Warner Bros. Discovery inks a $650m broadcast deal with French Open

TNT Sports, a division of Warner Bros. Discovery, has reached a groundbreaking 10-year agreement with the French Tennis Federation to add Roland-Garros to its portfolio of premium sports rights in the U.S. beginning in 2025.

This new expansive deal – building on Eurosport’s 35-year relationship with Roland-Garros – will make Warner Bros. Discovery the largest global broadcast partner to Roland-Garros and it will bring fans the most comprehensive coverage of the prestigious event ever in the United States.

Per the agreement, TNT Sports will exclusively present all live action from the Parisian Grand Slam in the U.S. including: 

  • Featured live matches on TNT, with additional live coverage across TBS and truTV;
  • truTV with all-day studio, match and whiparound coverage;
  • All live matches available on Max – nearly 900 matches across all competitions – including simulcasts of matches airing on TNT, TBS and truTV;
  • In-depth highlights, behind-the-scenes and ancillary content airing across all platforms (TNT, TBS, truTV, Max, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and HighlightHER).

“TNT Sports is thrilled to partner with the French Tennis Federation and exclusively present unprecedented coverage of Roland-Garros – one of the most prestigious sports events every year – across our full array of platforms,” said Luis Silberwasser, Chairman and CEO, TNT Sports. “Roland-Garros perfectly aligns with our global sports strategy and our commitment to adding premium live sports content to our TNT Sports portfolio. We look forward to serving fans with a best-in-class content experience and providing them with direct access to more live Roland-Garros coverage than ever before.”

“We’re very proud to sign this agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery, one of the world’s leading media groups. It will enable the Federation to ensure maximum exposure for Roland-Garros in the USA and help further promote the tournament. With this long-term agreement, we aim to win over new fans in this key territory for the FFT,” said Gilles Moretton, President of the French Tennis Federation.

This agreement with TNT Sports in the U.S. now makes WBD the largest global broadcast partner or Roland Garros – known for its famous red clay – building on a long-standing relationship with Eurosport (dating back to 1989), which distributes the event to 55 countries outside the U.S.

TNT Sports, with an emphasis on adopting the latest technology, innovation, and creative storytelling to elevate its coverage of the event, will have an on-site presence, including studio and announcing teams from multiple positions inside Roland-Garros throughout the competition. Additional details on TNT Sports’ Roland-Garros coverage in the U.S. will be announced in the lead up to the inaugural campaign.

The deal was facilitated by IMG, the French Tennis Federation’s exclusive media rights representative in the U.S.

Magnifi inks deal with Bermuda Sport Radar

Magnifi has announced partnership with Bermuda Sport Radar.

Bermuda Sports Radar is a premier sports streaming brand best known for delivering excellent sports coverage across the Somers Isles. Together with Magnifi, Bermuda Sports Radar is all set to revolutionize sports content in Bermuda and set a new standard of excellence.

Through cutting-edge AI and automation, Bermuda Sports Radar and Magnifi will bridge the gap between live matches and post-game highlights, ensuring a seamless transition from heart-pounding live action to post-match energy.

Both will work together to prepare for lightning-fast, personalized highlights across six beloved local sports: Cricket, Soccer, Netball, Volleyball, Ball Hockey Association, and Pickleball.

Our mission is to redefine the sports highlight experience in Bermuda, capturing and celebrating every thrilling moment with unparalleled speed and precision. Magnifi is excited to support Bermuda Sports Radar in showcasing the nation’s top athletes and enhancing sports coverage both locally and internationally.

The Growing Force of Girls’ Football in Spain: A New Era of Empowerment and Opportunity

Over the past decade, women’s football in Spain has experienced an extraordinary transformation. The number of registered girls participating in football has soared, showcasing a vibrant and enthusiastic growth that is reshaping the landscape of the sport. This surge in interest is not just a fleeting trend but a testament to the increasing opportunities and empowerment for young girls in sports. Coupled with innovative advancements in sports technology and broadcasting, like the recent collaboration between Pixellot and the Tximist Foundation, the future of women’s football looks brighter than ever.

A Decade of Remarkable Growth

From 2010 to 2023, the number of registered players in women’s football in Spain has shown a consistent and impressive increase. In 2014, there were approximately 44,000 registered female players. Fast forward to 2023, and this number has doubled to 88,000. This growth reflects a significant shift in societal attitudes towards women’s sports and the increasing recognition of the value and talent within girls’ football. 

The Power of Visibility and Support

One of the pivotal factors driving this surge is the enhanced visibility and support for women’s football. Media coverage, sponsorships, and grassroots programs have all played crucial roles in encouraging young girls to pursue their passion for football. High-profile events, such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup and UEFA Women’s Champions League, have inspired a new generation of players, showing them that football is not just a sport for men.

Investment is Key

Spain’s football success is driven by high youth participation rates, renowned club academy coaches, and significant government involvement through the National Sports Council (CSD). Spain’s 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup success has also created a shift in the attitude towards the beautiful game. The success is credited to various strategic improvements by the Spanish Football Association (RFEF). They prioritised player well-being by allowing family presence, providing professional support such as physiotherapists, psychologists, and nutritionists, and enhancing training facilities and resources. This comprehensive approach created an optimal environment for the players, leading to Spain’s historic achievements in women’s football. 

Moreover, initiatives at the grassroots level have been instrumental in nurturing young talent. Local clubs and football academies across Spain have made concerted efforts to provide equal opportunities for girls, offering them quality training, facilities, and competitive platforms. These programs are vital in ensuring that girls can develop their skills from a young age and progress through the ranks in a supportive environment.

The Role of Technology in Women’s Football

Technology is playing an increasingly vital role in the development of women’s football. From performance analysis tools to broadcasting innovations, technology is enhancing every aspect of the game. For young players, advanced training tools and analytics provide valuable feedback, helping them improve their skills and performance. Clubs and coaches can now track progress more accurately and tailor training programs to meet the specific needs of each player.

The integration of technology in broadcasting is particularly transformative. Automated production technology democratises access to high-quality sports content, making it possible for even smaller leagues and tournaments to reach a global audience. This democratisation is essential for women’s football, as it breaks down barriers and creates more opportunities for exposure and growth.

Building a Sustainable Future

While the growth of girls’ football in Spain is promising, it is crucial to build on this momentum to ensure a sustainable future. Continued investment in grassroots programs, facilities, and coaching is essential. Schools and communities must be encouraged to support girls’ participation in sports, recognising the broader benefits of physical activity and teamwork.

Moreover, fostering an inclusive and supportive environment is key to retaining young players. Addressing issues such as gender inequality, access to resources, and societal attitudes towards women in sports will help create a more level playing field. Mentorship programs, where successful female athletes guide and inspire the next generation, can also have a profound impact.

Pixellot and the Tximist Foundation: A Game-Changing Partnership

The recent partnership between Pixellot and the Tximist Foundation marks an additional milestone in the journey of women’s football. This collaboration will offer live coverage to women’s football worldwide, leveraging advanced AI-automated sports production technology. Pixellot’s state-of-the-art systems provide high-quality video coverage without the need for human camera operators, making it easier and more cost-effective to broadcast and analyse matches.

This partnership is particularly noteworthy at the province of Gipuzkoa where the tournament is being held. In Gipuzkoa 20% of licensed players are women – a figure that is expected to grow in the coming years. By bringing more matches to screens around the world, this partnership ensures that the talent and excitement of women’s football are accessible to a broader audience. Increased exposure not only helps in garnering more fans but also attracts sponsorships and investments that are crucial for the growth and sustainability of the sport.

Conclusion

The rise of girls’ football in Spain is a powerful narrative of empowerment, opportunity, and progress. The impressive increase in registered players over the past decade underscores the growing interest and investment in women’s sports. With the support of technological advancements the future of women’s football is set to reach new heights.

As we celebrate this growth, it is essential to continue advocating for equal opportunities, visibility, and support for women’s football. By doing so, we not only enrich the sport but also contribute to a more inclusive and equitable society where every girl can dream big and achieve greatness on the football field.

The author Aintzane Encinas is president of Tximist Foundation and LALIGA ambassador

Premier League to trial new financial systems alongside PSR

The Premier League has agreed to trial an alternative League-wide financial system next season (2024/25) on a non-binding basis.

The existing Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) will remain in place, but clubs will trial Squad Cost Rules (SCR) and Top to Bottom Anchoring Rules (TBA) in shadow.

This will enable the League and clubs to fully evaluate the system, including the operation of UEFA’s equivalent new financial regulations, and to complete its consultation with all relevant stakeholders.

The overall system aims to improve and preserve clubs’ financial sustainability and the competitive balance of the Premier League, promote aspiration of clubs, facilitate a workable alignment with other relevant competitions and support clubs’ competitiveness in UEFA club competitions, while providing certainty and clarity for clubs, fans and stakeholders.

SCR will regulate on-pitch spend to a proportion (85 per cent) of a club’s football revenue and net profit/loss on player sales.

TBA is a League-level anchor linked to football costs, based on a multiple of the forecast lowest central distribution for that season. It is designed to be a pre-emptive measure to protect the competitive balance of the Premier League. This protection is intended not to have an impact unless significant revenue divergence of clubs occurs.

Washington Patches bag Robinhood as jersey patch partner

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) has announced Robinhood, the financial services platform that pioneered commission-free stock trading, as the jersey patch partner for the Washington Mystics.

The Robinhood logo will be on the front of all team jerseys, under the team’s name and player’s number. As the official brokerage, jersey patch and Monumental Sports Network broadcast partner for the Washington Wizards, this expands Robinhood’s investment to an additional MSE team, and marks the company’s first women’s sports investment.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Robinhood as the Mystics jersey patch partner and introduce them to the most electric fanbase in all of sports,” said Alycen McAuley, Chief Business Officer for the Washington Mystics. “This collaboration signifies our shared commitment to invest in women’s sports and a natural continuation of MSE’s existing partnership with the next generation financial services platform.

Robinhood’s logo will be prominently featured on the Mystics home and away jerseys for the 2024 season, beginning with the highly anticipated June 6th matchup against the Chicago Sky at the 20,000-person capacity Capital One Arena. Players will wear the new jerseys in the game, and the first 5,000 fans attending the game will receive a Mystics x Robinhood rally towel.

KLUTCH Sports Group’s Global Partnerships division sourced and facilitated the partnership between the two organizations. KLUTCH serves as Robinhood’s agency of record for partnerships in the sports and entertainment sectors, as Robinhood continues to further connect with fans through sports.

“We’re excited to bring Robinhood’s mission to women’s sports through our first-ever WNBA partnership with the Washington Mystics,” said Vlad Tenev, CEO and Co-Founder of Robinhood Markets. “As a DC-area native and lifelong basketball fan, it’s an honor to connect with more DC-area fans as we build on the success of our partnership with Monumental.”

In addition to the Mystics jersey patch, the partnership promises to showcase Robinhood’s continued growth in the DMV region with a Robinhood branded social media content series on Mystics platforms, and courtside and bowl signage at the Mystics home venue, the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, DC’s Ward 8 community.

“Since the announcement of our initial partnership with Robinhood in the fall, we’ve enjoyed engaging the DMV region at the intersection of sports and fintech together. We look forward to continuing to create unique and innovative opportunities to further integrate Robinhood into our multiplatform organization,” added Jim Van Stone, President, Business Operations and Chief Commercial Officer for Monumental Sports & Entertainment.

Robinhood has helped millions of new investors make their first investments. With products from investing, retirement, crypto and digestible investment and financial education, Robinhood is there for customers at every point along their financial journey, meeting them where they are.    

“Our strategy is to continue to market Orlando as the premier sporting destination in the U.S.”

Orlando has made its name as one of the hottest sporting destinations in the world. It boasts of a dedicated sports commission ‘Greater Orlando Sports Commission’ that work closely with city, county, and state governments to attract and host sporting events and has a proven track record of success in bringing major events to the city. iSportConnect’s Taruka Srivastav spoke with President Jason Siegel to know more.

Tell us about the current strategy for the Greater Orlando Sports Commission. What makes Orlando a great sporting destination?

Our current strategy is to solidify Orlando as the premier host city destination in the United States. Orlando’s proven track record of hosting successful world-class sporting events is a testament to our community’s unwavering support and collaborative spirit. Orlando is ideally positioned to deliver successful events on all fronts, encompassing youth/amateur, Olympic, collegiate, international, esports, or anything in between. In terms of infrastructure, Orlando boasts an impressive 35+ world-class sports venues across the region, with over 200,000 rooms readily available to accommodate athletes, officials, and fans. Our Greater Orlando Sports Commission team fully aligns with the local government and tourism ecosystem to ensure smooth and successful events for all stakeholders.

Orlando is home to passionate, dedicated sports fans who have embraced several different sporting events, including the Florida Cup face-off between Juventus and Real Madrid, WrestleMania, the Special Olympics USA Games, and the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation World Championships in 2021 and 2023. This summer, we have a thrilling lineup of events, including a friendly soccer match between Team USA and Brazil, two Copa America matches and the Soccer Champions Tour match-up between Manchester City and F.C. Barcelona. 

In 2023, Orlando welcomed more than six million international visitors, a 25% increase from 2022.

We were recently very proud to be named the 2024 best sports business city for event hosting in the U.S. by Sports Business Journal (SBJ), and we look to continue building on this exciting momentum.

What are the events you have recently hosted? How does the city benefit from sporting events?

This Saturday, May 25, we’ll wrap up the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) DII National Championships Festival. This incredible event brought together championships for six sports, which came out to around 800 student-athletes across 32 teams. This event has been equally beneficial for the athletes as it has been for our community. We made a considerable effort to make the athletes feel celebrated with Opening and Closing Ceremonies, coupled with community engagement opportunities across Orlando. The event has been nothing short of entertaining and exciting for our community’s sports fans.

In February, we had the honor of hosting the USA Track & Field Olympic Marathon Trials, as well as the 2024 NFL Pro Bowl Games on the very same weekend. The Marathon Trials were a huge success with over 100,000 spectators coming out to cheer on the athletes throughout the duration of the course. The economic impact of the event was very positive, as was the feedback from local businesses. The Trials showcased our city in the best way and was all around an incredible success for everyone involved. 

Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) volleyball events have also become a staple in Orlando. Coming up on June 13, the world’s largest volleyball tournament, the AAU Junior National Championships, will get underway at the Orange County Convention Center with over 6,000 registered teams, a 15% increase from last year. 

What is your (commercial / digital / marketing / content) strategy and what are the main challenges? How do local businesses gain?

Our strategy is to continue to market Orlando as the premier sporting destination in the U.S. We welcome local, national, and international media to sporting events and are thankful for their positive representation of our city. 

Ensuring that our local community benefits from Orlando’s event hosting is our top priority. We have very positive relationships with local businesses and stakeholders and are committed to bringing events that boost economic activity for the greater Orlando area. Our community’s passion for sport continues to be reflected through their support, and we have seen positive results over the years. Hosting events year-round helps drive tourism income during non-peak travel season and positively impacts businesses in the area. 

Just this week, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted to increase the annual allocation of Sports Incentive Funding from $4M to $10M beginning in 2025. This will allow Orlando to maintain its competitive advantage and fulfil its mission to host world-class sports events. 

Who are your delivery partners and what is the scope of the collaboration?

We enjoy strong community collaboration with the local government from the City of Orlando and the four counties that comprise our region (Orange, Osceola, Lake and Seminole). The entire tourism ecosystem across Orlando, including destination marketing organizations (DMOs), hoteliers, restauranteurs, transportation providers, and attraction operators work together seamlessly to host events that benefit the local economy, bringing in visitors from all over to experience the best of what we have to offer. 

For the Marathon Trials, we partnered with Universal to host a special reception for athletes ahead of the competition, so having entertainment powerhouses like Universal and Disney here in the community offers a unique experience for athletes, fans, officials and stakeholders. 

iSportConnect Sports Tech Partnership Index powered by SportsTech Match – May 2024

Who’s hot in sports tech? Who is doing deals? Who is creating new, innovative partnerships? That’s what the Index attempts to dig into on a monthly basis. Whether established players or the up-and-coming stars, we go a little deeper for you…

For the month of May, SportsTech Match recorded 60 new or renewed deals and partnerships featuring tech companies in sport. The deals recorded in this month’s Index again reflect the diverse use-cases for which partnerships and deals are being formed ranging from fan engagement, and betting data commercialisation to ticketing, and membership management. 

Topping the partnerships index for May was Fanbase, the fan engagement platform that continues to sign new clubs at the non premium end of sport (all five reported deals were with UK football clubs). 

AI video production continues to hold as a central theme with Playsight (AI automated production company specialising in racket sports) second in this month’s Index, and Magnifi (AI automated video highlights creation), both reporting multiple new partnerships in May.

The membership management (and related services) sector continues to be active, reflected in new deals and partnerships, largely with national governing bodies for etrainu, Sport:80 and Stack Sports (via their GameDay brand), as does the ticketing sector (four ticketing companies announced more than one partnership / deal in May).

Want to get access to the full and ‘near-live’ Tech Feed that drives the index?

The data powering the SportsTech Partnership Index derives from SportsTech Match’s automated, daily Tech Feed. It’s the first and only feed dedicated to sports tech partnerships from around the world designed to help tech companies and rights owners stay on top of the deals and partnerships being struck across the ecosystem. 

Contact info@sportstechmatch if you would like to get early access to the feed and, for tech companies, to make sure that your announcements are being included in our monthly Index. 

Stats Perform becomes ICC’s Official Data Partner until 2027

Global sports data, live streaming and AI pioneer Stats Perform today announced it has secured the rights to exclusively collect and distribute official data and live streams for the ICC to licensed betting operators around the world.

The new partnership, starting from the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, sees Stats Perform once again serve as the exclusive global distributor of official data and live video streams for all major men’s and women’s ICC events, adding to its existing premium portfolio of rights in cricket. It includes the ICC T20 Men’s and Women’s World Cups, Men’s and Women’s Cricket World Cups, ICC Champions Trophy, and the ICC World Test Championship Final.

In recent years Stats Perform has won multiple awards for its state-of-the art, premium sports data and live streaming innovations driven by OptaAI. Its official rights portfolio has also expanded to reinforce Stats Perform’s position as the unrivalled leading supplier of premium sports content, critical to fuelling growth for the wider professional global sports industry and fanbase.

Stats Perform will provide a comprehensive range of services for the ICC events to its wide portfolio of licensed betting operator partners, including real-time ball-by-ball match data and low latency video streams.

The deal reaffirms Stats Perform’s unwavering commitment to enabling licensed operators to deliver top-tier sports entertainment to bettors around the world.

ICC Chief Commercial Officer, Anurag Dahiya said: “We are delighted to reunite with Stats Perform, and have been impressed by the way their recent AI-powered innovations have triggered new growth for the sports industry. We hope the partnership is another important step in enhancing the digital consumption of cricket content globally.”

“Stats Perform is delighted to be working with the ICC again, reinforcing our dedication to collecting and providing the highest quality sports data and live streams to licensed betting operators across the globe,” said Alex Rice, CCO of Stats Perform. “We pioneered live streaming for betting, we know betting operators trust our sports data to provide the best experiences for them and their users. We look forward to leveraging our cutting-edge technology and extensive expertise to bring the thrill of ICC cricket to an even wider audience, ensuring that they enjoy the most engaging and reliable experience possible.”

National euphoria: how ambush marketing succeeds in sport – and its legal pitfalls

Every brand and its dog will want to take advantage of the packed sporting summer. David Granger, director of Arc & Foundry Creative looks at the upsides and potential downsides of following the hype.

There’s an excellent advert for soft drink Irn-Bru doing the social rounds which declares an unusual state of uncontrolled optimism in Scotland. It features a Scot and a German discussing the national side or mannschaft as they’d say in Munich, Berlin or Hamburg. It doesn’t mention a football tournament, but clearly it’s an allusion to the match scheduled for June 14, the opening game of Euros 24. (Barr, the manufacturer mention the Euros in its PR.) 

It’s a fair way away from the strict restrictions which are supposedly in place, and arguably, despite being a great piece of marketing, does devalue official partners’ and sponsors’ investment. Back in the day, the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg had to temporarily remove all the spectator seating which coloured the Red Bull logo because the Euros 2008, co-hosted by Austria and Germany, was sponsored by, well… a rival drinks firm which (ironically) had red as its main brand colour.

We also had a very (very) strict blackout during any IOC event to ensure Red Bull athletes, ambassadors and their content were not seen in any way to conflict with the four-yearly games. And we had a brilliant – but strict and frankly terrifying – chief counsel ensure we stuck to the letter and the spirit of those restrictions. 

People have been trying it on for years though. Who can forget the orange dresses of the Bavarian Beer-backed ladies at the Netherlands v Denmark game in the 2010 World Cup? Or the customised Beats headphones worn by athletes at the 2012 Olympics in London? Or when Puma had giant inflatables made of their v1.06 football boots during the 2006 World Cup placed around Germany? Well, perhaps not the last one, but it still kicked up a fuss. FIFA issued warnings and tightened both monitoring and enforcement. As they did in 2010 which led to some debate over whether they were being slightly over-bearing on Bavarian Beer ladies in the orange dresses

Fast forward to 2024 and there are websites upon blogs upon websites upon LinkedIn thought-leadership pieces outlining the “marketing opportunities” for non-official sponsors.

This opportunity/propensity to flout the regulations is partly, if not wholly down to the way media has changed, even since 2010. You don’t need to get all dressed up in orange to guerilla your way on to people’s screens. There will be a rash of social campaigns which take advantage of the hope, euphoria and, yes, uncontrolled optimism running through the fans’ veins this summer. 

The flip side is two-fold. Firstly, as mentioned it does devalue to a certain extent the investment from the official partners and sponsors, but secondly there is a massive potential for legal action against those who blatantly decide to hijack the bandwagon. 

One of the best descriptions of how the legal case works is provided by global law firm Taylor Wessing. In a post which should be read by every marketing manager, partnership manager and sporting federation, they outline how ambush marketing is done by either association or intrusion. The first, association, is “a coordinated attempt by a brand to associate itself, directly or indirectly, with a major event and/or its participants, as a marketing strategy, without permission.” Intrusion is “direct marketing within official events themselves, without prior authorisation” like the Bavarian Beer ladies. 

And the fines for brands caught out are not insignificant.

So… the laws still stand, the risks are still being taken by brands, but the rewards to piggy-back a nation’s success on the sports field remain. And on occasion, it makes for great marketing, as well as potential future legal case studies. In the meantime, enjoy the Irn-Bru advert and their celebration of uncontrolled Scottish optimism:

Sportfive partners Magnifi to showcase ASEAN football

SPORTFIVE, one of the world’s leading sports marketing agencies, has selected Magnifi, an AI-powered highlight generation platform, to assist with its social content solutions for the coverage of two premier tournaments in the ASEAN Football calendar, the Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 and the Shopee Cup 2024/2025.

With Magnifi, SPORTFIVE can auto-generate highlights of players from these events, as well as integrate its brand partners into highlight videos from the tournaments with the push of a button. SPORTFIVE also can resize and distribute this content over two dozen social channels, all in the ideal dimensions of each platform.

SPORTFIVE had previously appointed Magnifi as its social content solution provider for the AFF U-23 Championships in 2023.

“SPORTFIVE’s renewal is the ultimate vote of confidence,” said Vinayak Shrivastava, the CEO of Magnifi. “It affirms that Magnifi provides lasting value to the largest teams, franchises, and brands across all sports. Their choice strengthens our resolve to continue innovating and elevating our AI-based video editor so that businesses keep enhancing the productivity, efficiency, and creativity of sports coverage.”