- Portugal’s SportTV has bought all the local rights for the 2020 UEFA European Championship. The company will own both free-to-air and pay-television coverage rights for the first time. SportTV CEO Nuno Ferreira Pires said a free-to-air partner for Portugal national team matches has yet to be found.
- Meredith Starkey joins the Carolina Panthers at the end of March as the NFL team’s first CMO. She comes from T-Mobile, where she has been VP Marketing, Sponsorships & Events. Panthers President Tom Glick (who has spoken at several iSportconnect events) said she is “a proven difference maker in our industry and understands fans and how to deliver special moments, memories and experiences to continue to fuel their passion.”
- Sky Italia has been hit with a €7 million fine by the country’s Competition Authority (AGCM) for failing to tell potential subs that it did not have all Serie A’s games in its football package this season. The regulator ruled that Sky engaged in “an aggressive practice” that did not make clear that its Sky Calcio package would offer fewer Serie A games than in past seasons when it held all rights.
- Nike faced a PR nightmare after one of its shoes split open during an NCAA basketball game on Wednesday night. Not only was the shoe worn by probably the top college player in the country (Zion Williamson of Duke), the game was on national TV – and former U.S. President Barack Obama was in the crowd (and appeared on camera reacting to the event). Nike stated afterward: “We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery. The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance.” The statement called the shoe explosion “an isolated occurrence.”
Chelsea Plans To Appeal Against Transfer Ban
FIFA today banned English Premier League club Chelsea from the transfer market for two windows for a serious and systemic breach of the rules regarding their dealings with foreign players under the age of 18.
The club has said that it will appeal, which would take the matter before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
After a long probe of the club’s practices, FIFA said that it uncovered 29 breaches of Article 19 – the most serious infringement relating to the registration of minors – and several others.
Chelsea was fined CHF600,000 and given 90 days to “regularise the situation of the minor players concerned.”
The club stated: “Chelsea FC categorically refutes the findings of the FIFA disciplinary committee and will therefore be appealing the decision. The club wishes to emphasise that it respects the important work undertaken by FIFA in relation to the protection of minors and has fully co-operated with FIFA throughout its investigation.”
FIFA has also hit the English FA with a fine of CHF 510,000 for breaching the rules in connection with minors, , allowing “a period of six months to address the situation concerning the international transfer and first registration of minors in football”.
In the past, FIFA has made similar rulings, with two-window bans, against LaLIga clubs Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid for infringements related to the signing of minors
Real Madrid appealed successfully to CAS after losing one transfer window.
FIFA rules say that clubs cannot bring in players under 18 from other countries, unless their parents have emigrated for reasons not connected to football or both the player and club are based within 50km of a national border. The exception is for transfers within either the European Union or European Economic Area, for players aged between 16 and 18.
How LaLiga Has Embraced VAR
VAR (video assistant referee) technology, one of the most talked-about developments in global football over recent years, already plays a big part in the matches of Spain’s LaLiga (as the video below shows).
VAR provides a new way to help referees make more accurate decisions, but as with all technology, success depends on how well it is implemented and understood.
LaLiga has seen the importance of VAR since it was approved for experimentation by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in early 2016. Since then, it has led a unique training programme that has involved workshops, studying other leagues, simulations for referees and communications with clubs, media and fans.
The programme is unlike anything that has taken in place in Europe to this point and remains available to any club, league or official that wants to study the technology better. In recent months, FIFA and the English Premier League have examined how LaLiga’s deployment of VAR could be replicated in their own competitions.
There is good reason for other competitions to study LaLiga’s approach. With refereeing accuracy jumping to 98.8% this season, after the introduction of VAR, it’s clear that the methods are quickly proving their worth.
“The key to VAR success is transparency and communication”, said Sergio Sánchez Castañer, Technology Director for LaLiga’s VAR project. “From the first day we knew that it could be a success in Spain but not before we brought all of the stakeholders together to understand the aims of VAR and how to use it. We convinced the Spanish federation (RFEF) and IFAB of this which I think is key to the results we are seeing today.”
Read the full story here.
Football Esports: “More Structured Future Lies Ahead”
A more traditional sports structure is on the horizon for the world of esports, according to an adviser to the winning team of the FIFA eClub World Cup in London this month.
“At present there is still a clash of cultures between football and football esports,” said Daniel Luther, founder of the agency ESB Marketing Netzwerk, which works closely with tournament winner King Esports.
“Football has been around for over 100 years and is very structured, while esports is a new sport. But restrictions will definitely be coming in the future.”
King Esports, the tournament favourite, was the first team not from a football club to win the event, defeating the pair from Ligue 1 team Dijon, making a surprise appearance in the final.
In fact, the Dijon payers were on loan from Team Vitality, an esports organisation part owned by Dijon club President Olivier Decourt.
Vitality have teams across multiple games and have recently found surprising success in League of Legends.
Brian Savary, the Dijon esports manager, told iSportconnect that one of the great things about esports competition is that it enables Dijon to play the likes of Manchester City – when the clubs are unlikely to meet on the football pitch.
Watch the video to hear what they said.
Online Matchmaker Hooks Cricket Club Up With New Sponsor
Online sponsorship marketplace Connexi today announced a partnership between Middlesex Cricket and management consultancy JMAN Group that was secured via the new platform.
Middlesex’s Royal London One-Day Cup shirts will, from this season, be sporting the JMAN logo on the front, and it will also appear on the back of the club’s Vitality Blast shirt and on the collar of the County Championship shirt.
JMAN Group will also benefit from in-ground pitch-side advertising and corporate hospitality at Lord’s, the Middlesex home ground.
Launched in October 2018, Connexi has an exclusive partnership with SMG Insight, the sports sponsorship research arm of YouGov, and provides data, insights and detailed search functionality to enable partners to find each other.
Connexi recently named Charl Malan as Managing Director. He joins from Imperial Brands.
Cycling-Friendly Copenhagen Welcomes Tour de France
Copenhagen will host the start of the Tour de France in 2021 in a first for Denmark, and city officials say it will be the biggest sports event ever held in the country.
The opening stage on July 2 two years from now will be a 13-kilometre time trial around Copenhagen.
This will be followed by a 190-kilometre route from Roskilde to Nyborg and then a 170-kilometre stage from Vejle to Sønderborg on the following day.
Copenhagen Mayor Frank Jensen said: “It is a tremendous honour to host the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in 2021. The best cycling city in the world welcomes the greatest cycling race in the world.
“The Grand Depart in 2021 will be the biggest sporting event ever held in Denmark.”
“We look forward to celebrating together and showing the world our passion: the Tour de France and our unique bicycling culture.”
Check out this welcoming video from Copenhagen, which Lonely Planet named as the most cycling-friendly city in the world.
Also in the News…
- Marriott International and Manchester United today announced a multi-year marketing partnership, giving the 120 million members of the Marriott Bonvoy travel programme exclusive opportunities for Manchester United football experiences, including the chance to become the club’s Stadium Announcer or Kit Manager for the day. With the Marriott Bonvoy travel programme, members have access to a portfolio of global brands and properties in 130 countries and territories, plus other member benefits.Have a look at the star-powered videos related to the new deal here.
- The French Fencing Federation (FFE) has officially recognised lightsaber duelling as a competitive sport. The federation is now equipping fencing clubs with lightsabers as seen in Star Wars and training instructors. FFE Secretary General Serge Aubailly was quoted by AP saying: “With young people today, it’s a real public health issue. They don’t do any sport and only exercise with their thumbs. That is why we are trying to create a bond between our discipline and modern technologies, so participating in a sport feels natural.”
- Tanaka Holdings has become a Tokyo 2020 Official Supporter, the third domestic tier of the sponsorship programme for the Games, as the partner in the category of Precious Metals and Jewellery. The deal brings the total number of Tokyo 2020 domestic partners to 59, including 15 Gold Partners, 30 Official Partners and 14 Official Supporters (including one Official Supporter which sponsors only the Paralympic Games).
Also in the News…
- Marriott International and Manchester United today announced a multi-year marketing partnership, giving the 120 million members of the Marriott Bonvoy travel programme exclusive opportunities for Manchester United football experiences, including the chance to become the club’s Stadium Announcer or Kit Manager for the day. With the Marriott Bonvoy travel programme, members have access to a portfolio of global brands and properties in 130 countries and territories, plus other member benefits.Have a look at the star-powered videos related to the new deal here.
- The French Fencing Federation (FFE) has officially recognised lightsaber duelling as a competitive sport. The federation is now equipping fencing clubs with lightsabers as seen in Star Wars and training instructors. FFE Secretary General Serge Aubailly was quoted by AP saying: “With young people today, it’s a real public health issue. They don’t do any sport and only exercise with their thumbs. That is why we are trying to create a bond between our discipline and modern technologies, so participating in a sport feels natural.”
- Tanaka Holdings has become a Tokyo 2020 Official Supporter, the third domestic tier of the sponsorship programme for the Games, as the partner in the category of Precious Metals and Jewellery. The deal brings the total number of Tokyo 2020 domestic partners to 59, including 15 Gold Partners, 30 Official Partners and 14 Official Supporters (including one Official Supporter which sponsors only the Paralympic Games).
Champions League Tops Viewing In Italy
The UEFA Champions League match between Atlético Madrid and Juventus last night was a big winner for public television in Italy.
RAI 1 pulled 6.878 million viewers for the game as Wednesday’s top programme, two and a half times more than the show in second place. The Madrid team’s victory earned a 25.5% market share.
In The Netherlands, where football often generates big audience numbers even when there is no local side on the pitch, the game was only number 10 for the day.
Veronica pulled 860,000 viewers and a market share of 16.6%
In Spain, France, Germany and the UK, the match was not on free-TV.
Yahoo Sports Moves Into Fan Subscription Business
The New York Mets are teaming with Yahoo Sports to create a subscription membership platform for fans of the MLB team.
The premium experience, called Queens Baseball Club, will launch on iOS and Android on March 28, and fans can learn more.
The membership, expected to be priced at $4.99 or $5.99 per month, will offer members exclusive editorial from a team of writers dedicated to the Mets beat, community tools and access to behind the scenes content and experiences like batting practices, press conferences, and front office Q&As.
The New York Post reported that the team and Yahoo have a three-year agreement.
The team and Yahoo have a three-year agreement, according to sources. Yahoo declined to say how much it will pay the Mets. The Mets declined comment entirely.
Yahoo Sports General Manager Geoff Reiss told the Post: “I think the guys at The Athletic are really smart. They probably saw some fairly similar things that we did. There is this fairly significant delta between fans’ hunger to feel connected to a specific team and how well they were being served and, I suspect, I think there are some similarities of what we are putting together.”
“But I do believe that the way we are building this platform is significantly differentiated based on the energy we are going to be putting into these kinds of access points and the energy we are going to be putting into these communities. We think that the information component is incredibly important, but it isn’t enough to base the entire business around.”
Yahoo will begin with MLB and NBA teams, proceeding case by case, and there is no goal to cover every franchise in each sport or to have city sites.
“We will be launching steadily over the next couple of years,” Reiss said.
Reiss said there is no membership-number goal, and he will judge its success based on the aggregate number of subscribers, not on how each team reaches a specific goal.
“We would only be embarking on a business that we had a high level of confidence that could scale,” Reiss told the newspaper.
In another development, NBC Sports Group has expanded its alliance with Yahoo Sports in bringing content and programming to mobile and desktop devices.
The new agreement includes material from the Golf Channel, the NBC Regional Sports Networks and Rotoworld, which covers the world of fantasy sports.
The aim is to develop more editorial collaboration between NBC and Yahoo in targeting audiences for sports including the NFL, NHL, Premier League, auto racing, horse racing and golf.
The companies also said they will be presenting more live events and ramping up their fantasy sports game.