- 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.
Paris 2024 Wants To Get The Summer Games Dancing
The World DanceSport Federation’s long campaign for a place at the top table of international sport is paying off with Breaking (breakdancing) among the four new sports competitions proposed for inclusion at in the Paris 2024 Summer Games.
Skateboarding, Sport Climbing and Surfing were also shortlisted by the Paris 2024 Organising Committee for the programme of the XXXIII Olympiad.
The package of four sports will now be considered by the IOC Executive Board next month. Should the EB approve the package, the sports will then be submitted to the IOC Session for final approval during meetings in Lausanne, Switzerland from 24-26 June.
Breaking was included in the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018.
WDSF President Shawn Tay said: “It is an incredible honour and privilege that, for the first time, a dance discipline is being considered for inclusion in the Olympic Games. It is a humbling experience for all members and supporters of DanceSport.”
Paris 2024 CEO Tony Estanguet, a three-time canoeing Olympic champion, said the inclusion of the new sports would make the Olympics “more urban” and “more artistic”.
Breaking proposed to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for inclusion on the sports programme of the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
The Paris 2024 organisers proposed the four sports in response to a new level of flexibility afforded to Olympic Games Host Cities to encourage innovation in the Olympic programme. Host Cities, beginning with Tokyo 2020, now have the option of suggesting new sports and events for inclusion in their edition of the Games that are not binding on future Games hosts.
Skateboarding, Sport Climbing and Surfing were also included on the programme for Tokyo 2020.
The squash establishment expressed disappointment at the Paris choices.
In a joint statement, the World Squash Federation (WSF) and the Professional Squash Association (PSA) said: “We truly believe squash could seamlessly integrate into the Olympic programme with minimal costs and an optimised pool of participants.
“Our unique interactive glass court would allow squash to bring a lot of additional excitement and spectacular action to any iconic monument of the host city or shed a new light on less known urban areas, while also helping to engage young people in the sport from day one of the preparations and well beyond the Olympic Games.”
The World Karate Federation (WKF) said it WAS “deeply saddened” that Karate, which will make its Olympic debut at the 2020 Games but has not been included on the Paris shortlist.
“Our sport has grown exponentially over the last years, and we still haven’t had the chance to prove our value as an Olympic sport since we will be making our debut as an Olympic discipline in Tokyo 2020,” said WKF President Antonio Espinos.
Exhibition Is At The Heart Of SportAccord
SportAccord will be ramping up the amenities offered to encouraging organisations which exhibit at the 17th edition of the annual World Sport & Business Summit taking place from May 5-10, 2019, in Gold Coast, Australia.
The exhibition is considered to be an important aspect of the event. Its prime location in the middle of the convention, together with the buzzing SportAccord Café, provides an ideal setting to have business conversations, as well as enjoy the many networking events on offer throughout the week.
Susan Sawbridge, Manager, New Zealand Major Events, said: “SportAccord is the greatest annual opportunity for New Zealand to showcase its strengths, as an events destination, allowing us to connect with International Federations, other host cities and suppliers.”
You can see what the exhibition looked like during SportAccord 2018 in Bangkok here.
Nis Hatt, Managing Director of SportAccord, said: “The exhibition provides a dynamic platform and advantage for industry, cities and regions, as well as sporting bodies, to showcase their organisation – whether it’s to kick-start a new initiative or share latest developments.”
“Each year we look at ways to improve and ‘localise’ the SportAccord exhibition, and this year is no exception. With the support of Host City Gold Coast, we will be revealing some new additions for SportAccord 2019.”
You can check out the floor plan for the event this year in Queensland here.
And click here to register your interest.
LaLiga Lifts Spain’s GDP
Since the 2012-13 season, professional football’s impact on the Spanish economy has evolved significantly. LaLiga now has a turnover equivalent to 1.37% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product), according to the latest Economic Impact Report published by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
In addition, professional football clubs have seen their contribution to the Spanish treasury in recent seasons surge from €876.1 million in the 2014-15 season to €1.314 billion in the 2018/19 season, with the figure of €1.478 billion forecast to be reached in the 2019/20 season, between corporate and workers’ taxes (IRPF).
Out of all of its exported industries, football is Spain’s biggest net contributor through its television broadcasting rights revenues. For the next five years, it is estimated that LaLiga will contribute more than 95% of Spain’s net exports. Furthermore, the value of the international sponsorship for LaLiga, clubs and players is estimated to exceed €300 million per season.
“Only 42 Spanish companies contribute similar amounts to the state treasury. We’re an industry, we symbolize growth and we help cities grow. Which is why we need to take good care of our product,” Tebas continued.
Another indicator of LaLiga’s commitment to Spanish sport is the contribution it makes to both the Spanish Football Federation and other sports, an amount which exceeded €80 million last season.
It should be noted that LaLiga’s offering is not restricted to football. Since 2015, through its LaLigaSports initiative, it has invested a huge amount of effort into raising the visibility of and giving greater exposure to other ‘minority’ sports from within Spain. “The successful model of competition management serves as an example for many governments and institutions interested in our collective economic approach,” Tebas said.
For a full report on President Tebas’ remarks click here.
Indonesia Is Going For 2032 Olympics
Indonesia has submitted a bid to host the 2032 Olympics, the state news agency said on Tuesday, after winning praise for hosting last year’s Asian Games, though it could face competition from India and a joint bid by North and South Korea.
Indonesia’s ambassador to Switzerland submitted a letter from President Joko Widodo to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last week.
“The IOC has acknowledged Indonesia’s capabilities during the Asian Games and Asian Paragames of 2018,” the Antara news agency quoted Ambassador Muliaman D. Hadad as saying
“We feel that is a strong foundation.”
A senior official in the coordinating ministry for human development and culture, Gunawan, who goes by one name, confirmed the bid.
If Southeast Asia’s most populous nation wins the opportunity to host the summer Olympics, it would become the fourth Asian country to do so, after Japan, China and South Korea. The IOC will pick the 2032 host by the year 2025.
Widodo, who is campaigning for re-election, made a surprise announcement of plans to bid for the 2032 games after the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang co-hosted the 18th Asian Games in August, and the process has gathered momentum. The Olympics have never been held in Southeast Asia.
There were doubts Indonesia could successfully host the Asian Games, an event involving more than 10,000 athletes, but its reasonably smooth execution was praised by the IOC, paving the way for a tilt at even bigger sports events.
India is planning to bid for the 2032 games and North and South Korea have confirmed an intention to launch a joint bid. Australia and Russia have also expressed interest.
(Combined Reuters and AP reports)
NHL Owner Pumps Cash Into Upstart American Football League
NHL owner Tom Dundon is investing $250 million into the new Alliance of American Football and will serve as the new Chairman of the league, which kicked off on February 9,
“Since the beginning, it has been crucial that the foundation of The Alliance be set with world-class partners and Tom Dundon represents just that,” said Charlie Ebersol, co-founder and CEO, The Alliance. “Tom, Bill Polian, and I will work with our great team at The Alliance to expand our football operations and technology business. Tom is a self-made American success story who brings a wealth of knowledge in the sports, entertainment and finance worlds and proven leadership to our organization.”
Ebersol denied press reports that the league needed to be bailed out to advoid missing payments.
He told ESPN: “This has been an extraordinary undertaking for us. It’s a giant challenge and opportunity, and as a start-up you are constantly looking for some peace of mind. When we got out of the first week of games, we saw there was so much interest from investors, and if we had one person who could take care of us for a very long time, that would be great.”
Dundon, who made his fortune in subprime auto loans, is Chairman and Managing Partner of Dallas-based Dundon Capital Partners. He is principal owner of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes (since January 2018) and also a 55% shareholder of global sports entertainment company Topgolf (as well as co-founder of Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas).
He said: “As a lifelong sports fan and entrepreneur, I’ve always valued the opportunities generated in the ecosystem of sports and entertainment. I’m impressed with The Alliance’s stunning growth in-stadium and across TV, mobile and social media in just these first few weeks.”
The eight-team league is slated for a 10-week regular season, with a championship game set for April 27.
Official Mobile Apps Are The Norm For European Clubs
German and English top-tier football clubs are the leaders in Europe in having official mobile apps, according to a new report by Italian research group IQUII.
- Of the German Bundesliga’s 18 clubs, 16 are on iOS and 15 are also on Android.
- Of the 20 clubs in the Premier League, 16 have official apps, and all of them are available on both Apple’s iOS and Android.
- Of the 20 clubs in Spain’s LaLiga, 15 clubs are on iOS and 12 of those are on Android, and there is one that’s only on Android, according to the report.
- Of the 20 clubs in French Ligue 1, 13 clubs are on iOS and 11 of those are also on Android.
- Of the 20 clubs in Italy’s Serie A, 12 have apps, with 12 on iOS and 10 of those also on Android.
- Of 18 clubs in Portugal’s Primeira Liga, only six have official apps, and they are both on iOS and Android.
New American Football League Counts Built On Betting App
Will the next play be a run or a pass? A first down or a touchdown?
The new Alliance of American Football league, which kicked off this month, is counting on technology that will enable in-game betting on quicker, shorter plays through an application on mobile phones.
“It’s not fully functional, but it’s almost there,” said Scott Butera, President of Interactive Gaming at MGM, which has an exclusive license for AAF’s sports gambling technology.
He told USA Today: “What it will do, which is very important to us from a sports betting standpoint, is it will allow almost immediate transmission of data and what’s going on in an event to your mobile device, which will allow us to have play-by-play gambling, which is non-existent today.”
Critical for MGM is eliminating “latency” between what happens at the live event and the time gamblers see it streaming on their phones. Butera said that in the early games of the new league the streaming app was actually showing live action well before television – and doing so by more than a play!
AAF players are wearing technology gathering data to facilitate automated instant betting odds for next-play bets.
AAF CEO and co-founder Charlie Ebersol told the newspaper that this helps the technology’s “predictive casting,” using historical data, plus play formation data, including which players are on the field at the moment.
Besides next-play betting, other in-game betting with longer action windows are expected to be a big part of the gambling business, such as how a team might end its offensive possession.
Butera said other types of in-game betting for AAF games through MGM are only operational right now in Nevada and awaiting review in New Jersey.
“The viewership was better than expected,” Butera said. “The attendance was better than expected, and the betting volumes were better than expected. There was a lot of in-game betting, too, which means the next generation is really following it.”