Formula E Plans Indoor-Outdoor Race in London

The ABB FIA Formula E Championship will return to London in the summer of 2020 following a new multi-year deal with the ExCeL convention centre in the Docklands area.

The event will take place July 25-26, 2020, around a one-of-a-kind track indoor-outdoor 2.4 km clockwise circuit with 23 corners along the Thames waterfront by Royal Victoria Dock.

The plan is subject to circuit homologation and approval of the FIA World Motor Sport Council.

The previous London events in 2015 and 2016 took place around Battersea Park.

“I’m extremely excited to be bringing the ABB FIA Formula E Championship and electric racing back to the UK,” said Formula E Founder and CEO Alejandro Agag.

“Every motorsport series would love to host an event in London. This has been our desire for quite some time now and we’re delighted to have found a new home at the ExCeL.”

“We have a growing base of knowledgeable and passionate fans in the UK, and this race adds to a fantastic summer of sport as a world-class event we hope Londoners can be proud of.

“Formula E coming back to the UK extends beyond pure racing excitement, it’s also a strong message for London to tackle inner-city air pollution by promoting clean technologies and electric sustainable mobility.”

ExCeL London CEO Jeremy Rees said: “It’s an honour to welcome the world’s first ever indoor and outdoor race to ExCeL London and the Royal Docks.”

“Events at ExCeL are thriving and London provides the perfect backdrop to host global entertainment brands, such as Formula E” said Rees. “We look forward to working closely with Formula E to showcase the versatility of our venue, creating a truly unique experience for teams, drivers and spectators. Hosting this event, is also closely aligned with our vision to create a more sustainable venue, in the heart of one of the most exciting destinations and best connected cities in the world.”

David Richards, Chairman of the Motor Sports Association, said: “I’m absolutely delighted to see the return of Formula E to London. This innovative race series will be welcomed by fans throughout the country.”

European Sports Tech Investment Hits New High

Investment in the European sports technology sector last year hit an all-time high with disclosed deals totalling over €360 million, a 27% increase from 2017, according to the new European Sport Tech Report.

There were 48 deals of €1 million or more, and new initiatives multiplied, especially with events and accelerator and incubator programs, to support the development of startups and promote the ecosystem in general.

The new report, compiled by Berlin-based SportsTechX, looked at over 1,500 startups and nearly 900 investment deals.

It shows that the UK is the most active market for startups, accounting for almost 30% of the European total. Investment in new ventures is also highest in the UK. However, the average per company is highest in France at €2.16 million.

SportsTechX Founder Benjamin Penkert will be a featured speaker at THE SPOT, the global sports innovation convention, from May 28-29, 2019, in Lausanne, Switzerland.

You can access the whole report from ThinkSport by clicking here.

NBA Will Play Games In Japan Again

The NBA will return to playing in Japan after a long time away next autumn with the Toronto and Houston teams playing two games near Tokyo.

The Raptors and Rockets will play pre-season games on October 8 and October 10 at the Saitama Super Arena.

It will be the first time NBA teams have played in Japan in more than 15 years. The league played 12 regular-season games in Japan between 1990 and 2003.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said, “Bringing NBA preseason games to Japan will help accelerate the growth of basketball in a country that features a thriving sports culture and one of the world’s largest economies.”

“You have only to look at our organization to know that we truly believe basketball is a global game,” said Raptors President Masai Ujiri. “We come from all over the world, and we are all connected through the love of our sport. We are looking forward to sharing that with basketball fans in Japan.”

There have been two Japanese-born players in the NBA. Yuta Tabuse played in four games for Phoenix in 2004-05, and Yuta Watanabe has appeared in 10 games with Memphis this season.

“Our organization has a great appreciation for our global fan base, and we enthusiastically embrace the NBA’s efforts to grow the game internationally,” said Rockets CEO Tad Brown.

The NBA also has preseason games planned for India and China next season. Indiana and Sacramento will play in India, the NBA’s first-ever games there. Brooklyn and the Los Angeles Lakers will play in China.

Supercars Off To Roaring Start In Adelaide

The 2019 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship got underway with bumper TV, attendance and digital numbers this past weekend at the Superloop Adelaide 500.

Fox Sports and Network 10 pulled a combined average viewership up 9.3% from the 2018 event, and 12.1% on peak audience.

Fox Sports recorded its highest-ever Adelaide ratings, with significant increases on each day of its broadcast, including a 20% rise for Sunday’s race, for which attendance at the street circuit was a 90,000 sell-out.

Meanwhile, visits to Supercars.com over the event were up 28% and page views up 21% compared to 2018.

The Supercars Facebook page also passed 900,000 likes during Sunday’s race.

Ford’s new Mustang Supercar was the headline act, and it did not disappoint, with defending champion Scott McLaughlin taking his to a pair of victories.

Supercars Media produces the broadcast on behalf of Fox Sports, TEN, SuperView for international online subscribers, international clients in more than 90 countries worldwide and fans trackside.

The 2019 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship continues March 14-17 at the Beaurepaires Melbourne 400.

Also In The News…

The Rugby League World Cup has announced the first seven projects to receive grants for the provision of capital items, kit and equipment or to refurbish and improve existing facilities.

Applications for CreatedBy RLWC2021 Capital Grants have been open since October 2018, with a total of £10 million available for local clubs and community projects to create a positive impact, of which £9 million will be allocated to large-scale requests costing more than £15,000, with the remaining £1 million being granted to smaller-scale projects.

The government investment, delivered in partnership with the RFL and Sport England, is part of RLWC2021’s ambitious plan to leave a lasting legacy.

Protocol Sports Marketing has been appointed as the worldwide media rights agency for the semi-finals and finals of the World Boxing Super Series, on behalf of Comosa AG, a joint venture between Sauerland Events and Swiss promoter Richard Schaefer, the former CEO of Golden Boy Promotions.

The NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and the Philadelphia 76ers on ABC led U.S. primetime on Saturday in the 18-49 demographic with a 0.9 rating from 8:30-11 p.m.

FIFA Hints At Joint Korean Effort To Host Women’s World Cup

Last week’s de-nuclearization summit may have been a bust, but there continues to be more noise from the Korean peninsula about sporting collaboration between North and South.

Following recent confirmation by the IOC that the countries are planning a joint bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics, now FIFA is getting into the act – with an event that would a decade sooner.

At the International FA Board meeting this weekend in Aberdeen, Scotland, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: “I have been hearing for the women’s World Cup in 2023, the two Koreas. I have been hearing that — it would be great.”

“It would definitely show the power of football. They have been in a very, very difficult situation until recently.”

The world governing body is believed to have received an “expression of interest” form from the Koreas ahead of next month’s deadline for applications.

Here Are The STA Startup Winners

The STA Startups, part of the Sports Technology Awards Group, in conjunction with Presenting Partner, Sportradar, revealed its 2019 winners today.

In keeping with the nature of the sector, the line-up of emerging stars was revealed by video stream (see video below) across a series of global channels, including Yahoo Sport.

The winners were:

  • Deal of the Year – Vald Performance’s Acquisition of ForceDecks
  • Best Seed Funded Business – Guided Knowledge: the Next Generation of Wearables
  • Best Crowdfunded Business – Incentive Games
  • Series A Funded Businesses – Adrenaline Hunter
  • Series B Funded Businesses – LiveLike
  • Best New Concept – Danu Analytics: a Smart Injury and Performance Analysis System

There was fierce international competition under the scrutiny of a 20-strong panel of industry-leading judges, including Gfinity’s Amanda Lawson, UEFA’s Daniel Marion, the LMA’s Richard Bevan and the FEI’s Stéphane Schwander.

Rebecca Hopkins, CEO of the Sports Technology Awards Group said ‘The Startups serve a highly exciting and dynamic part of the sports technology sector; our aim is to create valuable, third-party endorsement for young companies, which gives winners a tangible commercial edge in a competitive industry. The judges observed that this year’s entries were as diverse as they were exciting and global, and we look forward to great things from them all.’

Adam Azor, Sportradar’s Director of Product Marketing, added ‘The partnership between the Sports Technology Startups and Sportradar is one that is extremely important to us; innovation and startups go hand in hand and Sportradar has built its business on the foundation of innovation. We believe startups and their evolution are the future of our industry, so we are committed to staying closely aligned to them.’

Here’s what the winners do:

  • Vald Performance (Australia): Vald Performance’s human measurement systems are used to improve athlete performance and welfare
  • Guided Knowledge (UK): Guided Knowledge creates wearable technologies which observe and assess a user’s performance in 3D; custom, expert advice is delivered in real-time via a mobile app
  • Incentive Games (UK): Incentive Games is a B2B software developer which creates innovative, engaging, accessible games which help businesses acquire, retain and monetise customers
  • Adrenaline Hunter (France): Adrenaline Hunter is the first booking platform for extreme sports and adventure travel worldwide
  • Danu Analytics (Ireland): Danu Analytics has created a gait analysis system for injury and performance management
  • LiveLike (United States): LiveLike’s live streaming platform is a white label product that allows broadcasters to stream regular or interactive content to end users, under their own brand, on mobile and VR

For more information about the Startups or the STA Group, click here

ESPN Rolls Out First Sports Betting Show

With the U.S. regulatory regime changing, ESPN is launching its first-ever sports betting show on March 11.

The Daily Wager, with sports betting news and information, will be an hour-long show running Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. ET, and it will also be streamed live on the ESPN App.

The show will be hosted by  ESPN sports betting analyst Doug Kezirian (in photo), who will be joined by experts, analysts and reporters from various sports for discussion of analytics and point spreads, and how the day’s sports news affects betting.

“ESPN’s mission is to serve sports fans,” said Norby Williamson, ESPN Executive Vice President and Executive Editor, Studio Production. “The sports betting environment has changed, and interest is increasing at unprecedented levels. ESPN is going to have a strong and vibrant presence across our platforms, and the launch of Daily Wager is the next step in what has already been underway for some time.”

Discussion and expert analysis will be combined with ESPN’s stats and information resources and the television screen will be modified to include graphics related to sports betting news, lines and information.

Sports wagering experts will be making picks on the program. But ESPN reporters and analysts will only be offering info and insights. Making their picks remains a no-no..

William Hill Moving Fast In American Sports Market

William Hill has been quick to grow its American business following the legalisation of sports betting in the USA.

The UK-based betting company’s business is now live in six states, with access secured to 17 states in total, and a 34% market share by revenue across all seven regulated states in these early stages. Net revenue from existing American business was up 42%.

Overall, William Hill, with about 2,3000 betting shops in the UK, on March 1 announced group net revenues up 2% to £1.621 billion in the latest financial year, while operating profit slipped 3% to £266.8 million.

William Hill CEO Philip Bowcock said the company has been “first out of the blocks in all states that have regulated sports betting.”

In a statement on the American outlook, the company said: “Through carefully selecting strategic partners and key suppliers in the US we have been able to diversify into all states currently regulating sports betting and have the ability to expand quickly into other states as they regulate.”

As well as having an established brand name in the States through its existing Nevada business (begun in 2012), William Hill became the first business to agree a sponsorship deal with a major American franchise, with the Vegas Golden Knights of the NHL, and it has a similar agreement with the New Jersey Devils of the NBA.

PewDiePie Joins Most Influential Athletes List

Soccer again dominates the list of the most influential athletes in the world on social media in February, according to pioneering spontech research company Hookit, with six active footballers and one retired hero among the top 10, with Lionel Messi back of Barcelona back on top.

Three of the stars play in LaLiga in Spain (for three different teams), two for PSG in France and one for Manchester United.

The exceptions were Tom Brady of the NFL’s New England Patriots, who guided his team to victory in the Super Bowl at the start of the month, MMA champ Conor McPherson… and PewDiePie.

In broadening our view of sport to include digital competition, we also need to adjust our definition of sports personalities, and no one illustrates that better than the Swedish YouTuber, whose real name is Felix Arvid Kjellberg.

Known for his Let’s Play commentaries on video games, PewDiePie recently signed a high-profile endorsement deal with gaming mega-brand GFUEL, which calls itself the “official energy drink of esports.”