 3×3 basketball, BMX freestyle, breaking, flying disc, parkour, roller freestyle, indoor rowing and laser run.

GAISF President Raffaele Chiulli said: “Our agreement with the Olympic Channel is an indication of the global excitement for this new event and I am delighted that the World Urban Games will be available to watch all over the world.”

“Our role at GAISF is to create a platform for sports and I believe that the World Urban Games will be an incredible showcase. The sports selected provide a broad range of urban disciplines with the presence of the best athletes in the world that will excite and entertain spectators and TV viewers, as well as inspire new fans to participate.”

Mark Parkman, General Manager of the IOC’s global Olympic Channel said: “We are thrilled to work with GAISF to provide coverage of the inaugural World Urban Games to viewers around the world. As we continue to tell the stories on the road to Tokyo 2020, live streaming action on our global platform will enrich the viewer’s experience and provide additional exposure to these popular sports and to the athletes.”

The venue for the Games is the site of the historical Nagyvásártelep in the south of Budapest. Having been regenerated specifically for the Games, the graffiti-covered market hall has an authentic urban feel and will provide the ultimate urban sports arena experience for the three-day event.

Local Organising Committee Chairman Balázs Fürjes said: “The Games has gained global interest from the moment we announced that Budapest would host the first event. It is a wonderful opportunity for this city to host another major event in 2019 and I believe that as our broadcast partner, the Olympic Channel will ensure the Games is a major success all over the world.”

“The Games has gained global interest from the moment we announced that Budapest would host the first event. It is a wonderful opportunity for this city to host another major event in 2019 and I believe that as our broadcast partner, the Olympic Channel will ensure the Games is a major success all over the world.”

As well as the competition and showcase sports, a number of demonstration and initiation events will provide opportunities for spectators of all ages and abilities to try urban sports. The Festival programme of the World Urban Games will also incorporate live concerts, street art and dance, with the aim of inspiring a new generation of urban athletes around the world.

Esports leaders ESL (part of MTG) and DreamHack are launching ESL Pro Tour in 2020, the world’s largest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Circuit with an aggregated prize pool of over $5 million.

The forming of the new global esports tour is an important step to professionalize the global esports industry and therethrough increase monetization of esports such as sponsorship and media rights in line with MTG’s strategy.

ESL Pro Tour combines ESL and DreamHack tournaments to a circuit which links over twenty CS:GO tournaments and leagues.

The ESL Pro Tour will feature an aggregate prize pool of over $5 million for 2020 from competitions on five different continents, making it the world’s largest and most lucrative circuit in Counter-Strike’s 20-year history. The new tour is announced today ahead of ESL One in New York, US, during which details will be presented September 28th.

“While esports is attracting millions and millions of viewers and fans worldwide, the monetization of media rights has been lagging behind in part due to a lack of viable media products. With the forming of ESL Pro Tour, we are taking an important step to change that; it’s global, recurring and announced well ahead of execution,” says MTG President and CEO Jørgen Madsen Lindemann.

“The new ESL Pro Tour is the first of its kind and is made possible by our ownership of the two global players in esports, ESL and DreamHack. We will continue to leverage our unique position to further professionalize the esports industry and our ambition is to announce more global activations similar to ESL Pro Tour.”

Even though esports continues to attract more and more interest, the value of media rights has lagged behind the swift rise of the audiences watching and viewing esports globally. For media buyers keen to invest in esports to reach their global audiences, the ESL Pro Tour will provide all the qualities of an excellent media product to invest in.

Founded in 2000, ESL has developed into the world’s largest esports company. It operates high profile, branded international leagues and tournaments such as ESL One, Intel® Extreme Masters, ESL Pro League and other top tier stadium-size tournaments, as well as ESL National Championships. DreamHack is the Swedish premier gaming lifestyle festival and fellow MTG company aimed at grassroots events for aspiring pro gamers globally. Together they form the natural Segway for any pro gamer to go from zero to hero.

Founded in 1994 as a BYOC LAN party, DreamHack grew over 20 years to a global phenomenon as the digital festival for today’s youth, hosted throughout Europe and North America. DreamHack festivals feature multiple esports competitions, live music, exhibitions, creative competitions, LAN party, cosplay and much more. DreamHack helped pioneer esports and continues to be one of the largest global producers of esports content. Millions of viewers tune in from all over the world to watch DreamHack broadcasts every year. DreamHack events welcomed over 310,000 visitors in 2018.

 

The National Football League and TikTok have revealed a new multi-year partnership to bring the excitement of the NFL experience to TikTok’s global community, combining the passion surrounding NFL football with the fast-growing digital platform.

As part of the partnership, the NFL is launching its official TikTok account, delivering content to fans across the platform’s global markets. NFL content will include uniquely packaged highlights, sideline moments, and behind-the-scenes footage.

Additionally, the NFL and TikTok will partner together around a series of NFL-themed hashtag challenges, inviting members of the TikTok community to express their passion for their favourite NFL clubs and players on TikTok. The NFL and TikTok will also be partnering together on unique marketing opportunities for brands to activate around NFL content on TikTok.

The NFL and TikTok are rallying fans to join in the excitement of kick-off with the #WeReady hashtag challenge campaign. From September 3rd – September 5th, fans are encouraged to show their pride for their favourite team by creating their own unique TikTok videos with the #WeReady hashtag. Popular TikTok creators and NFL clubs will join fans in showing their team spirit and excitement to get “back to football” ahead of the NFL’s 100^th season.

TikTok will also be celebrating the NFL’s 100th season kick-off live in Chicago this Thursday evening September 5). Attendees can experience TikTok in real life at Soldier Field and create their own unique TikTok videos that show their love for their favourite teams and players in an NFL-themed experience.

“Partnering with TikTok is a natural extension of our media strategy,” said Blake Stuchin, Vice President, Digital Media Business Development for the NFL. “The platform reaches a fast-growing global audience of NFL fans and future fans. The NFL programming and hashtag challenges are a perfect way to kick off the NFL’s 100th season – with fun, new content that will entertain fans and invites them to celebrate their NFL fandom in a way that’s authentic to the unique experience of TikTok.”

Sports is a popular and beloved category on TikTok. Sports fans crave authentic moments, and people find that in TikTok’s unique and creative short videos that capture the humour, passion, and surprise of the sports world. From the fans and the food to the mascots and players, this partnership will bring the excitement of an NFL game day to TikTok’s diverse content ecosystem while involving the TikTok community in the broader NFL experience.

“We’re thrilled to partner with a powerhouse in the sports industry like the NFL to bring new life and a fresh perspective to the sports entertainment experience,” said Mayan Scharf, Global Partnerships, TikTok. “TikTok is a destination where fans can feel like they are a part of the team and we look forward to showcasing content from the NFL that is exciting, authentic and surprising to TikTok community.”

Revenues and profits rose in the latest financial years for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich, which has reported record results for 2018-19.

The revenue figure for FC Bayern München Group increased by 14.1 per cent from €657.4 million in the 2017-18 season to €750.4 million in the 2018-19 season.

Profit before tax (EBT) rose by 63.0 per cent from €46.2 to €75.3 million, whereas profit after tax stood at €52.5 million rising by 78.0 per cent (€29.5 million in 2017/18).

FC Bayern München AG’s equity capital rose to €497.4 million.

FC Bayern Deputy Chairman Jan-Christian Dreesen said: “As well as the increases in turnover and profit, the improvement of the equity capital is very positive. The ratio rose by 9.7 per cent to 68 per cent. That shows how healthy and sound FC Bayern is financially. All of the club’s departments have contributed to this very gratifying result.”

“Income from matches and TV rights has risen, and we have achieved record numbers regarding sponsorship income. In terms of merchandising, we have stabilised FC Bayern’s turnover despite the decline throughout Europe.”

Fc Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said: “Of course we are extremely pleased with FC Bayern’s financial development. Both the turnover and the profit rose to new records. FC Bayern’s development is outstanding, both in a sporting and financial sense.

England’s spectacular triumph over Australia in the Third Ashes Test match took place at the Emerald Headingley Stadium – a truly unique international sporting venue having recently completed a £45-million refurbishment and cementing its position as one of the UK’s leading sporting and corporate venues.

After two years of building, the new North Stand at the Leeds venue is the only one in the world to boast views of two top-international playing fields – on one side, the hallowed ground of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, which recently also hosted England versus Pakistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup, and on the other, the home pitch of Rugby Super League team, the Leeds Rhinos (the next home match is against Salford on September 6^th).

The new North Stand raises the bar of excellence in hospitality with the look and feel of a boutique hotel and boasting five-star quality food and service in the 450-seat Emerald Suite, thanks to Sodexo, which recently renewed its 15-year contract to supply hospitality and public catering at the Emerald Headingley Stadium.

The new suite has a really ‘wow’ factor that makes it attractive for both matchday and non-matchday events, according to Andy Dawson, Commercial Director of Yorkshire Cricket Club. “It’s the jewel in our crown,” he said.

“It’s the nicest corporate facility for rugby,” said Rob Oates, Commercial Director of Leeds Rhinos, who welcome ed over 1200 corporate clients to the opening of the new facility.

A full-time team of 14 Sodexo staff will be accompanied by more than 1,000 temporary workers to cater for all matches at the stadium, including the Super League, the Ashes, the Super League, and the new cricket event the Hundred from 2020.

Nick Byrom, Sodexo Sports and Leisure business Development Director, said: “We are thrilled about our long-term partnership with the iconic Emerald Headingley Stadium.”

“Sodexo will significantly invest in the public and executive facilities at the ground to improve speed of service and further enhance the customer experience. Sodexo will also be a major sponsor of Yorkshire Cricket and Leeds Rhinos until 2034 to demonstrate our long-term investment strategy in sport.”

See the full story on iSportconnect TV.

 

With the launch of the FOX Bet sports betting platform yesterday, Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corp has become the face of a sports gambling platform – a first for a major media company in North America.

Reuters reports:

FOX Bet, launching in New Jersey, is operated through a partnership with gaming provider The Stars Group (TSG), which lends its splashy national name brand recognition, stars, expert commentary and news to attract casual betters.

Entertainment giants from Walt Disney Co to AT&T Inc’s WarnerMedia have waded into the red hot sports betting arena, which experts project could generate $9 billion of revenue over the next few years in gambling revenue.

But most have relied on creating new shows and providing commentary and have kept an arms-length distance from actual gambling.

Big media companies are worried that crossing the line into letting its viewers place bets could damage their brands if it comes off as disreputable, experts said.

“Those are pretty heavy questions, especially for multibillion-dollar media behemoths that aren’t accustomed to turning on a dime,” said Chris Grove, a managing director at analytics firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming LLC.

Fox comes to the field with experience. It is Murdoch’s third foray with fronting a sports betting service. Murdoch’s Sky, now owned by Comcast Corp, struck a similar deal with TSG to create Sky Bet, a U.K. sports betting partnership.

“They can point to that model and say, this looks successful in the U.K.,” Grove said.

FOX bet will target casual betters and smaller wagers, similar to Sky Bet, and be a tool for Fox Sports to engage fans, FOX Bet Chief Executive Officer Robin Chhabra told Reuters ahead of the launch.

Another quality the apps will share: users can request a bet through social media platforms with the hashtag #CustomBet.

But there are risks for media companies diving into sports betting.

Sun Bets, another partnership between the Murdoch-owned newspaper The Sun, a unit of News Corp, and Australian gambling group Tabcorp Holdings, closed in 2018 after disappointing financial performance.

However, the lure of ad revenue and a potential to engage fans more deeply in live sports broadcasts inspired another go at it for media companies.

Another media company is also racing to launch a new sports betting platform in time for the start of the U.S. football season. The National Football League starts regular season play on Thursday.

TheScore Inc, a small Toronto-based sports news app, plans to launch and run its own sportsbook, blurring the line even more between media company and gambling operator.

The activity comes after a U.S. Supreme Court decision in May 2018 that overturned a federal ban on sports wagering outside of Nevada, and 13 states now offer it.

FOX Bet launched its app on Apple Inc’s iOS platform and on Google’s Android operating system in New Jersey and is expected to later roll out in other states.

FOX Sports Chief Executive Officer and Executive Producer Eric Shanks spearheaded the TSG partnership.

Fox employees have been working closely with TSG developers on the app, joining daily production meetings and integrating branding and talent, Chhabra said.

Fox in May invested $236 million for a 4.99% stake in TSG.

TSG expects to break even in 2022 on FOX Bet, with $40 million invested this year, including $10 million licensing fees in each New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Chhabra said.

Separately, FOX Sports is also expected to offer a free-to-play predictive game nationally.