Eleven Sports to continue live and exclusive Serie A coverage in Poland

Global sports provider ELEVEN SPORTS has announced that it will continue its LIVE and EXCLUSIVE Serie A coverage in Poland after extending the partnership with the top Italian league for a further 3 years.

As part of the renewal, fans in Poland will continue to watch all the big matches including the likes of Juventus, Napoli, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Roma and Lazio as well as being able to follow Polish players such as Wojciech Szczęsny (Juventus) and Piotr Zieliński (Napoli).

The 3-year extension will run until 2021 and will include exclusive highlights and near live clips for social media.

“Serie A attracts a loyal following in Poland and we are thrilled to extend our partnership, building on the coverage we have produced over the last 3 years.” said Krzysztof Świergiel, Managing Director, Poland, ELEVEN SPORTS.

“ELEVEN SPORTS’ success in Poland has been built on an extremely strong portfolio of premium rights. We are delighted to renew one of our key properties for a second cycle and continue to offer all fans incredible insight into the biggest games from Serie A.”

 

SportAccord to feature Areas Of Opportunity in the Media Landscape

Delegates attending MediaAccord will hear from leading experts on future digital media opportunities and how they will be affecting every player involved in the business of sport, during this year’s conference – Breaking New Ground: Areas of Opportunity in the Media Landscape. MediaAccord will take place on Thursday 19 April 2018 at SportAccord in Bangkok.

Kicking off with a scene setter by dynamic presenter Craig Howe, CEO & Founder of Rebel Ventures, this session will look at the current and future media reality where Howe will share his insights on how to use new technology to best advantage.

In this year’s MediaAccord Interview: The Future of Media at Sports Events in a Digital World, delegates will also hear first-hand from Anthony Edgar, Head of Media Operations and Olympic Information Service, International Olympic Committee (IOC) said: “The media is in a state of flux unlike anything it has seen since the inception of the television. Nowhere is this witnessed more than in the media coverage of major sporting events like the Olympic Games. My presentation will explore some of the most significant shifts impacting the media’s coverage of sport in a digital age, and what we can expect in the near future.”

Delegates will also learn about the latest in sports apps in the A is for APP – How (and why) to create a dynamic one for your Sport, in an interactive Q&A with Motasem El Bawab, Digital Manager, FIBA. This session will provide insight on how they work, who they attract, what is possible – and what they have to offer sport, athletes, fans, and how they affect the bottom line.

MediaAccord will also host a panel session on Millennials and the Media. This audience are currently the largest living generation and the most lucrative market worldwide – with the largest buying power. The session will be made up of seasoned media representatives, along with millennials themselves – an athlete, a fan, and a journalist.

Delegates who register for SportAccord 2018 have access to the entire conference programme. As part of the Official Schedule, SportAccord provides numerous opportunities throughout the 6-day World Sport & Business Summit, with over 20 networking events and a popular 3-day Exhibition, as part of the delegate experience.

Organisations looking for opportunities to increase their visibility at the World Sport & Business Summit can become an Exhibitor or Partner by contacting the sales team: sales@sportaccord.com or phone +41 (0)79 126 08 42.

EISG appoints Kim Dando as new commercial director

The Executives In Sport Group (EISG) have named Kim Dando as their new Commercial Director.

Formerly Commercial Director at London media search firm round8, Kim joins the sports recruitment search firm’s senior management team to drive further growth of their sports media, content and digital division. The role will also provide leadership, support and advice across the company.

Kim commented: “It’s a wonderful time to be joining a sports recruitment practice given the ongoing convergence of sport, media and entertainment. Traditional sports rightsholders are reinventing themselves as story tellers, realising that mobile is often first screen for fans. They’re creating and distributing content in new and innovative ways and I can’t wait to get started.”

Managing Director, Darren Simmons, added: “We’re really excited to have Kim join our team. Her background in media perfectly compliments our existing team’s skills and her arrival couldn’t be better timed as we’re picking up more and more media and digital search assignments with sports rightsholders and broadcasters.”

 

 

Two Weeks To Go – iSportconnect Adds Three More Speakers from LaLiga, Riot Games and NBA

iSportconnect is delighted to announce that three additional guest speakers have been added to the Beijing Summit line-up which is taking place on March 26-27th at the iconic National Aquatic Centre in the Olympic Park, Beijing.

Sergi Torrents, Managing Director, LaLiga China

Johnson Yeh, Managing Director China and Southeast Asia, Riot Games

David Wang, Senior Vice President of NBA China

Sergi has worked in China for over 12 years across varying sports including Football, Basketball and Motor Sports. Prior to LaLiga, Sergi was the chief executive officer of 11Group.

Johnson has held positions at Fidelity Investments and McKinsey & Company, he later went on to work for the World Economic Forum in Geneva. Now currently the Managing Director of Riot Games’ China, Johnson focuses on  building China’s business team.

David oversees many key areas of NBA China’s business, including Global Partnerships, Media Sales, Merchandise Licensing, E-Commerce and Interactive Gaming. An expert in sports marketing and licensing in the China market, David has nearly 15 years of experience developing and managing sports brands. Prior to working at the NBA, David held a key management role in the Organizing Committee for the Beijing Olympic Games. 

 

Confirmed speakers

Tom Glick – Chief Commercial Officer – City Football Group

Yang Yang – Two-Time Olympic Champion – Former IOC Member

Sergi Torrents – Managing Director – LaLiga China

Johnson Yeh – Managing Director – Riot Games China

Rouven Kasper – Managing Director – Bayern Munich FC China

David Wang – SVP of Global Partnerships – NBA China

Li Haojie – Board Chairman – Tianrong Group

Jonathan Levy – Director of Sponsorships – Clipper Ventures

Jason Ferguson – Chairman – WPBSA

Antoine Haincourt – Head of MSc – EMLYON Business School

Julia Cui – Partner – CGX Management

Duan Gang – Deputy Chairman & CEO – China Open Promotions

 

Please contact Niren Hirani (niren@isportconnect.com) for further information on ticket prices and remaining packages.

What makes the iSportconnect Summit so special?

∙ The Summit is open exclusively to Director/C-Suite level executives at sports rights holders, sponsorship brands and broadcasters.

∙ Event capacity is capped at 150 delegates allowing intimate access to key decision makers in the sports industry.

∙ No agencies or press in attendance and as we follow Chatham House Rules, all panel discussions will remain confidential.

iSportconnect Celebrates Women and Reveals Influential Women in Sport in their first London Directors’ Club

In celebration of International Women’s Day, iSportconnect (the largest global private network of sport business executives) held a special women’s panel to discuss topics such as female player participation and gender equality.

Unknown to the audience, iSportconnect had a guest speaker, Micky Lawler who awed the audience on her take on the matter via a video message.

This panel engaged the audience due to its great topics. In addition to the celebrations and with the help of a panel of experts, a list of influential women in sport was selected – please see below:

Steve Elworthy from ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 commented: “I found it extremely insightful. It was a wonderful session. I thought The Celebration Of Women In Sport Panel about the leadership, the involvement, the inclusive nature of where we are going in sport, particularly women in sport hugely enlightening.”

This unique event held at BMA House presented beautiful views overlooking the courtyard for the exclusive 140 attendees. The attendees from a selection of different sectors all came together to discuss and network over the industry’s current environment.

Following the success of the Women’s Panel, Steve Brown gave his take on the subject of women whilst discussing women’s participation in rugby.  There was a range of key themes addressed such as OTT and the evolution of Rugby.

iSportconnect will be holding a second London Directors’ Club in December. However, prior to the December, there will be a range of Masterclasses.

Please contact lovely@isportconnect.com to register your interest in future iSportconnect events.

 

Betting on Football 2018 to assess the prospect of regulatory backlash

This year’s Betting on Football (20-23 March) will assess the prospect of a regulatory backlash as established betting jurisdictions start to push back on the industry.

‘Is there a backlash coming?’ will be held as part of the Leadership track, which takes place on the second full day at Stamford Bridge (Thursday 22 March).

Speakers include Kindred Group CPO Britt Boeskov, IBAS Managing Director Richard Hayler and Wiggin Partner Stephen Ketteley, alongside Joe Saumarez Smith, Chief Executive for Sports Gaming, Chairman of Bede Gaming and non-executive director of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA).

The session, which will also debate if the industry is at fault for failing to implement effective self-regulation, is the fourth of seven in the Leadership track.

The action gets underway with an analysis of the philosophy of gambling, and whether there is an acceptable balance between the potential benefits of betting and its potential for harm.

Ahead of more industry consolidation, including GVC’s possible £4 billion takeover of Ladbrokes Coral, high-level panelists will be assessing the value of investment outside of the biggest players, and the state of play in the affiliate sector.

After headlining the ‘Managing Risk’ panel at last year’s event, Marek Smrha, Investment Manager at Penta Investments, is back to help delegates identify the ‘attractive risk’, with the support of Akur Capital Partner David Shapton, Better Collective Head of M&A Michal Kopec and David Levy, Business Development Director at XL Media.

Šmrha commented: “We are happy to share our experience as a long-term investor and partner for companies in CEE. With Fortuna Entertainment Group being one of our key assets, we have a vested interest in the future of the gambling industry in the region.”

Meanwhile, #bofcon2018 has embraced the ‘Creative approach’ shown by products such as BetBuilder and MatchAcca. How these request based bets are influencing trading will be debated by Sporting Index Head of Football Tom Palin, Betgenius Business Development Director Sam Hill, Sky Betting & Gaming Head of Sports Andy Wright and Steen Madsen, Managing Director at Betsson Group.

Hill added: “BetBuilder is an accumulator service which blurs the lines between pre-match and in-play betting, allowing punters to create their own narrative around any given fixture. Products like this highlight the role of trading functions in sports betting innovation, and are set to play a major role at this summer’s World Cup in Russia.”

Following the focus on regulatory backlash, the afternoon agenda is made up of a hat-trick of CEO panels, starting with the changing landscape for affiliates featuring Inbal Lavi from Israel XL Media, alongside OLBG’s Richard Moffat and Easyodds’ James Garmston.

The penultimate session of the track will see Mybet’s Markus Peuler and BetBright’s Marcus Brennan assess the importance of this summer’s World Cup for future business, before ‘Lands of opportunity’ provides a fittingly topical finale to the CEO trilogy.

As the state of New Jersey threatens to blaze a trail for the opening of the US sports betting market, Sportingtech CEO Tiago Almeida will be on hand to discuss how suppliers can plan for the opening of new markets, and whether operators are too reluctant to experiment with third party ideas.

Tickets for the event are still available, to get them please go HERE
There are also still a few sponsorship and exhibition opportunities available – to enquire about these, please contact us on sales@sbcnews.co.uk.

iSportconnect announces Goodform as official CRM & Data partner

iSportconnect, the world’s largest global private network of Sport Business Executives, is thrilled to announce a new partnership with Goodform.

As part of the agreement, Goodform will become iSportconnect’s official CRM & Data partner.

Sree Varma, Founder and CEO of iSportconnect, said: “I am delighted to have Goodform on board. How organisations are using data to engage and grow their audience has developed into a key area within the sports industry and I cannot wait to share Goodform’s expertise with our wider network.

“Goodform’s consistently high standards are akin to our own and we have some exciting plans in place for this partnership.”

Goodform’s services focus on the use of data and insight to drive tangible growth – whether in revenue, participation or membership. Their client list includes EFL, British Athletics, Silverstone, Premiership Rugby, British Cycling, Welsh Rugby Union, Formula E, Watford FC, and NatWest 6 Nations.

Michael Jones, Goodform’s Managing Director, said: “We are thrilled to partner with iSportconnect during an exciting period in Goodform’s history. Our recent experience of working on major international tournaments including Rugby World Cup 2015 and IAAF World Championships London 2017, along with the key role we play for clients such EFL, British Athletics, and British Cycling ensure that we have unrivalled knowledge and expertise within the sports industry. iSportconnect represents the perfect partner and platform for us to share this knowledge.”

About iSportconnect

iSportconnect was launched in 2010 with the aim of bringing together sports business professionals around the world in a sports business networking community enabling them to meet one another, find information and obtain access to a wide range of relevant services.

The platform is now the largest global private network of sport business executives, where membership is exclusive and follows a strict door policy.

About Goodform

Goodform was established in 2002 to professionalise the marketing of sports venues, clubs, leagues, governing bodies and associations.

Today Goodform works with more than 50 professional sports organisations, helping them to engage and grow their audience.

 

iSportconnect kickstarts 2018 in style with the Broadcast Masterclass

iSportconnect, the largest global private network of sport business executives, kicked off 2018 in style with the Broadcast Masterclass.

Over 100 high-ranking delegates were present at K&L Gates’ London offices, which offered superb views over the St. Paul’s skyline in the capital.

The first panel featuring FEI, Olympic Channel, Canal+ and DAZN provided a great momentum and generated a lot of discussion about the new generation of video platforms.

Guest speaker Peter Hutton, CEO of Eurosport provided an engaging presentation in which he documented his experience and the lessons learned from his recent assignment at the Winter Olympics in Korea.

Audience engagement led to further discussion about the Case Study on Digital Production of Events. Networking opportunities as part of our partnership with Wildmoka were provided throughout the day for all the attendees.

Guests reconvened to watch a presentation on monetizing mobile audiences and were later enlightened by the third panel on Rights Competition: New Phase Ahead.

Partners were delighted with the level of attendees in the room, leading to plenty of valuable discussions, new connections and potential business partnerships.

Hutton said:  “I think the great thing about something like this, is that it’s all about the quality of the speakers and the quality of the attendance”.

Aarti Dabas, Head of Media Rights, Broadcast & Digital at the International Cricket Council said:  “This is the first Broadcast Masterclass I have attended. For me it was really nice listening to the other panelists and even Casey, the moderator giving little insights. There were people from completely different organisations to where ICC is and I personally learnt a lot from them.

“During the panel discussion, there were ideas floating in my head about what cricket can do and learn from other sports. Therefore, events like these are very important for the sports industry to grow.”

London Directors’ Club is next in iSportconnect’s stellar line-up planned for 2018.

Please contact Lovely Cheron (Lovely@isportconnect.com) to register your interest in future iSportconnect events.

Fantastec acquires OTT platform We Are Colony

Fantastec Sports Technology Ltd (Fantastec) has acquired We Are Colony Ltd (Colony), an OTT VOD technology company.

Fantastec through the acquisition aims to develop products, platforms and experiences which enable globally distanced fans to better connect and engage more deeply with the sports, teams and athletes.

Fantastec’s managing partner Steve Madincea said:  “We moved quickly with our investment group on Colony because they have the three vital ingredients we look for in any acquisition: industry leading technology, an inspired and capable leadership team, and an ethos of continuous growth and constant innovation which aligns with Fantastec’s ambitions.”

Colony CEO Sarah Tierney said: “In the face of enormous disruption across the film industry, we built Colony to empower content owners to easily reach engaged audiences around the world. Over the coming years, the sports industry will face similar levels of disruption from a globalising fan base along with rapidly changing tastes, demographics and habits.

“I am incredibly excited to join the Fantastec family and apply our advanced technology and comprehensive in-market experience to solving a range of challenges and opportunities in the sports sector.”

Fantastec was founded in 2017 by Madincea, an international sport’s industry entrepreneur.

 

Jockey Club Racecourses offer public free bespoke Wi-Fi

Jockey Club Racecourses have announced the installation of bespoke free public Wi-Fi across its 15 racecourses.

Free Wi-Fi is now available across all public areas at all 15 racecourse venues, including grandstands, bars, restaurants, hospitality areas, Owners & Trainers areas, parade rings and concourses. The Wi-Fi also provides use for The Jockey Club’s own business services and for its partners, such as access control, point of sale functionality and the Britbet pool betting service launching in July 2018.

The Jockey Club’s business services arm, Jockey Club Services also offers other UK sports organisations its expertise in designing and delivering multi-venue Wi-Fi systems through consultancy and central services that provide guest portal, web filtering, customer data aggregation, reporting and insight.

The Jockey Club’s racecourses are: Aintree, Carlisle, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs, Exeter, Haydock Park, Huntingdon, Kempton Park, Market Rasen, Newmarket July Course, Newmarket Rowley Mile, Nottingham, Sandown Park, Warwick and Wincanton.

Paul Fisher, chief executive of Jockey Club Racecourses, said: “It’s essential we continue to invest in enhancing the experience we offer to our customers. Racing is a fantastic day out and we are very clear that free Wi-Fi is a customer expectation, so I am very pleased we have completed what amounts to Europe’s largest multi-site system rollout.

“This also creates a range of commercial opportunities, including for partners, engagement through our app, customers sharing their experience on social media and for our forthcoming Britbet pool betting service.”

Alan Stewart-Brown, regional vice president of Europe, Middle East and Africa at Xirrus, one of the technology providers involved in The Jockey Club’s Wi-Fi project said: “Xirrus are proud to be part of what is undoubtedly the largest multi-venue, high-density Wi-Fi installation in Europe.”