Countdown Continues To Inaugural Sport Innovation Summit

Innovation in sport is the focus of a pioneering new event launching in Lausanne, Switzerland next month.

THE SPOT aims to galvanise and foster innovation across all areas of sport. Representatives from various sporting disciplines including from new technologies, e-sports, equipment, governing bodies and nutrition will be attending the event, from 15-16 May.

Topics being covered at the two-day conference include Connected Sport, New Sports, Performance & Health and Media & Marketing.

An international Start Up Contest will also be taking place at THE SPOT, which is being held at the SwissTech Convention Centre.

Spark Seals Rights Deal For Rugby World Cup

Spark has acquired rights to the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

As part of the deal, the New Zealand telco giant has secured the rights to various other tournaments staged by the sport’s world governing body, World Rugby.

The agreement means New Zealanders will be able to stream World Cup matches from Japan and related content live or on-demand over their home broadband or mobile connection, using televisions, mobiles, tablets and laptops. The service will offer both free and paid content.

Spark has also entered into a sublicensing agreement with TVNZ, which will see the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens, 2018 Under 20 Championship and selected matches from the 2019 World Cup screen free-to-air on the public-service broadcaster.

Spark has also acquired rights to the 2019 U20 Championship.

Money Talks! iSportconnect Celebrates Successful Finance Masterclass in London

iSportconnect, the world’s largest global private network of sports business executives, is celebrating after hosting a successful 2018 Finance Masterclass in London.

 

Working in partnership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, the exclusive invitation-only event was held last week at Penningtons Manches LLP, in the heart of the City.

Guest speakers included Andrea Traverso, Managing Director – Financial Sustainability and Research at UEFA,  Barry Hearn, Founder & Chairman of  Matchroom Sport, Trevor Birch, Managing Director of Duff & Phelps Ltd and Keith Harris, of KHA Management.

Numerous key topics were discussed at the event including Financial Fair Play, The Valuation Of Club & Assets, GDPR and Cybersecurity.

Sree Varma, Founder and CEO at iSportconnect, said of the Masterclass: “It’s always a privilege and honour to bring together key executives and captains of the sporting industry. And the Finance Masterclass did just that. Together with our partners ICAEW and hosts Pennington Manches LLP, iSportconnect brought together some of the biggest names from sports finance to network and learn more about important, industry-related issues. I’m pleased to say that the event was a massive success and I’m looking forward to hosting further Finance Masterclasses in the future.”

iSportconnect will be hosting its next Masterclass, Data & Digital,  in June of this year.

For more details on this exclusive event, please contact lovely@isportconnect.com

 

 

SportAccord Summit Gets Underway in Bangkok

The 2018 SportAccord Summit is now underway in Thailand, with hundreds of key decision makers and representatives from various organizations gathered in the capital, Bangkok, for the 5-day event.

The convention, which opened on Sunday and concludes on Friday, is the most important event on the sporting business calender. It allows representatives from numerous areas of sport such as federations, athletes, medical professionals and inventors, the chance to exchange ideas and to network.

The summit is hosted by the Sports Authority of Thailand at the Bangkok Convention Centre.

Brentford FC Appoint New Ticketing Partner

Brentford has appointed SecuTix as its new ticketing and engagement partner ahead of the English Championship football club’s move to a new stadium next year.

The international SaaS ticketing and audience management provider will seek to ensure a smooth transition as the west London club leaves its current home of  Griffin Park to move to a new ground, less than a mile away, in 2019.

The Bees said they were keen to appoint a new partner now to ensure the platform is well established before the move.

Kurt Pittman, Brentford’s director of marketing, said: “We are a club which has to try to out think rather than out spend our competitors. For that reason, we wanted an innovative partner who offers Software as a Service.  We know from experience that when it comes to the amount of work involved in system upgrades, it’s not an easy task with bespoke systems.

“Moving from a 12,400-seat stadium to a 17,250 seater, with nearly 3,000 more premium seats, requires a flexible partner. The SecuTix platform offers that flexibility.  Combine that with SecuTix’s desire to help grow our business and we’re confident that we will make a great team as we enter this new chapter.”

David Hornby, SecuTix UK managing director, added: “With the new stadium in mind, our ambition is to make the whole fan experience easier. As a priority, we’re looking at ways to integrate the ticketing purchase with the club’s access control, loyalty partners and mobile app. Once the club has moved stadiums, our focus will be on growing their season ticket base, attracting new fans and increasing their average home game attendance.”

Slam Dunk! Alibaba Exec Seals Brooklyn Nets Deal

Joseph Tsai, co-founder and executive vice chairman of ecommerce giant Alibaba, has bought a 49 percent minority stake in NBA franchise the Brooklyn Nets from Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.

Prokhorov will continue as the controlling owner through Onexim Sports and Entertainment, and the sale will not affect the franchise’s day-to-day management or basketball operations, an NBA statement said.

The terms of deal have not been disclosed, but the agreement gives Tsai the option to buy additional shares in 2021, which would make him the controlling owner. Reuters reported in October that Tsai’s deal to buy the 49 percent stake valued the franchise at about U.S.$2.3 billion.

The Nets’ home stadium, the Barclays Center, which is not part of the deal, will continue to be owned by Onexim Sports and Entertainment.

“As a lifelong sports fan, I am very proud to join the Nets ownership and the NBA family. I lived in New York in the early days of my career, and the city holds a special place in my heart,” Tsai said.

“I share the vision and culture that Mikhail Prokhorov, chief executive Brett Yormark, general manager Sean Marks and head coach Kenny Atkinson have put in place, and I look forward to being a part of this great franchise.”

iSportconnect Celebrates Inaugural LaLiga Club Directors’ Summit

iSportconnect, the world’s largest private network for sports business executives, is celebrating after successfully launching their inaugural ‘LaLiga Club Directors’ Summit’ in Spain this week.

The exclusive one-day event, hosted at Casa Matesanz in Madrid on Tuesday, offered club Directors from the Spanish football league the opportunity to discuss business ‘best practice’ with leaders from different sports.

Representatives from the NBA, San Francisco 49ers, FIFA, Formula 1 and Wimbledon (AELTC) were in attendance. The summit covered various topics including Digital Disruption,The Future of Broadcasting Rights and Building a Global Brand Strategy.

Sree Varma, Founder and CEO of iSportconnect, said: “I’m delighted the summit went so well and I’m especially pleased for our partners, LaLiga, who worked tirelessly to help us put on this fantastic event in Madrid. A number of key executives from both LaLiga and other major sporting brands made this summit a special sports business and networking opportunity. I’m hopeful this event will become a regular fixture in our calendar and, alongside our trusted partner LaLiga, continue to bring key sporting executives to the Spanish capital for many years to come.”

Al Guido, President of the San Francisco 49ers & CEO of Elevate Sports Ventures, said: “Incredible to see… innovative leaders at LaLiga Directors’ Summit. Inspired by the leadership of [LaLiga President] Javier Tebas and [LaLiga MD, Sales & Marketing] Adolfo Bara. Bringing many new ideas back to the 49ers.”

Andrea Radrizzani, Chairman of Leeds United FC & Eleven Sports, added: “A pleasure to speak about sports media rights at the LaLiga Club Directors’ Summit in Madrid.”

 

Joining Forces -MMA World Governing Bodies Amalgamate

The International MMA Federation (IMMAF) and the World Mixed Martial Arts Association (WMMAA) have  announced an amalgamation that will see the global unification of the sport of MMA.

An amalgamation agreement was reached between the heads of both organisations on 16 January and approved at General Assemblies held by each party on 25 March and 10 April respectively.

It is of key significance to MMA’s bid for sport recognition that one joint application will now be made to the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF – formerly SportAccord). Under GAISF criteria only one governance application can be made per sport, and so the amalgamation is expected to further qualify MMA’s bid. The agreement also strengthens MMA’s application by delivering the required number of an organisation’s member federations to be recognised by their sports ministry or national Olympic committee.

IMMAF President, Kerrith Brown, said: “The unification of WMMAA and IMMAF has been agreed by both organisations’ members for the betterment of the sport of MMA. As well as strengthening MMA’s bid for sport recognition by the Olympic movement, the move will bring benefits to the members of both organisations including combined championships and events, joint education courses for officials and a con-solidation of resources which will in turn boost growth. IMMAF and WMMAA are both set to be bolstered by this agreement and we would like to thank both memberships for their visionary leadership in ratifying the agreement.”

WMMAA President Vadim Finkelchtein said: “I truly believe that the coming amalgamation will give a huge boost to the global development of MMA as a sport and it will bear positive influence even in those countries in which MMA is still forbidden. Joining forces will provide us with an opportunity to achieve recognition for MMA at every official level and to subsequently enter the Olympic Movement.

“I’m pleased that our organisations have similar goals and a shared vision for the acceptance of MMA into the Olympic Games for 2024 – 2028. This would not be possible without our cooperation, which I believe will be fruitful to the benefit of our beloved sport.”

Twitch Acquires Rights For Fan Controlled Football League

Twitch has agreed a rights deal with the Fan Controlled Football League, an indoor American football league which is set to launch in the US next year.

According to  Associated Press, the social media platform has agreed a two-year deal with the FCFL, an eight-team league in which fans will call plays in real time during games by voting on a few choices.

FCFL chief executive Sohrob Farudi said the Amazon-owned esports specialist is the ideal partner for a venture which is supposed to feel like a video game brought to life.

The Twitch broadcasts will be produced by the IMG agency’s Original Content division.Twitch will be presented with an interactive video overlay that will enable fans while watching the game to make the swift decisions necessary to influence a live game.

The seven-a-side league will launch with eight teams. Fans will also have a role in choosing their teams’ players, coaches and general managers, along with their names and logos.

CCTV To Broadcast French Football In China

CCTV has wrapped up a rights deal with the French Football League, the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP).

The agreement will see the Chinese state broadcaster cover the rest of the current Ligue 1 campaign, with the deal running until the end of 2020-2021 season. The move’s approved by the LFP and its international rights holder, beIN Media Group.

From 2018-2019, the arrangement will involve two matches per match-day being broadcast live on CCTV5, CCTV5+, Feng Yun HD, the CCTV5 app and CNTV.

Ligue 1 match highlight shows, produced by beIN, will also be broadcast via CCTV, as part of the overall deal.