Under Armour Names Former Red Bull Exec To Sports Marketing Role

Under Armour, Inc. has named Sean Eggert as its new Senior Vice President of Global Sports Marketing.

He joins from Red Bull where he spent the past 11 years building the Red Bull brand through an innovative sports marketing approach and a world class team.

At Red Bull, he was responsible for more than 160 company-owned initiatives including its newly formed partnership with USA Basketball, several action sports properties, the Red Bull Signature Series on FOX, over 140 athletes and influencer relationships, sports lifestyle related film properties and digital sports content series.

He will report directly to Chief Marketing Officer Alessandro de Pestel, who said: “Sean’s strong track record of global leadership, highly successful activations and direct experience integrating consumer insights into purpose-driven sports marketing strategies is a welcome addition to the Under Armour team.”

“As we work to connect even more deeply with our consumers through compelling engagements and powerful experiences, his expertise will play an instrumental role in our global expansion of the Under Armour brand.”

Eggert was recently recognized in Sports Business Journal’s ‘Forty Under 40’ for work which includes some of Red Bull’s best-known initiatives such as Felix Baumgartner’s iconic free-fall from 128,000 feet in October 2012.

Prior to Red Bull, he worked in a variety of sports and entertainment roles for Gatorade, Publicis and Palace Sports & Entertainment.

French Spot Rates Soar For Women’s World Cup

France is once again gripped by football fever — a year after the men’s national team triumphed on the world stage, the women’s team, which beat Nigeria 1-0 last night, is cruising through the group stages and smashing TV audience records in their own World Cup.

Stadiums are selling out, and TV broadcasters are bumping up the price of advertising slots as millions tune in. Les Bleues’ star players are fast becoming household names.

Reuters reports:

TF1, France’s main broadcaster for the tournament, had expected the team’s opening match to draw up to 5 million viewers. Instead, numbers peaked at 10.9 million, while almost 1 million followed the game on Canal+, a pay-TV unit of Vivendi.

TF1, owned by family-controlled conglomerate Bouygues, described the numbers as a French record for a women’s soccer match.

But the records did not stop there — in France’s second group game against Norway, domestic viewer numbers spiked to 11 million on TF1 – on par with the number of people who watched the men’s opening matches in 2018.

The surprising level of interest prompted TF1 to drive up the cost of advertising slots by 50-60 percent the day after France’s first match, Le Parisien newspaper reported.

Thirty-second slots during the half-time break of France’s group stage matches, initially slated at €73,000, now cost €116,000, it said.

The surge in viewer numbers extends beyond the French games. England’s match against arch rival Argentina drew nearly 1.5 million viewers on TF1, while up to 1.1 million people have tuned in to watch the United States.

Women’s soccer is steadily growing in popularity in many parts of the world.

FIFA has said it has received a record number of expressions of interest for hosting the next women’s tournament, in 2023, including a joint bid by South Korea and North Korea football associations.

Presidential Hopefuls Weigh In On Equal Pay For U.S. Footballers

The U.S. women’s national team’s call for equal pay is gathering support from a number of presidential candidates and advocates as the World Cup holders keep obliterating the opposition in their pursuit of a fourth title in France.

Reuters reports:

“As we cheer them on in the World Cup, we must support their fight off the field for equal pay,” former Vice President Joe Biden, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, tweeted minutes before the team’s match against Chile on Sunday (the U.S. won 3-0 to advance to the last 16).

“In 2019, it’s past time we close the pay gap and ensure women get paid as much as men.”

In March, all members of the squad were named as plaintiffs in a suit against the national federation, demanding pay and training conditions equal to the men’s squad.

The players, a group that includes stars Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan, said they have been consistently paid less money than their male counterparts even though their performance has been far superior to the men’s team.

Biden’s comment echoed that of fellow presidential candidate and current Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who highlighted the team’s 13-0 rout of Thailand in their World Cup opener.

“Here’s an idea: If you win 13-0 – the most goals for a single game in World Cup history – you should be paid at least equally to the men’s team,” tweeted Gillibrand following that match.

The result was “a visual demonstration and reminder that the U.S. women’s team deserves equal pay,” said Cheryl Cooky, a Purdue University professor who focuses on gender in sport.

That kind of performance, she argued, helped chip away at “the kinds of explanations that we’ve seen in the past being used to justify or legitimate the unequal treatment of women’s sports.”

The next challenge will emerge “when the tournament ends how do we keep the conversation in the limelight,” Cooky said.

Since the lawsuit was filed, some companies have stepped in to help close the pay gap.

Nutrition snack company Luna Bar announced that it would give each member of the squad competing at the Women’s World Cup a one-time payment of $31,250 — the difference in the bonus paid to the men’s World Cup squad.

Sportswear company Adidas has also said that if the USWNT win the Women’s World Cup this year its sponsored players would receive the same performance bonus payments as their male counterparts

The U.S. women next play Sweden on June 20 in their final Group F match.

French Court Issues Soft Ruling In beIN’s Anti-Piracy Case

A French court has ruled that pirated sports content belonging to the Qatar-based broadcaster beIN was accessible via a Saudi-based satellite operator, but said it had not found evidence of “clear and illegal disruption,” court documents seen by Reuters showed.

BeIN Media Group filed a complaint in France against Saudi-based Arabsat to try to establish, in what it said was a “credible” court, that Arabsat was carrying pirated broadcasts of global sports events to which beIN held the rights.

Reuters reports:

Several global sports bodies have threatened legal action against the pirate channel beoutQ over what they say are illegal broadcasts across the Middle East and North Africa. It is unclear who owns or operates beoutQ.

A June 13 ruling by the Paris court, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, found that signals from beoutQ were available on Arabsat frequencies and accessible from French territory, based on findings by a firm retained by beIN.

“These elements are sufficient to establish that Arabsat has a charge to answer,” the ruling said.

But it also said beIN had failed to demonstrate the existence of “clear and illegal disruption or prove that there was immediate risk of commercial damage” that could justify forcing Arabsat to block beoutQ’s satellite signals in France.

BeoutQ emerged in 2017 after Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies launched a political and economic boycott of Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism, which Doha denies. The channel is widely available in Saudi Arabia but Riyadh says it is not based there, and that Saudi authorities are committed to fighting piracy.

FIFA said on Sunday that beoutQ was transmitting the Women’s World Cup across the Middle East and North Africa via Arabsat frequencies and called on the operator to help address the misuse of its intellectual property.

Arabsat, which is owned by Arab League states, has denied that beoutQ uses its satellite frequencies for illegal broadcasts. Reuters has not been able to contact beoutQ for comment.

Arabsat welcomed the French ruling, saying it rejected “all false accusations that Qatar’s beIN Sports group tried to pin on Arabsat.”

BeIN also welcomed the court decision, which a spokesman said would be used to support the company’s filings in separate international investment arbitration cases.

Arabsat has a small presence in France, which enabled beIN to file its complaint in Paris. BeIN was ordered to pay fees of €25,000 to Arabsat and €6,000 to an Arabsat adviser.

Champions League Winners Wear The Social Media Crown Too

Champions League winner Liverpool FC rose to the top of the list as the most followed team in the world on social media, according to the May rankings from sports sponsorship analytics and evaluation platform Hookit. Nine of the Top 10 teams for the month were European football clubs. Find out which team was the exception on iSportconnect TV

Nissan, Notre Dame Athletics, beIN Media Group & Verizon Media To Speak at 2019 Digital Masterclass

iSportconnect is delighted to announce that Jodain Massad of Notre Dame Athletics, Johary Rafidison of beIN Media Group, Taylor Riese of Verizon Digital Media Services, and Xavier Diquet of Nissan Europe will be speaking at our 2019 Digital Masterclass, which will be held on Wednesday 26th June at the Holiday Inn, Regent’s Park in London.

The Masterclass will look at the world of digital to reach and engage with fans throughout the event lifecycle, hearing from expert speakers sharing their experiences of communicating with their target audiences. With the actual field of play action making up such a small window of fan engagement, how do you keep the conversation with fans going outside of the live event experience? Given the rapid development of new technologies and channels available to speak to fans, how do brands keep up? Are your strategies to keep up with the changes robust and nimble enough while staying effective and relevant in an ‘always-on’ and competitive fan environment?

The Masterclass will also look at how the individuals within the sports universe are taking the power of social media and digital channels to speak about causes and issues affecting the world of sport, and for the very first time, we have Olympic medalists sharing their experiences and insights on their abilities to influence the very core of sport through digital.

The latest speaker lineup includes the following:

  • Adam Field, Head of Global Fan Engagement, Chelsea FC
  • Anand Narayanan, Head of Digital Marketing and Innovations, Panasonic UK
  • Callum Skinner, Olympic Champion, Lead Athlete for Global Athlete, and Sports Governance Reform Campaigner
  • Daniel Smith, Director of Communications and Digital, World Sailing
  • Jodain Massad, Executive Producer, Fighting Irish Media, Notre Dame Athletics
  • Johary Rafidison, Digital Content Insights, beIN Media Group
  • Rob Woodhouse, General Manager Talent – UK, TLA Worldwide
  • Richard Berry, Commercial Director, Williams Racing
  • Robert Alberino, Vice President & Executive Producer, San Francisco 49ers
  • Steve Wilson, Communications Adviser / Writer
  • Taylor Riese, Managing Director EMEA and India, Verizon Digital Media Services
  • Xavier Diquet, General Manager – Content & Brand Engagement, Nissan Europe

Fighting Irish Media elevates and empowers our student-athletes, together inspiring all who behold to forever engage in the Notre Dame experience. Big stories with small crews. In 6 seconds or 60 minutes, if we can set a mood, evoke an emotion, or deliver an idea worth remembering, we’ll go there. Jodain leads Innovation, with a background in writing, shooting, designing, and editing. He was told to choose a job he loves, and he did just that. Jodain has achieved 25 Emmy® Awards including Director, Writer, Editor, Photographer, Audio, Graphics (2011-2018); 6 New York Festivals International Film & TV Awards World Medals (2012-2014); and 4 SVG/NACDA College Sports Media Awards (2016-2019).

Johary’s main objective is to improve the digital performance of the beIN’s content across the group. Sitting within the group analytics team, his role is to shape the best picture of how sports fans consume digital sports content through data. Working in tandem with the producers and online publishers, he shares his insights in order to improve the digital experience of the beIN Media Group content. Prior to beIN Media Group, Johary was a digital content analyst in media (OMD EMEA), content (Grayling) and creative (AKQA) agencies working across different clients such as Nike, Xbox, Heineken, Adidas and Intel.

Taylor serves as the Managing Director, EMEA, and India, for Verizon Digital Media Services, whose next-generation platform is delivering the future of media. Taylor works out of London, UK, in the company’s European headquarters – his base of operations for the past five years since opening the company’s first overseas office. Over the past seven years, he has been responsible for a variety of industry verticals and markets, including overseeing all sales across APAC. Taylor originally joined the company as a part of Verizon Digital Media Services’ acquisition of Edgecast CDN. .

Xavier has spent the last 15 years working for the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance in South Africa, France and Spain, and has been involved in a variety of roles, mainly in marketing. In his current role, Xavier looks after all advertising, content, events and sponsorship related areas. Nissan currently sponsors the UEFA Champions League, after Xavier had the privilege of starting  negotiations with UEFA back in 2013, leading to Nissan becoming their official sponsor from the 2014/15 season. Nissan is also involved with Formula E, ICC and City Football Group, as well as working with global ambassadors such as Eden Hazard, Philippe Coutinho and Lieke Martens. This year, Xavier and his team delivered the first 100% electric Champions League Final in Madrid, providing 266 electric vehicles to shuttle UEFA guests. Xavier is also a lecturer in the E-Marketing, Mobility and Automobiles Masters programme at ESSCA School of Management in France.

Hosted by leading Global Sports Communications expert, Ben Nichols (of Ben Nichols Communications), the Masterclass will feature 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 ideas exchange and helping to introduce you to the right new connections.

To register your interest in attending the 2019 Digital Masterclass, please contact Chloe McCombie at info@isportconnect.com

Invitation Policy: The Digital 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.

For limited partnership opportunities, please contact Hugo Millns at info@isportconnect.com

ATPI Reaches SANZAR Travel Agreement

South African, New Zealand and Australian Rugby (SANZAR) through its Travel Company SANZAR Travel, has entered into a Travel Services Agreement with leading corporate travel and events management company ATPI from the commencement of the 2020 Super Rugby and Rugby Championship season.

Peter Muller, International Board Member, the ATPI Group, said: “We are thrilled to bring our extensive sports experience to this elite international organisation, and to work with SANZAR Travel to deliver successful events to be enjoyed worldwide. Managing travel for the sports industry is dynamic and comes with very specific challenges. Our proficiency, innovative technology and global network make us one of the most well-respected sports travel and events brands in the world.”

Andy Marinos, CEO, SANZAR, said: “Our strategic decision to bring our travel in house and have the assurance of a company like ATPI providing support services has enabled us to move into the travel industry with a degree of confidence. Administering a competition such as ours that is unique in world sport, covering multiple geographies on a weekly basis requires an acute focus on all logistical and travel requirements. Having an organisation such as ATPI to provide support services is reassuring and we are excited to be working with them as we look to in the future further enhance our travel offering.”

Through its specialised sports division, ATPI has extensive experience in developing and delivering travel programmes and supporting logistics for major sporting events including the Rugby League Festival of World Cups in 2017.  The company has a long track record in providing travel and hospitality services around Summer and Winter Olympics.

Spanish Basketball ACB: “OTT Might Not Be What Fans Want”

The ACB playoffs continue tomorrow with another full house in the Palau Blaugrana in Barcelona to watch Real Madrid and Barça Lassa competing for the championship of the popular Spanish basketball league. Joan Manel Carreras, ACB Director of International Development, talks to iSportconnect TV about rights deals, OTT and the growth of Europe’s strongest domestic competition.

French Police Hold Platini For Questioning About Qatar 2022

Michel Platini, the former head of European football association UEFA, was detained for questioning by French police on Tuesday over the awarding of the 2022 World Cup soccer tournament to Qatar, a judicial source told Reuters.

Platini’s lawyer, William Bourdon, was not immediately available to comment. The detention of the former soccer star was first reported by French investigative website Mediapart.

Reuters reports:

France’s national financial prosecutor’s office, which specializes in investigating economic crimes and corruption, has been leading a probe into the awarding of the 2022 tournament to the Gulf emirate since 2016.

It is looking into possible offences including private corruption, conspiracy and influence peddling.

UEFA declined to comment, while officials with Qatar’s organizing committee could not immediately be reached.

The decision in December 2010 to award the World Cup to Qatar surprised many given the lack of potential local audiences for the games, the extremely hot summer weather, and the poor performance of the country’s national squad. It will be the first Arab state to host the competition.

Le Monde newspaper reported that prosecutors were particularly looking into a lunch hosted by France’s then president, Nicolas Sarkozy, nine days before the vote that awarded the cup to Qatar. Platini and Sheikh Tamim Ben Hamad Al Thani, who was Qatar’s prime minister and is now the country’s emir, were guests at the lunch.

Platini has since acknowledged that he supported Qatar over a rival bid from the United States in the vote, but said Sarkozy “never asked him to”, the newspaper said.

Two of Sarkozy’s aides at that time, then Elysee secretary general Claude Gueant and Sarkozy’s adviser for sports Sophie Dion, were also questioned by police on Tuesday, judicial sources confirmed to Reuters. Dion remains detained with Platini. Gueant is a “free suspect”, the source said.

The lawyer for Gueant, who later became interior minister, was not immediately available for comment. A spokeswoman for Sarkozy declined to comment. A lawyer for Dion could not immediately be reached for comment.

Under French law, suspects can be held for questioning for up to 48 hours.

Platini was forced to leave his job as UEFA chief after he was investigated in another case over 1.8 million Swiss francs ($1.8 million) that he received from FIFA, the world governing body of soccer, in 2011. He was cleared in that case.

As a player in the 1970s and 1980s, Platini was a prolific striker, mainly for Saint-Etienne in France and Juventus in Italy. He played in three World Cups, captaining the French national squad to the semi-finals in both 1982 and 1986, and won the Ballon d’Or as Europe’s top player in 1983-84-85 when he played for Juventus.

 

 

Infront Will Distribute Olympics In Africa

The International Olympic Committee has signed a new agreement with Infront for the media rights to Sub-Saharan Africa for all Olympic properties up until and including 2024.

The six-year deal runs from 2019 to 2024 and includes the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020, the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2022 and the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

The territory covers 46 African countries with the agreement comprising exclusive free-to-air television and radio rights, alongside digital rights.

Infront will also work with the IOC to produce a dedicated African television feed with a focus on the continent’s best athletes, delivering hundreds of hours of programming to audiences across the region. Over 30 journalists will deliver live and delayed broadcasts as well as highlights from all competitions and full coverage from the opening and closing ceremonies.

For the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Infront will provide a ready-to-broadcast customised programme, with over 200 hours of broadcast made available across 46 sub-Saharan African countries. This will include six to 15 hours of daily content in three languages.

Julien Ternisien, Infront Vice President Summer Sports, said: “Our shared objective with the IOC is to maximise the reach of the Olympic Games and bring the unique stories to households across Sub-Saharan Africa. We feel the next five years will be an exciting time for the Olympic Movement in Africa, with Dakar 2022 providing one of many opportunities for Africa to illustrate its passion for the Games. Infront is delighted to deliver the high-quality service it is known for.”

Timo Lumme, Managing Director of IOC Television and Marketing Services, said: “Following our partnership for Rio and Sochi, we are pleased to be working again with Infront to bring the best Olympic Games coverage to Sub-Saharan Africa.”

“In 2022, the Youth Olympic Games will be hosted for the first time in Africa, in Dakar, Senegal. With a young population, this is an important time for the development of the future of sport in Africa, and the IOC continues to redistribute 90 per cent of the revenue we generate through our commercial agreements to support sport around the world, including in Africa.”