Disney Will Offer ESPN+ With Other Streaming Services In Discount Bundle

The Walt Disney Company on Tuesday said it would offer ESPN as part of a $13-per-month bundle of its three streaming services starting in November, a move to attract U.S. audiences who have embraced digital services such as Netflix.

Reuters reports:

Disney’s bundle includes family-friendly digital offering Disney+ and Hulu as well as the ESPN+ sports service, for a $5-per-month discount. The Hulu offering in the bundle will include commercials.

That price is the same as Netflix’s most popular plan, which allows streaming on two devices simultaneously.

Executives at Disney and Netflix have said they believe there is room for both services in the growing market of digital options that are luring customers away from cable TV.

ESPN+, which offers sports that are not shown on ESPN’s cable channels, including Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts, rugby and some professional baseball and soccer games, costs $4.99 a month.

 

 

 

 

 

Kosmos Tennis: “Entertainment Will Be An Important Part Of New Davis Cup Finals Experience”

The inaugural edition of the new-style Davis Cup Finals will take place in Madrid from November 18-24. The transformation of the event into a World Cup of Tennis has been steered by Kosmos Tennis under a 25-year deal with the International Tennis Federation. Javier Alonso, the company’s CEO, tells iSportconnect TV about the plans for the event at La Caja Magica. Kosmos was founded by footballer Gerard Piqué of FC Barcelona, who has had a hand-on role in re-making the tennis finals, which will feature 12 nations in a week-long tournament sponsored by Rakuten, the new Davis Cup global partner.

Goodform Fan Panel: Netball Seen As Top Growth Sport

As summers of sport go, it doesn’t get much better than 2019 for fans in the UK

They’ve witnessed arguably the most exciting cricket match of all time as an unforgettable ICC Cricket World Cup drew to an even more unforgettable close to see England crowned Champions.

There have been semi-final runs for England’s Vitality Roses at the Netball World Cup, and the Lionesses at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and fans were treated to the longest Wimbledon men’s final of all time (if they could drag their eyes from the Cricket going on at the same time) and near flawless tennis from one of the newest stars as she demolished a great champion to claim the women’s title.

And all of this before a home Ashes series, and a Rugby World Cup to look forward to later in the year.

In Goodform’s Sports Fan Panel latest research (see the details below), netball tops the list of sports that fans perceive to be ‘growing,’ highlighting the impact of Commonwealth success and a home world cup on the sport.

Cycling too fares well, ranking second ahead of Rugby and Football – suggesting that British Cycling’s aim of making Britain a true cycling nation is well on its way.

Formula E (recently voted by those in the industry as the biggest growing sport) completes the Top 5, highlighting that the return of the London race for the 2020 season is sure to be a hit with the UK audience.

The Sports Fan Panel research shows, too, that there remains a huge amount of positivity towards hosting major events in the UK.

Cricket World Cup Ran Up Big Digital Scores

Fans watched over two billion minutes of the recently ended ICC Cricket World Cup on YouTube alone. And the tournament in England and Wales generated over 260 million Instagram engagements. Watch this summary on iSportconnect TV to learn more about the digital impact.

iSportconnect Signs Partnership With Kiswe Mobile

Today, iSportconnect is thrilled to announce the commencement of a new partnership with global tech start-up company Kiswe Mobile, Inc. 

iSportconnect will facilitate increased brand exposure and build new connections between Kiswe Mobile and major players in the sports business community. Kiswe seeks to establish a more global footprint for its service platform CloudCast. 

As video consumption has changed drastically over the years, Kiswe has found a way to bring more authenticity and interactive elements to live events. CloudCast allows remote talent from all around the world to commentate on live events in real time and interact with fans as the broadcast is rolling to all platforms. This represents a cost-effective way of creating a more targeted and interactive production, and the usability is very flexible. 

On the agreement, Sree Varma, Founder and CEO of iSportconnect, said: “I am delighted to welcome Kiswe to the family. They are very engaging and experienced professionals that hold a great product. The ability to customize any live broadcasting event at a fraction of the traditional price has massive potential, and we believe they hold a product that will perform extremely well over time. We want to help them get there.” 

“This partnership comes at the right time, and is an extension of our efforts to be more present and visible in Europe’s local markets”, explains Jorre Belpaire, Head of Kiswe Mobile Europe. “With the appointment of Peter Dunits in the London office last quarter to lead our customer service and sales operations, we are well equipped now through this partnership to address the local markets’ needs. We see a growing demand from rights holders and sports federations across EMEA to support their efforts to grow audiences through customized experiences for targeted demographics.”

First partnership collaborations announced are at IBC in Amsterdam, where Kiswe Mobile will join the Content Everywhere hall, and the iSportConnect Summit in Lausanne this September. 

 

About iSportconnect 

iSportconnect was launched in 2010 with the aim of bringing together sports business professionals around the world in a sports business networking community enabling them to meet one another, find information and obtain access to a wide range of relevant services. The platform is now the largest global private network of sport business executives, where membership is exclusive and follows a strict door policy. 

 

About Kiswe Mobile™

Kiswe has pioneered cloud-based interactive video solutions that transform linear TV content into personalized and interactive mobile video experiences which significantly increases audience engagement and watchtime. Kiswe partners with visionaries in sports and music to lead the shift in how digital video content is consumed by creating experiences that unlock the interactive functionality of digital devices. Kiswe is headquartered in Murray Hill, NJ and has offices in New York City, Washington D.C., London, Belgium, and Korea. To learn more about Kiswe Mobile, visit www.Kiswe.com.

 

NBA Expands Twitch Deal To USA Basketball Coverage

The NBA has expanded its partnership with streaming giant Twitch to include USA Basketball and the American national teams.

The deal follows on from the success the two sides had with NBA 2K League, which concluded its second season on Saturday, and the G-League.

Forbes reports:

As part of a multi-year deal, Twitch men’s USA Basketball exhibition games this month leading up to September’s FIBA World Cup in China, as well as training camps for its men’s and women’s teams, select USA Basketball 3×3 games and the 2020 Nike Hoops Summit. Monetary figures for the rights deal were not disclosed by the league.

Among the many reasons the NBA agreed to yet another deal with the Amazon-owned Twitch, according to David Denenberg, the league’s senior vice president of  global media distribution and business affairs, is how the site serves an audience that’s hard to reach.

“They really reach young people, and they do it in a very innovative way,” Denenberg said. “At the NBA, we’re very focused on innovation and we like the audience and the ideas that Twitch brings to the table.”

One major feature that worked with consumers during Twitch’s G-League broadcasts was co-streaming, where users can essentially do their own commentary on the live games, keeping within the site’s overarching live stream theme.

“It’s just an interesting way to look at things,” Denenberg said. “Co-streaming has been really well received by our audience and we think is a really cool aspect to what they bring to the table.”

This is the first time USA Basketball has reached a digital rights partnership for its games aside from its regular linear telecasts, something the NBA hasn’t concentrated on until now.

You can read the full story here.

Iqbal Gandham Of eToro To Speak At iSportconnect Brands & Partnerships Masterclass

iSportconnect is delighted to announce that Iqbal Gandham, Managing Director UK Business for eToro, will be speaking at the iSportconnect Brands & Partnerships Masterclass taking place in London on Thursday 12th September.

Having announced major sponsor partnerships with 6 UK football teams, Iqbal will be speaking on the panel assessing the value of sponsorship for brands – an increasingly important question when brands look to support sports teams and events around the world.

To register your interest for the event please email the events team at info@isportconnect.com

Adare Manor In Ireland To Host The 2026 Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup will return to Ireland in 2026 when Adare Manor, in County Limerick, hosts the biennial contest between Europe and the United States for the first time.

Ryder Cup Europe – which comprises the Managing Partner the European Tour, the Founding Partner the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland, and the PGAs of Europe – announced the five-star resort will follow in the footsteps of Whistling Straits in Wisconsin (2020), Marco Simone in Italy (2022) and Bethpage Black in New York (2024) as the venue for golf’s greatest team contest. Hear what Guy Kinnings, European Ryder Cup Director have to say about the same on iSportconnect TV.

Tokyo 2020 – 1 Year To Go || Medals

To produce Tokyo 2020 valuable medals, The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) conducted the “Tokyo 2020 Medal Project” to collect small electronic devices such as used mobile phones from all over Japan. This project makes Tokyo 2020 the first in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to involve citizens and to manufacture the medals using recycled metals.

Find out more on iSportconnect TV.